Only A Game

Saturdays, 7am - 8am
Bill Littlefield

Listeners can enjoy this weekly tour of the world of sports in the context of its cultural significance, while keeping the games we play in proper perspective. Commentator-author Bill Littlefield hosts this sound-rich, one-hour magazine, exploring sports at all levels.

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2:59pm

Mon July 16, 2012
Simon Says

Blind Sportscaster Bob Greenberg Remembered

Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 12:38 pm

Bob Greenberg died this week at the age of 67. He was a sportscaster who happened to be blind. When I've told people he's one of the most extraordinary people I've ever worked with, there's usually polite incomprehension: A blind sportscaster?

Bob worked for WBEZ in Chicago, and he could be cranky, blustery and loud. But it was a marvel to watch him work.

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3:26am

Mon July 16, 2012
Sports

Bucking Bulls Draw Crowds, And Dollars

Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 5:04 pm

Credit Laura Ziegler / KCUR

The bucking bull has long been the embodiment of the American rodeo, and it takes just four seconds for a strong young bull to reap its owner as much as $50,000 in prize money.

Four seconds is how long each 1- or 2-year-old bull will wear a weight strapped to its back as the massive animal is judged on how high it kicks and how much it twists.

In the past 10 years, bucking bulls have become a major industry. The price of the best bloodlines can soar to $250,000, and competitions take place everywhere from Madison Square Garden to Wyoming.

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12:56pm

Fri July 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Norman Sas, The Genius Behind Electric Football, Dies

Credit Beth A. Keiser / AP

Some of us are old enough to remember when electric football first became one of the coolest toys.

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3:45pm

Wed July 11, 2012
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Former Yankees Pitcher Jim Bouton Plays Not My Job

Originally published on Sun April 15, 2012 3:27 pm

Credit Richard Drew / AP

Jim Bouton is a former All-Star pitcher for the New York Yankees. His classic baseball memoir Ball Four, which was first published in 1970, is just out as an e-book.

Bouton famously wrote about shenanigans in baseball, which have arguably gotten worse since then. But compared to other sports around the world, baseball players are hardly immoral at all. We're going to ask him three questions about people who really know how to cheat.

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3:44pm

Wed July 11, 2012
NPR Story

Soccer Fans Scrap Sports Commentary For Organ Music

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 3:12 pm

Berlin's streets came to a halt as Berliners squeezed themselves into neighborhood bars to watch the European Soccer Championship.

But at Lausitzerplatz in Kreuzberg, Emmanus Church was the main attraction as visitors and international guests filled the pews to watch the June 22nd match between Germany and Greece on a big screen TV. The game was accompanied by organ music by Stephan von Bothmer.

Von Bothmer is Germany's leading silent film composer. He is known for his sold out silent film performances at iconic venues like the Berliner Dom and Babylon Theater.

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8:32am

Wed July 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Holy Cow! Family Finds Baseball Card Collection That May Fetch $3 Million

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 5:33 pm

Credit Heritage Auctions

"My grandfather stuck it in the attic a hundred years ago and here it is now, a blessing to his grandchildren."

A blessing for sure.

As the Toledo Blade reports, when Karl Kissner and his cousins were clearing out his grandfather's home in Defiance, Ohio, on Feb. 29 they came across a box of very rare and very valuable baseball cards.

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10:03pm

Tue July 10, 2012
Sweetness And Light

Going To The Game: The Price Is Wrong?

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 4:45 am

Credit Paul Gilham / Getty Images

Sports is more ubiquitous than ever on television. And sports is almost the only thing that's left, live, on TV. NBC Universal is even going to let Americans see the Olympics live this year.

Nevertheless, despite TV's charm, last week as Andy Murray, Great Britain's homeboy, drew closer to making the Wimbledon final, the word was that tickets for actual Centre Court seats would be scalped for up to £32,000 a pair. If you're not hanging around the currency exchange market, that comes to something like $50,000. For two tickets. To a game.

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4:11pm

Mon July 9, 2012
Sports

For R.A. Dickey, Knuckleballs Are Personal

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 11:32 pm

Credit Kathy Willens / AP

R.A. Dickey's career as a major league pitcher has been as unpredictable as his signature pitch, the knuckleball.

And on Tuesday night, the New York Mets' 37-year-old phenomenon will hit a new pinnacle: the pitching mound at baseball's All-Star Game.

He won't be starting for the National League — manager Tony La Russa chose Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants for that honor. But the manager says says Dickey will pitch.

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