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Thom Loverro's Cigars and Curveballs

In the podcast, "Cigars and Curveballs," veteran sports analyst Thom Loverro selects subjects from his extensive career in print, online and broadcast journalism to deliver engaging conversations each week.
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Thom Loverro's Cigars and Curveballs
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Aug 21, 2018

From Wednesday, August 22, 2018: Thom welcomes on Redskins QB great Joe Theismann for a variety of topics as football season is ramping up. Joe's thoughts on the new NFL rules controversy, Alex Smith, and the addition of Adrian Peterson. Also, Joe talks about his love of baseball and following the Nationals. 

Aug 7, 2018

From Wednesday, August 8, 2018: Thom chats with former MLBer Eric Soderholm, looking back on his career that included playing alongside Harmon Killebrew & Reggie Jackson. Eric tells Thom how he had a successful post-playing career in business, among them being ticket brokering & overseeing a wellness center.

Jul 26, 2018

From Thursday, July 26, 2018: Thom offers a rare podcast episode that combines talking about Joe Montana and missile defense. Former 49ers linebacker Riki Ellison joins the show to discuss his championship filled career and his unique post playing endeavors.​

Jul 16, 2018

From Wednesday, July 18, 2018: Thom chats with a man with quite the resume: TV screenwriter/producer and MLB play-by-play man Ken Levine. They cover his time working on MASH and his season behind the Orioles mic. 

Jul 11, 2018

From Wednesday, July 11, 2018: In honor of the recent "Bobby Bonilla Day" this month, Thom replays the initial episode of this podcast with former MLB great Bobby Bonilla, one of Thom's favorites.

Jul 2, 2018

From Wednesday, July 4, 2018: Thom interviews D.C. native Maury Wills, best known for his record-setting season of stealing 104 bases in 1962 as the shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maury talks about how he was able to latch onto the Dodgers' organization after learning the game in D.C., the influence Ty Cobb, playing in D.C. as a National League All-Star and more. A replay from last year in case you missed it.

Jun 25, 2018

From Wednesday, June 27, 2018: Washington Kastles and Washington City Paper owner Mark Ein joins the podcast. Mark tells Thom about his love for tennis, the area's excitement for the Caps championship, what the Kastles look like this year, why he bought the City Paper, and more. 

Jun 20, 2018

From Wednesday, June 20, 2018: Thom welcomes back his favorite manager Davey Johnson. Davey discusses playing on great, World Series winning Orioles teams (under Earl Weaver), being teammates with Hank Aaron, his distinguished managing career and more. Among the managerial topics touched on; his grudge against the other skipper in the 1986 World Series, his relationship with Peter Angelos and if was he OK with the "Strasburg shutdown."​

Jun 12, 2018

From Wednesday, June 13, 2018: Thom's next guest is sportscaster Lesley Visser. Lesley discusses her days as a sports writing where she was the first ever woman to cover the NFL as a beat reporter, when she got a random phone call from Bear Bryant, covering Final Fours, Olympics, and more.

Jun 4, 2018

From Wednesday, June 6, 2018: Former Heavyweight Champion of the World Larry Holmes joins Thom for more than just a discussion on their love of the Lehigh Valley. Larry talks about being Muhammed Ali's sparring partner at one point prior to eventually fighting him. They look back at his bouts against Ken Norton, Ernie Shavers, Gerry Cooney, and more.

May 29, 2018

From Wednesday, May 30, 2018: Thom brings on the former sports editor of the powerhouse Washington Post sports section. They go over his early newspaper career, covering the 70's Redskins, working with and editing for big names in the "biz", and being the ombudsman for ESPN.

May 21, 2018

From Wednesday, May 23, 2018: Thom chats with former Maryland football player & NFLer Pete Koch. They look back at his time in College Park playing for Jerry Claiborne & Bobby Ross (10:30), time in the NFL that included playing for Mike Shanahan in LA (18:55), his famous scene with Clint Eastwood in "Heartbreak Ridge" (34:34), and more.

May 14, 2018

From Wednesday, May 16, 2018: Longtime broadcaster Charley Steiner is this week's guest as he & Thom reminisce about the days they both covered boxing, working for Donald Trump when calling USFL games (11:12), moving from radio to ESPN (16:27), calling both Yankees and Dodgers games in his career & more (29:30).

May 7, 2018

Super Agent Leigh Steinberg joins Thom this week to discuss his past & new A-list clients. They cover how NFL GM's have changed (21:55), new safety measures in the NFL (23:30), and the obligatory Jerry Maguire question (30:25).

May 1, 2018

From Wednesday, May 2, 2018: Thom brings on former MLB Outfielder Eric Byrnes, known as a colorful character in his playing days. They start with his brief stint in Baltimore, his recent speed golf achievements, hard playing style, experience with Lee Mazzilli. Then they close with the human element in the sabermetrics era and being involved in a brawl in his first game (38:10).

Apr 23, 2018

From Tuesday, April 24, 2018: Thom is joined by former All Star Center Fielder Andy Van Slyke. They cover his career that began in St. Louis before he was traded to Pittsburgh where we saw much success alongside his teammate Barry Bonds. Thom lets Andy know how he shares some responsibility for him landing with the Orioles, Andy's post-playing career that includes writing, and his thoughts on Bryce Harper & the Nats.

Apr 17, 2018

From Tuesday, April 17, 2018: ”Thom welcomes on recent Nats Manager Dusty Baker to talk about the immediate aftermath of his life following the 2 NL East Titles in Washington. Conversation begins with Dusty returning to the Giants organization, how he dealt with his tenure ending in DC (10:01), the time he was Dave Martinez's skipper in San Francisco (23:56), his relationship with Bryce Harper (28:36), and more."

Apr 10, 2018

From Wednesday, April 11, 2018:  Thom has the pleasure & the honor to be joined by former All Star & NL Manager of the Year Felipe Alou.  Felipe talks about growing up in the Dominican Republic, playing with and against so many baseball legends, and the 4th Alou brother.  He also tells Thom his memories of the 94 Expos and his current thoughts on baseball in Washington.

Apr 3, 2018

From Wednesday, April 4, 2018: Thom welcomes on longtime ESPN announcer Mike Patrick after he just ended his accomplished career. He talks about working w/ Lefty Dreisell, his memories of Howard Cosell (15:00), the greatest moment of his life w/ Arnold Palmer (23:30), being at the early days of ESPN & calling 3 decades worth of ACC action (27:08), and finally calling Sunday Night Football for years.

Mar 28, 2018

From Wednesday, March 28, 2018: Thom is joined by Hall of Fame legend John Thompson.  They start with his time as a dominant high school player in DC and he says who he thinks is the best local basketball player of all time.  They cover the Hoyas program growth & Thom asks him how some of the biggest names in Georgetown history came to the Hilltop (18:27). Plus John's thoughts on Patrick Ewing's first year (30:33).

Mar 20, 2018

From Wednesday, March 21, 2018: As the NCAA Tournament rolls on, Thom brings on Basketball Coach Pete Strickland. They talk about how he is now the National Coach for Ireland, playing for the famous Morgan Wooten at DeMatha (10:51), his encounters some of the most famous coaches today including Calipari, Izzo, and Coach K (21:23), and finally the evolution of the 3 pointer on the college game (29:33)."

Mar 13, 2018

From Wednesday, March 14, 2018: ​Thom brings on Dick Bosman, the man who pitched the last Senators game & the first Rangers one.  Throughout the episode they fill in the before & after of that stretch including playing for Ted Williams the manager (15:49), final season in Washington (20:01), pitching a no hitter (33:31), getting into coaching (40:42), and more.

Mar 6, 2018

From Wednesday, March 7, 2018: Thom brings on one of the key behind the scenes figures in Washington landing the Nationals, Bobby Goldwater, this is a must listen for DC baseball fans.  They start with his long career as an executive at Madison Square Garden (7:40), his 1 on 1 meeting with Muhammad Ali (13:17), moving to LA to manage the Staples Center (25:27), coming to DC to among other things try and get a MLB team (30:55), educating those high up in Baseball about how the city was changing and ripe for a franchise (32:25, & finally how he realized that the Navy Yard neighborhood was the perfect spot for a new ballpark (36:32).

Feb 28, 2018

From Wednesday, February 28, 2018: Thom welcomes on former Washington Senator slugger Frank Howard.  They discuss getting into the Nats Ring of Honor (4:21), playing for the Dodgers (7:34), playing basketball at Ohio State (18:20), homering in the 1963 World Series (21:23), being traded to Washington (29:01), having Ted Williams as a manager (33:06), DC now as a baseball town (38:01), how he landed the nickname "Hondo" (39:45) & did he actually hit a homer out of Yankee Stadium (42:51)?

Feb 20, 2018

From Wednesday, February 21, 2018: While covering Spring Training in Palm Beach, Thom chats w/ the new Nationals Manager Dave Martinez.  They look back at his well traveled playing career under many different skippers, which included a stop in Montreal (8:40), being with his now predecessor Dusty Baker in San Francisco (12:04), his developing knowledge of pitching (18:02), & learning from Bobby Cox (22:30).

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