Podcast appearances and mentions of bill littlefield

Steve Biondolillo, organizer of the National Baseball Poetry Festival, and Bill Littlefield, a former WBUR host who will read poetry at Polar Park in Worcester this weekend, say there's plenty poetic about the the national pastime.

The book is set in an upper-middle-class Boston suburb, where some terrible things happen in the characters' lives, but acts of mercy -- big and small -- sustain them.

For 25 years Bill Littlefield's infectious laugh and thoughtful conversation made NPR's Only a Game much more than a national sports show. Now, the narrator of his new novel "Mercy" shares Littlefield's introspection. He joins us. And, NPR staff and contributors weigh in on their favorite games of 2022 so far. Here & Now's James Perkins Mastromarino breaks down some of the picks.

For the very last week of Only A Game, we're bringing back some of our favorites. NPR host Peter Sagal drops by with a story about running and male body image. Also, we revisit the stories of Alfred "Tup" Holmes, who fought to desegregate golf in Atlanta in the 1950s, and Leo Ferris, a basketball pioneer who continues to be snubbed by the Naismith Hall of Fame. Plus, Bill Littlefield returns for one last rhyme, and the OAG staff imagines a World Series apocalypse. Join us!

On the last new episode of Only A Game, producer Martin Kessler revisits a childhood meeting with Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra. Also, Doris Kearns Goodwin explains how baseball made her a better historian. And, producer Gary Waleik revisits the very first episode of Only A Game — and the precedent it set for the next 27 years. And Cari Champion and Jemele Hill discuss their time at ESPN and their new show, "Stick to Sports." Plus, Bill Littlefield returns for a conversation with Charlie Pierce. Join us!

Where Bob and Matt provide their hot takes on hubs, bubbles, and other silliness. +++So, we started talking about the NHL Hubs, the NBA Bubble, and bringing sports back. How will these playoffs work? Which league has the best subplots? Which leagues will actually finish their seasons? What eventuality will cause Bob to eat his Cornell hat? Plus, an excerpt from a recent article by Bill Littlefield, original host of WBUR’s Only a Game. +++The Rink Stories podcast is produced by Matt Hopf. Musical themes adapted from the work of Ken Klein, The Mo’Nobs, TFIC, and Bob Winter. If you’ve read this far, you really should Subscribe, Rate and Review this show. Like, right now. Please.

Jack Ridl was walking with his 7-year-old daughter when she said "with" was the most important word because people always have to be with something, someone, or themselves. When she added that it meant everyone has to makes sure they have a good "with," Jack's perception of the world changed. We talk about how a simple and profound concept has since shaped his life, health, and poetry.  Additional Resources  Jack Ridl ridl.wordpress.com on Facebook  Saint Peter and the Goldfinch by Jack Ridl (Wayne State University Press)   My Brother—A Star My mother was pregnant through the first nine games of the season. We were 7- 2. I waited for a brother. My father kept to the hard schedule. Waking the morning of the tenth game, I thought of skipping school and shooting hoops. My cornflakes were ready, soggy. There was a note: "The baby may come today. Get your haircut." We were into January, and the long December snow had turned to slush. The wind was mean. My father was gone. I looked in on my mother still asleep and hoped she'd be OK. I watched her, dreamed her dream: John at forward, me at guard. He'd learn fast. At noon, my father picked me up at the playground. My team was ahead by six. We drove toward the gym. "Mom's OK," he said and tapped his fist against my leg. The Plymouth ship that rode the hood pulled us down the street. "The baby died," he said. I felt my feet press hard against the floorboard. I put my elbow on the door handle, my head on my hand, and watched the town: Kenner's Five and Ten, Walker's Hardware, Jarret's Bakery, Shaffer's Barber Shop, the bank. Dick Green and Carl Stacey waved. "It was a boy." We drove back to school. "You gonna coach tonight?" "Yes." "Mom's OK?" "Yes. She's fine. Sad. But fine. She said for you to grab a sandwich after school. I'll see you at the game. Don't forget about your hair." I got out, walked in late to class. "We're doing geography," Mrs. Wilson said. "Page ninety-seven. The prairie." That night in bed I watched this kid firing in jump shots from everywhere on the court. He'd cut left, I'd feed him a fine pass, he'd hit. I'd dribble down the side, spot him in the corner, thread the ball through a crowd to his soft hands, and he'd loft a star up into the lights where it would pause then gently drop, fall through the cheers and through the net. The game never ended. I fell into sleep. My hair was short. We were 8 and 2.         for my mother and my father Jack Ridl First published in The Journal/Ohio State University Subsequently published in Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press)   Jack Ridl, Poet Laureate of Douglas, Michigan (Population 1100), in April 2019 released Saint Peter and the Goldfinch (Wayne State University Press, 2019).  Jack’s Practicing to Walk Like a Heron (WSUPress, 2013) was awarded the National Gold Medal for poetry by ForeWord Review./Indie Pub. His collection Broken Symmetry (WSUPress) was co-recipient of The Society of Midland Authors best book of poetry award for 2006. His Losing Season (CavanKerry Press) was named the best sports book of the year for 2009 by The Institute for International Sport, and The Boston Globe named it one of the five best books about sports. In 2017 it was developed into a Readers Theater work. Winner of The Gary Gildner Prize for Poetry, Jack has been featured on public radio (“It’s Only a Game with Bill Littlefield,” “The Story with Dick Gordon,” and Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac.”) Then Poet Laureate Billy Collins selected his Against Elegies for The Center for Book Arts Chapbook Award. He read in NYCity with Billy Collins and Sharon Dolin at Christmas after 9/11. He and Peter Schakel are co-authors of Approaching Poetry and Approaching Literature, and editors of 250 Poems, all from Bedford/St. Martin’s Press. With William Olsen he edited Poetry in Michigan in Poetry (New Issues Press). He has done readings in many venues including being invited to read at the international Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, and was one of twelve people in the arts from around the U.S. invited to the Fetzer Institute for their first conference on compassion and forgiveness. In 2014, Jack received the “Talent Award” from the Literacy Society of West Michigan for his “lifetime of work for poetry literacy,” and The Poetry Society of Michigan named him “Honorary Chancellor,” only the second poet so honored. His poem “Remembering the Night I Dreamed Paul Klee Married the Sky” was selected by Naomi Shihab Nye and featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine for November 3, 2019. Following the presidential election in 2016 he started the “In Time Project,” each Thursday sending out a commentary and poem. Christian Zaschke, the NYC based U.S. correspondent for the leading German Newspaper Sueddeutsche  Zeitung, wrote a feature about his work. Jack and his wife Julie founded the visiting writers series at Hope College where he taught for 37 years. The students named him both their Outstanding Professor and Favorite Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie (CASE) Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. Nine of his students are included in the anthology Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25 edited by Naomi Shihab Nye. More than 90 of Jack’s students have earned an MFA degree and more than 90 are published authors, several of whom have received First Book Awards, national honors. In retirement Jack conducts a variety of writing workshops, welcomes readings, holds one on one sessions, etc. For further information about Jack and these activities, check out his website at www.ridl.com.

Due to her father’s work as an engineer, Paula John moved around a lot in her youth. She often felt seen but not heard in the relationship with her dad. With her own family, she tried hard to listen, and she expected the same consideration from her local Houston health agency, she told former NPR host Bill Littlefield. When she reached out to the agency for help with an illness, and it sent her home empty-handed after a four-hour wait, she gave it harsh feedback. “She was right,” said Cathy Moore, executive director of Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services (ECHOS). “Some of the things she said were some of the things we focused on most.” Through a Listen for Good grant, ECHOS began regularly surveying clients like John and responding to their feedback to transform the way ECHOS works. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/how_client_feedback_helped_transform_a_houston_health_agency

When Shannon Revels came home to Oakland after nearly 15 years in prison, he found his criminal record made it difficult to get a job. But through the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), he found a role first as a janitor then resident services counselor in transitional housing for the formerly homeless. In this interview with former NPR host Bill Littlefield, Revels discusses the importance of his being heard by a teacher he met in prison, giving feedback to CEO and seeing it acted upon, and how he created ways to listen to his residents and dignify their suggestions with action. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/former_prisoner_pays_forward_the_gift_of_being_heard

This week on NEXT: we examine why HIV disproportionately affects African-Americans nationwide and learn about efforts to promote a drug that can lower one’s risk of getting the disease. Plus, during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, Provincetown, Massachusetts was hit especially hard. We hear from survivors about the impact of AIDS on their community. And, we speak with Bill Littlefield, host of WBUR's “Only a Game,” before his retirement. Plus, we talk with a group of marathon swimmers who attempted to swim across a lake that borders both the United States and Canada to raise awareness about international borders. Finally, we learn about a program in a New Hampshire state prison where inmates learn woodworking. It's NEXT. (more…)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Littlefield talks about his upcoming retirement from hosting NPR's Saturday morning sports program "Only A Game" for 25 years. 

We go Episode #28 of Public Media Daily inserted into your podcast feed. Check it out as we have the latest public media news inserted into here. Highlights from Thursday, June 7th include...1) Bill Littlefield is retiring after 35 years in public radio and 25 years hosting NPR and 90.9 WBUR Boston's Only A Game.2) KLRU 18 Austin is scheduled to move into its new building in 2020 and will be shared with the Austin Community College District.3) All of Northwest Public Broadcasting (NWPB)'s radio stations are scheduled to go off-the-air for at least two hours Saturday for maintenance.4) Former NPR reporter and editor John McChesney, who co-created the national desk, has passed away Tuesday at 78 from complications of leukemia.5) KTWU 11 Topeka will add World to its subchannel lineup in July.6) Reading Rainbow is 35 years old. The legendary PBS Kids program made its debut on June 6th, 1983. It went on to run until 2006, a 23 year run.Subscribe to this podcast, wherever you can find this episode (and there are plenty of platforms to subscribe on) and leave us a rating and a review before you head off into the weekend. Note, we'll be back on Tuesday and not on Monday due to personal commitments.Follow us on Twitter @PubMediaFans for more news and content.Reading Rainbow theme is courtesy of Reading Rainbow and WNED-TV 17 Buffalo with YouTube audio from user fraust076.

Concussion is taking much of the sheen off America's behemoth national sport and leading to many parents forbidding their children from taking it up. Bill Littlefield asks whether this multi-billion dollar business can survive if so many players turn their backs on the sport. Where will the next generation of players needed come from?

Bill Littlefield, Boston-based, nationally known author and long time host of WBUR’s Only A Game talks to Bob about covering sports the NPR Way.

A report in Massachusetts found cases of serious abuse and neglect at a private special education school, illuminating a larger problem. Also this hour, we head to Block Island, Rhode Island, where the nation's first offshore wind farm is about to get spinning. And on Soundcloud: from Brady to Big Papi to Bentley, Only A Game‘s Bill Littlefield gives us his take on New England sports culture. What’s Wrong With Special Ed? Marie walks with her 13-year-old son, who has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum, as he rides his bike through their Norfolk neighborhood during the first weeks of summer vacation. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) A recent report from the Boston-based Disability Law Center found widespread abuse and neglect at a private special education school in Middleborough, a town in the southeast corner of Massachusetts. The report detailed verbal and emotional abuse by staff, and inadequate supervision resulting in runaway students, medication errors, and more. An administrative building on the Chamberlain School’s Middleborough campus. (Shannon Dooling/WBUR) There are worries that the problems seen at Chamberlain International School might be more widespread. WBUR and the investigative journalism unit “The Eye” investigated private special education schools that serve some of the most vulnerable students in Massachusetts. For parents, figuring out which of these schools is the right fit for their child can be a complicated maze, even as the demand for special education grows. We’re joined by WBUR reporter Shannon Dooling. The Sea Breeze Is More Than Refreshing Turbines at the country's first offshore wind farm, located about 15 miles from the coast of Rhode Island, are set to begin turning after operators Deep Water Wind get the final sign-off from regulators, expected before the end of the year. The five turbines are expected to provide most of the power for Block Island, a tourist destination and home to about 1,000 people. The Block Island Wind Farm is tiny by global standards, but it’s the culmination of many years of negotiations between wind power companies, governments, and advocacy groups. Greg Cunningham, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, says the project represents just a taste of what’s possible for wind power generation in New England coastal waters. U.S. Department of Energy estimates of wind resource potential (Credit: NREL) One of the concerns about offshore wind has been the impact on the environment. Not just birds, but also fish that swim nearby. A small crew of fishermen has been working with scientists to gather data and learn how fishing will or won't change around the Block Island turbines. Rhode Island Public Radio’s Ambar Espinoza reports. Root for the Home Team Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, nicknamed “Big Papi,” bids goodbye to fans after losing to the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park in October. The game marked Ortiz’s retirement. (Credit: Charles Krupa/AP) As a region, New England is held together by history and tradition, geography and politics. But what about sports? There are, of course, the Patriots — the only NFL team to use a region to define its territory. They're a powerhouse, off to another great start, despite their star Tom Brady missing games at the beginning of the season due to the deflategate controversy. They've only really held a grip on New England since the 1990s, and they're as likely to be loathed outside of our region as loved within it. Then there's Red Sox Nation, a fan base with a deep-seated love of the baseball team from Boston that stretches from Maine, across to Vermont, and south to (most of) Connecticut. We wanted to find out more about the sporting culture of New England, and the role that sports can play in helping to define us… so we turn to Bill Littlefield, the longtime host of Only a Game, a weekly NPR show about sports that's produced at WBUR in Boston. About NEXT NEXT is produced at WNPR. Host: John Dankosky Producer: Andrea Muraskin Executive Producer: Catie Talarski Digital Content Manager/Editor: Heather Brandon Contributors to this episode: Shannon Dooling, Ambar Espinoza and Bill Littlefield Music: Todd Merrell, “New England” by Goodnight Blue Moon, “Family and Genus” by Shaky Graves, “Sweet Caroline” by the O’Neill Brothers, “Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys Get all the NEXT episodes. We appreciate your feedback! Send praise, critique, suggestions, questions, story leads, and photos of your Thanksgiving dinner to next@wnpr.org.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we meet some of the refugees coming to New England from Syria and Iraq. Our host John Dankosky talks Patriots, Red Sox, and more with Bill Littlefield, host of WBUR’s Only a Game. And in honor of Halloween, we learn about a New England tradition you’re probably less familiar with: exhuming vampires. (more…)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.