Sports & Entertainment

, , ,

BTU #442 - Navy to PGA Golfer (Billy Hurley III)

, , ,
BTU #442 - Navy to PGA Golfer (Billy Hurley III)

Why Listen:

Billy is a professional golfer, the first Naval Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR card, which he has done for the last seven years. The more I learn about Billy’s journey, the more I’m blown away by what he achieved. In a field that is crowded and incredibly competitive, Billy has succeeded despite having five years where - instead of focusing 100% on golf like his peer set - he was serving in the military.In this interview we talk about cultivating a mindset of excellence - even though serving as a Surface Warfare Officer didn’t directly relate to his aspirations as a golfer - he focused on it 100% and did the best job he could. We talk about making sacrifices and how to balance that with being present with one’s family. We talk about what life is like on the PGA Tour and more.

About Billy:

Billy Hurley III was a member of the victorious American team in the 2005 Walker Cup and served as captain of the 2004 Palmer Cup Team. He won seven collegiate golf titles at the Naval Academy, was named 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year and was ranked the #6 best amateur in the world. Billy was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer for five years. After his Naval service, Billy turned his focus to golf. He earned his place on the Web.com Tour in 2011, finishing the season in 25th place and becoming the first Naval Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR Card. He has continued to be a strong competitor on the TOUR, winning the 2016 Quicken Loans National – a Tiger Woods-hosted tribute to military personnel. With the win, Billy qualified for his first PGA and Masters Championships.

, , , ,

BTU #360 - CBS' "Tough as Nails" with Kelly "Murph" Murphy

, , , ,
BTU #360 - CBS' "Tough as Nails" with Kelly "Murph" Murphy

Why Listen:
I want to highlight a couple things that Murph and I talked about in this interview. The first is that I love Murph's attitude around expanding your thinking about your career. In this own life, he ended up doing things that he didn't initially plan when he got out of the military.

Murph currently works at the University of Central Missouri and as their Director of Military and VeteranServices so he has some great thoughts from his experience helping many veterans in their post-military life. We talk about the value of education that keeps on coming up again and again in Murph’s story.

We also talked about the TV show that he's on called “Tough as Nails”. We talk about what it was being on the set and how that opportunity came about.

About Murph:

Murph is the Director of Military and Veteran Services at the University of Central Missouri. He is also a competitor on CBS’s new show, Tough as Nails. TOUGH AS NAILS is a competition series that celebrates everyday Americans who roll up their sleeves and don’t think twice about working long hard hours and getting their hands dirty, in order to keep their country running. On the show, competitors compete in challenges that take place at real-world job sites. Murph served in the Marine Corps for 22 years. Since his military service, he has worked as an Adjunct Faculty member at Central Texas College and Columbia College and also worked at Lowe’s in their as a Human Resrouce and Training Manager.

, , , ,

BTU #322 - Navy SEAL to Paralympic Gold Medalist (Dan Cnossen)

, , , ,
BTU #322 - Navy SEAL to Paralympic Gold Medalist (Dan Cnossen)

Why Listen:

I don’t really know what to say about today’s interview. Dan is a classmate of mine from the Naval Academy. I didn’t know him really well while I was there, but I knew of him. This interview really makes me wish I would have had the chance to get to know him better while we were in school together. We recorded this interview, and there were some technical difficulties and we got started a bit late, and I had another meeting right after it. It was actually a video conference that I have with my men’s group each week. So I hung up with Dan and went straight into this men’s group meeting. And we always start off these calls with a round the room check-in - each of the seven guys in my group takes five minutes to share what’s going on in their life. And I just knew I’d be picked to go first. And I was. And I was just coming from my conversation with Dan and the whole weight of our conversation hit me. And I got pretty emotional. 

Dan made an enormous sacrifice in the service of our country. He paid a price for his choosing to keep our country safe. And he faced an incomprehensible recovery from that sacrifice - one in which he faced uncertainty, loss, and obstacles that it’s really hard for me to get my head around. And he approached this with a moment-by-moment presence that really shows the man he is. He came back from this loss to win the gold medal at the Paralympics - he made history in doing so. And through it all he maintains himself with such humility, such candor, and such honesty - it really made me feel humbled and honored to have him on the show, and to count him as a classmate. He has been hesitant to stand in the spotlight, to speak publicly about his experience. If you - like me - are touched by his story as I was, I hope that you reach out and let him know. I think he is an incredible human being with an inspiring message, and I cannot wait to see what is ahead for him.

At the end of our conversation, I ask Dan about organizations he would recommend listeners support. Each of them are listed in the show notes for this episode at BeyondTheUniform.org - I hope that you’ll check them out and consider supporting them.

About Dan:

Cnossen is currently a graduate student at Harvard University, working towards a Master of Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government as well as a Master of Theological Studies at the Divinity School. In the 2018 at the Winter Paralympics , Dan created history in his second Paralympic appearance after claiming a gold medal in the men's 7.5km sitting biathlon event. In doing so he became the first American male and the second American ever to claim a gold medal in a biathlon event in either the Olympics or Paralympics. 

Dan grew up on a fifth-generation family farm in Kansas. He attended the Naval Academy as part of the illustrious class of 2002, after which he served in the Navy as a SEAL. While serving as a platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009, Dan stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and was wounded in the explosion. The accident caused Cnossen to lose both his legs just above the knee. As you will hear in this interview, in both his recovery and achievements since then, Dan continues to be an inspiration to the military and non-military community.

, , ,

BTU #317 - Army to EVP @ Hornets Sports & Entertainment (James Jordan)

, , ,
BTU #317 - Army to EVP @ Hornets Sports & Entertainment (James Jordan)

Why Listen:

If you’re interested in sports and entertainment - either as an enthusiast or as a potential career option - you’ve got to hear James’ story. He went from 31 year Army Veteran to being an Executive Vice President for Hornets Sports & Entertainment. Not only does this entail the logistics for each and every Hornets basketball game… but that is literally less than 20% of the events that occur at the Spectrum Center each year, and James oversees all of them. We talk about how much of our military experience translates well to operations. We talk about why Veterans may love a career in sports and entertainment. And we talk about swimming in your own lane. James’ younger brother is a guy you may have heard of - Michael Jordan… the Michael Jordan. Towards the end of our conversation, James and I talk about this, and his response to my question about this made me respect James even more. James has a wonderful perspective on the military transition, and I hope you enjoy this unique conversation.

If you enjoy this episode, I’d recommend checking out four other similar episodes, each listed in our show notes, which are:

1. BTU #93 - Matt Ufford: Marines to Editor & Host at SB Nation

2. BTU #74 - Nate Boyer: Army Green Beret to the NFL

3. BTU #258 - Army Ranger to HBO and Writing & Directing Movies (Brian Hanson)

4. BTU #302 - Navy SWO to ESPN Reporter and Host (Sal Paolantonio)

About James:

James Jordan is the Executive Vice President of Operations for Hornets Sports & Entertainment, where he has served for nearly six years. He started out in the Army, where he served for over 31 years, most recently as the 35th Signal Brigade Airborne Command Sergeant Major as a part of 18th Airborne Corps Task Force supporting Combat Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. After his military service, he worked for over seven years as the Director of Operations and Administration for the EPS Corporation, Field Service Company.

, , ,

BTU #302 - Navy SWO to ESPN Reporter and Host (Sal Paolantonio)

, , ,
BTU #302 - Navy SWO to ESPN Reporter and Host (Sal Paolantonio)

Why Listen

Sal has had an incredible career as a journalist, from newspapers, to authoring four books, to being a Veteran of ESPN for over 25 years. With ESPN he covers the National Football League for SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Live and Fantasy Football Now. He also hosts the long-running NFL Matchup show. While Sal’s career has been in journalism and sports, he talks about curiosity, about finding information that no one else knows, about approaching one’s job with a beginner’s mindset, and a whole host of topics applicable to any career.

About Sal

Sal Paolantonio is a national correspondent for ESPN. He primarily covers the National Football League for SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Live and Fantasy Football Now. He also hosts the long-running NFL Matchup show. He has been a mainstay of ESPN’s NFL coverage since he joined ESPN in August 1995, and is a veteran of 25 Super Bowls. Prior to joining ESPN, Paolantonio was a political reporter (1985-93), as well as a beat reporter for the Philadelphia Eagles (1993-95), for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1994, he won the Associated Press Sports Editors Award for Reporting, and in 1995, he was named Philadelphia’s Best Sportswriter by Philadelphia Magazine. He also served as a reporter for Philadelphia’s WPHL-TV nightly newscast, Inquirer News Tonight (1994-95), and hosted Saturday Morning Sports Page, a weekly call-in show on WIP-AM all-sports radio (1993-95). Paolantonio began his journalism career as a reporter for the Albany Times Union, where he received the Associated Press Managing Editor’s Award for Enterprise Reporting (1985). He received the 2017 Jack Newfield Courage in Journalism Award from the New York Daily News.

Paolantonio is the author of four books. His most recent, Philly Special: The Inside Story of How the Philadelphia Eagles Won Their First Super Bowl Championship, will be available in September 3, 2019. His previous book, How Football Explains America, was published in 2008 and was the No. 1 selling football book in America for six straight months, according to Amazon.com.

Paolantonio served in the United States Navy (1979-83) as a surface warfare officer in the Pacific Fleet and was awarded the United Nations Meritorious Service Medal in 1981 for supervising the rescue of Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea. He retired as a full lieutenant in 1983. Paolantonio is also a member of the board of the Cooper University Hospital Foundation in Camden, N.J.

, , ,

BTU #306 - Vietnam WIA to 4x Super Bowl Champion (Rocky Bleier)

, , ,
BTU #306 - Vietnam WIA to 4x Super Bowl Champion (Rocky Bleier)

Why Listen:

Special thanks for ESPN for helping make this interview happen. A new film about Rocky, The Return, will air on August 20th, featuring Rocky’s story, and his return to Vietnam where he sustained his injuries 50 years ago. Rocky’s story - of going from the NFL to Vietnam, to being wounded in action, being told he will never again play football, and clawing his way back to the NFL to win 4 Super Bowls is absolutely inspiring.

About Rocky:

Not falling within the ideal of what a running back should look like, Bleier had to run harder and play smarter to be able to stand out. Despite his drive and ability to make the big play, the Pittsburgh Steelers only considered him a late round pick. But before the season ended that first year, he was drafted again…this time by the United States Army. At the height of the Vietnam War, Bleier was thrust into combat early and was seriously wounded when his platoon ran into an ambush. Receiving wounds from both rifle fire and grenade fragments in his legs, he was barely able to walk and his professional football career seemed to have ended before it began…

For more than two years, he drove himself. Little by little he overcame obstacles and fought his way back. He not only made the Pittsburgh Steelers, but also eventually became a starting running back on a team that won four Super Bowls and became the greatest football team of the 20th century.

The hard lessons Rocky Bleier learned early in his life that helped him overcome adversity and reach his goals, have paid off after football. These lessons are seen between the lines in the popular book on his life, "Fighting Back" and on stages of speaking appearances around the country.

, , ,

BTU #280 - Navy to PGA Golfer (Billy Hurley III)

, , ,
BTU #280 - Navy to PGA Golfer (Billy Hurley III)

Why Listen:

Billy is a professional golfer, the first Naval Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR card, which he has done for the last seven years. The more I learn about Billy’s journey, the more I’m blown away by what he achieved. In a field that is crowded and incredibly competitive, Billy has succeeded despite having five years where - instead of focusing 100% on golf like his peer set - he was serving in the military.In this interview we talk about cultivating a mindset of excellence - even though serving as a Surface Warfare Officer didn’t directly relate to his aspirations as a golfer - he focused on it 100% and did the best job he could. We talk about making sacrifices and how to balance that with being present with one’s family. We talk about what life is like on the PGA Tour and more.

About Billy:

Billy Hurley III was a member of the victorious American team in the 2005 Walker Cup and served as captain of the 2004 Palmer Cup Team. He won seven collegiate golf titles at the Naval Academy, was named 2004 Patriot League Player of the Year and was ranked the #6 best amateur in the world. Billy was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy, serving as a Surface Warfare Officer for five years. After his Naval service, Billy turned his focus to golf. He earned his place on the Web.com Tour in 2011, finishing the season in 25th place and becoming the first Naval Academy graduate to earn a PGA TOUR Card. He has continued to be a strong competitor on the TOUR, winning the 2016 Quicken Loans National – a Tiger Woods-hosted tribute to military personnel. With the win, Billy qualified for his first PGA and Masters Championships.