This week I wanted to listen in on some NFL Draft talk and since we all know what the Chicago Bears will do with the No. 1 pick, I went down a spot and headed to Washington, D.C. I figured, why not tune into a show that featured someone who played football at the highest level. So, I decided to eavesdrop in on the 106.7 The Fan midday show, BMitch & Finlay.
BMitch is Brian Mitchell, a former NFL running back who is considered amongst the best return specialists the game has ever seen. Mitchell holds the NFL records for most career kickoff return yards, most career punt return yards and most career total return yards. He was drafted by the then Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft and played there for 10 seasons before finishing with Philadelphia and the New York Giants. Mitchell felt such a part of the Washington franchise, he signed with them for a day so he could retire as a member of the team.
Finlay is JP Finlay, a television reporter in the sports department of NBC4 in Washington, D.C. who is their Commanders insider, having covered the team for over a decade. Finlay is a D.C native who also hosts the popular Beltway Football podcast.
The two started together in early 2021. Finlay still has the new show announcement pinned to the top of his X account.
On paper, they are a bit of an odd couple. One was born in the south, the other in the east. One is black, one is white. One is in his mid-50’s, the other his early 40’s. Yet the chemistry between the two is quite obvious when you listen in.
The commonality the two share seems to start with what binds a lot of the Washinton, D.C. community – football. Sure, there is plenty to talk about in D.C. sports outside of the Commanders, and the show hits on all of it, but football dominates as it should.
For a football fan in the DMV, with Finlay covering the Commanders beat and Mitchell having played the game for the home franchise, the show is a treasure trove of information and opinion. Tuning in recently I heard two guys who were fired up to be doing their show and excited to talk about the day’s topics, even as they struggled with computer issues in their studio, which Finlay, entertainingly, updated the audience on as the show went along. Who hasn’t dealt with the fun of a computer restart taking forever?
The topic of the day, less than a week out from the first day of the draft, was the Vegas odds on the Commanders No. 2 pick. Finlay points out they have changed drastically and that it seems it is due to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels’ agent replying to a post critical of the Commanders for bringing in a group of four quarterbacks at the same time rather than one by one. The reply from Ron Butler, the agent, was a “thinking face” emoji.
“Things are going a little nutty in Commander land,” Finlay tells Mitchell. “Is it going nutty in Commander land or is it going nutty with the betting markets?” asks Mitchell.
“In Commander fan land it’s going nuts,” Finlay replied.
Just a couple of minutes into the show, you hear one of the differences in the hosts coming out, which is that Finlay is following all of the fan reaction on social media and Mitchell points out “I don’t fall into it, you live it, and most fans live in la-la land in and out of Twitter…and I don’t get caught up in it and I especially don’t get caught up when the gambling market changes things, because what they do…you don’t see Vegas not making big buildings, right? So, I’m not going to sit up here and let them sway every move I make.”
Mitchell often plays the voice of reason in the draft discussion. “As you have stated and I have stated…whoever they take, as long as they develop them, we’ll be happy, right,” he asks. “…So, if you have legitimate prospects, why the hell are people having hysteria and losing their mind?”
“I am just telling you, in the world, people’s blood pressure is through the roof,” Finlay says.
Mitchell says he thinks the media is part of the problem and that it is partially their job to educate the fans and alleviate some of the anxiety over things like a social post. “That emoji did that much? An emoji did that much? That’s strange to me, dude. That’s a world I don’t want to live in.”
As the show goes on you are entertained by a good mix of information, humor, storytelling and the feeling of hanging with the guys. I liked the way the show mixed in some guests, but it never felt like they were having guests on just to have them on, they related to the topics they were discussing. A gambling expert who talked about why the lines on the Commanders pick may have changed, an Elite 11 quarterback coach who had a lot of insight on the quarterbacks at the top of this year’s draft and Capitals player Beck Malenstyn right before the Caps start the playoffs.
They also did a segment called ‘Ask BMitch Anything,’ which brought several calls in. Some to ask football questions and others wanted to talk to him about something else he is passionate about which is boxing. It was clear D.C. sports fans love Brian Mitchell and although they get to hear him for four hours a day on the radio, they still get a big thrill out of calling up and getting to ask him questions. In this iteration, we learn what BMitch used to eat leading up to gamedays and also that a hit he took from Derrick Thomas in college was the hardest he was ever hit.
I also liked that while they had talked at the beginning of the show about some comments made by Commanders GM Adam Peters, they came back and played the audio of the press conference for listeners who weren’t able to hear it. Finlay being on site when the press conference originally happened helped add context to the audio they played.
BMitch & Finlay is what a midday show is supposed to be. The show moves quickly, and they keep it light. Finlay brings a ton of energy and says “dude” quite a bit. Mitchell is a wealth of football knowledge and isn’t going to let anything bother him too much.
Together, they are doing what sports radio shows should do. They inform, they opine, they entertain, they bring their producers into the conversation, they have fun with callers, they have good guests that add to the show, and they have credibility.
With the small exception of Finlay’s microphone popping on his b’s and p’s, it was quite the fun listen. Tuning in right around the NFL Draft, I came away with more knowledge than I had when the show started and laughed several times. I’d say that is a win.
As Finlay posted to his X account when the show was announced, “Gonna be a lot of fun.” He was right.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
