Saturday, November 14, 2009

This week on Only A Game, Karen Given fills-in for a vacationing Bill Littlefield and fulfills her life dream of chatting with a man with numbers for a last name.

March Madness long-ago ceased to be confined to the month of March.  Karen talks with ESPN’s Pat Forde about the opening of the Men’s NCAA Basketball season and Forde’s March Madness picks in November.  You can read Forde's latest edition of “Forde Minutes,” which includes five young players who you should watch and five coaches on the hot seat, here.

For the team’s first seven-years the Columbus Blue Jackets were the doormat of the NHL.  Last year, however, the team managed to right the ship and take the leap into the playoffs.  Only A Game’s Ron Schachter reports on the Blue Jackets’ quest for hockey respectability.

With the NFL season at its halfway point, Karen checks-in with Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and gets the latest on this weekend’s monumental gridiron clashes.

Critics have said many things about Chad Ochocinco, but no one has ever said that he’s boring.  Karen and the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver chat about trash-talk, end zone celebrations, Planet Chad, and Ochocinco’s new book: Ocho Cinco.

By now nearly every sports fan has heard that tennis superstar Andre Agassi admits in his new book that his life wasn’t nearly as rosy as some thought it was.  Though the “shocking” revelations may be old news at this point, the debate over Agassi’s place in tennis history will likely rage for years.  Karen asks if his legacy is irrevocably tarnished, and noted tennis Hall of Famer Bud Collins provides the answer.

What do Bill Russell, Keith Townshend, and Captain Morgan all have in common?  Why, they’re conversation topics when Karen and Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce wrap-up the week’s sports news, of course.

You’ve heard of horse racing, stock car racing, and ski racing.  But on the tiny Indonesian island of Madura, racing bulls has been a local tradition for centuries.  Only A Game’s Chad Bouchard examines the ancient Maduran test of manhood.