Podcast Spotlight: All Good Points

Sports-focused podcasts are an interesting genre to watch. Currently, there are about four buckets of sports podcasts you’ll see: the audio documentary, athlete / sports personality interview, audio-only version of a TV show, and fan-centric podcasts. This last bucket, in my opinion, is where some of the most unique and compelling podcasts are coming from.

I was recently introduced to All Good Points, a sports podcast that takes a fan-first approach to their podcast. It’s refreshing to take a break from the seemingly four or five topics every sports TV show and radio show focus on and instead take a more holistic approach to the topics discussed.

I was fortunate to exchange some emails with Ricky Gray, creator and host of All Good Points, to discuss the podcast, issues with current sports media, and his goals for the podcast. See below for our Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Discover Pods: How’d you get into podcasting?

GRAY: Podcasts honestly are the highlight of my commute, I listen to so many of them that I thought to myself “Could I do this?” After speaking with many different friends and having experience in theater and writing I figured I should at the very least give it a shot. I then reached out to multiple podcasters to get tips on how to make the sound quality near perfection which was really the coals that powered my creative engine. I dove head first into podcasting and its honestly one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made.

DP: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to All Good Points?

GRAY: So All Good Points isn’t a run of the mill podcast, its solely centered on fan interaction and creating an audio experience where sports fans don’t need to worry about only one team or player getting highlighted. Being the analytical person I am, I use statistics to explain my reasoning on why certain teams win games or why certain players are better than others. Every week I invite listeners to send in their picks of the week on a segment that I call “Ricks Picks”. The most important part of my process is reminding fans that I am there to serve them, not the other way around.

DP: Sports podcasts are an increasingly crowded space, how do you differentiate All Good Points?

GRAY: Many sports podcasts are like sports television, they seem to be perfectly fine with telling you that one team is the best team in the league, however, they often give little to no supporting evidence to state why. I prefer logical reasoning over emotional bias. I’m a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, but I’m not going to speak into a microphone where people are expecting to hear truth and give them anything other than that. All Good Points is for the fans to use stats and logic to create their own ideas and opinions about teams while having statistical data to prove these points.

DP: What’s your hottest take?

GRAY: I would honestly say my hottest take was my coverage on the recent Dallas Cowboys Vs. New Orleans Saints game, the Saints came in as heavy favorites and something in my gut told me the Cowboys would come out on top in that game. It was so much fun recording and the listeners seemed to enjoy me breaking down the game into smaller, well defined pieces of information that helped them understand the exact reason that the Cowboys won that game.

DP: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

GRAY: As far as my biggest challenge goes I’d have to say that some parts of the world are a little more difficult to reach but I’m dead set on breaking down those barriers to give my current listeners and the ones to come the best listening experience imaginable.

DP: Where do you want to take your podcast?

GRAY: Honestly its kind of a dream of mine to have my podcast on the HeadGum network, the people involved are really like idols to me. I’d love to travel around and interview different athletes from every sport along with engaging with my listeners by doing live shows and things like that.

DP: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

GRAY: Currently Buckets with Amir Blumenfeld is my main one, followed by If I Were You, Punch Drunk Sports, and The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes.

DP: Anything else you’d like to add?

GRAY: Sure my instagram is  @allgoodpointspodcast where I do daily posts of classic players, answer questions, and do live coverage of games. All Good Points is available on every podcast platform so regardless of the site you use you can always find me.