Play by Play Day by Day with Amy Lawrence

Without further ado and in no particular order:

• What hours/days is your show on the air?  I can understand the confusion since After Hours spent its first 2 years operating on the weekends. The show airs Sunday through Thursday nights from 11p-3a Pacific time (which is Monday through Friday 2-6a Eastern time). Sunday is my favorite night of the week to work, so I’m glad I didn’t lose that when I started hosting 5 times a week.
• Is your show “live” or taped?  After Hours is 100% “live” every hour, every show. We may tape interviews during the daytime to accommodate athletes or coaches, but those are special exceptions. The crew is always on site, working hard to crank out original, entertaining content.
• Do you have a podcast?  Yes! We love it when you check out After Hours after hours, ha. You can find a podcast of the full show every weekday morning on our website: AfterHoursAmyLawrence.com (Click on the “audio” link.) You can find all of our interviews and columns on the site, too.
• Where can I find your movie trailer? I’m so glad you asked! We have a fledgling YouTube channel where you can watch a sneak peek of the After Hours behind-the-scenes movie. We also post other goofy videos (like Pete donning his Big Gulp Halloween costume and me learning how to throw a spiral) and some of our best interviews and audio montages. Just search for the name of the show on YouTube and subscribe to the channel if that’s your cup of tea.
• When do you sleep? Do you ever sleep?  These are BY FAR the most popular questions posed by listeners on social media, even though I don’t quite understand why. I sleep when I’m not working which means I sleep during the daytime after hosting the show. I typically get in bed around 8am and try to sleep until 3:30pm. It doesn’t always work that way, just like you don’t always sleep through the night uninterrupted. But that’s the goal. Oh, and I LOVE to nap on weekends.
• What do you do when you aren’t talking about sports on the radio?  I watch sports! Just kidding. Sports is only part of what I do, though games never stop so I have to keep up even when I’m not working. Otherwise, I walk my dog Penny several miles a day or we run around at a nearby park. I like to read, watch Nashville and crime dramas on my DVR, cook, play golf, go to church, and travel to visit family or friends. I have ZERO problem forgetting about sports when I have the opportunity.
• What do the guys do on the show?  Other than operate as my “yes men,” you mean? Ha! Pete is our update anchor, so he’s in charge of the news. But he also shares his strong opinions once a week in “Schwartz on Sports” and shares funny stories when we have time. Isaac is our audio and video coordinator, so he’s responsible for the musical montages you hear on the show and the video you see online. He drops in all the crazy sound bites that make me laugh. Producer Tom is the brains behind the scenes. He does a little bit of everything–schedules guests; cuts up audio from games, athletes, and coaches; puts all our podcasts together; helps flesh out show topics and develop new ideas; and updates our social media. AND they all make me crazy with their New York sports fandom!
• When do you eat?  We definitely talk about food a lot on the show, so this question makes me laugh. On a typical day, I eat breakfast around 4:30pm, haha. “Lunch” usually happens between 9-10pm before I leave for work. I always take a ton of snacks with me to host the show since talking makes me hungry for some reason. After all these years, I’m convinced I burn lots of calories while I’m using all my brain power to stay coherent, entertaining, and energetic. If I don’t eat, the work suffers. You can probably tell on air.
• How much time do you spend on show prep?  On average, I prep one hour for every hour I’m on the air. That includes watching or listening to games (obviously, NFL Sundays require a lot more time), reading stories and articles, doing pertinent research, taking notes, posting on social media, developing my opinions, and brainstorming new ideas. I also spend several hours a week writing my NFL column for the CBS family of websites.
• Who are your favorite sports teams?  While I’m on the air, I don’t play favorites. My rooting interests have nothing to do with the show and don’t enter the studio with me. But being a fan like you fuels my passion for the events we watch and the topics we hit on a nightly basis. I started cheering for the Celtics and Broncos as a teenager. I got interested in baseball and started cheering for the Red Sox soon afterwards, and then I started following the Sharks when Joe Thornton was traded from Boston to San Jose. As a Syracuse alum, I also root hard for the Orange, although I’m not sure the football team still exists…kidding!!
• How and when did you decide you wanted to get into sports broadcasting?  Growing up in the back woods of Concord, New Hampshire, we didn’t have cable TV for awhile. The only way I could follow my beloved Boston Celtics and my all-time favorite athlete, Larry Bird, was to listen to games on the radio. I fell in love with the idea of describing the action or telling a story in a way that fans don’t feel like they’re missing anything just because they can’t see what’s happening with their own eyes. I’ve been a radio junkie ever since. Radio is my passion and will always be my bread and butter.
• What is your favorite kind of music?  I’m a HUGE country music fan! Tim McGraw is my absolute favorite, but I also like Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Luke Bryan, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood. Other artists on my iPod include Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, Bryan Adams, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, and Taylor Swift.
• What are your favorite movies?  SUCH a long list! You already know how much I love Star Wars (all of the movies and I can’t wait for the new one!) but a few of my other favorites include The Notebook, Karate Kid, Top Gun, Lord of the Rings, The Sound of Music, Gone with the Wind, The Patriot, American Sniper, and Castaway (or ANY Tom Hanks flick since he’s my favorite actor).
• Will you go out with me? Will you marry me?  Not if you’re asking on social media!!