One of my favorite authors, Jeff Pearlman joins this edition of the podcast. Pearlman has written a ton of awesome books and has one coming out this week called “Three Ring Circus” about the Kobe-and-Shaq-era Lakers. We talked about the buildup to a championship team, how he (an east-coast native) perceives the Lakers and their fans, and the value (or maybe lack thereof) of having a “calming influence” guy on the roster. 

Jeff Troesch is a mental coach for athletes. He works with lots of college programs, including at Cal Poly, and his career as a sports psychologist is super interesting. I have been wanting to have Jeff on the podcast for probably a few years, but had never made it happen. Our conversation was wide-ranging. We talked about how Jeff got into the business of helping players with the mental side of the game, what he sees more of nowadays, and how his job has changed a little with athletes working to cope with the issues surrounding COVID-19. 

Bud Norris was at spring training with the Phillies in Clearwater, Florida when the news came down that the sports world was on fairly immediate lockdown. The Cal Poly alum joined Chris Sylvester and Owen Main to talk about what it was like in the days leading up to the shutdown and what life has been like as things have progressed. 

Dave Joseph is the in-arena Public Address Announcer for the LA Kings, Ontario Reign, and other Los Angeles-area sports venues. As someone who was in the Staples Center on the night Rudy Gobert was confirmed to have Corona Virus and Tom Hanks announced he had it too, Joseph joins Owen Main and Chris Sylvester to describe what it was like from his perspective the night before the sports world stopped. 

As a photographer, Matt Brown has covered just about every major sporting event in this country, including the Big West Tournament for most of the past 2-3 decades. Matt was covering the women’s side of the bracket early last week and preparing for four games at the Honda Center last Thursday morning when the news came that the sports world was at a standstill. Matt talked to Owen Main and Chris Sylvester about the feeling inside the Walter Pyramid earlier in the week and what the scene was as the decision came down at the Honda Center on Thursday.

When I first started taking photos seriously, Quinton Adlesh was the best player on the team I covered the most. Following his career to Columbia and then back to USC as a grad transfer this year has been really fun. Chris Sylvester and I talked with the grad transfer senior on a team that was going to make the NCAA Tournament this season about what the past few weeks have been like for him. 

On this episode of the Going on Break edition, Owen Main and Chris Sylvester are joined by Cal Poly head basketball coach John Smith. Coach Smith discussed the last week from the perspective of a Division I head coach and a parent of a Division I player across the country during the past week. 

Owen Main and Chris Sylvester kick off the “Going on Break” edition of the Fansmanship podcast. 

The mandated postponement and cancelation of so many sporting events is the best thing for everyone, but the ramifications for people whose daily life revolves around sports will be long-lasting. The “Going on Break” editions of the podcast, will explore how life is changing throughout this unprecedented time from a multitude of people.

Today’s guest was Ghizal Hasan. Ghizal is the play-by-play voice of CSUN men’s basketball and UC Riverside baseball. Topics are wide-ranging as we get our footing with this new format. 

In this episode, Kenny describes cover zero, calls an audible on his favorite hard seltzer, and Owen introduces a new segment with a new local fake sponsor. Big Sky picks by Nic Cage.

Like a lot of people in San Luis Obispo, I met Jessica Slate while on the sideline at high school and Cal Poly games locally. As someone who is a San Luis Obispo native and has a ton of NBA knowledge, the beginning of the NBA season was a perfect time to finally have Jessica on the podcast. We discussed the league, what it’s like growing up as a fan on the Central Coast, and a few players Jessica thinks could break-out this year. You can find Jessica on twitter @thejslate or on Instagram.