The Bridge Ep. 77: Sam Vecenie, college hoops and NBA writer, joins the show to discuss his career in sports media and his decision to join The Athletic for his next venture

 

Sam Vecenie

Nothing compares to summer vacation, whether if you’re in school or in the real world. We still have a couple of weeks to work with to talk with sports media folks about their careers and have less focus on sports-specific things. However, football is coming. Until then, Sam Vecenie dropped by to chat about joining forces with quite an innovative venture in the sports journalism world.

Before we get into Episode 77, as a reminder, The Bridge is broadcast as a one-hour radio show every Wednesday night at 7 ET and again at 8 ET on Sports Radio America. Once the dust settles from that live broadcast, the show is released as a podcast on iTunes and on this website on Friday. You can listen to the show every Wednesday on Sports Radio America here or through the TuneIn app.

  • “Sports News Read Like Real News” told the tale of how Steph Curry’s dance impression of LeBron James caused quite the ruckus in sports media (2:32).
  • The Bridge Question of the Week is: What will your Halloween costume be this year and why? Call in or text in your answer to 929-BRIDGE7, that’s 929-274-3437, and you’ll make it on the next show.
  • “Run it back, same teams,” took a look back to around this time last year when we had the pleasure of chatting with Mike Babchik, the co-host/producer of the Morning Men on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Clips include how the Morning Men show was able to grow, if he’s the same off the radio as he is on it, how he developed his on-air confidence, FAL Nation and his favorite Chris “Mad Dog” Russo rant (9:15).
  • This week’s guest was Sam Vecenie, college hoops and NBA writer and host of the Game Theory podcast. Sam is one of the best at breaking down the NBA Draft and writing about college basketball and the NBA and was kind enough to discuss how he decided to do that for a living and what the path was like in getting there. We also chatted about his decision to join up with The Fieldhouse, a college basketball startup that can be found on The Athletic on October 1 and some of the things he plans to do with them.
  • You can follow Sam on Twitter @Sam_Vecenie. The interview starts at the 22:15 mark.

– In the interview, we discuss:

What made him decide to write about hoops (22:51), if there was ever a time he doubted what he was doing (25:35), having confidence while finding his writing voice (28:11), if he has a favorite piece or writing project (31:52), his best story from watching AAU basketball in Vegas (33:30), what interests him in covering the NBA Draft (36:37), what made him decide to team up with The Fieldhouse and The Athletic (39:01), what he’ll be doing for The Athletic (42:45), what listeners can find on the Game Theory podcast (44:56) and if he’s had a favorite guest (46:05).

  • “Five Minutes in the Film Room” with the debut of Joe Baress breaks down “Dunkirk,” the acclaimed film which tells the tale of Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France surrounded by the German army who are evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II (47:08). You can follow Joe on Twitter @dukemich and also read his movie reviews, previews and ratings at cupof-joe.com. This week, Joe also ranked his Top 10 Christopher Nolan films.
  • “Good Try, Good Effort” recognized the BIG3’s answer when The Answer went missing (53:47) and the Chicago Cubs’ decision to give a World Series ring to a fan in the hopes that it would erase 14 years of hardship (56:25).

Call in or text the show 24/7 at 929-BRIDGE7, that’s (929) 274-3437. Contact the show with your questions, comments, stories or hot takes and you might be featured in the next installment of The Bridge.

Subscribe to The Bridge Sports Podcast on iTunes (please leave a positive rating and review if you enjoy the show) so you’ll immediately be notified when new episodes are posted each week. You can also find The Bridge Sports Podcast on Google PlaySoundcloudStitcher and TuneIn.

You can listen to the show live on Wednesday nights at 7 ET via Sports Radio America or the TuneIn app.

Visit www.lundinbridge.com/email to subscribe to The Bridge Sports Podcast newsletter, which will provide weekly updates and behind-the-scenes information about the next show and who the featured guest(s) might be.

Email the show at media [at] lundinbridge [dot] com and follow the host on Twitter @lundinbridge.

Show music: ‘Actionable’ and ‘Epic,’ courtesy of www.bensound.com.

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