Telich Talks

Mark Dowdle is an endurance, ultra runner living in Minnesota. He won the 2026, Arrowhead 135 in Northern Minnesota and has several Backyard Ultra, Last Man standing victories and will compete in Bigs Backyard in 2026, representing the United States. This is his second appearance. Note: he won Arrowhead in 2026, I misspoke. In final segment, I pay tribute to my constant running buddy, my late dog, Scarlet.

This episode has me taking stock as to where this podcast is and will be going. This is the final episode on season 3 and after a short break, we will be back with season 4 . Interviews, short stories, and investigations. The sky is the limit. Also, in the pod, I tell a story about how I had aspirations for network TV and one of autoracing‘s greatest broadcasters gave me some great advice. I would love very much if you could like, follow and or share the podcast while I re-tool for season four.

Lance Reisland is a Browns analyst for Cleveland.com and a contributor to various media outlets including pre game of Browns broadcasts. He’s a former head football coach at Garfield Heights high. We talked Super Bowl matchup .. Mike Vrabels great coaching, Browns coaching search.. Kevin Stefanski , Sam Darnold and more . Recorded 1/26/26

Noah Potter is a former college football player who began his career as a standout defensive lineman for the Mentor high school Cardinals in suburban Cleveland.He spent six years in college football ,starting at Ohio State University, then with the Cincinnati Bearcats, and finally the Wolfpack of North Carolina State. Potter, the son of a pastor, endured a plethora of injuries, had Covid on two separate occasions and dealt with a coaching change ; all factors that ultimately led to him, stepping away from the game and getting on with his life.

Joe Callari is a men’s health and performance coach and founder of Heartletics. In 2025, he was one of 200 selected out of a half million applicants to take part in Beast Games S2. A former MMA fighter and boxer , Joe suffered a severe concussion while fighting, and that led him down a very dark path. In our interview, he discussed mindset, his faith, and giving yourself the grace necessary to keep on the journey towards a better life.

Andre Knott, is an Emmy award winning television sports commentator. He has hosted numerous radio shows and podcasts over the course of his career. Today we talk about the state of the college football playoff. What solutions are out there to make it better?. We also talk about youth sports in today’s culture

This podcast is a compilation of three more of my favorites of 2025. Let’s call it. Telich Talks, Best of 2025, part 2. Hall of Fame football coach Chuck Kyle, the Iron Chef, Michael Symon, and three Time Olympic gold medalist Tianna Madison.

This episode features three of my favorites from 2025. All of them center around the theme of home, from Hall of Fame broadcaster Tom Hamilton, to Tracy McCool longtime news anchor in Cleveland, Ohio to former convict Rickey Jackson who served 39 years due to a wrongful conviction. The Lovely Jackson documentary is on Amazon Prime .

Kyle Stahlberg was, up until the fall of 2025, a middle school science teacher and the head baseball coach at Tri- C community college in Cleveland, Ohio. A very successful three year stint at Tri-C, which featured a 41 game winning streak, caught the attention of the Miami Marlins, and now Kyle is plugged into that organization with tremendous potential to move up as either a coach or manager. The sky is the limit !

Chuck Galeti is a former television and radio sportscaster in Cleveland Ohio. His appearance on the podcast in 2024 registered the highest amount of listenership as he talked about his path to sobriety. So, I decided, let’s make this an annual affair. On the podcast, he celebrated becoming a grandfather, we talked about Shedeur Sanders, Myles Garrett, high school, football, Guardians baseball, the college football landscape, and much much more.

In this episode, I enlist the services of former Cleveland State University basketball player Pat Vuyancih and journalist David Glasier to talk about the late, great hoops coach Kevin Mackey, who passed away in early November. Mackey led CSU to a stunning win over Indiana in March Madness, 1986 ,sending the Vikings to the Sweet Sixteen. In the late nineties, Mackey was let go due to issues with alcohol and drugs. He would notch 35 years of sobriety before passing. CSU played a “ run n stun “ brand that was relentless. Vuyancih, who coached on several levels and does color commentary for CSU, stayed close to Mackey up until his death.

Greater Clevelander Ron Shadrach spent years and years, trying to right a wrong. His ancestor, Private Philip Shadrach , and one other man, Private George Wilson were not recognized by the US government as persons of valor regarding a heroic feat they and a small band of men performed against the confederate forces in the Civil War.. They stole a train and disrupted enemy forces before being captured and hanged. Shadrach details the ordeal he went through and why it was so important to him to have the men earn their medals of honor

Organ donation is truly the gift of life. This week, a selfless, heroic act by dying 21 year old Bryce Dunlap gave Cleveland Browns legendary quarterback Bernie Kosar a new lease on life. Bryce , a lifelong Browns fan passed away unexpectedly from a brain injury. He expressed wishes to be an organ donor. The family put Bernie Kosar’s name on the list. And Bernie did receive Bryce’s liver. The surgery was performed Monday, November 17 in Cleveland. In this episode, I talk to Cleveland broadcaster Andy Baskin about organ donation. He has been very passionate about it since his late brother was gifted a double lung transplant 20 years ago while dealing with cystic fibrosis .

This episode of Telich Talks looks into the career of the great Josh Cribbs, NFL return dynamo who spent much of his career with the Cleveland Browns. He’s a 2023 inductee of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. My cohost on this episode is Cade Cracas, Ashland University grad and multitalented journalist who is also the social media director of the Greater Cleveland sports Hall of Fame.This episode will tease a concept that will start in early 2026, a new podcast called Forging Greatness, the stories of the Greater Cleveland sports Hall of Fame.

Jared Beasley is an award winning author. His recent book, the Endurance Artist, chronicles, the story of Gary Cantrell of Tennessee, a man who has created some of the toughest and most unique ultra endurance races in the world. His Barkley Marathons race each year is legendary in reputation and the concept of Backyard Ultra’s has captivated the imagination of a lot of the ultrarunning community . Beasley has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, Canadian Running , Outside, and Ultrarunning Magazine. Also, see my October 7th episode with ultra running legend Harvey Lewis.

Dave Rastoka is a 1990 graduate of John Carroll University and a former multiple time all American football player. He played high school football at Lake Catholic high school in Mentor, Ohio. Rastoka has owned and operated several companies that help people with disabilities live better lives. Recently, John Carroll University renamed their athletic Hall of Fame, the Dave Rastoka Sports Hall of Fame.

Marc Bona is an author of 4 books, including Not Your Average Joe, the Joe Thomas story, co-written with Dan Murphy. Our conversation centers about some sports nuggets found in another book, The Hidden History of Cleveland Sports. Bona is a features writer for Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. Marc is a proud graduate of the University of Iowa .

Tianna Madison is a three time Olympic gold medalist in track and field. She won Olympic gold as part of the 4 x 100 relay team in both 2012 and 2016. She won Olympic gold in the long jump in 2016. She is an Elyria, Ohio high school product, who was wildly successful in high school. In 2005, at age 19, she won the world championships in the long jump. Our discussion was about navigating the downtime in her career, the feelings of life not being worth living, and how she not only rebounded, but sees it as her life‘s mission to help others be their best. She will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame on December 2.

Harvey Lewis, a high school teacher from Cincinnati, Ohio, is recognized as one of the greatest ultramarathoners in the world. The unassuming 49 year-old set a world backyard ultra last man standing record of 450 miles in 2023. He is back this October to compete once again in Tennessee. Lewis excels in a lot of different type races , either , 24 hour competitions or 100 milers or grueling , punishing events like the Badwater 135 where he has won twice. Lewis came up to Brunswick Ohio to help crew for his wife Kelly who was running in the NEO24 ultra marathon.

This episode looks into the greatness of college basketball stand out Wanda Ford, who played years before the WNBA started and who is one of many elite athletes from East Tech high school in Cleveland Ohio. East Tech has sent the likes of Jesse Owens to greatness and many others. This December, Wanda Ford will be inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame on a night where the Hall of Fame itself will debut. The first physical structure housing Sports greatness in Cleveland, Ohio.