SI Media Podcast: Featuring CBS broadcaster Bill Raftery

Welcome to episode No. 49 of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. In this podcast, which is published weekly, Deitsch interviews members

Welcome to episode No. 49 of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. In this podcast, which is published weekly, Deitsch interviews members of the sports media about their work and interesting people about the sports media.

This week’s guest is longtime CBS college basketball broadcaster Bill Raftery, who will call the Final Four and National Championship game on TBS with Jim Nantz and Grant Hill. Raftery also works for FS1 during the college basketball regular season and Turner during the NCAA tournament.

In this episode, Raftery discusses how he prepares for games, why he did not covet the top analyst job at CBS before getting it, the most memorable games he’s called, his longtime relationship with Verne Lundquist, when and how he uses the lines he’s most known for such as “onions,” whether he thought about returning to coaching, how he got into broadcasting, the last time he saw Jerome (“Send it in, Jerome”) Lane, whether his legendary drinking stories are myth or truth, the documentary his son, Billy, directed on his life, his relationship with coaches, his Jim Boeheim impression, and much more. 

A reminder: you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher, and you can view all of SI’s podcasts here. If you have any feedback, questions or suggestions, please comment here or tweet at Deitsch.