Saras starts podcast to share his sports opinions

Assistant Principal John Saras has always loved talking about sports, and that has led to his relatively new podcast, Sports with a Side of Saras.

“The inspiration came from my passion for sports at all levels,” Saras said of the podcast, which he has been making for about four months.  “I love talking about it, but most importantly, I love the preparation that goes with production of the podcast.”

Saras said his interest in sports goes back to watching baseball games with his father. 

“We’d sit down and watch the entire game,” he said. “I’m a big stats guy – I like numbers and math,” the former math teacher said.

Saras said he is inspired by a variety of sportscasters and podcasts. These include local outlets such as DK Sports, The North Shore Drive, and recaps from the 93.7 The Fan Morning and PM Team shows, as well as national ones.

“I enjoy listening to Scott Ferrall, Dan Patrick and a collection of ESPN podcasts,” he said. “I listen to different outlets to acquire as much insight as possible.”

He does not limit his own podcast to any one sport or league.

“I talk about all sports, whatever is most relevant at the time,” he said.

Pittsburgh’s sports teams may face a variety of struggles at the moment, which makes them big topics for podcasts like his.

The Penguins have lost in the first round of the playoffs the past three seasons in a row. With this year’s playoffs ready to begin, Saras sees another first-round defeat.

“It’s a disappointing statement to have to make,” he said. However, Saras still believes in Coach Mike Sullivan.

“He is the best Pittsburgh sports coach and he is the best coach in the NHL,” he said.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the issue is which position they should look to strengthen in the first round of the draft.

“Wide receiver or inside linebacker,” Saras said. “I really like the inside linebacker out of the University of Utah, Devin Lloyd,” Saras said. 

The Steelers should give new quarterback Mitch Trubisky a chance, he said.

“We have to see what Trubisky can do. If there is trouble and he is failing to get wins, then make a move at a future QB,” he said. 

And finally, the lowly Pirates could be three to five years from being legit postseason contenders – if they start to rebuild and focus on the team, he said. 

“We have to try something different. They signed (Ke’Bryan) Hayes and (Bryan) Reynolds for future years,” he said. “I really like Diego Castillo and Michael Chavis, who has become a second team project.” 

Saras runs his podcast with a visual background of Heinz Field while he records, which was set up by Baldwin senior Geno Bonidie. In the future, Saras looks to have guests on his show. 

“We just got video attached to the audio, so I am going to see what I can do,” he said.

Saras has never considered making this his full-time job, though.

“It is more of just a hobby. If anything, I wanted to be a sports agent because it deals with business and numbers,” he said. 

The podcast hasn’t been difficult to manage from a scheduling standpoint, Saras said. Saras records his episodes in Studio B at the library on Fridays. 

“It’s easy and fits right in,” he said. 

Each episode lasts about 15 minutes. The Sports with a Side of Saras podcast can be found at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1857653