This episode features Chuck Cooperstein, the radio voice of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Topics of discussion include:
- What he’s doing during this time of social distancing.
- The benefits of reading for broadcasters.
- The influence of Marv Albert and other classic New York broadcasters on his career.
- Knowing what he wanted to do at a very young age.
- Choosing to go to college in Florida.
- Getting his sportscasting start at Sports Phone and some of the wacky memories from his time there.
- Making the jump from NYC to Dallas with the help of legendary Cowboy’s broadcaster Brad Sham.
- The influence of Brad Sham on his preparation.
- Working to make his New York accent less prominent.
- Moving to Philadelphia and quickly realizing it wasn’t the right fit.
- Reacting to getting let go.
- Dealing with difficult management situations.
- Being part of the original lineup at a brand new sports radio brand.
- The serendipitous series of events that led to him getting the Dallas Mavericks job.
- Balancing loyalty with the cut throat nature of the business.
- Building a freelance portfolio.
- Doing the studio hosting for a TCU vs Texas football game with zero experience.
- Avoiding panic in unexpectedly stressful situations on air.
- Covering a team that went to the finals in his first year!
- When he started thinking about the last call during the Mavs title season.
- Doing an hour of his talk show while standing on his head.
- The time Wilt Chamberlain answered questions for callers on his show.
- Making the decision to not call games during the high holidays.
- Calling Dirk Nowitzki’s career.
- The advice he gave his son when he was getting into the sports media business.
- His broadcast horror stories.
- His favorite broadcasters to listen to on an off day.
- How he trained himself to SayTheDamnScore!
To thank our previous guest Dick Vitale for sharing his wisdom, please help him in his mission to raise money for cancer research by donating to the Jimmy V Foundation through the GoFundMe I’ve set up for this podcast . Donate Here
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