The CUSP Show

Joe Favorito welcomes Rick Alessandri, Managing Director of Media and Sports Technology at ZRG Turnkey, to discuss a career that spans four decades across some of the most pivotal moments in sports media history. Alessandri traces his path from running the overnight newsroom at Sports Ticker in 1982, to his role as George Bodenheimer’s first-ever chief of staff at ESPN, and his years building new business ventures inside ESPN’s enterprise development group. He shares how a call from a headhunter led him to Univision, where he spent seven years building businesses for the US Hispanic market including a pharmacy discount program that saved 2 million members over $70 million in healthcare costs. Alessandri covers what he has learned in eight years running executive search, including why the two qualities he looks for above all else are curiosity and trust, and how to push back against clients who want to hire the wrong candidate. He also discusses his new children’s book Ricky Stands Tall, and why he gets joy from sharing the story with others.
Connect with Rick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickalessandri/
Subscribe to the CUSP Show: Substack
The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Joe Favorito and Tom Richardson welcome Stan Van Gundy, former NBA head coach with 554 career wins who led the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals, to discuss leadership, coachability, the state of college athletics, and his transition from the bench to the broadcast booth. Van Gundy shared why he believes college presidents, not players or coaches, are responsible for letting money overwhelm the educational mission of college sports. He also shares candid thoughts on the transfer portal, NIL, and why the best coaches in the country are walking away from college athletics because building a real program is no longer possible. The conversation shifts to the NBA, where Van Gundy argues that professional players are actually more coachable than college athletes, explains what separates the truly elite from the merely talented, and shares the story of working alongside JJ Redick long before anyone imagined he would become a head coach. He also reflects on the WNBA’s moment, praising the quality of play while also calling out the league’s failure to control its own narrative.
Learn more about Stan: https://press.amazonmgmstudios.com/us/en/cast/stan-van-gundy/331
Subscribe to the CUSP Show: Substack
The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Joe Favorito and Tom Richardson welcome Jamie Watson, soccer broadcaster and play-by-play announcer, to discuss her unconventional path into sports media, the evolving world of remote broadcasting, and her groundbreaking work in audio descriptive commentary for FIFA and Netflix. Watson shares her journey from Division I soccer player at UMass and college coach at UMBC to becoming a golf teaching pro before pivoting to broadcasting in her 40s, calling nearly 100 games in just the last two years. She breaks down what audio descriptive commentary actually is, how she trained with FIFA’s accessibility partner in Washington DC to call six matches at the Club World Cup for blind and low vision fans, and how she later applied those skills to Netflix’s Field of Dreams game as an overlay commentator. The conversation also covers the state of women’s soccer from the NWSL’s explosive growth to the challenge of elite American players leaving for overseas, the debate over whether star announcers actually move ratings, and what remote broadcasting technology now makes possible for play-by-play talent calling live international events from their home studios.
Learn more about Jamie: https://jamiewatsonsports.com/
Subscribe to the CUSP Show: Substack
The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Joe Favorito welcomes Chris Plonsky, Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief of Staff at the University of Texas, to discuss her remarkable career in college athletics and what it takes to build and sustain one of the country’s most successful athletic programs. Plonsky traces her path from Kent State and Iowa State through seven years at the Big East Conference, where she helped launch one of the first federated football conferences in the country, to her arrival at Texas in 1993, where she has spent nearly four decades helping transform the athletic department into a commercial powerhouse. She shares how Texas grew its licensing revenue from $600,000 to $13 million, how the department navigated the merger of its men’s and women’s programs without conflict, and why the careful, collaborative approach to institutional change made Texas ready for the SEC. The conversation also covers the human side of college athletics today - the transfer portal, NIL, and what Plonsky worries about when she sees young athletes jumping from program to program without building the networks, mentors, and identity that will carry them past their playing days.
Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisplonsky9700165/
Subscribe to the CUSP Show: Substack
The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com

Joe Favorito and Tom Richardson welcome Chris Childers, host of Full Ride on Sirius XM College Sports Radio and founder of Show Pony Media, to discuss the state of college athletics as football season kicks off, the growing momentum behind women’s sports, and what the future of independent sports media looks like. Childers breaks down why he believes the Protect College Sports Act will not pass, arguing that the Congressional Black Caucus opposition and the structural difficulty of getting 60 Senate votes make it a long shot regardless of the SEC’s lobbying push. He explains the power dynamics driving college football’s current chaos, with ESPN and Fox effectively controlling the agenda through their media deals with the SEC and Big Ten, and why without a true commissioner or revenue sharing model, the sport will continue operating in anarchy. The conversation shifts to the rise of women’s sports, with Childers sharing his passion for women’s soccer, volleyball, and flag football, and why he believes women’s flag football will become one of the next great international sports.
Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-childers-b12981a/
Subscribe to the CUSP Show: Substack
The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecuspshow.substack.com