Unsportsmanlike

I admit it: I’m addicted to sportstalk radio. I dip in and out of it during the day, and when I have trouble sleeping at night, I often listen.

Recently, a new show dropped out of the sky from ESPN Radio. Its title, “Unsportsmanlike," and its three hosts are wildly different from the usual. They come on at 5:00 a.m. in Nashville, and each morning they grab my attention. They are intense and opinionated and hilarious.  

Most early-morning shows start off slowly, saving their best stuff for later. Not these people. From the first pitch, as they say in baseball, they bring it.

Evan Cohen is the show’s brilliant editor and guide, challenging and pushing the others.

Michelle Smallmon shares great stories and wisdom about sports and life.

And Chris Canty—what can I say? An NFL defensive lineman for eleven years at 6’7” and 323 pounds, his giant head is filled with facts and questions and laughter and other stuff that comes flying out each day, to my delight.

Try listening, even if you’re not a sports fan. Think of it as unsports.

Tim and Jeff

In this era of big data, baseball broadcasts rarely include stories. Instead they are filled with statistics. Gone are the musings and memories of Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Red Barber, Jack Brickhouse, Ernie Harwell, and on and on.

But one man is still telling stories, which he has heard and saved up over a fifty-year Hall of Fame career. He is sportswriter and journalist Tim Kurkjian, whom you can still hear on weekly ESPN broadcasts.

The good news, the really wonderful news, is that Tim now has a weekly podcast in which you can enjoy his stories, which fill the nooks and crannies of baseball in a way that numbers simply can’t.

Tim, who admits he is clueless with all things tech, has wisely chosen to co-host the show with his son Jeff, a country music DJ and, of course, a big baseball fan. Their father-son conversations are highlights of the show, alongside interviews with a who’s who of baseball.