Conversations with Sports Fans

Our guest this episode is Josh Harrellson who's about to embark on his 15th season of professional basketball. Later this month he'll report to training camp in Saga, Japan, to play for the third consecutive season with the Saga Ballooners in Japan's B.League.

Josh grew up outside St. Louis, MO, and during our Conversation we learn about his dream of following in the footsteps of childhood hero, Mark McGwire. Once he reached high s...

Our guest is Wisconsin native, Carl Meyer, who - since 2007 - has played at least 100 holes of golf each July 4 as a fundraiser for organization, Hire Heroes USA, an organization that assists in placing U.S. military veterans and their spouses in civilian jobs once their military duties have ended.

To date, Meyer has raised $1.9 million since beginning his annual July 4 golf-a-palooza.

During our time with Carl we learn about his sp...

(A quick note about this episode featuring Detroit Free Press columnist Neal Rubin: This Conversation was recorded in late April and then, for a variety of reasons, it's been on the shelf waiting to air. We apologize for the delay and any of the dated references that may be made.)

In addition to working at the Free Press, Neal has also written for the Detroit News, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Las Vegas Sun.

And, much ...

Our guest in this episode is a member of New York City broadcasting royalty: Len Berman.

Len was the lead sports anchor for NYC's WNBC for 27 years and won mulitple Emmy Awards and New York Sportscaster of the Year honors on six occasions.

Those of us from outside New York became familiar with Len through is regular appearances on the Today Show when he'd share the always popular "Spanning the World" compilation of sports bloopers ...

We're live on tape from the front seat of our car again in this episode which features guests Carol and Helena Hill - host Doug's spouse and daughter - who collectively discuss what their first rodeo experience was like during their day at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, Event No. 22 from the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project.

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In advance of host Doug Hill's attendance at the 129th annual Cheyenne (WY) Frontier Days to take in rodeo, Event No. 22 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, we're joined by Jim Walter, Vice President of Visit Cheyenne as well as Rodeo Program Manager.

Jim provides us a terrific overview on the history of Frontier Days, its impact to the community, and why Cheyenne's a terrific place to visit any time of year but ...

Since The Basketball Tournament (aka TBT) starts up again this week, we felt it apropos to check back in with the man who developed the wildly popular Elam Ending that's used in all TBT games - Dr. Nick Elam.

When last we chatted with Nick (S:2, E:33) he shared the unabridged version of how his eponymous ending came to be and we wound up not having time to discuss his other unique pursuits.

For example, did you know that Nick works o...

Our guest this episode is Dr. Shanyn Lancaster, Medical Director of USA Gymnastics.

Herself a former NCAA Division I gymnast at the University of Minnesota, Shanyn and her 1998 Golden Gophers teammates are in that school's Athletic Hall of Fame after securing the school's first Big Ten Championship.

Prior to taking the role at USA Gymnastics, Shanyn was the Head Team Physician for Arizona State University's athletic prog...

Just in time for the United States' 249th birthday celebration, we're joined by Dr. Dan Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University, whose area of specialty is the psychology of sports fandom.

No, we don't delve into the rise of competitive eater Joey Chestnut, but we do spend quite a bit of time discussing fans, their behavior, and the positives and negatives of being a sports fan. The answers to which shou...

Our guest this episode is the 15-year head coach of the Rochester (MI) Christian University men's basketball team, Dr. Klint Pleasant.

Klint also serves as a RCU senior vice president and was just named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan's 2025 Hall of Fame class where he'll join his father, Garth (Class of 2008).

During our Conversation with Klint we learn about his early life as the child of a successful basketball c...

In this special episode in advance of Event No. 21 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project (the 120th Midnight Sun Game), we're joined by Bob Eley from Explore Fairbanks to discuss all that greater Fairbanks has to offer its visitors during the Summer Solstice season.

Bob, a former longtime sports writer at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, also shares a good bit about the history of the Midnight Sun Game, hosted by ...

We're joined in this, our 200th episode of Conversations, by New York Times best-selling author, longtime friend, and 1-time housemate, John U. Bacon.

An elusive fella to pin down we were finally able to secure an hour of John's time in late March but have been sitting on this Conversation for such a special occasion.

We learn about the impact the world of sports had on John in 1972 (think Munich Summer Olympics, the NHL-USS...

Events No. 19 and 20 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project found its way to the Omaha, NE, and Dyersville, IA, respectively, to attend three games at the Men's College World Series and pay a visit to the Field of Dreams movie site.

In this remote recording from a picnic table on the Iowa farm used for the movie, Doug and his dad, offer some quick reflections on the experience at the MCWS and on the grounds where...

We are both humbled and delighted to be joined in this special Father's Day Episode of Conversations by the west Michigan father/son team of Jeff and Johnny Agar. Together along with the rest of their family, they are TeamAgar.

The Agars have been in the public eye for over a decade now following Johnny's stated goal to walk the final mile of their church's annual 5K in 2013. That was no small feat as Johnny, diagnosed shortly afte...

In advance of host Doug Hill's trip to the Men's College World Series in Omaha, NE, as part of his Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, he's joined by Deborah Ward, the Executive Director of Visit Omaha.

Deborah shares a bit about the history of the MCWS (this will be its 75th year) and how greater Omaha will be filled to the brim with not only college baseball fans but also participants and fans of the over ...

We're joined in this episode by Jeff Nelson, a Wisconsin native who first arrived in the Detroit area nearly 30 years ago on a mission (literally, a mission) and has never left.

Currently the pastor at Royal Oak First a United Methodist Church, Jeff is also a huge sports fan.

During our Conversation we learn about his early days as a Milwaukee Brewers fan and how it spread to other Wisconsin sports including, of course, the Green Ba...

In this episode we're joined by metro-Detroit elementary physical education teacher and high school girls track coach, Steve Culp.

Beyond working with youngters by day, Steve is a past president of the Detroit Spartans (the Michigan State University metro-Detroit alumni club) and still sits on its Board of Directors.

A Los Angeles, CA, native, we discover how this diehard USC and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders fan, made his way to...

We're delighted to be rejoined in this episode by Adam Darowski, an Executive Director of Design for Sports Reference LLC. You know, the entity that brings us sports fans websites like Baseball-Reference, Pro Football-Reference, the subscriber site Stathead, and, now, the Immaculate Grid (for professional baseball, football, basketball [men's & women's], hockey, and soccer).

We catch up with Adam about all things Spo...

As part of Conversations' host Doug Hill's "Around the World in 80 Sporting Events" project he and his daughter, Helena, attended the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 Memorial Day Weekend.

On their way north to Sunday evening's destination, Helena and Doug share their instant reflections on attending the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" for the first time.

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