Golden Girls Sports

Golden Girls Sports

Golden Girls Sports is a weekly podcast examining the many sports references and jokes in The Golden Girls, which aired on NBC from 1985-1992 and continues today in syndication. How many sports references are there? From zings about Mike Tyson and Tommy Lasorda, to episodes about coaching kids football teams and gambling addiction, there's enough to fill an entire podcast series. Trust me. Golden Girls Sports is written, produced and narrated by Dan Saraceni. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

September 24, 2018 • 44 mins
For the final episode of Golden Girls Sports, we'll finish our section on dog racing by highlighting many of the moral and legal issues that threaten the sport's future. But we'll also take a deep dive into The Golden Palace, the show's largely forgotten final spin-off, and look at its genesis, its one season on the air and its lasting impact on those involved.

Hosted on Acast. See acast...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
To begin our two-part discussion about dog racing - a Florida favorite and one of the sports mentioned the most by the Golden Girls - we have to take a look at Coco, the ill-fated houseboy who appeared on the show's first episode and then never again. We'll also cover actors Charles Levin and Bridgette Andersen, dog racing's beginnings and rise in popularity, and the time Betty White tortured one of the show's crew members with tal...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Yes, the sports jokes I missed were enough to fill two episodes. I am ashamed. Here, we finally get a chance to talk about a horse racing legend, a couple of Olympic favorites and one endearing goofball that was a staple of 80's comedies. But first, we'll have to see what Joe has to say about it...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Despite 29 episodes examining dozens of Golden Girls sports references, a whole bunch still got missed. So over the next two shows, we'll go through all of those, which include gags about mud wrestling, boxing and handball. We'll also talk about one-time Golden Girls guest star McLean Stevenson and a forgotten but prescient news program from TV's golden era.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Volleyball, soccer and jai alai are Florida favorites, and all came up frequently as jokes on The Golden Girls. We'll examine the international origins of one and why nudists love another. Topics also include actor Robert Culp and two radically different politicians, who may or may not have played volleyball together.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Possibly our most packed episode! A single line by Sophia leads us to remember the forgotten scandal of baseball legend Steve Garvey, who went from "Mr. Clean" to "Mr. Multiple Love Children" in the span of a few months. We'll also talk about the wild post-playing life of former Yankee Joe Pepitone, the brilliance of Johnny Bench and that time George Clooney appeared on The Golden Girls because he needed health insurance.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
The Golden Girls didn't make a lot of jokes about auto racing, but the few they did make give a chance to dive into the racing exploits of Paul Newman and the career of Harold Gould, who played Rose's longtime boyfriend Miles Webber. We'll also take a minute to gaze with jealousy at people who can experience the Monaco Grand Prix in person.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Everybody loves The Harlem Globetrotters, and Peanuts comics and halftime treats - all of which were mentioned in jokes on The Golden Girls. We'll also look at the history of little league baseball and co-stars Kevin McCarthy and Lloyd Bochner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
The shocking downfall of CBS NFL analyst Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder was a big story in the late 1980's and it became one of the most topical jokes the Golden Girls ever made. We look at that, as well as the careers of important sports broadcasters Phyllis George and Bob Costas, who were also named-checked on the show.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
The Golden Girls was known for great writing, including some hilarious sports metaphors and savage sports-related put-downs. We'll examine them all, as well as topics such as rodeo, gymnastics scoring and American Gladiators. We'll also look at the careers of Golden Girls guest stars Eddie Bracken and Cesar Romero.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Golden Girls Season 4 is here, and our first subject is a New York baseball icon. Not only was Phil Rizzuto a World Series-winning Hall of Famer, but he was a one-of-a-kind broadcaster and longtime pitchman for a weird sub prime mortgage outfit. We'll also talk about Rizzuto's old team, the New York Yankees, and their classic, Tiffany-designed logo, as well as Golden Girls guest stars Bob Dishy and Vito Scotti.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Golden Girls Sports Season Four premieres on Monday, July 16th. Topics this season include baseball, race driving, Jimmy the Greek, American Gladiators, naked volleyball and much, much more. Here's a short clip of an upcoming episode (which also might make a nice entry point for new listeners). Thanks for listening and we'll see you on July 16th.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Golden Girls Sports Season 4 is still a little while away but our second minisode looks at the show's first spin-off, Empty Nest. From a backdoor pilot, to a hit of its own, and to a second home for Sophia, Empty Nest had an interesting history worth reviewing. And Sophia's first appearance on the show has a sports joke worth revisiting.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
April 23, 2018 • 7 mins
Season 4 of Golden Girls Sports is still in the works, but here's a short bonus episode. When the Golden Girls premiered, Florida only had two pro teams. By the time the show ended, things had changed in a big way. We also cover a joke about baseball in which The Girls predicted the future (sort of)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
The Golden Girls had a lot of relationships over their seven seasons, and sports figured into a few of them, mostly as random jokes or stories. This episode, our Season Three finale, also examines a few of the show's most famous and notable guest stars, including Ruby Dee, Alan King and Peter Graves.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
For sports fans, places like the Miami Orange Bowl, the Astrodome, Caesar's Palace and Shea Stadium are hallowed halls of history. For The Golden Girls, they're punchlines and putdowns, as well as places. We'll also discuss a few of the show's most memorable guest stars like Paula Kelly, Terry Kiser and Inga Swenson.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
It took a while, but we finally get to take a look at the basketball-centric jokes made by The Golden Girls. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar make appearances, as do jokes about the NBA's rampant drug problem in the 80's. We'll also spend time with Bill Dana, who played Uncle Angelo on the show, as well as a couple other notable Girls guest stars.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

The title of Fifth Golden Girl could be held by a few different people. But for viewers at home, it was Stan Zbornak, who could only have been embodied by New York stage actor and TV veteran Herb Edelman. We'll talk about the actor's origins in Brooklyn, his breakthrough roles for Neil Simon and the many shows to which he brought his schlubby brilliance. We'll also take a brief detour to recount the history of the venerable magazin...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Bowling pops up a number of times on The Golden Girls as one of their favorite pastimes. And bocce pops up a few times as well, as a punchline for any old Italian folks. We'll look at the history of both sports as well as the careers of Golden Girls guest stars Ralph Manza, Alex Rocco, Monte Markham and Nancy Walker.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
In a twist even I didn't see coming, I managed to make a Golden Girls Sports podcast that's topical to a current sports event. As the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea continue, we look at when Rose was compared to Mary Lou Retton, Blanche was compared to a human luge and one of the Girls caused an Olympic torch to be delayed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    DISGRACELAND

    DISGRACELAND is an award-winning music and true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Jerry Lee Lewis's 5th wife? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Both dead. Why? Because musicians are insane, and insane things happen to them. Why did we lose Amy Winehouse at 27? Was Debbie Harry really abducted by Ted Bundy as she claims? Is Patti Smith not just the "Godmother of Punk", but also the "Original True Crime Girl"? What really happened the night of the Jay Z nightclub stabbing? What do the Diddy indictments truly reveal? All these stories and more, on artists from every genre and their true crimes, in our massive 260-plus story archive. The Dead, the Stones, Johnny, Willie, Frank, Kurt, Courtney, Gaga, Lana, Taylor, and too many to name. DISGRACELAND is music history come to life through audio storytelling as you've never heard it before, with revealing facts: yes, assassins are the real reason the Beatles quit touring—reclaimed myths: no, Mama Cass didn't die from choking on a ham sandwich––and constant reckoning between art and artist––all told through the lens of true crime. This is the podcast for the self-proclaimed "Disgos", the musically obsessed and the true crime heads; the outsiders, the independent thinkers who know that the best history is the history that gets buried. DISGRACELAND is where host Jake Brennan tells the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Get ready to uncover hidden truths and buckle up for truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling. New, fully scripted, sound-designed episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus chat-style episodes where Jake responds to voicemails, texts, and emails from Disgos hit on Thursdays, and "Rewind" episodes from our archive drop on Sundays. DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It's an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are dramatized, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com. To unlock ad-free listening, exclusive content, and connect with your fellow Disgos, go to www.disgracelandpod.com to become an All Access member. Rocka Rolla.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices