The dog days of summer could turn into glory days for many athletes this time of year. If you throw in the fact that this is an Olympic year, the glory could very well last a lifetime.
For the first time in about a year, our latest edition of The A Lot of Sports Talk Podcast features three guests, and all are in the middle of trying to climb to the top of their professions – or, in the case of our featured guest, United States Women’s National Soccer Team defender Meghan Klingenberg, staying at the top. Klingenberg was a regular starter for the USWNT en route to winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, and the team is looking now to win its fourth consecutive gold medal when the Olympics start this week. During the interview, Klingenberg discusses how she thinks the team is looking as they head to Brazil, as well as her conflicted feelings while being an alternate on the 2012 Olympic team that won gold in London. Last year, while a member of the Houston Dash of the NWSL, Klingenberg spent time living in the house of former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, and Meghan shares with us that experience of spending time with him and his family.
We also talk about “the sweet science” as well, as we caught up with heavyweight boxing prospect Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller at the famous Mendez Boxing gymnasium in the Flatiron District section of Manhattan. Miller, currently 17-0-1 with 15 of those wins coming by knockout, helps us preview his Aug. 19 fight against veteran heavyweight Fred Kassi in the main event of the ShoBox: The New Generation event in Rochester, N.Y. As you’ll hear in the interview, Miller is not one to lack for confidence or an opinion, and he gives us his thoughts and assessments on the current titleholders in the heavyweight division, as well as how he hopes to really become a mainstay in the national consciousness of boxing fans and non-boxing enthusiasts alike.
We had spent the past week in Montréal covering the Rogers Cup, the last stop on the tour before the 2016 Olympic Games, and we also were fortunate to talk with the winner of the singles tournament on the WTA side, Romanian and world No. 3 Simona Halep. Among other things, Halep mentioned to us what was said in Romanian by a non Romanian that made her motivated to win the singles final last Sunday against Madison Keys.
Please enjoy the podcast, and leave us any and all comments that you have. Click here to go to the A Lot of Sports Talk podcast page on iTunes, or click here to find the podcast on Google Play Music. From there, you can download this show as well as subscribe to our podcast page and receive new episodes on your device the second it is posted. You can also open iTunes, and in the Podcasts section, type in “A Lot of Sports Talk” in the search box to find our shows.
[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/ALOST/TheALOSTPodcast30.mp3]Interview Order: Intro (0:00 – 4:44); Meghan Klingenberg (4:47 – 16:30); Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (16:34 – 25:21); Simona Halep (25:28-30:25); Wrap-up (30:32 – 32:35)
[Cover photo (Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller) courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
