The Power of Sports

Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff  is a historian, speaker, and consultant working at the intersection of global sports, communications, and diplomacy. She specializes in Franco-United States relations through sports, is the author of  Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA   (Bloomsbury, 2023),  “Views From the Embassy: The Role of the U.S. Diplom...

In this episode, I welcome Dr. Katie Lever, who is a former D-1 athlete and superb editor/freelance sports writer whose work has appeared in Global Sport Matters, Sportico, Extra Points, Forbes, and many other outlets. She is also the award-winning author of  Surviving the Second Tier , a dystopian novel about the dark side of the college sports industry, She uses the Twitter and Instagram handle...

In this episode, I speak with  Jenny Haskel , who is the  Knowledge & Insights Lead  for  Deloitte Sports Business Group , where she works to give organizations a competitive edge in the sports market. Jenny was a standout college soccer player at Northwestern University, and recently moved to the UK to join Deloitte’s Sports Business group in Manchester. At Deloitte, Jenny provides insights i...

In this episode, we speak to  Dr. Donna Lopiano , who is one of the greatest softball players of all time, a trailblazing athletic director and a world-renowned advocate for gender equity in sport. She is also the founder of Sport Management Resources and the current President of The Drake Group , which is an organization committed to advancing positive legislative change in college athletics.  Dr...

In this episode, our guest is  Pat Burda , who is an extremely successful amateur golfer as well as a recovering alcoholic. Pat was born and raised in Modesto, California, played collegiately at Stanislaus State, is a two time Del Rio Country Club Champion and the current Dryden Park Golf Course Club Champion. Pat also serves as captain of the RACDG NorCal Golf Society and has caddied in multiple...

In today’s episode, we speak with Dr. Megan Babkes Stellino, a professor of social psychology of sport and physical activity at the University of Northern Colorado and the founder of  Mindful Sport Parenting , to speak about her life in sports and her research on the impact of sports parents on youth. Dr. Babkes Stellino has taken her research, which explores the soci...

In today’s episode, we speak with Sarbjit “Sab” Singh , who is a Professor and Chairperson with the Sport Management Program at Farmingdale State College (NY), and a regular contributor to Street & Smith’s  SportsBusiness Journal.  Sab also publishes the  Sports Doing Good newsletter , a unique publication that highlights the “good” from the world of sport. Before his time...

In this episode we speak to Bill Carter, who is a name, image and likeness consultant, analyst, educator, and speaker. Bill runs  Student Athlete Insights  and is a NIL Columnist for  Sports Business Journal. He  alsoteaches  NIL in College Sport s at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, and he runs MBA  courses in NIL , too. So listen in as I ask...

In this episode, we speak to Kenneth P. Vogel about sports gambling in the US today. Vogel is a reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, where he covers the intersection of money, influence and politics. He has covered politics and government at all levels, from small-town cop shops and school boards to statehouses, Congress and the presidential campaign trail. He has reported...

In this episode, we speak to Coach Ron Adams, who is an award-winning assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Coach Adams is now in 54 th  season of coaching and has been with the Warriors since 2014, when he joined the staff of Head Coach Steve Kerr. Since then, the Warriors have built one of the NBA’s most remarkable dynasties, making the play...

In this episode, we speak to Len Simon, Esq., who is an avid sports fan, successful sports lawyer, and sagacious law professor. Simon has represented a range of sportspeople in a series of fascinating legal cases, including the superstar soccer phenom Olivia Moultrie in her case against the National Women’s Soccer League. He also writes op-eds regarding sports and the law and has been influe...

In this episode, we speak to Dr. Dean Barnes , who is a superintendent of schools in Ontario, Canada and has gained notoriety for his collection of Black NHL Hockey player cards. He started his collection at age 8 with O-Pee-Chee brand cards and recently completed a set that includes Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card. More significantly, though, Dean has collected most of the nearly 100 cards of Black p...

In this episode, we speak with Andy Schwarz, an economist and partner at the firm  OSKR , the Chief Innovation Officer at the  Professional Collegiate League , and a  board game inventor . Andy is a fascinating and funny guy, and I think you will really enjoy hearing him talk about a range of topics, from his analysis of the two major camps criticizing the National Collegiate Athlet...

On today’s episode we speak to Katherine Holland Fox , who is the Director of KC2026 FIFA WORLD CUP BID, which is Kansas City’s bid to host several matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the US, Canada and Mexico. Prior to this position, Katherine was Director of Marketing and Sales for the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, and she has also se...

In this episode, we speak to  Professor Stacy Kratz , of the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work. Dr. Kratz specializes in policy practice, advocacy, and activism, and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), a certified addiction professional (CAP), a researcher, a community advocate and organizer, and an international leader in the sport for social justic...

In this episode, we speak to the hilarious and versatile Barry Tompkins, a sports broadcaster who has, in his nearly fifty years working in television, covered almost every sport you can think of, at Fox, NBC, HBO, ESPN and Showtime, and many more. Barry is a San Francisco native, where he attended George Washington High School, and it was in the Bay Area that he started his career. He’s covered t...

In today’s episode, we speak to Professor  Kirsten Hextrum , the author of the recently published  Special Admission: How College Sports Recruitment Favors White Suburban Athletes , and an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Hextrum is also a former NCAA Division I two-time national champion rower, and a recognized expert on college sport access, equity...

In this episode, I enjoyed getting to know  Jack Gallagher , a columnist at  Japan Forward , former sports editor at the  Japan Times,  and the host of the  figure skating podcast “ICE TIME ”, which is bilingual in English and Japanese. Jack is a cross-cultural unifier who has worked in sports in various capacities since the 1980s. He has been the architect...

In this episode, we speak with Michael Ohioze, who recently participated in the 4×400 relays for the United Kingdom at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Michael was actually a student of mine in the MA program in Kinesiology at St. Mary’s College of California, so I was excited to hear that he had made it to the Olympics and eager to have him as a guest on the show. Please listen in for some great ins...

In this episode we talk to Dave Newhouse , a former columnist for the  Oakland Tribune  whose journalism career spanned five decades. Dave is the author of 18 books about sports, including The Yankee Way (co-written with Charlie Silvera) . It was a pleasure to learn from him about New York Yankee greats like Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle, and how sports continue to capture...

In this episode, we speak with  Professor Dennis Frost of Kalamazoo College  about the recent Paralympic Games and their fascinating history. Professor Frost is a full professor and chairs the history department at Kalamazoo, and is the author of two books about Japanese sports,  More than Medals: A History of the Paralympics and Disability Sports in Postwar Japan , and   Seein...

In this episode, our guest will be  Kamba Tshionyi , who is Associate Director for External Relations at Stanford University, where he oversees the Communications, Outreach, and Development teams at the Haas School of Public Service, leads fundraising and donor stewardship efforts, and serves as part of the center’s leadership. Kamba is an old friend and also hero of mine, and I think you wil...

In this episode, we speak with J.R. Sakuragi , a professional basketball player who has thrived is his adopted homeland of Japan. J.R. first gained fame as J.R. Henderson, in his native Bakersfield, California, and at UCLA where he helped the Bruins win the 1995 NCAA men’s basketball championship. Upon graduation, J.R. was drafted into the NBA, where he played for the Vancouver Grizzlies. But afte...

In this episode we learn about basketball in Japan from Ed Odeven, who is the sports editor at  japan-forward.com   and the author of the book,  Going 15 Rounds with Jerry Izenberg , which is a great collection of writings about one of the best sports columnists of all time. Previously Ed worked for the  Arizona Daily Sun  and  The   Japan Times , and he regularl...

In this episode, we speak with  Professor Robert Turner , who is an  Assistant Professor  in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership at  The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Science , and also holds a position as a Research Scientist in the  Center on Health and Society  at Duke University. After attending James Madison Univ...