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Only A Game - December 17th, 2011 The Indianapolis Colts came into this year expecting a spectacular season. What they did not expect was to be spectacularly winless through 13 games. This week on Only A Game, we'll get the scoop on the Colts' collapse. Also this week, a look into the daring and dangerous sport of big wave surfing. Finally, we'll give you some inspired gift ideas for your favorite sports fanatic. It's the much-anticipated 19th Annual Only A Game Holiday Gift Guide! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Jimmy Cvetic: Boxing With Pittsburghs Youth The New Year is still a couple of weeks away, but Bill Littlefield is getting an early start on remembering his auld acquaintances in the spirit of the holiday season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - December 10th, 2011 As the refurbished Miami Marlins are breaking in new uniforms and preparing to move into a $515-million retractable-roof stadium, they're also upgrading their roster with some power players. This week on Only A Game, a look at how the team is shaking things up. Also, New York Times reporter John Branch discusses his series on former NHL player Derek Boogaard, Punched Out: The Life And Death Of A Hockey Enforcer. Plus, we'll take you to the USA Badminton Team trials, and Bill Littlefield spe ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tiger Woods: "Redemption" Is Sweet For the first time in 26 tournaments and over 749 days, Tiger Woods earned a victory on Sunday. Woods dropped the winning putt and took home the trophy at the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Bill Littlefield comments on Woods triumph, which was long overdue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game December 3rd, 2011 The lockout is history! NBA players and owners reached a tentative agreement last week, ending the 149-day lockout that had threatened to wipe out the entire 2011-2012 season. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield has details on the upcoming start of training camps and the NBA's shortened schedule. We also get the latest on the new Boston Red Sox manager and the return of a healthy Sydney Crosby to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Finally, we'll take a trip to the Angola Prison Rodeo, a one-o ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Womens Pro Soccer: Will There Be A Fourth Season? The U.S. Soccer Federation may decline to sanction Womens Professional Soccer as a First Division League if they cant put together a sixth team by next week. Bill Littlefield suspects that the second incarnation of WPS may follow the WUSA, which in 2003 shut down after only its third season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game November 26th, 2011 This week on Only A Game, we get the latest in college football news from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports and a primer on Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement from Grantland's Jonah Keri. Also, remembering the glory days of the New York Knicks with author Harvey Araton and dipping into the world of competitive computer gaming with Only A Game's Karen Given. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Thanksgiving Reading Former Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent died last month in Michigan. During this Thanksgiving week, Bill Littlefield is thankful for the record the football player left behind. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 19th, 2011 The NBA's labor dispute is being taken from the negotiating table to federal court as players filed two antitrust lawsuits against the league this week. Only A Game has the latest lockout news. Also, a look into the stone heart of LeBron James and a trip to the NASCAR Car Wash in Romeoville, Ill. Finally, Doug Tribou steers us toward an unusual sport requiring a map and a solid sense of direction. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NBA Lockout: Comedy Rather Than Tragedy As the NBA and the players association are still unable to reach an agreement to end the lockout, the entire 2011-2012 season could be scrapped. Bill Littlefield comments on whats already been lost. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 12th, 2011 Joe Paterno's role in the Penn State sex abuse scandal remains unclear, but the 84-year-old head football coach announced Wednesday morning his plans to retire at the end of the season, only to be fired by the university's board of trustees that night. This week on Only A Game, the latest from State College, Pa. Bill also speaks with the author of a new biography of controversial sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, and Karen Given takes a look at poker mind games. Finally, Doug Tribou follows ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Howard Cosell In a new biography, Mark Ribowsky details the life of one of the most recognizable and controversial broadcasters in American sports history. Ribowsky reveals the life and legend of Howard Cosell, who covered decades of the most newsworthy sports events, from the success and struggles of Muhammad Ali to the tragedy at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Penn State Reeling After Sex-Abuse Scandal The celebrated football program of Penn State University has been in the news this week because of the arrest of Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant to Head Coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky is charged with multiple counts of child abuse. Bill Littlefield believes Paterno and other university officials deserve a large share of the blame for failing to respond responsibly to the circumstances. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 5th, 2011 This week on Only A Game, a preview of men's college hoops and a profile of a talented women's basketball player. Also, the frenzy following Frank McCourt's decision to finally sell the Los Angeles Dodgers, and an update on the MLS postseason. Finally, get to know some insiders at the CIA. That is, the Culinary Institute of America. These student athletes whip up a recipe for success both inside the kitchen and out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sports at the CIA Student athlete chefs at the Culinary Institute of America whip up a tasty recipe for sporty success, even as they battle distasteful stereotypes. Only A Game's Doug Tribou has our story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spanish La Liga: The Woes Of Levante With Major League Soccers post-season underway, Bill Littlefield turns his attention to a popular Spanish soccer team that has battled an unfortunate monetary obstacle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 29th, 2011 Many baseball observers said the Rangers and Cardinals were equally matched... and they were right. Tune in to Only A Game this week for a wrap-up of an especially tight World Series between Texas and St. Louis. While Rangers fans in Dallas are enjoying postseason excitement, Houstonians are anxiously awaiting news on whether the Astros will have a new owner and a new home in the American League next season. Finally, a look at NCAA conference realignment and Chicago Bears great Walter Payto ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 'Sweetness' Sportswriter Jeff Pearlman chronicles the story of Walter Payton, legendary running back for the Chicago Bears, in Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton. Bill Littlefield talks with Pearlman about Paytons college years, 13-year pro career, and the troubled times before his death at age 45. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NCAA Athletes Take A Stand After NCAA President Mark Emmerts announcement on Monday that he is recommending an annual increase of up to $2,000 in the benefits students on athletic scholarship can receive, Bill Littlefield wonders about the long-term outcome of the recent uprising of college athletes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 22nd, 2011 It's official: the Texas Rangers will look for their first World Series title for the second year in a row after defeating the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. And it won't be an easy task. The St. Louis Cardinals own 11 trophies and are looking for their second championship in five years. Bill Littlefield updates the Fall Classic this week on Only A Game. Also, the aftermath of Sunday's fatal Indy Car crash in Las Vegas. Plus the story of a blind football announcer, and Karen Given's report on ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Adventure Racing: Spartans Traverse The Ultimate Obstacles Amesbury Sports Park played host to the 2011 Spartan Death Race, as 250 fierce warriors gathered for a true test of endurance. Only A Games Karen Given reports on the growing popularity of Spartan-style adventure racing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | World Series Wonders And Woes The World Series begins tonight in St. Louis, where the National League Champion Cardinals will be hosting the American League Champion Texas Rangers. The focus of the baseball world should be on that series, though, as Bill Littlefield has noticed, thats not entirely the case. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 15th, 2011 The championship-starved Milwaukee Brewers are taking on the St. Louis Cardinals for a spot in the World Series, while the similarly ring-free Texas Rangers face the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. This week on Only A Game, tune in for the latest MLB postseason news. As the NBA lockout continues, we'll have the story of one player who is taking advantage of the down time to pursue a college degree. Plus, Bill Littlefield talks chord progressions and blocking schemes with Brian Barthelmes, an NF ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sojourner Truth Football: New Orleans New Underdogs The football team at Sojourner Truth Academy in New Orleans is going into the fifth game of its inaugural season. With just 23 players on the roster they are considered underdogs, but winning is not all thats important to the Jaguars squad. Keith OBrien reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFLs Packers Are In The Money Business The Green Bay Packers are a perfect 5-0 on the season. According to Bill Littlefield, the defending NFL champions have also outdistanced their competition with their business model. Read his new column. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 8th, 2011 This week on Only A Game, a look at the teams that remain in the quest for baseball's World Series championship. Also, Bill gets some insight on the the daring and dangerous pastime of long-distance motorcycling, and the growing rowing scene along Cleveland's Cuyahoga River. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times joins the show to discuss if a repeat Stanley Cup title might be in order for the Boston Bruins, and we'll hear the latest from the cheeky Charlie Pierce. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing In her The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing, Melissa Holbrook Pierson profiles the Worlds Toughest Motorcyclists, 50,000 members of the Iron Butt Association for whom long-distance motorcycling is an impassioned pastime. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Baseball History Up For Bid As baseballs post-season is gearing up for the the Fall Classic, Bill Littlefield finds himself thinking of a World Series game played 25 years ago and a particular piece of baseball memorabilia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 1st, 2011 This week on Only A Game we'll hear about Milwaukee's quest to cap off its best regular season ever with a World Series crown. We'll also look at their opening round opponent, the worst-to-first Arizona Diamondbacks and get an update the two American League divisional series. Plus, Brees, Manning, Brady, eat your hearts out. The NFL's single-game passing record turned 60 years old this week. We'll learn why it has endured. And Bill Littlefield talks with the authors of a book examining th ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cricket's Comeback in Needham, MA While celebrating his towns 300th anniversary on Sunday, Bill Littlefield discovered a cricket match being played on a neighborhood field that many residents thought was named after a chirping insect. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bud Selig: Enjoying The Road To October Amid turmoil in the NFL over injury protection and the continued lockout in the NBA, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has reason to smile with his own Milwaukee Brewers heading to the playoffs and two exciting wildcard chases coming down to the wire. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 24th, 2011 This week Only A Game has updates on Major League Baseball's final stretch to the postseason and a look at the WNBA playoffs. Also, Bill Littlefield discusses some of the most iconic boxing films of all time and Karen Given takes us to the Highland Games World Championship, an event highlighting both strength and Scottish and Celtic heritage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 24th, 2011 This week Only A Game has updates on Major League Baseball's final stretch to the postseason and a look at the WNBA playoffs. Also, Bill Littlefield discusses some of the most iconic boxing films of all time and Karen Given takes us to the Highland Games World Championship, an event highlighting both strength and Scottish and Celtic heritage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Highland Games: Americans Top The Scots Last weekend, more than a dozen kilted competitors converged on Lincoln, New Hampshire for the International Highland Games Federation World Championship, and Only A Games Karen Given was there to capture the spirit of the event. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 'Knockout' Knockout: The Boxer and Boxing in American Cinema is an examination of Hollywood boxing films, including such classics as Million Dollar Baby, Rocky, and Raging Bull. Leger Grindon takes a look at how on-screen boxers bring to life the struggles and disappointments central to the shaping of Americas ideas of masculinity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Mariano Rivera Celebrates Saves Milestone Mariano Rivera has finally earned his spot at the top of the all-time saves list, closing out his his 602nd game on Monday night. Bill Littlefield weighs in on whether the big Mo should now be considered the most accomplished Yankee of them all. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 17th, 2011 The Detroit Tigers' ace Justin Verlander has had a phenomenal run this season, posting up a 23-5 record and a lights-out 2.36 ERA. This week on Only A Game, WDET's Noah Ovshinsky reports on why the 28-year-old is having such a standout year. Also, Bill Littlefield gets some real talk about fantasy sports from ESPN's AJ Mass, and details on a tomahawk throwing competition in southeastern Indiana. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Historian Taylor Branch Critiques College Sports The NCAA is facing growing scrutiny from college athletes, coaches, and the people who follow college sports. Pulitzer-prize winning historian Taylor Branch authored "The Shame of College Sports" for the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly. He joins Bill Littlefield on Only A Game this week to discuss the current status of the NCAA. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Red Sox Fans Losing Hope After losing all three games in their last series against the Rays, the Red Sox have fallen even further behind the Yankees in the AL East standings. Bill Littlefield comments about the recent Sox disappointment through the eyes of a habitual viewer: his mother. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 10th, 2011 This week, updates on the U.S. Open and a profile of the winningest active tennis player in the world. Hint: she's not named Williams. Only A Game's Jon Kalish speaks with wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer about her career and her remarkable 423-match winning streak. Bill Littlefield gets a preview from CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel of the much-anticipated upcoming NFL season, and we will visit Joplin, Missouri for the first high school football game since the devastating May 22 tornado. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Runners Remember 9/11 The current issue of Runners World magazine includes personal stories of runners who were affected by September 11. Bill Littlefield speaks with the executive editor, as well as one of the runners featured in this months issue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fanatics Rejoice: Football Is Back With A Vengeance Avid soccer fan Bill Littlefield briefly sets aside his loyalties to comment on all the excitement surrounding the upcoming NFL season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 3rd, 2011 This week on Only a Game, the college football season officially begins, and Bill Littlefield gets a preview from Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel. We'll have a report on the University of Nebraska at Omaha as the school makes the leap to Division I, and the story of runners who have been going out for a daily jog for decades. Plus, Bill talks with New York Giants great and NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson. Also, Karen Given will plunge into the details of the Red Bull Cliff Diving competition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 'Captain For Life' by Harry Carson Throughout his 13 seasons in the NFL, Harry Carson was known as one of the most ferocious inside linebackers in the game. Carson recounts his football career in Captain For Life, as well as his years after retirement. Bill Littlefield talks to the NFL Hall-of-Famer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What I Did On My Summer Vacation Despite a vow to spend his two week summer vacation devoid of sports, Bill Littlefield took a guided kayaking tour around Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 27th, 2011 While Bill Littlefield and the rest of the Only A Game crew enjoy a late-summer getaway, we offer some of the year's best stories. Join us as Bill chronicles Micky Ward's Hollywood knockout and speaks to comic book legend Stan Lee about his new brood of NHL superheroes. Also, Karen Given joins the barefoot running craze, and super-sleuth Doug Tribou takes on the mysterious 18th-century portrait that still puzzles baseball historians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stan Lee 'Rescues' The NHL Comic book legend Stan Lee joins Bill Littlefield to discuss his new line o fsuperheroes based on the 30 NHL teams. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 20th, 2011 Another fall, another scandal in college football. This time it's the University of Miami and a bevy of improper benefits allegedly given to athletes by Nevin Shapiro, a former Miami booster who's now serving jail time for his role in a Ponzi scheme. This week on Only A Game, guest host Doug Tribou speaks with Dan Wetzel about the story he broke for Yahoo! Sports. Also, we meet the men's doubles tennis duo who rally to promote peace between India and Pakistan, learn how beer saved minor le ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pitchers of Beer The Seattle Rainiers were more than just a minor league baseball team to the people of post-Depression Seattle. They were credited with waking up a "depressed, slumbering town." Guest host Doug Tribou talks with Dan Raley, author of "Pitchers of Beer." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game August 13th, 2011 While established NCAA football teams are preparing for the 2011-2012 season, one southern university is working to create a football team of its own. This week on Only A Game, WUNC's Dave Dewitt reports on efforts to bring football to the UNC-Charlotte 49ers. In other college football news, Bill Littlefield talks to New York Times writer Pete Thamel about the use of social media in NCAA recruiting. Also, Bill investigates an eccentric soccer team owner and delves into the world of poker wi ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All In After only playing poker for a couple of years, Jerry Yang became the champion at the World Series of Poker in 2007. Yang has now written a entitled All In, in which he recounts both his poker career and his childhood. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | They Are Not Us Should a woman in her sixties be trying to swim from Cuba to Florida? Should a professional soccer team sign a 7-year-old? Bill Littlefield weighs in on stories of athletes young and old. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game August 6th, 2011 NFL players are happy to have their jobs back and are working hard to prepare for the much anticipated 2011-2012 season. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield checks in with players and fans at training camps around the league. Also, Tulane sports law professor Gabe Feldman explains the complexities of the NBA lockout. Plus, Only A Game's Anne Marshall introduces the signature sport of the Schnitzelburg neighborhood in Louisville, and the author of Wonder Girl shares the story of one t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wonder Girl: Babe Didrikson Zaharias From the 1930s through her death in 1956, Babe Didrikson was a female sports pioneer. In his new book, 'Wonder Girl,' Don Van Natta Jr. explores the many complexities of a woman who, when it came to sports, really could do it all. Bill Littlefield speaks with Van Natta about his new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Players And Fans Back To NFL Training Camp Routines Players are excited. Fans are excited. The lockout loomed large for months, but now its quickly becoming a tiny speck in the NFLs rearview mirror. Bill Littlefield attended the New England Patriots training camp to see what, if anything, has changed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game July 30th, 2011 The gates to NFL lockout land have finally been closed, as owners and players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last Thursday. This week on Only A Game, a look at the free agency and trade issues the league is facing now that the 2011 season will, in fact, start on time. Also, WCPN's Eric Wellman reports on the only casuality of the lockout: the cancelled Hall of Fame Game. Plus, Bill Littlefield delves into the wild world of skateboarding with author Cole Louison; ESPN's Tim ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Womens Squash Tourney Bounces From Egypt To U.S. Some of the top female squash players in the world have gathered at Havard University for the Womens World Junior Squash Championship. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Cairo, but was moved due to the political unrest. As Only A Games Doug Tribou reports losing home court advantage has not affected the Egyptian players one bit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | There Will Be Football Everybody who sighed with relief at the news that there will be football in the fall provides evidence that the NFL won, says Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game July 23rd, 2011 Finally, a reason to smile in the labor talks between NFL owners and players. This week on Only A Game, the latest news on the league's new collective bargaining agreement. Also, on the occasion of Yao Ming's official retirement, we'll talk to a reporter in Beijing about the downsides of China's state-run athletic recruitment system. Plus, Bill Littlefield meets the women and girls of Baseball For All, Greg Echlin reports on the effort to locate and mark the grave sites of Negro Leaguers ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Baseball For All More than 50 years after the All American Girls Professional Baseball League entertained crowds during World War II, women and girls are still struggling to find their place in the sport. Bill Littlefield meets with a group who's making sure the younger generation gets a chance at bat in our national pastime. .. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game July 16th, 2011 Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial in the case against former MLB star Roger Clemens. Clemens is accused of lying to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. This week on Only A Game, the reasoning behind the ruling. Also, Bill Littlefield has an update on the Women's World Cup and the British Open. Bill will also talk to Reed Albergotti of The Wall Street Journal about the burdens Hamilton County, OH is carrying because of stadium deals given to the Cincinnati Bengals ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Swinger Tiger Woods has been under tremendous scrutiny ever since his sexual indiscretions were exposed in 2009. In their book, The Swinger, authors Michael Bamberger and Alan Shipnuck write of a fictional character that leads a life eerily similar to Tigers. Bill Littlefield talks to Bamberger and Shipnuck about the inspiration behind their novel, and their decision to riff on Tigers story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Womens World Cup Dives Into A Sports Tradition In soccer over dramatizing a collision or faking an injury, is known as diving. The much-maligned art form played a critical role in at least one Womens World Cup match. Bill Littlefield says diving is a stall tactic known by many other names in many other sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 9th, 2011 With the NFL lockout putting the squeeze on wallets and the pursuit of pro football careers, some NFL players are finding ways to live simply in order to make ends meet. This week on Only A Game, updates on the discussions between NFL owners and players and on the women's World Cup. Plus, Bill Littlefield talks to the author of the book Crazy Basketball and discusses the latest sports headlines with Charlie Pierce. And Only A Game has reports on competitive kite flying in Bali and finding a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Crazy Basketball Charley Rosens basketball career was filled with 45 years of playing time, coaching positions and hilarious stories that can not be matched. In his new book, Crazy Basketball, Rosen shares the ups and downs of his wacky career. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFL Retirees Affected By The Lockout As the NFL lockout continues, the leagues retired players are starting to take matters into their own hands. While the retirees were previously included in NFL discussions and meetings, they have been feeling neglected since being excluded from more recent talks. The former players fear that the owners and current players are conspiring to depress the retirees' pensions and disability benefits, in order to maximize their own salaries and benefits. The retired players sued both the owners an ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 2nd, 2011 The future of the NBA is in question, as the owners and players are at odds on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This week on Only A Game, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express News talks about the problems that are facing the NBA. Also, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times discusses the future of the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers. Plus, Bill Littlefield talks to Dave Bidini about his book Home and Away, and visits paddle boarders who have navigated from Florida to Maine. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Home and Away Dave Bidini's Home And Away tells the story of the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. Through his firsthand account of the unconventional tournament Bidini shares what he learned about the homeless presence around the world. The Homeless World Cup gives people who live on the street a chance to play for purpose, and for some, change their lives in the aftermath of the event. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Dodgers Bankruptcy Rhyme A poetic approach to the Dodger's bankruptcy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 25th, 2011 The Women's World Cup is set to begin in Germany on Sunday. This week on Only A Game: ESPN soccer analyst Roger Bennett shares his predictions. Also, Bill Littlefield talks to Adrian Burgos Jr., author of the new book Cuban Star. Plus, Only A Game's Karen Given reports on the failure of a failed drug test; Ron Schachter visits the mountainous, one-hole Elfego Baca golf tournament; and Doug Tribou examines how technology is changing the way we follow sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cuban Star While Alex Pompez spent his days operating an illegal numbers bank in Harlem, he was a stand-up guy. When his scheme left him $68,000 short, he ensured that none of his customers lost any money, and ultimately ended up sacrificing his independent business in order to pull himself out of debt. Pompez also made tremendous strides for Negro League Baseball, and can be credited for much of the diversity that exists in Major League Baseball today. In his book Cuban Star Adrian Burgos Jr. highlig ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Worthy Women To Play In World Cup After four years of anticipation, the Women's World Cup is back. Female soccer players from all over the globe will be competing, as host Germany attempts to retain its championship status. Bill Littlefield writes about the importance of the upcoming tournament and wonders why the promise of the 1999 Women's World Cup has not yet been fulfilled. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 18th, 2011 After a 39 year drought the Boston Bruins have finally won The Stanley Cup. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield examines the Bruins' former losing streak along with the poor luck of other professional sports teams who have been waiting a little too long for their Championship victories. Bill talks to George Vecsey about his book Stan Musial: An American Life. Bill also discusses the politics of golf with Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum, and Only A Game's Karen Given introduces a g ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stan Musial: An American Life Stan Musial's baseball career was filled with success and affability. Although he was one of the MLB greats throughout the span of his 22year career, Musial was always a very approachable and down to earth guy. Bill Littlefield talks to George Vecsey about his book Stan Musial: An American Life. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lessons For LeBron Only A Games Bill Littlefield has some advice for LeBron James, as the basketball star heads into the off-season without a championship, without a trophy and without any humility. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 11th, 2011 The NBA finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat continue to unexpectedly sizzle. This week on Only A Game: we'll have the latest on these exciting NBA finals. Also, an update on the ever intensifying Stanley Cup Finals, and the NHL disciplinary rules that have become so important in the series. WUSF reporter Bobbie O'Brien profiles Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, and we'll talk to the author of Gaming The Game, a book that details former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's gamblin ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gaming The Game Four years ago Jimmy Batista and former NBA referee Tim Donaghy were convicted of illegal gambling and conspiracy. Batista headed up the operation and his conversations with author Sean Patrick Griffin are candid and revealing. Billl Littlefield talks to Griffin about his new book that explores Batista's antics and looks into how the men who were involved in this scandal were able to game an entire industry of owners players and fans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Horton Latest Victim In NHL Hit Parade Violence in the NHL has become unbearable. Players are consistently getting seriously injured by their opponents, and referees are refusing to punish the offenders in any serious manner. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 4th, 2011 Although the Boston Bruins stood on their heads trying to defeat the Vancouver, they could not stop Canucks left wing Raffi Torres from scoring in the final seconds of Game 1. This week on Only A Game, Doug Tribou reports on the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Bill Littlefield talks to NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about his new movie On The Shoulders Of Giants, about the "best basketball team of all time," the Harlem Rens. Also, North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports on epee, a form of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | On The Shoulders Of Giants Bill Littlefield talks to NBA legend Kareem Abdul- Jabbar about his new movie On the Shoulders of Giants. Abdul-Jabbar's film tells the story of the Harlem Rens the team he calls "the greatest basketball team you have never heard of." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tressel Pays For OSU Violations At one point as various infractions high and low involving those paid legitimately and not-so- legitimately at Ohio State University were coming to light over the past few months, Gordon Gee, the president of the university, was asked whether he thought he would have to fire Head Football Coach Jim Tressel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 28th, 2011 Tennis greats John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg succeeded in the same game in different ways. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield talks with Stephen Tignor, author of High Strung, about the rivalry between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg. Also, Gabe Ballard reports on an adult spelling bee in Louisville, Kentucky. Plus, Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times previews the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals and Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix breaks down the NBA playoffs. And we'll hear about the new ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Spelling Bees Are For Kids? Louisville, Kentucky native Emily Foerster brought competitive fun to her hip neighborhood when she started the "Spleling Be", a spelling contest for adults. Bill Littlefield reports on the competition that allows community members to get in touch with the ghosts of spelling bees past. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lance Armstrong In Rhyme Lance Armstrong is currently under investigation by a grand jury and his former teammates have accused the seven time Tour de France winner of using performance enhancing drugs. Bill Littlefield and Karen Given stage a doggerel that presents two views of Armstrong's legacy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 21st, 2011 As the Thunder face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, Seattle SuperSonics fans are watching in despair while their former team competes wearing Oklahoma City jerseys. This week on Only A Game, we'll get an update on the NBA conference finals and hear about the glee in OKC and the sadness in Seattle. Also, ESPN's Tim Kurkjian talks about the passing of baseball great Harmon Killebrew and breaks down the start of the rain-soaked 2011 season. And guest host Karen Given tal ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Big Scrum In 1905 the game of football was in danger of being banned. In her conversation with John J. Miller, author of The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football, Karen Given and Miller discuss how football has evolved since the campaign to ban the game. Miller talks about the reasons why Teddy Roosevelt so vehemently defended football, and discusses the feud that existed between President Roosevelt, a vocal supporter of the game, and Harvard President Charles Eliot, one of football's greate ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game May 14th, 2011 The sharp three-point shooting and stingy defense of the Dallas Mavericks stopped the Lakers from reaching their fourth straight Western Conference Finals. Now, red hot shooting guard Jason Terry and the Mavs will have the opportunity to reach their first NBA Finals since 2006. This week on Only A Game: Bill Littlefield takes a look at the NBA playoff picture. Also, Ron Schachter checks up on baseball's cousin, cricket, and reports on the popularity of the sport in New York City's public sc ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NBA Playoff Make Over The NBA Playoffs have brought one surprise after another. Bill discusses why less familiar teams and a reemergence of suspense are making this playoff season one of the most exciting in a long time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 7th, 2011 There's no lack of drama in the 2011 NBA conference semifinals. The Dallas Mavericks have the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on the run, and the Boston Celtics look old chasing the spry Miami Heat. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield has the latest playoffs news and examines the matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies. Also, we'll travel to Ferrari World where you can ride a roller coaster that simulates the 149 mph thrill of riding in a Formula One ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Play Like You Mean It Sometimes successful and often controversial, Coach Rex Ryan has kept the New York Jets in the media spotlight since 2009. In his new autobiography, Play Like You Mean It, Ryan reflects on his time in the NFL including his stint on television during HBO's Hard Knocks series. Bill interviews Ryan about his new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 30th, 2011 The 2011 NFL Draft must go on...even though no one's entirely sure there will be a 2011 NFL season. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield and Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports look at the draft and what the lockout means for the incoming players. Also, the Chicago Bulls may go to the NBA Finals, but can they ever reach the rarefied air of the Michael Jordan era? Plus, Bill talks to Leigh Montville about his latest biography, "Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Dared ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Evel Evel Knievel jumped canyons, cars and Pepsi delivery trucks, but not without a couple of skeletal souvenirs. He broke 433 bones, the most by any person in the course of a lifetime. In the new book, Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend, author Leigh Montville tells the story of a daredevil driven to risky stunts in search of fame. Bill interviews Montville about his new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFL Labor of Love? On Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered an immediate end to the lockout NFL owners had imposed on the players last month. The owners are appealing the decision. Bill Littlefield is among those who feel Nelson made the right call. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 23rd, 2011 Once considered one of baseball's most prestigious organizations, the Los Angeles Dodgers have tumbled into ignominy, if not bankruptcy. Because of financial problems stemming in part from the owners' divorce, Major League Baseball will now oversee day-to-day operations of the ball club. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield talks to baseball experts about the future of the Dodgers. Also, Only A Game's Doug Tribou profiles korfball, a Dutch sport that some describe as a combination of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Knuckler Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield knows a lot about rebounding from a tough year. He gave up the series ending home run to Aaron Boone in the 2003 ALCS, but in the following season, he won 12 games and beat the Yankees in the post season helping the Sox win their first World Series in 86 years. Bill met up with Wakefield at Fenway Park to discuss the pitcher's new autobiography, Knuckler: My Life with Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Athlete Statue Gallery One of the highest honors for a sports figure is to be represented in the form of a statue. Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, and Yogi Berra all have larger-than-life sculptures to commemorate their achievements. Bill recalls some of the most famous statues in the world of sports and suggests one more athlete to be immortalized. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 16th, 2011 The Barry Bonds trial is over. Sort of. This week on Only A Game, Bill talks with Game of Shadows co-author and California Watch reporter Lance Williams about why the jury convicted Bonds on one charge, but was hung on three others. We'll also look ahead to Roger Clemens' trial and the investigation into alleged steroid use by Lance Armstrong. Plus, Greg Echlin reports on a college baseball player who moonlights as the mayor of a small town... or is it the other way around? Also, Kevin Hen ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The America East's College for Every Student The America East Conference has been known for producing some of the most talented athletes in collegiate sports. Now, those student athletes are giving back to the community by partnering with grade school kids and guiding them to pursue higher education. Bill Littlefield reports on the College for Every Student Program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 9th, 2011 Will Phil still thrill? Can Woods rediscover the goods? This week on Only A Game, an update on the Masters. Also, Wednesday was a big day for women's ski jumping. The International Olympic Committee approved a women's ski jump competition at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Bill talks with Dee Dee Corradini , President of Women's Ski Jumping USA, about the sport's monumental victory. Also, Only A Game's Doug Tribou reports on coaches who have lead their teams close to victory, only to lo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bottom of the 33rd Some people complain about the pace of baseball, calling a nine-inning game an eternity. These people obviously had never heard of the 33-inning game in 1981 between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings. This week, Bill interviews author Dan Barry about his book, Bottom of the 33rd. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dirge for the Red Sox The Boston Red Sox began the season by losing three straight to the Texas Rangers. Then they lost to Cleveland in their fourth game. This start has Bill Littlefield hoping for better days. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 2nd, 2011 Break out the peanuts and crackerjack, oil up your mitt, and dust off your favorite cap. Baseball season is back! This week on Only A Game Bill Littlefield talks with ESPN's Tim Kurkjian about which of the 30 teams will come out on top in the 4,860 game regular season marathon. Plus, Bill speaks with former RIT guard Thabiti Boone about how he balanced single fatherhood with the rigors of life in college basketball. And, we take a look at a non-profit organization that builds confidence in ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Most Famous Woman in Baseball For more than a decade Effa Manley and her husband owned of the Negro Leagues' Newark Eagles. Although disrespected by some of her colleagues, Manley was a baseball enthusiast and a fervent advocate for the rights of African Americans. This week Bill interviews Bob Luke, the author of The Most Famous Woman in Baseball: Effa Manley and the Negro Leagues. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 3B Minus AK-47 Equals Evan Longoria Evan Longoria, the third baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays, is probably happy to see the baseball season begin, since his offseason has been tough. Earlier this month, one of his cars was stolen. Then on Saturday, Longoria's spring training residence was burglarized. One of the items taken has caught the attention of Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - March 26th, 2011 In August of 2007, Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron as baseball's career home run leader. Today, the home run king faces four counts of perjury. Prosecutors say Bonds lied to a grand jury about his use of performance enhancing drugs. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield updates the key points of the trial. Also, the Harlem Globetrotters make a stop at Harvard to teach local kids the importance of character. And Bill discusses the big business of college basketball with PBS Frontline repo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Globetrotters Visit Harvard The Harvard Crimson missed the NCAA tournament by one game, but basketball returned to Harvard for a day when the Harlem Globetrotters visited to teach kids about the importance of character. Bill Littlefield reports from Cambridge about the Globetrotters' C.H.E.E.R. program. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The "Art" of Bracketology Your bracket is in good shape and the team you picked to win it all is still in the NCAA tournament. So, you must be a college basketball guru, right? Wrong. Like Bill Littlefield, you're probably just lucky. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - March 19th, 2011 Kansas and Duke are ranked number one in the nation, but in the NCAA Tournament any team can be a Cinderella Team. So get your brackets ready, March Madness is officially underway! This week on Only A Game, Bill talks with ESPN's Pat Forde about which favorites will choke and which underdogs will thrive. Also, Todd Melby reports on the anguish and optimism that Minnesota Timberwolves fans experience year after year. And Bill talks with famed journalist Jimmy Breslin about his new book "Bran ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Qatar Prepares for the World Cup In December, Qatar was selected to host the 2022 World Cup. Hosting outdoor events in the summer heat of the Middle East is one concern. Another is the small nation's ability to mesh its own cultural standards with those of the global crowds who will converge there. Ken Shulman traveled to Qatar to report on the country's preparation for the tournament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Big Win and Bigger Losses for the Nebraska-Omaha Wrestling Program When the wrestling team of the University of Nebraska at Omaha won their second consecutive Division II Championship, they expected phone calls of congratulations. Instead, they received news that their program had been cut to finance the University's move to Division I. Bill examines the University's decision and the athletic director's poor timing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - March 12th, 2011 Hard hits have always been a part of NHL hockey, but some are calling for change after Boston's Zdeno Chara left Montreal's Max Pacioretty with a severe concussion and cracked vertebra. This week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield explores the issue of violence and injuries in the NHL. Also, Jon Kalish has the story of an American football league struggling for significance in Israel. And Neil Lanctot joins us to talk about Campy, his new biography of Roy Campanella. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella Catcher Roy Campanella won three Most Valuable Player awards and contributed to the only World Series win for the Brooklyn Dodgers. However, Campanella had many problems with the Dodger organization and his iconic teammate, Jackie Robinson. In a new book Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella, Neil Lanctot (lank-TOE) describes the achievements and pitfalls of the famous Brooklyn backstop. Bill interviews Lanctot about his new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFL Labor Issues: A Not-So-Doomsday Scenario Bill Littlefield's been monitoring the NFL labor negotiations and in his new commentary, he has reached two conclusions. 1.) The world will not end if the 2011 season doesn't start on time. 2.) At least one party at the table is overstating its need for more money. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - March 5th, 2011 If the NFL owners and players can't get on the same page, it may mean a terrible threat to American life as we know it: no pro football this fall. This week on "Only A Game," Bill reports on the NFL labor relations talks and breaks them down into plain English. Also, Bill talks with the CEO and co-founder of Team Type 1, a competitive cycling squad whose members are diabetics. And Only A Game's Karen Given reports from Franklin Pierce University, where students have created a beach volleyba ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game In his new book, Raceball, University of Pittsburgh historian Rob Ruck writes that "the globalization" of the sport once known as America's pastime "has come at the expense of baseball beyond U.S. borders." Ruck finds connections between that syndrome, the relatively low cost of Latino players, the declining number of African American players in the Major Leagues, and the withering of the winter leagues. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Remembering Duke Snider Duke Snider, a hall-of-famer who starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 50's, died last week at the age of 84. In verse, Bill remembers the days when Snider, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle were all playing centerfield within a few miles of each other. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - February 26th, 2011 After half a season's speculation, former Nugget Carmelo Anthony has left Denver to become a Knick in New York. Nuggets management has apologized, and the Knicks are hoping Anthony will make them contenders in the Eastern Conference. This week on "Only A Game," Bill talks with the Denver Post's Irv Moss and Chris Tomasson of AOL Fanhouse about the repercussions of the "Melo" trade, which also relocated 13 other players. In addition, Bobbie O'Brien of WUSF in Tampa checks in with the town's ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Tragic Death of David Duerson Dave Duerson, a two-time Super Bowl Champion, committed suicide last week by shooting himself in the chest. As he decided to end his life, he also chose to donate his brain to the study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease which appears in many retired football players. Bill explores Duerson's decisions and urges both the NFL and the Players Association to respond to them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - February 19th, 2011 Boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward won 38 of his professional fights despite hardships at home in Lowell, Massachusetts. Now, a movie about Ward's life has been nominated for six Academy Awards. Bill Littlefield spoke with Ward about his life and the making of "The Fighter." Also, Sport Illustrated's Grant Wahl explains his decision to throw his hat in the ring for FIFA president; Only A Game's Karen Given contemplates the reign of Watson, IBM's Jeopardy champion, plus Bill prepares for baseball sea ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona and the Day that Changed Everything. Michael Waltrip's 30 year career has been filled with victory and grief. On the day that he won his first race on NASCAR's top circuit the 2001 Daytona 500, his friend and mentor Dale Earnhardt died on the track. In his new book, In the Blink of an Eye, Waltrip recalls his memorable career, and the experiences he had along the way. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lance Armstrong: Retirement 2.0 After un-retiring in 2009, Lance Armstrong has once again called it quits. Bill Littlefield probably isn't the only one who wonders if this retirement will stick. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - February 12th, 2011 The Super Bowl is over, which means other sports can step back into the spotlight. In the NBA, the Bulls have gotten hot, while the Cavs look like they're regretting the post-Lebron era. This week on Only A Game, Bill talks with FoxSports.com's Kevin Hench about the NBA. Meanwhile, Bill speaks with the Wall Street Journal's Hannah Karp about how senior citizens are making sure that University of Kansas athletes keep an eye on academics, Only A Game's Doug Tribou profiles DIII swimmer Kendra ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stuntman! He's broken the land speed record, 56 bones, and at one point he was Hollywood's highest paid stuntman. Now, Hal Needham talks to Bill about his new book Stuntman! (My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Increasingly Popular NFL More people watched the 2011 Super Bowl than ever before, and according to one Nielson researcher this NFL season was "arguably the most successful season that any sports league has ever had." Are NFL telecasts good or are the alternatives just really bad? Bill examines pro-football's TV competition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - February 5th, 2011 This is arguably the most anticipated Sunday on the American calendar. The Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLV. This week on Only A Game, Karen Given looks into the true financial rewards this Super Bowl may bring North Texas. Meanwhile, Bill's poetic side is revealed in the seventeenth annual installment of Super Bowl Haiku. Also, a conversation with Frank Brady, author of End Game, a new book about Bobby Fischer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dallas Expects Super Rewards for Super Bowl The Steelers or the Packers will take home the Vince Lombardi trophy, but the Dallas Cowboys and North Texas expect to reap the financial benefits of the Super Bowl. Will the economic windfall be as big as they've hoped? Only A Game's Karen Given investigates how much Super Bowl host cities actually benefit from the big game. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFL Owners Hope The Rich Get Richer When Sunday's Super Bowl game is over, there will be celebration in Green Bay or Pittsburgh for a while. Then, thanks to labor uncertainty, football fans all over the world will start to worry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - January 29th, 2011 The Carolina Hurricanes are fighting for a playoff spot and rookie center Jeff Skinner is a big reason why they are still in the picture. This week on Only A Game, Dave DeWitt reports on the first year sensation who is already making waves in the NHL. Also, Bill's "Spidey sense" tingles as he talks with Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee about his recent project with the NHL. And an update from the Australian Open. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stan Lee: The NHL's Guardian BOOM-ZAP-POW! Bill talks to comic book legend Stan Lee about the NHL Guardian Project, as the upcoming All-Star Game tries for a more animated look. Here's a sneak preview of some of The Guardians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pay Attention To These Super Bowl Suggestions As soon as Sunday's games established that the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers would meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6, speculation began regarding which team would win. With a break of two weeks, there is twice as much time as normal for alleged analysis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - January 22nd, 2010 Cyclist Lance Armstrong is facing a federal investigation about doping allegations. In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated Selena Roberts and David Epstein explore previously unreported information about the seven-time Tour de France winner. This week on Only A Game Bill talks with Roberts and Epstein about their research. Also, journalist Cliff Christl discusses the long history behind the Packers/Bears rivalry as they prepare for Sunday's NFC Championship Game, their 182nd meeting. And ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "The Case Against Lance Armstrong" Cyclist Lance Armstrong is a facing a federal investigation examining allegations that he organized blood doping on the US Postal Service team between 1999 and 2004. Armstrong has vehemently denied ever using performance enhancers. In their article, "The Case Against Lance Armstrong," in the current issue of Sports Illustrated reporters David Epstein and Selena Roberts examine the accusations agains the seven-time Tour de France winner. Bill talks with Roberts and Epstein about previously ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The NFL Job Search With the possibility of a NFL lockout next season, players are looking for other employment opportunities, just in case. Bill Littlefield spoke with New England Patriots' practice squad wide receiver, Darnell Jenkins, about his emergency plans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - January 15th, 2011 Eight NFL playoff teams toiled in preparation for Wild Card Weekend, while the New England Patriots enjoyed a bye. Some of them even got haircuts. This week on Only A Game, the sheer joy of being a Super Bowl favorite. Also, a preview of the NFL's divisional playoffs, and Golden State polo enthusiasts trade in four hoofs for two wheels. And Bill Littlefield talks with ESPN reporter Amy K. Nelson about her story on the infamous MLB umpire, James Joyce. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - January 8th, 2010 The Oregon Ducks have a chance to upset the mighty Auburn Tigers in the BCS Championship on Monday. This week on Only A Game, we'll examine their chances. Also, we'll talk with a journalist who's compiled a list of the most preposterous post-season pretenders of all time, Charlie Pierce will comment on the week's sports news, and we'll hear the epic boasts of Oldetime Strongmen. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | An Old-Fashioned Strong Man Competition Their stories may make you think of former 92-pound weaklings featured in 1940s comic books, who, inspired by Charles Atlas, found strength and courage. Gathered in a hotel in New Jersey are strongmen, stuntmen, and even a former Mr. Universe contestant, all members of the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen. Only A Game's Jon Kalish talks with several of these musclemen, including some octogenarians, who have gained not only abundant muscle, but a successful career and legions of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/01/11 This week on Only A Game, while TCU and Wisconsin prepare to play in the 2011 Rose Bowl Game, the Rose Bowl itself prepares for a $152 million face lift. Also,the life of boxing great Joe Louis, he race for the final NFL playoff spots,and former basketball star Antoine Walker attempts a comeback via the NBA' Development League. The NFL with Gregg Doyel Rebuilding the Rose Bowl The NBA with Kevin Hench Antoine Walker' Comeback Goodbye to 2010 Bowl Madness and More with Charlie Pierce Joe L ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Joe Louis: Hard Times Man Joe Louis was an American hero, a pioneering figure in African-American culture, and phenomenal athlete. But after reaching the highest heights, Louis suffered in his later years. Bill Littlefield talks with biographer Randy Roberts about the rise and fall of an icon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The President's Call The President of the United States doesn't normally call business people to thank them for taking a chance on an ex-con. But, that's exactly what President Obama recently did when he phoned up Jeffrey Lurie, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and current employer of convicted felon Michael Vick. The White House says Vick wasn't the main purpose of the phone call, but Bill Littlefield wonders if he should have been. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - December 25th 2010 This week on Only A Game, yet more evidence that humans can make a competition out of almost anything. We'll reprise our story on the inaugural U.S. Beard and Moustache Championships. Plus, a look back at some of our other favorites from the past, including Doug Tribou's authoritative history of the goalie mask, Bill Littlefield's tale of old guys racing old cars up an older hill, Karen Given's report on the Doc Wayne Athletic league for troubled youths, and a rememberance of the 1914 Chris ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Silent Night On Christmas Eve, 1914, a gruesome war was briefly interrupted by a number of spontaneous truces, including one during which German and English combatants listened to each other sing carols, traded gifts, and played soccer. Bill talks with author Stanley Weintraub, the author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, in which is recounted tales of those unlikely events. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - December 18th, 2010 This week on Only A Game, a competition to see who can build the best gingerbread trailer park - in which entries can't be built on a surface area larger than a case of beer. Plus, Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com tells us if there's any NFL team that can beat the New England Patriots, and Bill reports on the not-for-profit Canadian Women's Hockey League. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gingerbread Trailer Park Contest At an Atlanta bar, contestants build surreal, tasteless and incredibly detailed trailer parks from matzo, donuts and, of course, gingerbread, in Euclid Avenue Yacht Club's annual Gingerbread Trailer Park contest. Only A Game's Philip Graticer reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All I Want for Christmas is a Brain The holidays can make some act a little strangely, and the sports world is no exception. This Christmas, Bill Littlefield hopes the men in charge of our favorite games have the gift of sanity waiting under the tree. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/11/10 Cam Newton has led Auburn to an undefeated record and a spot in the BCS National Title Game, which had made him the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. This week on Only A Game, one writer explains why he won't include Newton on his Heisman ballot at all. Plus, Only A Game's 18th annual holiday gift guide. Join us! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/11/10 Cam Newton has led Auburn to an undefeated record and a spot in the BCS National Title Game, which had made him the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. This week on Only A Game, one writer explains why he won't include Newton on his Heisman ballot at all. Plus, Only A Game's 18th annual holiday gift guide. Join us! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 18th Annual Holiday Gift Guide Still looking for a gift for the sports fan on your list? Well, unless that fan has a sense of humor as strange as ours, Only A Game's 18th annual Holiday Gift Guide probably won't help you out much. But we're pretty confident you won't find our gift ideas (like inflatable football linemen and infrared skeet shoot) anywhere else. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Action Hero, Ear Biter...Boxing Hall of Famers The 2011 class that will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame includes the "baddest man on earth" and a man who wasn't really a boxer at all. Bill Littlefield wonders if baseball's big names who are shut out from Cooperstown could do better by stepping into the ring. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/04/10 This week on Only A Game,World Cup Controversy with Grant Wahl; Aussie Rules Football Club in Arizona; MLB Hot Stove with Tim Kurkjian; The Last Boy Mickey Mantle; LeBrons Return and more with Charlie Pierce and Wiseman on Boxing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Last Boy For Jane Leavy, Mickey Mantle was a childhood hero. For young Bill Littlefield, Mantle was the second-best centerfielder in New York. Bill speaks to Leavy about her new biography of the Mick, The Last Boy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sportsmen Selections Bill Littlefield has no problem with Sports Illustrated's selection of Drew Brees as Sportsman of the Year. But through the years, Bill hasn't always agreed with the sportsmen (and women) the magazine selected. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - 11/27/10 This week on Only A Game, Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel talks about all things college football, including Friday's Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama. Also, Olympian Cullen Jones tours the country to promote swimming. And, an ode to the might, the glory, and the splendor of ...ping pong? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 20th, 2010 This week on Only A Game, author Kevin Cook on Titanic Thompson, the man who may be the best hustler to ever live. Plus, we have a report on a car race featuring vehicles patched with tape, and we ask Michelle Smith if anyone can stop the UConn women's basketball team as the Huskies approach college basketball's win streak record. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything Titanic Thompson killed five men, double-crossed Arnold Rothstein, hustled Al Capone...and lived to the age of 82. Bill speaks with Kevin Cook, the author of a new book about Thompson's life. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tough Road Ahead for Women's Professional Soccer When a team wins a championship and the parties and parades have ended, the players usually turn their attention to repeating their title. That's not the case for the FC Gold Pride, who won last year's Women's Professional Soccer League title but folded on Tuesday. Bill explains what the Gold Pride's demise tells us about the young league. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 13th, 2010 The Philadelphia Spectrum hosted Dr. J's gravity-defying slam dunks for over a decade. Its address provided a Flyers team that won back-to-back Stanley Cups with one of the greatest nicknames in sports - "The Broad Street Bullies." This week on Only A Game, Philly fans say goodbye to their beloved old arena. Plus, Karen Given reports on a new stadium in the heart of high school football country - Allen, Texas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Steinbrenner's Dark Side Should Give Hall Voters Pause George Steinbrenner may have been the most famous and most powerful owner in sport,, but his three decades as The Boss of the New York Yankees weren't all smooth sailing. Bill Littlefield asks whether the Boss deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame in this week's commentary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - November 6th, 2010 The Cowboys have lost five of their first six games and the Rangers just lost the World Series, but it's still a great time to be a sports fan in Dallas and Karen Given explains why. Plus, Bill speaks with LPGA great Annika Sorenstam, and Doug Tribou reports on sprint football, a lightweight version of the game without the hulking linemen and bruising linebackers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Catching Up With Annika Sorenstam Annika Sorenstam won ten LPGA majors and eight Player of the Year awards before retiring in 2008 at the age of 37. Bill catches up with the hall-of-famer to find out about her life after golf. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 30th, 2010 Baseball players are notoriously superstitious, but do they have good reason for staying away from Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel? This week on Only A Game, we'll hear some stories from the supposedly haunted hostel. Plus, we break down the World Series with Tim Kurkjian and Bill reports from the world-beating, future NBA Champion Miami Heat's opening loss the Boston Celtics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Haunted Hotel Major League Ballplayers disagree on what exactly haunts the Pfister Hotel. Some say the've heard mysterious screams from a young child, others a strange knocking on their door, but many ballplayers agree that some sort of supernatural spirit wanders the halls of the Pfister. WUWM's Mitch Teich has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | More Playoff Baseball? The World Series will most likely extend into November again this season, and with the MLB players' union discussing an expansion of baseball's postseason, Bill Littlefield asks how many games are too many? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Robert Kaplan on Monsoon Asia's Rise Scholar and traveler Robert Kaplan says the world's new center of gravity is in "monsoon Asia" - a broad swath from the Horn of Africa through the flanks of Central Asia, to India, Southeast Asia and China. His new book is "Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 23rd, 2010 Why is Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar speaking to a Jewish federation in Massachusetts? Bill Littlefield catches up with the NBA's all-time leading scorer to find out. Plus, we have the latest from the MLB playoffs and a report on the Iraqi national rowing team preparing for the Head of the Charles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Catching Up with Kareem When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired as the NBA's leading scorer, he began his career as an author. Recently, Bill Littlefield caught up with Kareem at the hall-of-famer's appearance in central Massachusetts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Newer, Kinder NFL? Last week was an especially brutal one for the NFL. A number of players who delivered illegal hits received hefty fines, and the league said further infractions may be met with suspensions. Players like Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather were not pleased with the news, but Bill Littlefield thinks the NFL may finally be on its way to making its players safer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Understanding Mexico's Turmoil What's going on in Mexico? Mass murder, beheadings, turmoil -- and foreign investors piling in. How does that add up? We ask. With guests Angela Kocherga, border bureau chief for Belo Television; Samuel Logan of Southern Pulse, an online intelligence network; Arturo Alvarado Mendoza, professor of sociology at El Colegio de M?xico and fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC; and Barry McCaffrey, retired four-star general in the U.S. Army and director of the Office of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 16th, 2010 After 29 years, 5 pennants and 161 ejections, Bobby Cox is outta here. This week, we look back on the Atlanta Braves manager's long career, which ended with his team's loss Monday. Plus, an update on the MLB playoffs with Tim Kurkjian and a report on Mo Vaughn's "afterlife" making run-down houses livable again. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lombardi In the new Broadway play Lombardi, actor Dan Lauria brings one of the NFL's most famous coaches to life. Bill checks out an out-of-town tryout of the play and speaks to director Thomas Kail and Lombardi biographer David Maraniss. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lombardi In the new Broadway play Lombardi, actor Dan Lauria brings one of the NFL's most famous coaches to life. Bill checks out an out-of-town tryout of the play and speaks to director Thomas Kail and Lombardi biographer David Maraniss. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Who Can Beat the Yankees? The MLB division series are finished, which means fans rooting against the New York Yankees are quickly running out of options. Bill Littlefield considers the remaining candidates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Business School Deans on the Future Top business school deans weigh in on how they see the next frontier. Plus, we hear more about a federal judge's ruling on "don't ask, don't tell." Guests: Sally Blount, dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; Rich Lyons, dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley; Nitin Nohria, dean of Harvard Business School. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 9th, 2010 This week on Only A Game, Kurt Warner tries to continue the recent success of NFL players past and present on ABC's reality series Dancing With the Stars. Plus, a story on the mentally and physically exhausting sport of chess boxing, and a report from India on the Commonwealth Games - underway after a shaky buildup. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Play Their Hearts Out For a while, Joe Keller, a youth basketball coach in Moreno Valley, CA, was credited for finding the "next LeBron James." But, according to Pulitzer-Prize-winning sportswriter George Dohrmann's new book, "Play Their Hearts Out," Keller was a greedy and dishonest man who took advantage of children. Bill talks with Dohrmann about his new book in this extended, podcast-only edition of their conversation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Still Bending it Like Beckham While most sports fans are watching the baseball playoffs, NFL's Week 5, or the NHL's Opening Day, Bill Littlefield still has his eyes on Major League Soccer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - October 2nd, 2010 This week on Only A Game, Bill talks hoops and fine art with Tommy Heinsohn, NBA Hall of Famer and the Boston Celtics' colorful color man. Plus, a Ryder Cup update from Wales, and Scott Graf explains why the NFL is shutting out some fans by sticking to its blackout policy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The John Lardner Reader It would be a mistake to write off John Lardner as only the son of the celebrated humorist Ring. "John Lardner was funny, but not like his old man," Red Smith wrote. "He was funny like John Lardner, a bonafide original." Bill speaks with John Schulian, editor of the John Lardner Reader, a long-awaited collection of the younger Lardner's work released fifty years after the writer's death. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFL Owners Out of Line NFL owners have submitted their proposal to the players' union to increase the NFL schedule from 16 to 18 games. Bill Littlefield think the owners are getting greedy by asking players to do even more harm to their already-damaged bodies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 25th, 2010 This week on Only A Game, will Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's decision to start Michael Vick at quarterback pay off? Plus, we figure out how Buck Showalter turned around the last-place Baltimore Orioles, and Jon Wertheim discusses changing attitudes to mental illness in sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Ones Who Hit the Hardest The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys combined to win five Super Bowls in the 1970s. In The Ones Who Hit the Hardest, Chad Millman and Shawn Coyne describe the rivalry between two football teams at the top of their game from two cities on opposite paths. Doug speaks with the authors about their new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Too Big for The Boss? George Steinbrenner was never a fan of modesty. So maybe it's no surprise that his monument towers over all the others in Yankee Stadium. But Doug Tribou says that while The Boss may get the biggest plaque, it's the great players like Ruth, Dimaggio, Mantle and Gehrig that resonate with fans as the most important figures in Yankee history. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 18th, 2010 Organ music is a baseball tradition as old as peanuts and cracker jacks, but organists in the MLB are now few and far between. This week on Only A Game, a look at White Sox organist Nancy Faust's 41st and final season in the big leagues. Plus, a controversial ending to a high-school basketball forces a replay...10 years later. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A High-School Basketball Rematch...After Ten Years In 2000, Bloom Township high-school forward Joe Chapman tipped in a shot to win a playoff game over Brother Rice high school. Players on the winning squad say he got it off in time, while Brother Rice players still contend the buzzer sounded first. Now, ten years older and in slightly worse shape, the Chicago teams have a chance to play a rematch to settle the dispute once and for all. Alex Keefe from WBEZ in Chicago reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Eagles' Shame Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb and linebacker Stewart Bradley are both suffering from concussions after Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers. Neither player has been ruled out of playing in Philly's next game, and Bill Littlefield wonders why not. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 11th 2010 This week on Only A Game, a look at professional disc golf, complete with caddies, announcers, and - before you laugh - a $50,000 purse. Plus, the latest from the US Open, and Bill speaks with the author of Lost Dogs, a book that tells the story of the pit bulls that survived Michael Vick's dog fighting operation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Passion, Pride and Plaid of Pro Disc Golf Professional Disc Golf may feature some eccentric rules and questionable fashion trends, but that doesn't mean you should treat it lightly. Some tournaments offer purses as high as $50,000. Only A Game's Karen Given reports from the Vibram Open in Massachusetts, one of the PDGA's most prestigious tournaments. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Football in Africa? HELP! The Drake University football team will travel to Africa next year to play the first ever American football game on the continent. Bill Littlefield acknowledges that this experience will probably benefit the student athletes, but he asks: does Africa really need an introduction to football? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - September 4th, 2010 It's time to stop all the talk about preseason rankings, training camp holdouts, and Brett Favre's annual "retirement." This week on Only A Game, we talk real NFL and college football. Plus, Karen Given looks the unusual partnership between NASCAR and BET, and Bill interviews the authors of a book that examines the Washington football team's scandal-ridden 2000 season. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Scoreboard, Baby When the University of Washington won the 2001 Rose Bowl, Husky fans celebrated their underdog team rallying to beat the odds behind young coach Rick Neuheisel. Years later, Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry published newspaper reports that showed Washington players had been under investigation for rape, assault, and other serious infractions while University officials and members of the Seattle community chose to look away. Armstrong and Perry have expanded those articles into the new book Scor ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Manny Still Being Manny in New Sox Many MLB division races are over, with playoff-bound teams ready to coast into October. If your team is already waiting 'til next year, Bill Littlefield suggests you throw your support behind the Chicago White Sox and unpredictable slugger Manny Ramirez. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 28th, 2010 If you've ever thought road races could be improved with flames, barbed wire and free beer - and who hasn't? - tune in to hear Kim Green's report on the Warrior Dash in Georgia. Also, Only A Game's Doug Tribou will look at some of the best teams ever to represent the USA as this year's batch of Americans prepare for the World Championships. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Warrior Dash Think running a 5K road race is difficult? Try finishing it while jumping over flames and crawling under barbed wire...in a tutu. It may sound crazy, but hundreds of costumed contestants across the country accept the challenge and take on the Warrior Dash. Only A Game's Kim Green reports from the Dash's southeast race in the mountains of Georgia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Buy A Ticket, Win A Ballplayer Minor League baseball teams are always coming up with strange ideas to bring fans out to the ballpark. Recently, the Montgomery Biscuits held a "ladies night" promotion that caught the eye of Bill Littlefield. Bill explains in his commentary why the Biscuits might be on to something. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 21st 2010 This week on Only A Game, we'll have the latest on Roger Clemens' indictment for making false statements to Congress and author Michael Weinreb will explain how "Bo Knows" and the Boz created the modern athlete. Plus, Bill will speak with Jeff Benedict on why domestic violence is a more serious issue in sports than you may expect. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bigger Than the Game Walkmen cassette players and legwarmers may have disappeared since they reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s. But in his book Bigger than the Game, Michael Weinreb argues that the athletes of the 80's like Bo Jackson, Brian Bosworth and William "The Refrigerator" Perry left their permanent mark on sports by providing modern athletes the model to make themselves into a brand. Bill speaks to Weinreb about the new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Spaceman Returns Bill Lee's strange antics and outspoken nature made him a Boston Red Sox legend. So his fans won't be too surprised to learn that the 63-year-old "Spaceman" will take the mound again this week...for the CanAm League's Brockton Rox. Bill Littlefield provides his comment on the return of one of baseball's great characters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 14th, 2010 This week on Only A Game, Keith O'Brien catches up with the trash-talking, fist-throwing Cincinnati Reds. Also, we look at a new book that examines the successes and failures of Title IX and Karen Given reports on what's next for the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Getting in the Game Bill speaks to University of Pittsburgh law professor Deborah Brake. In her new book Getting in the Game, Brake examines the history of Title IX, a law that is much discussed but often misunderstood. She says Title IX has succeeded in encouraging women and girls to become more involved in athletics over the last 40 years, but there is still work to do to achieve the goals lawmakers desired when they wrote the law in 1972. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What's in a Nickname? There was a time when nicknames were given, not chosen. But NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has taken matters into his own hands on several occasions. That tradition has continued with his arrival in Boston, but Bill Littlefield wouldn't mind seeing Shaq get a name the old-fashioned way. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - August 7th, 2010 The trading deadline's come and gone and A-Rod (finally) got his 600th home run. With that out of the way, we'll talk with ESPN's Tim Kurkjian about baseball's stretch run. Also, we'll profile Mamie Johnson, the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues, and check in on a team upsetting the delicate balance of power in unicycle basketball. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The First Female Negro Leagues Pitcher Mamie "Peanut" Johnson pitched from 1953 to 1955. She was one of just three women to play baseball in the Negro Leagues and the only one to pitch. Now there's a move to honor Johnson in Washington, D.C., where she was discovered. WAMU's Rebecca Sheir reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game July 31, 2010 Only A Games Karen Given reports on the joys and the difficulties of running what may be the worlds most effective sports related fundraiser, the Pan Mass Challenge. Bill recollects his brief and unexpected trip to a minor league mound. Nancy Greenleese brings us into Il Foro Italico, Author Matthew Syed speaks with Bill about his book Bounce, Doug Tribou reports on the Vermont 100 and The Lebowski Fest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 50 States of Fishing In an era where motives in sports are often as blurry as polluted water, Jeff and Taylor Turner are refreshing. The reasons why the Turners decided to fish 50 trophy waters in 50 states in 50 days are pure to build a better father son relationship while enjoying an adventure. Only A Games Gary Waleik caught up with the Turners last summer on the 40th day of their excursion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 24th 2010 Fueled by superstar Josh Hamilton and ace Cliff Lee, the Rangers are serious World Series contenders. But their success is clouded by complications in the proposed sale of the team. This week on Only A Game, Bill talks to Ken Belson of the New York Times about Texas's financial troubles. Plus, the story of Tennessee Titans draftee and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle, and surfing kook Peter Heller looks for the perfect wave, but finds quite a bit more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kook Bill talks with Peter Heller, author of the new book Kook, which describes how Heller threw himself into the strange culture of surfing and how he discovered a newfound appreciation for the ocean during his six month journey trying to find the perfect wave. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Steve Ralston: Soccer's Unselfish Star Although Steve Ralston played 36 international matches for the USA in his career, he never made an appearance in the World Cup. However, that doesn't mean his retirement from the MLS should pass unnoticed. In his weekly commentary, Bill says goodbye to a player whose professionalism and knack for setting up his teammates made him one of the best in the MLS. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Steve Ralston: Soccer's Unselfish Star Although Steve Ralston played 36 international matches for the USA in his career, he never made an appearance in the World Cup. However, that doesn't mean his retirement from the MLS should pass unnoticed. In his weekly commentary, Bill says goodbye to a player whose professionalism and knack for setting up his teammates made him one of the best in the MLS. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 17th 2010 This week on Only A Game, Lance Armstrong may not be wearing his customary yellow jersey at this year's Tour de France, but the race has still provided plenty of fireworks (and even some flying fists). Plus, Greg Echlin reports on Marion Jones' comeback not on the track, but on the basketball court. Also, author Dave Zirin speaks about how George Steinbrenner changed the business of sports ownership, and Bill talks to Esquire writer Chris Jones about the man who figured out "The Price is Ri ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Price is EXACTLY Right On September 22, 2008, Terry Kneiss guessed the exact amount of the Price is Right showcase for the first time in the game show's 38-year history and walked away with more than $50,000 in prizes. Bill speaks with Esquire's Chris Jones, who wrote the article explaining how Kneiss was able to outsmart the show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Farewell to "The Boss" George Steinbrenner, the owner who bought a declining New York Yankees team and turned them into perennial World Series favorites, passed on Tuesday morning. Steinbrenner was loved by many and hated by even more in his lifetime, but Bill says "The Boss" will be remembered as a man who simply loved to win. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 10th 2010 Whether you think LeBron James is a selfless future NBA champion or a traitorous reality TV star, his announcement live on ESPN that he will play for the Miami Heat finally ended the circus that has dominated sports conversation for months. Saturday on Only A Game, Bill speaks with FoxSports.com's Kevin Hench about the end of LeBronapalooza. Plus, biking in the Big Apple, Tim Kurkijan recaps the first half of the baseball season, and Bill previews Sunday's World Cup Final. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bike Snob You might want to think twice before swinging open your car door into the legs of a passing biker. Otherwise, you may become a target of ridicule for Eben Weiss, author of the popular blog Bike Snob NYC. Now, Weiss has written a book, in which he unleashes his snarky wit on anyone from pretentious Brooklyn pedestrians to professional cyclists. Bill provides his review of Bike Snob. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | He Said What? Bill's unyielding passion for soccer is no secret, so it makes sense that he would be a little crazier than usual during the World Cup. But he may have gone a little overboard during last week's Spain v. Paraguay match. He explains in his commentary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - July 3rd 2010 Roger Federer will turn 30 next month, but he looked over the hill in his disappointing exit from Wimbledon. This week on Only A Game, Bill speaks with Bud Collins about where Federer will go from here. Plus, baseball in the 70's, Roger Bennett discusses the shady refereeing at the World Cup, and Only A Game's Sadie Babits reports on a tournament showcasing some extremely creative facial hair. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Beards, Moustaches and Beer Whether they sported a distinguished handlebar mustache, grizzled, long beards or something more practical (why has no one shaped their beard to hold beer cans before?), hundreds of men travelled to Oregon to compete in the first ever National Beard and Moustache Championships in Oregon. Only A Game's Sadie Babits was there and she has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Don't Pick Me Last, Don't Pick Me Last...YES!!! Even though the Women's Professional Soccer League All-Star Game on Wednesday featured some outstanding athletes, the players still haven't forgotten the days when they first started playing the game in the schoolyard. Bill explains in his commentary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 26th 2010 World Cup Update - German Soccer Fans - Wimbeldon Poet - Tornado and Hurricane - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Only Game In Town Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wimbledon Poetry Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, full of traditions like all-white uniforms and strawberries with cream. But it's not all about high-brow culture only fit for the Royal Family. They also have poetry! Bill speaks with official Wimbledon poet Matt Harvey. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Moral Disaster? French soccer fans upset by their teams embarrasing performance in the World Cup could take some solace in the fact that Italy, the team that beat their squad in the 2006 Final, also will be going home before the elimination stage. Bill warns supporters of Les Bleus not to overreact to the team's poor performance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Charlie Pierce on WBUR's Only A Game World Cup - US Open - Fathers, Daughters, and Sports - Hill Climb - NBA Finals - Charlie Pierce - Consul Cup - World Cup Commentary Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Neutrality, Watches, Chocolate and...Soccer? The Swiss aren't known for being soccer-crazy, but that didn't stop them from celebrating their surprising World Cup victory over mighty Spain. Bill talks with Susan Vogel-Misicka, an American reporter in Switzerland, about the shocking upset. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "The Beautiful Game" (for some) The debate in the USA over whether soccer is boring or beautiful is not older than the chicken or the egg, but it's certainly close. Bill Littlefield is willing to brave the drone of the vuvuzelas to enjoy the World Cup. You're not? Well, he's not here to convince you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 12th 2010 NBA Update - World Cup in Africa - Curtis Cup - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Pacific Rims Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pacific Rims If Rafe Bartholomew's experiences are any indication, a D-League journeyman struggling to break into the NBA could do worse than looking east to the Philippine Basketball Association. Bill shares his thoughts on Bartholomew's new book, Pacific Rims. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Giving the Gift of Soccer The national soccer teams from the USA and Nigeria are both going into the World Cup with modest expectations. Advancing past the group stage would be a pleasant surprise for both squads. But some students in Cambridge are providing reason for fans from both nations to remain positive despite little chance of either team bringing a trophy home from South Africa. Bill provides his commentary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - June 5th 2010 NBA Finals - Horse Racing - Bud Collins - English Soccer - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - The Year Underdogs Ruled Golf Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Moment of Glory Since Tiger Woods sent his car careening into a fire hydrant, anyone following the constant media coverage would be excused for thinking he was the only golfer in the world who mattered. But John Feinstein's book, Moment of Glory: The Year the Underdogs Ruled Golf, looks at what winning a major means for the guys who don't contend year after year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Chasing the Cheese Soccer may be England's most popular sporting creation, but it's not the only one. Bill takes a look at a group of Brits in Gloucester who brave bodily harm to keep a strange tradition alive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 29th, 2010 NBA Update - NHL Preview - Blackhawks - U.S. Soccer - ESPN World Cup Companion - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Female Racecar Drivers Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 29th, 2010 NBA Update - NHL Preview - Blackhawks - U.S. Soccer - ESPN World Cup Companion - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Female Racecar Drivers Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The ESPN World Cup Companion Are you looking forward to the World Cup next month but feeling you need to brush up on your soccer knowledge? David Hershey and Roger Bennett have you covered. In their book, the ESPN World Cup Companion, you can learn everything you'll need to impress your friends at the office. Bill shares his thoughts on the book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Keeping it "Interesting" The Orlando Magic have scratched, clawed, and occasionally elbowed their way to two straight wins after trailing their series against Boston Celtics three games to none. While this improbable change in the series terrifies Boston fans still wounded from watching the Bruins blow a similarly insurmountable lead, Bill is thoroughly enjoying the action. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 22nd, 2010 NBA Playoff Update - Diego Maradona - NHL Playoff Update - NASCAR Hall of Fame - Pit Crew Challenge - Charlie Pierce - The Last Hero Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Last Hero Everyone would agree that Henry Aaron was one of the best hitters ever to play baseball. But in his book, The Last Hero, Howard Bryant describes Aaron's struggle to be remembered by something more than just his 755 home runs. Bill speaks to Bryant about the new book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Boston's Fickle Fans The Bruins may have found future stars this year in left wing Milan Lucic and goaltender Tuukka Rask, but that won't console fans still steaming over the team's failure to put away the Phildelphia Flyers after building a 3-0 series lead. Meanwhile, the advancing age and creaky limbs of the Celtics stars are a distant memory with the C's halfway to the NBA Finals. Bill provides his commentary on the all or nothing attitude in Boston. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 15th 2010 Montreal Canadiens - Jesus Leonardo - NBA Playoff Update - Urban Farming - Letters - Charlie Pierce - More Than Just A Game Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | More Than Just A Game When they were incarcerated on Robben Island as enemies of the South African state in the mid-sixties, a group of prisoners decided that what they and their fellow inmates needed was a soccer league. It might seem like a curious conclusion for a group suffering from exhaustion, hunger, and beatings to reach, but in More Than Just A Game, Chuck Korr argues that the determination to play soccer on Robben Island had profound consequences for the history of South Africa. Bill speaks to Korr a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Roma Kaput Astute listeners of Only A Game know that Bill Littlefield was on vacation last week, and those paying really close attention know how and where he spent at least one day of that vacation. Now that he's returned, Bill offers more details. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 8th, 2010 MLB Update - Baseball's Poverty Line - Los Suns - Hybrid Racing - Italian Masters - Charlie Pierce - Barefoot Running Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Barefoot Running May is national running month, but don't reach for those sneakers just yet. Thousands of athletes across the country have discovered the joys of barefoot running, and you're more than welcome to join them! Only A Game's Karen Given has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - May 1st, 2010 Derby Preview - Nevins Farm - U.S. Medals - Swinging From My Heels - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Yo-yo Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Yo-Yo Maybe you can walk the dog, shoot the moon, or even go around the world, but in the world of competitive yo-yo, those tricks are mere child's play. The 2010 Northeast Regional Yo-Yo Championships took place last weekend, featuring "counterweights," "grinds," and a whole lot more. Bill has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | I Don't Need the Money When he isn't commenting on sports, Bill is sometimes teaching a creative writing course. In that capacity, he always tells his students that each semester they are entitled to write exactly one story that ends, "then I woke up." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 24th, 2010 NBA's Hawks - Wonderlic Test - NHL Scandal - Bounce - Charlie Pierce - Kendo Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bounce When watching professional sports it's easy to wonder, "How did these guys get so good?" Some chalk it up to natural talent, but author Matthew Syed has another theory. In his new book, Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success, he argues that with enough practice, we can all be excellent. Bill shares his thoughts on the book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sox Slide Despite two straight walk-off wins, the Boston Red Sox have the fifth-worst record in the majors, and sit five games behind the Yankees and Rays in the AL East. Sure, it's only April, but Bill thinks it's never too early for Sox fans to start eyeing the panic button. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - April 17th, 2010 NBA Playoffs - Nike dropped - Character and image in the NFL - Sonicsgate - Charlie Pierce - Alan Veingrad Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sonicsgate In July of 2008, the Seattle Supersonics announced their move to Oklahoma City, ending a 41-year run of NBA basketball in Washington. Fans across the Northwest were outraged, but none more than Jason Reid and Adam Brown, who made a documentary film called Sonicsgate. Bill talks with the filmmakers about how Seattle lost its beloved basketball team. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Too Many Games? The NHL Playoffs are underway and the NBA Playoffs begin on Saturday. Major League Baseball's season is in full swing, and Major League Soccer's season has begun as well. If you're feeling overwhelmed by this profusion of sports, you'll get no sympathy from Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game - Saturday April 10th, 2010 Masters - Uconn Women - NHL Update - Kansas City Kings - Dennis Johnson - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Cardboard Gods Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Dennis Johnson Appreciation The NBA's 2010 Hall of Fame class was stacked with superstars, including Karl Malone, Scotty Pippen, and the famed 1992 Dream Team. However, many fans are celebrating the induction of Dennis Johnson, a three-time Finals champion who passed away in 2007. Bill shares his thoughts on the life and legacy of DJ. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Golf's Day The Masters Tournament begins on Thursday, and it's got Bill Littlefield reminiscing about his own mercifully limited golf experiences. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/03/10 Seattle Mariners and the AL West Phillies Pitcher Jamie Moyer Final Four Talk To Win and Die in Dixie Charlie Pierce Pole Dancing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pole Dancing Pole dancing might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of competitive sports, but the US Pole Dance Federation thinks otherwise. As Only A Game's Karen Given reports, competitive pole dancing combines athleticism, grace, and a respectable amount of clothing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bad, But Not the Worst As the long NBA season winds down, lots of analysts are speculating on playoff match-ups involving such teams as the Lakers, the Cavaliers, the Nuggets, and the Celtics. But not Bill Littlefield... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game March 27th 2010 NCAA Basketball Updates - MLS Stadiums - Slam For Sudan - Capoeira - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Fifty-Nine in '84 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Capoeira Capoeira, the "dance of war" created in the 1500s by African slaves in Brazil, combines martial arts, music, and dance. Hundreds of years after its foundation, the art form lives on and has made its way back to Africa. Only A Game's Anjali Nayar reports from the first capoeira school in East Africa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Customer is Always Wrong When your team is in the running for the designation of "Worst NBA Team Ever" you might expect your fans, if you have any left, to complain. But, as Bill Littlefield points out in his latest commentary, the New Jersey Nets' CEO has forgotten that the customer is always right. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/20/2010 NCAA Men's Update - Nebraska - MLB Preview - NBA Update - Straight Down The Middle - Charlie Pierce - The Intergalactic Winter Croquet Tournament Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Intergalactic Winter Croquet While most people think about budding baseball seasons or wild basketball games at the start of spring, the small town of Waterbury, Vermont, has something else in mind: The Intergalactic Winter Croquet Tournament. Each year, dozens of Vermonters partake in the event to celebrate the final weekend of winter. As Only A Game's Karen Given reports, the tournament combines croquet, snow, and somehow, the extraterrestrial. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All Eyes On Augusta This week brought the news that Tiger Woods will return to the pro golf tour next month at the Masters Tournament in Augusta. Bill Littlefield is among those curious about how a man who's become notorious for all the wrong reasons will fare when he returns to the golf course. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/13/2010 NCAA Men's Basketball - Expanding March Madness - NCAA Women's Basketball - Rick Hansen - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert Everybody knows that Jackie Robinson broke the color line in Major League Baseball. Bill Littlefield speaks with Timothy Gay, author of the new book, Satch, Dizzy, and Rapid Robert, which chronicles interactions between black and white baseball players before 1947. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/06/2010 NCAA Basketball - New Jersey Devils - NFL Update - Boys and Girls - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Joe Gaetjens Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Girls vs. Boys Cooties are a well-known pathogen among toddlers, sometimes used to justify boys and girls playing separately at a young age. While most children eventually grow out of this phase, Bill realizes that most professional sports have continued to separate the genders. He reports on the lack of "battle of the sexes" in today's sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Soccer Strike Major League Soccer gets its season underway on March 25. If all goes according to plan, the opener will pit the league's new club, the Philadelphia Union, against last year's expansion team, Seattle Sounders FC. But according to Bill Littlefield, there is some suspense regarding whether these clubs and the 14 other teams that comprise MLS will begin playing on time this spring. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/27/2010 Olympics Update - Miracle On Ice - Sochi 2014 - Olympic Fashion - Forty Minutes Of Hell - Charlie Pierce - Doc Wayne League Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Forty Minutes of Hell Rus Bradburd's new book, Forty Minutes of Hell, tells the story of Nolan Richardson, who coached Arkansas to a NCAA basketball championship in 1994. Bill talks with the coach and the author about a groundbreaking basketball career. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Is Curling a Sport? (Who Cares?) The Winter Olympics present millions of people with the opportunity to pay rapt attention to figure skating and bobsledding, not to mention luge, skeleton, cross-country skiing, and biathlon. All, of course, are sports...or are they? Bill Littlefield hopes you won't accuse him of skating around that question. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/20/2010 Olympic Update - Olympic Sponsorships - USA Biathlon - Varsity Green - Charlie Pierce - Hotel Pennsylvannia Goes To The Dogs Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Varsity Green Mark Yost's new book, Varsity Green: A Behind the Scenes Look At Culture and Corruption In College Athletics, condemns the state of today's major college programs. Bill reviews the book and admires the author's passion, but doesn't think the NCAA will be making ethical overhauls any time soon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All Olympics, All the Time Highlight has followed highlight as the Winter Olympics have progressed. Millions of people are tuning in each night for the spectacle, Bill Littlefield among them...though he has begun to wonder if that's such a good idea. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/13/2010 Olympics Update - Olympic Sights and Sounds - Canada's Olympics - Wllie Mays - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Burundi and Sports Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Burundi's Football-Playing President The war-torn country of Burundi is in the midst of an athletic revolution. By playing soccer three times a week, President Pierre Nkurunziza has promoted an active lifestyle for his people. As Anjali Nayar reports, the soccer craze has eased some civil war tensions, but has left many citizens looking for real answers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Winter Games The Winter Olympics get underway in Vancouver on Friday. Commentator Bill Littlefield is already prepared to discuss some of the winners. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/06/2010 Super Bowl Update - Super Bowl Haiku - Gay Culverhouse - America's Cup - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Bikes and Beer Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bikes and Beer Last weekend, South Boston's Harpoon Brewery hosted 281 cyclists with a thirst for competition, victory, and beer. As Only A Game's Doug Tribou reports, the Harpoon Indoor Time Trial brings bikes and beer together. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tebow et al As Super Bowl Sunday nears, there has been a lot of discussion of a commercial scheduled to air on that commercial day of days. The ad features Heisman Trophy-winning, University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother, and it is sponsored by Focus on the Family, an organization that opposes abortion. Objections to the commercial notwithstanding, commentator Bill Littlefield is not convinced that it is likely to constitute anything new. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/30/2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Update -Bucks -Kelly Kulick -Then Wayne Said To Mario -Letters -Charlie Pierce -Bill Koch Ski League Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Then Wayne Said to Mario Per NHL tradition, every player on the team that wins the Stanley Cup gets to take the trophy home, regardless of where they live. Needless to say, this custom has sent the Cup on a number of adventures, the best of which Kevin Allen captures in his new book Then Wayne Said to Mario: The Best Stanley Cup Stories Ever Told. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Superbowl's A'Comin' It's still a week and a half away, but the Super Bowl has already claimed the attention of various fans and lots of writers, broadcasters, and commentators...among them Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/23/2010 NFL Update - NBA Twins - U.S. Figure Skating - American Victory - The Two Chinese Characters - Charlie Pierce - One Million Foul Shots Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Two Chinese Characters Earlier this week, lesser-known Chinese tennis player Zheng Jie made an impressive run in the Australian Open, which would make for a great story if Bill knew how to pronounce her name. Fortunately, he's called in the Two Chinese Characters to help him out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Volunteer Who Cut Nobody Over the past few weeks, numbers of coaches making lots of money at one university have moved on to make more money at other universities or in the professional ranks. For some reason, the annual shuffling of high profile coaches has commentator Bill Littlefield thinking of a low profile coach who was also something of a magician. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/16/2010 NFL Playoff Update - McGwire - Lane Kiffin - Seulewah Golf Course Reopens - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - American Hoops Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Seulewah Golf Course The road to recovery has been tough for the 14 countries devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Recently, however, the Indonesian province of Aceh has made a big step in its return to prosperity: the reopening of the Seulewah Golf Course. Chad Bouchard reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | McGwire's Admission On Monday, Mark McGwire acknowledged his steroid use while he was hitting all those home runs in the 1990's. Like the Mark McGwire who told a congressional committee almost five years ago that he wasn't there to talk about the past, Bill Littlefield is focusing on the present and the future. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/09/2010 Dallas Cowboys - Faisal - Hockey Update - Ice Dancing - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Twelve And Counting Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/02/2010 College Bowl Update - Outdoor Hockey - NFL Update - Della Donne - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Best American Sportswriting 2009 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Best American Sports Writing Each year, series editor Glenn Stout scours the sports pages for entries worthy of inclusion in the Best American Sports Writing anthology. This year, Glenn was joined by guest editor and author Leigh Montville. Bill chats with Glenn and Leigh about this year's edition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All I Want for Christmas is the NBA? The end of the year offers us the opportunity to look back, and Only A Game host Bill Littlefield is among those taking advantage of that opportunity, though he's only looking back a week or so. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/26/2009 Santa Speedo Run - Dance Your PH.D. - Vatican Soccer - The Elfish Gene - Vietam Golf - Woodsman's Weekend Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Still Only A Game As another year passes, Bill Littlefield observes, much has changed, and much always stays the same, in the world of sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/12/2009 MLB Winter Meetings - Bearcats - Kenyon Swimming - The Art of a Beautiful Game - Charlie Pierce - 17th Annual Sports Holiday Gift Guide Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Art of a Beautiful Game What happens when you give a passionate basketball fan keys to the NBA's castles and tell him to go wild? Chris Ballard's new book, The Art of a Beautiful Game. Bill talks with the Sports Illustrated basketball writer about the current state of the NBA. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/28/2009 College Football - Football Teams Cut - Kellie Harper - Sweet Thunder - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Lingerie Football League Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lingerie Football League The Lingerie Football League is in it's first full season. Only A Game's Charlie Schroeder was on hand for a recent game in San Diego. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Thanksgiving Come Early While some are giving thanks for the comfort and support of their families and friends, football fans in New England started celebrating Thanksgiving early, when the Patriots routed the New York Jets, 31-14 on Sunday. According to Bill, this was more than an ordinary win...for it gave fans evidence of genius restored. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/21/2009 New Jersey Nets - Hockey Masks - NCAA Women's Basketball - Rock The Ages - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Spartak Moscow Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rock the Ages At Rock the Ages, a three-on-three women's basketball tournament, women from all different generations play basketball to raise money for a Massachusetts High School's Girls' Basketball program. Only A Game's Karen Given took in this year's tournament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Are you ready for some football? On Sunday, Major League Soccer will determine their champion, when the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake face each other in Seattle. According to Bill, the league is delighted with the presence of at least one of the teams in the championship game. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/14/2009 ESPNs Pat Forde on Mens NCAA Basketball Columbus Blue Jackets Yahoo Sports Dan Wetzel Chad Ochocinco Andre Agassi Charlie Pierce sports week wrap up Madura Racing Bulls Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/07/2009 Yankees - Duke Football - NBA - Sheboygan Redskins - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Book Of Basketball Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Book of Basketball Can you argue for days about the relative virtues of Bill Walton and Dave Cowens? Are you more interested in reforming the Basketball Hall of Fame than the country's healthcare system? Then Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball might just be your bible. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Parity? What parity? The NFL's head-honchos would have you believe that anything can happen on any given Sunday. But many fans of teams in the bottom-half of the league have already left their teams for dead. Bill asks, "Where's the parity we hear so much about?" Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/31/2009 World Series - Tiffany's Trophies - Bengals - Oyster Shucking - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The First Fall Classic Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The First Fall Classic Though many fans remember baseball in the early 20th-century as a different age in which players played "for the love of the game," baseball players were no different then than they are now. In his book, The First Fall Classic, author Mike Vaccaro explores the making (or re-making) of baseball. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Scary Baseball Sight The 2009 World Series cannot end before early November... a circumstance which has many complaining that the baseball season is too long. Bill thinks Major League Baseball can quiet that criticism and win new fans as well by taking advantage of the fact that there will be a game on Halloween night. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/24/2009 NCAA Football - On Wisconsin - MLB Umpires - The Opposite Field - Charlie Pierce - Beagling Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Opposite Field In The Opposite Field, author Jesse Katz writes about baseball, sure. But Katz's extraordinarily candid memoir is really about fatherhood, community, and life's bumps and road-blocks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Super Bowl of Championships Often, baseball's World Series reminds fans of bygone days. Bill isn't sure if that's a good thing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/17/2009 MLB Weather - J.P. Ricciardi - Soccer News - John O'Brien - Letters - Charlie Pierce - K2 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | K2 Though slightly smaller than Everest, K2 is known by many as the world's most perilous summit. Bill talks with Ed Viesturs, mountaineer and author of K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain, about conquering the treacherous peak. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | There Is No Joy in Saint Louis In various cities fans are coming to terms with the disappearance of their baseball teams from the playoffs. According to Bill, for some of those fans, there's solace in other games...for others, not so much. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/10/2009 MLB Update - Phoenix Coyotes - Olympic Update - 100 Greatest Sports Movies - Letters - Charlie Pierce - NBDL Tryout Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Hoop Dreams This winter will mark the first season for NBA Development League team the Maine Red Claws. Only A Game Associate Producer Doug Tribou puts his hoop dreams to the test as he tries to make the team. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Perect, At Least In Memory For at least one eight-year old, Don Larson's perfect game in the World Series was, in fact, perfect. Was. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/03/2009 Phillies - Metrodome - NFL Head Injuries - NHL - Losing Season - Charlie Pierce - Right To Play Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Right to Play Life is hard, especially for women, in the crowded Palestinian refugee camps in northern Lebanon. But, Right to Play, an organization dedicated to teaching life skills through sport, has brought a glimmer of hope to many young women facing the harsh conditions in the camps. Only A Game correspondent Ken Shulman investigated Right To Play's impact. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Use Your Brain, NFL A recently published study indicates that former NFL players have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia much more frequently than their counterparts in the population at large. Bill tries to put those findings and their consequences in perspective. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/26/2009 MLB Update - UFL - Bonnie Richardson - The Rocket - Charlie Pierce - Laughter Yoga Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Maurice "The Rocket" Richard While many athletes today count themselves among the world's most famous people, Montreal Canadiens fans almost deified hometown hero Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. In his book, The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard, author Benoit Melancon examines Richard's significance beyond the ice. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Mr. Tennis, Abbie Hoffman and a Hall of Fame Lots of colleges and universities have established athletic halls of fame. An upcoming induction at one of them appeals to commentator Bill Littlefield for several reasons. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/19/2009 Angels - WNBA Playoffs - Tandil Tennis School - Something In The Air - Charlie Pierce - Ely Commentary - Town Crier Competition Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Town Crier Competition Hear ye! Hear ye! The town crier, long an image of old-time America and days gone by, was alive and well at a living history event in tiny Hillsborough, New Hampshire. The town hosted its first-ever competition for town criers and Only A Game's Avishay Artsy was there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Serena's Next Point The most thoroughly discussed event in the recently-completed U.S Open Tennis Tournament was the tirade which Serena Williams directed at the linesperson who penalized her for a foot fault, while Williams was losing to Kim Clijsters in the women's final. As far as commentator Bill Littlefield is concerned, the question now is how Williams will endeavor to rehabilitate her image following the episode. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/12/2009 U.S. Open Update - NASCAR - NFL Preview - Thanksgiving 1959 - Charlie Pierce - NBA Hall Of Fame - Donut Derby Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Labor Day Donut Derby Most cyclists ride their bikes as a good source of exercise. Some avid bikers, however, ride for the donuts. Reporter Eugene Sonn strapped on his helmet for Allentown, Pennsylvania's Labor Day Donut Derby and found the tastier side of cycling. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Melanie Oudin's Sweet Shoes After becoming the biggest story of this year's U.S. Open tennis tournament by upsetting several seeded players, Melanie Oudin has captured the sports world's attention. Just what sparked the American teenager's impressive run? According to Bill Littlefield, it's the shoes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/05/2009 College Football - Pittsburgh Pirates - Bill Parcells - The End of Autumn - ESPN at 30 - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Stitch and Pitch Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Stitch N' Pitch If you're a fan of baseball and an avid knitter, we've got the event for you. At more than 150 minor league and 20 major league games this season, fans of America's Pastime can while away the breaks in play with Stitch N' Pitch. From a recent LA Dodgers game, Only A Game's Charlie Schroeder has our story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Call of the Track Bill Littlefield hasn't been to the track for years. But, recent events have left him wondering whether it's time to return. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Humans vs Zombies Only A Game's Karen Given survives the perils of Nerf guns and marshmallows during her trip to UMass Amherst to explore Humans vs. Zombies, a modified version of tag popular on college campuses nationwide. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Equality With the announcement that women's boxing has been added to the 2012 Olympics, Bill finds himself wondering what all the fuss is about. As he writes in his commentary, equality should know no bounds. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/22/2009 NFL Update - Heat Stroke - Pan-Mass Challenge - The Long Snapper - Charlie Pierce - Moth Racing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pan-Mass Challenge The Pan-Mass Challenge began modestly, but has since grown to provide a staggering amount of money for cancer research. Going through the PMC's history and business model is Only A Game's Karen Given, who found it a lot easier to unearth inspiration than to keep her eyes dry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | May I Have Your Attention, Please? Usain Bolt stands out among sprinters. He is tall, flashy, and the best at what he does. But Bolt often does not receive the credit he deserves. Karen Given examines the media's perception of Bolt, and offers her own opinion on the 100-meter record-holder. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/15/2009 MLB Update - Marta - Eunice Kennedy Shriver - College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era - Charlie Pierce - Cycle Courier Championship Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era Nothing says America quite like apple pie, Chevrolet, and college football? In his book "College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era," Kurt Edward Kemper argues the sport was used to help galvanize anti-Communist feelings in the United States. Bill and the Dakota State University professor discuss the links between the gridiron and the politics of the 1960s. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/08/09 Chat with Mike Freeman from CBSSportsline.com THe Washington Nationals Munson Biography Miles to Go Letters Charlie Pierce Trash Collectors Rodeo Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Source of Inspiration People in need of rehabilitation use all sorts of inspiration: money, religion, a renewed sense of family...and elderly people playing sports? Bill visits a rehab center in Winchester, Massachusetts where nothing screams "Get off your butt!" like a picture of a 74-year-old marathon runner. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Breaking Point As the nation struggles with economic turmoil, a new problem seems to emerge each day. If sports are not part of the solution, are they part of the problem? Bill finds himself caught up in the news of sports corruption and greed as much as the pleasant breaks from reality sports should provide. And he finds himself wondering if the day will come when fans turn their back on their teams. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Just Another Day at the Park A day at the ballpark can be full of surprises. On any given day, fans could witness a spectacular catch, or even a walk-off hit. Lucky fans might catch a home run ball. But for Bill Littlefield, the surprises are a little more out of the ordinary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/25/2009 Hall Of Fame - Cooperstown Confidential - Mark Buehrle - Vermont 100 - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Nancy Greenleese from Rome Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cooperstown Confidential In his conversation with Bill, Zev Chafets, author of "Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and The Inside Story of The Baseball Hall of Fame," provides a detailed account of the inner machinations of the Hall, along with a solution on how to fix the imperfect institution. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Cynic's Advice While reflecting on the credentials of those currently in baseball's Hall of Fame, Bill sees a blueprint for aspiring future Hall of Famers emerge, and offers his advice. Baseball purists beware. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/18/2009 Tour De France Update - All Star Economics - Faster America - The Beckham Experiment - Charlie Pierce - The Veteran's Cup - Winnebago Grand National Rally Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Veteran's Cup Bill traveled to Lancaster recently to witness the Veteran's Cup, where people display their age like a badge of pride, and where one 85-year-old participant wears gold shorts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rooting for David The David vs. Goliath sports plot is almost as old as sports itself. The U.S. Olympic hockey team against the mighty players from the Soviet Union, Buster Douglas pitted against heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, and The New York Giants matched up with the undefeated New England Patriots, to name a few. Bill finds that as the second half of the baseball season heads underway, he is rooting for a different type of underdog. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/11/2009 MLB Update - Detroit Shock - LPGA Troubles - Golf and the Economy - Serena Williams - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Big Lebowski Fest Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Big Lebowski Fest The Big Lebowski Fest, inspired by the cult classic film "The Big Lebowski," takes place at bowling alleys across the country where amateur Dudes and Strangers relive moments from their favorite movie. Only A Game's Charlie Schroeder is in California to witness a Fest first-hand. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rooting for David The David vs. Goliath sports plot is almost as old as sports itself. The U.S. Olympic hockey team against the mighty players from the Soviet Union, Buster Douglas pitted against heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, and The New York Giants matched up with the undefeated New England Patriots, to name a few. Bill finds that as the second half of the baseball season heads underway, he is rooting for a different type of underdog. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/04/2009 Tour De France - Lance - Wimbledon - Papers - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - The Greek Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lance In his book "Lance", John Wilcockson provides impressive behind-the-scenes access to one of the world's most accomplished athletes. However, as the book unfolds it is apparent that Wilcockson's portrait of Armstrong's character is too often written from the perspective of a friend, rather than unbiased observer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Relax and Enjoy Inevitably, success in the Confederations Cup is followed by the question: Has soccer finally "arrived" in the United States? Rather than let the debate overshadow the sport, Bill implores those of us who enjoy soccer to simply appreciate good competition when we see it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/27/2009 NBA Draft - Chicago Olympics - US Men's Soccer - Strokes Of Genius - Charlie Pierce - Commentary - Kayak Polo Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Strokes of Genius Federer vs. Nadal in last summer's Wimbledon final was one of those matches where the debate isn't whether or not it was the best of the tournament, or even of the year. No, the Wimbledon final was so spectacular that the argument was of the "best ever" variety. Author L. Jon Wertheim makes the case that the match was indeed unsurpassed in tennis history in his book "Strokes of Genius." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Impressionable Youth There are plenty of role models in professional sports, but Manny Ramirez probably isn't one of them. In his commentary, Bill muses about the ramifications of the slugger's unaltered ability to sell tickets, despite what many would consider a tarnished reputation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/20/2009 MLB Update - Father's in Baseball - Are You Kidding Me? - 2012 Olympics - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Nasty Golf Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Are You Kidding Me? Author John Feinstein delves deep into the background of golfers Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods in his book "Are You Kidding Me? The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open." As the title suggests, the book is laden with specific details, but also weaves in interesting anecdotes about Mediate and Woods. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Sensible Spokesman To wade through the marketing waters is to find advertisers that believe the public should buy products famous athletes endorse simply because they are famous. Bill Littlefield notes in his commentary that finally, there is a product spokesman that makes sense. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/13/2009 NHL Final - Greinke - WNBA - Bat Trouble - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Satchel Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend Sports history is littered with cases of athletes whose gregarious personalities off the field far outshine their talents on it. But every once in a while a special personality arrives that is paired with an equally impressive skill set. Such is the case with Satchel Paige. Author Larry Tye captures the essence of Paige beautifully in his book, "Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lack of Privacy In his commentary, Bill Littlefield laments the fact that the walls that shield the privacy of an athlete's life from the public are becoming increasingly transparent. He cares about issues that will directly affect the outcomes of games, and thinks you should, too. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/06/2009 NBA Update - Redwings - French Open Update - High School Bass Fishing - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Longshot Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA There are many rare combinations of descriptors that can used for author Lance Allred. He's nearly 7-foot tall, partially deaf, a Mormon who grew up in a polygamist community, and he suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. But perhaps the title "former NBA player" is the most improbable description of all. The autobiographical book, "Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA," is the tale of someone who overcame seemingly limitless hurdles t ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lack of Privacy In his commentary, Bill Littlefield laments the fact that the walls that shield the privacy of an athlete's life from the public are becoming increasingly transparent. He cares about issues that will directly affect the outcomes of games, and thinks you should, too. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/30/2009 Cavs - NHL Update - Blue Jays - Steinbrenner - Sports Music - Charlie Pierce - Woodsmen's Weekend Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire In his book George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire, author Peter Golenbock examines arguably the most famous (and hated) owner in sports history. George Steinbrenner has endured suspension, scandal, and mediocrity throughout his tenure as Yankee owner to emerge, at least in Golenbock's eyes, as a baseball Hall of Famer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lack of Privacy In his commentary, Bill Littlefield laments the fact that the walls that shield the privacy of an athlete's life from the public are becoming increasingly transparent. He cares about issues that will directly affect the outcomes of games, and thinks you should, too. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Rhythmic Gymnastics Stunning grace and remarkable flexibility were on display in the Newton South High School gymnasium earlier this month. Bill was there, along with representatives from 20 countries who participated in the Boston Cup, a rhythmic gymnastics event that proved friendly competition and hospitality can stretch across continents. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Pleading Guilty Often, the first words out of an athlete's mouth after being linked to performance-enhancing drugs are of complete and aggressive denial. In certain settings an athlete can refute the charges and his guilt will forever be shrouded in subjective analysis, but commentator Bill Littlefield examines an event where guilt is the only indictment the participants can't disprove. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Volvo Ocean Race Only A Game's Karen Given visited the Volvo Ocean Race at Fan Pier in Boston. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Wishful Thinking For some, this time of year is magical. Playoffs in the NBA and NHL combine with the regular seasons of baseball and soccer to saturate the public thirst for competition. But for others, like commentator Bill Littlefield, the craving is occasionally for something the sports culture has labeled taboo: A break. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/09/2009 MLB Update - Yankee Stadium - Phoenix Coyotes - Old Time Baseball - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Batting on the Bosphorus Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Batting on the Bosphorus Cricket is popular in places like the United Kingdom, India, and Pakistan. It is not especially popular, or even much evident, in Bulgaria, Slovakia, or Serbia. That circumstance didn't stop author Angus Bell from traveling around Eastern Europe in search of great cricket stories. Bill talks to Angus Bell about the result, "Batting on the Bosphorus: A Liquor-Fueled Cricket Tour Throughout Eastern Europe." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Real Fan With teams in the NBA and NFL playoffs and a perfect record against their MLB rivals, Boston's sports teams are dazzling fans this spring. In light of all this fun, Bill Littlefield muses on what it means to be a fan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/02/2009 Dallas Mavericks - Usain Bolt - Derby Perview - Kokomo Joe - Charlie Pierce - The Music of Bernie Williams Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Barry Redux On Monday night, Barry Bonds returned to At and T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Sitting in a box seat between the team's CEO and its president, Bonds, who faces ten counts of making false statements to a grand jury regarding his use of steroids, received a warm welcome from Giants fans...a reaction that did not surprise commentator Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town Warren St. John's book, "Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town," tells the story of one woman's efforts to coach several soccer teams made up of boys who have come to the U.S. from countries destroyed by civil wars and invasions. Coach Luma Mufleh goes beyond just teaching her team about soccer and St. John reveals her ability to transform the lives of her players. Bill Littlefield shares his thoughts on "Outcasts United." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tardy Dukes Baseball players can be fined for using corked bats, throwing illegal pitches, or disparaging the integrity of the umpires. Elijah Dukes of the Washington Nationals was recently fined for being late to the ballpark on game day, which, commentator Bill Littlefield suggests, is more a complicated story than it might seem to be. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/18/09 NBA Playoff Summary Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard 50 Marathons in 50 States High School Mixed Martial Arts Talk with Charlie Pierce 1937 Davis Cup semifinal Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Terrible Splendor Marshall Jon Fisher's "A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, A World Poised For War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played" focuses on the 1937 Davis Cup semifinal matchup between the German team and the Americans. Fisher goes beyond the tennis played and examines the men involved. Bill Littlefield reviews "A Terrible Splendor." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Cold As Ice The Red Sox are off to a less-than-inspiring start. (3-6) But commentator Bill Littlefield promises this has nothing to do with his dissatisfaction with some of the season's early games. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Greg Downing These days, those working in financial services might require a back-up plan. Enter Greg Downing, a Merrill-Lynch employee and professional lacrosse player who's been following his dual career dreams since long before the economy took a tumble. Bill Littlefield has his story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/04/2009 NCAA Men's - Jack Johnson - MLB Update - Pricey Tickets - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Rocket That Fell To Earth Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Rocket That Fell To Earth Jeff Pearlman's book, "The Rocket That Fell To Earth," looks at Roger Clemens' rise to supremacy in the major leagues and his eventual downfall as an accused steroid user. Pearlman makes a convincing case that Clemens is a self-centered and thoroughly deluded man, but also reflects on the positive aspects of The Rocket's life. Bill Littlefield reviews "The Rocket That Fell To Earth." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Tiger's Ascendant On Sunday, Tiger Woods won a golf tournament. Among those who were delighted, if not especially surprised, was commentator Bill Littlefield's mother. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/28/2009 NCAA Men's - NCAA Women's - WPS Launch - As They See 'Em - Charlie Pierce - Commentary - Log Rolling Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Curt Schilling Retires On Tuesday Curt Schilling blogged the news: He was retiring from baseball. Schilling helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and again in 2007. He was still employed by the team last season, to the tune of eight million dollars, though he did not pitch. Commentator Bill Littlefield reviews Curt Schilling's Boston days. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/21/2009 NCAA Update - Heart Of A Husky - Allonzo Trier - Mercyherst College - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Indian Pitchers Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | 12-Year Old Basketball Star Allonzo Trier plays or practices basketball for seven hours a day. He's been doing so for the last four years. He's nationally recognized by scouts and college coaches know his name and his talents. The catch is he's only 12-years old. The New York Times Michael Sokolve joins Bill to discuss Trier and the future of college recruiting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | March Marking Period On Thursday the men's NCAA basketball tournament will get underway. Remembering that the "C" in NCAA stands for "collegiate," commentator Bill Littlefield foresees some surprises. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/14/2009 Morehead State - Seattle Sounders - WBC Update - Becoming Manny - Charlie Pierce - Commentary - Plumber Olympics Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Becoming Manny The most common refrain while slugger Manny Ramirez played for Boston was, "That's just Manny being Manny." Will that stay true now that Ramirez is in Los Angeles? Only A Game's Bill Littlefield speaks with Jean Rhodes and Shawn Boburg, authors of Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Betting on Better Times On Sunday - Selection Sunday - college basketball fans will find out the rest of the teams that will be involved in the men's NCAA basketball tournament...an event that will consume millions of sports fans from then until early April, when a champion is crowned. Bill Littlefield is anticipating the madness and its potential benefits. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/07/2009 MLB Preview - Team Venezuela - College Hockey Rivalry - The Madness of March - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Indoor Adaptive Rowing Challenge Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Indoor Adaptive Rowing Challenge The Indoor Adaptive Rowing Challenge is a competitive event designed for disabled people. Their disabilities range from partial paralysis to blindness to mental disabilities. Bill Littlefield was on the scene to cover the competition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Calhoun's Money The spectacularly successful season upon which the men's basketball team from the University of Connecticut is currently embarked was marred somewhat in late February when Coach Jim Calhoun exploded during a press conference. His angry outburst was provoked by a question about his salary, which is one point six million dollars annually. Several Connecticut legislators have since called for Calhoun to apologize. Commentator Bill Littlefield speculates on how the coach might have avoided the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/28/2009 Barry Bonds Trial - Tiger Is Back - World Baseball Classic - The Best Game Ever - Charlie Pierce - Adult Gymnastics Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Adult Gymnastics Gymnastics has been losing ground at the college level, and high schools have been cancelling programs as fewer and fewer students have expressed interest in the sport. But Only A Game's Karen Given recently found a place where - stumbles, missteps, and unstuck landings notwithstanding - the popularity of gymnastics has been growing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Good Stuff Cheap An empty bottle from which the owner says Tiger Woods drank during the 2007 PGA Championship appeared for auction on Ebay this week. The asking price was twenty five thousand dollars. This gave commentator Bill Littlefield hope in his attempt to weather the current financial crisis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/21/2009 NBA Update - NHL Geography - NCAA Women's Basketball - A Course Called Ireland - Charlie Pierce - Empire State Building Run-Up Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/21/2009 NBA Update - NHL Geography - NCAA Women's Basketball - A Course Called Ireland - Charlie Pierce - Empire State Building Run-Up Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Empire State Building Run-Up Getting to the top of the Empire State Building is easy. Wait in line, buy a ticket, climb into the elevator, and less than 60 seconds later you're on the 86th floor observation deck. But every year there are hundreds of athletes who choose to take in the views the hard way. Only A Game's Karen Given was on the scene earlier this month for the 32nd Annual Empire State Building Run-Up. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Baseball Reclaimed As spring training gets underway in Florida and in Arizona, many of the stories have been about steroids and the players who've used them, and those who might have done so. Commentator Bill Littlefield has been trying instead to think of Ernie Banks, the hall-of-fame Cubs shortstop who liked to say - no matter what the weather - "It's a beautiful day. Let's play two." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Bald Truth David Falk made a living representing Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and many other big-name professional athletes. In his book, "The Bald Truth," he shares the secrets to his success in the competitive world of sports agents. Falk spoke with Bill about his book, sports business, his most famous client, and much more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Basketball Questions As the best Division One basketball teams work their way through February toward the tournament known as March Madness, commentator Bill Littlefield finds that there are stories in the gyms of less illustrious teams as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Global Game: Writers on Soccer In "The Global Game" individuals from around the world share their perspectives through stories, essays, and poetry. These excerpts range from comedy to political messages. Every entry has one common theme that connects all the authors: soccer. Bill Littlefield admits his soccer bias and reviews "The Global Game: Writers On Soccer." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | No Recession At The Top As the scolds in the U.S. Congress try to shame executives at major corporations into responsible behavior, commentator Bill Littlefield warns that in that pursuit, as elsewhere, moderation is advisable. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Super Bowl Team Fight Songs Instead of playing an actual game, what if the Super Bowl was determined by each team's fight song? This week on Only A Game Bill gets some help figuring out who would win between the Cardinals and the Steelers as American Public Radio's Jim Derogatis and Gerg Kot join the show to breakdown the Super Bowl team's fight songs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | My Aching Head On the eve of the Super Bowl, two new cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy - the brain damage associated with multiple concussions - have been in the news. Commentator Bill Littlefield remembers - sort of - one of his worst days as an intramural athlete - and wonders why it's taking so long for physicians associated with teams to acknowledge the obvious. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Trinity College Squash Trinity College has put together a dynasty on college squash. The Bantams have won the last ten intercollegiate championships and haven't lost a match since 1997. It's not even a question if the team will win; it's a question of if they'll even drop a point. Bill Littlefield reports on the most successful college sports program in recent history. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Suggestions for the Super Bowl With the Super Bowl just 11 days away, commentator Bill Littlefield offers a few humble suggestions for improving the event. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/17/09 NFL Playoff Update - Gridiron Greats - Vietnam Golf - Women's Wrestling - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Reconstructing Fame Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Women's Wrestling University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky is breaking the boundaries on college wrestling, with a women's wrestling team. Ron Schachter explores the Patriots program and how they've come to dismiss the norm in the sport. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gambling? In Las Vegas? Beginning in mid-March, Bob Knight, who has presided over more Division One wins than any other men's basketball coach, and Billy Packer, who spent twenty seven years broadcasting college games for CBS, will be discussing the product with which they are both thoroughly familiar from a bookmaking establishment in Las Vegas. Commentator Bill Littlefield wonders if you find that arrangement as bizarre as he does. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/10/2008 Arizona Cardinals - Chicago Blackhawks - More MLB Doping - 6th Grade Goalie - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Elfish Gene Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Elfish Gene Bill Littlefield talks with Mark Barrowcliffe, author of The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons, and Growing Up Strange. As an adolescent in England in the mid-1970's and early 1980's, Barrowcliffe dedicated just about all of his free time to role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Now, with years of adult life experience under his belt, Barrowcliffe takes a comic look back at the hobby of his youth. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/03/2009 NFL Playoff Update - Trailblazers - College Bowl Update - Extreme Rat Challenge - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Best American Sportswriting 2008 Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Xtreme Rat Challenge Each year, hundreds of people come to Nebraska Wesleyan University to see the event which was called the "Rat Olympics" until the USOC objected a few years ago, and which the psychology department feels is a valuable learning tool for its students. Martin Wells has the story from Lincoln, Nebraska. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Best of Only A Game 12/27/2008 Two Chinese Characters - Bioblitz - Perkins School - Book Cart Drill Teams - Phelps In The Movies - Crazy Good - Lobster Boat Racing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Book Cart Drill Teams 12/26/2008 Only A Game's Charlie Shroeder reports on librarians with choreographed dance moves. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/20/2008 NHL Update - Boston Bruins - AFL - The First Tip-Off - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Santa Speedo Run Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Is That You, Santa?! Only A Game's Doug Tribou reports from a popular Boston race where speedos, santa hats, and freezing temperatures represent true holiday spirit- the 9th annual Santa Speedo Run. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New Year for Women's Pro Soccer In 2009 women's professional soccer will try its hand at restarting the enterprise that created soccer stars Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy. Starting in January the new league, Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), will fight the economic battle for fans and funds but as Bill Littlefield comments, everyone loves an underdog. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/13/2008 MLB Update - Joe Paterno - Ball State Football - Red Grange - Charlie Pierce - Annual Sports Holiday Gift Guide Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game Gift Guide Don't know what to get your loved ones for the holidays? Have no fear, the 16th Annual Only A Game Holiday Gift Guide has arrived! Whether its a gnome bowling set or collegiate fragrances there is sure to be a gift to satisfy even the most die hard sports fan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Don't Bring Your Guns to Town On Monday evening, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to the issue of New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, whom Goodell had suspended for the remainder of the regular season after Burress shot himself in the leg with a gun for which he had no New York City license. Plaxico Burress was in a night club at the time. Commissioner Goodell said players should stay away from places where they would feel unsafe without guns. Bill Littlefield finds the advice sensible, but hardly original. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ph.D. Dance Off! Bill Littlefield speaks with John Bohannon, contributing correspondent for the journal "Science" and creator of the innovative contest, "Dance Your Ph.D.", where grad students, post docs, and professors are asked to film a dance illustrating their scientific research. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Die Hard Red Sox Fans Today you can be buried in a Red Sox casket or have your ashes laid to rest in a Red Sox urn. While many chose to show their team loyalty until the end, maybe there's room for a little restraint when it comes to the afterlife and your favorite MLB team. Bill Littlefield comments. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/29/2008 NBA Update - Atlanta Hawks - NFL Update - Snowflex - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Four Kings Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Thankful He's Not Tiger It's that time of year when we all make lists of things for which we are thankful. For some, the list may be a bit shorter this year. But, Bill Littlefield suggests, at least you're not one of these guys... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/22/2008 NCAA Football The Golden Horseshoe MLS Cup The Fix Charlie Pierce Ken Mink Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ken Mink, The Senior Sophomore Giving new meaning to taking some time off, Ken Mink, 73, has returned to college, 52 years after he left. Not surprisingly, Mr. Mink wanted to pick up where he left off, studying for class, visiting the library, and sinking free throws for the basketball team? From Harriman, Tennessee, Only A Game's Kim Green has our story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/15/2008 NASCAR Garage - MLB Trading - NCAA Women's Hoops - Walter "Killer" Kowalski - Hank Score - Charlie Pierce - Giants Among Men Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Giants Among Men" Pro football players used to be bigger than the game itself and no one knows this better than author Jack Cavanaugh. Bill Littlefield talks Cavanaugh about his new book, Giants Among Men: How Robustelli, Huff, Gifford, and the Giants Made New York a Football Town and Changed the NFL. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Union That Hurts In professional sports, the purpose of a player's union is to protect the interests of it's athletes. However, this is not always the case. Bill Littlefield comments on the class action lawsuit filed by retired NFL players against their own union, the National Football League Players Association. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/08/2008 NFL Update - Tennessee Titans - College Basketball - Cricket - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Expatriate Games Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Expatriate Games" Imagine living in Prague and playing semi-professional basketball. Now imagine not speaking Czech or knowing how to mesh North American basketball style with a Czech team. Bill Littlefield talks with author Dave Fromm about his new book, "Expatriate Games: My Season of Misadventures in Czech Semi-Pro Basketball." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Obama and McCain's Favorite Athletes What does your favorite athlete say about you? Bill Littlefield compares the favorite athletes of Senators John McCain and soon-to-be President Barack Obama and what their choices might say about them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/01/08 Phillies World Series parade with Joel Rose, NBA Talk with Kevin Hench, Sports and Money, New York Marathon with Liz Robbins, Conversation with Charlie Pierce, Humans vs. Zombies by Karen Given Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Race Like No Other Bill Littlefield speaks with author Liz Ribbons about her new book, A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through The Streets of New York, a book about the history of the New York Marathon and some its notable participants. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Note to the MLB Bill Littlefield has a few suggestions for the MLB and player's union so that maybe next year's World Series won't be played in freezing rain and snow...maybe Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/25/2008 Tampa Rays - MLS Update - Dog Racing - Bloody Confused - Charlie Pierce - Crazy Golf Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Crazy Golf Only A Game's Karen Given traveled across the pond to explore the sport of crazy golf at the World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings, England. Crazy golf is the U.K.'s equivalent of mini-golf and, despite the name, some Brits take the sport very seriously. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | All The Way, Rays! The young Tampa Bay Rays are more than capable of taking the 2008 World Series crown, and Bill Littlefield tells us why some sports fans want to see the Rays' Cinderella story come true. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/18/2008 MLB Update - OKC Thunder - College Football Update - Gary Smith - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Pickleball Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories" In his new book, "Going Deep: 20 Classis Sports Stories," author Gary Smith shares twenty of his favorite stories. From soccer star Mia Hamm to the personal tragedy of baseball pitcher Mark Firych, Smith gives us a thoughtful and energetic perspective on sports and its athletes. Bill Littlefield sits down with Smith to discuss his inspiration for the book. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lessons From the 2008 MLB Playoffs Anything can happen in the MLB post-season and this year is no exception. Bill Littlefield tells us what lessons could be learned from this fall's unpredictable MLB playoffs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/11/2008 MLB Update - Feliciano's Anthem - NHL Preview - The Express - Charlie Pierce - Oxen Pulling Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Jose Feliciano's Controversial National Anthem Before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series, Jose Feliciano pulled away from the traditional rendition of the national anthem and sang his own version of Star Spangled Banner. It was a turbulent time and Feliciano's performance caused a furor. Only A Game's Doug Tribou reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/04/2008 MLB Update - Phillies - Sueno - Concussions - Bengals - Charlie Pierce - Driven Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/27/2008 Cubs - Dodgers - War As They Knew It - Handcar Racing - Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Schooner Racing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "War As They Knew It" Only A Game's Karen Given speaks with author Michael Rosenberg about his new book, "War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest". Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/20/2008 Yankee Stadium - WNBA Playoffs - Boys Will Be Boys - Olympic Stamps - K.C. Royals - Charlie Pierce - Pig Racing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/13/2008 LA Dodgers - Tampa Bay Rays - Harness Racing - Soccer Dad - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Lawn Bowling Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Soccer Dad" In his new book, "Soccer Dad: A Father, a Son, and a Magic Season," author W.D. Wetherell describes the power and beauty of the game of soccer through his experience as a sideline dad for his son's high school team. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | O Brady, Where Art Thou? Last Sunday was a disaster. The anguish, the pain, and the mournful cries of Pat's fans could be heard everywhere. It's official, Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady is out for the 2008 season. It's true, Brady's season-ending knee injury is, without a doubt, the worse thing to ever happen. Commentator Bill Littlefield knows it, and so should you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/06/2008 NFL Preview - Security Men - Paralympics Preview - Anderson Wise - U.S. Open - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - A People's History of Sports in the U.S. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "A People's History of Sports in the United States" Sportswriter and author Dave Zirin salutes "rebel athletes" of the past and present in his new book, A People's History of Sports in the United States. In an interview Zirin discusses the social and political power of athletes as public figures along with the so-called "progress" of the U.S. perspective on women in sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | U.S. Soccer in Cuba The U.S. soccer team will face off against Cuba this Saturday in Havana for a World Cup qualifying match. While the team and a few U.S. journalists have been granted permission to land on Cuban soil, U.S. soccer fans will not be able to legally see the game. Bill Littlefield explores the reality of politics and sports in Cuba. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Chalked Up With the Summer Olympics fast approaching, no doubt the sound of "oohs" and "ahhs" will echo from the stands as gymnasts seem to defy gravity. As they will leap and somersault through the air, many of us are completely unaware of what some gymnasts endure behind the scenes. In Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams, Jennifer Sey exposes the darker side of the sport and what many athletes experience growing u ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Genuine T-shirts If the excitement of the playoffs has encouraged you to think about buying team merchandise, according to Bill Littlefield, the NBA urges you to look for their label. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/07/2008 NBA Update - Ira Newble - Big Brown's Big Day - Crazy Good - Charlie Pierce - Bill Reads Your Letters - Stickball Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Crazy Good Charle's Leerhsen's new book Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America, tells the story of how an underdog horse and his rough trainer together became champions. This tale of success coupled with Leerhsen's writing style is sure to delight. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Not Dwelling On The Past Tonight in Boston, the Celtics will host the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of the NBA finals. While there has been lots of talk of past Celtics-Lakers confrontations, Bill Littlefield is reluctant to buy into it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/31/2008 NBA Update - MLB with Tim K - American Tennis Number Ones - Bloggers - Fairway To Hell - Charlie Pierce - Poker Camp Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Fairway To Hell From polar conditions on the golf course to llamas as caddies, Franz Lidz's new book Fairway To Hell sheds humorous light on some of the stranger sides of the game of golf. Bill welcomes Franz to the program to discuss some of the wierdest golf venues and events. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Why We Play The NBA playoffs and the regular seasons of Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer have been giving us lots of games to watch. In the breif intervals between them, Bill Littlefield has assembled some thoughts about the attractions of those games. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/24/2008 Indy 500 Update - Tortoise Racing - NHL Update - Perkins School Track Athletes - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Game On Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Blind Athletes Take Over the Track Bill had the opportunity to attend the 62nd annual Eastern Athletic Association for the Blind Track and Field Tournament at the Perkins School for the Blind this past weekend. Listen as he joins blind athletes from across the country and watches them compete in events such as the 50 yard dash and the 440. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | No Deal On Tuesday, the National Football League notified the players that the league will opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement...a decision which makes possible a lockout in 2011. Bill Littlefield, who doesn't think it will come to that, wishes to inform the players of the opportunity they've been handed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/17/2008 Preakness Update - Slipstream - NBA and WNBA Update - Clay Johnson - Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Sort Of Gone Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Retiring Champs This week two exceptional champions announced their retirements, a circumstance that provoked commentator Bill Littlefield to think about what it must be like to quit while you are way ahead, and then have to figure out what to do next. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 5/10/2008 Safety in Horse Racing, a Japanese Tradition, and Rooting For A Winner. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Land of the Rising Sumo To the naked eye, sumo wrestling can appear to be no more than large, nearly naked competitors pushing one another around in a circle. However, sumo wrestling is rich with ancient tradtions that extend far beyond the ring, and is considered an artform in Japan. Only A Game's Ken Shulman travelled to Japan, and has a report on the elements of sumo that even an avid American sports fan may not be familiar with. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Most Dangerous Games Competitive sports are inherently dangerous, be it due to massive man-on-man collisions, or because they push bodies to extreme lengths the normal human, or animal would be hard pressed to handle. Following the tragic fall of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, there has been an outcry against horse racing as particularly dangerous and inhumane. However, as Bill Littlefield comments, as unfortunate as it is, risk and danger are a steadfast piece of sports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/03/2008 Kentucky Derby Update - Rodeo Safety - NBA Playoff Update - Mysterious Montague - Charlie Pierce - Broadway Bowling Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Broadway Bowling Everyone neeeds an outlet from work, be it enjoying competitive sports, grabbing dinner at a nice restaurant or taking in a Broadway show. But what about those people who put on the Broadway shows and happen to work hours so unconventional that the normal ways of letting loose are closed to them? Only A Game's Michelle Seaton found that a favorite way for these folks to blow off steam is at late night bowling lanes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Achy Breaky Breaking Ball The last couple of months have been filled with high drama for former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens. Testifying before grand juries, facing possible perjury charges and defending his name have replaced the concerns of fastball or splitter with the game on the line. The recent allegations of Clemens' affair with a country music singer led Bill Littlefield to wonder what type of tune the big Texan is singing these days. Bill also took the liberty of writing, and performing the song for Roger. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/26/2008 NHL Update - Eventing - Patrick Wins - Champ and IRL - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Pat Jordan Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan Truly good sports writing gets past box scores and statistics, by bringing together the sports world with the real world. Throughout his career, Pat Jordan has tried to do just this, taking the games that we watch and the players that we root for and putting them in context. Bill Littlefield talks to Pat Jordan about his new book, The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan, and some of the best stories Jordan has from the road. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | TV Dreams To sports fans, the life of professional athletes often appears to be full of glitz and glamour, but devoid of concerns. However, Bill Littlefield knows that the perfect picture that shines through into millions of living rooms in high definition doesnt tell the whole story. Bill dreams up a few not too far fetched scenarios to remind those envious of the pros that behind the big money contracts, its not all as it seems on TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | TV Dreams To sports fans, the life of professional athletes often appears to be full of glitz and glamour, but devoid of concerns. However, Bill Littlefield knows that the perfect picture that shines through into millions of living rooms in high definition doesnt tell the whole story. Bill dreams up a few not too far fetched scenarios to remind those envious of the pros that behind the big money contracts, its not all as it seems on TV. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/19/2008 NBA Update - Boston Celtics - Chien Ming Wang - Native American Ballplayers - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - The 33 Year Old Rookie Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The 33-Year-Old Rookie Although Minor League Baseball can serve as a launching pad for some players, it can be like quicksand for others, a frustrating experience that has driven many players from the game. But even after spending more than a decade cycling through some of baseball's back channels, journeyman Chris Coste kept pushing until he broke through with the Phillies in 06. Bill Littlefield talks with Coste about his new book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, telling the tale of his long, strange trip, and finds ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | There's No "I" In Team An old saying recited to young athletes time and time again is that cheaters never prosper. According to the decision by the International Olympics Committee to revoke the gold medals of the relay-mates of admitted steroid user Marion Jones, neither do their teams. What if such a standard, penalizing entire teams for the poor behavior of an individual, were applied to some more prominent team sports? As Bill Littlefield comments, it might change the way some athletes operate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/12/2008 NHL Update - Detroit Tigers - China and the Torch - Sneaker Wars - Charlie Pierce - Ground Zero Sports Museum Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Sports World Takes Over Manhattan Did you ever wonder what its like to be an NHL Goaltender or a referee making the game deciding call in the NFL? The Sports Museum of America, opening in May, hopes to give visitors a chance to experience this first hand. Alongside sports memorabilia, the museum gives fans a unique look inside games they cant get anywhere else. Karen Given reports on the interactive endeavor located in Lower Manhattan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Torch Turmoil The Olympic Torch is supposed to symbolize high ideals of international cooperation and competition. However, protests aimed at the torch have put an issue of international discord in the spotlight. The protests may be uncomfortable to watch, but as Bill Littlefield comments, there is no better place than the Olympics to remind the world of what truly matters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/05/2008 NCAA Basketball - Wrigley Field - NBA - NASCAR Book - Charlie Pierce - Bill Reads Your Letters - Pi Day Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Bee All That You Can Be Some things are capable of striking fear right into the heart of a persons being. For some, its a fear of heights. Others are petrified at the very thought of small eight-legged insects. For Bill Littlefield, his deep fear used to be the spelling bee. But now the tables have turned, and Bill has decided to take a new approach to this intellectual slugfest. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/29/2008 And Then There Were Eight - The Ladies Have the Floor - Give Me Soccer or Give Me Death - Mind the Culture Gap - Spring Has Sprung - Bringing Down the Hammer - Sober Rugby Squads and More, With Charlie - Growing the Game Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Mind the Culture Gap The differences between Japan and the U.S. are readily evident in culture, and in baseball. The MLB season opener in Japan, stocked with Japanese superstars returning home, highlighted these differences. Ken Shulman reports from Tokyo on baseballs Opening Dawn, and gets a feel for American baseball, Japanese style. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | What's The Worst That Could Happen? Barry Bonds has pounded more homeruns than any other player in Major League Baseball history. However, with the regular season all but underway, the 43 year old is still lacking employment. Bill Littlefield believes this situation won't change, but can't help but imagine the endless possibilities of the slugger's hypothetical swansong. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/22/2008 March Madness Update - NIT History - Blue Jays - Caltech Basketball - Charlie Pierce - 6 Nations Cup Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Ultimate Underdogs How could you root against a team that hasn't won in over two decades? The California Institute of Technology's Men's Basketball program held the title of the nation's longest losing streak into 2006. Filmmaker Rick Greenwald examines CalTech's futility in his new documentary Quantum Hoops. He joins Bill to talk about what can only be described as the worst team in college basketball, and the students who play there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Worst Idea Ever In light of recent comments criticizing the potential boycott of this summers Olympic Games, Bill Littlefield got to thinking. Would forgoing a trip to Beijing truly be the worst idea humanity ever stumbled upon? As Bill comments, those who consider ditching the games a mortal sin may want to re-consider. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/15/2008 Women's NCAA Basketball - St. Lawrence Women's Hockey - The End Of Dodgertown - "South Of The Color Barrier" - Charlie Pierce - Bill Reads Your Letters - The 20th Arctic Games Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Goodbye to Dodgertown The Dodgers departed Brooklyn 50 years ago, but odes are still written to the former bums. Songs dedicated to the memories of Jackie, Campy and the Duke are still sung. As if to solemnize that semi-centennial, the Dodgers are preparing to depart its long time spring training home. Only A Game's Ron Schachter reports from Vero Beach, Florida. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary The official word from the Chinese government is that the air quality in Beijing has improved for nine consecutive years. Haile Gebrselassie, the world's fastest marathoner, is not convinced. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "The Dark Side of the Diamond" Bill Littlefield sits down with Roger Adams, author of the new book "The Dark Side of the Diamond," to talk about the history of vice in America's Pastime. As Adams says, there's plenty to be proud of in baseball's history, but there are also a wealth of juicy, dirty stories that stretch back to the game's beginning. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Coaching Success In sports, good coaches can have an obvious impact on the outcome of games. But the best coaches can mean much more. Bill Littlefield tells the story of a coach who helped change a young man as an athlete, and as a person. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/01/2008 Seattle Supersonics - Oklahoma City and the NBA - W.C. Heinz Remembered - The Franchise - Charlie Pierce - Commentary - Free Sledding Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Beautiful Surprise From The Beautiful Game Soccer doesn't get a whole lot of press here in the United States. However, after catching a glimpse of F.C. Barcelona in action earlier this week, Bill Littlefield observes that soccer truly is an art. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/23/2008 MLB Update - Bentley Men's Basketball - The Rise and Fall of an NFL Prospect - Skiing the Samller Mountains in Colorado - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - God Save The Fan Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | God Save the Fan "God Save the Fan," by Will Leitch, explores the various elements taking the fun out of sports. Leitch talks to Bill Littlefield about his book and what sports fans can do to re-capture the joy of the games they love. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Just Like the Good Old Days? The NBA and NHL are both experimenting with outdoor regular season games. As Bill Littlefield comments, they may not exactly be returning to the roots of their sports, but the open air contests can still be fun to watch. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/16/2008 Baseball Update - Shaq To Suns - NASCAR Update - Junior Hockey - Hockey Nicknames - Cahrlie Pierce - Baseball Park Sounds Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Sweet Sounds of Baseball Tom Porcello, an anthropology professor at Vassar Collge, discusses the distinctive sounds of Major League Baseball ballparks with Bill Littlefield. From the traditional organ to the rifts of Van Morrison, Porcello tells us that each venue creates its own atmosphere through sound. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Clemens Goes to Congress Congress spent more than four hours questioning Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee about steroids. And, as Bill Littlefield comments, after more than four hours, we don't know any more than we did when we started. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/09/2008 NBA Update -Butler Basketball -Ping Pong -Irish Thunder -Commentary -Charlie Pierce -Primitive Biathlon Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary Bill Littlefield muses on who should be enshrined in his alma mater's sports Hall of Honor. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 02/02/2008 Superbowl Update - Super Nuns - PGA Drug Testing - NCAA Cheerleading - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Super Bowl Haiku XIV Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Poetry of the Super Bowl For the past 14 years, Only A Game has celebrated the Super Bowl in verses consisting of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. But, Bill Littlefield asks, could another measure do just as well as the haiku? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/26/2008 Australian Open Update - Portland Trailblazers - Women's NCAA Basketball - Kim Mulkey - Charlie Pierce - Anderson WIse Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Anderson Wise Anderson Wise can bench press nearly 400 pounds, but that's just the start of his extra-ordinary story. Born with spina bifida, Wise uses a wheelchair to make his way around the gym while training for the Paralympics. Bill Littlefield has a profile of Andy Wise and his family. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/19/2008 College Basketball - Baseball Skit - NFL Update - Reggie Bush Book - Charlie Pierce - Artificial Caving Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Were Number One!!! Bill rifts on how "we're #1" and other sports phrases have crossed over into the politcal arena. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/12/2008 NBA Update - Cleveland Cavaliers - NFL Update - Better Math Through Fantasy Football - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - The Assist Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary: He Said/He Said Either Roger Clemens or former trainer Brian McNamee is lying. Bill Littlefield doesn't know who's telling the truth, but that doesn't stop him from writing a few lines of poetry about that conflict. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 01/05/2008 College Football with Dan Wetzel - NHL Winter Classic - Timberwolves In Trouble - George Mikan - Charlie Pierce - Table Hockey Tournament Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | New England Celebrates New England sports fans are counting their blessings right now, but Bill Littlefield thinks they just might be counting the wrong things. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/29/2007 Kid Delicious - Navy Seals Training - Commentary - Blind Golfers - Divorcee Demolition Derby Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Bill Littlefield Bill's end of the year thoughts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/22/2007 Steroids Fallout - It's A Wonderful Bonds - NHL Update - The Pack Is Back - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Candyland - Commentary Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Barry Bonds Lassos the Clear The "Only A Game" players present a BALCO version of "It's a Wonderful Life." It's guaranteed to be as heart warming as the original. We promise. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary In this the season of mirth and cheer, Bill Littlefield is sad to learn there's one less NFL story to root for this year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Holiday Gift Guide This is definitely the most rocking time of year. That's because it's time for Only A Game's 15th annual Holiday Gift Guide. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/15/2007 Sorting Out The Mitchell Report - The Winless Miami Dolphins - Great Football Mismatches - Susan Sabin Commentary - Charlie Pierce - 15th Annual Holiday Gift Guide Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/08/2007 Florida Marlins - Detroit Tigers - The New Cleveland Browns - "The Last Great Fight" - Nude Bruins, Oh My! - Letters - Led Zeppelin and More with Charlie Pierce - My Football Club Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | My Football Team Only A Game's Karen Given covers the story of an English soccer club that wants to take public ownership to the next level. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Marvin Miller Bill Littlefield makes the case for Marvin Miller to be enshrined in the Hall Of Fame. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 12/01/2007 NFL Parity - Major League Baseball News - Hawaii's Surprising Football Team - Best American Sportswriting 2007 - Charlie Pierce - Bill Commentary - Tunney Play Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Perverse And Stunning Perfection The Miami Dolphins have started their season 0 for 11. Bill Littlefield puts their drive for perverse perfection in perspective. Listen | Listen in your iPhone |