EPISODE 426: The 6th Annual(-ish) Year-End Holiday Roundtable Spectacular!

It's our year-end Holiday Roundtable Spectacular, featuring a look back at the year's newest additions to "what used-to-be" in big-time sports (RIP Pro Volleyball Federation, Utah Hockey Club, three UFL teams, half of Major League Rugby, and the NCAA's LA & Bahamas Bowls); AND semi-educated guesses as to what might be ahead for 2026 - with three of our favorite fellow defunct sports enthusiasts: Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com; Episode 46); Kenn Tomasch (Kenn.com, Soccer Rewind; Episode 39); and Scott Adamson (Adamsonmedia.com; Episodes 184 & 240).

Buckle up for our annual mashup of amusement and bemusement at the fringes of the pro sports establishment, as we simultaneously marvel at and lament some of the most curious events of the past year, debate who and what might be next to stumble into oblivion, and conjecture about future scenarios for the next generation of defunct and otherwise forgotten pro sports teams and leagues - including:

• UFL Year 3

• NASCAR antitrust trial aftermath

• MLB's A's, Rays & realignment

• NFL international expansion & flag football

• MLS calendar reset & conference realignment

• An NBA European league?

• MiLB's private equity boom

• The Savannah Bananas' Banana Ball Championship League

• Major League Rugby contracts

• Major League Cricket bickers

• Major League Volleyball vs. LOVB & Athletes Unlimited

• The Women's Pro Baseball League steps up to the plate

PLUS: Will FIFA's greedy delusions of World Cup grandeur in 2026 catapult North America into soccer's global firmament - or spark a revolt among the fans it claims to serve?

AND: Are we in a sports investment bubble?

The Home Team: My Bromance With Off-Brand Football - buy book here

The United States Football League, 1982-1986 - buy book here

EPISODE 419: Basketball "Prophet" Moses Malone - With Paul Knepper

The story of Moses Malone is one of basketball’s most remarkable - and underappreciated - journeys. Rising from poverty in segregated Petersburg, Virginia, in the early 1970s, Malone became the first modern player to jump straight from high school to the pros, quickly establishing himself as one of the game’s most dominant forces. A three-time NBA MVP, relentless rebounder, and driving presence behind the rise of the early 1980s Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers’ 1983 league championship, Malone redefined greatness - quietly, humbly, and unstoppably.

This week, biographer Paul Knepper, author of "Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet," joins us to explore the man behind the legend and how his life reshaped both the sport and professional basketball culture.

Knepper traces Malone’s rise from a modest upbringing to his groundbreaking 1974 leap to the American Basketball Association’s Utah Stars - an unprecedented move that paved the way for future hoops prodigies like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. On the court, Malone was a tireless worker, perennial All-Star, and the most dominant offensive rebounder in league history. Off it, the “Chairman of the Boards” quietly mentored rising stars like Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon, showing that greatness could coexist with humility.

Through rare interviews and meticulous research, Knepper restores Malone’s rightful place in basketball history - not just as a Hall of Famer, but as a "prophet" of professionalism, perseverance, and quiet excellence.

PLUS: Your chance to win a copy of "Moses Malone" via this week's trivia contest!

AND: Is the new Amazon Prime NBA theme song "Victory" better than John Tesh's iconic "Roundball Rock"? You make the call!

Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet - buy book here

EPISODE 410: The NBA's Waterloo Hawks - With Tim Harwood

Long before the National Basketball Association evolved into a global spectacle, it began as an awkwardly assembled mashup featuring a hefty dollop of relatively small-market teams in places like Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Anderson, Indiana and Moline, Illinois. 

Among them were the Waterloo Hawks - the only team from Iowa ever to play in the NBA. Their story is synonymous with the fragile early days of pro hoops in the US - and it’s vividly brought back to life by this week's guest, Tim Harwood - author of the essential "Ball Hawks: The Arrival and Departure of the NBA in Iowa."

Tim and Tim retrace how the Hawks rose out of the old National Basketball League, a circuit of largely factory-backed and regional clubs scattered across the Rust Belt that provided much of the foundation for the modern professional game. In 1949, when the NBL merged with its big-city rival, the Basketball Association of America, the NBA was born - and Waterloo suddenly found itself playing against the decidedly more well-resourced likes of New York, Boston, and Chicago. The Hawks’ lone NBA season was gritty, dramatic, and short-lived, ending with the league contracting and shedding smaller markets that didn’t align with its "major-market" ambitions.

Harwood explains how Waterloo tried to keep its place in the game through the short-lived National Professional Basketball League, and why the Hawks’ disappearance after 1951 symbolized the end of the small-market era in pro basketball. What remains is a remarkable story of community pride, fleeting triumph, and the overlooked role towns like Waterloo played in shaping what the NBA would become. 

PLUS: The legend of Waterloo's Murray "Wizard" Wier! 

Ball Hawks: The Arrival and Departure of the NBA in Iowa - buy Book Here

EPISODE 408: "Shattering the Glass" - With Pamela Grundy & Susan Shackelford

The story of women’s basketball in the United States is one of grit, activism, and transformation. From barnstorming road shows to the bright lights of the WNBA, the game has mirrored - and often propelled - larger social changes in American life.

We journey through that history with the help of Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford, authors of the newly expanded edition of "Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women’s Basketball." Drawing on years of research and oral histories, they guide us through some the game’s pivotal chapters:

• Barnstorming pioneers: How teams like the All-American Redheads and Hazel Walker’s Arkansas Travellers brought women’s basketball to audiences across the country when mainstream platforms were closed to them.

• College roots: The rise of organized play on campuses and the role of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women in carving out space for female athletes.

• The 1970s: The seismic impact of Title IX, the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, and the first women’s Olympic basketball tournament in 1976.

• Coming of age: The ambitions and struggles of the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL: 1978–81), and the eventual NCAA takeover of women’s college championships in 1982.

• The 1990s: How 1996 Olympics success inspired the launches of both the American Basketball League (ABL) and the NBA-backed WNBA - to rejuvenate the professional landscape, and set the stage for the modern era.

Grundy and Shackelford help us frame women’s basketball not only as sport, but as a cultural battleground where issues of equity, representation, and identity have played out for generations - where women players, coaches, and advocates continually broke barriers in the process.

PLUS: Get your women's throwback game on with promo code savings from our friends at OldSchoolShirts.com (WBL & ABL: code GOODSEATS) and Royal Retros (early-years WNBA: code SEATS)!

Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women's Basketball - buy Book Here

EPISODE 402: The Milwaukee Bucks Origin Story - With Jordan Treske

It's a Wisconsin road trip this week for a sit down with Jordan Treske, author of "Building the Milwaukee Bucks: Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and the Rapid Rise of an NBA Franchise," to explore one of the most astonishing turnarounds in modern American pro sports history.

Treske walks us through how Milwaukee rebounded from the loss of the MLB Braves to become an NBA basketball powerhouse in just three seasons — thanks to savvy ownership, an historic draft coin flip, and the ultimate pairing of two all-time greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (née Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson. We’ll also unpack the racial and cultural tensions of the era, the ABA bidding war, and the community’s unique investment in the team.

Whether you're a Bucks fan or a basketball history buff, this conversation offers fresh insight into how a franchise — and a city — found its "big league" identity through the game.

PLUS: From 1977, the Milwaukee Bucks theme song "Green And Growing (The Bucks Don't Stop Here)!"

Building the Milwaukee Bucks: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and the Rapid Rise of an NBA Franchise - Buy Book Here

EPISODE 400: Hall of Fame Broadcaster Steve Albert

It's our 400th, so we’re going big with a guest who’s called it all, seen it all, and somehow lived to laugh about it.

Steve Albert ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth") -- Hall of Fame broadcaster and proud member of the legendary Albert sportscasting family (including nephew/Episode 320 guest Kenny) -- joins us for a deep dive into his one-of-a-kind, 45-year ride through the wilds of professional sports. From vanished leagues to unforgettable fights, from Brooklyn bedrooms-turned-broadcast-booths to center stage at Showtime Championship Boxing, Albert's stories are equal parts history and hilarity.

In this special milestone episode, we retrace Albert’s journey through memorable stops like:

• The WHA’s Cleveland Crusaders, where his broadcast partner was the coach’s elbow-needling wife;

• The MISL’s New York Arrows, where goal-scoring was nonstop and whiplash an occupational hazard;

• The final ABA game ever played, which he and his older brother Al called from opposing sides;

• 30+ years across the NBA, including 20 seasons with the New York and New Jersey versions of the Nets, and a career-capping, Emmy-winning turn with the Phoenix Suns;

• Local New York TV sports anchor stints, where juggling 6 o’clock newscasts and rush-hour traffic to call evening games became an art;

• And, of course, his nearly quarter-century ringside seat with Showtime Championship Boxing -- including the infamous Tyson–Holyfield (II) “Bite Fight”

We also talk about growing up in a house where three brothers fought over the mic instead of the remote, how a botched bathroom door nearly derailed a broadcast, and why the strangest moments in sports often happen outside the lines of the game.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Broadcast Booth - Buy Book Here

EPISODE 387: The BAA, NBL & the Merger That Created the NBA - With Josh Elias

Sports historian Josh Elias stops by for a deep unraveling of the often misunderstood story behind the 1949 merger that created the National Basketball Association (NBA) as we know it today. 

Drawing from his historically essential 2024 book The Birth of the Modern NBA: Pro Basketball in the Year of the Merger, 1949-1950, Elias takes us back to the pivotal moment when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged, uniting disparate big-city teams with small-town clubs - and setting the stage for professional basketball’s future in the US.

We dive into the tensions between East Coast metropolises and Midwestern industrial towns; the unexpected power struggles between the last BAA champion (and superstar George Mikan-led) Minneapolis Lakers and the final NBL winning Anderson (Indiana) Packers; and the NBA's early challenges with segregation, cultural divides, and an uncertain post-WWII American economy.

Elias also shares some of the wildest and most fascinating anecdotes from his research, including mob-connected team owners, bizarre halftime performances, airport mishaps, and brushes with history-making figures like Jackie Robinson, Chuck Connors, and even a young pre-politics Gerald R. Ford.

Step back as we revisit the NBA’s chaotic, colorful, and often overlooked first season - one that shaped the league for generations to come. 

The Birth of the Modern NBA: Pro Basketball in the Year of the Merger, 1949-1950 - buy here

EPISODE 384: Basketball's Nomadic Nets - With Rick Laughland

Strap in and try to keep up, as we attempt to follow the peripatetic 58-year journey of one of the NBA's most wandering franchises - with New York-area sports beat reporter Rick Laughland ("A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn").

Today's Brooklyn Nets club began its life in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans - a charter member of the American Basketball Association, playing at the Teaneck Armory. A year later, they moved to Long Island (LI Arena, then Island Garden, then Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) to become the New York Nets, winning two ABA championships (1974, 1976) behind superstar Julius Erving. 

Absorbed into the NBA in 1976, the team struggled financially and was forced to sell Erving, leading to early-season struggles. In 1977, they relocated to the Garden State as the New Jersey Nets, playing at Rutgers Athletic Center (now Jersey Mike's Arena) before moving to Brendan Byrne (aka Meadowlands) Arena in 1981.  

After almost becoming the "Swamp Dragons" in 1994, the early 2000s saw breakthrough success with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson - making back-to-back NBA Finals runs in 2002 and 2003. 

Before a brief move to Newark's Prudential Center (2010–12), the team relocated to Brooklyn's purpose-built Barclays Center, with a complete franchise name, logo and color-scheme rebrand.  Initially building around Deron Williams, they later pursued star power with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, followed by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden in 2019–2021.

Still bereft of an elusive NBA title, will the Nets continue to ply their trade in Brooklyn - or will they eventually return to their nomadic ways?

A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn - buy here

EPISODE 382: The ABA Players' "Waiting Game" - With Michael Husain

After a decidedly meh NBA All-Star Weekend, we rewind back to one of the league's most influential historical tributaries - the American Basketball Association (1967-76) - and the criminally little-known story of how its demise left a generation of pioneering pro players out in the cold.

Michael Husain is the writer, director, and co-producer of the groundbreaking documentary The Waiting Game - which spotlights the relentless efforts of the determined non-profit Dropping Dimes, as it fights to help reclaim the overdue benefits and back pay the forgotten star athletes of the ABA were promised as part of their absorption into the NBA in 1976.

It's a story of players who helped shape the style, pace and culture of modern basketball, but now struggle to afford life-saving medications, avoid eviction, and secure basic financial stability - even as the NBA rakes in over $10 billion annually. 

Husain shares exclusive insights into the making of the film, the enduring legacy of the ABA, and the still-ongoing battle for justice and recognition for its players, and their contributions to the evolution of the game.

The Waiting Game (documentary film) - watch here

EPISODE 372: "Banned" - With Michael Ray Richardson & Jake Uitti

Former NBA All-Star Michael Ray Richardson and his co-author Jacob Uitti (Banned: How I Squandered an All-Star NBA Career Before Finding My Redemption) join the show to discuss Richardson's riveting new memoir that chronicles his extraordinary journey on and off the basketball court.

Hailed as “the next Walt Frazier” coming out of the University of Montana as a first-round pick (fourth overall) in the 1978 NBA Draft, "Sugar" was a force to be reckoned with, leading the league in both assists and steals in just his second season - still New York Knicks team records to this day - and earning four All-Star appearances and two All-Defensive team honors. But behind the scenes, his career was overshadowed by personal struggles with drugs and alcohol, leading to a historic lifetime ban from the NBA in 1986 while a member of the New Jersey Nets.

Richardson shares how he rebounded from that moment, finding redemption through subsequent stints as a player and coach in places like the CBA (Albany Patroons, Oklahoma Cavalry); USBL (Long Island Knights); Premiere Basketball League; and a prolific 14-year professional league run in Europe, where he guided teams to championships and redefined his legacy. 

Now running youth basketball clinics and reflecting on his journey, Richardson proves that resilience and accountability can turn even the darkest chapters into a comeback story.

Banned: How I Squandered an All-Star NBA Career Before Finding My Redemption - buy here

EPISODE 370: Basketball Jump Shot Innovator Ken Sailors - With Debbie Sorensen

Author/biographer Debbie Sorensen (Beyond the Jump Shot: The Elevated Life of Kenny Sailors) delves into the story of basketball pioneer Kenny Sailors (1921–2016), one of the most unheralded influencers in both the collegiate and pro game.

Widely credited with popularizing the modern-day jump shot, Sailors first stunned audiences in the early 1940s when he elevated mid-air to shoot over taller defenders - a revolutionary move in an era dominated by set shots. His innovation not only expanded offensive possibilities but also became a fundamental skill in basketball at all levels.  

As a standout player for the University of Wyoming, Sailors led his team to the NCAA Championship in 1943, earning Most Outstanding Player honors. His game-changing jump shot helped transform basketball into the fast-paced, dynamic sport we recognize today. After serving in World War II, Sailors had a successful professional career in the ascendant Basketball Association of America (BAA) - most notably with the Cleveland Rebels and Providence Steamrollers - as well as in the first two years of the NBA (the original NBL-absorbed Denver Nuggets, and BAA-originated Boston Celtics & Baltimore Bullets).

Beyond his contributions on the court, Sailors was an advocate for youth sports and the importance of education, spending decades mentoring young athletes. His legacy is celebrated not only for his role in evolving the sport but also for his character and sportsmanship. Inducted into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2012, Kenny Sailors remains a towering figure in basketball history - though, criminally, still not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Beyond the Jump Shot: The Elevated Life of Kenny Sailors - buy here

Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story - stream on Prime Video here

EPISODE 365: NBC Sports Broadcaster Tom Hammond

Legendary sports broadcaster Tom Hammond ("Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams: A Sportscaster's Life") joins host Tim Hanlon for a myriad of career memories from his nearly 35-year journey calling top-tier league packages and prime events for NBC Sports.

Plucked from regional sportscasting obscurity in 1984 for a one-time stall reporting gig as part of the network's telecast of the inaugural Breeders' Cup, Hammond performed so well that an NBC executive offered him a chance to call Sunday NFL/AFC football games on the spot. 

The broadcast launched Hammond's multi-decade career with NBC Sports and a pathway to the top levels of American television sportscasting -including other major properties like the NBA, Notre Dame football, horse racing's Triple Crown, and perhaps most memorably, an astounding 13 different Olympic Games (summer and winter) calling marquee events such as gymnastics, track and field, and figure skating.

But of course, we can't let Hammond forget his time as the lead voice for the network's curious, but ultimately ill-fated AFL on NBC arena football adventure from 2003-06!

Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams: A Sportscaster's Life - buy here

EPISODE 363: Sports Promotion Pioneer Abe Saperstein - With Mark Jacob & Matt Jacob

Despite their name, the Harlem Globetrotters weren’t originally from New York's Harlem neighborhood, nor did they start out as true world travellers. This all-Black basketball team, founded by Jewish immigrant Abe Saperstein, originated on Chicago’s South Side and began touring the Midwest rather humbly in Saperstein’s unheated Ford Model T. With his sharp promotional skills and the players’ incredible talent, the Globetrotters quickly grew into an international sensation.

Author-brothers Mark & Matt Jacob ("Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports") step into the box office this week to discuss their definitive new biography of Saperstein, a diminutive visionary whose outsized innovations made a profound impact on basketball - and beyond. Starting in the 1920s, the Globetrotters battled everything from harsh weather to rampant racism, all while building an iconic reputation for excellence and comedy that would captivate audiences worldwide.

But Saperstein's influence stretched far beyond the Globetrotters. He helped keep baseball’s Negro Leagues alive, was a force in getting pitching great Satchel Paige his shot at the majors, and befriended Olympic star Jesse Owens when he fell on hard times. When Saperstein was denied an opportunity to own an NBA franchise, he started the rival  American Basketball League, where he helped pioneer the three-point shot, now a staple of the modern game.

Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports - buy here

EPISODE 361: ABA Memories & Life Lessons - With George Tinsley

From the tough streets of Louisville's Smoketown to corporate success, former college hoops standout and American Basketball Association pro George Tinsley's life is a testament to resilience and opportunity. 

In his inspiring new memoir "Catch as Catch Can: Building a Legacy by Finding Opportunity in Every Obstacle," Tinsley shares his journey from poverty in the racially divided South to three-time (1966, '68 & '69) NCAA champion (Division II Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers), ABA player (Washington Caps, Kentucky Colonels & The Floridians), and successful business owner.

After transitioning from basketball, Tinsley built a restaurant empire from humble corporate training beginnings at Kentucky Fried Chicken (including regular promotional work with founder Colonel Halrland Sanders himself), overcoming setbacks like a devastating fire. Beyond business, Tinsley reflects on family, faith, and personal loss, offering a powerful message of determination and the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities.

Catch as Catch Can: Building a Legacy by Finding Opportunity in Every Obstacle - buy here

EPISODE 347: Powering Forward - With Dean Tolson

During the late 1960s, Dean Tolson ("Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree") emerged as a standout prep basketball talent during his junior and senior years at Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. His prowess on the court attracted the attention of a bevy of college recruiters, leading him to accept a full scholarship offer from the nearby University of Arkansas. Despite literally not knowing how to read or write, Tolson defied significant odds, and became one of the most renowned players in Razorbacks history.

In 1974, Tolson was drafted by both the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and the ABA's New York Nets - eventually joining the Sonics to play under the tutelage of the legendary Bill Russell in Seattle, and showcasing his talent on a national stage.  An 11-year journeyman career followed, with stops in the Eastern Basketball Association (Hazleton Bullets), the CBA (including a 1980 league championship with the Anchorage Northern Knights), and pro leagues in both Greece and the Philippines.

After retiring from basketball, Tolson made the courageous decision to re-enroll at the University of Arkansas, determined to pursue his education authentically - repeating all four years of college and finally obtaining his degree through legitimate means. Remarkably, he returned to the university once again at age 52, earning a master's degree with magna cum laude honors.

Tolson's journey, from his challenging upbringing in an orphanage to his remarkable academic achievements, serves as a powerful indictment of a system that often prioritizes athletic talent over educational accountability. His story sheds light on the pervasive issue of athletes being "passed along" without facing the academic rigor expected of their peers. Yet, amidst these challenges, Tolson's story is a beacon of inspiration - showcasing resilience and determination to overcome formidable odds to (eventually) achieve success.

Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree - buy book here

EPISODE 345: From Vancouver to Memphis - With Łukasz Muniowski

It's a special mea culpa episode this week, as we welcome back Szczecin University (Poland) history professor and Episode 289 guest Łukasz Muniowski (Turnpike Team: A History of the New Jersey Nets 1977-2012) for a deep dive into the drama of the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies move to Memphis in 2001 - and an assessment of the winners and losers some 23+ years since.

While Muniowski's current title on the topic (The Grizzlies Migrate to Memphis: From Vancouver Failure to Southern Success) has been out since October, your humble host not only lost track of the book's publishing date, but also the entire audio file of our conversation (originally recorded back in August 2023) - until a recent cloud backup surfaced a redundant version.

It's worth the wait, as we tackle the origin story of the Grizzlies' move from Vancouver's GM Place (now Rogers Arena) to Memphis' Pyramid (and eventually FedEx Forum), the numerous other destination cities rumored in the process, the outsized personalities involved, the motivations behind such a hasty move only six seasons after becoming an expansion franchise, and the aftermath - including whether the Memphis version of the club can be labeled a "success," despite winning only two division titles since bringing pro hoops to Beale Street.

The Grizzlies Migrate to Memphis: From Vancouver Failure to Southern Success - buy book here

EPISODE 342: "Boston Ball" - With Clayton Trutor

We bust some brackets this week in honor of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, with a look back at the old East Coast Athletic Conference and the coaching cradle of city of Boston - with return (Episode 237) guest Clayton Trutor ("Boston Ball: Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Gary Williams, and the Forgotten Cradle of Basketball Coaches").

Before the formation of the original Big East Conference in 1979, much of DI college basketball in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic was part of a loose patchwork of small conferences and independents that collectively fed into the not-really-a-conference ECAC umbrella for post-season playoffs, helping winnow at-large bids for a still-small NCAA tournament. 

Trutor helps set the stage through the early-career Boston exploits of three eventual Hall of Fame coaches:

"Before Pitino became the face of the Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville programs, before Calhoun turned UConn into a national power, and before Williams brought Maryland to its first national championship, all three of these coaches cut their teeth in front of modest-sized crowds in the crumbling college gymnasiums of Boston during the 1970s and early 1980s.

"'Boston Ball' charts how this trio of coaches, seemingly out of nowhere, started a basketball revolution: Pitino at Boston University, Calhoun at Northeastern University, and Williams at Boston College. Toiling in relative obscurity, they ignited a renaissance of the “city game,” a style of play built on fast-breaking up-tempo offense, pressure defense, and board crashing.  Pitino, Calhoun, and Williams took advantage of the ample coaching opportunities in 'America’s College Town' to craft their respective blueprints for building a winning program and turn their schools into regional powers, and these early coaching years served as their respective springboards to big-time college basketball."

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Boston Ball: Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Gary Williams, and the Forgotten Cradle of Basketball Coaches - buy book here

EPISODE 339: Early-Day WNBA - With Marie Ferdinand-Harris

It's a celebration of women's hoops this week, as we look back at the "early days" of the Women's National Basketball Association - including stops with the oft-forgotten Utah Starzz and San Antonio Silver Stars - with three-time league all-star Marie Ferdinand-Harris (Transformed: The Winning Side of Losing).

A first-round pick in the WNBA's fifth-ever draft in 2001, Ferdinand was a dominant shooting guard at LSU prior to her 8th-overall selection by Utah - a formidable presence inside the paint and outside the arc, skills honed from leading title-winning teams at Edison High School, in the heart of Miami's historically poor "Little Haiti" neighborhood.

After a stellar 11-year pro career (including turns with the league-original LA Sparks and Phoenix Mercury), Ferdinand-Harris is one of the unsung pioneers of the WNBA, part of a first generation of players that helped solidify the foundation for an organization whose success was not guaranteed at the time - but now is firmly rooted in the American pro sports infrastructure.

Transformed: The Winning Side of Losing - buy book here

EPISODE 330: The 4th Annual(-ish) Year-End Holiday Roundtable Spectacular!

We press the rewind button on a most interesting 2023, and peer ahead into the uncharted waters of 2024 with our fourth-annual(-ish) Holiday Roundtable Spectacular - featuring three of our favorite fellow defunct sports enthusiasts: Andy Crossley (Fun While It Lasted & Episode 2); Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com & Episode 46); and Steve Holroyd (Crossecheck, Philly Classics & Episodes 92, 109, 149, 188 & 248).

Takes of varying temperatures fly as we review some of the most curious events of the past year, debate who and what might be next to wobble into obscurity, and conjecture about future scenarios for the next generation of defunct and otherwise forgotten pro sports teams and leagues - including:

• USFL 2.0 + XFL 3.0 = TBD 2024

• Oakland A's to Las Vegas (maybe)

• Major League Cricket

• Savannah Bananas

• MiLB ownership consolidation

• Premier Lacrosse League: from tour to teams

• Professional Box Lacrosse Association (RIP)

• Women's pro volleyball

• MLS vs. US Soccer

• NBA, NHL & MLB expansion/relocation rumors

• NWSL expansion & TV deal

• Women's hockey 3.0: PWHL

PLUS, we speculate on the dubious reincarnation of the Arena Football League!

EPISODE 328: Raycom Sports - With Founders Rick & Dee Ray

We adjust our TV antenna rabbit ears back to the late 1970s for the origin story of one of the most influential firms in modern-day sports media - with Rick and Dee Ray, the founders of televised college sports juggernaut Raycom Sports.

In their new George Hirthler-penned memoir "Unstoppable: A Story of Love, Faith and the Power Couple Who Ignited the College Sports Broadcasting Boom," the Rays rewind the videotape to a time when a new technology called "cable" was still in its infancy, and the American television landscape was largely defined by a web of powerful broadcast network-affiliated stations - save for a handful of scrappy alternative "independent" signals in each market.

While pro sports filled plenty of prime/weekend network TV windows, and individual teams provided a steady slate of in-season games to local indie station audiences - regularly scheduled D-I college sports was virtually non-existent outside of limited national broadcasts featuring only big-name schools. 

It was against this backdrop that an entrepreneurially minded local station programmer and a never-say-no ad executive saw an opening for regularly scheduled regional broadcasts of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball that not only delighted rabid fans throughout the Southeast, but also laid the groundwork for a sports syndication force that would eventually rewrite the rules for college sports media - and beyond.

Unstoppable: A Story of Love, Faith, and the Power Couple Who Ignited the College Sports Broadcasting Boom - buy book here