Covering the Commanders: Keim and Company Discussion

[Faithful Fan]

I know he’s getting old, but I always liked Al Michaels. He was the best play-by-play guy in the business for a long time.



It will be fun to hear his voice Thursday.

 

[method man]

Catching up on everything here. I wasn't on this board much of the offseason after the draft.

- On Nicki, the reason the move was made is because of Dan Steinberg who took on a senior role at The Athletic. He brought his person in Nicki over. I think Nicki was incentivized to leave partially because she was passed over for a promotion at the Post for the broad role, which Fortier got (and which he deserves)

- Ben Standig is indeed not good on podcasts and I've never listened to his podcast. One of the few things I appreciate about listening to him is he likes to talk about the Wizards, which few in the market do

- Command Center Podcast with Logan, Smoot & Tana is the best Commanders podcast. These three have great chemistry and we get way more of Logan's personality in this format than any other. We are so lucky to have Smoot in the market and I'm happy for him that he has the role with Barstool now too. I also love listening to Tana's stories - he's a hell of a storyteller. The draft podcast Logan and Smoot did with the redneck draft analyst from NC was my favorite podcast episode of any DC sports podcast of the year.

- During draft season, the team had a draft podcast with Logan and Producer Jason. This was an absolutely awesome "must listen to" series. Producer Jason watched a lot of tape himself, made a lot of great points about prospects and was always humble in terms of how he expressed his opinion. Also got Logan to explain some basics regarding certain positions

- While Keim is great at reporting and reporting the facts, he is tough to listen to and his opinions have been crap over the years. His worst call was probably him adamantly saying that KOC shouldn't be in the HC conversation after 2019

- Galdi is great as well. He's a true professional and I do like it when he has guests on (EDIT: He is always more a backup podcast for me though as the podcast is too structured and he doesn't give his opinion enough)

- Glad Hoffman is out of the media. Infused his political opinions into his commentary, which should be a no no in sports talk (Sheehan is very good at masking this as an example). He would interrupt Logan with stupid jokes all the time on Take Command. He is clearly a good networker and massive brownnoser - got tired of him fellatiating himself to Mina Kimes & Robert Mayes

- Finally, Sheehan annoys me with the bravado and self congratulating but he is the best mix of analysis and radio guy communication ability. Doesn't hurt that he probably has the best network of any of these guys. Also helps that he has a background as an exited entrepreneur as he can talk to the business of sports as well. I think his chemistry is great with Thom and I've grown to enjoy listening to Thom over the years

 

[Chris]

I appreciate John Keim when he has news or impressions etc on the team.

When he starts talking Xs & Os I tune out. The last thing I need is when he does drive breakdowns from his notes or starts talking about details on players performances during individual plays.

 

[method man]

I appreciate John Keim when he has news or impressions etc on the team.

When he starts talking Xs & Os I tune out. The last thing I need is when he does drive breakdowns from his notes or starts talking about details on players performances during individual plays.

Agreed. Most of the non players and non coaches should stay in their lane. I always tune out player interviews he and others do. Waste of time

 

[Chris 44]

Catching up on everything here. I wasn't on this board much of the offseason after the draft.

- On Nicki, the reason the move was made is because of Dan Steinberg who took on a senior role at The Athletic. He brought his person in Nicki over. I think Nicki was incentivized to leave partially because she was passed over for a promotion at the Post for the broad role, which Fortier got (and which he deserves)

- Ben Standig is indeed not good on podcasts and I've never listened to his podcast. One of the few things I appreciate about listening to him is he likes to talk about the Wizards, which few in the market do

- Command Center Podcast with Logan, Smoot & Tana is the best Commanders podcast. These three have great chemistry and we get way more of Logan's personality in this format than any other. We are so lucky to have Smoot in the market and I'm happy for him that he has the role with Barstool now too. I also love listening to Tana's stories - he's a hell of a storyteller. The draft podcast Logan and Smoot did with the redneck draft analyst from NC was my favorite podcast episode of any DC sports podcast of the year.

- During draft season, the team had a draft podcast with Logan and Producer Jason. This was an absolutely awesome "must listen to" series. Producer Jason watched a lot of tape himself, made a lot of great points about prospects and was always humble in terms of how he expressed his opinion. Also got Logan to explain some basics regarding certain positions

- While Keim is great at reporting and reporting the facts, he is tough to listen to and his opinions have been crap over the years. His worst call was probably him adamantly saying that KOC shouldn't be in the HC conversation after 2019

- Galdi is great as well. He's a true professional and I do like it when he has guests on (EDIT: He is always more a backup podcast for me though as the podcast is too structured and he doesn't give his opinion enough)

- Glad Hoffman is out of the media. Infused his political opinions into his commentary, which should be a no no in sports talk (Sheehan is very good at masking this as an example). He would interrupt Logan with stupid jokes all the time on Take Command. He is clearly a good networker and massive brownnoser - got tired of him fellatiating himself to Mina Kimes & Robert Mayes

- Finally, Sheehan annoys me with the bravado and self congratulating but he is the best mix of analysis and radio guy communication ability. Doesn't hurt that he probably has the best network of any of these guys. Also helps that he has a background as an exited entrepreneur as he can talk to the business of sports as well. I think his chemistry is great with Thom and I've grown to enjoy listening to Thom over the years

I've started to enjoy listening to Bram, he is generally pretty good in coverage, like his podcasts and appears to have a genuine love for the team.

 

[Bigwig]

Thanks for this. Among other things, I love how Daniels gently criticized JCM for not staying in bounds on the long run.

 

[DWinzit]

Keim has been one of my favorite team reporters. He comes across so honest and trustworthy that for years he seemed to get more insider info than other team reporters.

I enjoy Logan's style and depth he goes into with breaking breaking down plays, positions and players

 

[Hailer]

I was personally bummed to learn Adam Kilgore’s WaPo role on the Skins beat was temporary. Really enjoyed his player features throughout camp, particularly the one on Kinlaw. Hopefully the new guy - never heard of him before - adds something beyond quotes pulled from pressers with some filler text in between, a step above AI slop. TBD

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

- Command Center Podcast with Logan, Smoot & Tana is the best Commanders podcast. These three have great chemistry and we get way more of Logan's personality in this format than any other. We are so lucky to have Smoot in the market and I'm happy for him that he has the role with Barstool now too. I also love listening to Tana's stories - he's a hell of a storyteller. The draft podcast Logan and Smoot did with the redneck draft analyst from NC was my favorite podcast episode of any DC sports podcast of the year.

I think Smoot is like Bourbon, either you love it or you make a really sour face when you drink it.

I am in the latter category with Smoot. I like Logan and Santana. I turn off everything with Smoot immediately because it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. That said, unlike some others, I think he does know his stuff, he just isn't my cup of tea.

 

[Chris]

Nicki J is either working on a feature story on John Bates or she has a serious crush on him. She hasn’t asked a single question on camera about anything else.

Sub thoughts on The Athletic- (1) without any evidence to the contrary, they did Ben Standig dirty & (2) I had subscribed to The Athletic for the better part of 2 years for $1 per month. 3 weeks ago I received a notification that my card was going to be hit for $278 for an annual renewal amount. Yeah, right. Good luck with that NYT. 🤣

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Nicki J is either working on a feature story on John Bates or she has a serious crush on him. She hasn’t asked a single question on camera about anything else.

Sub thoughts on The Athletic- (1) without any evidence to the contrary, they did Ben Standig dirty & (2) I had subscribed to The Athletic for the better part of 2 years for $1 per month. 3 weeks ago I received a notification that my card was going to be hit for $278 for an annual renewal amount. Yeah, right. Good luck with that NYT. 🤣

Holy crap, that's a huge increase.

I did the $1/per month thing for a year, then it was going to increase, and I canceled it.

Whether they did Standig dirty or not, I can't say. He does seem to have a following on his substack, and I'm happy for him about that.

I think all of the beat reporters have moved around from one outlet to another at least once. Way back, I think Keim was with the Washington Times or Examiner or something before joining ESPN.

 

[Chris]

Nicki J is either working on a feature story on John Bates or she has a serious crush on him. She hasn’t asked a single question on camera about anything else.

And here’s my answer-

 

[Conn]

Great call

 

[Chris]

Great call

 

[Hailer]

Chick Hernandez abruptly fired while in Madrid: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/11/20/chick-hernandez-washington-dc-sportscaster/

Bummed. I’ve always enjoyed Chicks shtick. Seems to be among the last of a dying breed (local sportscaster).

I’m sure whatever led to WUSA9 firing him in the middle of a sponsored trip to Madrid is quite juicy.

But mostly I’m just bummed. Add it to the pile for this season.

 

[Riggo44]

People may criticize our media for not asking the hard questions, but this dude is a Giants cheerleader.

 

[Primus Porcus]

People may criticize our media for not asking the hard questions, but this dude is a Giants cheerleader.

it's crazy, after that reporter was gushing over Liam Coen the other day.

 

[skinsinparadise]

People may criticize our media for not asking the hard questions, but this dude is a Giants cheerleader.

The NY media goes from extreme to extreme for the Giants, its weird, either they suck or they are Greek Gods. They are treating Harbaugh like he's the best HC in NFL history. And some of the national media is kicking in with similar love. Am listening to Schatz from the old Football Outsiders among others saying watch how the Giants soar next year, he digs their roster. Some Philly reporter said that the Giants are the team that's a threat to the Eagles NFC East title next year. On and on and on.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

The NY media goes from extreme to extreme for the Giants, its weird, either they suck or they are Greek Gods. They are treating Harbaugh like he's the best HC in NFL history. And some of the national media is kicking in with similar love. Am listening to Schatz from the old Football Outsiders among others saying watch how the Giants soar next year, he digs their roster. Some Philly reporter said that the Giants are the team that's a threat to the Eagles NFC East title next year. On and on and on.

Hope always springs eternal until reality bites. They are pretty consistent about their sports teams but yes probably more critical of other teams. Maybe more hope in their NYG offseason reporting. Maybe $$ works better that way - more readership until rhe other show drops and the suckitude can’t be ignored.

 

[Riggo44]

Hope always springs eternal until reality bites.

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Maybe I'm skeptical because I've listen for years about how it's the Mets year in baseball. I also saw another reporter describe it as a power struggle over the contract. My question is, who has final say, Mara? Please, let it be Mara. That would parallel the Gibbs-Cerrato-Snyder clusterfuck, and it would make me so happy.