Oh Behave!

John Sterling

John Sterling, the longtime radio voice of the New York Yankees, also serves as the Emmy winning host of Yankeeography and Yankees Classics on the YES Network. Since joining the network in 2002 he has worked in many different capacities. In addition to his YES hosting duties, Sterling is the network's play-by-play voice for Ivy League football and basketball. He has also served as a play-by-play announcer for several New Jersey Nets games on YES.

Sterling has been the radio voice of the Yankees since the 1989 season, becoming one of the most recognizable announcers in the game. Previously, Sterling and Michael Kay hosted Sport Talk with John Sterling and Michael Kay, an MSG Network produced sports call-in radio show that featured the pair discussing a wide array of sports topics on 77WABC during the winter months. During the baseball season, Sterling and Kay hosted the radio show Yankee Talk, which aired prior to all weekend Yankees games.

Sterling joined WABC Radio in 1989 from TBS television and WSB Radio, where he called Atlanta Hawks games from 1981-89 and Braves games from 1982-87. In 1981, he handled play-by-play chores in Washington D.C. for the Bullets on WDCA-TV.

In 1975, Sterling worked as play-by-play announcer for the New York Nets and the New York Islanders on WMCA Radio in New York. He called Islanders broadcasts until 1978 while continuing to call Nets action until 1980. Prior to calling games for the Nets and Islanders, Sterling announced Morgan State football on the radio from 1971-78 and hosted a talk show on WMCA Radio in New York.

An "Iron Man" of the broadcasting booth, Sterling has compiled a streak of consecutive games on the air, dating back to the start of the 1981-82 Atlanta Hawks season. During his 17 seasons as the Yankee's announcer he has never missed a game, including the 2005 season in which he called every pitch of every game.

Dan Schachner

Dan Schachner is a television host, actor and announcer celebrating his third year as the Puppy Bowl referee. Riding high from the success of last year’s record-breaking event, Dan is even more assured that he has the skills and stamina to officiate the biggest game in animal sports. Dan lives in Manhattan and has two boys, ages five and seven, who might just be Puppy Bowl’s biggest fans. Below, find out all you need to know about the only human face in puppy football.

Name: Dan Schachner aka “The Ref”

Hometown: Oceanside, NY

How You Became “The Ref”: When I first found out Animal Planet was on the hunt for a new Puppy Bowl ref, I knew my true calling in life had come. I quickly grabbed my camcorder and sent in an audition tape highlighting my puppy refereeing skills and sense of humor. To my surprise, they “bit,” and now I’m calling the most important game of my life for the third year in a row!

Responsibilities of the Puppy Bowl Ref: My job is to make sure the puppies play a safe, clean game. I call puppy penalties, which can lead to expulsion if necessary, and I also call the touchdowns – just like a football referee. And, of course, there are always puppy “messes” to clean up.

Favorite Penalties to Call: ”Illegal Fur-mation,” ”Ruff-sides,” “Roughing the Kitten,” “Ineligible Poodle Downfield.”

Most Looking Forward to This Year: One word: Penguins!

Enjoy Most About Being the Ref: Just when you think you have identified every type of puppy foul imaginable, there’s always a new infraction to surprise you.

Why Did You Come Back for Another Year?: Animal Planet begged and pleaded, sending gift baskets of flowers and puppy treats every day, until I said yes…OK, it was the other way around.

Other Places to See (and Hear) Dan: Guest-starring roles on several network television shows, host of the monthly, cable series “Brain Candy TV,” a panelist on Animal Planet’s “America’s Cutest” television series, host of popular podcast “The Actor’s Grind,” announcer for the Showtime network, and the voice of Garnier Fructis’ television and radio campaign.

Interests: Officiating animal sports, sports trivia (human and non-human), acting, voiceover work, my family, running, cycling, good food (eating it, not cooking).

Transcript:

Announcer [00:00:00]:
Pet Life Radio.

Announcer [00:00:02]:
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.

Announcer [00:00:10]:
It's Oh Behave with Arden Moore, this show that teaches you how to have harmony in the household with your pets. Join Arden as she travels coast to coast to help millions better understand why cats and dogs do what they do. Get the latest scoop on famous faces. They're per perfectly pampered pets in who's walking hoon rinse in Tinseltown. From famous pet experts and bestselling authors to television and movie stars, you'll get the latest buzz from wagging tongues and tails, garner great pet tips and have a dog on fur flying fun time. So get ready for the pause and applause as we unleash your Oh Behave host, America's pet edutainer, Arden Moore.

Arden Moore [00:00:48]:
Welcome to the Oh Behave show on Pet Life Radio. I'm your host, Arden Moore. Are you ready for some football? Before the kickoff for Sunday's Super bowl between Seattle and Denver, get comfy on the couch and get ready to see how four legged athletes perform on the gridiron. We kick off on Sunday with the premiere of the kitten bowl airing on the Hallmark Channel at noon, Eastern and Pacific at 11:00 a.m.. Central. Then we celebrate puppy bowl ten airing on Animal Planet at 03:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. Now, listeners, you're in for a double treat today because on our show we had the human stars from each of the pet bowls.

Arden Moore [00:01:29]:
That's right. Later in the show, we will have the Puppy bowl referee Dan Schachner. But let's kick off this show by welcoming the announcer for the Kitten bowl. You know him best as the radio play by play announcer for the New York Yankees, the legendary John Sterling. Hey, welcome to the show, John. Did I do the right?

John Sterling [00:01:52]:
You were great. You were terrific.

Arden Moore [00:01:56]:
Hey, we're going to hear more from John. We got to stop right now. We're talking time out on the field. We've got to take a quick commercial break, so everybody sit and stay. We'll be right back.

Announcer [00:02:08]:
Time for a pause. Four furry ones actually sit and stay. Oh, behave. We'll be right back.

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Announcer [00:03:02]:
Let's Talk Pets on petliferadio.com. Allbehave is back with more tail wagging ways to achieve harmony in the household with your pets. Now back to your fetching host, America's pet edutainer, Arden Moore.

Arden Moore [00:03:20]:
Welcome back to the Oh Behave show on Pet Life Radio. I'm your host, Arden Moore. We are all football fur style. I'm talking about having the announcer for the new debut of the Kitten Bowl, John Sterling. And later in our show, the referee for the puppy bowl, ten. I'm talking about Dan Shackner. So we're continuing with John. Hey, we're talking football kitty style.

Arden Moore [00:03:43]:
I mean, you got me as curious as a cat. You got to give me the lowdown on this, Mr. Announcer.

John Sterling [00:03:48]:
Well, I would love to give you a lowdown, but I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I think you'll think it's fun and adorable and cute. And we have 30 kittens running around on this faux football field. They've been put onto different teams. And we'll see on Sunday. Now I'm going to do eastern time, okay. So it's a three hour show.

Dan Schachner [00:04:10]:
Okay.

John Sterling [00:04:10]:
It's on Hallmark Channel from noon to three.

Arden Moore [00:04:13]:
Excellent.

John Sterling [00:04:14]:
So that would be nine to twelve your time. Then they're going to replay it three to six. So that would be noon to three your time. And then they're actually going to play it in the east from six to nine for the third time opposite the Super bowl. And as I've said, now we'll find out who hates football. He's going to watch the kitten bowl instead of the Super bowl. But you have two opportunities to watch it. And, you know, Howard Stern's beautiful wife, Beth Stern is a great animal lover, and she's the one who really deals with the animals.

John Sterling [00:04:45]:
And along with a gal from LA, a young actress named Renee, who's beautiful and lovely. And she and I do the play by play, and we have guests drop in. Regis Philbin drops in for a moment to broadcast one of the games with, you know, the real thing happened on the set. I walked out one day, or the first day. There were two days when we were shooting and Beth Stern came over to me and said, hi, john, it's really nice to meet you. And I looked at her and I almost dropped dead. She is so beautiful. You know the term drop dead beautiful.

John Sterling [00:05:17]:
Beth Stern is drop dead beautiful.

Arden Moore [00:05:19]:
You were an ageless wonder.

John Sterling [00:05:21]:
So, hey, unfortunately, Howard wasn't there. I would have loved him to be there. But anyway, so this is a three hour show, and I think it's really different and very unusual. And you know what? I have no idea what it's going to be like, but I hope it'll be very good.

Arden Moore [00:05:35]:
No, I think it will be. And we do want to give a shout out for the group that is benefiting by the kitten bowl. I'm talking about the North Shore Animal league, America, that is such a renowned shelter. I've been there before and I salute what they're doing. But come on, we got the kittens. You're right. You have no idea what to expect. But can you tell us a little bit about some of your tweaking of your legendary sayings that you do for the New York Yankees that you're going to be trying to do feline style for the kitten?

John Sterling [00:06:05]:
Know, one of the cats is named Tom Cat Brady.

Arden Moore [00:06:09]:
I'm so sorry he didn't make it to the dance, but yeah.

John Sterling [00:06:13]:
And one other that I think is pretty know if you've read the great running back of Seattle, Marshawn lynch, who's called, you know, he's the one who didn't want to talk during the media day. A man, a few words, but a tough customer. And his teammates take care of him. They know how important he is to their team. Well, we have a cat, and he's called Meow Sean lynch. So there's a couple of them, Tom cat Brady and Meow Sean lynch. And there's many more. But I can't remember what I said because it was so long ago.

Arden Moore [00:06:46]:
Well, how is it going to work? How do you do the kickoff for the folks? So they get a little bit of an idea. We're going to post the show today. What's the field? Like you said, the faux football field.

John Sterling [00:06:54]:
But yeah, you can't believe what a beautiful field they built. It's the rich green astroturf, or artificial turf. And there are stands around this field and goalposts, and the kittens, they jump up on the goalpost or jump over the goal post. They jump up in the stands. And I'd be lying to you if I told you I knew what I was going to see, because this is all being put together out where you are out in LA. And so eastern time on Sunday noon, I'm going to put on Hallmark and I'll see what I see, and I hope it looks good. I hope it sounds good.

Arden Moore [00:07:28]:
I think it's a good challenge for you, Mr. Play by play.

John Sterling [00:07:31]:
And you talked about the North Shore Animal. I just want to get a little plug in. We're hoping that all the kittens, after people across the country see these adorable little kittens running around. We hope that they're all adopted. I mean, that would really be the key for the show. If we had all the kittens adopted.

Arden Moore [00:07:46]:
I think that would be the winning feat for the kitten bowl. And you're going to be using everything to entice these kitties. I heard wand toys and lasers, and there's going to be weave poles and tunnels. I mean, to me, I just witnessed feline agility at a cat show. That's a new one. And so it sounds like it's similar to that, that some of these cats really dig acting like dogs going up and over and through different obstacles.

John Sterling [00:08:11]:
Yeah.

John Sterling [00:08:12]:
Again, I don't know what I'm going to see, but I hope I'm going to see something that's really good, and I think that people get a big kick out of it. It's a great undertaking. 3 hours.

Arden Moore [00:08:21]:
Yeah.

John Sterling [00:08:21]:
But I think that they'll put it together absolutely. Great.

Arden Moore [00:08:24]:
And what about the Yankees this year? What's your predictions? You've been man in the mic since 1989. You're talking to an ex sports writer, so that's why I know and respect you.

John Sterling [00:08:34]:
Well, last year, as you know, they had a very un yankee like year, even though they were over 500. Tells you what a great job Joe Girardi did. They were just killed by injuries.

Arden Moore [00:08:43]:
Yeah.

John Sterling [00:08:44]:
Last year, when you lose Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Grandison, and Mark de Sherro from your lineup, I don't care who you are, you're not going to have a great year. So I thought it was unbelievable that the Yanks finished over 500, but that's not good enough. The bar is set so high for the Yankees all the time, and they had, I've been very lucky. They had made the playoffs 17 times in the previous 19 years, and I believe that broadcaster sounds much better when he's doing winning games.

Arden Moore [00:09:13]:
Yes.

John Sterling [00:09:13]:
So the Yankees went out and adopting George Steinbrenner's philosophy, spend money to make money. Now we'll see if they sign the right people. And they went out and signed so many terrific players, Brian McCann and Jacobi Ellsbury and Carlos Beltron and Brian Roberts and Kelly Johnson. And then they won the biding war for Masahiro Tanaka, who was 24 and old last year in Japan. And they've been scouting him since he was 17. And you know what? That's the beauty of sports. You said you've been an ex sports rider, so you certainly know this, right? No one can predict. But it's very intriguing.

John Sterling [00:09:52]:
When we go to a camp in the month of February and then play the exhibition games in the month of March and then the season, it'll really be intriguing to see how good the Yankees are.

Arden Moore [00:10:00]:
And we definitely want to do two things because you've got that voice. We want you to do the home run call for Yankees. And then I want to hear what you're going to do for the Kitten bowl. You got to do it in the John Sterling style. Our listeners are know the, all the.

John Sterling [00:10:15]:
Nicknames for the players on home runs has become, I guess I'm very lucky. It has become a cottage industry. And now I'm expected to do something for every player. But it really all began with Bernie Williams.

Arden Moore [00:10:27]:
All right, let's hear the Bernie Williams call.

John Sterling [00:10:29]:
I'll give you a Bernie Williams home run call. He's facing Randy Myers in the first game of the American League championship series in 96. And we're in the 11th inning and the game is tied. And Myers deals swung on and hitting the Ed a deep left field. That ball is high. It is far, it is gone. Bernie goes boom, baby, burn. He was the first.

Arden Moore [00:10:56]:
Tell me what you're going to do when there's a spectacular feat by a feline at the kitten bowl being aired on Hallmark. How are you going to. Let's hear something.

John Sterling [00:11:04]:
Well, the only problem is I've already done it. I frankly don't know what I've done, but we'll do a few things involving the kittens and football names and things like that. I wish I could remember it, and honestly, I can't. I'm letting you. We do. When I look at the kitten ball, I'll be seeing it for the first time. I have no idea what it's going to look like, but I think, I hope it's going to be terrific and I hope people will tune in.

Arden Moore [00:11:30]:
Oh, they're going. And I want to remind everybody, it's going to air on the Hallmark channel three times on Super Bowl Sunday. The first one is at noon to three on Eastern, then 03:00 eastern and then again at 06:00 on Eastern. And it will feature both John Sterling and the host, the beautiful Beth stern. And you got some drop ins. You mentioned Regis Philbin, you got Rachel Ray as Hoda coming. And you got some good headliners that do a lot of good for pets. And all of this is to benefit the North Shore Animal league America.

Arden Moore [00:12:01]:
So, hey, going to getting caddy for a good cause. Sounds like what you're ready to do, John.

John Sterling [00:12:07]:
Indeed. And I hope I get passing grades on the kitten bowl. Not that there's another kitten bowl to do, or there are many during the year. But you know what? That would be the best thing if the kittens get adopted and if we entertain some people, that'd be very good.

Arden Moore [00:12:23]:
Well, I think this is the time where cats are really showing, starting their stuff, and there's many talents that they've hidden from us, and they're going to be showing them at the kitten bowl on Sunday. And I wish the Yankees much success. I grew up in Chicago, so I just give up. So I'll have to root for the Yankees.

John Sterling [00:12:41]:
Can I tell you, you said you grew up in Chicago. Can I give you a great line? Now, this is when we were hitting the new millennium, okay? And some Chicago writer. Now, the White Sox hadn't won. Now since then, they've won. It was a north five.

Dan Schachner [00:12:56]:
Right.

Arden Moore [00:12:56]:
We're talking about the Cubs, too, though.

John Sterling [00:12:58]:
Yeah. So the Cubs and White Sox had had their problems, and this guy wrote, look, he said they had a bad century.

Arden Moore [00:13:05]:
You've been a delight. I look forward to seeing the show, and I applaud you for being willing to announce play by play for probably one of the most challenging and quickest sports events on the planet, the Kitten bowl, airing on Hallmark channel to benefit the North Shore animal League. So thanks, John, for being on the show.

John Sterling [00:13:23]:
Thank you.

Arden Moore [00:13:24]:
I want to thank our special guest again, John Sterling, for telling us all about the kitten bowl that's going to be airing on the Hallmark channel on Sunday. And now we're ready to go to the hounds. We're going to be talking about all the new things to expect in puppy bowl ten. And here to share that with us is the one and only, the referee, Dan Shackner. We've got to take a quick commercial break, so everybody sit and stay. We'll be right back.

Announcer [00:13:57]:
Time for a walk on the red carpet. Of course, obey will be back in a flash, right after these messages.

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Charlie Batch [00:14:38]:
This is Charlie Batch, quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I'm with Arden Moore on Oh Behave on Pet Life Radio.

Announcer [00:14:47]:
We're back from the lot. Just checked the paper and we had a record showing at the box, the letter box, that is. Now back to Oh Behave. Here's Arden.

Arden Moore [00:14:57]:
Welcome back to the Oh Behave show on Pet Life Radio. I'm your host, Arden Moore. Now, before the kickoff for Sunday's Super bowl between Seattle and Denver, I want you to all get comfy on the couch and catch Puppy bowl ten. This year's canine gridiron game promises to be bigger, better, and probably a little more fur. Puppy bowl ten airs on Animal Planet at about 03:00 eastern and pacific, and it promises to unleash new content every hour. And here to share more about this furry football fest and making his debut as the referee for Puppy bowl ten, the one and only Dan Shackner. Hey, welcome to the show, Dan.

Dan Schachner [00:15:34]:
Thank you for having me.

Arden Moore [00:15:36]:
All right, I'm talking about penguin cheerleaders. A halftime, a miovelous halftime with the keyboard cat. And oodles and oodles and oodles of poodles and puppies. And, oh, my gosh, all things do GS. Tell us about what people can expect this year.

Dan Schachner [00:15:52]:
Well, for starters, we're very excited. This is our 10th anniversary, so we're really pulling out all the stops this year. Yes, we have keyboard cat. As you mentioned, we've got penguin cheerleaders. We have our old favorites like the hamster blimp cam. We've got meep, the tweeting bird who's going to give us game updates throughout the show. We've got other great new interactive features. Like this year, for the first time ever, our audience will determine the MVP most valuable puppy.

Dan Schachner [00:16:18]:
It will not be us. So every game, yeah. The two hour event and continues to air. They repeat airings first at 03:00 and at five and at seven and at every airing, the online polls will be open. And as the game proceeds, you can vote for your favorite pup. And based on our audience votes, we will change our ending and showcase that puppy as MVP. So that's what the new content is all about.

Arden Moore [00:16:39]:
I know. I want to make sure that people know where to go. So they do need to go to animalplanet.com Puppy bowl. You have so many great videos on there. I was like, hey, I got to get some work done. I was like, absorbed. You had me at Puppy bowl. But you are right.

Arden Moore [00:16:52]:
You are pulling out all the stops this year, Dan.

Dan Schachner [00:16:55]:
It's exciting. One more cool fact thing that I'm really excited about is the first ever fantasy football puppy draft. You can draft your own team, eleven members prior to the game. And then during the game you can track their stats because we'll be posting their game stats on screen so you can see how your team does. It just adds a little more excitement to an already pretty exciting game.

Arden Moore [00:17:17]:
Go ahead, tell me about the puppy fantasy football. All right, so I have to find like eleven pups and say we have a team or tell me how that works.

Dan Schachner [00:17:25]:
Yeah. And it won't be hard because there's a total of 66 pups on our roster. They come, as you probably know, from all over the country, from rescue centers and shelters. They're all available for adoption. And that's sort of our big mission here with Puppy bowl is to promote adoption awareness and let people know that if they want a loving cat or dog, they should look at their local shelter first. And chances are you're going to find an adorable, loving animal to come take home with you. So that's our first sort of right out of the gate. That's our first thing.

Dan Schachner [00:17:52]:
And out of the 66 pops, you'll get to choose eleven of your phase. And once your team is constructed, animal Planet, you just go to the website, will track your team and give you basically total amount of touchdowns and if the dogs had any penalties and at the end of the game, you can see how your team did against maybe your friend's team who's got a different eleven member puppy team. So it's exciting. It's just another way to get our audience more involved and to get them more excited in the outcome of the game.

Arden Moore [00:18:18]:
Now, Dan Shackner, folks, you've seen him, he's hosted television shows, he's a commercial actor. He lives in New York. And you live in the same city? I do, only we're in different coasts. Oceanside, I'm in California.

Dan Schachner [00:18:29]:
Oh, yeah. Oceanside, California. Yeah.

Arden Moore [00:18:32]:
Oh, yeah, baby. It's a lot warmer here, but this is a cool gig. Now, the other Kevin Bacon, six degrees of whatever connection we have is that I work with Nate Burkis. He's one of the benefit dream dog park celebrity judges. I'm with him and Jason Cameron. We make up the dream team. He's a nice guy. He was on our show.

Arden Moore [00:18:50]:
So you are the announcer, correct, for the Nate Berkus?

Dan Schachner [00:18:53]:
Yes, the Nate Berkus show ended last year, but for two years, I was their announcer. Yeah. And yeah, Nate Berkus has been a huge supporter of animal everything. And, yeah, he's wonderful. His dogs and his organization, and we love him. And we mean, all the celebrities that come and support us during Animal Planet puppy bowl are incredible. We had John Stewart here the other night. He has a three legged pitbull that's a rescue.

Arden Moore [00:19:17]:
Oh, he does.

Dan Schachner [00:19:18]:
He does. And he brought the pup long into. We have a Puppy bowl experience happening here in Times Square, New York. It's basically like a giant puppy bowl museum with a hall of fame and a mini puppy bowl thing going on and exhibits. And it's just another way to connect with our audience this week, in the week leading up to puppy bowl and get them excited.

Arden Moore [00:19:35]:
Now, how did you get this gig? This is a cool gig worth howling about. Hey, honey, I got to be the ref for the puppy bowl ten.

Dan Schachner [00:19:43]:
It's so exciting. I know my claim to, you know, I've been doing a lot of tv voiceovers, commercials, hosting, that kind of stuff for years. Animal Planet knew me as a tv host because I hosted a couple of shows for them in the past, so they knew that I was good with animals and know, in general, a big supporter of the network. When the last ref who had the job before me left three years ago, his position opened up. So I submitted a very involved audition tape where I went around and interacted with dogs and tried to coach them in football. And it was really silly, but it worked in convincing them that I was the guy for the job. So here I am three years later, and it's been terrific.

Arden Moore [00:20:18]:
I think you're going to be a ref people love. Don't you think you're in a different position versus the two legged referees for two legged sports like Denver and Seattle? But don't you think you're kind of like a benevolent overseer of these awesome puppies?

Dan Schachner [00:20:31]:
Yeah. So benevolent overseer sounds a lot better than a tough ref. And I think the reason for that is that there's no coaches in puppy, you know, unlike human football, there's no coaches to get up in my face and start yelling at me for a bad call. So you're right. I do have an advantage there.

Arden Moore [00:20:46]:
Now, there are some calls, and I am the queen of puns, but you got to unleash a few of the things that we might be hearing you say. While the puppies go from goal to.

Dan Schachner [00:20:54]:
Goal, I divide the penalties into two categories. Really. The first is a set of penalties that have counterparts in human football. So instead of pass interference. Yeah. Instead of pass interference, we might say pause interference. And instead of, say illegal formation, we'll say illegal firmation. We'll also say things like dog collar tackle.

Dan Schachner [00:21:13]:
And that's the real penalty in football. That works both ways, of course.

Arden Moore [00:21:16]:
Right.

Dan Schachner [00:21:16]:
We also have, instead of intentional grounding of the ball, we have intentional growling. So those are the ones that have these sort of their counterparts. And of course, roughing the passer is the biggest one. Right? R-U-F the pass.

Arden Moore [00:21:28]:
Get any bonus points for sniffing the opponent's rear end in a canine handshake?

Dan Schachner [00:21:33]:
You know, it hasn't happened to the point where it's foul. It has happened. Of course, they're pups, but it has not happened to the point where it's so egregious that it stops the game. But trust me, the day that happens, they will have a sniffing penalty, I promise. The other set of penalties are the ones that have no counterparts in the human leagues, ones that you'll never find human football players playing, such as, oh, gosh, illegal napping. That happens a lot in our game. Pups will just lie down on the sidelines and say, okay, I'm going to take a nap. And they're out.

Dan Schachner [00:21:59]:
Oh, we have a water bowl that's in the middle of our field. So when the pups take too long to drink, we have excessive hydration or illegal bathing because sometimes they'll just pop in there. Those are some excessive cuteness. If there's three or four more pups all piled up and they're just kind of playing and gnawing at each other in an adorable way, I got to throw a flag and stop the game because it's so adorable that we've got to watch it. So this is what I mean. There's some penalties that are specific only to puppies. So we try to be fun with it. We try to be creative with it.

Dan Schachner [00:22:26]:
And every year there's new penalties.

Arden Moore [00:22:27]:
And you have a big field with all the. How many? You've got like 22 dogs on the field at one time coming in and out.

Dan Schachner [00:22:33]:
It's 66 altogether, but twelve to 15 on the field at any given time.

Arden Moore [00:22:36]:
Okay, twelve to 15. So how do you keep track of it all?

Dan Schachner [00:22:40]:
Well, the good thing about Puppy bowl is there's not just so many fans, but there's so many people willing to help. We have a crew of nearly 100 people at the puppy bowl taping. That help is there between the handlers, between the people from the rescue centers, our volunteers, people from the humane society, ASPCA, plus the control room and all the producers. There are 21 cameras that catch all the action. Nothing gets by anybody. If something is happening, if something needs to be controlled, organized, somebody is there to do it. So the good news is that I get a lot of help. I may be the only human that you see, but I'm not the only human behind the scene because this is.

Arden Moore [00:23:13]:
On Animal Planet and it's by discovery studios. The thing they also saw is that you have the Instagram feature. You really are going into the social media, and I do want people to dash over to animalplanet.com. Puppy bowl, you guys got to check this out. There's a lot of cute videos that are going to get you to tune in. And it starts at 03:00 Eastern and Pacific, I believe. But it's going all new content every hour. So tell me a little bit about the Instagram part.

Dan Schachner [00:23:38]:
I like that you're cool again.

Arden Moore [00:23:40]:
Yeah.

Dan Schachner [00:23:40]:
It's just another way to get folks more involved. If you hashtag, for those of you who use Instagram, if you take a picture, throw it on Instagram and hashtag Puppy bowl, we'll get that in our feed. And then as the game is playing, you have a shot at getting your picture live on screen. We can't get everyone's picture live on screen, but as many hashtag puppy bowls, Instagram pics as we get, we are going to throw up there as well. And if they don't make it to our broadcast, they'll make it on the Internet, on our website. So that's another, just one more feature that we get people involved digitally as well. It's exciting.

Arden Moore [00:24:13]:
What about the penguin cheerleaders? Have they been really practicing their routines? What can we expect from the penguins?

Dan Schachner [00:24:19]:
What we can expect is, let's say a very poised performance. Penguins are not ones to sort of. They're very graceful. They're very poised. There's not a lot of back and forth movement with penguins. They're kind of stoic. So they're not our most dynamic cheerleaders in the world, but they certainly look very regal and they look very happy and at peace to be there. We did penguins this year because it was sort of a nod to the fact that the Super bowl is being played outside in cold weather for the first time.

Dan Schachner [00:24:48]:
And so people made a big deal about the cold weather this year. So he said, okay, let's try penguin out there.

Arden Moore [00:24:54]:
What about keyboard cat? I mean, seriously, is this the feline liberace of the keyboards or what?

Dan Schachner [00:25:00]:
Yeah, keyboard cat is. There's been around a long time keyboard cat, and we were able to book them for this gig. We also have another celebrity cat called Lil Bub, who you may or may not know from the Internet as well. And Lil Bub is going to be checking in throughout the game as well. And this is all part of the kitty halftime show. There are between 20 and 30 cats performing sort of on a giant sort of cat toy that we put in the middle of the field and the cat kind of prance around, and that's a lot of fun, too. So something for everybody.

Arden Moore [00:25:26]:
And you mentioned John Stewart. Is there going to be any other, like any celebrities going to pop in or do any.

Dan Schachner [00:25:31]:
Well, yeah, he came to our Times Square experience here. He won't be on the show, but he's a big supporter. As far as the show itself. Our biggest human celebrity would be Michelle Obama. She announces sort of our, she does our pre game. We get to meet the White House pops Sonny and Bo, of course, and Sonny, Bo and Michelle Obama get to basically kick us off and say, let's play ball. So it's pretty exciting.

Arden Moore [00:25:54]:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Anything else you'd like to say? Let's make sure we get all the information on how people can tune in. Everybody's going to be watching Denver and Seattle, but I have a feeling for the people that really aren't into the gridiron. You've got a huge audience potential coming because everybody loves puppies.

Dan Schachner [00:26:11]:
We do. Last year was our highest rated show ever. We had a lot of people tuning in. And this year, I can guarantee you it's an even better and bigger and more adorable show. And still with the mission of promoting adoption awareness. So it's really something special. And I think we're going to have an even better year. And I just encourage people to tune in.

Dan Schachner [00:26:28]:
Sunday, it's three. If you missed the 03:00 broadcast, don't worry, we'll be on every 2 hours till three in the morning.

Arden Moore [00:26:33]:
And what's the age of these athletes, these canine athletes?

Dan Schachner [00:26:37]:
Yes. They're between ten and 20 weeks old.

Arden Moore [00:26:40]:
What's the weight difference?

Dan Schachner [00:26:42]:
Well, see, the thing is, it's not much of a weight difference once you get the twelve to 15 on there, because we put the small dogs with the small dogs and larger dogs with large dogs. So we're not going to put terriers for the most part, with terriers, and we'll keep them that way just to keep the gameplay fair. So that's why we rotate in all these different types so that we get to showcase not just different breeds, but different sizes. And it keeps the game interesting.

Arden Moore [00:27:04]:
Any tips for the pups on how to play the game the best? I mean, you've been doing this. You're the ref. What makes a good mvp most valuable?

Dan Schachner [00:27:13]:
Yeah. More than anything, more than ball handling, it's speed. It's the faster puppies that can race down the field with the chew toy. And all they have to do is drag it into the end zone. And once they do, that constitutes a touchdown. Once those pups are race into the field, half the battle is making it downfield. Right. The quicker pups are the ones that are the ones that tend to score the most.

Dan Schachner [00:27:37]:
They kind of like fly under the radar a little bit. So I would say look out for the smaller, faster breeds on Sunday.

Arden Moore [00:27:42]:
And any predictions for the game on yourself as far as the human one?

Dan Schachner [00:27:49]:
Yeah. Well, all we care about, all the puppies care about as far as the human one is that both teams are named after animals. So we're very excited about that. We got a bronco and we got a seahawk. So the fact that if it was a jet or a titan or a giant, very confused and not know who to root for, they wouldn't even care. So they're just happy that animals are being represented in the human league as well.

Arden Moore [00:28:11]:
Hey, everybody, we're speaking with Dan Shackner. He's going to be the ref for puppy bowl ten. It airs on animal planet and it kicks off at around 03:00 eastern and Pacific. But there's a lot of ways you get to vote for the most valuable pup. There's a lot of cool things. We're talking everything from penguin cheerleaders to keyboard cats and more. This is a must see thing. And as you get bleary eyed after the regular Super bowl, flip over to animal planet or set your DVR because you're going to be in love with the pups.

Arden Moore [00:28:43]:
And I think this is better than agility or any other canine sport. And unleash the pups, Dan.

Dan Schachner [00:28:49]:
We'll try. We'll do our best. Thanks so much, Arden, for having me on. Appreciate it.

Arden Moore [00:28:53]:
All right, take care. Bye bye. Hey, everybody, that wraps up our show for today. I want at this time also to thank our earlier guest. We're talking about John Sterling, who's going to be handling the kitten bowl on the hallmark channel. And special thanks to Dan Schachner, who's going to be the ref for the puppy bowl on Animal Planet. It is going to the dogs and cats this year for the Super Bowl. I also want to thank my producer, Mark, winner, who makes this show happen each and every week, and he surgically weaved these two episodes together into one.

Arden Moore [00:29:21]:
We're going to hope you get to enjoy it. Check it out. My prediction for the game. I'm an ex sports writer. I am hoping, keeping my paws crossed, that good old Denver beats Seattle. I'm very delighted. I live on the west coast. I can't lose either one.

Arden Moore [00:29:36]:
They're both west coast teams. But I'd like to see Peyton Manning get a second championship so he can tie his kid brother Eli with a number of Super bowl wins. But I just hope it's a close, high scoring game. And everybody, I wish you a happy, happy Super Bowl Sunday. Cuddle up with your dogs and cats and check out these two shows. They're very, very worth it. So until next time, this is your flea free host, Arden Moore, delivering just two words to all you two, three and four leggers out there. Oh, behave.

Announcer [00:30:08]:
Coast to coast and around the world, it's all behave with Arden Moore. Find out why cats and dogs do the things they do and get the latest buz from wagging tongues and tails in Rin Tin Tinseltown. From famous pet experts and best selling authors to television and movie stars, you'll get great tail wagging pet tips and have a fur flying fun time. All behave with America's pet edutainer, Arden Moore every week on demand. Only on petliferadio.com.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Pet Life radio welcomes Super Bowl pet events.

04:45 Actress Renee and Regis Philbin join broadcast.

06:54 Excited to see new astroturf field in LA.

11:30 Hallmark Super Bowl Sunday special features pets.

14:57 Preview Puppy Bowl ten with host Arden Moore.

17:25 Puppies from all over for adoption mission.

19:43 Experienced TV host lands exciting animal gig.

22:40 Puppy Bowl: lots of help, many fans.

28:53 End of show thanks to guests and producer.

29:36 West coast teams, Manning's 2nd championship, high-scoring game.

Key topics and bullets:

1. Introduction to the Pet Extravaganza on Super Bowl Sunday

- Overview of the Kitten Bowl and Puppy Bowl events

- Mention of the host, Arden Moore

2. Kitten Bowl Details

- John Sterling as the play-by-play announcer

- Features 30 kittens with creative names

- Description of the faux football field setup

- The Kitten Bowl's broadcast schedule on the Hallmark Channel

- Aim to benefit the North Shore Animal League America

3. Puppy Bowl X Highlights

- Dan Schachner as the announcer and referee

- Unique elements: penguin cheerleaders, hamster blimp cam, tweeting bird, and fantasy football puppy draft

- The goal of promoting adoption awareness

- Insight into Dan Schachner's background and role in the event

4. Guest Insights and Commentary

- Guest appearances by John Sterling and Dan Schachner

- Discussion on the unpredictability and appeal of the events

- Adoption promotion and celebrity involvement

5. Behind-the-Scenes of the Animal Bowls

- The audition process for Dan Schachner's Puppy Bowl referee role

- The overall production process, requiring a significant crew

- Functional differences between refereeing puppy and human football

- Social media promotion using the hashtag #PuppyBowl

6. Entertainment Aspects of the Animal Bowls

- The halftime show featuring penguin cheerleaders and celebrity cats

- Notable celebrity announcements for pre-game activities

7. Adoption and Animal Welfare Focus

- Emphasis on kitten and puppy adoption throughout both events

- The agility and attraction factors for participating animals

8. Cross-promotion with Sports and Other Platforms

- Connection with New York Yankees commentary and sports unpredictability

- Collaboration between Pet Life Radio and iHeartRadio for content distribution

9. Anticipation and Ratings for Puppy Bowl

- Popularity and success of the previous year's Puppy Bowl

- Division of canine athletes by size and emphasis on speed as a success factor

10. Wrap-up and Call to Action

- Speculation about the outcome and excitement of the human Super Bowl game

- Invitation to tune into the Kitten Bowl and Puppy Bowl after the Super Bowl

- Encouragement for viewers to enjoy the day with both the shows and their pets