Entering the broadcast booth before a game, Eddie Olczyk can be doing any number of things. Whether it is watching warmups, interacting with his colleagues or simply taking in the environment, he recognizes how fortunate he is to still call his workplace. Another recurring setting, albeit outdoors, are horse racing tracks, the venues from which Olczyk has not only broadcast, but also competed as an owner in marquee events.

“Pucks and ponies are a big part of my life, and I’m very passionate about it and handicapping and I have always been a horse player and horse owner,” said Olczyk, who just returned from working for NBC as part of the network’s Kentucky Derby coverage. “I think it’s really helped my ability to communicate a little bit more for hockey because a lot of that is more the one-on-one and the verbalization and has to do with storytelling.”

Olczyk played hockey for 16 seasons with the Stanley Cup at the forefront of his mind. He eventually achieved his goal during the 1993-94 season, helping the New York Rangers capture their first championship in 54 years. A few months after the ticker tape parade, the world of hockey came to a standstill.

The league was in a lockout, meaning Olczyk, at least for the short term, was out of a job. One of the locations he had brought the Stanley Cup was the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. He became friendly with some of its regular spectators and owners.

“The people at the Meadowlands said, ‘Hey, you love horse racing [and] you love to handicap,’” Olczyk recalled. “‘You’re not working. Would you like to come and handicap the races at the racetrack and do our wrap up show? Kind of just dabble in the media?’

Stunned to receive an offer to be paid to show up to the racetrack, Olczyk did not hesitate. He quickly began working with commentator Barbara Foster and absorbed a profusion of information about being a professional in sports media. Olczyk served as her sidekick during the proceedings over the ensuing three months and returned to professional hockey once the dispute between the league and its players was resolved. He was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets later that season, and then played with the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and hometown Chicago Blackhawks before hanging up the skates.

  Growing up in Chicago, the voices of sports media were firmly ingrained into Eddie Olczyk’s subconscious. He eventually had the privilege to meet some of them and call them his colleagues. They served as inspiration for him to refine his craft and work to become a viable broadcast partner for play-by-play announcers, producers, directors and other personnel. 

“I don’t think anyone could ever shoreside me for not aligning myself or getting a chance to work with some of the greatest voices in NHL history,” Olczyk said. “I’m very lucky and I’m sure their shoulders are probably a little sore from carrying me for all those years, but it was very educational. They were obviously very instrumental.”

Once he exited the game though, Olczyk signed on with Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh to become the color commentator for Penguins games. He was paired with play-by-play announcer Mike Lange, his first bonafide partner when it came to working in sports media. 

That job did not last very long, because he became the head coach of the Penguins for the next two seasons. After a slow start to the 2005-06 season, Olczyk was relieved of his head coaching duties, but still wanted to remain around the game of hockey. 

The very next season, he joined the local television broadcasting team for the Chicago Blackhawks, the team he grew up watching and played for during two separate stints. He worked with an announcer he listened to in his youth: Pat Foley.

Foley wasn’t his only partner for very long. Eddie Olczyk quickly jumped into the national spotlight. His previous experience on NHL Radio taught him the subtle, yet essential differences in those broadcasts, and he ultimately earned a chance to work with Mike “Doc” Emrick on Versus/NBC Sports.

At the end of the 2006-07 season, Olczyk called his first Stanley Cup Finals with Emrick. He would do that for the next 13 seasons, watching the greatest players of a generation such as Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin get their names etched on the trophy. As he balanced the national job with his role calling Blackhawks games locally, Olczyk felt like he had made it to the highest level sports media had to offer – but only after earnest recognition from his esteemed colleague.

“Doc was doing an article of some sort and they asked him about our relationship,” Olczyk remembered. “I’m paraphrasing, but Doc said, ‘I hope that when Edzo is 65, he has somebody that takes care of him as he has taken care of me.’ I just thought that was obviously very humbling, but when you can get the stamp of approval from Doc Emrick, you’ve done something right, and that I will take with me the rest of my life.”

Whether it was calling the Cup Finals, featured regular season matchups or the Olympic Games, Olczyk’s time working with Emrick was special both while at the game and on the road. He misses going out to dinner, attending meetings before each broadcast and the camaraderie between him and the rest of the NBC Sports crew.

Emrick called it a career in 2021, after broadcasting hockey for more than four decades. Kenny Albert slotted in as the new lead voice of hockey for NBC Sports. While Albert is a skilled and versatile commentator having called baseball, basketball, football and hockey both locally and nationally, Emrick and his direct association with this magnificent game on ice is indisputable.

“When you heard his voice, you knew it was an important game, and he just had that incredible ability in the fastest game in the world to be able to stickhandle and weave a story while play is going on and never break stride,” Olczyk said of Emrick. “That, to me, was something that was just really incredible.”

The National Hockey League inked a seven-year media rights agreement with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery to begin the 2021-22 season. When Olczyk signed with the latter outlet, he knew he would not be on the broadcast for the Stanley Cup Final. Instead, he would have that duty every other year. 

“Obviously it was an incredible relationship there with TNT and ESPN on the NBA side, so this isn’t two major entities just all of a sudden coming together,” Olczyk stated. “The more eyes that we can have on our sport, the better it is short term and long term.”

On the local front, Eddie Olczyk departed Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts after 15 seasons. He quickly found a new home with familiar faces and a young NHL team with a bright future – the Seattle Kraken. The move was very much a family affair since Olczyk’s brother, Ricky, is the team’s assistant general manager. In addition to that, Olczyk’s oldest son of the same name is an amateur scout, and his other son, Nick, is a studio host on the television broadcasts.

“New is always scary. Without a doubt, there’s always trepidation,” Olczyk said. “It was an incredible opportunity to be there and work with so many talented people and see the improvement for the team…It was an incredible first year.”

The Stanley Cup Finals will be on TNT for the first time in the network’s history this season. It is a seminal occasion for Warner Bros. Discovery, highlighted by the presence of the Stanley Cup at its Upfront event at Madison Square Garden: the arena in which Olczyk hoisted the trophy in jubilation on a summer night 29 years ago. 

“I’m excited for everybody because coming together two hockey seasons ago, [there were] a lot of unknowns but a lot of us obviously knew each other,” Olczyk said. “The leadership at the top has just been incredible and reminds me a lot of my journey at NBC. Everything is first class; every day is first class. It’s awesome.”

Albert last called the Finals with Olczyk on NBC Sports, but they were not paired together for the entire series. This time around, they will be the primary booth for the NHL on TNT, and Liam McHugh will anchor studio coverage with a cast of analysts including Paul Bissonnette and Wayne Gretzky.

“We’re here to entertain [and] we’re here to talk about the greatest game in the world and showcase the greatest athletes and sell the game,” Olczyk said. “I don’t think any of that will stop, but I think knowing the room and having a feel and letting everything else take care of itself [is important].”

It will be Albert who will announce to the world that a team has just claimed the sport’s ultimate prize and Olczyk is excited to listen to how he will punctuate the call. Yet he knows the craft is very much a team effort. Now, he is ready to demonstrate his shrewd ability to break down the game on its biggest stage.

“It’s not hard to be jacked up for a Stanley Cup Final, but I think it’s, again, knowing the room, having a feel and knowing when to go ahead and be elongated – and at other times, know when you’ve just got to get in and get out and let Kenny do his thing. At some point in the Cup Finals, it’s going to be Kenny’s time, and he’s going to have to take it. When the time presents itself, we’ll jump in.”

During the hockey season, Olczyk is constantly traveling, following teams and fully immersed in the sport. When he made the move from Chicago to Seattle, there was a time when he thought it may just be better to do one game per week, but he determined that he was not ready to step back just yet. He remains motivated by the competitive aspect of the work and trying to be the very best analyst in the business, and does everything in his power to put himself in the best position to succeed.

Your AM radio station really is better than your mobile phone. Now is the time to make that case. Thanks to Ford’s decision to NOT drop AM radio from its 2024 lineup of vehicles, many of your clients have an awareness of AM that they have not had for a while. Streaming and mobile dominate the conversation, so this is a chance to make critical points about your AM station. 

The fight over the Emergency Broadcast System being partly delivered by AM radio and not replaced by mobile phone streaming was made in Congress, and Ford listened. The NAB rallied.

Nobody can argue that mobile phones aren’t more convenient and can stream or provide pods, but your AM radio station stands out in a digital crowd. Be proud. Here is why we should let the AM force be with us and why it’s an invaluable tool for businesses to reach a target market. 

WIDE AND LOCAL

AM radio can carry a powerful signal that allows for wide geographic coverage. Local businesses looking to connect with their entire community can benefit from such a wide net. By buying a local ad schedule on AM radio, businesses will promote trust and loyalty and increase brand awareness. This is especially true of legacy local businesses that have been in service for 25 years or more. 

RELIABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY

AM radio is reliable and easy to get to. Just turn on your car radio. Mobile phones need a good connection, and that can be tricky. Big AM radio stations have multiple towers to transmit over the air, even during power outages or when cell phone towers are knocked over. Dependability is vital when the chips are down, and an emergency or natural disaster has hit your area. Mobile phone networks can get too much traffic and jam up. The ability of AM radio to provide critical information and updates is huge! 

NICHE AND TARGETED AUDIENCES

There is no arguing that streaming off a mobile phone opens a world of choices. But AM radio hits sports fans, political nerds, religious folks, or news hounds. Los Angeles has prominent sports radio stations on AM. AM advertisers can tap into these audiences, so the right people hear their message. It is much easier to navigate buying radio from you than streaming from a website. 

PERSONAL AND DOWN THE STREET

AM radio stations often have deep roots within their communities and provide a real personal connection with their listeners. Local play-by-play programming, talk shows, and news updates are often fodder for locals to debate and share their opinions. How does a mobile phone stream do that? It would be hard to call into your favorite show off a delayed stream with your device to listen to it. Businesses can enhance their credibility and build strong customer relationships when swimming in AM radio waters.

For sure mobile phone streams are convenient and accessible. But AM radio has reach, loyalty, local connection, reliability, and target audiences. And AM radios will be available in Fords for the foreseeable future. 

If you feel bad for Ben Mintz after losing his job at Barstool earlier this month, you’re not the only one. Stoolies, Barstool employees and even Dave Portnoy voiced their displeasure after Penn Gaming decided to cut ties with Mintz, after he said a racial slur while reading lyrics of a rap song on a live stream. Regardless of that outpouring of support, he’s been out of a job and looking for his next move. 

Initially it was a terrifying time for Mintz. He wondered if he’d be too hot to touch for other media companies and if another opportunity would present itself. Fast forward to three weeks after the incident and Mintz is now about to embark on possibly the greatest summer of his life. 

Earlier this week, Mintz was at the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, AL. His beloved Ole Miss Rebels didn’t qualify for the conference tournament, but he found it important to still attend the event. 

“It’s all about staying relevant,” said Mintz. “I think I need to be making an appearance at the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss and Mississippi State didn’t even qualify but I’m still going.”

After leaving Hoover, Mintz will be driving all over the south to see friends and family. His 40th birthday is next week and he’ll be making several stops to see as many people as possible. After that, he’ll be heading to Las Vegas for several weeks to pursue one of his biggest passions: poker.

Mintz essentially has a summer job with PokerGo. This isn’t his next big venture into the media business, rather a fun gig to pursue while he mulls over his next big decision. PokerGo allows him the opportunity to play the biggest tournaments of the summer in Vegas, as well as provide fun commentary and content. 

“I’ve got a lot of options that I’m still weighing on what my next permanent move is,” said Mintz. “The thing with PokerGo that was so intriguing is that it’s a perfect bridge job to the next thing. I’m going to be flying to Vegas on Friday June 2nd and I’ll be there until July 20th. It’s a funny thing, because I feel like I’m in high school or college and I’m going to summer camp or having a summer job.”

Even after the biggest mistake of his professional life, Mintz is on the verge of one hell of a summer. Essentially, he’ll get free lodging, a paycheck and the chance to chase his dream of winning the Main Event. Life is still good, very good, in fact, for Mintz.

“PokerGo, I’m good friends with those guys and what they offered was the opportunity to do commentary for the World Series of Poker final table, reporting, podcasting and poker content,” Mintz said. “They basically are like, hey, don’t feel like you can’t play WSOP. You play whatever you want to play. I have investors, what’s called backers in the poker world, that put me in tournaments. My backing deal, they put me in $1,500 buy ins and the $10,000 World Series of Poker Main Event. What PokerGo gave me was an opportunity. I get free lodging, getting paid and I get to fire off the WSOP for my backers. It’s literally a dream situation and a six-week job before I figure out what the next step is. I think it’s a perfect summer job.”

While Mintz is enjoying his summer job with PokerGo, he’ll be thinking about what his next move is. Luckily for him, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of options on the table. However, he knows the importance of his decision for the rest of his professional life. 

“I’m at a humongous crossroads,” said Mintz. “You really only get one or two spots in your life or career like this. I don’t want to hurry or rush to make this decision. I’m definitely weighing stuff right now, but summer is a little slower in the sports world and it sets up for me to hopefully get something figured out before football season.”

As for what the next move could look like, Mintz is leaving his options completely open. He’s confident he can contribute and produce content in several areas and isn’t going to pigeonhole himself into one particular platform. 

“I think my strength now is my versatile background,” Mintz said. “I have a gambling background with poker and sports gambling. I have a sports radio background and I’ve also worked for Barstool, which is one of the biggest platforms in the world. I do think what I learned at Barstool in consuming media, the 30-second to 1-minute short form videos are a big thing. I feel like the podcast space, I’m not saying I won’t do one, but it’s kind of over saturated now.”

Before Mintz got his first big break at Barstool, his background was in sports radio across Louisiana. Could he make a return to the radio airwaves? 

“I love doing sports radio,” Mintz said. “That’s certainly an option for the next step. I’m an open minded guy. Anybody that’s trying to talk to me, I’m listening. I’m not going to close any doors.”

His love for sports radio and understanding the need to stay relevant are big reasons why you can hear Mintz on various radio stations across the south. For instance, he was a Monday guest on Off The Bench at 104.5 ESPN with T-Bob Hebert and Jacob Hester. Mintz can join most radio shows now, since he doesn’t have an affiliation with Penn Gaming anymore. While employed, he could only be on radio shows that had the same sportsbook sponsor as Barstool. 

It’s not time for a decision yet. In fact, right now, Mintz is largely focused on being thankful. The amount of opportunities at his disposal after what happened earlier this month, he been a pleasant surprise. 

“Everybody that knows my character knows there was no maliciousness,” he said. “I made a very stupid, but honest mistake. Just reading my song like a rap song, I had to pay a very big price for it. I have nothing negative to say about Penn Gaming at all. I put them in a terrible situation and I disagree with their decision, but that’s their decision. They’re a billion-dollar company. It is what it is. What I’m thankful for is that I thought I was going to be too hot to touch and it seems like it’s broken the other way.”

Ben Mintz clearly feels shame and remorse, but he is trying to make is mistake just a bump in the road. Has it completely stolen his happiness? Not for a second.

“It’s been interesting being in public. At Jazz Fest or in the Carolinas, I’m still out in public all the time. I have so many fans and Stoolies coming up to me and saying how they stand with me. Some act like I’m dead. It’s a bump in the road, but I have my health, friends and family and opportunities. The way it broke I feel like I’m in a spot where my next place is a launching pad. I think people want to support me even more.”

Mintz will undoubtedly rebound in his professional career. He’s too unique and talented not to. But in the meantime, even during his incredible summer, he appreciated all the support he’s received from fans. Most notably, he’s seen that on his Cameo page, where hundreds of fans have spent money on personalized videos to try and help him out financially.

“It wasn’t that my Cameo always boomed, it didn’t,” said Mintz. “In the meantime, I’m in a situation right now where all the Stoolies were so mad about what happened to me. I’m getting a lot of support and they’re asking how they can help, and it’s to buy Cameo videos. That definitely helps me in the meantime for sure.”