SI Media Podcast: Featuring Sean McDonough, the new voice of MNF
Welcome to episode No. 57 of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. In this podcast, which is published weekly, Deitsch interviews members of the sports media about their work and interesting people about the sports media. This week’s podcast features ESPN announcer Sean McDonough, who last week was named as the new voice of Monday Night Football. McDonough had previously called college football, college basketball and golf for the network
On this episode, McDonough discusses how he landed the Monday Night Football job; his frustrations with not being the lead announcer on a signature package; how Mike Tirico advocated for him internally; his chemistry with analyst Jon Gruden and how he plans to further it; how he prepares for a broadcast; how his father, Will McDonough, a former writer for the Boston Globe who moved to television and pioneered the role of an NFL insider on TV, influenced McDonough and his siblings (all of his siblings work in sports in some way), his relationships with Chris Spielman, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas; replacing Jack Buck as the lead MLB play-by-play voice on CBS back in the 90s and more.
McDonough also discusses some of his most famous calls, including a six-overtime basketball game in 2009 between UConn and Syracuse; Joe Carter’s home run to win the 1993 World Series; the 2015 Michigan State-Michigan college football game, which ended on a game-winning fumble-return for the Spartans; the final game of the 1996 College World Series; and Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series, which ended with a dramatic game-winning hit from Atlanta’s Francisco Cabrera.
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