Saturday, July 24, 2010

160 million Americans tuned in to ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup. Roger Bennett talks about the future of the MLS as it tries to keep America's attention fixated on soccer.

Across the country, kayakers and canoe paddlers are looking to access more rivers in remote wilderness areas. This has upset landowners who argue allowing boats through their rivers violates their private property rights. North Country Public Radio’s Brian Mann reports on the dispute.

For the first time in a decade, the Texas Rangers, perennial bottom-feeders in the AL West, find themselves in a position to make a playoff run. But the team’s success has been overshadowed by complications in their sale that culminated in team president (and potential buyer) Nolan Ryan suing his own team. Bill talks to Ken Belson of The New York Times to try to make sense of the Rangers’ financial mess.

Most NFL players think about careers in announcing or coaching after their playing days come to an end. Not Tennessee Titans draftee and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle. He plans become a neurosurgeon after his time in the NFL. Incredibly, these plans have some doubting his commitment to football. Only A Game’s Ron Schachter reports.

Bill responds to listeners in Only A Game’s Electronic Mailbag.

Cheating in college football has gotten so bad that even Nick Saban has called out agents as “pimps.” Bill speaks with Charlie Pierce about what the NCAA should do, and Charlie comments on Brett Favre’s agent joining the rest of the human race by becoming fed up with the quarterback’s retirement waffling.

Bill talks with Peter Heller, author of the new book Kook, which describes how Heller threw himself into the strange culture of surfing and how he discovered a newfound appreciation for the ocean during his six month journey trying to find the perfect wave.

(For our Boston area listeners, please note that our evening broadcast time has changed on 90.9 WBUR. We now air at 7:00am and 7:00pm every Saturday.)