EPISODE 439: "Moses and the Doctor" - With Luke Epplin

Nonfiction author extraordinaire Luke Epplin joins the pod this week to unpack the intertwined legacies of basketball legends Julius Erving and Moses Malone, as chronicled in his acclaimed new book, "Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball." What unfolds is more than a dual biography — it's a portrait of a transformational era when professional basketball’s future hung in the balance.

Epplin traces both players back to their early professional years, including their formative time in the upstart American Basketball Association. There, Erving’s aerial artistry helped legitimize a bold, improvisational style of play, while Malone’s relentless presence in the paint established a new model of dominance — built on effort, positioning, and physical control.

Together, those contrasting identities shaped their transition to the NBA: Erving, the ever-visible icon and cultural ambassador; Malone, the quiet, force-of-nature interior anchor. Their partnership culminated in the Philadelphia 76ers’ historic 1983 championship run — a moment that represented the perfect blend of style and substance, and altered the trajectory of the modern game.

Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball - 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 278: Philly's "Last Sports Mogul" - With Alan Bass

We welcome budding sports historian - and previous Episode 190 guest - Alan Bass ("Ed Snider: The Last Sports Mogul") back to our microphones this week, this time to delve into the life and times of modern-day Philadelphia's patron saint of professional sports.

The dustjacket for The Last Sports Mogul makes the case:

"Most sports team owners make their money elsewhere and purchase a team as an extravagant hobby - but that is not the story of Ed Snider. One of the few owners in history to get control of a franchise by mortgaging nearly everything to his name, the longtime Philadelphia Flyers chairman would go on to form the billion-dollar empire of Comcast-Spectacor and cement his standing as one of the most influential businessmen in the city’s history. 

"Snider was ambitious and entrepreneurial, though extraordinarily demanding of those who worked for him. He was affectionate with his loved ones, yet often showed a surprising lack of emotional intelligence. His staunch capitalist beliefs contrasted his progressive-minded views on the business of hockey and in sharing his wealth with those in need. 

"The Last Sports Mogul embraces all sides of Snider to form a complex portrait of the unparalleled figure once named Philadelphia’s greatest mover and shaker of the millennium." 

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Ed Snider: The Last Sports Mogul - buy book here

EPISODE 241: Philadelphia's Spectrum - With Lou Scheinfeld

Our GPS coordinates take us back to the "City of Brotherly Love" this week for a fond, first-person reminiscence of Philadelphia's legendary Spectrum - with one of its chief managerial architects, Lou Scheinfeld ("Blades, Bands and Ballers: How 'Flash and Cash' Rescued the Flyers and Created Philadelphia’s Greatest Showplace").

A state-of-the-art indoor sports and events mecca upon its opening in September of 1967, the facility dubbed "America's Showplace" was Philly's first ​true ​modern indoor arena - built ​quickly (in roughly a year) and specifically for the city's new NHL expansion franchise (the Flyers) - one that Scheinfeld and NFL Eagles co-owners Ed Snider, Jerry Wolman and Earl Foreman helped originally secure.

The Spectrum was an instant hit for the freshman Flyers - and for the defending NBA champion 76ers, who also joined the tenant roster that first year - as well as the darling of top rock artists and concert promoters, immediately enamored with the facility's surprisingly top-notch acoustics.

And of course, a bevy of forgotten sports events and franchises that we love to obsess about, including some of our all-time favorites: the NASL's Philadelphia Atoms 1974 indoor exhibitions with the Soviet Red Army team that eventually launched the MISL and its Philadelphia Fever in 1978; the multi-league indoor lacrosse Wings; Billie Jean King's WTT Philadelphia Freedoms; the Bulldogs of the mid-90s' Roller hockey International; and much more.

Blades, Bands and Ballers: How “Flash and Cash” Rescued the Flyers and Created Philadelphia’s Greatest Showplace - buy book here