KOIN 6 Television sports reporter AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) joined the WHAT podcast to talk about covering the Trail Blazers for the local media. We learn more about the supportive women who work covering the Blazers and other NBA teams, and why she thinks so many women excel as sideline reporters.
What was it like coming back from the low of the New Orleans sweep to watch the players redouble their efforts and advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals? Then she talks about getting to know the players over the course of the year and how the young guys are learning the ropes. All this and more on the latest WHAT podcast.
:30 Icebreaker: who would be your dream sideline interview?
4:00 AJ’s pregame Courtside Chats: where the idea came from, how it came together. Highlights.
7:30 Why do you think so many women are sideline reporters? Women know what they are talking about and they know how to be a liaison between the fans and the action of the game.
10:00 Women on the sidelines seem like such a tight knit group and so supportive of each other even in a competitive market. How does that work?
12:00 AJ believes that as a group they are stronger together, they know a little bit about what each other is going through. This playoff run gave her more time to spend with the rest of the beat reporters.
13:30 Highlights of the season for her: Watching Nurkic grow and and have success.
14:00 The locker room after New Orleans was incredibly dejected, it was great watching how each guy responded to that defeat and improved themselves.
15:00 Watching how Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter blossomed when they came to Portland.
17:30 What has it been like getting to know the younger guys? Anfernee Simons will probably move a little bit more up the rotation. These young guys are still learning how to talk to the media, they have good examples in the veterans.
20:00 What makes a good media interaction? Looking someone in the eyes, having an honest conversation.
22:00 What did she learn this season? That she could work this incredibly hard job, incredibly long hours, and love doing it.
24:00 What were the logistics for putting together all of the shows and content that she did on the road? Did she have help? Yes! Shout out to Brian the photographer who did the camera work.
26:15 What is next? And what is she looking forward to in the next NBA season? Lots of Timbers, Thorns, and then the NBA off season. She’s wondering who will be back in a Blazer uniform next season?
Listener email! A game she would have liked to see live, from Lisa.
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Music used in the episode: “Happy Alley” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License