New: 'We Never Played The Game' podcast (Arthur Blank, Part I)

Thanks to two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Mike Luckovich who did this as a favor and for no compensation. I owe him a latte.

Thanks to two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Mike Luckovich who did this as a favor and for no compensation. I owe him a latte.

Welcome to a new venture. This morning, WSB's Zach Klein and I are excited to launch the, "We Never Played The Game" podcast.

The name comes from the occasional all-knowing, all-powerful professional athlete or coach who will look at you as if you're six years old when trying to explain the intricacies of life's most complex endeavors -- you know, like football and nuclear physics. (For the record, most aren't that way, so it's easy to remember who they are.)

You can find a link to the first "We Never Played The Game" podcast here. Or go to the iTunes store home page and search, "We Never Played The Game," and we should populate. You can subscribe and each episode will show up in your feed.

That's right. Zach and I are searchable on iTunes, just like Springsteen and Beyoncé, only without all of those pesky numbers to the left of the decimal point.

Podcasts have become popular for a reason. They somewhat bridge the gap between broadcast and print journalism -- in-depth interviews but unedited, raw and conversational -- with a news feel to it. They're also perfect for today's world because you can download them and listen to them whenever and wherever you like.

Or you can listen to them at work and be unproductive like the rest of us.

Our hope is that you can hear the subjects as they really are, not edited and cut-up or interrupted by commentary.

Some "We Never Played The Game" podcasts will have Zach and I spouting on hot topics. Others will have interviews with top news-makers, like our first subject: Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Our interview with Blank was broken up into two parts. Part I runs today and Part II will run Monday. New podcasts will appear every Monday and Thursday.

If there is anybody you would like us to interview for the podcast, please let us know. You can comment below or email us at jschultz@ajc.com or Zach.Klein@wsbtv.com

We covered a variety of topics with Blank. Part one will delve into his wealth, the idea for a big box store like Home Depot, his early failures and low-level "business lunches" at Wendy's with former partner Bernie Marcus and the lessons he learned about patience.

Blank admits he struggles with patience as the Falcons owner more than he did as a business owner.

In Part II, Blank shares some great thoughts about whether he plans to sell the team one day or will hand it down to one or more of his children. He also discusses his feelings about Michael Vick and -- my favorite -- where he was and what he was doing at the time he heard coach Bobby Petrino quit the team in the middle of the season to become the coach at Arkansas.

We hope you enjoy it. Please give us feedback to let us know what you think.

Again, you can go to iTunes to find us and play it there or download the link. Thanks.