If you like baseball you’ll love this interview. I you like Pittsburgh sports, you’ll love this interview. Former Pittsburgh Pirate closer and World Series Champion Kent Tekulve joins Tim in this special extended episode. Kent talks baseball, Pittsburgh, how to teach kids about sports, and somewhat about life.
Legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss joins Tim to talk about his life and career that has spanned decades. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and in many major media outlets and in unforgettable marketing campaigns. If you were to think of an iconic photo from any major American sport from over the past 50 years, there’s a decent chance Walter is the one who captured that image. Walter talks about his life behind the lens, a lens that has captured household names, helped make a few athletes become household names, and even at times when people in his photos were not famous, the image was still…iconic. This episode was first releases April 5, 2021.
Football legend Larry Csonka joins Tim to talk about his life and what football has done for his life. Larry’s a former fullback with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants. He was a Super Bowl MVP. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer and a College Football Hall of Famer. He’s a two-time Super Bowl Champion – a cornerstone of the NFL’s only undefeated team – with the Miami Dolphins. And he’s the author of a new book called, “Larry Csonka: Head On: A Memoir.”
The voice of the Detroit Lions Dan Miller joins Tim to talk about America’s Thanksgiving football tradition and life as a pro football play-by-play announcer. Dan is the Sports Director at Fox 2 TV in Detroit, and he’s been the play-by-play radio voice of the National Football League’s Detroit Lions since 2005. In this episode, Dan talks about a Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to 1934. The annual Thanksgiving Detroit Lions football game.
David Ridpath joins Tim to talk about some recent court rulings, rule changes and other decisions that have cleared the way for college athletes to get paid. Dave is a Sport Management professor at Ohio University, and he’s an expert on NCAA governance, academic issues and athlete rights. The focus of this conversation is how paying athletes will change the NCAA landscape for athletes, fans, universities and marketers.
Former college All-American, NFL linebacker, and one of the NFL’s most prominent player agents Ralph Cindrich joins Tim to give his unique perspective of the NFL. Ralph spent 40 years in locker rooms, on fields and in negotiations with the owners during the league’s meteoric rise. This episode is an Encore Presentation of another one of our listeners’ favorite episodes. It was originally released on October 1, 2018.
Legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss joins Tim to talk about his life and career that has spanned decades. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and in many major media outlets and in unforgettable marketing campaigns. If you were to think of an iconic photo from any major American sport from over the past 50 years, there’s a decent chance Walter is the one who captured that image. Walter talks about his life behind the lens, a lens that has captured household names, helped make a few athletes become household names, and even at times when people in his photos were not famous, the image was still…iconic.
The man behind one of the hottest comedy Twitter accounts, Ricky Cobb, joins Tim to talk about his creation called Super 70s Sports. It’s a Twitter account about sports and pop culture from the ‘70s through the ‘80s, which has built a huge following, including many celebrities. Super 70s Sports is a tongue-in-cheek and irreverent tribute to one of the craziest eras in sports and pop culture history.
UPMC Sports medicine physician Dr. Jeanne Doperak joins Tim to talk about how athletes of all ages can get back to playing sports again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s one of the people behind the new UPMC Youth Sports Playbook designed to help get young athletes back to competition. In this episode, Dr. Doperak details the thinking behind that playbook, and how to get your young athlete back into sports with confidence, with the right approach and the right mindset.
Tyler and Hilary Avolia join Tim to talk about the time a spontaneous moment at a hockey game when Tyler was two turned into a meme that is now known around the world. In this episode, we look back to the time a local TV news clip from a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game in 2014, made Tyler’s baby face one of the most shared memes on the Internet. The topic? Meme culture.
Veteran sports columnist Gene Collier joins Tim to talk about the ubiquitous locker room interview and how it changed the way the world learns about and sees sports. Gene tells stories of his own memorable experiences as a journalist interviewing athletes and coaches before and after some of the biggest events of their lives. In this episode we talk about the first locker room interview pioneer, and the time when female journalists gained access to team locker rooms.
Hockey Hall of Fame curator and Keeper of the Cup Philip Pritchard joins Tim to talk about the history and lore of the Stanley Cup and how it’s unique among all professional sports trophies with its own personality, and the stories it could tell. Wherever the Cup goes, Phil goes with it as the Keeper of the Cup.
Liz Dolan joins Tim to talk about one of the most well-known advertising taglines of all time, Nike’s “Just Do It.” Liz was Nike’s head of PR and then Marketing for the ten years when the legendary changed everything for the company and the way companies market themselves. We talk with Liz about the story behind Nike’s marketing genius, line and the impact it’s made beyond athletics.
Author Abe Aamidor joins Tim to talk about those iconic Chuck Taylor Converse All Star shoes. The Chuck Taylor story, how he was the first to have an athletic shoe named after him, and how a classic basketball shoe came to stand for rock and roll, the counter culture, and today a major fashion statement. We talk with Abe about his book, Chuck Taylor All Star: The True Story of the Man Behind the Most Famous Athletic Shoe in History.
Former college All-American, NFL linebacker, and one of the NFL’s most prominent player agents Ralph Cindrich joins Tim to give his unique perspective of the NFL. Ralph spent 40 years in locker rooms, on fields and in negotiations with the owners during the league’s meteoric rise.
O’Brien Communications’ Shaping Opinion Podcast is an award-winning podcast about people, events and things that have shaped the way we think. It sits at the corner of culture, history and communication.
We publish new episodes on Mondays. Each episode features a conversation between Tim O’Brien and a guest.
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Tim O’Brien is a Pittsburgh-based communications veteran with experience in complex matters that have ranged from marketing and C-suite issues, to crisis and issues management. He’s the producer and host of Shaping Opinion, where he talks to guests on a wide range of topics at the intersection of communications, history and culture. He’s available to provide media interview coaching, consulting and speaking, and of course, he is always interested in your thoughts for the podcast. Just get in touch.