matt jones and myron medcalf Credit: @kysportsradio on Instagram
By Michael Grant on

For a guy who quit practicing law to enter sports media, this week has been a continuation of a dream come true for Matt Jones.

ESPN Radio has announced a new daily lineup starting on Aug.3. One of the most significant changes is that Jones and Myron Medcalf will move from their weekend home to weekday afternoons. Matt & Myron will air 3-5 p.m., following The Rich Eisen Show. The change will not affect Jones’ host duties on KSR, which airs from 10 to noon in Kentucky.

Awful Announcing recently caught up with Jones to discuss this major career upgrade.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

How did this opportunity come about?

Matt Jones: “We’ve now been in that time slot for eight years. I’ve always wanted to do a daily show. I honestly didn’t know if it would happen. But then they came to us and asked if we’d be interested. We said, ‘Of course.’ It took a little while, but it ultimately happened. The time slots and all that were kind of flexible, but we felt like a daily opportunity would come in the near future.”

What does this move mean for you guys?

“It’s a huge opportunity. Look, the daytime shift on ESPN Radio, when you get into radio, is kind of exactly what you want to do. You look at everybody else on that morning show, with Golic and Mike, and then Rich Eisen. I don’t know if you could ask for a better setup. It’s a huge thing. It’s been kind of a dream of mine since I got into sports media. I’m one of the people who’ve always liked radio the best. I think it fits my talents. I’ve wanted an opportunity like this my whole career.”

Other than doing more shows, what will be the biggest difference with shifting to weekdays?

“When you’re on Sunday mornings, I think that’s a great show, a great time slot. But people have church on Sunday mornings. People have families and lives. When you’re doing daily radio, you can become a part of their routine. We’ve done it. I’ve done it for 15+ years with KSR. So now we have a chance to do it nationally. And the good thing is we’re going to get to do it our way. They’ve told me I can do the show in a way that’s probably different from what a lot of people have heard on national radio. We make it a lot more personality-driven. I always say it’s a lifestyle show, but centered around sports. I think that’s the way audio entertainment is going.”

What’s it like working with Myron?

“Best dude in the world, really nice, really smart, and knows a lot about sports. He understands how to make radio entertaining. Sometimes people in radio really have a desire to get their opinions out and see it as a step toward the next thing they want to do. Myron and I are a good team. He understands that one person has to drive and the other responds. He’s good at that. And he gets me from a personality standpoint.

“I’ve done radio with a lot of people, and my local people have always had that with me. But I struggled some nationally to find people who could do that. Myron’s always been great, and we’ve become very good friends.”

What do you think about Myron having this opportunity?

“Myron, for his part, has worked harder than anyone. He’s been a beat reporter for college basketball. He’s also been a national college basketball reporter. He and I both took on an NFL show when we weren’t even really all that familiar with it. Nobody deserves this opportunity more than Myron. He’s been at ESPN a long time, kind of waiting for this. I’m happy for myself, but I’m also really happy for him because he really deserves it.”

Could you tell us about the influence Tony Kornheiser has had on your career?

“I was a lawyer, clerking on the DC Circuit. This was around 2003, and even a little bit before that, when I was in law school. When radio started streaming on the internet, I would listen to him every day, and I kind of hated my job. I listened to him and found it so refreshing because he did not take sports seriously. He realized that sports were supposed to be fun. I think he was almost revolutionary in that. You listened, and you got to know the people around him. He brought in guests from different walks of life, and he made it so that I cared about whatever he was talking about, even if I didn’t care about the sport.”

Have you met Tony Kornheiser?

“What’s funny is I’ve never met him. I’ve at least met every single person in the business I look up to. Part of me wonders if I should never meet him. Maybe it’s better if I don’t, just because I always have such a fondness for him. I was supposed to meet him once. We were in D.C., and he was doing his show at his restaurant back then. We were supposed to do it. Then I had a death in my family and had to cancel the day before, which made me wonder if I wasn’t supposed to meet him. He’s also famously curmudgeonly and sarcastic. I like that. He kind of reminds me of Larry David, who’s another one of my heroes.”

What is challenging about radio?

“It’s the most intimate form of media. You can hide who you are on every other form of media, and you can almost play a character. But on radio, you’re on for so long. You’re live. You can’t hide it. Podcasts are similar, but you can edit a podcast, and you can’t edit radio. Your true self will come through to the audience as they listen to you. They’re engaged with you. They don’t always have a visual component, so if they don’t really connect with you, they won’t pay attention. I think when you listen to someone on the radio, you really know who they are, and you have to fill up the time. On television, you can throw on a highlight or a graphic to your partner. On the radio, if you’ve got 12 minutes, you better fill the 12 minutes, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on.”

Let’s talk about Kentucky basketball. How are you feeling about Mark Pope these days?

“Big year for him. He’s got to succeed, and I think he’s got a good roster. He’s a great guy, and he’s had a mixed bag over the past two years, but I think this will be the year that defines his time at Kentucky. It’s going to be interesting. They’re one of the stories of the year nationally, and how he does will be part of that, because there’s going to be a lot of pressure on him. But I think Kentucky fans really want him to succeed because he played here and he’s such a good guy. So hopefully he does.”

Do you think there is any truth to the Billy Donovan rumors?

“People have been rumoring Billy Donovan to Kentucky since probably 2000. So the fact that he doesn’t have a job and is free, yeah, there’s going to be speculation. I think the school’s going to want Mark Pope to succeed. If he doesn’t, then Billy Donovan will be something people talk about. But they’ve tried to hire him twice, and he’s turned down Kentucky twice. So, I will be skeptical until he signs the contract because I thought he was going to become the Kentucky coach when they hired Billy Gillispie. I thought he was going to become the Kentucky coach when they hired John Calipari. Both times he told them no.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

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