8-1 DJ and Hoff: The Last Hurrah

The final edition of DJ and Hoff essentially started with 20 minutes of Jason Garrett talking. I cut that part out and replaced it with a funny 2 second edit of Jason Garrett talking. You're welcome. 

During the rest of the show we talked about the Rangers, the Cowboys and had some fun at each other's expense. We also talked with Amin Elhassan and Adnan Virk before I say goodbye.

4-26 Mavs Magazine

Seg 1: Where Rondo Went Wrong
Seg 2: Mike Meltser, SportsRadio 610 Houston
Seg 3: The Problem With Rebuilding
Seg 4: Free Agency Questions

4-12 Mavs Magazine

Segment 1 - The Magical Spurs
Segment 2 - Mike Breen, ESPN
Segment 3 - Baxter Holmes, ESPN The Magazine
Segment 4 - Kristen Ledlow, NBA TV

"Good At Math, Bad At People" by Baxter Holmes: http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12587848/old-questions-surface-new-dallas-mavericks-point-guard-rajon-rondo

3-28 Sarah Spain

Sarah Spain joins DJ Ringenberg and me to talk about the steps the NFL should be taking on domestic violence and more.



I highly encourage reading Sarah's work on Ray McDonald and the NFL's lack of a DV rehabilitation program here: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12555187/talk-straight-fans

3-22 Mavs Magazine

Seg 1 - A Maverick Reality
Seg 2 - Jeff Platt on getting "Pop'd" and the Mavs
Seg 3 - Jorge Sedano on the West
Seg 4 - Marc Stein on Steve Nash

2-22 Mavs Magazine

Seg 1 - Amar'e Stoudemire - Why did he sit? What's he add? Stories with Amin Elhassan
Seg 2 - Robin Lundberg
Seg 3 - Trade Deadline Recap
Seg 4 - Did the Mavs move too early on Rondo?

1-18 Mavs Magazine

On the January 18th edition of Mavs Magazine, we discussed the Mavs at the midpoint of the season. Plus, ESPN Radio's Jorge Sedano joins me to talk about the Mavs, the other major stories in the NBA, and his memories of two Mavs vs Heat NBA Finals.



January 18th, 2015:

Seg 1 - Midseason Grades
Seg 2 - Jorge Sedano on Mavs, '06 Finals
Seg 3 - Jorge Sedano on NBA, '11 Finals
Seg 4 - Notebook

12-28 Mavs Magazine

12-28 Mavs Magazine:

Seg 1 - Rajon Rondo Trade Evaluation - One Week In

Seg 2 - Bob Ryan on Rajon Rondo
Seg 3 - Bob Ryan on Rick Carlisle, Current NBA
Seg 4 - Marc Stein

Buy Bob Ryan's Scribe on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Scribe-Life-Sports-Bob-Ryan/dp/1620405067

Lee Jenkins on Rondo: http://www.si.com/vault/2013/02/25/106289695/rondo

Baxter Holmes on Rondo's intelligence and competitiveness: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/09/there-questioning-rajon-rondo-commitment-winning/V8t76hvrsBHOwilw6IYhQM/story.html

Baxter Holmes on Rondo's potential coaching future: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/12/15/rajon-rondo-has-future-coaching/LjRCsv7NAkkxnrFRV6iCIJ/story.html

11-22 Mavs Magazine

11-22 Mavs Magazine on 103.3 FM ESPN:



Seg 1: How Dirk creates alley-oops and thoughts on Kobe
Seg 2: Amin Elhassan - NBA reclamation projects
Seg 3: Amin Elhassan - What's wrong in Cleveland?
Seg 4: Amin Elhassan - Kobe Bryant's comments on contracts

Hoffman Uncut: NFL Preview Podcast

The NFL season starts full bore on Sunday which leaves just enough time for the "Hoffman Uncut's Really Quick Because The Season's Here NFL Preview" with ESPN's Robert Flores!

2-22 Hoffman and Platt

Jeff and I are live Saturdays at 2 pm CT on 103.3 FM in Dallas and online at KESN1033.com. Follow along on twitter @craighoffman and @jeffplatt. We'll also be taking calls at 855-787-1033 and you can text the show at 64636. Type "ESPN" and then your message. Here's what we're doing on Feb. 15th:

2:00 - Mavs discussion

• The Mavs get LeBron'd, survive a turnover plagued first half to beat Philly and get ready for Detroit
• Dirk Nowtiski sits down with Bill Simmons - watch here.

2:15 - Cowboys - Keeping up with the Joneses

• The initial installment of "Keeping up with the Joneses," trying to make sense of the senseless statements made by Stephen and Jerry Jones.
• Just as senselessly, Jason Garrett tries to explain the Cowboys off-season thus far

2:30 - Richard Durrett live from Surprise

• It was a bad, injury plagued week to open Spring Training. We get the latest from ESPN.com's Rangers insider.

2:45 - Best of the Six Pack

• The top "other" stories from the week in sports and entertainment.

3:00 - Amin Elhassan/"Things that make you go hmm"

• ESPN NBA Insider Amin Elhassan joins us as the "smart basketball guest of the week"
• The opposite of smart is dumb. We look at some of the things that made us go "hmm" this week.

3:15 - Johnny Manziel/"Talk To Me"

• We discuss Johnny Manziel's day in front of the microphone at the NFL Combine
• The most fun we have all day, "Talk to Me" - you call, we answer and that's about it.

3:30 - Mavs at the deadline/"Hoffman’s Guide to college hoops"

• The Mavs stand pat at the trade deadline. How close were they? Will they add players as contracts around the league are bought out?
• Your weekly look at college hoops, "Hoffman's Guide to College Hoops" has its eyes on Syracuse/Duke, Kansas/Texas and Marcus Smart's return

3:45 - The NFL Combine - Platt Style/"One Last Thing"

• If you can bet on something, Jeff knows about it. You can bet on the NFL combine. We'll look at some of the fun you can have.
• My final take on a topic we saw this week. This week? How to properly use the NFL combine.

We hope you'll join us!

2-8 Hoffman and Platt

Jeff and I are live Saturdays at 2 pm CT on 103.3 FM in Dallas and online at KESN1033.com. Follow along on twitter @craighoffman and @jeffplatt. We'll also be taking calls at 855-787-1033. Here's what we're doing on Feb. 8th:

2:00 - Mavs: The Week that Was

2:15 - Would You Go To Sochi?

2:30 - Calvin Watkins answers the five biggest Cowboys off-season questions

2:45 - Best of Six Pack

3:00 - How Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly are changing football.

Your pre-listening reading - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9581925/seattle-seahawks-use-unusual-techniques-practice-espn-magazine

3:15 - Mavs: how high in the standings can they climb?

3:30 - Hoffman’s guide to college hoops now that you’re paying attention

3:45 - The Value of Signing Day

4:00 - Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com NBA Writer

4:15 - Talk To Me - you call, we answer and that's a bout it at 855-787-1033

4:30 - Winter Olympics

4:45 - One Last Thing - Adreain Payne and Princess Lacey

Bleacher Report's Jason King joins us discuss his heart-wrenching story of a 6'10" college basketball star and an 8 year old fighting for her life. Read the amazing story here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947345-the-adreian-payne-story-how-michigan-state-star-became-the-ultimate-role-model

We'll hope you'll join us!

2-1 Hoffman and Platt

Jeff and I are live today at 2 pm CST on 103.3 FM in Dallas and online here. Follow along on twitter @craighoffman and @jeffplatt. We'll also be taking at 855-787-1033. Here's what we're doing:

2:00 - Preview Super Bowl XLVIII

2:15 - Looking back at an odd week for the Mavericks

2:30 - Eric Edholm, Yahoo! live from the Super Bowl

2:45 - Best of the 6 Pack

3:00 - ESPN Denver's Les Shapiro and 710 ESPN Seattle's Jessamyn Mcintyre

3:15 - Mavs: Is Monta Ellis bringing the team down? Plus, NBA Power Rankings and David Stern's legacy

3:30 - Best of Super Bowl Week: the sounds from players, coaches and our ESPN analysts. Plus, what responsibilities do players have to the media?

3:45 - Rangers: Michael Young retires. Plus, "Would You Rather?" - Super Bowl Edition

4:00 - ESPN Dallas: Are the Cowboys closer to a top 5 pick or the Super Bowl? 

4:15 - Talk to Me - you call, we answer and that's about it at 855-787-1033

4:30 - How to watch and how to bet the Super Bowl

4:45 - Super Bowl predictions and One Last Thing, this week on Kevin Durant.

We hope you'll join us and #BeatDuke!

1-25 Hoffman and Platt

Jeff and I are live today at 2 pm CST on 103.3 FM in Dallas and online here. Follow along on twitter @craighoffman and @jeffplatt. We'll also be taking a lot of calls today at 855-787-1033. Here's what we're doing:

2:00 - Mavs: recapping a disappointing roadtrip

2:15 - Josh Brent discussion

2:30 - Trey Wingo, ESPN's NFL Live 

2:45 - Best of 6 Pack

3:00 - Let’s Fix The Mavs: Call us with your reasonable Mavericks solutions at 855-787-1033

3:15 - Do the Cowboys have a new playcaller?

3:30 - Josh Brent: your thoughts at 855-787-1033

3:45 - Does the NBA play too many games? Read Henry Abbot's article we'll discuss here.

4:00 - Cowboys: Recapping a week of perplexing comments at the Senior Bowl

4:15 - Talk To Me: You call. We answer. And that's about it. 855-787-1033

4:30 - More Mavs discussion and our NBA Power Rankings.

4:45 - One Last Thing - How to actually advance the racial discussion in America

We hope you'll join us!

The End of Funemployment

All good things must come to an end, especially when it's your unemployment status. As stupid as that may sound, the last 3 months were a tremendous learning experience and allowed me to do some things that I'll likely never be able to do again in my life. I'll touch on more of those in a second, but in the interest of not burying the lead, the good news:

I've accepted a part-time with ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas. I will be doing everything from hosting on nights and weekends to local Sportscenter updates during our local and network programming to original podcasts for ESPNDallas.com to some off-air work. It's an absolutely amazing opportunity with my dream company. Everybody knows the affinity I have for ESPN as a company thanks to the number of people who have helped me over the years and my experience there as an intern. This is one of the four owned and operated affiliates meaning I'm actually working for ESPN. Seriously, Mickey Mouse is on my paycheck.

When I went back to Newhouse in February, I talked to a number of classes about networking. This job is a direct result of the networking excursion I took in January. While in Bristol I met with a man named Rob Savinelli from the talent office who suggested I meet with Tim McCarthy in New York. Tim suggested I reach out to Tom Lee, the program director in Dallas. Tom and I talked and while he had nothing at the time, he certainly helped me look elsewhere and gave me feedback. He then had something open up. We talked. He's now my boss.

What you're probably wondering is "wait...you did all that without a Syracuse connection?! I didn't think that was possible because a) it's you and b) you went through 3+ people in the media industry and that's not mathematically possible." The person who introduced me to Rob? His boss. Laurie Orlando, SU alumnus. Go Orange.

To my younger friends who may be reading this: network and do it when they don't need you and when you don't need them. It didn't matter if I was happily employed, Tom is someone I would've wanted to talk to. I did need him and even though he didn't have anything, he was willing to talk. A few weeks later, circumstances changed and here we are. I couldn't be more excited to work for Tom because I know he wants to see me get better. He and his team are going to coach me which is something I've wanted at this level on a day-to-day basis since I graduated. This excites me far more than being on the air in a top 5 market.

This 3 month period taught me a lot and allowed me to do a lot. I learned a lot about financial responsibility and planning. When "do I have enough for rent?" is a real question, you don't have much of a choice. Luckily the answer was always yes. I got to travel and spend time with people in a fashion that I never would be able to if I was in school or employed. I got 3 weeks in New York. I got 2 weeks in Syracuse. Those trips were amazing and I'm so glad I got to take them.

I got to work on stories and write in a way that I wanted to. There are no editors (except that time Professor Nicholson called me and reminded me I can't spell) and there are no rules. It's how I want to express my opinions and my take. It's seeing a story like who the hell is this Marshall Henderson dude and going with it because I can. It's a journalistic innocence that can't be found anywhere else. I wasn't being graded. I wasn't being dictated to or constrained. It was just fun.

What I'll remember most about this period in my life though is not something I learned or somewhere I got to go. It's something I was reminded of and that's just how good people are. It's not hard to find the worst of society. Go to any website and scroll through the comments section. Go on Twitter. Go to a Rutgers basketball practice.

Throughout the past three months though, I've seen the best in people. It started immediately with so many members of my actual family, my JPZ/AER/SU family and other people I've met along the way reaching out with support. It was Matt Llewelyn reaching out and saying if I needed anything from a meal to a job, he was here for me. I told him I'd meet him for lunch and I've spent the past 3 months working for him which is how the answer to "do I have enough for rent?" was always yes. I also have a totally new appreciation for the the restaurant industry, something every human being who's ever eaten in one should have.

It was my friends in Syracuse who put me up during my stay or perhaps more accurately in some cases (hi Corey, who's office was my suitcase storage facility) put up with me. Oh and yes Fitz, you can have special recognition because you stepped up big time and lord knows you love the attention.

Saving the best for last I cannot thank my family enough. My parents who were there for me on the worst days, never lost faith and always gave me what I needed, whether that be support or a reality check (i.e. I'm going apartment hunting this weekend and not to the Final Four...thanks Mom...kinda). My grandparents who put me up in New York for nearly a month and would have let me stay longer if my parents didn't make me come home. My aunts, uncle and cousins who would check in and see how things were doing and if I needed anything. You guys are awesome. I don't know how you go about classifying "the best family in the world" but I know I wouldn't trade you for anyone else.

Last but not least, I want to thank you. I have no idea who "you" are but you've found your way here. I launched this site to initially announce my unemployment which was on December 7th. It's now April 4th and nearly 7500 people have read and listened to what I've had to say. I remember the first post I did and seeing the hit count start to climb and going "woah, I have an audience." In my industry, having that audience is everything. It was that tiny bit of affirmation that despite my employment status, I was doing something right.

This site will obviously be scaled back now that I'll have real work to do. There will be at least one more podcast that I'm hoping to do tonight. There will be blogs this weekend on the Final Four and thanks to Heather Prusak they'll be supplemented with the great work by CitrusTV, who is in Atlanta. Past that, this will be an outlet for me to talk about things outside of Dallas and maybe a few in. So until next time, thanks for reading, thanks for supporting me and I can't wait to get started on what's next.

Craig