Speaker 1: Hey everyone, Welcome to another edition of the Dave Pash Podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm your host Cardinals and ESPN play by play announcer
Speaker 1: Dave Pash. My guest this week is one of the
Speaker 1: best broadcasters in the business. He does it on a
Speaker 1: number of sports for a number of networks, and that's
Speaker 1: Kenny Albert. Kenny recently called a couple of Cardinals games.
Speaker 1: We'll get his thoughts on the Cards and head coach
Speaker 1: Jonathan Gannett.
Speaker 2: Well, I certainly liked the battle level, enjoyed talking to
Speaker 2: the coaching staff, to Jonathan gannon and I really think
Speaker 2: they're heading in the right direction with his coaching staff
Speaker 2: and this core group of players.
Speaker 1: We'll also talk with Kenny about what it was like
Speaker 1: to grow up on Albert his dad, Marv Award winning
Speaker 1: and Hall of Fame broadcaster. But Kenny certainly has paved
Speaker 1: his own path to greatness, and he's done it for
Speaker 1: a long time. Whether it's been with Fox for almost
Speaker 1: thirty years as an NFL broadcaster, he's the lead voice
Speaker 1: for the NHL Stanley Cup Finals with Turner, does Rangers
Speaker 1: and Knicks games on MSG network works, and he's had
Speaker 1: a lot of celebrities that he's encountered over the course
Speaker 1: of his career and his life going back to his childhood,
Speaker 1: and you'll never believe who his mom once beat at
Speaker 1: home in horse Also, we'll talk with Kenny about his
Speaker 1: new book of mic for All Seasons. All that and
Speaker 1: more with the great Kenny Albert coming up. We are
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Speaker 1: eight hundred next step. Time now for our conversation with
Speaker 1: one of the top broadcasters in the business, Kenny Albert. Well, Kenny,
Speaker 1: First of all, you've had the cars a couple of times.
Speaker 1: I just want to get your thoughts on what you saw,
Speaker 1: in particular the last game you had against the Seahawks
Speaker 1: a couple weeks ago.
Speaker 2: Well, I certainly like the battle level, enjoyed talking to
Speaker 2: the coaching staff, to Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petsing, and
Speaker 2: you know, obviously it's a bit of a depleted roster
Speaker 2: with some of the injuries. Buddha Baker did come back
Speaker 2: in the game against the Seahawks last week. But they
Speaker 2: certainly work hard. You know, they've had some the number
Speaker 2: of games this year, as you well know, where they've
Speaker 2: stayed closed for a half and then it kind of
Speaker 2: gets away in the second half. But I really think
Speaker 2: they're heading in the right direction with this coaching staff
Speaker 2: and this core group of players.
Speaker 1: And you have dealt with JG before. I'm sure you've
Speaker 1: done a lot of Eagles games, maybe even some games,
Speaker 1: and he was in Minnesota, but obviously he's not meeting
Speaker 1: with the broadcasters for people that don't know the head
Speaker 1: coach and both coordinators. Usually sometimes there are exceptions where
Speaker 1: a head coach won't let the coordinators talk to the
Speaker 1: media or at least the TV crew, but for the
Speaker 1: most part, the coordinators meet with the team TV crew.
Speaker 1: What was your experience like with JG as a coordinator
Speaker 1: and now as a head coach in that setting.
Speaker 2: Did meet with him a couple of times as a
Speaker 2: coordinator in Philly and and really seemed mature beyond his years.
Speaker 2: We do meet with a number of coordinators throughout the season. Oftentimes,
Speaker 2: if the head coach is more defensive minded, we'll meet
Speaker 2: with the offensive coordinator that week and vice versa. But
Speaker 2: in Philadelphia, with Shane Stikeen and Jonathan Gannon, you had
Speaker 2: two real up and coming coordinators and we felt that,
Speaker 2: you know, we could be chatting with both of these
Speaker 2: guys as head coaches in the near future, and that
Speaker 2: certainly has been the case. We've had the Colts twice
Speaker 2: this year and very impressed with Shane Steiken as well.
Speaker 2: And with Jonathan Gannon. You mentioned his years in Minnesota
Speaker 2: working under the Vikings coaching staff and then in Philadelphia.
Speaker 2: Was real happy for him when when he was hired
Speaker 2: by the Cardinals.
Speaker 1: When you look at you know you've done Cardinal games
Speaker 1: for you know, you've been at Fox now for years,
Speaker 1: so you've done obviously a lot of Cardinals games over
Speaker 1: the years. I'm sure you did game to the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl year and then the twenty fifteen NFC Championship game
Speaker 1: season where the Cardinals went to Carolina and loss. I
Speaker 1: even think you might have done the Cardinal Panther playoff
Speaker 1: game back in wait, Am I right on that it
Speaker 1: was the Kurt Warner game Jake Dilombe through four picks?
Speaker 1: Did you call that game?
Speaker 2: I did? I think that was Jake Dilome's birthday if
Speaker 2: I remember correctly, yes, and he threw all those picks.
Speaker 2: You know when I when I think back, the first
Speaker 2: ever game day that I worked on Fox was back
Speaker 2: on nine to four ninety four. It was Buddy Ryan's
Speaker 2: first game as Cardinals head coach. It was against the
Speaker 2: then LA Rams the year before they moved to Saint Louis.
Speaker 2: And remember that game that weekend very well. And then
Speaker 2: through the Vince Tobin years, Dave McGinnis, I could probably
Speaker 2: name all the all the head coaches in order over
Speaker 2: the last thirty years, but the first ever game was
Speaker 2: a Cardinal game. Did work that playoff game that that
Speaker 2: you mentioned in Carolina as well, which would not be
Speaker 2: that memorable for the Cardinals, although the next month and
Speaker 2: a half certainly was the Super Bowl year. I worked
Speaker 2: the game in New England where the Cardinals were blown
Speaker 2: out late in the season in December, and I remember
Speaker 2: meeting with some of the players and coaches and it
Speaker 2: turns out about ten players on the roster had never
Speaker 2: seen snow before. And I'm sure you remember the game
Speaker 2: in a snowstorm in New England and they got blown
Speaker 2: out and then go to the Super Bowl about six
Speaker 2: weeks later.
Speaker 1: Yeah. The thing that I remember the most about that
Speaker 1: game is and you know where the booth is. Obviously
Speaker 1: in New England, you're out in the stands for the
Speaker 1: most part. I mean you're in a booth, but it's
Speaker 1: still in the stands, and people were throwing snowballs all
Speaker 1: over the place, and some were coming into the booth.
Speaker 1: I mean, we were dodging snowballs while we were broadcasting
Speaker 1: what we thought was probably a harbinger of things to come,
Speaker 1: and the season was going to end horribly. I mean, look,
Speaker 1: Chris collins Worth, everybody knows what he said. He said,
Speaker 1: you know, worst playoff team in history. Obviously, the Cardinals
Speaker 1: proved that they weren't going to the Super Bowl as
Speaker 1: a magical year. Twenty fifteen was a great year. I
Speaker 1: like you, Kenny, I'm encouraged by the coaching staff. I'm
Speaker 1: encouraged by Monti Austin for it. Based on the games
Speaker 1: you called so far, I mean, do you see a
Speaker 1: bright future? Do you see a light at the end
Speaker 1: of the tunnel based on your experience so far?
Speaker 2: No, I do absolutely. You know, all you have to
Speaker 2: do is look back at that game in New England
Speaker 2: and see how quickly things can turn around. But no,
Speaker 2: I think it's a terrific organization from mister Bidwell on
Speaker 2: down and put together. You know, a young coaching staff,
Speaker 2: but I think one that is certainly on the rise,
Speaker 2: and it's just impressive watching how hard the team works,
Speaker 2: you know, despite the injuries and some of the other issues.
Speaker 2: You know, as far as the depth chart is concerned.
Speaker 2: You know, Josh Stobbs finally getting a chance. He's a
Speaker 2: great story. You know, we really enjoy talking to him,
Speaker 2: hearing about the aerospace engineering major and some of his
Speaker 2: toughest classes and back in the college days. And I
Speaker 2: know he's a guy that Ben Roethlisberger really relied on
Speaker 2: heavily during Josh's four years in Pittsburgh, on the sidelines
Speaker 2: during games at practices. So you know, you're happy to
Speaker 2: see a guy like that finally get a chance it
Speaker 2: might not be long term, obviously with Kyler Murray on
Speaker 2: the way back, but really enjoy talking to the players
Speaker 2: and coaches and it is impressive, you know how hard
Speaker 2: they work throughout despite you know, some of the issues
Speaker 2: roster wise. So far this year, you're.
Speaker 1: Working now NFL games with Jonathan Vilma, who was a
Speaker 1: great New Orleans Saint linebacker. And I'm sure for a
Speaker 1: long time, Kenny, you were the young guy in the booth.
Speaker 1: You were working with guys that were older than you.
Speaker 1: And I'm starting to get to the point in my
Speaker 1: career where, you know, I'm starting to work with guys
Speaker 1: that I covered when they played, and now I'm working
Speaker 1: with them. I mean, obviously you probably did a bunch
Speaker 1: of John Filma games. Are you seeing that more and
Speaker 1: more across the sports you work where you're starting to
Speaker 1: work with guys and starting to groom guys and mentor
Speaker 1: guys that you actually covered while they played.
Speaker 2: It has taken that turn, Dave, And you know, I
Speaker 2: think back, I'm sure you have the same memories. When
Speaker 2: we started, we were younger than all of the players
Speaker 2: and coaches, and now we're older than all of the
Speaker 2: players and many of the coaches, So I guess when
Speaker 2: you're around for as long as we have been, that's
Speaker 2: going to be the case. But it's fun to work with,
Speaker 2: you know, whether it's Jonathan Willem or or some of
Speaker 2: the other analysts that I work with and that you
Speaker 2: work with. Did cover a lot of Jonathan's games, and
Speaker 2: he's really worked hard in the broadcasting business. It's his
Speaker 2: fourth year at Fox. He worked in the studio at
Speaker 2: ESPN on some college football shows as well, and it's
Speaker 2: fun to be somewhat of a mentor and guide them along.
Speaker 2: And as we tape this yesterday, I worked them asoda
Speaker 2: items game and ironically, Kevin O'Connell, their head coach, was
Speaker 2: one of my pupils. I guess you can call it.
Speaker 2: At the NFL Broadcast boot Camp about ten years ago
Speaker 2: when it was held down in Southern Jersey at NFL Films.
Speaker 2: Now it's out in California every summer, but the NFL
Speaker 2: brings in about twenty either recently retired players or players
Speaker 2: who are still active but might want to get into
Speaker 2: the broadcasting world. And this one particular day, Nate Burlison,
Speaker 2: who's done a great job at CBS, both in sports
Speaker 2: and News, Tim Hasselbeck, who's gone on into a real
Speaker 2: good career at ESPN, and Kevin O'Connell were all part
Speaker 2: of that group and they've all gone on to have
Speaker 2: major success. But whether it's a Jonathan Willema or a
Speaker 2: Rendez Barber who was my previous partner, a lot of
Speaker 2: fun working with these guys. They're such hard workers they
Speaker 2: were during their playing careers and they put so many
Speaker 2: hours into it during the week as broadcasts as well.
Speaker 2: Early on I worked with Ron Pitt's, Anthony Moon, Brian Baldinger,
Speaker 2: Tim Green, they were all older than me, and then
Speaker 2: I guess it became somewhat balanced. During the years I
Speaker 2: spent with Moose Johnson and Tony Sarah Goose, we were
Speaker 2: all around the same age, and now it's been Rende
Speaker 2: Barber and Jonathan Vilma, who were at least ten or
Speaker 2: twelve years younger. So it's a lot of fun, you know,
Speaker 2: helping them along at the start of their careers.
Speaker 1: So you've written a book called The Mic for All Seasons, Kenny,
Speaker 1: Why now, what was the reason behind the timing and
Speaker 1: how long did it take you to write the book
Speaker 1: to try to remember all the stories? Did you take
Speaker 1: notes over the years or do you just have great recall.
Speaker 2: Well, to answer the first part of the question, always
Speaker 2: felt like I had a lot of stories and at
Speaker 2: some point wanted to put it down on paper. And
Speaker 2: my family kind of pushed me. My wife and two daughters.
Speaker 2: They've been, you know, at me for a while as
Speaker 2: far as potentially writing a book. And I also speak
Speaker 2: as you do, I'm sure with so many different high
Speaker 2: school and college broadcasting camps classes throughout the year, try
Speaker 2: to give advice to youngsters who were looking to get
Speaker 2: into the business. So I wanted that to be a
Speaker 2: part of it as well. And whenever I speak with them,
Speaker 2: they asked so many good questions and you wind up
Speaker 2: giving a lot of the same answers, telling the same stories.
Speaker 2: So really, during the pandemic back in April and May
Speaker 2: twenty twenty, when we were all home and I was
Speaker 2: home for one hundred and forty six straight days, that's
Speaker 2: when I really started to put the plans in place.
Speaker 2: I had been contacted by a book agent out of
Speaker 2: New York named Andrew Blowner several years prior, and he
Speaker 2: sent me an email said, if you ever thinking about
Speaker 2: writing a book, let me know might be able to
Speaker 2: hook you up with a publisher, and sure enough he
Speaker 2: did with Triumph Books out of Chicago, and during the pandemic,
Speaker 2: I put together an outline, started writing some sample chapters,
Speaker 2: portions of chapters, did it all myself, did not have
Speaker 2: a ghostwriter. Wanted it to be my words, my stories,
Speaker 2: and I enjoy writing. I had done a lot of
Speaker 2: it back in high school and college. Overall, it probably
Speaker 2: took about a little over two years from the time
Speaker 2: when I absolutely started back in twenty twenty until I
Speaker 2: had to submit it to the publisher in September of
Speaker 2: twenty twenty two. Now it wasn't like I was working
Speaker 2: on it every day. There were periods during the seasons
Speaker 2: where I might not have done anything for three weeks
Speaker 2: or a month, So it was on and off at home,
Speaker 2: in hotels, on airplanes. So about a two year process
Speaker 2: as far as the writing, and then once I submitted it,
Speaker 2: we went back and forth a bunch of times with
Speaker 2: the editing and making corrections and changes. So I finally
Speaker 2: saw the first copies about six weeks ago. Was very
Speaker 2: excited when those boxes arrived at the house and it
Speaker 2: officially was released to the public about three weeks ago
Speaker 2: October tenth. It just a compilation of early life, getting
Speaker 2: into the business, working minor league hockey for two years,
Speaker 2: stories about each of the different sports that I've broadcast,
Speaker 2: travel tales. I'm sure you have many of those. Stories
Speaker 2: about calling the Olympics, stories about the two hundred plus
Speaker 2: color analysts that I've worked with, a chapter on paying
Speaker 2: it forward to the young broadcasters out there, a chapter
Speaker 2: about the pandemic and how we broadcasted games during that time,
Speaker 2: a lot about family and hard work and dedication. And
Speaker 2: then to answer the latter portion of your question, I
Speaker 2: do seem to have a pretty good memory. Wrote a
Speaker 2: lot of it from memory. I do keep all of
Speaker 2: my charts, my scorecards from the games, which are all
Speaker 2: in a big file cabinet to my left. I have
Speaker 2: about ninety five percent of them from the last thirty years.
Speaker 2: So I would you know, I would go into the
Speaker 2: into the files and check certain things, would Google, just
Speaker 2: a fact check and make sure my memory is correct
Speaker 2: on dates and games. And there were some things that
Speaker 2: I did not remember absolutely as they took place, so
Speaker 2: there was some fact checking. But it was a lot
Speaker 2: of fun and really honored that Wayne Gretzky and wal
Speaker 2: Clyde Fraser took part. They wrote the forwards. Their names
Speaker 2: were on the cover right underneath mine. So it was
Speaker 2: a lot of fun and really enjoying hearing the feedback
Speaker 2: from people who have read the book so far.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I was going to ask you about both those
Speaker 1: guys in your relationship with both, because I did see
Speaker 1: the forward by both of them. When did those relationships start?
Speaker 1: And was that an easy ask? I mean, I'm sure
Speaker 1: you know both Clyde and Wayne Gretzky, but probably Gretzky
Speaker 1: more than Clyde. Get asked a lot of things like, hey,
Speaker 1: can you do this for me? Can you do that
Speaker 1: for me? How did you get was how did that go?
Speaker 1: The ask for Wayne Gretzky to write the forward to
Speaker 1: your book?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they were both so great about it. And Wayne
Speaker 2: I got to know a little bit back in the
Speaker 2: late nineties when he was playing for the Rangers. I
Speaker 2: was doing the radio and on many of the flights,
Speaker 2: he would come up and sit in the area where
Speaker 2: the broadcasters would sit and he admittedly it's it's you know,
Speaker 2: public knowledge. He's not a huge fan of flying, so
Speaker 2: he would come over and chat with the great John Davidson,
Speaker 2: and I was always in that area of the playing
Speaker 2: along with Sam Rosan and Salmasina, you know Hall of
Speaker 2: Fame broadcasters, and Wayne would just want to talk about
Speaker 2: sports and life in general, and it would kind of
Speaker 2: keep his mind off the flight. So I knew him,
Speaker 2: you know, during those three years, got to know him
Speaker 2: a little bit. But then the last two and a
Speaker 2: half years, he's been part of our team with the
Speaker 2: NHL on TNT. He's on the pregame show, the postgame show,
Speaker 2: not every week, but he's there for the special events,
Speaker 2: and then travels with us in the playoffs. So the
Speaker 2: last two years, for two weeks each season, Wayne Gretzky
Speaker 2: and the entire Turner pregame crew have been on the
Speaker 2: road with our game crew. So have gotten to know
Speaker 2: him a lot better. He's as great a person as
Speaker 2: he wasn't playing, and that's pretty hard to say. And
Speaker 2: wal Clyde Frasier I've worked with for about fifteen years now,
Speaker 2: approximately fifteen games per year on MSG Networks, and again,
Speaker 2: another as good as he was as a player, he's
Speaker 2: an even better person. He's the only basketball player in
Speaker 2: the Hall of Fame as a player and a broadcaster
Speaker 2: as well. He was inducted last year on the broadcast
Speaker 2: side with both of them. My initial thought was to
Speaker 2: have four people, one for each sport, whom I've worked with,
Speaker 2: but the publisher explained to me that it's too much
Speaker 2: clutter on the front have four names. They said it
Speaker 2: would be better with two, especially these two names. So
Speaker 2: went with Clyde and Wayne, and they were both great
Speaker 2: about it. I had emailed Wayne and asked him if
Speaker 2: he would be interested in writing something. I even offered
Speaker 2: a ghostwriter for him for the forward, and he said, nope,
Speaker 2: I'll do it myself, and he was tremendous about it.
Speaker 2: And Clyde was the same way. As soon as I asked,
Speaker 2: he was happy to do it. They've both done it
Speaker 2: many times before. And like I said, it's surreal to
Speaker 2: look at the cover and see both of their names
Speaker 2: on there.
Speaker 1: That's very cool, man, and Kenny. One of the things
Speaker 1: that I respect so much about you, And admittedly I
Speaker 1: don't get to watch a lot obviously on Sunday because
Speaker 1: the Cardinals are playing, but the other sports you do
Speaker 1: and have done over the years, and NFL playoff games
Speaker 1: you've done where the Cardinals aren't playing and I'm at
Speaker 1: home watching. It's always about the game. You don't make
Speaker 1: it about yourself. You try to get the most out
Speaker 1: of your analyst, and it's about the game. And not
Speaker 1: everybody calls it that way. And I always felt that
Speaker 1: that's what the fan wants. The fan wants it to
Speaker 1: be about the game. Yes, it's entertainment. You have to
Speaker 1: be entertaining, but you can't sacrifice documentation of the game.
Speaker 1: And I think that happens nowadays. We're a lot of
Speaker 1: people they're trying to, you know, make a name for
Speaker 1: themsel elves are trying to climb the ladder, and sometimes
Speaker 1: they think by making it about themselves or making documentation
Speaker 1: the second or third most important thing during a broadcast,
Speaker 1: they think it's going to help them, but it doesn't.
Speaker 1: Have you been tempted at all. You've been doing this
Speaker 1: for so long at a network level, have you been
Speaker 1: tempted it all to compromise that or to change that?
Speaker 1: Given how the business has changed them, think about talk radio,
Speaker 1: think about podcasting, and how personality driven sports content has
Speaker 1: changed so much since we got started doing play by play.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, I appreciate it, appreciate the kind words.
Speaker 2: You know that that's just how I was brought up,
Speaker 2: how I learned to do play by play. It's about
Speaker 2: the game. The analysts or the experts they were, the
Speaker 2: former players or coaches. You know, I'm sort of the
Speaker 2: traffic cop on a football game, for example. I'll set
Speaker 2: up the play, call the play, recap the play, and
Speaker 2: then and then get out of the way for the animal.
Speaker 2: And you know, we all do so much work during
Speaker 2: the week to prepare, but come Sunday, you know, it's
Speaker 2: about the game. It's about what's taking place on the field.
Speaker 2: And ironically, some of the times that I've received praise
Speaker 2: in the media, whether in a you know, a newspaper
Speaker 2: column or on talk radio, has been when I haven't
Speaker 2: said anything. And you know, that's kind of funny to
Speaker 2: say as a play by play announcer. But the Bautista
Speaker 2: home run in Batflip in twenty fifteen is one of
Speaker 2: the calls that I get asked about the most, which
Speaker 2: is which is ironic because I do less baseball than
Speaker 2: the other sports. But I called the home run and
Speaker 2: then I shut up for about twenty or thirty seconds.
Speaker 2: A big game seven overtime goal in hockey two years
Speaker 2: ago on TNT the Rangers against Pittsburgh. According to Phil
Speaker 2: Mushtik of The New York Post, I called the goal
Speaker 2: and then I laid out or shut up in layman's terms,
Speaker 2: for a minute fifty six seconds. So it's kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, like I said, it's ironic. But some of
Speaker 2: the times that we get the biggest praise is when
Speaker 2: we don't say anything, and I think it's it's you know,
Speaker 2: in both of those cases, it was a home run
Speaker 2: or a goal scored by a home team player, so
Speaker 2: the crowd is going to be giving, you know, a
Speaker 2: great reaction for the viewers. So the director and the
Speaker 2: folks in the truck, you know, work their magic and
Speaker 2: show what's going on on the field or ice, and
Speaker 2: then they're panning to the crowd and the celebrations. So
Speaker 2: now TV and radio are a lot different. I do
Speaker 2: hockey on the radio as well, and in that medium,
Speaker 2: you know, as you know, working Cardinals games on the radio,
Speaker 2: and you go back and forth between radio and TV
Speaker 2: on various sports. But it's a whole different animal, and
Speaker 2: I talk about that in the book as well. On radio,
Speaker 2: you have to be so descriptive and give the time
Speaker 2: and score a lot more often, and on big plays,
Speaker 2: you only you know, lay out for about a second
Speaker 2: and a half and then you have to come back in.
Speaker 2: So again, I know I'm giving a long answer to
Speaker 2: a short question, but I feel it's always about the game.
Speaker 2: I don't really have a signature call, you know, like
Speaker 2: some people do on home runs or goals or three
Speaker 2: point shots. But I guess it goes back to how
Speaker 2: I was taught and how I learned many years ago.
Speaker 1: So along those lines, your father Marv, who obviously is
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame broadcaster like yourself, and look, I went
Speaker 1: to Syracuse because of your dad. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin,
Speaker 1: and back then you didn't have social media, you didn't
Speaker 1: have cell phones. So the only way that I even
Speaker 1: knew Syracuse had and I liked Syracuse basketball, so I
Speaker 1: would watch Syracuse basketball all the time. They were kind
Speaker 1: of like, you know, the Lakers of college basketball with
Speaker 1: Sherman Douglas and Derek Coleman. They were on TV all
Speaker 1: the time on ESPN, and Dick vi Teo was calling
Speaker 1: the games. And you know, I had watched obviously a
Speaker 1: lot of of pro sports and had followed your dad
Speaker 1: and Bob Costas, and you know, dick by Tel starts
Speaker 1: talking about Marv Albert and Bob Costas going to Syracuse.
Speaker 1: And I was such a fan of Syracuse that and
Speaker 1: I knew I wanted to get into broadcasting, but I
Speaker 1: had no idea that they had this great broadcast school.
Speaker 1: So because of my passion for Syracuse basketball, that's how
Speaker 1: I found out. I didn't read it in you know,
Speaker 1: on Twitter. I didn't get a phone call about it.
Speaker 1: I didn't see it on the internet. That's how I
Speaker 1: found out. So I'm just curious, you know, from your standpoint,
Speaker 1: you know what it was like. How did you Was
Speaker 1: it just your dad? Was it others that taught you?
Speaker 1: And what was it like growing up in Albert.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, you know, it's funny how things
Speaker 2: come full circle. I did not go to Syracuse, although,
Speaker 2: as you and I discussed in person last week, I'm
Speaker 2: an honorary member because I paid a tuition for my
Speaker 2: older daughter who went there and graduated a couple of
Speaker 2: years ago. And just this morning, I woke up in
Speaker 2: your hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. I did the Green Bay
Speaker 2: Packers game yesterday and then went to visit my other
Speaker 2: daughter who's a student at Wisconsin. So I was just
Speaker 2: in Madison about ten hours ago. But growing up, you know,
Speaker 2: I didn't really know anything different. I was so used
Speaker 2: to it, growing up with a father and two uncles
Speaker 2: his brothers who were also play by play broadcasters, and
Speaker 2: to me, it was the greatest thing. I mean, I
Speaker 2: got to go to all these games. I would go
Speaker 2: to Knicks games and Rangers games, and my parents bought
Speaker 2: me a taper quoder for my birthday when I was
Speaker 2: five years old, and I started announcing games into the
Speaker 2: taper quoder in my bedroom. And I was never forced
Speaker 2: to do what. I was never told you have to
Speaker 2: go into this business. But I was just around it
Speaker 2: all the time and really enjoyed it. And when I
Speaker 2: was old enough, I would tag along with him to
Speaker 2: games and to the WNBC Channel four studio in New York,
Speaker 2: and when I was about fifteen, I would start keeping
Speaker 2: stats for him at Knicks games, Rangers games, NFL games,
Speaker 2: and more so than anything that he really ever taught me,
Speaker 2: It's not like he ever sat me down and gave
Speaker 2: me lefts, since it was more just watching and learning
Speaker 2: via osmosis, watching the preparation that goes into each and
Speaker 2: every broadcast, whether at home or in a hotel room somewhere.
Speaker 2: And then when I was in the booth keeping the stats,
Speaker 2: just watching the communication, the synergy that he had with
Speaker 2: all of his color analysts, and watching the communication between
Speaker 2: the announcers and the production folks in the truck. So
Speaker 2: back in those days, and we're around the same age,
Speaker 2: you couldn't really start doing this until college, so I
Speaker 2: felt like I had a head start just by observing. Also,
Speaker 2: and I write about this in the book, A huge
Speaker 2: break occurred when I was in tenth grade and I
Speaker 2: was covering sporting events at my high school for the
Speaker 2: town paper and for the school paper. Tenth grade, I'm
Speaker 2: there covering a girls' basketball game, and all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: this local cable station shows up, Cox Cable of Great Neck,
Speaker 2: which is a neighboring town, and the athletic director at
Speaker 2: my school introduced me to the producer and it turned
Speaker 2: out they did not have announcers. They had a little
Speaker 2: production van and two cameras. That was it. So I
Speaker 2: volunteered to announce the game. They clipped a microphone onto
Speaker 2: my shirt. I did that game and then for the
Speaker 2: next two and a half years in high school, worked
Speaker 2: about seventy five to one hundred games for Cox Cable,
Speaker 2: and I would bring friends along as color commentators. And again,
Speaker 2: I felt like I had a two and a half
Speaker 2: three year head start at the time because other kids
Speaker 2: really did not get this opportunity until they went off
Speaker 2: to college.
Speaker 1: What was your best or one of the most memorable
Speaker 1: childhood celebrity stories that you remember that you know, whether
Speaker 1: it was meeting somebody at a game you were with
Speaker 1: with your dad or your uncle's, or just somebody that
Speaker 1: was over at the house that you had a chance
Speaker 1: to meet or even interview.
Speaker 2: Well, I have a couple. I'm looking behind me now
Speaker 2: in my home office at photos with Wayne Gretzky and
Speaker 2: Reggie Jackson back then when when I tagged along, he
Speaker 2: did interviews with both. I was about eleven when I
Speaker 2: met Reggie, in about fifteen or sixteen when I met Wayne,
Speaker 2: and I'm pretty sure both of those photos made it
Speaker 2: into the book. But he also did invite friends slash
Speaker 2: athletes over to the house at times when I was
Speaker 2: growing up, and doctor J. Julius Irving was one who
Speaker 2: came over on a number of occasions. My parents would
Speaker 2: play tennis with him and he would play basketball in
Speaker 2: the driveway. My mother once beat him in a game
Speaker 2: of horse at his house, believe it or not, when
Speaker 2: he still lived on Long Island playing for the Nets
Speaker 2: before he went to the seventy six ers. And there
Speaker 2: was another time Phil Jackson who was playing for the
Speaker 2: Knicks at the time, and they were friendly, and I
Speaker 2: was about eight or nine years old, and a friend
Speaker 2: of mine named Dale de Leo. We beat Phil Jackson. Well,
Speaker 2: I'm not sure if we beat him, but we played
Speaker 2: him two on one basketball in the driveway. I remember
Speaker 2: dribbling the ball between his legs. So those are some
Speaker 2: of the memories that stand out.
Speaker 1: I beat Bill Walton one on one about three years ago.
Speaker 1: But keeping mind built can't move, so it wasn't like
Speaker 1: it was hard.
Speaker 2: I mean, all I had to do was we watched
Speaker 2: Bill actually was once watching in Chicago. He was working
Speaker 2: for NBC and I was there keeping stats, you know,
Speaker 2: back before before the professional career began on air. I
Speaker 2: wound up on a on a three on one break
Speaker 2: with Magic Johnson and another friend of mine who were
Speaker 2: part of this NBC pickup game, and it was so exciting.
Speaker 2: Bill was actually sitting there watching. He couldn't play because
Speaker 2: of his knees. But Bill actually watched me, you know,
Speaker 2: pass the ball to magic. But I think your story
Speaker 2: is a little bit better.
Speaker 1: Hey, you got to play with magic? What do you
Speaker 1: mean that's that's a great story. That's awesome. Man. You
Speaker 1: talked about how your your dad never pushed you into broadcasting,
Speaker 1: and you already mentioned your daughters won a Syracuse alum
Speaker 1: and the other in Madison at Wisconsin, like I thankfully
Speaker 1: we don't have. My wife is not a big sports fan,
Speaker 1: my my two daughters, one of them is, but she's
Speaker 1: trying to be an actress, so broadcasting really wasn't something
Speaker 1: she was interested in. And my son's a sportsman. But
Speaker 1: I haven't really pushed it because I just my dad
Speaker 1: is an attorney. He never pushed me, and I just
Speaker 1: I don't know. I figure if it's something that he's
Speaker 1: interested in, he'll let me know, and if he wants help,
Speaker 1: I'm happy to help him. Have How have you found
Speaker 1: that in terms of your children, knowing that you could
Speaker 1: assist getting into a business it's very hard to get into,
Speaker 1: but not.
Speaker 2: Pushing, right, I mean I was never pushed. Like I said,
Speaker 2: I did receive a lot of opportunities to go to
Speaker 2: games and to be in the press box and to
Speaker 2: help out, so that that was certainly, yeah, that was
Speaker 2: probably a big part of it early on. But he
Speaker 2: never pushed, you know, never never really openly opened any doors.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: It was more me just again observing and learning via osmosis.
Speaker 2: And yes, I met a lot of people which led
Speaker 2: to internships and other opportunities, but I think he sat
Speaker 2: back and let me, you know, do the hard work
Speaker 2: and kind of figure things out. I have two daughters.
Speaker 2: My older one who went to Syracuse, actually does work
Speaker 2: in the business behind the scenes. She never really had
Speaker 2: any aspirations of being on air, although she did some
Speaker 2: on air work in class at Syracuse. But she's doing
Speaker 2: a terrific job as a as a video producer editor
Speaker 2: at the NHL at the National Hockey League office, and
Speaker 2: she learned how to use you know, all that fancy equipment.
Speaker 2: At Syracuse. She had a great internship with the athletic
Speaker 2: department and would edit highlights during the second pandemic here
Speaker 2: actually when when fans were not allowed into the Carrier Dome,
Speaker 2: she was she was in the building, editing football and
Speaker 2: basketball highlights, so she always she she wound up with
Speaker 2: a passion for the editing and producing work. And my
Speaker 2: younger one at Wisconsin, she is a journalism major. Not
Speaker 2: sure exactly what directions show had in but really never
Speaker 2: put any pressure on them as well, just like no
Speaker 2: pressure was ever put on me. And it sounds like
Speaker 2: on you either.
Speaker 1: So I get asked a lot, as I'm sure you do,
Speaker 1: about you know, what's your favorite, what do you enjoy most?
Speaker 1: And you know, I'm not doing four sports or five
Speaker 1: sports if you include the Olympics, but you know, I'm
Speaker 1: doing NFL and college football, which are essentially two different sports,
Speaker 1: and NBA and college basketball. Again it's basketball, but very different,
Speaker 1: and I love all of it. I'm glad I don't
Speaker 1: have to choose, but I know other people will openly say, yeah,
Speaker 1: this is my favorite, this particular sport. Do you do
Speaker 1: you have a favorite or is it I mean, is
Speaker 1: it one where you enjoy whatever game you're doing in
Speaker 1: the moment.
Speaker 2: I'm similar to you, where I enjoy whatever game I'm
Speaker 2: doing in the moment. Very fortunate to be involved in
Speaker 2: so many different sports, and you know, like you said,
Speaker 2: you're involved in four because the NFL and college football
Speaker 2: are distinctly different, and the NBA and college basketball are
Speaker 2: distinctly different, and you do a terrific job. I enjoy
Speaker 2: watching all of the games that you do in the
Speaker 2: various sports. To me, when I was younger, hockey was
Speaker 2: probably the passion, but I loved all the other ones,
Speaker 2: you know, they weren't that far behind. I was watching hockey, football, basketball, baseball,
Speaker 2: calling all of them into the tape recorder. My goal
Speaker 2: was to do hockey on the radio. That was really
Speaker 2: in high school and college, you know, that was what
Speaker 2: I wanted to do. And I was very fortunate to
Speaker 2: get hired by a minor league team in Baltimore, the
Speaker 2: Skip Jacks, and spent two years there and really learned
Speaker 2: so much about what goes into running a professional sports organization.
Speaker 2: I also had to do tr and sales and marketing
Speaker 2: and pick up players at the airport, really whatever they needed.
Speaker 2: But I had had the experience at Cox Cable working
Speaker 2: so many different sports, and then when I wound up
Speaker 2: working in Washington, hired for hockey but would fill in
Speaker 2: on basketball and baseball and men's college basketball, women's college basketball,
Speaker 2: and then the huge break in ninety four when Rupert
Speaker 2: Murdoch acquired the rights of the NFC package and Fox
Speaker 2: you know, took it away from CBS after thirty five
Speaker 2: plus years, and the executives you know, decided to hire
Speaker 2: Pat Summer all on, John Madden is the number one crew,
Speaker 2: greatest of all time, Dick Stockton, and Matt Millan is
Speaker 2: the number two crew. And then they took a chance
Speaker 2: on four young play by play announcers. Joe Buck, Kevin Harlan,
Speaker 2: Tom Brenneman and I were all hired in ninety four,
Speaker 2: and I don't think any of us ever thought that
Speaker 2: we'd be doing football on network TV, let alone at
Speaker 2: you know, at that age. So being involved in the
Speaker 2: NFL for thirty years has been incredible. Calling the Stanley
Speaker 2: Cup Final on NBC a couple of years ago TMT
Speaker 2: last year, working on the lead crew with the NHL
Speaker 2: on TNT is also incredible. And also really enjoyed doing
Speaker 2: basketball and baseball too. So I always say it's like
Speaker 2: asking which kid you like that four of them, as
Speaker 2: you said, really love, you know, whatever game is being
Speaker 2: played on that particular day. This week, I have a
Speaker 2: hockey game on TNT Wednesday, basketball game on Friday, Nixon
Speaker 2: Milwaukee Bucks, and then the Commanders and Patriots on Sunday.
Speaker 2: So you know, similar to you, it's a hectic time.
Speaker 2: Three sports this week and really love them all.
Speaker 1: Well, you're great at all of it. You've been great
Speaker 1: at all of it for so long. Last question, and
Speaker 1: I guess it's along the lines of what you just
Speaker 1: mentioned with the games you have, Like I've got Lakers
Speaker 1: Clippers Wednesday, Bedlam, Oklahoma Oklahoma State Saturday, and then I
Speaker 1: got to get to Cleveland for the Cardinal Sunday. It
Speaker 1: is certainly the most stressful part and the least glorious
Speaker 1: part of what we do. And that's the travel and
Speaker 1: the stress of getting from one game to the next,
Speaker 1: especially when it's multiple employers. Do you have a crazy
Speaker 1: or you probably maybe have several crazy travel stories and
Speaker 1: we'll leave you with that one.
Speaker 2: Well, you and I are real fortunate to work for
Speaker 2: multiple employers who allow us to do what we do
Speaker 2: and keep up the jigsaw puzzle of the schedule. There
Speaker 2: are probably six to eight days a year that are
Speaker 2: really really stressful where I might be traveling in on
Speaker 2: the morning of a game, which will we played that night.
Speaker 2: You know, for the most part, we all get there
Speaker 2: the day before. But you know, when you have college
Speaker 2: football on a Saturday and Cardinals on Sunday, for example,
Speaker 2: you know that's not always the case, so there are
Speaker 2: some stressful days. I do dedicate an entire chapter in
Speaker 2: the book to travel stories. Knock on Wood. Have never
Speaker 2: missed a game due to a travel or a weather issue.
Speaker 2: Twice had to travel via a car from Buffalo back
Speaker 2: to the New York area, which is about six hours
Speaker 2: due to flight cancelations or weather. Once had to travel
Speaker 2: by car from Atlanta to New Orleans, which is about
Speaker 2: seven hours. I've had some crazy connections on flights, but
Speaker 2: like I said, fortunately never missed a game due to travel.
Speaker 2: But there have been some pretty funny stories when to
Speaker 2: look back at it along the way.
Speaker 1: Well, I can't wait to read the book. A mic
Speaker 1: for all Seasons, and I know that people listening to
Speaker 1: this podcast are going to check it out, Kenny, because
Speaker 1: everybody loves and respects the job that you do. Man,
Speaker 1: you're one of the best in the business. I don't
Speaker 1: think you get enough public credit and notoriety for just
Speaker 1: how great you are at how many different sports, and
Speaker 1: you bring it every game. Man, You're a joy to
Speaker 1: listen to and watch and a great guy as well. Man,
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you spending some time with me.
Speaker 2: Well, Dave really appreciate it. I feel the same way
Speaker 2: about you. Always love tuning into whatever game you're doing
Speaker 2: and don't get to see each other in person very often.
Speaker 2: We did last week in Seattle, so hopefully I'll have
Speaker 2: another Cardinals game down the stretch. But appreciate you having
Speaker 2: me on and good luck with the travel this week.
Speaker 2: Hope to see you soon.
Speaker 1: Great story from Kenny about his mom beating doctor Jay
Speaker 1: on the basketball court at his house and just listening
Speaker 1: to all the stories age how great. Kenny's new book
Speaker 1: is a mic for all seasons. It just came out.
Speaker 1: Can't wait to read it. Hope you get a chance
Speaker 1: to check it out. Not only is Kenny one of
Speaker 1: the best broadcasters in the business, but he's got unbelievable stories.
Speaker 1: He's forged great relationships over the years with many player, coach,
Speaker 1: and general manager celebrities that he has an opportunity to
Speaker 1: get to know, and also, of course family with his
Speaker 1: dad Marv and his uncles Al and Steve. We are
Speaker 1: presented by BETTMGM, the official sports betting partner of the
Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals, and by HeLa River Resorts and Casinos. You
Speaker 1: can follow us on Twitter at pashpod. You can also
Speaker 1: rate us, review us on your favorite podcast platform, and
Speaker 1: if you have a guest in mind that you'd really
Speaker 1: like to hear from, whether it's Cardinals ro later or not,
Speaker 1: please let us know. Thanks again to Kenny Albert, and
Speaker 1: thanks again to you for listening to another edition of
Speaker 1: the Dave Pash Podcast.