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

December 21, 2025

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 (A damsonmedia.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?

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

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

EPISODE 376: The 5th Annual(-ish) Year-End Holiday Roundtable Spectacular!

December 29, 2024

It's our year-end Holiday Roundtable Spectacular - featuring a look back at the year's newest additions to "what used-to-be" in professional sports (RIP MLB's "Oakland" Athletics & the NHL's Arizona Coyotes), and a predictive glimpse into what might be in store for 2025 - with two of our favorite fellow defunct sports enthusiasts: Steve Holroyd (Crossecheck, Philly Classics & Episodes 92, 109, 149, 188 & 248); and Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com & Episode 46).

Buckle up for our yearly mélange 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:

Spring football's unified UFL
Arena Football League 2.0 RIP (and Arena Football One 2025)
MLB's now-Sacramento-and-someday-Las Vegas (maybe) Athletics
The NHL's Utah Hockey Club (fka Arizona [née Phoenix] Coyotes, via the WHA's original Winnipeg Jets)
Major League Cricket
Baseball's genre-bending Savannah Bananas - and its soon-to-launch Banana Ball Championship League
Indoor soccer's new Baller League
Premier League Lacrosse's pivot to city teams and a new women's division
The new League One Volleyball (LOVB) takes on the 2nd-year Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
NWSL soccer
PWHL hockey

PLUS: Can Diamond Baseball Holdings (41 MiLB teams and counting!) be stopped?

AND: Will Michael Jordan, et al. break up the NASCAR stock car monopoly?

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

December 24, 2023

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!

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EPISODE 291: The Savannah Bananas - With Jesse Cole

February 5, 2023

We channel our inner yellow tuxedo this week for a revealing conversation with the inimitable minor league baseball impresario Jesse Cole - and a look into the phenomenon behind his ground-breaking Savannah Bananas franchise - as it migrates from its collegiate summer Coastal Plain League roots into an audacious (and already sold-out) cross-country barnstorming tour featuring its own wildly entertaining brand of "Banana Ball."

+ + +

PRE-ORDER Jesse Cole's new book (with Don Yaeger): "Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas"

BUY Jesse's inspirational best-sellers: "Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience" AND "Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out" NOW!