The Sporting Blog Podcast

On todays’s podcast, Oli talks to internet entrepreneur and strength and conditioning coach James de Lacey. On today’s podcats they discuss James’ career as a trainer and strength coach The basics of strength and conditioning - why do pro’s do it, why should you do it? S&C for kids in sport. When is the right time? How to start a S&C programme and what it might entail Performance-enhancing drugs and the shady side of pro sport Check out more health and fitness-related posts here. Check out James’ sites below; Sweet Science of Fighting Lift big eat big

On today’s Sporting Blog podcast Oli Harris talks with Jacob Pritchard-Webb, ex-jockey turned international bloodstock agent, On today’s podcast they discuss Racing in France The life of a bloodstock agent Differences between French and UK racing Living with a life-changing injury General discussion about the state of British racing Follow Jacob on Twitter/X Read Jacob’s guide to French Racing on The Sporting Blog

Oli talks to legendary super agent Leigh Steinberg about the possibility of an NFL franchise in London, and the chance of London hosting the Superbowl. On today's podcast Oli & Leigh discuss; Intro to Leigh's career How the NFL London games have been received back in the US The suitability of London for a full-time NFL franchise The possibility of playing America's showpiece sports event, The Superbowl, in London How the NFL has changed for the better and the worse over the last 40 years About Leigh Steinberg Premier sports agent, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and CEO of Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment Holdings, is best known for his work building athletes into stand-alone brands. He is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the Oscar-winning film Jerry Maguire. Leigh has represented many of the most successful athletes and coaches in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, and golf, including the number one overall pick in the NFL draft for an unprecedented eight times in conjunction with 62 total first-round picks. With an unrivalled history of record-setting contracts, Leigh has secured over $4 billion for his 300+ pro-athlete clients and directed more than $750 million to various charities around the world. Over the course of his career, Leigh has been featured on numerous national television programs, including 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, The Today Show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and many more. He has been profiled in a host of magazines, including Business Week, Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, People, Forbes, Playboy, GQ, and FHM. He currently resides in Newport Beach, CA. For more interesting sports podcasts please follow The Sporting Blog Podcast; Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Check out more incredible NFL content

On today’s Sporting Blog Podcast, Oli chats to Rugby writer Sam Peters about his new book, Concussed. ‘Concussed’ is the culmination of over 10 years of work by Sam, studying the impact and evidence surrounding head injuries in professional Rugby Union. On the Podcast Oli & Sam discuss: Intro to Sam and his love for Rugby Defining ‘concussion’ Not just a Rugby problem Responsibility for player welfare Risk of Doctors as employees of a club/country Player Opinion, past and present NFL approach to head injury You can buy ‘Concussed’ here! For more hard-hitting and questioning articles on sports check out The Sporting Blog - the best sports blog on the internet Follow Sam on Twitter!

Viv Anderson played under Biran Clough for Nottingham Forest, and won the First Division and the European Cup, twice! He also won the League Cup and was famously the first black footballer to play for England. Viv sat down with Oli Harris to discuss the film, but also to chat about Mr Clough, tactics and whether football has really changed much apart from the commercial benefits!

On this weeks Funderbeam Podcast Oli talks to the wonderful Ali Speechly. On this week’s Podcast they talk about; Intro - career and life in general Why football? Coaching career - setting the scene Pathways - do they exist for women in football? What's harder to achieve - women coaching regularly at the local level or a national level? What have you got from coaching that you bring into your everyday life? Do you believe in/advocate for coaching outside of the sporting environment? What do you want to see the other way around? What commonplace things in normal working life would translate well into sport? Favourite Dog You can also listen to the Podcast below, or wherever you listen to Podcasts! Follow Ali on Twitter Check out more Podcasts from The Sporting Blog Connect with Oli on LinkedIn

Amy Clement updates The Sporting Blog on Her Game Too It's been about 18 months since Caitlin, Eve and Amy joined Oli for their first appearance on the Sporting Blog Podcast, so it's about time for an update! So we called upon the ever-ready Amy Clement to give us the lowdown on what HGT have been up to since we last spoke, and how things are going in general. On this week's Podcast, Oli and Amy cover; Where is Her Game Too, 18 months on? Moving into Rugby & Cricket The Fight continues Effects of Lionesses and Women’s football on the whole Trolls and why it's so boring Being a female fan in 2023 Why the Cockapoo is Amy’s favourite dog Follow Amy on Twitter! And Follow Her Game Too and The Sporting Blog!

On this week’s Sporting Blog Podcast, we talk to Stuntpegg about her life as a Youtube content creator! Specifically, Oli talks to Nieve about; Her life so far and how she goes about things Creator Journey - how long did it take to get out of the 'sandbox' What were the biggest challenges to her motivation to grow her audience? - What got her down and what picked her up Dealing with being a female creator in Football What can channels and mediums do to help creators. Check out more football content on our dedicated football blog.

Dr Tom Bason is an Assistant Professor in Sports Management at Coventry University and an expert in football financing. Oli dialled him in for a chat on the recent takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi PIF. In this week’s Podcast we discuss; Was the £310 million the PIF paid for Newcastle United a good deal? The implications of financial fair play as to what we can expect from PIF and Newcastle going forward. Why do people want to buy football clubs? Is the timing right for the deal? What impact would relegation have on the club and its new owners? Where might they look to spend their money - Infrastructure or on the pitch? Click here for more Football content! and read a bit more about Newcastle United, and where it all went wrong for Mike Ashley.

On today’s podcast we talk to David about; How he navigated writing the first 6 chapters of the book, dealing with Lions tours from the 19th Century and the early 20th century The conditions the players would have been faced with on their journey to South Africa The places they may have stayed and travelled to on their journies to all parts of South Africa The make-up of those South African sides, and the demographic that they would have belonged to The case of Rugby forging friendships despite deep political divides and even war How the tours have changed over the years, and how they started compared to the giant commercial operation it is today. How covid has affected tour preparations so far and what the Lions can expect from a country badly affected by Covid-19 The book was a real pleasure to read and meticulously researched. It will be available in August and you can find out a bit more about it here. https://www.amberley-books.com/lions-in-africa.html Check out the podcast below, and wherever you get your podcasts from.

Mystic Zach - We talk to Zach Hirsch about his meteoric rise and the future of the fight game About Zach Hirsch Zach Hirsch, 19, widely known as Mystic Zach, is the most popular and most accurate young sports analyst and handicapper in the world. At only seventeen years old, Zach picked over 90% of all football, basketball and combat sports correctly in 2019. Amazingly he picked 21 straight college football games correctly including the SEC Championship, the College Semi-Finals and the National Championship Game. He has predicted hundreds of boxing, MMA and most recently BKFC Bareknuckle bouts correctly in addition to accurately calling the last four NFL Super Bowls. Zach, who has interviewed some of the top combat sports stars and influencers in the world including Floyd Mayweather, Sugar Rashad Evans, Shannon Briggs, Logan Paul, Jake Paul and more, has quickly become one of the hottest influencers in the sports analytics world. He has 500,000 followers on his iPickWins Instagram account and thousands of visitors to his website www.ipickwins.com. In Today’s Podcast, Oli and Zach talk about… How Zach got into picking winners, and why he loves all sports How studying lots and lots of games is key to his strategy Appealing to the Gen Z fan Boxing and the future of PPV Some of his favourite interviews like Canelo, Fury and more Fury, Joshua, Wilder and Uysk - The heavyweight merry go round What he has coming up! It was great talking to Zach, who amazingly makes all this happen whilst having just aced his first year at college as well. Incredible! Be sure to check out our boxing content which is growing every week!

Her Game Too is the initiative of 12 like minded women, who are putting the message out there that football is not just a game to be enjoyed by men. Tackling sexist comments and online abuse is something that the social networks themselves seem uninterested in, so the #HerGameToo team are tackling it themselves. Oli talks to Caitlin Bennet, Amy Clement and Eve Ralph from #HerGameToo about a variety of topics under the broad umbrella of sexism in Football. In today’s podcast we talk about; Team intro’s from Amy, Caitlin and Eve Examples of sexist behaviour in football - In the workplace, in the pub and on the terraces? Why women shouldn’t have to prove their interest in football Educating young people about what is appropriate behaviour What can the sport itself do Responsibility of social platforms Find out more about #HerGameToo at https://www.hergametoo.co.uk/ Follow Eve, Amy and Caitlin on social Eve - https://twitter.com/everalphx Amy - https://twitter.com/amyclement94 Caitlin - https://twitter.com/CaitBennett_

If you follow Football (or soccer) closely on Twitter, you are bound to have come across Harry Brooks. Well known for his genuine insight, and detail orientated analysis, he is the mould of what a football coach might look like over the next decade. We had a chat with Harry to discuss, amongst other things, the following: Coaching outside of a club structure Individual assessment (as opposed to assessment under the framework of the whole) Where younger players generally need that extra bit of help/guidance, which part of their games can truly be worked on in a way that a club coach or manager can see improvement Learned techniques that probably need to be unlearned Social channels and appetite for actually understanding the game If you are interested in the role that coaches play in football, especially outside of the club structure, this one is for you. Follow Harry on Twitter! Also please follow The Sporting Blog on Social Media! Facebook Instagram Twitter Don’t forget to check out The Sporting Blog for more stuff you didn’t know you needed to know!

Oli talks to the former softball star about a whole bunch of stuff which frankly could have gone on for hours! On today’s podcast we discuss: An intro from Hannah and how she got into her current role in the MLB The mental side of sport for an individual as opposed to a team Staying present - a key factor in baseball Compartmentalisation as a learned skill Assessing an athlete’s mental skills based on background, culture etc. Normalising the person in the professional environment Putting mental skills training into practice How we can and should always be learning Check out The Sporting Blog Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify TuneIn

A fascinating guy, we spoke about; Where Joe got his inspiration from - the scouts, his travels and the desire for a brighter future If you want something, do something about it! His focus on the USA as a market for Reebok in the early days and how he got there The iconic Aztec running shoe Growth into Aerobics and then Tennis - the tipping point of going from growing, to huge Marketing and Influencers - why things haven’t really changed, and that moment in 1991 at the NBA Slam Dunk contest What he would do to help make Badminton more popular (his playing passion) Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify TuneIn Also please follow The Sporting Blog on Social Media! Facebook Instagram Twitter Don’t forget to check out The Sporting Blog for more stuff you didn’t know you needed to know!

Rob Fahey MBE OAM won his first Real Tennis World Championship in 1994, and aside from a brief period between 2016-18 has been the World Champion ever since. We had Rob on the podcast to talk about the early days in his career, what it was like turning pro and travelling the world, and what it has taken to stay at the top of the game for so long. Broadly, we discuss : How he started playing Real Tennis The jump to being a professional player and aiming to be a tournament winner What it took to break through to the elite level Forms of practice and analysing losses The rise of professionalism in all sports How the frequency of competition fuels competitive desire Playing without expectations A truly great man to chat to for 45 mins or so, it’s worth a listen to no matter what sport you are into, or even if you aren’t! Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

On today’s podcast, we talk to Peter about; The history of Rugby Bricks Comparing training in rugby with other sports The role of detail when listening to professional athletes How to present that detail in a way that engages the audience without putting them off Social media and content strategy - how Peter sets up his content so it gets watched Instagram as a platform - why it’s a winner for Rugby Bricks Kicking tees - How that side of the business started and why they are made in New Zealand Why it’s “Ok to be obsessed” Favourite Dog - Golden Retriever Also please follow The Sporting Blog on Social Media! Facebook Instagram Twitter Don’t forget to check out The Sporting Blog for more stuff you didn’t know you needed to know!

Clive Russell talks to us about his work in MLB, fandom in 2020 and his experiences in live sport both as a professional and as a fan On today’s podcast, Oli chews the fat with Clive Russell, former Head of MLB in the UK and Europe, and long time sports business professional. Amongst many other things we talk about: US sport and sporting brand presence in the UK How fans consume content and what that might look like in the future Storytelling as a medium for connecting fans to their teams Sporting venues - how they stack up and what are fan expectations going forward? Supporting Liverpool Home and Away Hugo the dog (Border Terrier) Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify TuneIn Also please follow The Sporting Blog on Social Media! Facebook Instagram Twitter Don’t forget to check out The Sporting Blog for more stuff you didn’t know you needed to know!

On today’s Podcast we are joined by Tim Crow, a world leader in sports marketing Tim Crow has been in the sports marketing game since the 1980s, and is still at the sharp end some 30 odd years later. Oli and Tim both love talking about sport, marketing and sponsorship, so sit back and relax as we take you through it all! If you have any interest in sports marketing, sponsorship and that world, this is a must-listen. On this week’s Podcast Starting in cricket, moving into the agency world Documentary making and sports marketing Differences between the US and UK sports sponsorship What’s changed in sports marketing over the years - where budgets are placed Authenticity in the sports marketplace Nostalgia marketing and looking back at things done well Non-league football and ownership Women in sport How to listen You can click above to listen and download or listen on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify TuneIn Also please follow The Sporting Blog on Social Media! Facebook Instagram Twitter Don’t forget to check out The Sporting Blog for more stuff you didn’t know you needed to know!

British Esports Association Chairman Andy Payne is today’s guest on The Sporting Blog Podcast, and it’s a cracker Andy Payne has been in the video game industry since the 1980s, and has seen this once niche world explode over the years into the gargantuan industry it is today. We sat down to discuss the world of gaming and esports from top to bottom. On this week’s Podcast This might well be known as the ‘Oli Rant edition’ as we get onto some fairly emotive points, but as always it is very easy and great chatting to Andy. Amongst many other things we cover; The gaming industry in the 80s and the rise of the home computer & coding at schools The tipping points that changed the way we approached video games in the UK The huge amount of innovation in the UK, including the invention of some of the worlds most popular games such as GTA and Red Dead Redemption The rise of esports and the professional era Why South Korea is ahead of the curve in esports, and why the UK is not investing enough in infrastructure (Rant 1 from Oli) Data gathering in esports and how it protects against third party actions that have affected other sports Comparisons with football (Rant 2 from Oli) We could have probably talked for hours as its a super interesting topic, and esports is still in its infancy, as is the gaming industry when compared to other forms of entertainment. But it’s only going to get bigger, which means there will always be something to talk about.