From professor to podcaster

By Craig Epstein | Published by April 18, 2019

Podcaster and Adjunct Professor Anthony Nicoletti was a student at Manhattan College when he realized that he wanted to make a career out of talking about sports.

“We had a radio show at Manhattan College as a three man show which included myself, my co host now, and our hockey insider Rob Colaianni.” Nicoletti said. “Afterwards, my co host and I wanted to get into Sports Communications, so I took a job with CineSport and he took a job with Westwood One.”

Fast forward to 2014 and that is how M&A Sports Radio came to be.  The M&A stands for Michael “Moose” O’Brien and Anthony Nicoletti who, together, each week create a podcast riffing about sports. The podcast can be found on iTunes and Spotify.

“I taped a demo to try to send around to different radio stations,” said Nicoletti who, as an adjunct, teaches COMM 1402 Speech as Critical Citizenship at Kean. “We did a 45 minute demo that we sent around to our friends and they told us we should make a podcast and that was it.”

Podcasting has become such a large and powerful force in the world of radio so Nicoletti believes that it is the show’s genuineness and authenticity that separates it from the others. Having downloads in all 50 states, he doesn’t try to come off as something that he’s not because he feels that he would become a caricature of himself which would ultimately drive people away from his show.

“I think it’s our uniqueness in the sense that you know what you’re going to get. I’m going to make corny jokes and Moose is going to try and get me to laugh,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we understand the scope of what we’re doing.”

O’Brien believes the fact that the two have known each other since their days in college only adds to the authenticity of their show.

“Our show is different because it’s two friends who met in college and had a show then and it’s something we continue to do and build on to this day,” O’Brien said. “Anthony is one of my really good friends and all we’ve ever tried to do is be authentic and I think listeners of our show gravitate towards that.”

Along with his colleagues on the show whom he calls his “Circle of Trust,” Nicoletti feels that in order to be successful you must carve your own path. As a result, Nicoletti takes the M&A Sports Radio brand very seriously and will speak out if he sees something that he does not like.

“I’m not trying to have skeletons in our past. I’m trying to build a brand, make connections, and raise some money for charity because that’s what it’s really all about,” Nicoletti said. “If you want to venture out into the sports media you’re going to have to take your own path, so if I see something come out from our brand that I don’t like I’m going to voice my opinion.”

Whether they are discussing sports, conducting interviews, or even talking about Survivor Pool Locks, Nicoletti and O’Brien aren’t opposed to having a good time in the form of bits or simply shooting the breeze with one another. At the same time, the two understand when it’s time to approach segments in a professional manner as well.

“What you see and hear from us is who we are. It’s not an act or a shtick,” O’Brien said. “We come into each and every show ready to have fun, but we will be serious when we need to be.”

The 28-year-old East Brunswick native gets a lot of his inspiration from radio hosts like Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Ryen Russillo, Mike Francesa, and a little bit of Craig Carton. Nicoletti is a big fan of Barstool Sports and he takes some keys from a number of their personalities as well. Whether it’s Kevin Clancy (KFC), Dan Katz (Big Cat), Eric Sollenberger (PFT Commenter) or Dave Portnoy (El Presidente), Nicoletti believes that each of them are geniuses in their own way.

In September 2017, Nicoletti unintentionally set off a spat with Russillo when he jokingly messaged the former ESPN radio host about his new segment called The Sit Down.

“We have this segment called the Sitdown which we have as one word and Russillo put out a segment under the same name but as two words,” Nicoletti said. “So, on Twitter I told him that he would be hearing from our representation, hoping that he gets it’s a joke.”

After trying to explain that it was all a means to get on his radar, Nicoletti made an effort to mend the fence between his sports radio idol and himself.

“We just wanted to play it up a little and get on his radar but he didn’t respond to that,” Nicoletti said. “We sent him a shirt but he hasn’t reached back so I don’t think he likes us.”

Nicoletti was more flattered than anything that they both came up with a similar idea, but Russillo wasn’t getting the joke. Eventually, Nicoletti decided to call up Barstool’s show “The Evening Yak” on Sirius to explain that his intentions were good natured.

“I called into Big Cat’s show on Sirius, knowing that they’re close, explaining that we’re not bad guys and that it was just a misunderstanding,” he said. “So, Big Cat tells me if he remembers, he would do it, but he forgot.”

Nicoletti understands that it’s difficult to be successful in podcasting, so if he doesn’t get to where he ultimately wants to be as a radio host then he is prepared to close that chapter of his life. At that point, he said he might pursue becoming a full time professor and pursue his doctorate. His ultimate goal is to live his life on his terms and carve a path that he enjoys. Whether that is in front of a microphone or not, Nicoletti is proud that he will at least live with the knowledge that he gave a career in podcasting his best effort.

“I want my name to stand for something because I think there’s so many people in life that just go through the routine of bouncing from cubicle to cubicle,” Nicoletti said. “If that’s your life and you want to do that I’m not trying to take a shot whatsoever, but I couldn’t do that.”

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