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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 | Only A Game 08/01/2009 More MLB Positive Tests - Japan Bowl - Jeff Blatnick - The Sure Thing - Charlie Pierce - Fish 50 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 | Only A Game 05/16/2009 NBA Update - Pimlico - UVM Baseball - Myles Brand - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Volvo Ocean Race 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 | Only A Game 04/11/09 NHL Update - Jamario Moon - Adenhart - Coach Camp - '78 - Charlie Pierce - Letters - Lacrosse 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 | Only A Game 02/07/2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Update - Denver Nuggets - Naming Rights In NYC - America's Cup - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Global Game 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 | Only A Game 01/31/2009 NFL Head Injuries - Superbowl Money - Superbowl Preview - Superbowl Advertisements - Superbowl Haiku 15 - Letters - Charlie Pierce - Superbowl Music Challenge 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 | Only A Game 01/24/2009 Arizona Cardinals - Steeler House - Bye Bye Week - NHL All-Star Break - Blood In The Cage -Charlie Pierce - Trinity College Squash 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 | Only A Game 12/06/2008 College Football Update - Buffalo Bills - NFL Health - PhD Dance - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Tiger's Roar 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 | Only A Game 03/08/08 NCAA Men's Basketball - UNC and Duke - Brett Favre Leaves the NFL - Native American Hoop Dancing - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Dark Side of the Diamond 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 | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/24/2007 NFL Update - Bell Bowl - NCAA Football Update - South Africa 2010 - Letters - Charlie Pierce - The Agony Of Victory Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary Bill Littlefield has a lot to be thankful for this week. He runs through a few of the highlights... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/17/2007 Barry Bonds - Pregnancy in the NCAA - London 2012 - MLS Cup - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce - Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | London Olympics Only A Game's Karen Given reports from London about the two view points on the city's upcoming Olympics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Revs In Four The MLS Championship Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/10/2007 Men's NCAA Hoops - Time for Toast - Women's NCAA Hoops - Drought and Sport - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Love and Blood Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Toast To Tradition Joel Rose of WHYY in Philadelphia reports on the University Of Pennsylvania's strange, toast-y ritual. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Growing, Growing Gone Bill Littlefield ponders the gray area of baseball players using Human Growth Hormone to treat injuries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 11/03/07 Segment 1 - Colts interview with Bob Kravitz - NFL Report from London Segment 2 - NBA interview with Kevin Hench - Appalachian State talk with Ron Schachter - MLS commentor Alyssa Ely Segment 3 - Charlie Pierce - Running the table featuring Kid Delicious Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Our Football Over There Last Sunday, Only A Game's Karen Given attended the most highly anticipated American Football game in British history. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Baseball My Aging Friend Bill Littlefield rhymes his thoughts on the eternal constant of change by focusing on our beloved sport of baseball. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/27/2007 World Series Update - Chinese Basketball Star - Steroids Book - MLS Playoff Preview - Charlie Pierce - Rockclimbing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Steroid Nation Bill Littlefield talks to Shaun Assael author of Steroid Nation Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary The World Series has begun and Bill Littlefield speculates on what it would be like if the Red Sox won again. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/20/2007 MLB Playoffs - The Vickless Falcons - College Football - Donkey Polo - Charlie Pierce - Competitive Pumpkin Growing Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Donkey Polo Sport of Kings it is not. One heck of a good time it is. Martin Wells reports on Donkey Polo, the Sport of Nebraskans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Delusions Of Entitlement If the Sox do not pull off another miracle ALCS comeback, it will be a major league bummer in Beantown. But according to Bill Littlefield, high expectations is the price a city must pay for having a plethora of outstanding sports teams. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/22/2007 Floyd Landis Update - Bill Reads Your Letters - The Cubs, Brewers, and more MLB - The No-Name Diamondbacks - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Reel Recovery Thirteen men took part in a retreat offered free of charge last month by Reel Recover, which will have conducted 15 similar getaways in 11 states by the end of this year. But Reel Recovery is not a travel agency; it's an organization that provides men with cancer the opportunity to tell their stories, to have a bit of fun, and to develop new perspectives on life and on death. From Emigrant, Montana, Only A Game's Garly Waleik has the story. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/13/2007 MLB Update - NBA In Italy - Taking Back Olympic Medals - The Game Of Brawl Book - Charlie Pierce - Bocce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Game Of Brawl While it might be a stretch to say that Major League Baseball is clean and honest in our juiced up era, the game has come a long way in cleaning up its act from its rough and tumble beginnings. Bill Littlefield talks to A Game Of Brawl author, Bill Felber, about a series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Beaneaters that may be responsible for setting the game straight-er. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Postseason Bill Littlefield waxes poetic on the four remaining baseball teams contending for the World Series. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 10/06/2007 MLB Update - The Surprising USF Bulls - The Colorado Rockies - The Czar of Football - Bill Reads Your Letters- Charlie Pierce - The Art or Side Saddle Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Side Saddle Weekend Gladstone, New Jersey is home to top level equestrian competitions, including Grand Prix events and Olympic Trials and it recently hosted Side Saddle Weekend. Diane Toomey shares her report of the two-day event, which included everything from serious competitions to serious dress up. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary You can root, root, root for the home team, but how much does it really matter? Bill Littlefield thinks that as far as our National Pastime is concerned, there might be too much attention paid to home field advantage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 09/29/2007 Women's World Cup - Pilates and Zen - Miniature Yacht Racing - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary You would think that as a huge fan of women's soccer, Bill Littlefield would be dismayed that the U.S. Women lost in the semi-finals to Brazil at the Women's World Cup in China. But, you would be wrong. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/25/2007 Bill Reads Your Letters - A Pitcher Is Reborn - Year Round Skiing - Divorcee Demolition Derby Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | May the Horse be With You If you called central casting for a race track guy, chances are they'd send over Harvey Pack. He's made not only a living but a life at the track, mostly by hosting TV shows and seminars in which his wisecracks about the horses, the jockeys, and the trainers are funny enough so that the bettors don't blame him when his picks don't pay off. In "May the Horse Be With You: Pack at the Track," Harvey Pack and Pete Fornatale have collected some of Pack's track stories. Pack joins Bill from WAMC ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Michael Vick's Biggest Mistake Michael Vick's problems stemming from his impeding conviction on federal dogfighting charges would have never happened if he made one tiny change. At least that's what Bill Littlefield thinks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/18/2007 The Rockies' Humidor - Adult Swim - The Whole Half-Marathon - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Beckham in America Not since Pele came to the U.S. thirty years ago has an individual player caused as much fuss in the land where soccer has been the batty old aunt at the sports table as David Beckham. But in order for him to make a lasting impact, Bill Littlefield thinks he first needs to get on the field. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Beckham in America Not since Pele came to the U.S. thirty years ago has an individual player caused as much fuss in the land where soccer has been the batty old aunt at the sports table as David Beckham. But in order for him to make that difference, Bill Littlefield thinks he first needs to get on the field. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/11/2007 Bill Chats With Competitive Shakespeare Contestants Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/10/2007 Roller Figure-Skating in Beverly, MA Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/09/2007 A trip to Jimmy Cvetic's Pittsburgh boxing gym Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 08/04/2007 Tour de France discussion Junior Golf Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Junior Golf Ever wonder what all those famous great golfers did when they were young? Well, Bill Littlefield traveled to the Fidelity Investments Junior Classic at the Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts to try and find out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Gambling for Garnett Last week, NBA Comissioner David Stern said something about referee Tim Donaghy's gambling on NBA games he officiated being the worst situation he has faced. Get some perspective, Dave, the Celts just landed Kevin Garnett. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/28/2007 Bill Reads Your Letters - The Cubs Winning Ways - Charlie Pierce - Eskimo / Indian Olympics - Commentary Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Playing America's Game Major League Baseball has a blurred history of racial discrimination. In his new book, "Playing America's Game," Professor Adrian Burgos, Jr. sheds light on the Latino players who broke the game's color barrier, and addresses the struggles of those in the game today. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Things Fall Apart With the Tour de France, NFL, and NBA dealing with serious migraines of thir own and absorbing public scrutiny, suddenly one athlete can breath a little easier about his own problems. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/21/2007 Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce - Granny Basketball On The Loose Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Take the Trident Challenge Commercials designed to encourage young men to join the military that run during televised sports events have often presented soldiers, sailors, and marines as members of a team. That is also part of the strategy of the Navy SEALS Trident Challenge, a travelling opportunity for young men and women to test themselves against the rigorous physical requirements faced by the those aspiring to become Navy SEALS. Earlier this summer, the Trident Challenge came to Boston. Only A Game's Karen Given ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Can Beckham Save Football...er...Soccer? In case you missed the reality shows, the press conference replete with throbbing rock music, and the thousands of news stories over the past few months, a soccer player named David Beckham is going to play for Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS. Bill ponders the impact in the best way he knows how. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/14/2007 Playing With God - The Art Of Cycling - Cuban Baseball Players - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Driver's Ed If you thought NASCAR was just about driving in endless ovals, then you need to go to school. But not just any school will do the trick, as Stasia DeMarco reports. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | A Midsummer Night's Legend When you get voted into 24 straight MLB All-Star games, you might be more than just a flash in the pan. Bill Littlefield elaborates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 07/07/2007 Charlie Pierce - Air Guitar Championships - Tour De France Commentary Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Positively False The bad news is that Floyd Landis and Loren Mooney's new book, "Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France" does not put an end to the saga of the infamous Tour de Drugs. The good news is that Bill has a book review for you. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Daily Grind When you get beyond the seven-figure salaries, the steroids, and the fact that they're playing a children's game for a living, baseball players are a lot like us. Bill Littlefield explains. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/30/2007 Blind Golfers - Bill Reads Your Letters - The Poetry Of Sports - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Holler Back Throughout the years, Only A Game has brought you many athletic triumphs, from belt sander racing to extreme ironing. Now, reporter Ron Schachter has found himself a hollering contest, and it's sort of amazing that it has taken him this long, since the contest has been going on for 39 years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Much Ado About Barry Barry Bond of the San Francisco Giants is going to hit his 756th homerun this season, setting a new record for career longballs. So what's all the commotion about? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/23/2007 U.S. Women's Soccer - Ski Dubai - The Imp and the Blazers - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Card Ever wonder when a baseball card isn't just a baseball card? So did Bill, until "The Card" authors Michael O'Keefe and Teri Thompson helped set him straight. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Lalas Dreams On Recently Alexi Lalas claimed that a collection of M.L.S. players helicoptered into the Premiership, England's top soccer league, would be indistinguishable from the players currently there. Bill Littlefield thinks Lalas may have gotten carried away. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/16/2007 Like Father Like Son - Commentary From Bill - Competitive Cubing - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Is This a Great Game, or What? Tim Kurkjian has spent a long time around the game of baseball. After reading his new book, "Is This a Great Game, or What?" Bill Littlefield finally understands why. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | NFLPA vs Gridiron Greats Petty squabbles have dominated an ongoing dispute between the National Football League Players Association and Gridiron Greats, an organization claiming the NFLPA has not done enough for retired players. Bill Littlefield has been monitoring the energetic discussions between the two groups. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/09/2007 Talking NBA with Pat Forde - Charlie Pierce - Lucha Libre Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Kelso: The Horse of Gold In the world of horse racing, Triple Crown winners are often labeled the be all and end all of the sport. In Kelso: The Horse of Gold, Linda Kennedy challenges that assertion, contending that success over time should count for more than three triumphant afternoons during a single racing season. Linda joins Bill to discuss Kelso, the horse who she believes trumps all others. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Commentary: Mark Harris Last weekend brought the announcement of the death of novelist Mark Harris. Among the readers who've been celebrating Mr. Harris's achievement is commentator Bill Littlefield. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 06/02/2007 Roger Clemens Is Still Going - Pitchers And How They Hurt Themselves - Airplane Racing - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Can I Keep My Jersey? Possible future engineer, former National Merit scholar, basketball journeyman...Paul Shirley has been a lot of things. Now you can add the title of "author" to the list. In his book, "Can I Keep My Jersey?" details the life of basketball vagabond. Shirley joins Bill Littlefield from KCUR in Kansas City Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "I'm not worried about the hall." It's no secret that Barry Bonds is on the verge of breaking Henry Aaron's career homerun record. Whether or not Bonds donates his record-breaking memorabilia to the Hall of Fame, Bill Littlefield examines why Cooperstown and baseball will endure either way. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/26/2007 Bill Reads Your Letters - The Brewers Are Back - Flyfishing For Fun, Not Fish - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Ty and the Babe Tom Stanton's book "Ty and the Babe" examines the complex and often cantakerous relationship between Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. Stanton joins Bill Littlefield in the studio to discuss that relationship and the 1941 Has Beens Golf Tournament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Examined Life While professional athletes have fame and fortune, Bill Littlefield analyzes how spectator scrutiny of athletes puts them in a position where they can never satisfy our expectations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/12/2007 Badminton - The Mighty, Mighty Ducks - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Toronto's New Team The MLS moved north of the border this off-season with the addition of a new franchise in Canada, Toronto FC. Bill Littlefield talks the team about its inaugural season thus far and while its been a bumpy ride, Toronto seems fully behind the city's newest team. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | The Politics of Rivalries Real Madrid and F.C Barcelona are the Yankees-Red Sox of Spanish soccer, but the Real-Barca rivalry goes beyond futbol. Bill Littlefield looks at the political roots of Spain's greatest rivalry and sheds some light on what it might mean to root for New York or Boston. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Tales from Q School" In "Tales from Q School," John Feinstein reveals the game of golf that lies under the radar, where players teeter of the edge of great success and final failure. While Feinstein's belief that the best golf stories reside in the PGA's version of the minor leagues is debatable, the book provides a peek into golf's almost-are and almost-were. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 05/05/2007 Polytrack - Black Athletes and College Baseball - Elissa Ely Commentary - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Not By A Long Shot" T.D. Thorton's "Not By A Long Shot" is a peek behind the grandstands at a mid-level horse track in East Boston. Thorton, Suffolk Downs' p.r. guy, shows what life is like at a horsetrack not named Churchhill Downs or Belmont Park, even dishing on a few shady dealings. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary Bill Littlefield says a vote of confidence from George Steinbrenner is about the last thing you'd want. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/28/2007 Japan and the MLB - Kabaddi - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Review: "Tommy's Honor" In "Tommy's Honor," Kevin Cook reveals the story of Tom Morris, one of golf's founding fathers. And as Bill Littlefield found out, Cook also paints a vivid picture of everyday life and the early days of golf. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/21/2007 NBA Playoff Preview - The Atlanta Braves Are Back - Offroading and Economy - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Letters Apparently, Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce woke a bunch of you up last Saturday morning. Some, no, actually many, took the time to write about Charlie and a couple of very rare* mistakes by the Only A Game staff. Karen Given reads a few of your letters. *By "rare" we mean "daily". Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/31/2007 Men's Basketball with Pat Forde - Women's Basketball with Michelle Smith - An Odd Change of Career - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary Bill offers a solution to hockey fights. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/24/2007 All About OJ Mayo - Taking Shots at the NBA - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary The Rime of the Ancient Bracketer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 03/17/2007 Alaska's NCAA champs - Roller Figureskating - The Muslim Olympics - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/14/2007 Bill on Imus - US Distance Running - Bill Reads Your Letters - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | "Opening Day" Branch Rickey thought baseball was ready for integration but as Jackie Robinson found out in 1947, most of the Dodgers organization and the rest of the nation was not. Jonathan Eig joins Bill from NPR's New York bureau to discuss his book "Opening Day," which documents Robinson's first year in the league, and how No. 42's play slowly transformed a nation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary A ditty on Daisuke's home opener Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Only A Game 04/07/2007 Barry Bonds - The Kings of Chess - Charlie Pierce Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | OAG: Commentary The Chicago Cubs are up for sale. Bill Littlefield says, "Buyer Beware." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache |