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In this episode of Gangland Wire, Host retired Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins dives into the shadowy intersection of organized gambling and college athletics through the story of Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal.  During the early 1960s, Rosenthal built his reputation by identifying weaknesses in sports systems, particularly among vulnerable college athletes. He met one who could not be bought, Mickey Bruce of Oregon. At the center of this story is a little-known but pivotal attempt at a fix involving the Oregon Ducks. Rosenthal and his associate, David Budin, believed they had found an opening, but they ran headlong into the integrity of Oregon halfback Mickey Bruce. Bruce flatly refused the bribe, setting off a chain reaction that would help expose a much wider pattern of corruption in college sports.   I break down how this wasn't an isolated incident but part of a nationwide effort by gamblers to influence outcomes and exploit young athletes. The episode explores the mechanics of organized gambling, attempts to fix games, and why college sports became such an attractive target for mob-connected bookmakers. The story reaches a dramatic turning point during U.S. Senate hearings on gambling in college athletics, where Mickey Bruce publicly identified Lefty Rosenthal as one of the men who tried to corrupt him. It's a rare moment in mob history—one where a gambler is named in open testimony by a player who refused to bend.   From there, I trace Rosenthal's continued rise in the gambling world, from Miami to Las Vegas, where he would help shape modern sports betting while repeatedly managing to stay one step ahead of serious legal consequences. Rosenthal’s story raises enduring questions about accountability, the limits of law enforcement, and why some figures seem untouchable. I close the episode by reflecting on Rosenthal's legacy—and on Mickey Bruce's quiet heroism.   Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. 0:03 The Story Begins 4:14 The Bribe Attempt 7:58 The Aftermath of Scandal 12:26 The Rise of Lefty 14:34 College Sports and Corruption 18:58 The Online Gambling Boom 22:26 The Fall of Adrian McPherson 24:24 Mickey Bruce’s Legacy [0:00] Hey, hey, all you wiretappers, back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins, a retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective. I worked a mob for about 14 years, and now I tell some mob stories, as many as I can find. And we all know Lefty Rosenthal. We all know Robert De Niro played him as Ace Rothstein in the film movie Casino. And that movie, part of the reason it was so good that Nicholas Pelleggi, the screenwriter, and wrote the book, was able to spend hours and hours interviewing Lefty Rosenthal in real life. He had gone to Florida by then and it seemed like the mob wasn’t after him anymore. They had one attempted bombing of him, if you remember. [0:41] So it was a really good movie. There’s really good depiction of that era and that system that they had going out there. Let’s go back on Lefty Rosenthal’s history to a guy that he couldn’t corrupt. Lefty Rosenthal thought he could corrupt anybody, but he found a guy that he couldn’t corrupt. It was really one of his early cases where law enforcement, the FBI, and other state law enforcement agencies figured out Lefty Rosenthal was somebody, and he was a pretty big gambler. He was a nationwide gambler. In 1960, the Oregon Ducks had a pretty good team. What a name, the Oregon Ducks. They had a man named Dave Grayson and the quarterback with Dave Gross in the backfield. They had a 5’3 All-American receiver named Cleveland Jones. What a name, Cleveland Jones. They went 7-2-1. They lost to Michigan, and they also lost to eventual Rose Bowl champ Washington. But this was good enough to gain a Liberty Bowl invite to play Penn State. Oregon lost the bowl and played in two feet of snow and freezing temperatures in Philadelphia that year. [1:50] But the biggest news of the season was made during their trip to Ann Arbor to play Michigan. They had this potential All-American player named Mickey Bruce, who really was obscure compared to especially this Dave Gross or this Cleveland Jones, who was an unusual player. He was a president of his fraternity. He was a former Little League World Series star. He was the son of an attorney. He was a team captain. He played halfback and defensive back. And there was two professional gamblers came to Ann Arbor that year and they didn’t know much about this guy, but they did know, one of them’s name was Budin, David Budin, and the other one was Frank Lefty Rosenthal. They didn’t know much about Mickey Bruce, but they had a connection to him. A guy who played for the Oregon State basketball team named Jimmy Granada and knew Boudin from when they were little kids growing up on the basketball courts in New York City. Now, Granada told Mickey that he had two friends staying at the team hotel and they needed tickets. This time, players could then were given tickets and they could turn around and sell them to people. Boudin ended up finding him and introduced himself and said he was Jimmy Granada’s friend and invited Mickey up to the room and said, I’m the guy that needs a couple of tickets. [3:15] Mickey was a little bit hesitant, but didn’t know this guy. He’s probably got a New York accent, probably slick, more than likely. He hesitated at first and booted and said, just take a few minutes. I just want to get you to go and get those tickets. And so he goes him, so he follows him into the room and he finds Lefty Rosenthal waiting there, who he doesn’t know and won’t even have any idea who he is till much later. So they chatted a little bit about the game as people will and ask him questions about the team. And Rosenthal mentioned that Oregon was a six-point underdog. He said, do you don’t think a player could be bribed? Mickey said, I suppose they could. Buden then cut in. He said, Mickey, he said, what do you think it would cost to ensure that Michigan won by at least eight points? Mickey plays along. He says, you’re the big-time gamblers. You should know. So Buden said, about $5,000. And Mickey said, that’s probably fine. [4:14] Mickey said, let me check into this. And he said, I’m late for a team meeting and I got to get going. So they made plans to meet later on about 9 p.m. Mickey was no fool or small town rube. His father had been a Chicago attorney and he now practice in El Cajon, California. [4:31] He raced to catch up with his teammates and told an assistant coach about the bribe who told the athletic director, who then called in the Michigan State Police, who called in the FBI. And they told Mickey to go ahead and show up at 9 p.m. at the meeting in the hotel room. They don’t want to apprehend Buden and Rosenthal right now. They want to get some more information and really get a real solid bribery attempt out of them. So acting on the advice of these cops, Mickey goes back to the hotel room that evening. [5:00] Buden and Rosenthal start talking to him. And so they gave him tips about how to carry out this scheme without attracting any attention. Buden and Rosenthal say, we’ll give you an extra $5,000 and you can get the quarterback, Dave Gross, to go along with this scheme. He said, Mickey, you just need to let some pass receivers get behind you once in a while and let them run up the score a little bit. And you’re not going to win anyhow, more than likely. Get the quarterback to call a few wrong plays nobody really ever noticed. And he said, I’ll give you each $5,000 after the game if you’ll do that. He also offered Mickey $100 a week just to call him at his house down in Florida and update him about the health of Oregon’s team before weekly betting lines were released makes you wonder how many guys did Rosenthal have calling him to update him on injuries and everything on different college teams and professional too. Because I know from doing a story before that Ocardo and a lot of the Chicago gangsters really valued Rosenthal’s tips on making their football bets. He seemed to have some kind of an inside track. [6:08] As he got ready to leave, Mickey said, oh, wait a minute. I gave you those tickets. You got to pay me, which were only worth about three bucks each. And so Lefty gave him 50 bucks for the two tickets. Mickey would remember later that he had to roll $100 bills in his pocket, which is typical for a high-flyer, high-rolling kind of a dude like that, have a big roll of cash in your pocket. And then you reach down in, peel some off so everybody can see how much money you got in your pocket. Rosenthal said, hey, I got to leave tonight, but see my friend Buden in the morning, David Buden, and he’ll give you the money. Mickey agreed, went back to his room. The next morning, while eating breakfast with his teammates, he sees a state trooper leading Buden out of the hotel in handcuffs, and then missed Lefty Rosenthal, who, as he had told them the night before, the Lefty was going to be leaving, and they had made a good bribery attempt. I don’t know what the police were waiting on. They were trying to make an even better case or something. I guess they probably They wanted him to go back in and catch them all together with the money. But then lefty left, and they went ahead and pulled the trigger early. You never know how these things work out exactly and what was at play. During the game, Mickey, I tell you what, Mickey played his heart out. He got an interception for a touchdown. It didn’t make any difference. Michigan won easily, 21 to nothing, and easily covered the six-point spread. [7:28] A player will later be asked about this, and part of the reason was he said the coach had called a late-night team meeting and told them about this bribery attempt and asked them if any of them had been approached. Of course, everybody said no. Whether they had or not, they’re going to say no. But this player said it really shook us. We just had no rhythm. We just couldn’t get together for that game. [7:50] Buden, when he was arrested, it turns out he was arrested for registering at a hotel under a fake name. He ends up paying some little fine and leaving town. [7:58] Lefty was long gone the next day. It’s possible that Rosenthal and Buden knew that just attempting this bribe might have the negative impact on Oregon’s chances against the spread anyhow. All we know for sure is they got off scot-free in the end, and Buden paid a $100 fine or whatever. Lefty, but he did get exposed because Mickey Bruce, he didn’t have any idea of what he was getting drawn into, but it became a nationwide scandal. Basketball and football games, college games were being influenced on a wide scale by these gambling interests and Lefty Rosenthal was right in the middle of it all. Part of the McClellan committee, Senator McClellan of Arkansas convened his select committee just to investigate gambling and college athletics later that year. Because of this Michigan interaction with Lefty and college players and attempted bribery, they brought Mickey Bruce in. September the 8th, 1961, there’s a Senate hearing witness table. And sitting at that table is Mickey Bruce at one side and Frank Lefty Rosenthal at the other. And this was the same Frank he’d met at this hotel room. And he literally fingered Rosenthal as one of the men who attempted to bribe him. That photo that I’ve got in there, if you’re on YouTube, Rosenthal fled the fifth, of course. [9:27] Committee here, meetings like that, really what they’re good for is to stir law enforcement and bring people out and bring out and get the public riled up against organized crime. That’s what McClellan’s committee was really good for. They had several of those committees that finally got local authorities and the FBI to start looking at organized crime. And in particular, this is the mother’s milk of organized crime by now is gambling. And college sports gambling was the thing at the time. There was some pro teams going on, but it didn’t have near the action going down on it that the college teams had. There was a lot more interest in college and a lot more college games every week. Later on the next year, Wayne County, Michigan District Attorney’s Office wanted Mickey Bruce to come back to Detroit and swear out a complaint against the people that tried to bribe him and name him and give statements and everything. Bruce, by then, he didn’t really want to mess with it. He was playing football. He had his fraternity work. He had to keep his grades up because he was going to law school. [10:32] But they had a game against Ohio State that November. Michigan authorities thought, just come in and see us when you’re here. But he was out for the season by then. He had separated his shoulder, and he never really played again when they were playing Stanford earlier that year. He wasn’t going to go back to Michigan. His coaches tried to get him to cooperate, but he said, I’m done with the whole matter. In an interview, he said, as far as I’m concerned, this whole thing should have been dead a month ago after it happened. He conferred with his father, and they both said they can’t really make him do that. [11:05] He said, I didn’t have time to go. I’ve got all these school activities that I’m doing, and I just don’t want to go. And he said, the Michigan police botched this thing from the start. They should have stuck around, and they should have got Rosenthal before they left town. There were several things they should have done, and it was a poorly run investigation that probably wasn’t going to succeed anyhow. And he said it had been over a year, and he said, I don’t really remember exactly what happened. I understand all that, and he could have helped him make a case, but there’s an obscure a paragraph in Lefty Rosenthal’s FBI file. And it might explain a little more about why Mickey Bruce didn’t testify in a criminal trial against Lefty. It already testified and pointed him out in the McClellan hearing. But right after that, his mother received a telephone call in her home in El Cajon, California. Now, there’s some, it says name redacted, but you can easily fill in the name. 1961, September 1961, name redacted, El Cajon, received a phone call from an unidentified male asking if, name redacted, can you fill in, Mickey Bruce, name redacted, answered in the negative, at which time this person uttered an oath and added, you’re going to get it, and so is he. I think it’s pretty easy to fill in the names of Mickey Bruce and his mother easily. [12:26] Bruce stayed home Oregon went to Columbus Lost to the Buckeyes again Wayne County DA Dropped any cases Against Buden and Rosenthal For lack of evidence Lefty will continue During these years To run his sports book Out of Florida He’ll continue Traveling around the country And making contact With people in the College sports world Trying to bribe players And coaches And gather information And. [12:50] Cops in Miami were watching Lefty by then, 1960, New Year’s Eve. Police Chief Martin Dardis of Miami knocked on Rosenthal’s door with a group of guys and found him in his bedroom in his pajamas. He had a telephone in one hand and a small black book in the other. Dardis took the phone away from him and started answering the calls, and they were from bettors all around the country. He remembered that there was one guy named Amos who wanted to place a bet on a football game on New Year’s Day. And Dardis handed the phone to Rosenthal who told the guy that was calling in says you’re talking to a cop you stupid SOB. [13:28] During that raid, Rosenthal complained he’d paid $500 to keep local police from harassing his bookmaking operations. He said, you guys must be kidding. [13:37] Evidently, you didn’t get your piece. About a year later, February 1962, after the Senate hearings, detective knocked on his door again in Miami. He came to the door sporting dapper attire, which he was a really dapper dresser, and he had painted fingernails, according to a newspaper account. He said, I’ve been expecting you. [13:58] The detectives arrested Rosenthal, not for bribing Mickey Bruce, but he and his friend Buden faced charges in North Carolina for offering $500 to Ray Paprocki, a basketball player at NYU, and wanted to shave points in a 1960 NCAA tournament against West Virginia. During this time, authorities had uncovered a nationwide network of fixtures who conspired to influence hundreds of college basketball games over a five-year period. In the end, 37 players from 22 schools were arrested on charges relating to [14:31] port shaving. Man, that’s, boy, that was huge. We’ve got these guys going down now periodically that are getting involved because of the apps. And we’re going to get a little more into that. This gambling thing and college athletics especially, but even pro athletics. It’s a corrupting force, guys. I know a lot of you like to bet on games, but it really, there’s a real potential for corrupting the game. And in the end, if they keep it up and people keep corrupting these games, it’s just going to be like wrestling. You’ll just, somebody will control who’s going to win and who’s going to lose in every contest. That’s what these gamblers would like to get, and they’d make all the money. [15:08] Rosenthal pleaded no contest. He got a $6,000 fine for trying to fix this NYU-West Virginia game. He claimed that David Buden gave up his name and that he said later on, trying to clear himself of that, that that wasn’t really me. David Buden did it, and he would have given up his mother’s stay away from what he had to face. That was when the Nevada Gaming Control Board was after him. [15:33] In 1967, Rosenthal, under the watch of the Chicago Outfit, started acting like his outfit bosses and bring outfit tactics down to Miami. He started intimidating rival bookies and others in Miami who incurred his wrath. He ordered bombings of the territory. I interviewed the son of a CIA operative named, his father’s name was Ricardo Monkey Morales. Look back and see if you can find that interview of the son of Monkey Morales. I think Monkey Morales was probably in the title. And he told us about his father’s relationship with Rosenthal. He told him that Lefty had told his dad that he represented organized crime out of Chicago. And he said that Morales said that Rosenthal paid him. He said that Rosenthal paid Monkey Morales to blow up Alfie’s newsstand with a bookie joint in the back. He also had him, they had him blow up a car and a boat owned by a well-known jewelry thief that the mob was pressuring to do some burglaries for them. He also had him explode a bomb. I remember this, explode a bomb in the front yard of a Miami police officer trying to show his power. I guess this guy was messing with him or something, trying to tell everybody he was connected to the outfit and don’t mess with me. [16:50] Morales would also claim that he’d witnessed Rosenthal meeting with Tony Splatron in Miami in 1967. [16:58] 1970s, he goes to Las Vegas at the request of the outfit, which we all know. We’ll go back over it a little bit. Even legitimate gambling people will say he invented the sportsbook industry in Las Vegas. They didn’t really do that before. And Sports Illustrated once called him the greatest living expert on sports gambling. He’ll die in 2008 of natural causes down in Florida after all the skimming investigation went down and people started going to grand juries and being indicted and going to trials and everything. All the mobsters did. Several people in Las Vegas did. A guy out of the Tropicanda who was Kansas City’s man, Joe Augusto, and a guy named Carl Thomas who worked at both casinos and helping in skimming and several other guys that worked in the casino business. But guess who never was indicted? And guess who never even was called in for an interview? And guess who just hid out? Lefty Rosenthal. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Jane Ann Morrison of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Finally, they get an FBI agent to confirm to her that he was a top echelon informant during all this time. They try to blow him up in his Cadillac, another famous attempted mob hit. A lot of people speculate on that. They’ll always say it was Kansas City because they thought he was an informant all along. and never liked him and never trust him because he really, he brought all the heat down out in Las Vegas. Now, the heat was coming anyhow, but he maybe brought it a little bit quicker. [18:24] There’s a former federal prosecutor out of Las Vegas that once said, it’s been said you should never speak ill of the dead, but there are exceptions to the rule, and Frank Rosenthal is one of those exceptions. He is an awful human being. [18:38] Dave Budin, the guy who first approached Mickey Bruce, Yes. Continues in the sportsbook game and draws his son Steve into it. And by the 1990s, the online betting industry has taken over from your neighborhood bookie and a mob just running everything. It’s a multi-billion dollar thorn in the side of the U.S. authorities. [18:59] 1998, federal prosecutors indicted Miami gambler David Buden, same man that tried to bribe Mickey Bruce, and indicted Buden’s son for running something called SDB Global. [19:13] Which later became SBG. Federal authorities prosecuted Boudin under a federal anti-gambling statute because SDB Global was incorporated in Costa Rica, but it was based in Miami. Pleaded guilty and got a $750,000 fine. In Kansas City, during those same years, the son of the feared mafia capo, if you will, Willie the Rat Comisano, Willie Comisano Jr., They headed up a group of bookies that contained the names and sons and other extended relatives of many Kansas City Mafia members out of the 50s and 60s. And they were using the internet and dealing with either SDB Global or one of the other sports betting sites that sprung up in Costa Rica because they were all over the place. Budins were high flyers in this doing business out of Costa Rica. And they were making a lot of money, a lot of money. In 2004, SBG comes to the attention of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They sent an undercover in, and they asked an SBG operator why the company required customers to call before wiring each new deposit. And he got him on tape to say, because we change the names in the countries of the middlemen all the time. The agent suggested that the process made it uneasy, and the employee of SBG said, you don’t have to worry about it. Lots of people do it. [20:35] Well, during this investigation, they also found there was a Florida State star quarterback named Adrian McPherson was placing bets on games that he was playing in and ends up getting dismissed from the Florida State Seminoles football team. He was a rising star, a rising young star quarterback. In the investigation, they learned he’d already lost $8,000 to a local bookie who’d cut him off. He was giving him, extending him credit. Guy owed him $8,000 and he cut him off. So that’s when he turned to online SBG sites. Now, you have to pay up front. So he was getting some money to gamble somehow, and he tried to hide this activity by using a roommate, but a review of his phone records showed several calls to STB, and one time was, like, just before, there were, like, two in a row. And that’s how they were, like, trying to hide it and then pass it off to make it look like there was somebody else making the bet. He eventually gets arrested. He pleads to lesser charges. But one of those charges was check forgery. And when a gambler starts losing, many times they’ll turn to those white-collar crimes like check forgery, embezzlement. They’ll start stealing from their work, shoplifting, drug dealing. They can do anything like a junkie, man. They’ll do anything to keep gambling. [21:52] I once knew a guy said he couldn’t even walk into a casino because he just starts getting a rush. He just can’t stay away from the machines once he walks in. So he totally has to stay out. Adrian McPherson, he was also an all-star baseball player. Even though he is kicked out of college ball for betting on his own team, he then gets drafted. The New Orleans Saints in 2005 draft him. They want him as their starting quarterback. But they also drafted a guy named Drew Brees, who ended up leading him to the Super Bowl in 2006. [22:27] Now, later in that season or during that season, the Tennessee Titan mascot will accidentally hit McPherson with a golf cart. He sues him for several million dollars. The following year, he does this. He’s been injured by this golf cart. I don’t know if it wasn’t a career injury, obviously, but they also the gambling thing. And the following year, he appears with the Grand Rapid Rampage AFL team. Then he goes to a Canadian team. Then he plays on a variety of arena football teams, a different one every year almost. And finally, in 2018, the Jacksonville Sharks, which is an arena team, releases him. His gambling led him to a free fall into obscurity. He was on his way up to life-changing generational wealth, and the gambling just got him. [23:17] Let’s go back a minute, you know, all these, I’ll be telling all these stories about these low rents and degenerate gamblers. Let’s go back to the incorruptible Mickey Bruce. He was injured during 1961 during his senior year. His last game was in 1961 against Stanford. His three seasons of Oregon, he rushed 29 times for 128 yards. At one touchdown, he caught 10 passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, he intercepted six passes in the last season, returned six punts for an 11-yard average. He ends up being drafted in the 24th round of the 1962 AFL draft by the Oakland Raiders, but he never pursued a professional football career. Instead, he followed his father’s footsteps. He went to law school and became a lawyer out in California. [24:08] Michael J. Bruce, his story goes really beyond the gridiron. He’s on that very short list of individuals who have implicated gangsters, pointed them out in court, and survived. And he prospered from then on under [24:20] his own name. He didn’t go in witness protection or anything like that. He might not have agreed to prosecute Lefty going back to Michigan for that other case, but he did stand up and point at Lefty Rosenthal and say, he’s the one that tried to bribe me. 1981, Mickey Bruce will get the Leo Harris Award. Presented to alumni, alumnus Letterman, who have been out of college for 20 years and have demonstrated continuous service and leadership to the university. Some of the other, Alberto Salazar went to Oregon. He got it. A guy named Dan Fouts, I know that name, Johnny Robinson, Bill Dellinger. [25:02] So guys, it’s much better to get a Lifetime Achievement Award for doing good than to get a car bomb or to die in obscurity. So thanks, guys. That’s the story of Lefty Rosenthal and his earlier years before the skimming and really the story of a tribute to Mickey Bruce, a guy that stood up and did the right thing when it needed to be done. Thanks, guys. And don’t forget, stand up and go to your computer and order one of my books online or rent one of my movies or look at my website and see what you like there. Make a donation, if you will. I got expenses. Don’t usually ask for. I got ads. They just cover some things and then other things. Some of these FOIA things cost a lot of money and got a few expenses. Anyhow, so thanks a lot, guys. But mostly, I appreciate your loyalty and all the comments that you make on my YouTube channel and on the Gangland Wire podcast group. It’s inspiring. It really, truly is inspiring. It keeps me coming back. Thanks, guys.

1 Timothy 4:8 NIV “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”   *Transcription Below*   Brian Smith, author of The Christian Athlete: Glorifying God in Sports, is a staff member with Athletes in Action and a cross-country coach at Lowell High School. A former collegiate runner at Wake Forest University, he earned a BA in Communications and Journalism before completing his MA in Theology and Sports Studies at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. Brian lives in Lowell, MI with his wife and three children. You can find him on Twitter @BrianSmithAIA.   Ed Uszynski is an author, speaker, and sports minister with over three decades' experience discipling college and professional athletes. With a heart for reconciliation and justice, he also works as a racial literacy consultant and marriage conference speaker, blending Biblical wisdom with practical living in the midst of complex cultural realities. He has two theological degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. He and his wife Amy have four children and live in Xenia, Ohio.   The Christian Athlete Website   Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Sam Leman Eureka   Questions and Topics We Cover: What is one of kids' greatest game day complaints?  Is it true that young athletic success is a predictor of adult athletic success? What are a few tips for instilling a heart of gratitude in our young athlete, rather than entitlement?   Related Savvy Sauce Episode: 230 Intentional Parenting in All The Stages with Dr. Rob Rienow   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:11)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:51) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka.   Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com.   Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski are my guests for today.   They are co-authors of this recent amazing book entitled, A Way Game, A Christian Parents Guide to Navigating Youth Sports. And from the very beginning, I was captivated, even with one of the endorsements from Matt Martens, who's the president and CEO of Awana, and he summed it up this way, A Way Game provides a much needed perspective shift on one of the most sacred idols in our culture, youth sports. So, Brian and Ed are all for youth sports, and yet you're going to hear there's a different way to approach it than what we've been trained in culture.   And they're going to share some wonderful and very practical insights. I can't wait to share this with you. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Ed and Brian.   Ed Uszynski & Brian Smith: (1:51 - 1:54) Thanks for having us, Laura. Yeah, good to be here, Laura.   Laura Dugger: (1:54 - 2:04) So, excited about this chat. And will the two of you just start us off by sharing your family's stage of life and your involvement in sports?   Brian Smith: (2:05 - 3:29) Yeah, there could be a lot on the back end of that question. I'll start with sports, then get into family. I've been involved in sports my entire life, played every sport imaginable growing up, got cut from just about every single sport my freshman year of high school, ended up running track and cross country because it was the only sports that you could not get cut from at my high school.   And I ended up being pretty good at it by the time I was a senior, won some state championships, ended up getting a scholarship to run at Wake Forest University. So, I did that for four years right out of college. I coached a little bit collegiately.   Soon after that, I joined staff with a sports ministry called Athletes in Action that Ed and I have a combined 50 years with Athletes in Action. And really, that's been my life ever since. I've been ministering to college and pro athletes, discipling them, helping them figure out what does that actually look like to integrate faith in sport.   Even today, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I coach high school cross country while I'm still on staff with Athletes in Action. I have a middle school Bible study that I run on Wednesday mornings.   Been married to my wife, who I actually met in high school. She was a distance runner too, and she ran at Wisconsin. So, we've been married for 20 years.   We have three kids, a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary schooler who are all involved in sport at some level, some way, shape, or form.   Laura Dugger: (3:30 - 3:34) Wow, that's incredible. Thank you, Brian. And Ed, what about you?   Ed Uszynski: (3:34 - 5:04) Well, my story is very parallel to Brian's, just different sports and some different numbers. Just tack on 15 years. Yeah, I was a basketball player.   Grew up on the west side of Cleveland with a high school football coach. My dad was, but I was a basketball player. I played at high levels all the way through my 20s, got to play overseas.   I mean, this was a long time ago, but I got everything I could out of that sport. And as soon as I graduated from college, though, I started to work with that Athletes in Action ministry that Brian mentioned. So, I've been working with college and professional athletes for 34 years now.   And same, coached at different levels, have four kids. Amy and I have been married for 26 years. We have four kids, three are in college, and one's in ninth grade, who has a game this afternoon, actually.   So, we've just been going to games and have been involved in going to sports stuff for the last 20 years with our kids. And really what happened with Brian, and I is that we looked up a decade ago and realized this youth sports thing was a fast train that was moving in directions that we weren't used to ourselves, even though we've been around sports our whole life. It's like, there's something different happening now.   And then thinking about it as Christians, like, how do we do this well as Christ followers? We don't want to separate from it. We don't want to just go for the ride. How do we do this as Christian people? And that's what got us talking about it and eventually led to this book.   Laura Dugger: (5:05 - 5:23) Well, the book was easy to read and incredible. And I'd like to start there where you begin, even where you go back before going forward. So, when you're looking back, what are the factors at play that changed youth sports over time?   Ed Uszynski: (5:26 - 6:17) Well, I'll say this and then Brian, maybe you jump in and throw a couple of them out there. I mean, youth sports is a $40 billion industry today, which is wild to think about. It's four times how much money gets spent on the NFL, which is just staggering.   I can't even hardly believe that that's true, but it is. And it's really just in the last 20 years that that's happened. I mean, 50 years ago, you couldn't have had the youth sport industrial complex, as we refer to it.   You couldn't have had it. There were a bunch of things that had to happen culturally, as is true with any new movement or any paradigm shift that happens in culture. You've got to have certain things be true all at the same time that make it possible.   So, Brian, what were a couple of those? Again, I'll throw it over to you. There's six of them that we talk about in the book. And I think it's really fascinating because I'm a history guy.   Brian Smith: (6:18 - 8:40) Yeah. And we can obviously double click on any of these, Laura, that you want to, but we talk about how the college admissions process became an avenue where youth sports parents saw, man, if we can get our kids involved in some extracurriculars and kind of tag on high level athlete to their resume, it actually helps with the college admissions process. And so even the idea of college scholarships became an opportunity for youth sports parents to get their kids involved.   And then, yeah, maybe sports can actually get them into college. We talk about the economic shifts that happen, the rise of safetyism and helicopter parenting. ESPN was a massive one in 1979.   This thing called ESPN starts, and we get 24-7 coverage of sports, which they started exploring even early on. What does it look like to give coverage to something like Little League World Series and saw that it didn't really matter how young the sport was, it's going to draw a national audience. And so, we've almost been discipled by ESPN really over the last 50 years with this consistent coverage.   We talk about the rise of the sports complex. This one to me is like the most fascinating out of all of them. In 1997, Disney decided to try to get more people to come to their parks.   They built a sports complex, just a massive sports complex. The idea was, are the older kids getting sick of the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Disney princesses? So, let's build a sports complex and maybe it'll be something else that will draw this older crowd too.   And what happened was, I mean, a lot of people started coming to it, but kind of the stake in the ground game changer was when 9-11 hit. In the months and years after that, they saw a lot less people go to their parks, but population actually doubled going to the sports complex, which is wild to think that people were afraid to go to theme parks for a vacation, but they were willing to travel across state lines to play sports at the Disney complex. So other cities and municipalities took notice of that.   Today, there's over 30,000 sports complexes like Disney's, which again, this is all adding to the system of the youth sports industrial complex. Did I miss any, Ed?   Ed Uszynski: (8:41 - 10:47) Well, no, and that's good. And the reason why we even put all that on the table, again, everybody kind of intuitively knows if you're involved, you know, something's not right. But I think it's important to say this is not normal what's happening.   It's a new normal that's been manufactured by a bunch of cultural trends, by a bunch of entrepreneurs that are doing what entrepreneurs do, and they're taking advantage of the moment, and they are generating lots of money around it. So, it should be encouraging. If it's not normal, that means actually there's a counter way of going about this.   There really can be reformation. But when all this money gets involved, the two biggest consequences that come out of that is our kids start getting treated like commodities, which they are, and we could talk the whole time even just about what that means. But maybe even more importantly, or what comes out of that is that beyond their physical development, most coaches and clubs are not paying any attention to their emotional development, their psychological development, their spiritual development, all the different aspects of what it means to be human that, frankly, used to be paid quite a bit more attention to in youth leagues when I was growing up.   I'm 58 now, so I was playing in the 70s and the 80s. And it used to be expected, at least at some level, even among non-Christian people, that you would take those aspects of a kid's life seriously. And now those just aren't prioritized.   And so, what do we do about that? Again, that's kind of our whole point is, well, as Christian people, we're really supposed to be our kid's first discipler anyways. And part of that role and part of taking on that identity is that we would be asking, what is God trying to do in the wholeness of their life, the entirety of their life, even in the context of sports?   So again, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but that's why we're trying to poke into that to say, oh, we could actually make change. We may not change the whole system. In fact, we won't. Most of us won't be expected to do that, but we can make significant change in our corner of the bleachers and what happens with our kids.   Laura Dugger: (10:48 - 11:05) That's good. And just like you said, to double-click on a few places, first of all, real quick, the 30,000 number, I remember that shocking me in the book, but I'm forgetting now, is that worldwide, the amount of sports complexes or is that just in America?   Brian Smith: (11:05 - 11:06) That's domestically in the US.   Laura Dugger: (11:07 - 11:52) Yeah. That is staggering. And then one other piece, all of this history was new to me as you brought it all together, but it was also fascinated.   This is from page 32. I'll just read your quote. The American youth sports ball began rolling when a British movement fusing spiritual development with physical activity made its way across the Atlantic Ocean at the turn of the last century.   And Ed, that's kind of what you were touching on, that they were mixing, I'm sure, spiritual, psychological discipleship, physical. Can you elaborate more on what was happening and where it originated? Because we've come very far from our origins.   Ed Uszynski: (11:53 - 13:18) Yeah. And there's been a bunch of really great books written about this topic called muscular Christianity. This idea, like you just said, Laura, of wedding physical activity through sports with our spiritual development and expecting and anticipating that somebody that was taking care of their body and that was engaging in sport activity, that was the closest thing to godliness.   That opened up the door for you to also be developing spiritually. And there was an expectation that both of those are going on at the same time. A bunch of criticism about that movement, but it was taken seriously.   The YMCA is actually a huge byproduct of the muscular Christianity movement. The Young Men's Christian Association created space for sports and for athletic activity to take place under the banner of you're also going to grow spiritually as you're doing this. So again, that was a hundred years ago.   And that's not really what AAU stands for today. The different clubs and leagues that we get involved in just don't talk that way anymore. Of course, culture just in general has shifted away from sort of a Judeo-Christian ethic guiding a North Star for us.   Even if we're not Christian people, that used to be more of a North Star. That's gone now. And so, it really is not expected in sports anymore.   Brian Smith: (13:18 - 13:55) And what we're saying is we cannot expect organizations to own that process for our kids. We can't outsource the discipleship of our kids to the youth sports industrial complex or the YMCA or the AAU. It really does start with us as Christian parents to be the primary discipler of our kids.   And there is a way to take what's happening on the field or the court or the pool and turn it into really amazing discipleship opportunities. But it means, and Ed is starting to tease this out, it means we need to change our perspective as parents when we sit in the bleachers or on the sidelines of what we're looking for and even the conversations we have with our kids on the back end.   Laura Dugger: (13:57 - 15:29) And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago.   If you visit their dealership today though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle.   This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different.   I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them on 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Laura Dugger: (15:30 - 15:31) And I want to continue getting into more of those practicals. Do you want to give us just a taste or an example or story of what that might look like?   Brian Smith: (15:32 - 16:54) We keep saying, we keep talking about the importance of the car ride home that it's tempting for us and not us broadly in the U.S., tempting for us, Ed and I, as people who have done this for 50 plus years and who should know better, it's tempting for us as discipled by an ESPN over analyzing everything culture and want to talk about sports to get in the car ride home with our kids and all we want to talk about is how game went, what they did right, what they did wrong, what they could fix next time.   Maybe instead of passing to Tim, they should take the shot next time because they're wide open. They just hit three in a row. So, and what our kids need from us in those moments is less coaching, less criticizing, less critiquing, and they just need us to connect with them.   The stats on kids quitting youth sports is crazy right now. Its 70 percent are quitting before the age of 13, in large part because it's not fun, and a lot of kids are attaching this idea of it not being fun to the car ride home with their parents who, let's say this too, most of us are well-intentioned parents. We're not trying to screw our kids up.   We want what's best for our kids, but the data and the research and the lived experience continues to tell us what our kids need from us is just to take a deep breath, connect with them, less coaching. Ed keeps saying less coaching, more slurpees.   Laura Dugger: (16:55 - 17:07) I like that. And that ties in. Is it called the peak-end principle that you discovered why kids are resisting that critique on the way home?   Brian Smith: (17:07 - 18:17) Yeah, absolutely. The peak-end rule in psychology is known as this: we, just as humans in general, not just kids, we largely remember things in our lives based on the peak moment of that event, but also how the event ends. And so, the peak moment in sport can be anything from something that goes really well, like they scored a goal or made a basket or something that did not go well, just like a massive event that took place that they're going to remember.   But then it's also married to how that event ends. So, if you think for kids, how does every youth sport experience end? It ends with the car ride home.   So, if they're experiencing the car ride home as I did not live up to mom and dad's standards, or there's fear getting into the car because they don't know what their parents are going to say, how are they remembering the totality of their youth sport experience? It is, I didn't, I didn't measure up. I wasn't enough.   It felt like sports was a place that I needed to perform for my parents or my coach. And I always feel a little bit short. We want to help parents see like there's a different path forward that can be more joyful for you, but hopefully more joyful for your kid as well.   Ed Uszynski: (18:17 - 21:37) Well, and, and I'll just, let me keep going with that, Brian. I thought you really articulated all that so well. I can just imagine a parent maybe thinking, was there never a time to correct?   Is there never a time to give input? And we would say, well, of course there, there is, they need far less of it from us than we think they need when it comes to their sport. And again, we can talk about that.   They need far less of that from us. They need us to be their parents, not to be their coaches. Even if we are their coach, they need us to be more their parents.   But there is a time to do it. We're just saying the car ride home is the worst time to do it. And that's usually the time that most of us, you know, we've got two hours of stuff to download with them.   And that's just, it's not a good time. But the other thing that Brian and I keep talking about is how about, what if we had some different metrics that we were even trying to measure? So, most of the time our metrics have to do with their performance.   Like what, what are we grading them on? Again, depending on what the sport is, there's these different things that we're looking for to say, how you did today is based on whether you did this or you didn't do that and whatnot. And we're saying as parents, and again, starting with us, we needed some other metrics that were actually more concerned about what was going on in their soul.   So again, I'm sure we'll talk more about this, but the virtues, how did love show up in the way they competed today? Where that usually is tied to them noticing somebody else. Do I, am I even asking them any questions about that?   Are they experiencing peace in the midst of all this chaos and anxiety that shows up at every game? How do we teach them to experience peace? How do they become other-centered instead of just self-centered all the time in a culture, a sport culture that's teaching them to always be the center of attention and try to be?   So, we just have needed to exchange some of what we had on that performance list, like tamper that down a little bit and maybe expand the list of categories that we're looking for that actually will matter when they're 25. And we keep saying this, our goal is that they'd come home for Thanksgiving when they're 25. And so, we need to stay relationally connected to them and how we act on the car ride home day after day after day after day, year after year is doing something to our relationship.   But we also are recognizing that it's really not going to matter whether Trey finishes with his left hand at the game today when he's 25, it's not going to matter. It's not going to matter probably a year from now, but how he goes through the handshake line after the game and the way he addresses other people, and whether or not he's learning to submit to authority, whether or not he's learning to embrace other people's humanity. Yes, even in the context of sports, that's really going to matter when he's 25.   It's going to matter when he's married. Those are the things that will matter. And we say that as people who are older and have been involved in ministry and have worked with college athletes and see what happens in their lives even after they're finished, and they have no idea who they are anymore.   And this thing that's dominated their life has not actually prepared them well to do life. And that's a problem that we say, let's start changing that when they're six and not hope they're figuring it out when they're 22.   Laura Dugger: (21:38 - 22:11) I love that because that's such a theme throughout those virtues that you talked about, but discipleship and sports are a tool or a way that we can disciple our kids. I also love that you give various questions throughout the book and even quick phrases. So to close that conversation on the car ride home, if we say, okay, that's what I've been coaching the whole way home, what is a question we could ask our child afterwards and a statement we could say and leave it at that and do it a better way?   Brian Smith: (22:12 - 23:56) The question I have consistently asked my kids after learning that I've been doing this the wrong way for a long time, I tweet my question to they get in the car and I say, is there anything that happened today from the game that you want to talk about? And it's frustrating to me because 99% of the time they say, no, can we listen to the radio? And we listen to the radio, or they play a on my phone, but I'm respecting their desire that they're done with what just happened and they're ready to move on to the next thing, even though I really want to talk about what just happened.   And then the statement that I want to make sure that I'm consistently saying that they're hearing is I love you and I'm proud of you. So, game didn't go well. Yeah, you did play well today.   That's okay. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you. Game went well today.   Awesome. Great job. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you.   So I want that to be the consistent theme that they're hearing for me, which is hopefully going to help them better understand the gospel later in life, that as they get older and older, hopefully they'll begin to realize it seemed like the way that my mom and dad interacted with me when I was performing in sport, but their love was not attached to my performance. That seems really similar to what I'm learning more and more that Jesus does for me, that I'm trying to do all these things that are good. But from what I'm understanding about the gospel, it seems like Jesus loves me in spite of what I do.   He loves me just because He's connected to me, that God loves me because I'm a son or daughter, not because I'm performing as a son or a daughter. So, in a very real way, I really am hoping that I'm giving a good teaser for my kids now for when they fully experience the gospel as they go through the life.   Ed Uszynski: (23:56 - 24:47) Another really good connecting question. I love how you said all that, Brian, is if they don't want to talk about the game, is it okay, did you have fun today? And they can only go in one of two directions.   No. Well, tell me about that. Why not?   And it opens up the door to talk about, well, because I didn't get to play or because something bad happened. And again, tell me more about that. Tell me more about that.   Or they say, yes, great. What happened that was fun? And it creates a very different conversation in the car.   And it opens up, again, relational possibilities that go way beyond, why do you keep passing it when you should be shooting it? Wow. And just all the different ways that that comes out of us, depending on sport, depending on their age.   But those are great questions. Go ahead, Brian.   Brian Smith: (24:47 - 25:41) I just asked my son this morning. He's a freshman. His wrestling season is almost done.   And I just asked, like, what has been most fun for you in wrestling this year? And his first thing was, I feel like I'm learning a lot. And that's really fun for me, which he's on a really good team.   He's had a lot of success. He's made a lot of good friends. But even that gave me a window into his characters.   My son enjoys and I knew this is true about him. But my son enjoys learning, which means he enjoys the process of getting better and better and better, which can happen in school, it can happen doing stuff in the yard, it can it can also happen in sport. But for me to remember moving forward, yeah, he he's probably going to have a different metric for what's fun in sport than I often do for him.   Yeah, like I wanted to learn. I want him to win though, too. He's happy with learning right now.   So, I need to be happy with that for him.   Ed Uszynski: (25:41 - 26:34) If I can say this, too, again, I don't want to be vulnerable on your behalf. But then knowing this, he's lost a lot this year to really good kids. Yeah.   And so much of the learning has been in the context of losing. So, you as a dad, actually, you could be crushing him because of those losses and what he needs to do to fix that and what he needs to do so that that doesn't happen again. And it's like he's already committed to learning.   How do you just how do you celebrate the loss? Like he took the risk to try something new in this movie. He tried to survive an extra period.   That's a process when and it's we just need to get better at that. Like you genuinely can celebrate that. That's not just a that's not like a participation trophy.   It's acknowledging now, do you're taking you're taking the right steps that are actually making you a winner, even if you don't have more points at the end of the game right now.   Laura Dugger: (26:34 - 26:54) Yeah. Yeah. And that long term win that you're talking about, even with character and you've talked about fun and asking them about fun.   Is it true that that's the main reason kids are dropping out of sports at such a rapid rate before age 13 is that it's just not fun anymore?   Ed Uszynski: (26:55 - 28:58) Yeah. Yeah. And why is it not fun?   And again, this is where Brian and I are always getting in each other's business. And we know that this conversation gets in all of our business as adults. But why is it not fun?   It's not fun because of the coaches and it's not fun because of the parents. We are creating stress. We are creating again collectively because we're all in different places on the on the spectrum on this in terms of what we're actually doing when we show up at games.   But if you even just go to any soccer game and you be quiet and just listen to what's happening and everybody's shouting and screaming things and there's contradictory messages being sent and there's angst at every turn and there's an incredible celebration because this eight year old was able to get the ball to go across the line for another goal. And what that's doing inside the kids is it is creating a not fun atmosphere. Let's just say it like that.   That's a not fun atmosphere when you're eight, when you're 10, when you're trying to figure out how to make your body work. You're trying to learn the game that you're unfamiliar with and you're trying to do what this coach is telling you to do. And you're also trying to do what all the parents are telling you what to do.   And if it's a team sport, you're trying to interact and play with other kids who are all in that same state of disarray, which is very stressful and frustrating. And we're just adding to it. So instead of removing it, instead of playing a role that says, we're going to keep diffusing that stress.   And again, I'll speak for myself. Too often, I have been the one that's actually adding to it. And so, kids are just like, why would I do this?   Why would I want to get in that car again with you? It's not fun. This is a game.   And so, there's a million other things that I can do with my time where I don't have everybody yelling at me and I don't have to listen to you correct me for two hours.   Laura Dugger: (29:00 - 29:21) Well, and one other thing that surprised me, maybe why kids are dropping out, you share on page 47, a quote that research reveals a strange correlation. The more we spend, the less our kids actually enjoy their sport. So, did you have any more insight into that?   Brian Smith: (29:21 - 30:50) Yeah, this was a real study that was done at Utah State. Researchers found that the more money parents are spending, again, let's say well-intentioned parents, the more we're spending in sports, the less our kids are enjoying. And the more they have dug into it, they're finding, and intuitively it makes sense.   If you buy your kid a $600 baseball bat, what's the expectation that they're supposed to do with this really expensive bat? When they swing, they better hit the ball, and they better get on base. If we're going to buy you this expensive of a bat, you can't just have process goals with it.   You better swing and hit it. And that's causing stress for kids. If you travel across state lines and you go to Disney to play at their sports complex, you're not there for vacation.   You're there to perform. So even if parents are saying we're trying to have fun, kids know when you're traveling and you're getting all this good equipment and you're on the elite team and you're receiving the best of the best stuff, they know it comes with some sort of an expectation. College athletes can barely handle that type of pressure and expectations, but we've placed this professional on youth sports from fifth five-year-olds to 15-year-olds, and it's just crushing them.   It's crushing them. Again, college athletes and professional athletes can barely handle it. They need mental health coaches for sports, but we're expecting that our five-year-olds can handle it, and they can't.   Ed Uszynski: (30:51 - 31:19) And they may not even be able to articulate it. So that's the other thing. They may not be able to identify what's actually going on inside and put it into words.   So again, that's why we're trying to sound the alarm for ourselves and for others who are listening, because we can do it different. Again, just to even keep spinning it back in an encouraging direction, we can do this different. We can change this this week in our corner of the bleachers.   We can start over again.   Laura Dugger: (31:21 - 31:48) Absolutely and make a difference. And before we talk about even more of the pros with sports, I think it's also necessary to reflect and maybe even grieve a few things. So, what would you say are some things families are missing out on when they choose youth sports to overfill their calendar, that that's all that they make time for?   What do you think they're missing out on?   Brian Smith: (31:51 - 33:16) Yeah, I think a couple that come to mind are family dinners are a big one. That's big for us in the Smith house, is just having the ability after a long day to sit at the dinner table together, to eat food together, and to process the day and be with one another. But when my kids' practice goes late, it means we're either eating almost towards bedtime or we're eating in different shifts.   And so that's something that we grieve. I think for me, when my schedule is full, I'm tempted to adopt the mindset that what's happening on the wrestling mat or on the track matters more than it actually does. And it robs me of the ability to just take a deep breath and smile and enjoy watching my kids play sports.   That without an intervention or a pregame devotional in the car for myself, I risk sitting in the stands or being on the sidelines, being stressed out and putting pressure on myself and pressure on my kids and gossiping about why the coach didn't put this kid into the people next to me, instead of just enjoying the gift that is sports and watching my kid try and succeed and try and fail. That is a gift available to me as a dad to watch my kid do that. But the busyness often robs me of that perspective.   Ed Uszynski: (33:17 - 36:06) Well, and the busyness robs, again, if you're married, that busyness eventually wears away at your relationship. And it's not just sports. I mean, busyness, we can fill our schedule, overfill our schedules with any number of things.   We can overfill our schedules with church stuff to a point where it becomes detrimental to our relationship. If we don't set boundaries so that we're making sure we're doing what we need to do to be face-to-face and to be going to areas beneath the surface with each other in our relationship and being able to do that with our kids as well, eventually there's negative consequences to that. It may not happen right away, but I've definitely experienced that.   We've experienced that in our home where it's easy to maybe chase one kid around for a while, but what happens when you add three into the mix and you haven't really done a time budget or paid attention to the fact that when we sign up for all these things, you get a month into it and you realize, oh, we have to be in different places at the same time. So, we're not even watching stuff together anymore. We're just running.   I can endure anything for a season, but what youth sports wants now in every sport from the youngest ages is that it becomes a year-round commitment. So, you're not even signing up to play a season anymore. You're signing up for a year in most cases because after the games, then they're going to have training.   They're going to have this other thing going on. And so again, can we say, well, we'll play the actual season, but then we're not going to do the additional training over these next three months. Again, we want to give parents' permission that you can say no to that.   Well, we paid for it. Well, it's okay. If you want your kid to be on that team and you like this club or whatever, then you pay the money and you just say, we're going to sit those three months out and we're going to use those three months actually to have people over our house for dinner.   Again, whatever's on the list, Laura, that you said about being more holistic and not letting sport operate like an idol in our life where it's taken on, it's washed out everything else in our life. We can get back in control of that by just saying no a little bit. You can go to church on Sunday.   Even if there's tournament games going on on Sunday, you can go to the coach early and say, hey, we just, in our family, we just don't want to be available before 12. Are you okay with that? And most of the time coaches will be.   The kid might have to sit extra maybe for not being, whatever. Okay. That's not going to be the end of the world that they had to sit out an extra game or had to sit out a half because they weren't available on Sunday morning.   It might actually make a huge difference that they weren't at church for two and a half years in the most formative time of their life.   Laura Dugger: (36:07 - 37:36) And a lot of times the way of wisdom includes reflection, getting alone with the Lord and asking, have we overstuffed our schedule this conversation today? Let's talk specifically with youth sports. Is that trumping everything else?   Because what if we're putting it in a place it was never intended to be as an idol where we sacrifice hospitality or discipleship or community or even just a more biblical way of life? I think we have to bring wisdom into the conversation for what you've mentioned. Whether it's worth it, if they're even enjoying it, how much we're spending on it, and do we have the budget to allocate our finances that way and evaluating the time just to see and make sure that it's rightly ordered.   Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips, and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper, whether that's in parenting or on date nights? Make sure you access all of this at thesavvysauce.com by clicking the button that says join our email list so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy!   But if we flip that to if youth sports are rightly ordered, then what are some things that we can celebrate or reasons that you would want families to give this a try?   Brian Smith: (37:37 - 40:09) The massive positive that we keep coming back to is we have a front row seat to see our kids go through every possible emotion in sport, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And then if we have the right perspective, we are armed with awesome opportunities and awesome information that we're seeing. We get to see what our kids are really good at.   We get to see their character gaps. And then we get to be the ones who, again, who are their primary response, primary disciplers. It really goes back to like, are we trusting youth sports for too little in our kids' lives?   Like many of us are trusting that our investment is going to get them a spot on a team, or maybe they get an opportunity in high school, maybe in college. And what we're saying is, yeah, that maybe. And that's not a bad end goal.   But if that's everything that you're investing into youth sports, it's not enough. Like what you have available to you every single day is to ask your kid if they showed somebody else's dignity on the field. You don't know if your kid's going to hit a home run today.   That may not be available to them their entire life. What's available to them every single day is to ask a question to their teammate, to see somebody and show dignity to them. And that's really, it's like, it's almost the opportunity of a lifetime for us as parents who, when our kids get home from school, we really don't know what happened most of the day.   We asked them how it went and we get the one-word answer. In sports, we don't have to guess. We get to see everything that happens.   And again, if we are actually trusting youth sports for discipleship investment, that's a good ROI. That's a good return on our investment. But we need a consistent intervention almost daily to say, no, this is why they're in sports.   Yes, I want to see them get better. I want to see them have fun, but Holy Spirit, would you help me see things today that I normally don't see? Holy Spirit, would you put them in circumstances and relationships today and in the season that's going to help them look more and more like Jesus by the time the season's done?   Holy Spirit, would you convict me in the moment when I am being a little too mouthy and saying things that I shouldn't? Would you help me to repent? And God, in those moments where I'm actually doing wrong on behalf of my kid, would you help me to humble myself and apologize to them?   And God, would you repair our relationship that way? So again, all of these options are available just because our kid's shooting a ball or they're on the field with somebody else tackling other people. We're trusting youth sports for too little.   Ed Uszynski: (40:10 - 41:10) That's all big boy and big girl stuff. It just is. I don't normally naturally do any of that.   I have to be coached into that. I have to be discipled myself. I have to work through my own issues, my own baggage, my own fears about the future, my own idolatrous holding onto this imagined future that I have for my kid, irrespective of what God may or may not want.   I've got my own resentment. I've got my own regrets from the past. I wish things had gone differently for me, so I'm going to make sure they go different for you when it comes to sports.   And it's hard to look in the mirror and admit that I have anger issues. I mean, youth sports create a great opportunity for me to get up all my pent-up frustration from the day. We've given ourselves permission to do that, in most cases, to just yell and yell at refs and gripe about coaches and yell at kids.   Brian Smith: (41:10 - 41:31) Because that's what we do at the TV, right? When our favorite team is playing, we've conditioned ourselves to say, awful call, that was terrible. Then we get on social media and we complain about it.   We are discipling ourselves to this is how it's normative to respond within the context of sports. Then we carry all that baggage to our six-year-old soccer game.   Laura Dugger: (41:33 - 42:02) Well, I love how you keep pointing it back toward character and discipleship. You clearly state throughout the book, sports don't develop character, people do. But could you maybe elaborate on that a little bit more and share more now that we've listed pros and cons, you still list a completely different way that we can meaningfully participate while also pushing back?   Brian Smith: (42:04 - 43:49) I'll start with the first part, and then you can answer the second. We use the handshake line as a great example of why character needs to be taught to our kids. If you just watch a normal handshake line left without coaching, the kids are going through it, especially the ones who lose with their head down, they have limp hands, there's no eye contact, and they're mumbling good game, good game.   Sometimes they don't even say it, they'll say GG stands for good game. They don't just learn character by going through the handshake line. If anything, that's going through it like that without any sort of intervention or coaching, that's malforming their character.   That's teaching them when things don't go well, that it's okay for them not to be a big boy or a big girl and look somebody in the eye and congratulate them. What needs to happen? An adult needs to step in and say, hey, as we go through the handshake line, whether you win or lose, here's how we do it with class.   We shake somebody's hand, we look them in the eye, and we say good game. Even if in those moments we don't actually mean it, we still show them dignity and honor. And then when we're done going through the handshake line, guess what we're going to do?   We're going to run down the refs who are trying to get in their car and get out of here, and we're going to give them a high five and say, thank you so much for reffing today. That stuff needs to be taught. Our kids don't just come out of the womb knowing how to do that.   We have to teach them how to do it. Sometimes good coaches will do that, but the more and more we get sucked up into the sports industrial complex, we're getting well-intentioned coaches, but we're getting coaches who care more about the big W, the win, than the character formation stuff that happens.   Ed Uszynski: (43:49 - 45:27) They need to keep hearing it over and over again. I have a ninth grade Bible study in my house the other day with athletes and a whole bunch of my son's basketball team. Exactly what Brian just said, I actually was like, wow, I've got them here.   There was a big blow up at a game the other day, and we wound up talking about it. I said, I'm going to take this opportunity actually to say what Brian just said. When you go through a handshake line, this is how you go through it.   I watched what happened in the game a couple days later. Basically, they did the exact opposite of what I told them to do, and they lost. It was just what Brian said.   They went through limp handed. They didn't look anybody in the face, and they weren't even saying anything. I just chuckled to myself, and you know how this is as a parent.   They may or may not do it. Of course, those aren't my kids. I have more stewardship over my child, who actually, he is doing what I've asked him to do because I've re-emphasized it across time now.   It's not a failure because they didn't do what I said. Again, the pouty side of me wants to be like, forget it. I'm just not even going to try anymore.   It's like, no, they're kids. That was the first time they've heard that. They're going to do what their patterns have, the muscle memory that's been created by their patterns, just like we do as adults.   The next time I have a chance to bring that up again, I'm not going to shame them. I'm just going to go over it again with them. Here's how we do it.   It's super hard to do this, guys, when you just want to be violent with people or you want to cry. You got to pull yourself together. That's what big men do.   That's what big women do in life. They pull themselves together in those moments and do the right thing.   Brian Smith: (45:28 - 46:01) You don't know whether the fifth time you say it is going to stick or the 50th time. Your responsibility as the Christ-following parent is to do it the sixth time and the seventh time and the seventh time and trust that God is going to take those moments and do what he does. We're ultimately not responsible for our kids' behavior.   We're responsible for pointing them in the right direction, and then hopefully, yeah, the Holy Spirit steps in and transforms and changes and convicts in those moments, but it might take some time.   Ed Uszynski: (46:02 - 47:47) Tom Bilyeu So that's how you push back, Laura. You were asking that. How do we push back without being just completely involved in it or going for the same ride that everybody else is going for?   There's just little moments like that scattered throughout. Literally, every day that my kids are involved in youth sports, the car ride over, what happens on the way home, how we talk about it, what happens during the game and what we wind up talking about out of that, the side conversations that happen that just get brought up apart from games of how we interact with people and so-and-so looks like they're struggling. What do you know about that?   That's how we push back, that in our corner of the bleachers, oh, how we interact with other parents. We haven't even talked about that yet, that I can take an interest in more than just my own kid in the bleachers and spend way more energy actually in cheering for other kids and just trying to give them confidence and spend way less time trying to direct that at my own child who knows that I'm there. In fact, my side kid has said he doesn't want to hear my voice during the game.   It distracts him. He's like, I'd much rather that you cheer for other people. It's like, okay.   Having questions ready for other parents during timeouts and as you sit there for hours together, what do you talk about? Well, I could be the one that actually initiates substantive conversations over time with them and asks them about what's going on in different parts of their life. And in having done that, people want to talk.   They want a safe place actually to share what's going on in their So let me be the sports minister. Let me take on that identity and actually care about other people.   Laura Dugger: (47:49 - 49:47) I love that. Even that practical idea of just coming to each game, maybe with a different question, ready to open up those conversations. And I'll share a quick story as well.   Our two oldest daughters recently just gave cheerleading a try at a local Christian school that allows homeschool kids to participate. And this is an overt way that somebody chooses the different way. So, it's the coach of the basketball team.   His name is Cole. And at the end of every game, we saw him consistently throughout this season when it was a home game, whether their team won or lost, he would ask them, okay, shut off the scoreboard. It's all blank.   He gathers both teams. As soon as the game is over teams, cheerleaders, the stands stay filled with all the parents. And he says, this is not our identity.   The world and Satan, our enemy, who's very real. He wants us to put our identity here, but it's not here. You made us better tonight by the way that you played and you were able to shine Jesus.   And we're going to go a step further and we're going to do what we call attaways. So, he's like, all right, boys, you open it up. And his team is trained.   They say to the other team, Hey, number 23, what's your name? I loved how you pushed me so much harder tonight and says, my name's Ben. And so, their Attaway is, Hey, Ben.   And everybody goes, Hey, Ben. Yeah, Ben. Yeah, Ben Attaway.   And everybody just erupts in clapping. And the other team is always blown away and they are just grinning, whether they just lost. So, the boys go through that for a while and then they open it up to the other team and they start sharing Attaways.   And then they open it up to the crowd and the parents are able to say, I see the way you modeled Jesus by being selfless with the ball or whatever it is. So, Cole said that his college coach did that many years ago and he's passed that on. And I love that's one way to redeem the game.   Ed Uszynski: (49:47 - 51:39) Wow. Beautiful. Beautiful.   Yeah. That's amazing. And, you know, I, so Brian and I talk about this too.   And I coached at a Christian school. So, we, we think that it's really important if you're going to play sports and you're going to be a Christian coach that you actually take the game seriously. And that we actually are here to compete and we are here to try to win.   There's nothing wrong with that. And we're going to pursue excellence when we show up with our bodies, and we train for this sport and we're going to try to win. Cause I think sometimes we end up kind of going all or nothing, especially within our Christian circles.   We're uncomfortable with that. And it's like, yes, do that. And on the backside of that to do what that coach did is amazing.   It's that, that is, that is exactly what we're saying. We're also going to try to form our souls in the midst of this. We're going to try to win on the scoreboard.   Okay. The game's over, we lost, we won, whatever. There's more going on here than just that. And can we access that together? And again, that's so rare. Probably everybody listening has never even heard of anything like what you just said.   It would be amazing if a bunch of people did, but that's what we're saying. Let's do more of that. Let's find ways to have more of those conversations in our sphere of influence.   Maybe we're not the coach, but we can do that in our car. We can do that when we're at dinners with the other, with other players and other team, you know, we, we can do that. We can take that kind of initiative.   If we have those categories in our mind, instead of just being frustrated that my kid didn't get to play as much tonight. And I'm that bugs me. It's like, okay, it can bug you.   And now I gotta, I gotta be a big boy and get more out of this than just being frustrated that he or she didn't get to play as much. It's hard.   Laura Dugger: (51:40 - 52:11) Absolutely. Well, and like you guys are doing having Bible studies outside of the, the team that you can instill values in that way and share scripture that they're memorizing to go out there with excellence for the Lord. So, I love all of that.   And I've got just a few quick questions, just kind of for perspective. I want to draw out something from the book. Is it true that young athletic success predicts adult athletic success?   Brian Smith: (52:13 - 53:51) It is not true. This is, this is not a hot take. This is researched back more and more research they're doing on this.   And they're finding that there's not a direct correlation between a young elite athlete and them continuing that up into the right trajectory and being an elite athlete later in life in large part, because when puberty hits, like everything is a game changer. So, this is, I found this fascinating and this is probably going to be new to you too. This just came out today.   At the time we're doing this podcast, the winter Olympics is going on in Norway. It's just like, they're killing it. Nor Norway's youth sports system.   This is wild. They give participation trophies for all the kids. They don't keep score until 13 years old.   They don't do any national travel competitions, no posting youth sports results online. So, there's no online presence of youth sport results. And their country motto is joy of sport for all.   And they're, they're killing it right now in the Olympics. So, like, that's not to say, like you got to follow their model and then you're going to win all these gold medals, but it is, there is something to just let the kids have fun. And the longer they play sport, because it's fun, the better opportunity you're actually going to have to see them blossom and develop some of these God-given gifts that they might have.   Don't expect it to come out before they're 13. Even if it does, there's no guarantee that it's going to continue on until they're 23. Just let them have fun.   Ed Uszynski: (53:52 - 55:55) Brian, we, Brian and I got to speak at a church the other day about this topic. And there was a couple that came up afterwards and they asked the question of what, so when do you think we should let our kids play organized sports or structured sports? And so again, Brian and I are careful.   Like I, there's no, there's no one size fits all answer to that. We would suggest as late as possible, wait as long as possible. Because once you start doing structured sport where there's a coach and you have to be at practices and the games are structured and there's reps, it just cuts away all the possibility they have to just play and just to go up to the YMCA and just play for three hours at whatever it is that they like to do.   And they said, well, it's encouraging to hear that they said, because we, we actually are way more into just developing their bodies physically. And so, we do dance with them, and we do rock climbing and they were kind of outdoorsy people, and they just started listing off all these things they do because we want them to become strong in their bodies, and learn to love activity like that. And I just thought, again, that's, that probably would cause a lot of people to freak out to hear that, that they have eight, nine-year-olds that aren't on teams yet.   They're just, they're training their bodies to appreciate physicality and to become coordinated and to, you know, to get better at movement. And it's like, what sport is that not going to be super helpful in five years from now, even when they're 12, 13 years old. And now they really do want to play one sport, and they do want to be on a team.   They're going to be way ahead of the kids actually that just sat on benches or stood in the outfield, you know, day after day after day at practices. Again, that's maybe hard to hear, but maybe there's some adjustments that need to be made again; to give ourselves permission to say, we don't have to get on that train right now. You don't have to, your kid's not going to be behind.   They actually could be ahead. If you do the kinds of things we just talked about.   Laura Dugger: (55:56 - 56:11) I love that. And even that example with what it looks like played out with Norway and also, do you have any other quick tips just for instilling and cultivating a heart of gratitude and youth sports rather than entitlement?   Brian Smith: (56:13 - 57:33) I'm a high school cross country and track coach, and I have kids on my team who want to get faster at running, but instead of running, they want to lift weights and they want to do plier metrics. So, there's, yes, there's a spot for that. But the way you get better at running is to run.   You got to run more miles and more miles. And I think gratitude is similar. That gratitude, part of it is a, it's a feeling, but it's also a muscle that we can flex even if we don't feel it.   And so, I would encourage parents who are trying to instill gratitude into their kids to give them practical things like, hey, after practice, just go shake your coach's hand or give them a fist bump and tell them, thanks for practice today, coach. That that's a disciplined way to practice gratitude that will hopefully build the muscle where they're, they're using it later in life. After a game, I taught my kids this when they were young and they still do it today.   Go shake a ref's hand. I mentioned this earlier, just a really, really practical way to show thankfulness and gratitude to somebody who really doesn't get a whole lot of gratitude pointed at them during a game or after a game. If anything, they have people chasing them through the parking lot for other reasons.   I want my kids to be chasing them down to give them a fist bump or a high five. And so, gratitude is something that we can just practice practically. And hopefully the discipline practice will lead to a delight and actually doing it.   Ed Uszynski: (57:34 - 59:39) And how do we cultivate an inner posture? Cause I tend to be a cup half empty type person. I'm a, I'm a whiner by nature and a continuous improvement.   There's always something wrong. And I'm, it's easy for me to find those things just as a person. I'm not even saying that as a dad or a coach or anything.   And it's been super helpful to me in the last decade, even to just like, I can choose to shift that. There, there is, there's a list of things that are broke, but there is always a list of things that are good. There's always something good here to be found.   And even as I've tried to like, again, tip the scales more in that direction, I can keep pushing that out of my kids. So, so this, you know, my ninth-grade son tends to just like, he doesn't like a whole bunch of what's going on in basketball right now. So, I keep asking him if he's having fun.   He says, no, like, why not? Or like, who did, why did you not have fun today? So, it's just the same thing every day.   I'm like, okay, who did you enjoy even being with today? Nobody. And I'm like, dude, I don't believe that actually.   I just, I don't believe that. There was somebody that you had some moment with today that you enjoyed, or you wouldn't want to keep going back up there because, and he does. So, give me a name.   Okay. Lenny. What happened with Lenny that was fun? And I make him name it. Like I'm, I'm, I'm trying to coach him through it. And sure enough, he does have some sentences of what was fun today.   And it's like, good, let's, let's at least hold onto that in the midst of all the other stuff that's not right. Let's choose to see the thing that was good and that you enjoyed and that we could be thankful for. Not everybody got to have that today.   Again, I have to have my, I have to be the parent. I have to be the discipler. I have to be in, you know, in charge of my own soul that wants to be negative all the time and say, nope, we're going to, we're going to choose gratitude today because the Bible tells us to do that.   There's something about that posture that opens the door for the gospel to be expressed through us. So, let's practice.   Laura Dugger: (59:40 - 59:50) Well said, and there's so much we could continue learning from both of you. Where can we go after this chat to learn more from each one of you?   Brian Smith: (59:52 - 1:00:14) Yeah, we do a lot of our writing online at thechristianathlete.com. And so, if you go there, you can see articles that are specifically written for parents, for coaches, for athletes, all around this idea of what does it look like to integrate faith and sport together? So, the

Pierre Turgeon, 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and one of only 48 players in NHL history to score 500 goals, joins Neil and Vic for an intimate Hall of Fame Edition conversation. From representing Canada in the Little League World Series alongside Stefan Matteau to scoring 132 points in his best NHL season, Turgeon reflects on his remarkable 19-year career. He shares memories of the Dale Hunter hit, the emotional closing of the Montreal Forum, playing alongside legends, and the personal tragedy that changed his perspective on life and gratitude.IN THIS EPISODE:[00:00] - Pierre Turgeon joins as the latest Hockey Hall of Fame Edition guest, one of 48 players with 500+ career goals.[01:00] - The quirky connection: playing for the Granby Bisons in junior hockey, then getting drafted by the Buffalo Bisons (Sabres).[02:00] - Early comfort in Buffalo: Jacques Cloutier as a fellow French-speaker helping ease the transition to the NHL.[03:00] - The incredible 1985-86 junior season: 114 points as a 16-year-old despite the team having four different head coaches.[04:00] - The meditation of hockey: being in the moment on the ice where nothing else matters - pure presence in the bubble.[05:00] - Little League World Series glory: representing Canada with Stefan Matteau, both 11-year-old pitchers alternating, finishing fourth.[06:00] - Playing at 5'11" as an 11-year-old, pitching in front of 25,000 fans, and the hero's welcome at the airport back home.[08:00] - Life in Colorado and Florida: visiting three kids and grandkids in Denver, spending time in Vail, embracing the Rockies and sports culture.[09:00] - The Dale Hunter hit in 1993 playoffs: scoring the series-clinching goal against Washington, the controversial blind-side hit, and Hunter's later apology.[10:00] - Al Arbor's leadership magic: making the Islanders believe they could beat Pittsburgh in 1993, winning Game 7 on David Volek's overtime goal.[11:00] - Dressing for Game 7 with one shoulder, ready to play overtime despite the injury, learning from Arbor's wisdom.[12:00] - Junior hockey connections: playing with Stefan Richer and Stephan Quintal, now skating together in Florida.[14:00] - The hilarious Stefan Richer story: "Can't tell" his name at a Boston diner leading to confused locals with heavy accents.[15:00] - Clark Gillies' impact: the intimidating beard in Buffalo, later becoming a great friend and storyteller on Long Island.[16:00] - Six years with Benoit Hogue: playing together in Buffalo, New York (Islanders), and Dallas - lifelong friendship.[17:00] - The Clint Malarchuk incident, March 22, 1989: witnessing hockey's worst accident, the army medic trainer's quick response saving a life.[19:00] - Hall of Fame journey: first eligible in 2010, inducted in 2023 - the platform to thank people who helped along the way.[22:00] - Playing only 104 games for the Canadiens but being honored with the most memorable moment of his career.[24:00] - March 11, 1996: The closing of the Montreal Forum, the seven-minute standing ovation for Maurice Richard, walking the red carpet.[25:00] - Being the final Canadiens captain to exit the Forum: receiving the torch from Butch Bouchard, Jean Beliveau, and the legends.[26:00] - Family sacrifice: time away from family, the support system, coaching kids' hockey after retiring.[27:00] - The unimaginable tragedy: losing daughter Jenna at 18 in a car accident in 2010, two years stuck in mud, learning to live with loss.[29:00] - Giving back all the highlights: the Hall of Fame, the goals, the captaincy - all of it for one more moment with her.[30:00] - Living in the moment: appreciating birds, branches, trees, mountains, water - finding beauty in small things and embracing gratitude.[31:00] - Golf as connection with nature: competitive but...

We are excited to welcome Mo'ne Davis on the 10th Inning Talk podcast. All About April was joined by Cheats for this exclusive chat with Mo'ne Davis. Davis, 24, was drafted 10th overall in last week's inaugural Women's Professional Baseball League draft by the Los Angeles team. The conversation is diverse and encompasses a wide range of topics. In the WPBL, Davis will attempt to change positions once again. She gained national fame from her pitching days in the Little League World Series. She changed to middle infield, playing for the Hampton University Pirates softball team, and now she will take on the outfield for her LA squad. Davis joined us from her home in the Jersey area, but is excited and motivated to join the WPBL in Springfield, Illinois, in 2026. DISCLAIMER: THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED LIVE AND HAD SOME TECHNICAL (INTERNET CONNECTION) ISSUES. WE APPOLIGIZE FOR THAT. The Black Baseball Mixtape is in partnership with the Players Alliance, Numbers Game Scorecards, Rebellion Harvest (Sunflower Seeds), and Minority Prospects. Want to join the BBM Discord? Message the show at BlackBaseballMixtape@gmail.com.

Send us a textI sat down with country singer-songwriter Stephen Quinn to talk about the story behind his patriotic anthem Stand Up—a song born from personal values, national pride, and a desire to inspire unity and kindness. From his tight-knit family roots to performing on big stages like American Idol and the Little League World Series, Stephen opened up about music, faith, and finding purpose in the chaos. Whether you're a country fan or just someone looking for a little inspiration, this one will hit home.Full Show Notes

Late last summer, I checked off a long-standing bucket list item by spending a day at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Experiencing it for myself was awesome, and it was made even better by taking my three oldest grandsons along with me. While the baseball was good, there was much more than the games to experience. As would be expected in today's marketing saturated world, a variety of companies from sporting goods stores to those who make sunscreen had experiential booths set up. My grandsons, being young baseball players themselves, were especially drawn to the Easton bat display, where all the attention was placed on the Easton Hype Fire bat, which retails for anywhere from three hundred to four hundred dollars, which is actually cheaper than their five hundred dollar Dub bat. This got me thinking: why do we spend so much on youth sports? Is this really good stewardship? And what are we teaching our kids about spending to God's glory?

On this special episode of the Black Baseball Mixtape podcast, I sat down with Giants' prospect Scott Bandura. Scott split his 2025 season between Eugene (High A) and Richmond (AA). He held a 271/367/400 slash line between the two divisions, along with 41 stolen bases, 65 RBIs, and 10 home runs. Scott is from inner-city Philadelphia and played on the Taney Little League team that went to the Little League World Series, featuring Mo'ne Davis (Scott was the catcher). He then went on to play at Princeton, where, despite spending three years on campus, he only played one full season before being drafted by the Giants in the 7th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Scott's superpower is his character and leadership qualities. He learned those at an early age from his parents (Steve and Robin) and carries them with him everywhere he goes. He is a natural leader and wears the title well. Being a leader and team uniter is something he takes great pride in. And it may be those leadership attributes - along with his on-field performance - that take him to the Major Leagues. The Black Baseball Mixtape is in partnership with the Players Alliance, Numbers Game Scorecards, Rebellion Harvest (Sunflower Seeds), and Minority Prospects. Want to join the BBM Discord? Message the show at BlackBaseballMixtape@gmail.com.

Now that we're a monthly news pod for kids – boy, do we have a doozy of an episode for y'all! First up, we'll explain why people in Denmark are offering their ailing pets as food (!) at zoos - yes, we'll dive deep into the Danish cycle – or circle – of life belief. Staying with nature, move over Nemo - there's a shark that's been spotted off the coast of Costa Rica, lighting up the ocean. In tech news is it the end of batteries for our tech devices? If so, then how? And the search is BACK on for Amelia Earhart's plane that famously went down in the Pacific Ocean way back in 1937. In entertainment news Taylor Swift is finally getting hitched. In sports find out who takes the crown in The Little League World Series. (Clue – it's actually a worldly team!) And, why, oh, why do the Spanish like to toss tomatoes? At each other? Yes, we'll have a special report from one of the craziest, or do we mean tastiest, festivals around. All that and more in this monthly episode. 

One of only 48 men to have reached the 500-goal mark in NHL history. The second installment of the "NHL Wraparound Hall of Fame Edition" welcomes 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Pierre Turgeon.In this discussion, Neil and Vic hit on numerous topics from Turgeon's junior hockey days in Granby to his Little League World Series appearance in 1982 to the Dale Hunter hit 11 years later to being the last Montreal Canadiens captain to leave Montreal Forum Ice with the symbolic torch raised high.Turgeon - similar to Neil - is open about the pain of losing a child but being able to find strength in the good of life and moving forward while never forgetting.IN THIS EPISODE:[2:01] - After acknowledging congratulations for his 2023 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Neil points out the irony of Pierre's junior team and the NHL club that selected him first overall in 1987.[3:05] - A natural talent, Turgeon speaks about his early years when he racked up 114 points as a 16-year-old despite playing for four different coached in his first of two seasons in Granby.[4:54] - Playing in the 1982 Little League World Series for Rouyn-Noranda alongside fellow NHL'er Stephane Matteau.[7:12] - Thoughts about Colorado. A former home and where Turgeon ended his NHL career but still visits frequently.[8:27] - Returning to the hockey piece, Turgeon recalls the magical 1992-93 where he reached statistical milestones as a New York Islander before being injured in the final game of the opening round, victim of a vicious cheap shot.[11:37] - Neil and Pierre share some stories of players and games from years past - Stephane Quintal, Clark Gillies, Benoit Hogue and Clint Malarchuk, who suffered one of hockey's most gruesome injuries as a teammate of Turgeon's in March of 1989.[19:08] - It took 13 years for Turgeon to be elected to the Hall of Fame after his first year old eligibility in 2010. Pierre reflects on whether there was a lack of appreciation for his production having not played on many contending teams.[21:57] - While playing for six teams and only 104 games for the Canadiens, it was Turgeon who was the captain that skated the torch off Montreal Forum ice for the final time in March, 1996.[24:54] - The importance of family and the mutual pain Pierre and Neil share in losing a child. Though some days bring back painful reminders, Turgeon embraces each day as both men have learned to move forward carrying the memories.[29:17] - Amidst appreciating small things in life, Turgeon enjoys golf on a frequent basis.[30:08] - A few words about Pierre's brother Sylvain, who was selected second in the 1983 Draft.[32:10] - Putting a wrap on the chat with Pierre Turgeon.#NHLWraparound #ShortShifts #NYCentric #StanleyCupdate #NeilSmith #VicMorren #NHL #CelebritySeries #HallofFameEdition #ScottyBowman #PierreTurgeon #GranbyBisons #JacquesCloutier #LittleLeagueWorldSeries #StephaneMatteau #Rouyn-Noranda #NewYorkIslanders #ColoradoAvalanche #AlArbour #DavidVolek #RayFerraro #MontrealCanadiens #PatrickRoy #StephaneQuintal #BostonBruins #EricDesjardins #ClarkGillies #BuffaloSabres #BryanTrottier #BenoitHogue #ClintMalarchuk #Jim Pizzutelli #UweKrupp #SteveTuttle #MarcelDionne #KyleOkposo #ButchBouchard #JeanBeliveau #YvanCournoyer #HenriRichard #SergeSavard #BobGainey #GuyCarbonneau #MauriceRichard #ElizabethTurgeon #DetroitRedWings #BrianLawton #SteveYzerman #PatLafontaine #SylvainTurgeon #HartfordWhalers

F* the Anchor. Yeah, we said it. But it's not what you think. In this episode of the Secret to Success Podcast, ET, CJ, Karl, and Jemal break down why so many people are drifting in life—financially, relationally, and spiritually—because they don't have anchors holding them steady. The guys talk about: Why margin for error matters in your money, marriage, and health How real estate formulas apply to every area of life Lessons from Little League World Series to building legacy The difference between drifting and being anchored It's one of the most raw and practical conversations yet—funny, unfiltered, and guaranteed to challenge how you think about success.

Newest "Last Word on Sports Media Podcast" returns with co-hosts T.J. Rives and Mike Gill. They have many takes on subjects like:College Football is BACK- Did Ohio St. try to ban David Portnoy of Barstool Sports from being in their stadium Saturday for Fox "Big Noon Kickoff" or not? The boys have theories.- Both pregame shows, including "College Gameday" on ESPN will be in Columbus for Texas at Buckeyes. Legend Lee Corso's final live show.- Dublin, Ireland CFB opener lost 20% audience on ESPN Saturday for Iowa State-Kansas State (4 mil avg). Still that won Saturday in the ratings.Meanwhile, Youtube TV and Fox (Newscorp) are in a carriage dispute with deadline looming Wednesday 5 p.m. Will subscribers lose out on seeing CFB, MLB etc this weekend? Bigger if Fox News is dropped, too!MLB settles on it's revamped TV packages- NBC getting Friday/Sunday and the Wildcard games for reportedly $200 mil per year. ESPN stays in for select weekday MLB games, purchase of MLB.TV for local/regional broadcasts and keeping basically unlimited use of highlights, etc. for $1.4 Billion over 3 years. Netflix got Home Run Derby at the All Star Game for reported $35 million.Also, NBC concludes golf season with Fed Ex Cup finale' in Atlanta with another HUGE (relative) audience number of over 4 million average (up 20% over last year).  The Ryder Cup (USA vs. Europe) looms in late September on NBC, too.U.S. Open Tennis EVERYWHERE on ESPN/ABC platforms but does this country really care anymore?And, what about the Little League World Series and "overkill" there?Hear it all on the "LWOS Media Podcast" and make sure that you are subscribed on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.

Men exhaust women with emotional neediness, according to the New York Times. How should Christians understand the so-called "Man-Keeping" phenomenon? Summary - Website: cfc.sebts.edu In this episode, Dan Darling, Kristen Kellen, and Benjamin Quinn discuss various topics including the recent Little League World Series, the marketing missteps of Cracker Barrel, and the legacy of Dr. James Dobson. They also delve into global issues such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the implications of AI in education, and the cultural conversations surrounding men's roles in society. The episode concludes with predictions for the upcoming college football season. - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/ - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/ All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

The Washington Post’s Jenny Gathright joins to discuss the latest on Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., and what could come next. ProPublica’s Annie Waldman details how cuts at federal health agencies went much further than initially promised. Texas’s abortion ban is jeopardizing care and spreading fear across the state for providers and patients. The Dallas Morning News investigates the impacts. Plus, a man-made famine is officially declared in Gaza City, the man wrongly deported to El Salvador and then returned to the U.S. faces a new deportation threat, and a record-breaking win for Chinese Taipei at the Little League World Series. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.

RUNDOWN   Nugget ice machines, clinking noises, and bizarre celebrity rumors (yes, even LeAnn Rimes' teeth). The warm-up turns nostalgic as the show celebrates musical birthdays for Billy Ray Cyrus, Gene Simmons, and Elvis Costello. And what about the chaos of late August sports: college football's return, the NFL looming, and the Mariners somehow both collapsing and contending at the same time? Hotshot recounts the fantasy football fiasco that ended his playing days back in 2007, while Mitch embraces his role as a “passionate pessimist” when it comes to Seattle baseball. And through it all, one bright spot remains—Brian Woo quietly posting Cy Young–level consistency, even if the voters never notice. Mitch interviews Nancy King, who was just 16 when a family trip to Seattle in August 1964 turned into the story of a lifetime. From checking into the Beatles' hotel, to a chance encounter with a Liverpool journalist, to being ushered into a private room where she spent 30 unforgettable minutes with John, Paul, George, and Ringo — Nancy recounts how one magical evening reshaped her life and inspired decades of storytelling. CBS analyst and Rose Bowl–winning coach Rick Neuheisel joins Mitch to open another season of weekly college football chats, breaking down the new 12-team playoff format, the looming SEC and Big Ten power plays, and the frenzy around Arch Manning's Texas debut in Columbus. He weighs in on Washington's year-two outlook under Jedd Fisch, Heisman dark horses, and makes his first official “Rick's Pick” of 2025 — with Oregon and LSU circled for January glory. Mitch welcomes back Joe Doyle and Brady Farkas for episode 348 of this Mariners No-Table segment, where the trio dissects Seattle's uneven road trip, a roster struggling against lefties, and what Cal Raleigh's historic home run pace means for the franchise. With Padres, Guardians, and Rays looming, the group debates roster moves, Harry Ford's September call-up chances, and whether the Mariners are missing their moment to bury Houston.   GUESTS   Nancy King | Eyewitness to the Beatles' 1964 Seattle stay and lifelong storyteller of that night at the Edgewater Hotel Rick Neuheisel | CBS College Football Analyst, Former Head Coach & Rose Bowl Champion Brady Farkas | Host, Refuse to Lose Podcast (Mariners on SI) Joe Doyle | MLB Draft & Mariners Analyst, Over Slot Substack   TABLE OF CONTENTS   0:00 | From Nugget Ice to Beatles Nights 21:56 | Passionate Pessimists, Fantasy-Free Since '07, and Mariners in the Madness 35:30 | GUEST: Nancy King; From North Dakota to the Edgewater: A Teenager's Night With the Beatles 1:05:25 | GUEST: Rick Neuheisel; Kicks Off College Football: Playoff Paths, Arch Madness, and Husky Hopes 1:34:28 | GUEST: Mariners No-Table; Mariners No-Table: Clunky Rosters, Cal Raleigh's Power Surge, and a Crucial Week Ahead 2:02:21 | Other Stuff Segment: Chinese Taipei wins Little League World Series, Issaquah loses to eventual softball champion Texas, Seahawks preseason struggles & roster cuts (Marquez Valdes-Scantling uncertainty), Lee Corso's final College GameDay broadcast, John Wall retires from NBA, Bengals Ring of Honor controversy (Boomer Esiason email & Corey Dillon snub), Roger Federer declared billionaire via On Running stake, Nolan Bushnell turns down 1/3 of Apple for $50K, Sean Kemp sentenced to 30 days home detention, Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant card sells for $12.93M, Ro Crowder rearrested for sniffing strangers, Bellevue Pickleball Club opening. RIPs: Jerry Adler (actor, Sopranos/Good Wife/Rescue Me), Judge Frank Caprio (“Caught in Providence” TV judge). Headlines: IHOP waitress charged with groping a customer, Wisconsin State Fair worker glues coworker's Coke, Thailand hospital records used as food wrapping, Britney Spears nude photoshoot, Fake Justin Bieber scams Vegas nightclub.

It's a new utterly epic Davey Mac Sports Program as the Dave Man is taking on Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone and ESPN and no one is safe!   How are the Yankees so bad and who needs to be fired?   Why does Sunday Night Baseball suck?   Does the new ESPN app work well?   And how about that insanely controversial ESPN "Icons" poster that was revealed (and then deleted) on Social Media?!   Plus, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh makes baseball history!   Three good football docuseries are out and Dave tells you which one is the best!   Little League World Series results, Malik Beasley gambling investigation update, UFC legend Rampage Jackson's son Raja assaults pro wrestler in ring, and more!   Enjoy this fantastic 398th episode of the Davey Mac Sports Program today!   BOOM!  

The Baltimore Orioles have extended Samuel Basallo a week into his major league career. The 21-year-old reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $67 million extension that can max out at $88.5 million with incentives. The Orioles seem to like what they see in the young catcher, but that leads to questioning what will become of Adley Rutschman. Nothing will happen to him right now as the former top prospect has gone to the IL with an oblique injury. What does his future with the Orioles look like and when does Basallo become the guy? Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss this surprising turn of events.Basallo hasn't been the only young player making moves as multiple teams have recently called up star prospects. The Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, Reds and Guardians have all made moves that caught Jordan's attention. He fills you in on all of the prospects who have been brought up and shares his insight on each of them.Later in the show, the ever-evolving world of media rights is the hot topic. It appears that Major League Baseball's media rights situation is starting to wrap-up with ESPN, Netflix and NBC all being involved. Apple is also, potentially, joining the group. What does this mean for the fans' ability to watch games going forward? Jake and Jordan give their thoughts on the whole situation. Plus, Jake gives a special Little League World Series report. With the championship games to be played this weekend, the guys reflect on the tournament and Jake reviews who the players' favorite MLB players are. They discuss what kind of insight this gives to the state of the game and the players who were selected.Lastly, everyone's favorite time of the week. The Good, The Bad & The Uggla. A former MLB player announces his new baseball academy, a current MLB player notches his first steal in the majors and a potential future MLB player's father takes to X about his son's fender bender incident. Plus, an ugly Red Sox vs. Yankees matchup.Close out your week at the Baseball Bar-B-Cast.  (1:48) - Samuel Basallo gets an extension(22:23) - Top prospects who have recently been called-up(35:08) - MLB's TV rights decision(44:26) - Jake's report on the Washington Nationals(49:36) - LLWS favorite players(58:25) - The Good, The Bad & The Uggla   Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

Perhaps nothing unites more baseball fans than the shared experience of playing Little League Baseball. But, until 1974, only boys were allowed to play. After that, it took until 1984, 41 years ago this week, before the first girl played in Little League's crowning jewel, The Little League World Series. On this auspicious anniversary, Mike and Bill look back at the origins and history of Little League Baseball, and of the Little League World Series itself. And, aside from a few significant bumps in the road, they find what's mostly a pretty feel-good story for once. Plus, happy birthday to Buck Weaver and Diego Segui! And farewell to Diego Segui, Bob Heffner, and Matt Murray.

In this episode of Two Strike Noise, Jeff and Mark open in the Jesus Montero Studio, where an ice cream sandwich has never been more dangerous. From there, the guys dig into a card-collecting dad-and-son duo who cornered the market on Greg Briley, a record-shattering Hall of Fame induction program, and John Kruk's musings on clocks, vegans, and sandwiches. They check in on the Little League World Series, where one Canadian kid has already labeled Juan Soto “overrated,” and highlight professional sluggers who quietly joined the 500-home run club outside MLB. Plus, anniversaries and debuts galore: Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strikeout, Carmelo Martinez's fly-ball “weakness,” Big Mac's towel-wrapped sitcom cameo, and Dustin Pedroia's Hall of Very Good candidacy. The main feature this week is Mark's deep dive into Mike Marshall — not the Dodgers first baseman, but the 1974 Cy Young–winning reliever whose 106 appearances, 208 innings, and obsession with kinesiology made him one of baseball's most fascinating arms. And as always, we wrap with another round of Wax Pack Heroes — where mullets, mustaches, and manager cards all come into play. 00:00 Introduction and Studio Banter 03:17 Baseball Card Collecting Adventures 06:00 Historic Baseball Memorabilia 08:16 John Kruk's Hilarious Commentary 10:00 Little League World Series Highlights 11:51 500+ Home Run Club 15:58 Baseball Debuts and Nostalgia 21:05 Mike Marshall: The Iron Man Reliever 32:46 Wax Pack Heroes Game 48:35 Final Thoughts and Outro YouTube - www.youtube.com/@twostrikenoise Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/twostrikenoise Bluesky - @twostrikenoise.bsky.social Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/TwoStrikeNoise/ Instagram - @twostrikenoise E-mail - twostrikenoise@gmail.com We pull ALOT of commons in Wax Pack Heroes. If you've got those Tom Foley or Ernest Riles cards just sitting around you can donate those commons to charity and maybe spark a child's interest in baseball and collecting. Find out more here: http://commons4kids.org/ #podernfamily #podnation #baseball #mlb #history #podcast #baseballcards

Live from Circa Resort & Casino, Lawyer and ESPN Las Vegas cultural contributor Exavier Pope joins Cofield & Company to discuss the report Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown's father was arrested for stabbing a person in Las Vegas, review the situation involving Kansas City Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid having bullets shot into his office, and give his thoughts on the fallout of the planned ESPN Colin Kaepernick documentary which was set to be directed by Spike Lee. Griffin Kemp's 2025 College Football Preseason Top 25 Rankings, No. 10 - No. 6. UNLV Basketball Color Commentator, Curtis Terry joins Cofield & Company to talk about the Las Vegas little league baseball team playing in the Little League World Series, detail the experience of adjusting after arriving on campus as a UNLV student-athlete, and give his expectations for UNLV football in the first year under new head coach, Dan Mullen.

WSDOT decided to make light of a series of road closures that are going to be a huge inconvenience for drivers this weekend. A former Seattle resident is suing the city after a traumatic biking accident in 2020. An appeals court upheld a $1 million fine for a Longview restaurant that violated Washington’s indoor dining ban during COVID. // Big Local: Snohomish County is toying with the idea of using drones as first responders. Pierce County’s homeless population has gone up this year. Bonney Lake’s Little League World Series team has been eliminated. // You Pick the Topic: Is it rude to take leftovers home from a restaurant if you’re not the one paying?

Matt figures out the difference between North and South and Mike talks the little league world series

Fresh off a great time at the Little League World Series, thanks to our friends at GameChanger and Dick's Sporting Goods, we are back with yet another episode about all things baseball. Is This A Great Game, Or What?? Ain't that the truth. Tim reveals which of the major awards that he will be voting on this year (it rotates every season) along with a Brady Anderson story that will be hard to believe. Plus, who is the greatest number 38 and number 39 of all time to play Major League Baseball? Tim's All-Music Team in celebration of Todd Frazier's singing during our last episode is guaranteed to make you smile. Thank you so much for listening to the show, it means a lot that you are a part of our family. Do us a favor and RATE the show, share it friends and hit the follow/subscribe button so you can be alerted to new episodes!  Visit GreatGameOrWhat.com to contact the show with your questions, quips and insights. Joy Pop Productions LLC

Hour three kicks off with Fast Track! Ireland finds a story about gen z calling out of work for, “not feeling the vibe.” The guys talk about betting on the Little League World Series again. Who has the worst first pitches in history? Game of Games, plus Supercross Talk with Sedano and Kap! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks to our friends at GameChanger and Dick's Sporting Goods, we were yet again recording the podcast at the Little League World Series. If you missed our last episode, make sure to go back in the feed to watch our first part! Todd Frazier is a former Little League World Series champion and made a big league career out of it as well. In fact, Tim calls him "Mr. Little League World Series" because he's still loving and living Williamsport every single year. In fact, as a surprise, we brought him pins custom for the weekend and he was shocked. Plus, another surprise from Tim that almost made Todd cry. Karl Ravech is the voice of the Little League World Series and there's no debating it. He has been working alongside Tim Kurkjian at ESPN for 100 years and having him back again the show is a dream come true. We talk pins, Williamsport, inside broadcast jokes and more, we want you to be along for the journey. Thanks for listening or watching and as always, thanks for being a part of our family! Visit GreatGameOrWhat.com to contact the show with your questions, quips and insights. Joy Pop Productions LLC

"If you're Avery Johnson and you're not Avery Johnson, you've gotta have a different name." Popcorn expert Jessica Smetana is here to discuss press conference access, weight limits in the Little League World Series, and, of course, a TON of College Football ahead of not-Week-0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bobby and Alex discuss Bobby's experience on the field at Citizens Bank Park, before digging into the state of the Little League World Series, its coverage, and what its evolution tells us about baseball development in the 21st century. Then, they discuss Rob Manfred's surprisingly candid discussion of MLB expansion and division realignment. Finally, they discuss the Pohlad family's "will they, won't they" sell the Twins saga and the despair it's spawning in Twins fans.Links:Sign up for the TP KC tailgate!⁠Join the Tipping Pitches Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(Use code PIAZZA for 50% off)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tipping Pitches merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Call the Tipping Pitches voicemail: 785-422-5881Tipping Pitches features original music from Steve Sladkowski of PUP.

We were honored to be asked back by our friends of GameChanger and Dick's Sporting Goods to record our podcast at their setup at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. Let me tell you, every year it gets better because every year it gets bigger. This part of a two-part episode we recorded, on Wednesday, August 20th, you will hear from Tim and Jeff Kurkjian with Todd Frazier and Karl Ravech. An "interview" that all of you have been waiting for. It's a conversation between a bunch of guys that just love this game so much. We recap the Little League Game between the Mets and Mariners, different Takeaways and Quirkjians across the league. And back by popular demand, Tim awards a particularly hot team with the "GameChanger of the Week" and honestly, it's very well deserved. Williamsport is a perfect fit for our podcast because we encountered so many amazing families taking in the sites and sounds of this great game. Thanks for listening and thanks for being a part of our family! So glad to meet members of the family out in Williamsport, make sure to share this episode with some friends! Visit GreatGameOrWhat.com to contact the show with your questions, quips and insights. Joy Pop Productions LLC

Ireland is joined by Mike Trudell today in the studio! The crew dive into the weekend series between the Padres and Dodgers! The Dodgers regained first place with a sweep! Is it wrong to be betting on the Little League World Series? Ireland wants to break down the Lakers schedule with Trudell. Should the Lakers ask Luka to shut it down after an injury scare? Wheel of Questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a new and utterly epic episode of the Davey Mac Sports Program as we're looking at the insanity of Sports in Modern Day America!   The Minnesota Vikings have a spicy male cheerleader!   The Browns have a QB problem!   ESPN embarrasses themselves yet again as an "anchor" doesn't know who Barry Sanders is!   Speaking of which, the SportsCenter dorks known as Randy and Gary are back with more unfunny weirdness!   Plus- the Little League World Series having a problem with gambling, Seattle Mariners superstar catcher Cal Raleigh and his disgusting nickname, new Kansas City Chiefs docuseries, and much more!   Enjoy this excellent 397th episode of the DMSP today!   BOOM!

The San Diego Padres walked into Dodger Stadium, on Friday, with a one-game lead in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers. They left, on Sunday, two games behind the Dodgers after being swept over the weekend. The Padres struggled at the plate in the series. Is this a sign of an improving pitching staff for the Dodgers? Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss their takeaways from the series and preview what it may be a sign of for the rest of the season. These two teams will meet up again this weekend in San Diego.The Little League Classic was over the weekend. All of the little leaguers competing at the Little League World Series got to meet and watch some of their favorite major leaguers. Jordan, who was in attendance, shares some of the stories he witnessed from the weekend. The guys dive into the importance of these events and the memories they have from years past. In contrast to the little leaguers' unadulterated joy, drama across Major League Baseball came from the broadcast. Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke about realignment and expansion plans for MLB's future. Jake and Jordan discuss what they think an actual timeline for this is and how they see it playing out. Amongst all of this drama, there were so many other series played. Three other sweeps occurred this weekend by the Yankees, the Braves and the Royals. Giancarlo Stanton may be injured. How might this change the Yankees? The Guardians have a huge misstep against the Braves. How can they recover? The Royals are trying to work their way into the Wild Card conversation. Jake and Jordan dive into all of these topics and every other series from the weekend.Start off your week with us here at Baseball Bar-B-Cast. (2:47) - Dodgers sweep Padres(11:49) - Yankees sweep Cardinals(29:12) - Scenes from the Little League Classic(51:11) - Zack Wheeler goes to IL w/ blood clot(56:35) - Victor Robles throw bat at pitcher(1:00:26) - Turbo Mode Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

Near disaster on the hill at the Little League World Series! Look away Stibbs!

12pm hour of The K&C Masterpiece! What's gone wrong with the Rangers the past 10 games? And what's up with Jon Gray? NFL Overreaction or Reality. Wanker of the Weekend: Don't bet on the Little League World Series

It's the show's five year anniversary! Jane and Lauren reflect a little on the show then talk about Matt Strahm's unorthodox investment, fucked up Little League World Series stuff, the latest fake Shohei Ohtani controversy, the Dodgers not paying their tour guides and also sucking shit at baseball, and the devastating news that the Pohlads will not actually be selling the Minnesota Twins. We also answer a mailbag question about that weird anime girl horse racing game. Give the show a gift for it's fifth birthday by signing up at the Slapdick Prospect tier at Patreon.com/BattingAround and get access to bonus episodes.

Matt and Ben From Providence in studio. Taking Calls (0:14:00). Montante calls in from Scotland and turns down Kirk's offer of $25,000 to $5,000 on the golf match (0:35:00). Rico Bosco calls in to talk Little League World Series (1:06:00). Get tickets to Saco here: KMSTickets.comYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/kminshow

As promised on Wednesday's episode, Kevin Van Valkenburg returns to discuss the 2021 BMW Championship at Caves Valley and the ensuing SGS episode that continues to live in infamy. Before KVV comes in, Brendan keeps PJ in the big chair to run through some press conference quotes and results from the first round of this year's BMW. Brendan unleashes a rant about the proliferation of the Little League World Series across ESPN properties, leading to a lengthy discussion about the state of youth sports and selling out to private equity. From there, early storylines from the BMW start to emerge including plenty about next month's Ryder Cup. Scottie Scheffler doesn't want to talk about the upcoming matches at Bethpage, but Rory and Keegan both had some thoughts about a playing captain in their pre-tournament pressers in Baltimore. Brendan and PJ also preview LIV Indianapolis, share some concern about Xander Schauffele in this lost season for him, and check in on match play at the U.S. Am. KVV then comes in to join Brendan as the two remember their time at the birth of "Patty Ice" against a villainous Bryson DeChambeau at the 2021 BMW Championship.

Patriots were not looking good against the Vikings in their joint practices in Minnesota specifically with the offensive line, but Mike Vrabel's plan to mold Drake Maye into a leader should excite fans. What are the big takeaways from Minnesota so far? Then, an update on Braintree in the Little League World Series and a Tennessee man using fake money to steal jewelry in the New England Nightly News. And, add Denzel Washington to the list of those who aren't fans of Arcand and those like him in the sports media scene.

Chaperones at the Little League World Series, Sean's Horrible Choice of Words, and Lucas' Notebook - F H3

Dan and Gaardsy review the Top 5 including gambling on the Little League World Series and penalties for Michigan football before Lavelle Neal makes his weekly appearance for some more Twins ownership discussion and some football talk.

Dan and Gaardsy review the Top 5 including gambling on the Little League World Series and penalties for Michigan football before Lavelle Neal makes his weekly appearance for some more Twins ownership discussion and some football talk. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim came stacked full of birthdays today including one of a man who never played professional baseball but sure loves this game! We preview what we have in store of the Little League World Series this year including who our guests (yes, plural) will be on location.The MVP race is heating up and Tim makes a compelling argument for The Big Dumper. We go over the best to play the game of baseball wearing number 36 and 37. Plus, I don't think we can grasp just how good Ty Cobb was but the man was a beast (as we would say today, probably wouldn't say that exact phrase when he played). We get a lot of questions about supporting the podcast and how to help. The easiest way to do so is to share it with a friend. Wherever you are listening right now, copy the link and send it over to them! That means a whole lot to us. Thanks for being a part of our family! Visit GreatGameOrWhat.com to contact the show with your questions, quips and insights. Joy Pop Productions LLC

Behind the Scenes at the Little League World Series, Lucas and Campbell's Coach Speak, and the Notebook - Th H3

On today's Daily Puck Drop, Jason “Puck” Puckett is joined today by Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic and John Canzano from JohnCanzano.com.  No Jim Duquette today, but he'll be back next week.  Puck opens the show previewing the Mariners upcoming road trip plus discussing a new contract for Josh Naylor. Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic, drops by to visit with Puck about what he's seen so far in Seahawks training camp and the cap casualty that may happen to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.  Plus, the improvement from Jalen Milroe, Mike Macdonald's defense and they share their love for the fullback. John Canzano, JohnCanzano.comswings by for his weekly to discuss all things college football, including, a new lawsuit led by departing Mountain West schools toward the conference, the future of the Civil War is in jeopardy and John shares his thoughts on new WSU football coach Jimmy Rogers having his quarterbacks go live in practice. But, John and Puck start off discussing the pros and cons of the Little League World Series, plus, the lost art of ding-dong ditching. “In Other News…”. Ryan Sloan, a Mariners top prospect has been elevated, the Mariners are featured prominently in the new MLB Pipeline top 100, MLB playoff schedule announced, the Kraken give out an extension and a top NFL QB undergoes surgery. Puck wraps up the show with, “Hey, What the Puck!?”  Former Coug QB John Mateer finds himself an alleged gambling story. (1:00) Puck on M's and Josh Naylor contract (12:00) Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic (48:00) John Canzano, John Canzano.com (1:16:33) “In other News…”(1:21:38) “Hey, What the Puck!?” 

Femi Abebefe goes off on a hilarious rant on the Little League World Series. Plus, the react to Bengals vs. Eagles from last night. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Femi Abebefe goes off on a hilarious rant on the Little League World Series. Plus, the react to Bengals vs. Eagles from last night. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 241- Brian Yandle and Mike Mottau are back with a new episode of The Rink Shrinks featuring an interview with three-time Stanley Cup Champion, Ken Daneyko! Before Dano joins the show the guys catch up on the weekend, the Sox, and the Little League World Series. Then “Mr. Devil” himself joins the boys to discuss his whole career and more including: Having a coach suggesting him to play defense at a young age The influence of Mark Messier Learn to lose before you win How different the players are in today's game Getting the call for game 7 BY & Motts wrap up the show answering the My Hockey Rankings question of the week and Motts' moment lock of the week presented by FanDuel! Thank you for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe! If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please reach out to us by email or DM us on Instagram! Leave us a voicemail: 347-6-SHRINK Email: RinkShrinks@gmail.com Instagram: @TheRinkShrinks Twitter: @RinkShrinks Website: www.therinkshrinks.com Join the community! https://community.thehockeythinktank.com/signup?am_id=rinkshrinks Youtube: www.YouTube.com/Bleav Today's Episode Was Sponsored By: TSR Hockey Franklin Sports My Hockey Rankings Neutral Zone Bando Performance FanDuel

(00:00-22:14) Are we going to see a record low attendance when the Rockies come to town next week? Hello Kitty Night at Dodger Stadium. Do we see JJ Wetherholt next week? Banty fans at a Little League World Series game. Can't steal signs in Little League. The Chairman has a passionate anti Little League take. Braxlynn. This take has divided the audience. Chairman has a standing appointment with his vasectomist every March. Jackson's war on bottled beer.(22:22-35:36) Is this the Entourage theme song? Cards and Rockies are gonna put fans to the test. Over/Under 100K fans for the Cards and Cubs series. Brewers with the best record in baseball by three games. Some good teams in the National League. Someone in a Geo Metro texts in a Rocket Report.(35:46-48:17) Confirming there is an Auntie Anne's at Ballpark Village. Lamenting the loss of The Fudgery. When Union Station used to be bustling. Shoutout Tubi. Fox One streaming service launching later in August. YouTube TV. Miles Mikolas cancelled on us for today. He'll join us on Friday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's Daily Puck Drop, Jason “Puck” Puckett is joined by his weekly Tuesday guests, Jim Duquette of MLB Network radio and John Canzano from JohnCanzano.com.   Puck opens the show discussing the health of Ken Walker and is it time to worry that he missed so much practice time of late?   Jim Duquette, MLB Network radio, drops by to discuss his reaction to the trade deadline, how the Mariners fared, missing out on Jhoan Duran, the Suarez return, extension talk with Naylor and Geno and what is happening with the Yankees?Puck continues to chat about the Mariners and plays a clip from Bill Krueger's Monday appearance that some on social media took issue with. Puck shakes his head at people who can't just simply disagree and do it respectfully.  John Canzano drops. by to chat about his latest story on ESPN at JohnCanzano.com.   Puck and Jim discuss the erosion of the network and what happened to your one stop sports news source?In Puck's “other news” segment, he covers the debut of the Bills on Hard Knocks, Damian Lillard going back to college, Little League World Series update for Mill Creek and Bonney Lake, and a big happy birthday to the GrozFather! The show wraps up with, “Hey, What the Puck!?” The Seattle Mariners put out an incredible video celebrating a few of their draft picks. (1:00) Puck opens up show about the heath of Ken Walker (11:14) Jim Duquette, MLB Network Radio (38:00) Puck plays a clip from Bill Krueger discussing Julio and stolen bases in today's game (45:13) John Canzano, JohnCanzano.com (1:13:32) “In other news….” (1:18:53) “Hey, What the Puck!?”  

On today's Daily Puck Drop, Jason “Puck” Puckett and the Go-2-Guy, Jim Moore discuss the week that was Mariners baseball, plus Jim gives his thoughts on the trade for Geno Suarez.  Jim updates his job status at the golf course in Bend, plus, they discuss Puck's podcast with Ryan Divish and they chat about Puck's trip to play Gamble Sands.  And, in the “Other news” segment they chat about a golf legend passing , Mariners top prospects on the move, local little league teams playing in the Little League World Series, Cougs football, preseason poll and Tom Brady takes a shot at Scottie Scheffler. Bill Krueger, “Old School Baseball” joins Puck to discuss the Mariners series win against the Rangers, the trade deadline, Dan Wilson's new lineup, Julio's milestone and the impact the new players have on Julio. Puck wraps up with, “Hey, what the Puck!?”   The Mariners are the team to beat in the American League (1:00) Puck and Jim (1:03:19) Bill Krueger, “Old School Baseball” (1:26:21) “Hey, What the Puck!?”

Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello is chiding Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank for his comments about taking a sobriety test. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) wants to use tariff revenue to send Americans a $600 rebate check. A local artist had over a thousand dollars’ worth of her belongings stolen at Bite of Seattle. // Big Local: Everett police saved a man from an electric car that lit on fire. King County Prosecutors have finally put put a pause on felony diversions to Restorative Community Pathways. The Mill Creek Little League Softball All Star team made the Little League World Series. // You Pick the Topic: Watch out for felonious monkeys if you’re visiting Indonesia.

On today's Daily Puck Drop, Jason “Puck” Puckett and the Go-2-Guy, Jim Moore spend a lot of time discussing Ichiro's Hall of Fame speech and how impressed they were his his humility and the pressure he faced coming over form Japan. They dive into the M's series with the Angles and how they wasted an opportunity to make up ground with the Astros being swept by the A's.  Puck and Jim react to Josh Naylor's first series and wonder if the Mariners only had a bullpen arm have they done enough at the trade deadline?Lastly, Jim updates the audience on his job stats at Quail Run golf course and is going in to apologize today to his direct boss, but it comes with a catch and Puck is advising him against it. Puck wraps up the show with, “Hey, What the Puck!?”   Ichiro's speech captured everything right about sports (1:00) Puck and Jim (1:11:46) Puck reacts to the breaking news out of Colorado on Deion Sanders, more Mariners news on the trade front and a shutout to the Mill Creek softball team for making it to the Little League World Series.  (1:18:04) “Hey, What the Puck!?”