The Rundown: The Ultimate Podcast for Sports Event Presentation

In this episode, Don sits down with Don Scott, Vice President of Entertainment and Marketing for Clemson Athletic Ventures, to explore the strategy behind one of college athletics' premier gameday experiences. Don explains why "traditions are awesome, but traditional thinking is not," shares Clemson's approach to communication, creativity, and evaluating new ideas, and reveals the framework that g...

Pressure, stress, long hours, and quick decisions are all part of working in live events. In this episode, Don sits down with mindset expert Ricky Kalmon to explore how top performers build confidence, stay focused under pressure, recover from mistakes, and avoid burnout. Ricky shares practical strategies for mental preparation, visualization, and developing the habits that support long-term succe...

A great host shapes how an audience feels, reacts, and remembers a live event. In this episode, Lauren Thompson shares her playbook from more than 20 years in television and live event hosting with NBC Sports and Golf Channel. We cover her career journey, hosting philosophy, the three most important skills to be effective, how to deliver content authentically, her preparation process, and the most...

In this episode, Don sits down with John Bochiaro, Group Vice President of Game Presentation and Entertainment for the National Hockey League, to examine how league events are designed and elevated at the highest level. John shares his career journey and the design philosophy guiding marquee NHL events such as the Winter Classic, Stadium Series, and All-Star Weekend. He also discusses his role as...

Behind every great event are decisions most people never see. Don is joined by Frank Supovitz, one of the most respected leaders in live sports and event production, to explore how those unseen decisions define successful events. Drawing from more than 35 years of experience with the NFL and NHL, including work on the Super Bowl, NFL Draft, Pro Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals, and NHL All-Star Weekends,...

In this episode, Don sits down with Paris Buchanan, Senior Associate AD for Fan Experience and Creative Strategy at Auburn University, to take listeners behind the Tigers gameday experience. Paris shares his career journey, the philosophy guiding Auburn's approach to event presentation, and how he structures and leads teams to deliver seamless, high-impact fan experiences. He also discusses the pl...

Transitions are part of every sports career — joining a new organization, stepping into a different role, or adapting to a new culture. In this episode, Darius Smith, Senior Director of Game Presentation and Entertainment for the Washington Commanders, shares five strategies for approaching new opportunities with confidence, clarity, and creativity. Drawing from his experience with both the Comman...

When a team reaches the championship stage, everything changes. Event presentation shifts from team-driven to league-driven, bringing new challenges and added pressure. In this episode, Joe Legaz, Director of Game Operations and Live Experience for the Seattle Sounders FC, shares five key lessons from producing league championships. These behind-the-scenes insights won't appear on a highlight reel...

In this special episode of The Rundown , the table is turned as host Don Costante takes the hot seat to share the story behind his new book, Beyond the Scoreboard: The Ultimate Guide to Sports Event Presentation . Hear how three decades of experience turned into Sports Business Journal Publishing's first book, and why it's a game-changer in the sports industry.

Season 3 kicks off with Jason Lodato joining Don for a conversation on the strategy and creativity behind unforgettable fan experiences. From his early days in the industry to leading game presentation for top teams and iconic venues, Jason shares how his journey shaped his event presentation philosophy and approach to gamedays. The episode takes a deep dive into one of the most climactic moments...

In this episode, Don interviews Sharon delPilar who shares her path to becoming the Production Stage Manager for Magic Mike Live.   Listen as Sharon illustrates the differences between stage management and production stage management and provides a behind-the-scenes look at what she does for the show.   Also, she identifies the skillset required to be successful in this field, outlines her self-de...

In this episode, Don has a conversation with Chad Folkestad who shares his career path, event presentation philosophy, and talks candidly about storytelling and the creative process he utilizes to generate award-winning content.  Listen as Chad illustrates his methods for creating an organic environment that relies heavily on spontaneity.  They touch on a variety of topics including… keys to great...

In this episode, Don interviews Andrew Johnson who shares his path to becoming the mascot performer for the Houston Texans.  Listen as Andrew breaks down the three areas every great mascot should focus on.  Also, he provides advice to those who manage mascots, identifies the ideal skillset for performers, points out some of the biggest mistakes made by mascots today and much more!  If you're a mas...

In this episode, Don has a conversation with 16-year NBA in-arena host veteran, Ahmaad Crump.  Listen as Ahmaad shares his experience and talks openly about his path to becoming an emcee for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  During their conversation, they touch on several topics including communication between Game Director and Emcee, handling situations with multiple hosts, advice on becoming a successf...

In this episode, Don has a conversation with Tim Tubito who shares his event presentation philosophy and takes listeners "behind-the-shield" revealing the NFL's methodology in facilitating two of their large-scale events… the NFL Draft and the Super Bowl. During their discussion, Tim uncovers logistical details that illustrate exactly why the NFL is considered a leader in the sports and entertainm...

In this episode, Don interviews Michelle McComas who shares her career path, event presentation philosophy, and reveals entertainment best practices that have helped position the Chicago Bulls as a leader in the NBA.  Listen as Michelle speaks passionately about her strategy for utilizing and incorporating entertainment resources, development and recruitment of talent, the creative process for per...

There's one sporting event that goes beyond traditional fan engagement and totally immerses its spectators into the fabric of their brand like none other… The Daytona 500.  In this episode, Don interviews Sean Belgrade, Managing Director of Consumer Experience for NASCAR, who shares his event presentation philosophy and takes listeners behind-the-scenes of the Daytona 500, uncovering logistical de...

In this episode, Don and Brian talk candidly about the job search process.  Listen as they discuss several job seeking tactics that may get you thinking differently about the way you approach the sports industry's job market.  During their conversation they touch on important topics including the first step you should take before starting a job search, construction of a resume, impact of a cover l...

In this episode, Don has a conversation with Rob Alberino who shares his approach to achieving award-winning content.  During their discussion, a variety of storytelling topics are covered including how to generate initial concepts for stories, ingredients of a great story, workflow during the creative process, importance of developing characters, how to get players and fans to participate and ach...

In this interview with Don, Maurice shares his event presentation philosophy and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the NBA Bubble and the steps taken by the NBA to ensure proper execution of game operations.  During their discussion, Maurice details the days leading up to the bubble, the NBA's communication process, the comprehensive health and safety protocols, the on-site preparation and exec...

In this episode, Don has a conversation with Jonny Greco who shares his game presentation philosophy and reveals his methodology for tackling the startup process with a new franchise.  Listen as Jonny reflects on the lessons he learned from Vegas, how he plans to approach the gameday experience for Seattle, sheds some light on his creative process, provides insight into the facilitation of his ide...

In this episode, Don has a candid conversation with Anthony Bueno who is an Adobe Certified Trainer and Lead Consultant with Lumenbrite.  Listen as Don talks about the benefits of learning creative software and the impact it has on him professionally.  During their discussion, they talk about free versus paid resources, improving communication with production staff, understanding workflows and ide...

In this episode, Don interviews Danelle Winfield who shares her career path, event presentation philosophy, and reveals best practices that have helped position the Los Angeles Sparks as a leader in the WNBA.  Listen as Danelle speaks passionately about understanding your audience, developing team chemistry with staff, the importance of passing knowledge forward and more!

This episode features Former Head of Innovation and Creativity for The Walt Disney Company, Duncan Wardle.  During this interview with Don, Duncan shares his philosophy and some tools from his Design Thinking Innovation Toolkit.  He explains what what's wrong with marketing today, identifies the right mindset required for innovation, describes the key barriers to innovation and creativity, highlig...

In this interview, Tracy Allen shares his best audio practices as we discuss our days working together in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.  Listen as Tracy takes us behind-the-scenes of being an audio director for the Spurs and reveals his philosophy and techniques that has made him the best in the business.