Telich Talks

Ricky Smith is a comedian, a Cleveland sports fan, an entrepenuer, and most of all, a guy who motivates others to do good.  He uses social media to a great advantage in coming up with projects that help people all over the country.  He is creative, and he speaks his mind.  And....he is a podcaster.  His podcast with Angel Gray, Random Acts of Podcasting is a fun listen on the B...

Scott Panchik is one of the top Crossfit athletes in the world. He has consistently been a top finisher at the Games, having  finished 4th, three separate times.  He is a former Mount Union University football player who actually began doing versions of Crossfit workouts while in college before diving head first  into the competition and training for the sport. He is the owner of Cr...

Danny Coughlin has been a longtime sportswriter-author-Emmy winning sportscaster and well known Cleveland Sports Media Legend. He has written 4 books, filled with stories about an assortment of characters, and sports figures from Cleveland and elsewhere.  Simply stated, Danny Coughlin can spin a story. He is the father of 4, and is Grandpa to many. (The count changes just about every week !)....

I thought it would be appropriate to look back during Thanksgiving week, and pay homage to a few folks who influenced me along the way. From Iowa legend Ron Gonder, to  Fred McLeod, Gib Shanley, Nev Chandler, Casey Coleman and more. Fred, Gib, Nev and Casey are no longer with us, but I think of them alot.  To those who mentored me as I began in TV 44 years ago.  And I thank others w...

Tiger LaVerde is the highly successful football coach at Kirtland High in suburban Cleveland.  He has taken his Hornets to 7 title games in 14 years at the school, winning an astounding 171 games against just 17 losses. The titles are numerous, but LaVerde acknowledged to me how unique Kirtland is. How unselfish the kids are and how they really do play for each other.   I spoke with...

Rafa came to the United States at age 16, escapeing war torn El Salvador. He has had many careers, and shows a great talent in re inventing himself. He was a national distributor, promoter for Coors. Hosted talks shows and car advice shows on radio and tv (Univision) He has done a lot of work in the boxing game. His first time ever doing college basketball play by play, Rafa did it at Madison Squa...

Steve Trivisonno is the highly successful coach at Mentor High School and Mac Stephens just guided his Cleveland Heights Tigers to a 9-1 regular season record.  Their two teams meet in week one of the Playoffs.  I did a deep dive with both gentlemen before the season in seperate episodes.  Coach Triv is in his final season and has the top ranked team in the state.  Coach Mac, a...

Jason is the editor in chief of The Athletic Cleveland and has had a long career of covering NBA basketball, specifically the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Not bad for a guy who did not even think he was going to college. We talked about the relationship he has had with LeBron James and what it is like covering the best player on the planet, and all the baggage that goes with it. We also talked about...

Chet Mason is the boys hoops coach at Brush High School in suburban, Cleveland Ohio. He was named Mr. Basketball in 2000, (along with Medina's Tony Stockman)  when a freshman from Akron St. Vincent St. Mary named LeBron James finished back in the voting.  (James would win the next 3 years) Mason played college ball at Miami of Ohio and is in their Hall of Fame.   He played 11 y...

Zac Jackson has written a fun and enjoyable book about the Cleveland Browns . It covers many of the characters and favorite players of the new expansion era team.  Jackson had an unique view of the team as he began his sports writing career writing for ClevelandBrowns.com . After a long stint in Berea, he joined other organizations such as Fox Sports Ohio, and The Athletic, where he currently...

Mike Schaffer has run in 13 , 100 mile trail ultra marathons, finishing 10 of them in the past 7 years.  He just completed the Grindstone 100 in Virginia, which featured 21,000 feet of elevation gain. He will be running another 100 miler, just 6 days later, the Oil Creek 100 in Western Pennsylvania.       His story is one of overcoming substance abuse issues, and...

Phil Bova was a longtime, respected college basketball referee, who was working the game between Indiana and Purdue on February 23rd, 1985 when legendary coach Bob Knight lost his cool and threw a chair across the court.  Bova sent Knight packing, much to the displeasure of the Hoosier faithful.  Bova, a Cleveland native recounts the Knight incident and many more highlights of his iconic career. D...

Ricky is a former NFL quarterback from Northeast Ohio who teaches movement to athletes, from high school to the pros.  He teaches the GOATA movement.  Move like the greatest of all time athletes. He teaches economical movement with fluidity and emphasis on landing properly so as to be faster and to not be susceptible to injury. He recently had the #Browns Odell Beckham Jr. in for a session.  And w...

Yes, you notice the loud golf pants, the attire, but Jimmy Hanlin is a lot more than the clothes he wears when on the course, or in front of the camera while hosting his various golf shows. He is a golf pro, a course owner, a tv production company owner, (Emmy winner) and much , much more.  We chatted about how a guy from Methodist University was grinding his way in the early years as a promising...

I hope Julie doesn't mind that I call her a legend. Julie has had 4 finishes of 5th or better in the Crossfit Games, including a 2nd and a 3rd. Julie retired from competition but still is very active in the sport, with teaching seminars, and serving as an inspiration to so many  Crossfit athletes.  Julie is doing her residency and will one day have a practice with her husband. I love her...

The Browns dropped their season opener to Tennessee in horrific fashion.  43-13. The much hyped Browns played very poorly and suffered one of the most embarrassing losses to open a season in many years.  I covered the game and talked to the players.  Fox 8 sports anchor and colleague PJ Ziegler covered the game and post game press conferences with Kitchens and Mayfield.  Some a...

Tony Madalone started his sports tee shirt company, Fresh Brewed Tees,  in 2009 out of his dorm room at Ashland University. He became successful quickly because he mastered the idea of riding, or even creating a viral moment on line and capitalizing on it.  He worked with Josh Cribbs, initially, creating a tee shirt that asked the Cleveland Browns to just pay Josh, who was vastly underpa...

My guest is Rob Steger, an ultra marathoner from Denver, Colorado, who just a few short years ago, could not even run one mile. period.   He tried day after day and got a bad case of shin splints and also was about 50-60 pounds overweight.  He kept at it and now is doing amazing things. Rob has since discovered ultra marathons, and is accomplishing feats few people  can even dr...

How do you mold two quarterbacks who win the prestigious Mr. Football Award in Ohio?  Steve gives his insights, especially about Mitchell Trubisky, qb Of the Chicago Bears.  Coach Triv is stepping down and we chatted about his career that has seen Mentor High become one of the top programs in the football crazy state of Ohio. . He talked about who had an influence on how he fashioned the...

Desiree Cowie is a multiple Ironman finisher and has completed multiple 100 mile ultra marathons on some of the toughest courses in the sport.  Try the Wasatch 100 on for size.  She also competes in 6-7 day stage races in places around the globe that might entail 250 kilometers running, while carrying all your own essentials.  The races usually involve tough climbs or extreme temper...

Pierre Woods came from the streets of Cleveland Ohio to play in the NFL 5 seasons.  He overcame personal struggles, such as dealing with crime around him, and fathering a child as a sophomore in high school. He took full responsibility for the child, often working long hours at a Walmart while going to school.

Jake Burns is a former college qb and coach, and he has become more and more popular with his methods of covering the Browns. He is an X's and O's guy. He breaks down the plays and explains what works and why and examines the concepts of coaching as well.  I like to say its the How to Make a Sausage brand of reporting as more and more people want to know How or Why things work and that's the...

The Cleveland Browns held their first summer workout on Thursday, July 25th. Christmas in July for Browns fans. I chatted with long time Browns beat writer Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. We looked at various aspects of the team as it embarks on one of the most anticipated seasons in team history.  As usual, please subscribe, rate and review/ Thanks

Vince Cellini has been a network television sports host/anchor/broadcaster for 30 years. The Cleveland native got his start at Channel 8 (My station) as intern in 1981/82. (Yours truly tried to show him the ropes) He immediately vaulted from intern status to on air sports anchor/reporter.  It was a very rare move, to go from intern at a top 10 market, to on the air but Vince had the talent, t...

Fee is an up and coming star in the sport of Crossfit. This year, the twenty something woman from suburban Cleveland, Ohio has qualified for the Crossfit Games in Madison , Wisconsin. She was a volleyball and track athlete in high school, and has just earned a Masters in Business from John Carroll University. She talked about getting the mindset that she could stand out in the sport, after, as she...