Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast

In episode 16, Kevin chats with Jimmy Traina, a longtime writer at Sports Illustrated and host of “SI Media with Jimmy Traina.” Traina’s podcast helped inspire the one you’re listening to now, as he has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports media about their career journeys. As someone who covers sports media, Traina has unique insight into the industry, and tells the story of his start,...

In episode 15, Kevin chats with Michele Steele, who does it all for ESPN, from reporting at big events to being in-studio at ESPN anchoring SportsCenter. The path to what has been a decade and a half at ESPN began as a business reporter. Steele discusses her college journalism career and where it took her, her first job at Bloomberg and how she got on the Tiger Woods beat, which ultimately led to...

In episode 14, Kevin chats with Tyler Kepner, who has covered Major League Baseball for more than 30 years, dating back to when he made a baseball magazine out of his house as a high schooler. Kepner, who has authored "K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches" and "The Grandest Stage: A History of The World Series" covered baseball for the New York Times from 2000-23. His origin...

In episode 13, Kevin chats with Adam Amin, the voice of the Chicago Bulls on Chicago Sports Network, and a play-by-play broadcaster for Fox doing NFL and Major League Baseball. Amin was voted the 2021 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year. A graduate from Valparaiso, Amin discusses how he first got into broadcasting before taking his first job at a radio station in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Amin reflects on...

In episode 12, Kevin chats with Vinnie Goodwill, senior reporter at Yahoo covering the NBA. He's been there since 2018, following a few seasons covering the Bulls at NBC Sports Chicago. Vinnie got his start on the NBA beat with the Pistons at the Detroit News, and he describes his origin story as a "villain" origin story. He battled some doubters in his efforts to move from freelanc...

In episode 11, Kevin chats with Emily Kaplan, who's covered the NHL for ESPN since 2017. In addition to breaking news and writing about hockey, Kaplan is the between-the-glass reporter for ESPN's biggest games, interviewing the star of the game afterward. Before becoming one of the preeminent voices in the hockey world, Kaplan got her first job at Sports Illustrated, covering the NFL at...

In episode 10, Kevin chats with Mark Potash, who has spent 38 years as a sportswriter at the Chicago Sun-Times. Before he helped chronicle the Bulls dynasty, covered the Blackhawks Stanley Cups and worked on the Bears beat, Potash was a college student covering Marv Levy's Kansas City Chiefs. Then he was off to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he covered high school sports. The 2024 Illinois Spor...

In episode 9, Kevin chats with Paul Pabst, executive producer of The Dan Patrick Show. "Paulie," as he's known on the show, has worked with Dan Patrick dating back to 2002. As the show has taken off, with its simulcast on Peacock, Pabst has been everywhere from Super Bowls to Final Fours to even an upcoming episode of "Family Feud." He's been in sports media for more...

In episode 8, Kevin chats with Mirin Fader, senior staff writer at the Ringer and the New York Times best-selling author of “Giannis” and “Dream,” her latest book on the life and legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon. Fader has become one of the country’s preeminent sports profile writers, and she got her start writing several stories a week for the Orange County Register. Mirin discusses the work ethic that...

In episode 7, Kevin chats with Courtney Cronin, who has covered the Chicago Bears for ESPN's NFL Nation since 2022. Prior to that, she was ESPN's Vikings reporter starting in 2017. Cronin also has appeared on — and hosted — "Around the Horn," which will have its final show this week. She hosts a weekly national radio show on Sunday mornings on ESPN while also appearing locally...

In episode 6, Kevin chats with Bruce Arthur, who’s been a columnist at the Toronto Star since 2014. He was named the sports writer of the year by Sports Media Canada and his work was included in the 2023 edition of “The Year’s Best Sportswriting.” Arthur has covered the NBA, NHL and nine Olympics, along with covering the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 when sports shut down. Before Arthur was p...

In Episode 5, Kevin chats with David Aldridge, senior columnist at the Athletic and 2016 winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Before he began his 30 years covering the NBA, David got his start at the Washington Post as a general assignment reporter, and then on the Baltimore Orioles beat. Hear why he calls his career "preposterous" and...

In Episode 4, Kevin chats with Jayson Stark, the 2019 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner and 2024 National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame inductee. Jayson, who hosts the "Starkville" podcast, has been covering baseball since 1979, including stints at the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN. Long before he was on "Baseball Tonight," Jayson was a news reporter at the Providen...

In Episode 3, Kevin chats with Peter King, whose Monday morning NFL columns at Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports were must-reads for any football fan this century. Peter retired in 2024 after an incredible career that got its start 45 years earlier in Cincinnati and … Amsterdam. From idolizing Peter Gammons to being an AP intern in Europe to covering high school cross country in Ohio, Peter eventu...

In Episode 2, Kevin chats with Nicole Auerbach, an authority on college sports for NBC. Nicole has covered the Final Four, the College Football Playoff and the Olympics, and she learned the value of versatility at the Trentonian. Nicole tells stories of covering youth softball, drag racing, and minor league baseball as a college intern; how she got her first full-time job at USA Today, and the lat...

In Episode 1, Kevin chats with Joe Davis, who has taken over for two legends — Vin Scully in the Dodgers’ booth, and Joe Buck in the Fox national booth for Major League Baseball. Years before he called Dodgers games, the World Series, the MLB All-Star Game and NFL games on Fox, Joe was calling Minor League Baseball — in Schaumburg, Illinois and Montgomery, Alabama. His stories include how a Taco B...

In this introduction to a new sports media podcast, Kevin Fishbain tells you what to expect from "Breaking In" and why he’s doing it, and you’ll hear a few clips from upcoming guests on the show.