Saturday, May 15, 2010

It would be an exaggeration to suggest that nobody expected the Montreal Canadiens to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in their recently concluded Stanley Cup Playoff series.  Some number of small children in Montreal probably believed.  Bill Littlefield talks with Damien Cox, a columnist for the Toronto Star, about Montreal’s unlikely progress through the playoffs.

The betting windows will be jumping at Pimlico and beyond in the lead up to the Preakness this weekend.  Pari-mutuel windows opened in the 1930s in the U.S., and shortly thereafter stoopers began plying their trade.  Only A Game’s John Kalish has the story of a legendary stooper who’s been making a living picking up discarded betting slips at race tracks and betting parlors for a decade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were knocked out of the second round of the NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics on Thursday.  Leading up to that Game 6, may claimed that it would be the most important game in the history of the Cavaliers.  After the loss, many Clevelanders claimed it was one of the worst losses in the history of Cleveland sports.  Bill discusses LeBronGate 2010 and the rest of the NBA Playoffs with Ohioan and CBS Sports.com National Columnist Gregg Doyel.

A former pro basketball player continues to earn national recognition…by planting seeds.  Milwaukee-based Will Allen has become one of the leaders of the local food and urban farming movements.  He’s also getting ready to launch more efforts to try to get urban dwellers to eat healthier food.  Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Bill takes a peek inside the Only A Game electronic mailbag.

Bill and Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce discuss:  the NBA and NHL conference finals, the re-vote for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and a very new world sporting event meets old world China.

When they were incarcerated on Robben Island as enemies of the South African state in the mid-sixties, a group of prisoners decided that what they and their fellow inmates needed was a soccer league.  It might seem like a curious conclusion for a group suffering from exhaustion, hunger, and beatings to reach, but in More Than Just A Game, Chuck Korr argues that the determination to play soccer on Robben Island had profound consequences for the history of South Africa.  Bill speaks to Korr about his new book.