He grew up in a small town in Colorado, stayed in state for college, was drafted 20th overall in 2007 and tripled the length of a typical NBA career by staying in the league for 12 years.  

Jason Smith thought he was going to be the only “short” person in his family when he got to 5’10” in middle school and started at that same height his freshman year of high school. By the end of that school year, he was 6’6” and just kept growing. By the time he was done, he was 7 feet tall and had schools from throughout the country knocking on his door. He decided to stay in state and attend Colorado State University so his family could be close and drive to all his games (home and away).  

In 2007, Jason left CSU early and entered the draft. The 76’ers took him at #20 and Jason saw action in 76 games as a rookie. From there a journeyman career began with stops at many different teams including the Hornets, Knicks, Magic, Wizards, Bucks and Pelicans. Along with all the trades came a few injuries and many hours in the training room.  

Jason retired in 2019 and focused on being a father and husband as well as doing some media work with the Wizards. He’s also collecting accolades in retirement: in 2026, CSU inducted Jason into their Ring of Honor and his jersey hangs in the rafters at Moby Arena in Fort Collins.  

Listen to Jason’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. 

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kapri Bibbs’ journey from a challenging childhood to the NFL is a story of faith, family, mistakes and second chances. Raised by a single mom in a large family, Kapri relied on his faith to guide him through difficult times, including a mistake his senior year of high school that cost him a Division I scholarship and sent him to community college. He eventually transferred to Colorado State University, where he set a single-season school rushing record despite not starting every game. After going undrafted, Kapri signed with the Denver Broncos and spent six seasons in the NFL with Denver, San Francisco, Washington and Green Bay. After his daughter was born in 2019, Kapri stepped away from football to focus on fatherhood, pursue music and continue his education. Now earning his master’s degree at CSU, Kapri shares his story of overcoming mistakes, finding his purpose and building a life beyond football on Cut Traded Fired Retired with host Susie Wargin.

To learn more about Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan Sutter's name is usually connected with a reality TV show, but before the words "Trista and Ryan" became a household phrase, Ryan was a Vail firefighter who grew up in Fort Collins, played football at the University of Colorado as a walk on and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.  

His NFL career didn't last very long, in fact on the field it was just a few seconds of a regular season game and then jumping around to a few teams. Ryan also played in NFL Europe before calling it quits and becoming a firefighter in Vail.  

Then the rest of his story began as a friend volunteered his name to be a contestant on a new show called the Bachelorette. He had no interest in being on a reality TV show but went to Los Angeles anyway. Turns out he was the last one standing and marrying Trista in a lavish made-for-TV wedding.

Today Ryan is a Denver firefighter, he and Trista are navigating raising two teenagers and are still getting pulled back into reality TV appearances here and there.   

Listen to Ryan’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. 

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 years in any professional sport is an eternity, especially in the very physical National Hockey League. John-Michael Liles grew up in Indiana and by the time he was in high school, it was apparent that hockey was his sport. He played on some elite teams during his teenage years and after high school had a successful college career at Michigan State.  

During his time with the Spartans, he was drafted by the Avalanche and was a Hobey Baker Finalist his senior season. Shortly after his college career wrapped up in 2003, John-Michael was playing with the Avs affiliate, the Hershey Bears. A few months later, he was in an Avs uniform and scored his first NHL goal in October of 2003.  

He'd spend several years playing solid defense for the Avalanche, becoming a fan favorite and racking up points and goals along the way. Good times rarely last in pro sports however and in 2011, John-Michael was traded to Toronto. A few years later, he was traded again, this time to the Hurricanes… just minutes before he was set to play for the Maple Leafs in the Outdoor Winter Classic. He’d be traded one more time (Boston) before retiring in 2017.  

These days, John-Michael is back to being a fan favorite on the Avalanche broadcast team on Altitude Sports. He’s also a husband and girl dad to two daughters.  

Listen to John-Michael’s story and conversation with @susiewargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast bio!

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Montee Ball’s story was supposed to be something like this: “Star running back and Heisman Trophy finalist out of Wisconsin goes on to break rushing records in the NFL with his favorite team growing up.” Instead, it was “Star running back and Heisman Trophy finalist out of Wisconsin goes on to be drafted in the 2nd round by his favorite team growing up and fizzles out of the league after two seasons.” While the latter was unfortunately true, that wasn’t the full story. 

Montee’s true story was what was going on behind the scenes, out of camera and microphone shot. Montee was an alcoholic, until February of 2016 when the everything came to a head: a domestic violence arrest, jail and learning he was going to be a dad. Of course, it didn’t help matters that he watched a team he just played for the year before win Super Bowl 50 from his jail cell. Sobriety had to happen and it did. Since his lowest of lows that February, Montee has been building back up, working to be a good dad and helping others avoid the same mistakes he made. His story is about recovery. For anyone who has been affected with addiction, Montee’s story is a must listen.  

Listen to Montee’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bobby Pesavento entertained the idea of football once when he was in middle school. When he couldn’t up seed the coach’s quarterback son, he moved on to basketball. Then one day in high school, his football buddies asked him to throw some passes their way when their quarterback didn’t show up for spring practice. A football coach saw his arm talent and recruited him to start playing football.  

It didn’t take long for the kid from Indiana to get noticed by Division 1 schools. He made a few visits, including to Northwestern where Gary Barnett was the head coach. Coach Barnett was honest with him, and told him he wouldn’t play much. So, Bobby opted to attend Miami, Ohio where he played for two seasons.  

After realizing he wasn’t meant to be a Redhawk, Bobby came home and his high school coach encouraged him to go to a junior college. Fort Scott Junior College proved to be a springboard into another round of Division 1 offers including one to the University of Colorado…  to play for Coach Barnett. Bobby’s claim to fame as a Buff included a huge upset against Nebraska in 2001 (the “62-36” game) and unexpectedly beating Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.  

After college, Bobby spent time in the Arena League for a few years, then entered the real work where he’s been an insurance broker for over 20 years. He is also a girl dad and is a sideline reporter for the CU Buffs Radio Network.

Listen to Bobby’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After batting .557 and setting a school record with 13 home runs his senior year of high school in California, Garrett Atkins was drafted by the New York Mets. He was also courted by several colleges including Oklahoma State, USC, Cal State, Pepperdine and UCLA. Garrett chose to wait for Major League Baseball and head to UCLA. He became the Bruin’s first 3-time All American in baseball and spent time in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was the MVP in 1999. Now Garrett was ready for a big-league team.  

The Rockies took him in the 5th round of the 2000 draft. He started out in the farm system, and he worked his way up to The Show. His MLB debut came in 2003 and in 2005 he won the starting job at 3rd base after spring training. He’d finish 4th in Rookie of the Year voting that season despite being sidelines for a bit with a hamstring injury.  

Garrett stayed with the Rockies for several more years, including the 2007 World Series. In 2009, he signed a one-year deal with Colorado, and his numbers began to decline. In 2010 he was a free agent and played for a short time with Baltimore and went to the Pirates camp in 2011. Baseball wasn’t the same and he retired.  

These days Garrett enjoys being behind the scenes as a husband, dad, coach and golfer with a 3 handicap. He also did his first podcast in 2025 (this one).  

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Had he grown up where he was born, chances are Dan Hinote would not have experienced a decade-plus pro hockey career. Afterall, Florida isn’t really a hotbed for hockey players. Case in point: Dan became the first Florida born player to score a goal in an NHL game.  

When Dan was very young, he moved from Florida to Minnesota where ponds are plentiful and eventually everyone laces up some ice skates. He was fast on ice and good at hockey but didn’t have a specialty. So, he became proficient in many aspects of the game and did whatever it took to make a team.  

In 1996, the Avalanche drafted him after being assured he would leave West Point, where he was attending college, playing hockey for fun and aspiring to be an FBI agent. Life went a different direction for sure with several years in the NHL, a Stanley Cup Championship with the Avs, many injuries and a few different teams.  

After he retired, Dan went straight into coaching for a few years, then found himself out of hockey to focus on his family and trying to find work outside of the rink. After some time with AT&T and as a stock broker, Dan got back into coaching, spending time in the NHL and AHL where he loves helping players find their potential.

Listen to Dan’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keith Bishop chooses his words wisely: when he speaks, people listen. That came in handy during his decade career with the Broncos as an offensive lineman, especially when the Broncos were on the 2-yard line in Cleveland needing a 98 drive to tie the Browns in the AFC Championship game in 1987. Keith noticed the Browns defense snickering, so he got ticked and told his huddle “We got those mother f-ers right where we want them.” His teammates started laughing, the Browns were confused and Denver got the last laugh in The Drive.  

After his 10-year career in Denver, the 7-time captain got into law enforcement. He became a DEA Special Agent with stops in Dallas, Washington DC, Houston and Afghanistan. He chased, and helped catch the baddest of the bad guys for 20 years.    

He was set to retire from the DEA and settle in Thailand with his wife. But a hernia he developed in Afghanistan brought him back to the states so he could consult with doctors he trusted. He called John Elway, who was the GM at the time, and asked if he could talk to the Broncos doctors. John said sure, but he also wanted to talk to Keith about something. That something was the VP of Security for the Broncos. A job Keith accepted and is still doing in 2025.  

Listen to Keith’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.

To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.