April 5, 2024 • 21 mins
Sarah is joined by a very special guest, the legendary journalist Hannah Storm. Hannah has a new podcast out now called NBA DNA with Hannah Storm. They discuss the current explosion of the women's game, the Final Four, and why she decided to tell her life story through the lens of basketball. They also get into Hannah's incredible connection with Stuart Scott and her dealing with a recent breast cancer diagnosis.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcoming into NBA Pulse production of iHeart Radio in the NBA.
I'm Sarahusuck, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and today
is Friday, April fifth, and we have got a extremely
special guest, the great Hannah Storm. Hannah, I am honored
to have you here on this podcast get a chance
to talk with you the really iconic things that you
(00:23):
have done throughout the course of your career. I said
this to you before we started. I think about this often.
There are women who have laid the foundation to cover
this league, cover sports in a way that now we
are so grateful and blessed to be able to continue
doing and we see that grow all the time. But
first I want to say thank you for your time
here today, but thank you for everything that you have
(00:45):
done that have afforded a lot of us females many
many opportunities that we're so thankful to have.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well, that's incredibly generous of you kind, And I definitely
along the way felt a lot of responsibility. There weren't
a lot of women who were almost none less than
a handful when I started out who were broadcasting sports,
certainly on a national level, and I've always felt a
(01:12):
lot of responsibility to do the best job that I
could so that it would be a viable career option
for so many women to follow. And it's really exciting
for me to see everything that's happening these days and
so many women especially I think in the NBA, you know,
calling games, game analysts, studio analysts, studio hosts. So I
(01:35):
absolutely love it. It's super gratifying. So thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Well, and Hannah, with that being said, and we're going
to get into your career some of the things you're doing,
what you have done in the past, we have seen
in absolute explosion in the women's game. The coverage has increased,
the viewership has increased. We saw it throughout the course
of the past couple of seasons with a WNBA Women's
college basketball, but more than ever right now or getting
(02:02):
set for the Final Four, the ratings have been through
the roof. I think the attention everywhere. What's been your
perspective in take on where the women's game is at
and what we're up ahead here this weekend, But just
the growth that you've seen throughout the course of this
NCAA tournament and season.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, sometimes it takes a phenomenon someone or something that
captures the imagination of people beyond sports, and that's clearly
been Caitlin Clark. She has had an enormous impact, not
only just in terms of people actually attending games, but
(02:38):
I just think the kinds of things she does, the
fact that she's the kind of talent that we've never seen.
I think, you know, the logo threes alone are are
just something that you know, puts her in the Steph
Curry esque conversation. Her competitiveness, how she elevates her team,
(02:59):
how she handles herself, the kinds of things she says.
And you know, with women's basketball, it's definitely like like
any other business, sort of a rising tide lifts all boats.
And there are so many other great young stars that
are getting attention. I mean, Paige Becker's tonight, Like, you
just can't forget what she means to the game. You
(03:21):
can't forget the standard that you concet for years and
years that everybody else was forced to rise up to
and before them Tennessee and LSU back in the day.
You know, there have been great players that you know,
Cheryl Miller, great players that these players are standing on
the shoulders of It's funny because the tournament itself is
(03:45):
receiving the same amount of coverage, it's the shoulder programming
that is now covering it. So it's all of the
other shows that are now talking about it, that are
now treating women's basketball on the same level that they
would talk about an NBA game, or you know, they'll
make time amidst talking about the NFL to carve out
(04:08):
a piece of programming to talk about the women's Final
Four because people are interested. So it's just it's really
been fascinating to watch. It's really been exciting to watch
tonight it'll be another record breaking broadcast and then if
Iowa makes it to the final against say an undefeated
South Carolina, like I can't even imagine. But Kayla Clark's
(04:30):
been must see TV and everything else that has been
really derivative off of that.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, And it's fascinating you say that because I do.
I watch you all the time, and you're doing women's
basketball highlights and that's something that I look back even,
you know, in regularly in a main This morning, I'm
watching First Take. They're leading the show with women's basketball
and the matchups tonight, and that's where so often. You
(04:56):
have the incredible talent, the scale, all of that, but
the attention now surrounding it for you tonight. Uh and
we mentioned you know what Page Beckers is doing Yukon, Gino,
Dawn Staley, South Carolina undefeated. This there's so many story
releas it goes on and on to you have. Do
you have predictions or picks here for what you expect
(05:18):
to have?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Well?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I think you know, listen, all sorts of people have
devised all sorts of defenses. Uh, you know, tried everything
against Caitlin Clark to no avail. The only concern, and
I have no doubt that Gino will have an incredible
game plan. My only concern about Yukon is the fact
that Becker's is going to have to play the entire
(05:41):
game there. They are so shorthanded. They only have seven
healthy players. You're gonna see tonight a bunch of really
talented women sitting on the bench. They have gone to
incredible lengths to recover in this tournament, everything available, all
the sleep technology, the cryo chambers, like everything you can imagine.
(06:04):
I just think that it'll take a superhuman effort for
them to win. And then if they do, then you're
gonna run up against South Carolina, and South Carolina is
an absolute juggernaut, So I would pick South Carolina. Obviously
they're heavy favored over NC State. I think there's they're
(06:26):
not going to have any problems winning that game. And
then I don't know what to think about tonight, and
probably because you con shorthanded, I probably would put Iowa
back in the final.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, it's going to be so much fun to continue
to watch. As I mentioned earlier, you have a new
podcast out NBA DNA with Hamstorm. What what inspired you
to start this and why is it so special for you?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, it's really cool. It's a documentary style podcast, so
it's not necessarily like, you know, just an interview every episode,
although a couple of bonus episodes will be that way
because the interviews were just so good. But it's I
grew up as the daughter of a basketball executive. So
my father was the fifth commissioner of the Old American
(07:13):
Basketball Association, and then he was with a bunch of teams,
started the Indiana Pacers, he was with the Atlanta Hawks,
a ton of teams in between and the NBA and
the ABA. So the first couple episodes are about our
life growing up, but it's you know, about the history
of the ABA, and you know, doctor Jay, isn't it
and Bob Costas and some great basketball writers from Sports Illustrated,
(07:38):
you know, Peter Vessi, longtime writer. My brothers are in it.
And then all this cool archival footage and sound from
the NBA. So the best part about partnering with the
NBA was just access to everything that they have in
their archives, which is a really great way to tell
a story about a league that wasn't televised, you know,
(07:59):
back in like this seventies. So it's you know, sometimes
it's hard to tell archival stories. But I think that's
a great thing about a podcast is you people can
really use their imagination. I have some great storytellers that
I'm working with. I mean, iHeart does it. You know,
like no one else. They know how to they know
(08:19):
how to how to weave a tail. And so the
first few episodes sort of it kind of is like
basketball through the lens of my life. So it takes
it through like the early days of the ABA, then
the merger, then you know, my first job in radio,
early days covering the Rockets, then moving to Charlotte the
Hornet's expansion team, then to the NBA on NBC, just
(08:43):
really really fun, and then into the w NBA, you know,
as a first play by play person for the w NBA,
and then onto now and the ESPN SO and I
think our last episode is definitely going to be you know,
the future Women's Ball because of the explosion. So it's
(09:03):
really really, really been fun, and there's multiple guests and
just cool, cool, cool, old sound and unheard stories in
every episode.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I love every bit of that. And you touched on
it the fact that before we get to the NBA,
you've covered so many sports, You've covered news, You've been
in different place, You were a trailblazer in a lot
of areas and a lot of places. Why why is
the NBA in I know growing up in your background,
but why does the NBA hit you in a different
(09:34):
way and strike a different chord of passion in areas
that you have experienced so much both growing up but
also the places you have been in the positions you
have been that have set the foundation for a lot
of females.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, it's really been full circle because growing up as
the daughter of a sports executive and always going to
basketball games since I was little when it wasn't a
school night. So I fell love with sports because I
had the exposure to it that I think a lot
of young girls didn't have. And there were basketball players
that would come over for the holidays. We're always around
(10:10):
the house, and that was our discussion at the dinner table,
and I understood what it meant to a family to win,
to lose, to move around, to get fired, to win championships,
you know, all those things that are things that I
experienced on a really visceral level as a child. And
then I think that propelled me and gave me the
(10:31):
strength because I loved sports so much to go into
an area was just very very difficult to even get
a job, and really to soldier on beyond a lot
of things that I encountered because I just knew how
much fun sports was and I loved it. I was
comfortable around it, and so it gave me, I would say,
the backbone to really do something that hadn't been done before,
(10:54):
and then to come full circle and host the NBA
on NBC. That time, I became the first female host
of a major sports league ever in the United States
of their broadcasts, you know, and I would go to
these basketball games and it was like old home week.
You know. I would see people that maybe had known
my dad or you know, people that I had somehow
(11:18):
tangentially known. It was just this big, huge family. And
so I entered it as a broadcaster at a time
when it was just in its glory days, you know,
and it was just incredible, the basketball of the nineties.
And I had gotten my first TV gig back in
(11:39):
Houston at all local station that broadcast all of the
Rockets away games, you know. So it was just like
at every step of the way. And then my first
full time job was in Charlotte when the NBA came
to Charlotte that first year. So I talked to Rex
Chapman and Del Curry and Muggsy Bogues for that and
I mean this stories they have are just incredible from
(12:02):
back in the day. So I think it's you know,
just really at every touch important touch point in my career.
Covered you know, the whole arc of Kobe's career, and
you know, including coverage of his memorial service, which is
just incredible to think about. And you know, was there
at the beginning of Shack's career and had a lot
(12:23):
of intersecting points with Charles. You know, it's just been
it's been an amazing experience meeting so many people, and
there's just there's really an endless amount of stories. Yeah,
but we're the first season is twelve episodes, so there's probably,
like I don't know, dozens and dozens and dozens of
(12:44):
potential episodes. But it's off to a great start.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Oh, I can tell I cannot wait to lock in
NBA DNA with hamm Astorm. We're gonna take a quick
break and be right back here with Mark. Welcome back
to NBA called Syracuse Stack with the Great Hannah Storm,
amongst all the many things she does. NBA DNA with
(13:10):
Hannah Storm, new podcast here with iHeartRadio of course the
anchor and sports center.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Hannah.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You've done, We've documented a lot of the areas and
spaces you've been. What's been your most difficult interview that
you've had.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I mean, I think, you know, at times there's people
who for whatever reason don't want to be interviewed, or
don't they don't like the process, or they're just not invested,
and they do it out of obligation. I think those
have been difficult. I don't know if I could pinpoint one.
(13:45):
There's you know, really, I think the most difficult are
actually what I experienced when I was in news at CBS,
because unfortunately you I so I hosted the morning show
on CBS for six years, which is something I had
always wanted to do, and after we lost the NBA
(14:08):
at NBC, I pivoted to morning television before I went
back into sports at ESPN. And I think that, you know,
we had to cover wars, we had to cover things
like her King Katrina, We had to cover a lot
of tragedy, and I think for me the most difficult
(14:29):
was probably the first or the second iteration of the
Gulf War, which was one that you know, was thought
to be something that was going to happen very quickly
and obviously was not. And as people were perishing in
that war, we would interview the families, and I just
(14:51):
think doing an interview with anybody who's lost someone in
their family is such a responsibility and it is so devastating,
but also you just feel like you want to do
justice to that person and that family. So I would
(15:11):
say that series of interviews was difficult, and I would
say the day that Stuart Scott died, I was on
the air, and I stayed on the air for several hours,
and I interviewed all those people who loved him, and
so many people, and I just think those you know,
(15:34):
that day really stands out to me. And I have
been in the chair for other sort of tragedies that
have happened, and I just think it's such a you
have to walk such a delicate line, and I just
feel such a sense of Wow. I want this interview
to be like cathartic for this family. I want this
person to be remembered in the best way, in an
(15:56):
important way, in a dignified way. And so I would
say those types of interviews are the most difficult.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You mentioned Stuart Scott, and we saw and could feel
the beautiful relationship that you had with him through through
the screen and on air. And as you mentioned these
and your care about these interviews, you could tell that
comes through, that comes through as of you or I
think that's why you've been so beloved throughout the course
of your career, because because you are genuine and you
(16:25):
feel like even though this is the first time we
may be speaking, or someone may never meet you, they
feel like they know you. How would you describe your
relationship with with Stuart and just what he meant to you.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, I just think that I think that the one
thing that I thought was so cool about Stuart and
you know, having recently been diagnosed with cancer and a
very awesome outcome. You know, I'm cancer free because of
early detection. Stuart obviously had a very public battle with
(17:02):
cancer and that's very difficult. And I don't think that
you can underestimate how hard it is to go through
what you're going through and to share it with other people.
That is, It's it's hard enough to go through on
a personal level, but then to be so I guess
in the way that he was so giving about sharing
(17:25):
his struggles and he was so honest about it, and
so every time you would see him, he would.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Just be like, yep, this was this was my day,
and you know, and he was so made you feel
like it was okay to talk about and made you
feel like, made you feel comfortable, you know what I mean,
And here he is going through hell, but he made
you feel like, all right, I'm I'm I'm going to
(17:53):
share this with you, you know what I mean. And
so you always felt like it was kind of a
privilege to have and let you into his world. And
I think the fact that he was like working out
all the time and he's like having my.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Protein shakes and I'm doing this and I'm doing that
or I feel that, and he's like the one thing
I really remember vividly because when you get diagnosed with cancer,
the first question everybody says, or when you say, I
have a friend who has cancel, what stage is it? Right?
And he always was like, I don't know. I don't
want to know, Like I don't I don't want to
put a number on it. I don't want to, you know,
(18:29):
I just don't want to be hemmed in that way.
And he approached cancer the way that a lot of
cancer treatment is approached today. I'm going to live with this, okay,
and we're going to figure out the best medicine possible
and the best things possible to allow me to live
my life. And I just think that he was I
(18:52):
don't want to say like ahead of his time in
so many ways like I do, but I do consider
Stuart a trailblazer in so many ways, and not the
least of which I think is his legacy that he
left in terms of how he handled his fight with cancer.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah, and one, we're thrilled that you are cancer.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Free and yeah, very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, and thank you, Thank you for sharing. What made
you want to share that.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
With the public because so much of fighting breast cancer
has to deal with early detection, and because such a
large percent and eight five to ninety percent of people
who are diagnosed have no risk factors, no family history,
no symptoms, know nothing, and the only way to find
it is early detection. Is the way that I did
(19:41):
is to you know, get your mammogram, follow up with ultrasound,
or do whatever you have to do, and it's completely
life saving. It is something that people, you know, as women,
we get like so busy and we're taking care of
our kids, and we're taking care of our parents, and
we're holding down jobs and we're taking care of everybody
else at ourselves. And then there's something that I have
(20:02):
no risk factors, and oh my gosh, I have to
schedule something months down the road, and it's unpleasant and
there's like so many reasons not to do it, but
I just wanted to remind people that you don't know
and there are so many reasons to do it, and
that you want to know and advocate for your health.
And I talk to a lot of men too, and
I'm like, listen, you help your your whoever that woman
(20:24):
is in your life, that's important, Like make check in
with her, make sure she's doing this. If you have
to watch the kids, if you have to drive her,
if you have to go with her, if you whatever
you have to do, you know, help her to get
this done because it could save it could save your life.
And it's I mean, the message is I think pretty clear,
(20:45):
and that was why I wanted to do it. I
can't say that it's an easy thing to share, but
it's important, so I just wanted the message to get out.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
We appreciate you, Hamster. You are important for all of
us and so many different levels. But again, thank you
so much for your time. We will all be locked
into NBA DNA with Hannah Storm because we can't wait
to hear all the stories.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is just.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
A fun little tea.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Many many out of it, especially as a woman in
the business. You will get, oh my gosh, you will
get such a kick out of these stories, and I
think you'll really like it. And it's just so kind
to have me on your show. Thank you, thank you.
We'll see you again soon. It okay bye.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
NBA Pulse with Sarah who Stack is a production of
the NBA and iHeart Radio. Please rate, review, and subscribe
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcoming into NBA Pulse production of iHeart Radio in the NBA.
I'm Sarahusuck, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and today
is Friday, April fifth, and we have got a extremely
special guest, the great Hannah Storm. Hannah, I am honored
to have you here on this podcast get a chance
to talk with you the really iconic things that you
(00:23):
have done throughout the course of your career. I said
this to you before we started. I think about this often.
There are women who have laid the foundation to cover
this league, cover sports in a way that now we
are so grateful and blessed to be able to continue
doing and we see that grow all the time. But
first I want to say thank you for your time
here today, but thank you for everything that you have
(00:45):
done that have afforded a lot of us females many
many opportunities that we're so thankful to have.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well, that's incredibly generous of you kind, And I definitely
along the way felt a lot of responsibility. There weren't
a lot of women who were almost none less than
a handful when I started out who were broadcasting sports,
certainly on a national level, and I've always felt a
(01:12):
lot of responsibility to do the best job that I
could so that it would be a viable career option
for so many women to follow. And it's really exciting
for me to see everything that's happening these days and
so many women especially I think in the NBA, you know,
calling games, game analysts, studio analysts, studio hosts. So I
(01:35):
absolutely love it. It's super gratifying. So thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Well, and Hannah, with that being said, and we're going
to get into your career some of the things you're doing,
what you have done in the past, we have seen
in absolute explosion in the women's game. The coverage has increased,
the viewership has increased. We saw it throughout the course
of the past couple of seasons with a WNBA Women's
college basketball, but more than ever right now or getting
(02:02):
set for the Final Four, the ratings have been through
the roof. I think the attention everywhere. What's been your
perspective in take on where the women's game is at
and what we're up ahead here this weekend, But just
the growth that you've seen throughout the course of this
NCAA tournament and season.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, sometimes it takes a phenomenon someone or something that
captures the imagination of people beyond sports, and that's clearly
been Caitlin Clark. She has had an enormous impact, not
only just in terms of people actually attending games, but
(02:38):
I just think the kinds of things she does, the
fact that she's the kind of talent that we've never seen.
I think, you know, the logo threes alone are are
just something that you know, puts her in the Steph
Curry esque conversation. Her competitiveness, how she elevates her team,
(02:59):
how she handles herself, the kinds of things she says.
And you know, with women's basketball, it's definitely like like
any other business, sort of a rising tide lifts all boats.
And there are so many other great young stars that
are getting attention. I mean, Paige Becker's tonight, Like, you
just can't forget what she means to the game. You
(03:21):
can't forget the standard that you concet for years and
years that everybody else was forced to rise up to
and before them Tennessee and LSU back in the day.
You know, there have been great players that you know,
Cheryl Miller, great players that these players are standing on
the shoulders of It's funny because the tournament itself is
(03:45):
receiving the same amount of coverage, it's the shoulder programming
that is now covering it. So it's all of the
other shows that are now talking about it, that are
now treating women's basketball on the same level that they
would talk about an NBA game, or you know, they'll
make time amidst talking about the NFL to carve out
(04:08):
a piece of programming to talk about the women's Final
Four because people are interested. So it's just it's really
been fascinating to watch. It's really been exciting to watch
tonight it'll be another record breaking broadcast and then if
Iowa makes it to the final against say an undefeated
South Carolina, like I can't even imagine. But Kayla Clark's
(04:30):
been must see TV and everything else that has been
really derivative off of that.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, And it's fascinating you say that because I do.
I watch you all the time, and you're doing women's
basketball highlights and that's something that I look back even,
you know, in regularly in a main This morning, I'm
watching First Take. They're leading the show with women's basketball
and the matchups tonight, and that's where so often. You
(04:56):
have the incredible talent, the scale, all of that, but
the attention now surrounding it for you tonight. Uh and
we mentioned you know what Page Beckers is doing Yukon, Gino,
Dawn Staley, South Carolina undefeated. This there's so many story
releas it goes on and on to you have. Do
you have predictions or picks here for what you expect
(05:18):
to have?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Well?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
I think you know, listen, all sorts of people have
devised all sorts of defenses. Uh, you know, tried everything
against Caitlin Clark to no avail. The only concern, and
I have no doubt that Gino will have an incredible
game plan. My only concern about Yukon is the fact
that Becker's is going to have to play the entire
(05:41):
game there. They are so shorthanded. They only have seven
healthy players. You're gonna see tonight a bunch of really
talented women sitting on the bench. They have gone to
incredible lengths to recover in this tournament, everything available, all
the sleep technology, the cryo chambers, like everything you can imagine.
(06:04):
I just think that it'll take a superhuman effort for
them to win. And then if they do, then you're
gonna run up against South Carolina, and South Carolina is
an absolute juggernaut, So I would pick South Carolina. Obviously
they're heavy favored over NC State. I think there's they're
(06:26):
not going to have any problems winning that game. And
then I don't know what to think about tonight, and
probably because you con shorthanded, I probably would put Iowa
back in the final.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Yeah, it's going to be so much fun to continue
to watch. As I mentioned earlier, you have a new
podcast out NBA DNA with Hamstorm. What what inspired you
to start this and why is it so special for you?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yeah, it's really cool. It's a documentary style podcast, so
it's not necessarily like, you know, just an interview every episode,
although a couple of bonus episodes will be that way
because the interviews were just so good. But it's I
grew up as the daughter of a basketball executive. So
my father was the fifth commissioner of the Old American
(07:13):
Basketball Association, and then he was with a bunch of teams,
started the Indiana Pacers, he was with the Atlanta Hawks,
a ton of teams in between and the NBA and
the ABA. So the first couple episodes are about our
life growing up, but it's you know, about the history
of the ABA, and you know, doctor Jay, isn't it
and Bob Costas and some great basketball writers from Sports Illustrated,
(07:38):
you know, Peter Vessi, longtime writer. My brothers are in it.
And then all this cool archival footage and sound from
the NBA. So the best part about partnering with the
NBA was just access to everything that they have in
their archives, which is a really great way to tell
a story about a league that wasn't televised, you know,
(07:59):
back in like this seventies. So it's you know, sometimes
it's hard to tell archival stories. But I think that's
a great thing about a podcast is you people can
really use their imagination. I have some great storytellers that
I'm working with. I mean, iHeart does it. You know,
like no one else. They know how to they know
(08:19):
how to how to weave a tail. And so the
first few episodes sort of it kind of is like
basketball through the lens of my life. So it takes
it through like the early days of the ABA, then
the merger, then you know, my first job in radio,
early days covering the Rockets, then moving to Charlotte the
Hornet's expansion team, then to the NBA on NBC, just
(08:43):
really really fun, and then into the w NBA, you know,
as a first play by play person for the w NBA,
and then onto now and the ESPN SO and I
think our last episode is definitely going to be you know,
the future Women's Ball because of the explosion. So it's
(09:03):
really really, really been fun, and there's multiple guests and
just cool, cool, cool, old sound and unheard stories in
every episode.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I love every bit of that. And you touched on
it the fact that before we get to the NBA,
you've covered so many sports, You've covered news, You've been
in different place, You were a trailblazer in a lot
of areas and a lot of places. Why why is
the NBA in I know growing up in your background,
but why does the NBA hit you in a different
(09:34):
way and strike a different chord of passion in areas
that you have experienced so much both growing up but
also the places you have been in the positions you
have been that have set the foundation for a lot
of females.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, it's really been full circle because growing up as
the daughter of a sports executive and always going to
basketball games since I was little when it wasn't a
school night. So I fell love with sports because I
had the exposure to it that I think a lot
of young girls didn't have. And there were basketball players
that would come over for the holidays. We're always around
(10:10):
the house, and that was our discussion at the dinner table,
and I understood what it meant to a family to win,
to lose, to move around, to get fired, to win championships,
you know, all those things that are things that I
experienced on a really visceral level as a child. And
then I think that propelled me and gave me the
(10:31):
strength because I loved sports so much to go into
an area was just very very difficult to even get
a job, and really to soldier on beyond a lot
of things that I encountered because I just knew how
much fun sports was and I loved it. I was
comfortable around it, and so it gave me, I would say,
the backbone to really do something that hadn't been done before,
(10:54):
and then to come full circle and host the NBA
on NBC. That time, I became the first female host
of a major sports league ever in the United States
of their broadcasts, you know, and I would go to
these basketball games and it was like old home week.
You know. I would see people that maybe had known
my dad or you know, people that I had somehow
(11:18):
tangentially known. It was just this big, huge family. And
so I entered it as a broadcaster at a time
when it was just in its glory days, you know,
and it was just incredible, the basketball of the nineties.
And I had gotten my first TV gig back in
(11:39):
Houston at all local station that broadcast all of the
Rockets away games, you know. So it was just like
at every step of the way. And then my first
full time job was in Charlotte when the NBA came
to Charlotte that first year. So I talked to Rex
Chapman and Del Curry and Muggsy Bogues for that and
I mean this stories they have are just incredible from
(12:02):
back in the day. So I think it's you know,
just really at every touch important touch point in my career.
Covered you know, the whole arc of Kobe's career, and
you know, including coverage of his memorial service, which is
just incredible to think about. And you know, was there
at the beginning of Shack's career and had a lot
(12:23):
of intersecting points with Charles. You know, it's just been
it's been an amazing experience meeting so many people, and
there's just there's really an endless amount of stories. Yeah,
but we're the first season is twelve episodes, so there's probably,
like I don't know, dozens and dozens and dozens of
(12:44):
potential episodes. But it's off to a great start.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Oh, I can tell I cannot wait to lock in
NBA DNA with hamm Astorm. We're gonna take a quick
break and be right back here with Mark. Welcome back
to NBA called Syracuse Stack with the Great Hannah Storm,
amongst all the many things she does. NBA DNA with
(13:10):
Hannah Storm, new podcast here with iHeartRadio of course the
anchor and sports center.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Hannah.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
You've done, We've documented a lot of the areas and
spaces you've been. What's been your most difficult interview that
you've had.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I mean, I think, you know, at times there's people
who for whatever reason don't want to be interviewed, or
don't they don't like the process, or they're just not invested,
and they do it out of obligation. I think those
have been difficult. I don't know if I could pinpoint one.
(13:45):
There's you know, really, I think the most difficult are
actually what I experienced when I was in news at CBS,
because unfortunately you I so I hosted the morning show
on CBS for six years, which is something I had
always wanted to do, and after we lost the NBA
(14:08):
at NBC, I pivoted to morning television before I went
back into sports at ESPN. And I think that, you know,
we had to cover wars, we had to cover things
like her King Katrina, We had to cover a lot
of tragedy, and I think for me the most difficult
(14:29):
was probably the first or the second iteration of the
Gulf War, which was one that you know, was thought
to be something that was going to happen very quickly
and obviously was not. And as people were perishing in
that war, we would interview the families, and I just
(14:51):
think doing an interview with anybody who's lost someone in
their family is such a responsibility and it is so devastating,
but also you just feel like you want to do
justice to that person and that family. So I would
(15:11):
say that series of interviews was difficult, and I would
say the day that Stuart Scott died, I was on
the air, and I stayed on the air for several hours,
and I interviewed all those people who loved him, and
so many people, and I just think those you know,
(15:34):
that day really stands out to me. And I have
been in the chair for other sort of tragedies that
have happened, and I just think it's such a you
have to walk such a delicate line, and I just
feel such a sense of Wow. I want this interview
to be like cathartic for this family. I want this
person to be remembered in the best way, in an
(15:56):
important way, in a dignified way. And so I would
say those types of interviews are the most difficult.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
You mentioned Stuart Scott, and we saw and could feel
the beautiful relationship that you had with him through through
the screen and on air. And as you mentioned these
and your care about these interviews, you could tell that
comes through, that comes through as of you or I
think that's why you've been so beloved throughout the course
of your career, because because you are genuine and you
(16:25):
feel like even though this is the first time we
may be speaking, or someone may never meet you, they
feel like they know you. How would you describe your
relationship with with Stuart and just what he meant to you.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, I just think that I think that the one
thing that I thought was so cool about Stuart and
you know, having recently been diagnosed with cancer and a
very awesome outcome. You know, I'm cancer free because of
early detection. Stuart obviously had a very public battle with
(17:02):
cancer and that's very difficult. And I don't think that
you can underestimate how hard it is to go through
what you're going through and to share it with other people.
That is, It's it's hard enough to go through on
a personal level, but then to be so I guess
in the way that he was so giving about sharing
(17:25):
his struggles and he was so honest about it, and
so every time you would see him, he would.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Just be like, yep, this was this was my day,
and you know, and he was so made you feel
like it was okay to talk about and made you
feel like, made you feel comfortable, you know what I mean,
And here he is going through hell, but he made
you feel like, all right, I'm I'm I'm going to
(17:53):
share this with you, you know what I mean. And
so you always felt like it was kind of a
privilege to have and let you into his world. And
I think the fact that he was like working out
all the time and he's like having my.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Protein shakes and I'm doing this and I'm doing that
or I feel that, and he's like the one thing
I really remember vividly because when you get diagnosed with cancer,
the first question everybody says, or when you say, I
have a friend who has cancel, what stage is it? Right?
And he always was like, I don't know. I don't
want to know, Like I don't I don't want to
put a number on it. I don't want to, you know,
(18:29):
I just don't want to be hemmed in that way.
And he approached cancer the way that a lot of
cancer treatment is approached today. I'm going to live with this, okay,
and we're going to figure out the best medicine possible
and the best things possible to allow me to live
my life. And I just think that he was I
(18:52):
don't want to say like ahead of his time in
so many ways like I do, but I do consider
Stuart a trailblazer in so many ways, and not the
least of which I think is his legacy that he
left in terms of how he handled his fight with cancer.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah, and one, we're thrilled that you are cancer.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Free and yeah, very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, and thank you, Thank you for sharing. What made
you want to share that.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
With the public because so much of fighting breast cancer
has to deal with early detection, and because such a
large percent and eight five to ninety percent of people
who are diagnosed have no risk factors, no family history,
no symptoms, know nothing, and the only way to find
it is early detection. Is the way that I did
(19:41):
is to you know, get your mammogram, follow up with ultrasound,
or do whatever you have to do, and it's completely
life saving. It is something that people, you know, as women,
we get like so busy and we're taking care of
our kids, and we're taking care of our parents, and
we're holding down jobs and we're taking care of everybody
else at ourselves. And then there's something that I have
(20:02):
no risk factors, and oh my gosh, I have to
schedule something months down the road, and it's unpleasant and
there's like so many reasons not to do it, but
I just wanted to remind people that you don't know
and there are so many reasons to do it, and
that you want to know and advocate for your health.
And I talk to a lot of men too, and
I'm like, listen, you help your your whoever that woman
(20:24):
is in your life, that's important, Like make check in
with her, make sure she's doing this. If you have
to watch the kids, if you have to drive her,
if you have to go with her, if you whatever
you have to do, you know, help her to get
this done because it could save it could save your life.
And it's I mean, the message is I think pretty clear,
(20:45):
and that was why I wanted to do it. I
can't say that it's an easy thing to share, but
it's important, so I just wanted the message to get out.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
We appreciate you, Hamster. You are important for all of
us and so many different levels. But again, thank you
so much for your time. We will all be locked
into NBA DNA with Hannah Storm because we can't wait
to hear all the stories.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
This is just.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
A fun little tea.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Many many out of it, especially as a woman in
the business. You will get, oh my gosh, you will
get such a kick out of these stories, and I
think you'll really like it. And it's just so kind
to have me on your show. Thank you, thank you.
We'll see you again soon. It okay bye.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
NBA Pulse with Sarah who Stack is a production of
the NBA and iHeart Radio. Please rate, review, and subscribe
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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