Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast

In episode 45, Kevin chats with Peggy Kusinski and Dionne Miller, hosts of "Peggy and Dionne" on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. Kusinski has been on the air in Chicago since the early 90's including two decades at NBC-5. She discusses what it was like at Jerry Sloan's basketball camp, discovering — and then working at ESPN, how she got started in her hometown. Miller, a reporter and anchor for ABC-7, explains what drew her to TV when she originally went to college to be a teacher, and what she learned at jobs in Montana, San Diego and Sarasota. Then you'll hear how the "Peggy and Dionne" show came to be. 
This episode is sponsored by Sports Broadcasting Play by Play camps. For more info, head to http://www.playbyplaycamps.com/. Hear how Peggy Kusinski and Dionne Miller broke in.

In episode 44, Kevin chats with Mike Sando, senior NFL writer at The Athletic. Prior to joining The Athletic, Sando spent 12 years at ESPN. His first NFL beat was covering the Seahawks for the Tacoma News-Tribune, where he covered his first Super Bowl, 27 years ago. He's been at every one since (except the COVID year) and will reminisce about that first one, and offer tips to anyone covering the Big Game. Sando's career began in Spokane, and he'll detail his journalism start, from high school sports coverage to Ryan Leaf's Washington State Cougars. 
This episode is sponsored by Sports Broadcasting Play by Play camps. For more info, head to http://www.playbyplaycamps.com. Hear how Mike Sando broke in.

In episode 43, Kevin chats with James Brown, the host of "The NFL Today" on CBS. A three-time Emmy Award-winner, JB has been an NFL pregame host for more than 30 years, having done 11 Super Bowls. This episode dropped on the Sunday morning of the AFC Championship Game in Denver, where Brown will host "The NFL Today." Before he became a broadcaster, Brown was a star basketball player at Harvard, good enough to be drafted in the NBA and ABA. He'll discuss his basketball career and how he went from working at Xerox to getting a shot on the Washington Bullets telecasts, and then what led him to CBS. Hear how James Brown broke in.

In episode 42, Kevin chats with Seth Wickersham, senior writer at ESPN and author of "American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback," a New York Times bestseller. Wickersham has won numerous awards for his writing and he's profiled the likes of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh. You'll hear about how Wickersham got into sportswriting while growing up in Alaska, interning at his hometown paper, and covering a Super Bowl as a college student with his classmate, Wright Thompson. As someone who has built a ton of trust among the NFL's biggest power brokers, Wickersham offers great advice to young writers. Hear how Seth Wickersham broke in.

In episode 41, Kevin chats with Chris "Bear" Fallica, wagering expert at Fox Sports and host of the podcast "Bear Bets." Fallica appears on Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" college football pregame show, and helps set up Monday's College Football Playoff national championship, and next month's Super Bowl, from a betting perspective. Known for his time on ESPN's College Gameday, Fallica got his start at ESPN as a researcher. He tells the story about how he first got in the door at ESPN Radio, how he would do research in the 90's, why Lee Corso gave him the nickname "Bear," and what it's been like being recognized. Hear how Chris "Bear" Fallica broke in.