Give Me A Sense with Mike Yam

Kevin O’Neill spent 25 year coaching college basketball with stints as a head coach at Northwestern, Marquette, Tennessee, Arizona and USC. Along with his college experience he was he head coach of the Toronto Raptors and spent time as an assistant with numerous teams. KO explains how coaches get jobs, how common he thinks cheating is in college basketball, and some of his best memories from the NBA. Some of those moments include beating Allen Iverson and the 6er’s when he was with the...

Portland Trailblazers TV analyst and former Oregon State basketball star Lamar Hurd had a dream of playing in the NBA. On The Give Me a Sense podcast, Hurd shares his story of moving away from home in the 6th grade to dedicate his life to the game. His journey found him turning down Baylor after committing, landing at Oregon State and having what he describes as a “rollercoaster” career in college. Lamar played overseas and when he was on the verge of potentially making the NBA, he walked...

Eric Byrnes was an electric baseball player who spent 11 years in the major leagues. He’s the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. He shares some great stories from playing in the bigs - the highs and lows and the run in he had with A’s GM Billy Beane in the parking lot after he was sent down to the minors. Byrnes has made the successful transition from baseball to a new sport; he competes as an ultra marathon runner. Eric created a documentary on running the Western States Endurance...

Mike Montgomery is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. Montgomery was a powerhouse coach making Stanford into a consistent force in college hoops. Over his 32-year collegiate coaching career with Stanford and Cal, Montgomery made 16 NCAA Tournaments, captured 6 conference championships, and piled nearly 700 victories. After his time at Stanford, he made the jump to the NBA, taking over the Warriors. Montgomery is honest about his time with the team and the challenges he faced...

Chad Brown kicks off season 2 of The Give Me a Sense Podcast. After winning a national championship at Colorado, Brown was selected in the 2nd round of the NFL draft by the Steelers. Brown explains what made Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren and Bill Belichick different, but successful. You’ll have a much better understanding of why the Patriots win as much as they do. In our conversation you’ll hear what life is like in the NFL, the adjustment to life without football and how close “Ballers” on...

Rick Neuheisel was a Rose Bowl MVP quarterback at UCLA, who made a successful transition from playing, to coaching and now broadcaster. I was fortunate enough to work with him for 3 seasons at Pac-12 Network and we swapped some stories about the first few years after we launched. Rick explained how he built cultures when he arrived at a program, what some of the best wins felt like and how the losses were crushing. Unlike the pros (he was the offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens),...

Out of high school Jeremy Affeldt set his path to become a major league baseball player. Bypassing college, he remembers life in the minors, which wasn’t always easy, being married while having roommates and eventually getting a chance in the bigs. He shares some of his best moments playing and winning World Series with the Giants. On The Give Me a Sense podcast Affeldt explains why he hated the game and wanted to quit. His encounter with a 16 old homeless girl not only gave him new...

The face of 120 Sports Michael Kim spent 17 years working as an ESPN anchor. He left a dream job to work at a startup. Kim explains why 120 Sports is set up to be the future of how sports fans watch content. As the first Asian American male sportscaster on a national network, Kim takes us through his career path, explains why more Asian aren’t in prominent broadcasting roles and the time he couldn’t land a job because of how he looked. Michael Kim: @MichaelKim120 @120Sports Mike Yam on...

Pac-12 Networks studio host Ashley Adamson guests host the Give Me a Sense podcast. Former Stanford soccer player Lisa McCaffrey joins the show. Besides, being married to 3x Super Bowl Champion Ed McCaffrey, her son Christian has been one of the premiere running backs in the country. Lisa shares her athletic journey and what it was like raising 4 boys. Standout moments: The family’s wild Heisman experience in New York City. Scouting report on future Michigan quarterback Dylan McCaffrey. Lisa...

Business + Sports + Philanthropy = One Hope Wine. CEO and Co-Founder of One Hope Wine Jake Kloberdanz is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. From the humble beginnings of selling wine out of cars to being able to boast over 2 million dollar in donations, One Hope Wine is the type of business you want to be associated with. Award winning wines with game changing philanthropic work has attracted the likes of John Elway, Chris Paul and Clayton Kershaw to be connected with the...

UCLA’s John Wooden is the greatest college basketball coach of all time. The “Wizard of Westwood” won 10 national titles in a 12 year span with the Bruins. Former UCLA basketball coach Steve Lavin was mentored by Wooden. Current women’s coach Cori Close was introduced to Wooden by Lavin. The two coaches are the latest guests on the Give Me a Sense podcast. Lavin and Close had special relationships with Wooden and explain what made him a great coach, but also reveal some of the private...

Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. A captain for the Kansas Jayhawks and teammate of Danny Manning, Boyle puts into perspective how great a player and teammate Manning was. Playing for iconic coach Larry Brown, had a huge influence on Boyle. Tad said, “it was not easy to play for him,” but reflects on the impact Brown had on him as a player and now as a coach. Boyle has had historic success in Boulder with the Buffs. In his Boyle 6...

Utah Men’s basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. The former 2nd round NBA pick relives what it was like to get drafted and explains why in some ways the night was a “nightmare” according to him. Krystkowiak spent time around some of the greatest players of all time (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq, and Penny Hardaway) and shares how those players impacted him. In some ways Phil Jackson, who won 11 NBA titles as a coach, in many ways is...

Jay Dobyns has been called the toughest player in Arizona football history. He is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast and shares a life that is made for the movies. Dobyns tells the story of his NFL combine experience with Jerry Rice and Andre Reed, his tryout with the Chicago Bears as Mike Ditka watched on and how he became a federal agent with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fireams. Dobyn is known for infiltrating the Hells Angels gang. He takes us through the life of an...

14 year NFL veteran Eric Allen is the latest guest on The Give Me a Sense podcast. He takes listeners through an amazing career that includes 6 pro bowls, being a major piece to one of the NFL’s greatest defenses in Philadelphia and interactions with WR’s Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Isaac Bruce, Cris Carter and Jerry Rice. EA, explains what hurts the most about not being in the Hall of Fame yet, and why film study can separate good players from great ones. He has amazing stories about...

Beto Duran is a Los Angeles based bilingual sports broadcaster who has covered Southern California sports since 2005. He goes through his amazing journey from passing out shirts and bumper stickers to being on air. Duran’s path is unlike most in the business. He’s the first guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast whose primary gig for most of his career was radio. He has amazing stories of his break through moments to get into the business, why he was able to land an on air job from just...

ESPN anchor Kevin Connors is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. From making 17k to becoming one of the faces of SportsCenter, his story is one of resiliency. Connors, explains how he was able to land his job at ESPN, what his audition was like and how he’s been able to rise to one of the more prominent roles at the network. It isn’t always easy for broadcasters and Kevin talks candidly about some of his low points and how he was able to push through rejections. The show is a...

John Middlekauff is a former scout for the Philadelphia Eagles. He explains how he was able to land the job despite not playing football in the NFL or even college. Middlekauff goes through what its like to be apart of an NFL organization and the highs and lows of the job. His experiences are unique in that he worked for 2 different regimes, starting with Andy Reid and ending with Chip Kelly. Find out the differences of both and what potentially was Kelly’s downfall. John has some great...

Former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer is the latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast. Plummer was an All American at Arizona State University and shares how a skinny kid from Boise landed in Tempe. The 2nd round draft pick played his first few years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals. Plummer explains why he didn’t initially didn’t want to play in Arizona and why it ended up being a great experience. The pro bowler who lived through free agency reveals why he decided on Denver over...

The latest guest on the Give Me a Sense podcast is former University of Arizona football player Glenn Parker, who played in 5 Super Bowls and shares his memories of playing on the games biggest stage. Parker remembers his favorite teammates, relives the agony of defeat and explains what still hurts the most about the losses. Glenn Parker on twitter @Glenn_Parker62 Mike Yam on Twitter and Instagram: @Mike_Yam Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Give Me a Sense podcast to win a...