Cut Traded Fired Retired

Jason Smith

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 [https://www.SusieWargin.com]

Kapri Bibbs

Kapri Bibbs was raised by a single mom in a very large family which instilled his commitment to family and his faith. He relied on both to guide him through rough times as a kid and when his football talents began to turn heads. Kapri also realized his faith would teach him lessons when he made certain choices, like cheating on the ACT his senior year of high school. That was a choice that landed him in community college rather than with a big time football scholarship. But he learned and moved forward and eventually transferred to Colorado State University where he set a single season school record for rushing despite not starting every game. The following year, Kapri went undrafted in the NFL, but signed with the Broncos and spent six years in the NFL between Denver, San Francisco, Washington, and Green Bay. In 2019 when his daughter was born, Kapri decided it was time to be a dad, get into the music industry and continue his schooling. As of this podcast recording, Kapri getting a master degree at CSU.  Listen to Kapri's conversation with the host of Cut Traded Fired Retired, Susie Wargin.  To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com [https://www.SusieWargin.com]

Ryan Sutter

Ryan Sutter's name is usually connected with a reality TV show, but before the phrase "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 jumping around to a few teams. Ryan also played in NFL Europe before calling it quits and becoming a fire fighter 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 married 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.  To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com [https://www.SusieWargin.com]

John-Michael Liles

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 [https://www.instagram.com/susiewargin/] on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast. Links to listen on your favorite podcast platforms in the @ctfrpodcast [https://www.instagram.com/ctfrpodcast/] bio! To learn more about the host Susie Wargin, visit www.SusieWargin.com [https://www.SusieWargin.com]

Montee Ball

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 [https://www.SusieWargin.com]