The Life of Dad Show

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy invite Vice President of Steiner Sports and author Steve Costello. Sometimes sports can go beyond the game. People can find comfort while playing or watching a game they love. It is an outlet that lets us forget about the harsh realities of our world. Steve Costello is one of those people who understands this notion. In his book, "My Father Never Took Me to a Baseball Game". We get an inside look to the hard times Steve faced growing up, but how sports created an escape for him. Later, Costello set his sights on Indiana State University, where he became the Managing Editor of "The Shield". Costello then headed into the world of business, spending his twenties and thirties at the appliance giant, PC Richard and Son. There he had spawned many of the company's initiatives, in the branding and marketing arenas. Costello, now the Executive Vice President of Steiner Sports, works with the likes of New York Yankees Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, New York Giants Eli Manning and New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist. We here at Life of Dad had the great pleasure of talking with Steve about his childhood, his book, and the many fascinating stories from his time with icons in the world of sports.

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy talk about the NFL preseason, spelling bees, favorite school subjects, speaking different languages, and more. They also bring on actor, musician, and author Tray Chaney. Many know Tray from the hit HBO series "The Wire". Tray played the role of Poot in that series. Talking with Tray I could tell he felt very fortunate to be on that show and create long lasting friendships with the cast and crew. Not only is Tray a great actor, but you can also add the titles of author and rapper as well. Tray wrote a book called "The Truth You Can't Betray" where he shares his personal stories. He was also featured in the book called "Dads Behaving Dadly". He recently released the song "Dedicated Father" which was a follow up to his first hit called "Fatherhood". When you listen to those two records you will understand what is really important in Tray's life. It is his kids. The title "Dedicated Father" is fitting since he looks to not only guide and support his children, but help other dads take the role of fatherhood seriously. I highly encourage you to support Tray by purchasing his song "Dedicated Father" on iTunes. We had the pleasure of talking with Tray about fatherhood, his books, his music, and about his time on "The Wire". The guys also talk about former Life of Dad Show guest Jim Kelly. Last year in March of 2013 we had the great pleasure of talking with Jim Kelly about fatherhood, his foundation, and football. We now see Jim's bout with cancer and we here at Life of Dad are sending our prayers to him and his family. Read the interview here. #KellyStrong

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy talk about Comic-Con in San Diego, the new campaign Life of Dad is doing with Snyder's of Hanover?, and The Riles Family's Love Walk for Scotland (#LoveWalkForScotland). The guys also bring on Bravo's "Top Chef" judge, Hugh Acheson. He was in New York City last month and hosted a round table chat where he created some incredible rum-infused food and drink recipes. With some help from Captain Morgan, Hugh is getting us ready for the summer. Besides his role on Bravo's "Top Chef", Acheson is the author of the James Beard Foundation Award Winning Cookbook, "A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen". Hugh is known reinventing dishes that take on southern flavors. He also owns four restaurants, including Atlanta's Empire State South. We caught up with Hugh to chat about his time in New York City, "Top Chef", fatherhood, and what inspired him to become a chef.

This week Tommy Riles and Art Eddy talk about the ups and downs of parenting. Tommy shares with Art about how the Riles family is taking a sad day in their life and making it into a positive one. Tom's wife, Lucy, wrote a beautiful article called "Love Walk for Scotland" to talk about them losing their son Scotland while she was 20 weeks pregnant. In parenting, Tom and Art talk about the fact that there are good days and bad days. To talk about the good days, they bring on "Weird Al" Yankovic to talk about fatherhood and his new album! For years, "Weird Al" Yankovic has been making people laugh with his song parodies. If you say "Weird Al", many people start busting out their favorite song lyrics from his huge body of work. From songs like "White and Nerdy", "Yoda", "Amish Paradise", "Smells Like Nirvana", "Fat", and "The Saga Begins", fans of Al can tell you about a certain memory that comes to mind when they think of that song. Now while many artists of whom "Weird Al" has done parodies are no longer in the entertainment industry, Yankovic keeps putting out hits. Last week, he came out with his fourteenth studio album, "Mandatory Fun". (Download on iTunes or buy on Amazon.) Along with the release of this album, Yankovic has produced videos to showcase each day to celebrate his latest creation. These new tracks and videos are already going viral. I had the honor of talking with Al about "Mandatory Fun", fatherhood, and more.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about the Life of Dad trip to Las Vegas. We learn about Tom's love for pizza, Art's love for sneakers, and that Ryan Hamilton can play the saxophone. The guys also bring on Assistant General Manager of the New York Knicks, Allan Houston, to the show. Many people know Allan Houston from his NBA playing days with the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. Since he retired Allan is still involved in the game he loves. He is the Assistant General Manager for the New York Knicks. He has been an international ambassador for the NBA, spokesperson for the National Fatherhood Initiative, ESPN analyst, and an author. Still when you ask Allan what he is most proud of he will tell you that it is being a father. Houston, who has seven children takes fatherhood very seriously. Allan started the Legacy Foundation, which has served over 1,500 participants across the country through original programs in fatherhood and entrepreneurship to facilitate individual and collective growth through initiatives that restore a strong family unit, provide economic empowerment through entrepreneurship, encourage education and life skill development, and enhance spiritual growth. The "Father Knows Best" Basketball Retreat & FISLL Curriculum provides a unique combination of basketball and relationship building activities for fathers and children, and mentors and mentees emphasizing leadership, communication, and the importance of spending quality time together. Allan was named "Father of the Year" by the National Fatherhood Initiative in 2007, "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" by Tulane University in 2008, and received the President's Council on Service and Civic Engagement Award from the Obama Administration in 2011. We had the pleasure to talk with Allan about his foundation, his playing days, his time on Team USA during the 2000 Summer Olympics, and fatherhood.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about summer movie memories, trampoline accidents, and how sights, smells, and sounds can bring back memories. The also bring on author Jeffrey Brown. Jeffrey Brown is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Darth Vader and Son." Brown also won an Eisner Award for that book. Brown continued to show his love the "Star Wars" universe with another book called "Vader's Little Princess," which was also on the New York Times bestseller list. He will be releasing another book called "Goodnight Darth Vader" that comes out July 22nd. You can pre-order the book here. Jeffrey is responsible for the hilarious book called "Kids are Weird." Brown has done countless comic books and graphic novels. I am a big fan of his storytelling and his artwork. Not only does he write a great story, but his illustrations alone can tell the tale as well. I was able to talk with Jeffrey about his new book, his love for the "Star Wars" films, and fatherhood.

The Life of Dad Show has hit the 100th episode mark. To celebrate Tom Riles and Art Eddy bring on their wives Lucy Riles and Jessica Eddy to talk about everything from parenting skills to sports to music. They have a few other special guests drop by to celebrate the 100th episode. The guys also bring on former U.S. Men's National Team and MLS legend, Brian McBride on the show. Brian says there is always a surprise team in the World Cup that shocks everyone. McBride knows this because he played in the World Cup in 1998, 2002, and 2006. From playing for Fulham in Europe to the MLS league in the United State McBride has had an outstanding career. Just this year he got inducted to the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Now McBride has teamed up with Allstate for the "Good Hands F.C." soccer clinic. They surprised a few local soccer teams in areas across the country with soccer gear and a coaching clinic run by McBride. We were able to catch up with Brian to talk about his work with Allstate, fatherhood, the World Cup, and more.

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy rank some of their favorite U.S. cities, talk about what we each are planning do to for the summer, Emmy Awards, and beers good for the summer. They also have the pleasure of bringing on Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano. Chuck Pagano was on top of the world in 2012 as he reached the pinnacle of the coaching industry when he landed a head coaching job in the NFL. By Week 3 Pagano got the unfortunate news that he had acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Even with the devastating news, Pagano kept fighting. As word got out of his battle with cancer his team, the Colts, the NFL, and people all over the world supported him with wearing "CHUCKSTRONG" clothing. The Colts players and cheerleaders even shaved their heads to raise money for cancer research. Watch the video. Feeling the support and love Pagano continued to battle as the Colts made it into the 2012 playoffs. His cancer went into remission and he was back on the sidelines coaching the team. 2013 saw his team go deeper into the playoffs. For 2014 the team's expectations are even higher. Pagano recently penned his story in his book called, "Sidelined: Overcoming Odds through Unity, Passion, and Perseverance" from Zondervan. His book is a fantastic read and is very inspirational. Buy the book here. We had the great pleasure to chat with Chuck Pagano about his book, his fight with cancer, football, coaching, and fatherhood.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about what they each did for Father's Day, Tom's time with Derek Jeter, and what happened when Art met up with Eli Manning. Last week Art was in New York City to cover the Oral-B #PowerofDad event. Life of Dad teamed up with Oral-B to help celebrate the great moments all dads have with their kids. Oral-B created a heartwarming video that showcases the power of dads. Now more than ever we see men embracing fatherhood from all walks of life. Eli Manning is one of those dads who puts being a father first. Manning comes from a family that is known for their football skills, but they are also known for a family that is built on character, love, and laughter.

This week on the Life of Dad Show Art Eddy has Patrick Quinn come and co-host the show to talk about his work with Sears for the #DestinationDad campaign going on at Life of Dad. They talk summer plans and how IKEA helped him out with his kids. They also bring on WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil. As a WWE Superstar, Titus O'Neil knows how to face adversity and overcome many obstacles in his way. One of O'Neil's toughest challenges was growing up without a father. Now as dad himself, Titus makes sure to cherish every moment he has with his two sons. As a loving father he knows that his children are his number one priority. So when the Ad Council teamed up with the WWE for their "Take Time To Be a Dad Today" campaign Titus was a perfect spokesperson. O'Neil along with Roman Reigns, and Alberto Del Rio have created some outstanding public service announcements encouraging dads to make it a point to take time to be with their children. The WWE will promote the "Take Time To Be a Dad Today" campaign on television, live events, in-arena, digital and their social media outlets to spread the word. Plus you can visit www.fatherhood.gov or to call 1-877-4DAD411 to get information on how to become more involved with your children's lives, including parenting tips and fatherhood programs. We had the great pleasure to talk to Titus about this fatherhood campaign, his career in the WWE, and what it means to be a father.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about beer, NBA Jam, and even breakout into songs of summer. They also bring on Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins. For any NBA fan that grew up in the 1980's and 1990's, they will always think of Dominique Wilkins when the term highlight is brought up. He was nicknamed "The Human Highlight Film" for his thunderous dunks and for his outstanding play on the court. Wilkins played most of his NBA career for the Atlanta Hawks. The nine-time NBA All-Star was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also the 1986 NBA Scoring Champion. Now Wilkins is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Hawks. This year he has created the first ever Dominique Wilkins Fantasy Camp, where fans of the NBA get to feel just like a player in the league. We chat with Dominique about his time in the league, fatherhood, dunk contests, his camp, his signature shoes with Reebok, and more.

Tommy Riles and Art Eddy talk about what they learned from their dads, the birds and bees talks, and they welcome Bill and Willie Geist onto the show. On May 20th Bill and Willie Geist shared their story on fatherhood and family in an outstanding read called "Good Talk Dad: The Birds and the Bees...and other Conversations We Forgot to Have". Willie followed his father's footsteps by working in the news and media industry. Bill has been a journalist and TV news correspondent for many years. Willie has been busy too with his work on "The Today Show" and "Morning Joe." They took this opportunity to write this book to reminisce about their memorable family moments and their tales of fatherhood. We were able to chat with Bill and Willie about their book, family, and what life lessons they have learned from each other.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about Art's trip to Los Angeles and how his family was hanging out with Tom's family. We also bring on MLB great Ken Griffey, Sr. on the show. Ken Griffey, Sr. had a great career in the Majors. He played mostly for the Cincinnati Reds and won two World Series titles and an All-Star MVP. He also got to play with his son Ken Griffey Jr. In 1990 the played together for the Seattle Mariners. They made history by becoming the first father and son combination to hit back to back home runs. Ken Griffey, Sr. recently had his book "Big Red: Baseball, Fatherhood, and My Life in the Big Red Machine" hit store shelves and is also available as an e-reader. This book is a great read no matter if you are a sports fan or not. His book chronicles him growing up, playing baseball, and the life lessons he learned along the way. You get to hear the two-time World Series champion's take on baseball, fatherhood, and life.

Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about what each of their families did for Mother's Day. They also talk with former NFL quarterback, Boomer Esiason. Boomer Esiason played 14 great years in the NFL. He played for a total of three teams, the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Jets, and the Arizona Cardinals. In 1988 the four time Pro Bowler won the NFL MVP award. Even after retiring from the game, Esiason is still making an impact on the NFL. Boomer can be seen during the football season on CBS breaking down the game. He also is on the radio as a color commentator for Monday Night Football. He even has a morning show on a New York sports radio station called "The Boomer and Carton Show". Yet if you ask Boomer what he is most proud of, he would probably say all the work he does through his organization, The Boomer Esiason Foundation. The foundation looks to support and improve the lives of those who have Cystic Fibrosis. His son, Gunnar was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1993. Boomer used his popularity to raise awareness for the disease to not only help his son, but other children who have CF. We had the great pleasure of talking with Boomer about his foundation, fatherhood, his time in the NFL, and more.

This week on the Life of Dad Show Tom Riles and Art Eddy talk about what they did to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, crazy kid birthday parties and they welcome former Packers wide receiver great and Super Bowl champion Donald Driver to the show. Donald Driver didn't just make an impact in the NFL, but he did off the field as well. Growing up as a kid Donald and his family faced tough times. Driver took that adversity and used it as motivation to create a better life for himself. Football fans know the mark he left not only in Green Bay, but throughout the league. The four time Pro Bowler helped the Packers win Super Bowl XLV in 2011 as Green Bay beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. The Green Bay Packers Receiving Yards All-Time Leader also won the Ed Block Courage Award. This award is given to players, who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Driver continued to inspire people when he created the Donald Driver Foundation in 2001. The foundation helps families find homes, assists in educating kids, and helps recognize those people who do wonderful things in their community. Driver is an accomplished author as well. His book "Driven" was on the New York Times Best Sellers list. He has also written three children's books. Each book focuses on a challenge a kid or an adult may experience in life. He will have another children's book out later this year called "Quickie Handles a Bully".