EPISODE 431: "Return of the King" - With Tom Aiello

Valdosta State University history professor (and Episodes 334 and 244 guest) Tom Aiello is back — this time for an intriguing look at one of the most politically and culturally charged nights in American sports history: Muhammad Ali’s comeback fight against Jerry Quarry on October 26, 1970, in Atlanta.

After nearly three and a half years in professional exile, Ali returned to the ring having lost far more than his world heavyweight title. His refusal to be drafted into the Vietnam War had stripped him of his license to box, cost him his prime athletic years, and turned him into one of the most polarizing figures in the country. By 1970, however, the nation had changed. Public opinion about the war had shifted, Ali’s moral stance looked increasingly prescient, and the question was no longer if he would return — but where and on whose terms.

Atlanta provided the answer. The fight was as much a civic and cultural event as a sporting one, staged before an audience that reflected the city’s rising Black political, economic, and social leadership. Civil rights figures, elected officials, entertainers, and power brokers filled the arena, transforming the evening into a declaration of legitimacy and self-determination. Ali’s presence — confident, defiant, unapologetic — symbolized a broader shift in who held cultural authority in America.

Quarry, a skilled and respected heavyweight contender, became the necessary counterpart in Ali’s rebirth. The fight itself ended swiftly, with Ali winning by third-round stoppage, but its significance far outlasted the final bell.

Drawing from his new book "Return of the King: The Rebirth of Muhammad Ali and the Rise of Atlanta" Aiello helps us understand how this night fused boxing, politics, and spectacle — how Atlanta became the stage for Ali’s return, and how the event marked a turning point not just in his career, but in the public embrace of a new, unapologetic vision of Black power and identity.

ALSO: A computer pits Ali vs. Rocky Marciano in "The Super Fight"; the curious ringside inspiration for "Uptown Saturday Night"; and the notorious tale of Gordon 'Chicken Man' Williams, as fictionalized in 2024's "Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist".

PLUS: Your chance to win a copy of "Return of the King" in this week's trivia contest! 

Return of the King: The Rebirth of Muhammad Ali and the Rise of Atlanta - buy book

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 390: Sports Broadcaster Jim Lampley

It's a bucket-list conversation this week with legendary sports broadcaster Jim Lampley as he shares insights and anecdotes from his new memoir, "It Happened!: A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television." 

With a career spanning five decades, Lampley takes us behind the scenes of some of the most indelible moments in modern-day sports broadcasting, offering a first-person, blow-by-blow account of history-making assignments, iconic calls, and never-before-told stories - including: 

• Becoming the first live sideline reporter for a nationally televised college football game;

• Rising to ABC Sports heir apparency behind legends like Jim McKay and Howard Cosell;

• Covering an astonishing 14 Olympic Games across multiple networks, including ABC, NBC, and Turner; AND

• Hosting HBO’s Wimbledon telecasts and reaching Hall of Fame status as the 30-year voice of HBO World Championship Boxing (including his unforgettable call during George Foreman’s miraculous victory over Michael Moorer)

BUT, OF COURSE, we naturally drag "Lamps" back to some of his more “forgotten” stops made along the way, including:

• Play-by-play and studio host for the original USFL;

• First-ever host at ground-breaking all-sports radio station WFAN/New York; AND

• Local news anchor at CBS's Los Angeles O&O flagship KCBS-TV 

It Happened!: A Uniquely Lucky Life in Sports Television - buy here