Sport & Life with Sam Kekovich and Leon Wiegard

We chat with All Australian and duel Premiership player Corey McKernan live from Boston where he is gearing up for the Super Bowl.  We chat with Corey about his time at the Kangaroos and what it was like playing under Denis Pegan.   We also find out why Corey left the Kangaroos for Carlton at the top of his game and his passion for sport outside of Australian rules.  

We kick off 2023 with our chat with 1970 Brownlow medalist and first class cricketer Peter Bedford.  Peter talks about his duel sporting achievements on the football field with South Melbourne and Carlton along with his cricket career with Victoria during the 60s and 70s.  We also talk about some of the great duel sports personalities who managed to excel on the football field and other...

Rod Johnson worked with the VRC for 48 years from 1946 to 1994 and in that time was the Chief Executive from 1986 to 1994.  Rod chats with the guys about the changes to horse racing over that period and how he internationalised the Melbourne Cup by convincing Irish connections to bring out Vintage Crop to the Melbourne Cup in 1993.  

We have a very entertaining chat with Ann Peacock who is the Crown general manager of community and charity.  Ann talks about her journey and what life was like in a high profile family.  Ann fires back at Sam and Leon along the way, after what could only be described as a train wreck of questioning by the guys.  

We chat with former North Melbourne footballer and AFL games record holder Brent Harvey who played 432 games over his 21 year career.  We chat with 'Boomer' about the secret to his longevity in the game and some of his stand out memories.  

We pay tribute to Allen Aylett who was an Australian rules footballer and administrator and a pioneer in the AFL becoming the national game.  Because of backroom politics Allen's contribution to the game, and where it is today, have gone widely under-recognised.  We chat about the various achievements throughout Allen's career and the challenges he faced in trying to evolve Australian ru...

It's our 100th show as Sam and Leon take the chance to interview each other about their journeys and recap some of the great interviews over the journey.  A big thanks again to Gerry Ryan, Mitchelton Wines and the team at the Prince Hotel in St. Kilda for their support for the Sport and Life Podcast.

We chat with one of Australia's greatest ever shooters and six-time Olympian Russell Mark.  His win at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics gave him the distinction of being the inaugural shotgun shooter of the sport to win all four of the world major individual titles: World Cup, World Cup Final, World Championship and Olympic Games.  Russell opens up about how he got into the sport and sha...

We chat with South Australian football royalty Graham Cornes who played 317 games for Glenelg and was the Adelaide Crows inaugural coach in 1991.  Graham opens up about his playing and coaching career, and life in the media afterwards.  

Brett Lee was one of Australia's premiere fast bowlers throughout his career striking fear into batsman from 1999 to 2015.  We chat with 'Binga' about his favourite cricketing memories and how he ended up with a number one single on the Indian music charts.  We also chat about the legend that was Shane Warne, and the shock of his passing.  

We chat with the former chairman of the VRC Amanda Elliot.  Amanda was the first female chairman in the clubs 153 year history and opens up about her journey across business and racing.  We also ask Amanda about the battles between NSW and Victorian racing and some of the hurdles she's come up against to protect the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne.  

We chat with basketball legend Karin Maar-Fields-McRobert who was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame back in 2006.  Karin played for the national team from 1975 to 1985 and shares stories about her career and the famous trip to China in the late 1970s.

We chat with former tennis star Neale Fraser who won Wimbledon back in 1960 and the US Open twice in 59' and 60.'  Neil also won 11 double titles across all four majors.  Neil chats about his long career and his passion for the Davis Cup.  Also some battles with iconic names such as Rod Laver.  

We chat with Greg Evans who is an Australian television and radio presenter who is most famous for his hosting role of the popular show 'Perfect Match' in the late 80s and 90s.  Greg is also now a popular marriage celebrant with some hilarious insights of some characters he has met over his journey.  

We chat with Western United chairman Jason Sourasis about the incredible underdog story of the year after they won the A League title against Melbourne City.  Jason talks about the foundations of the club, and how in only three years of inception, they managed to topple the established Melbourne clubs to win the title.  

We chat with former Australian cricket coach and player Darren 'boof' Lehmann about his career as both a player and as a cricket coach.  Darren opens up about the difficult period around the 'sand paper gate' and the toll it took on the team and players.  

We chat with Simon O'Donnell who joins a very select group of athletes to play AFL/VFL and cricket at the highest level.  With chat with Simon about his journey to the top of both codes and then his evolution into horse racing.  Yet to win a Melbourne Cup Sam brings up some scars from the 2008 race.  

We chat with the MCC CEO Stuart Fox who gives us insights into what goes into running Australia's premier sporting ground the MCG along with its over 150,000 full members.  Stuart has more than 20 years’ experience in sports administration, with 16 years spent at two of the most successful AFL clubs of the modern era – Hawthorn and Geelong Cats.

We finally unmask our co-host of the podcast Sam Kekovich.  Leon ask's Sam about his early beginnings and how he ended up playing at North Melbourne and missing the famous 1975 Grand Final photo.  Sam opens up about the highs and lows of his career both on and off the footy field and how he become part of the most successful advertising campaign, selling lamb.  

We chat with one of Australia's most loved race callers Ric McIntosh on the eve of the Warrnambool carnival.  We ask Ric about some of his classic one liners over the years including "back Weir, drink beer" and how he comes up with his technique.  Sam also tries to get some much needed tips along the way.

We chat with former AFL and NFL player Ben Graham who played over 200 games for the Geelong Football Club from 1993 to 2004 and played in the NFL from 2005 to 2012.  We chat with Ben about his AFL playing career and what it was like to transition to the USA to become of the the leagues best punters, playing in the 2008 Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals.  

We chat with Melbourne's most popular Italian restauranteur Dominic Bonadio live from his establishment Il Duca in East Melbourne.  Dominic chats about his 50+ years in the industry and some of the memorable guests and experiences along the way, including an encounter with Sir Paul McCartney.  

We chat with former Olympic sprinter Raelene Boyle.  Raelene won three silver medals at the Olympics and seven Commonwealth Games Gold Medals.  We chat with Raelene about her stellar career and how she handled being beaten by the East Germans in a period when they openly used performance enhancing substances.  We also chat with Raelene about the 1972 Munich Olympics and how the even...

We catch up with Collingwood legend Tony Shaw to chat about his career as a player and coach throughout his time at Collingwood.  Tony opens up about the early years at the pies and how they united to win the flag in 1990, breaking a 32 year premiership drought.  Tony recounts some fond memories of players and staff throughout that period, along with the euphoric scenes at Victoria Park...

We chat with 5 time Rugby League premiership winning captain Steve Edge who won flags for St. George in 77 and 79 then 81 to 83 with Parramatta.  Steve is the only captain to win premierships with two clubs in league history.  We chat with Steve about his journey and some of the highlights from a stellar career.