Conversations with Sports Fans

Events No. 19 and 20 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project found its way to the Omaha, NE, and Dyersville, IA, respectively, to attend three games at the Men's College World Series and pay a visit to the Field of Dreams movie site. In this remote recording from a picnic table on the Iowa farm used for the movie, Doug and his dad, offer some quick reflections on the experience a...

We are both humbled and delighted to be joined in this special Father's Day Episode of Conversations by the west Michigan father/son team of Jeff and Johnny Agar. Together along with the rest of their family, they are TeamAgar . The Agars have been in the public eye for over a decade now following Johnny's stated goal to walk the final mile of their church's annual 5K in 2013. That was no small fe...

In advance of host Doug Hill's trip to the Men's College World Series in Omaha, NE, as part of his Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, he's joined by Deborah Ward, the Executive Director of Visit Omaha . Deborah shares a bit about the history of the MCWS (this will be its 75th year) and how greater Omaha will be filled to the brim with not only college baseball fans but als...

We're joined in this episode by Jeff Nelson , a Wisconsin native who first arrived in the Detroit area nearly 30 years ago on a mission ( literally , a mission) and has never left. Currently the pastor at Royal Oak First a United Methodist Church , Jeff is also a huge sports fan. During our Conversation we learn about his early days as a Milwaukee Brewers fan and how it spread to other Wisconsin s...

In this episode we're joined by metro-Detroit elementary physical education teacher and high school girls track coach, Steve Culp. Beyond working with youngters by day, Steve is a past president of the Detroit Spartans (the Michigan State University metro-Detroit alumni club) and still sits on its Board of Directors. A Los Angeles, CA, native, we discover how this diehard USC and Oakland/Los A...

We're delighted to be rejoined in this episode by Adam Darowski , an Executive Director of Design for Sports Reference LLC . You know, the entity that brings us sports fans websites like Baseball-Reference , Pro Football-Reference , the subscriber site Stathead , and, now, the Immaculate Grid (for professional baseball, football, basketball [men's & women's], hockey, and soccer). W...

As part of Conversations' host Doug Hill's "Around the World in 80 Sporting Events" project he and his daughter, Helena, attended the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 Memorial Day Weekend. On their way north to Sunday evening's destination, Helena and Doug share their instant reflections on attending the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" for the first time. If you're enjoying Conversations with...

This episode's guest, Rex Crabtree, is - as nearly every native of Indiana is required to be - a huge basketball fan. Rex, however, zigs a bit while the rest of the Hoosier state zags. He roots for the UCLA Bruins. Rex was a youngster when a certain Martinsville (IN) High School product, John Wooden , was guiding the Bruins to 10 NCAA Championships. Perhaps not so oddly, Rex also fell in love...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States and we felt it an opportune time to discuss mental health as it relates to athletes. We're joined in this episode by Dr. Bill Bloom and Matthew Clinton from Michigan-based Start My Wellness . During our time with Bill and Matt we learn a bit about their own sports fandom, the importance of physical activity as it relates to one's me...

In this special bonus episode of Conversations, host Doug Hill is once again joined by Ken, Maury, Stephen, and Tim to discuss their experience at Tokyo's historic Meiji Jingu Stadium for a Yakult Swallows - Yomiuri Giants crosstown showdown as part of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project. The quintet reflect on the 2-1 Swallows, victory it witnessed, the famed umbrella dance , and d...

As some of golf's greatest players tee it up this week at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club for the PGA Championship , it seemed an apt time to have Jason Scott Deegan Executive Editor at GolfPass . A native of Port Huron, MI, how Jason stumbled upon golf and golf writing is quite the story. Now, having played over 1,000 courses across 26 countries he's well-practiced in the art of the game and...

In this bonus episode, released on Mothers Day 2025, host Doug Hill takes a moment to reflect on his mother and her sports fandom. If you're enjoying Conversations with Sports Fans please consider supporting our work ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ he⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠e ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In this special episode, host Doug Hill and his traveling companions Kenneth Herbart, Maury Koffman, Tim Parker, and Stephen Miller, offer their reflections after watching a pair of Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) games in Seoul as part of Doug's Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project. ( Note: Once the introduction music is complete, listeners may need to pump up the volume a bit as som...

We're excited to be joined by one of the foremost photographic chroniclers of the NBA, Nathaniel S. Butler. (Read to the end to learn how to enter a drawing for a special prize.) How prolific is Nat, as he's known? Check out the coffee table book he published in September that puts dozens of his most iconic images in one compendium - Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography . During out Conversation...

We're joined in this episode by, Debra Hallum, one of the co-owners of the 1972 Women's Sports Pub in Austin, TX. The 1972, which opened earlier this year, derived its name from the year in which United States' Title IX law was implemented which, in part, prohibited sex-based discrimination. This led to a boom in women's sports which has only intensified in the past several years....

Scott Stokely has been a part of the disc golf world (and vice versa) for nearly as long as he can remember. Some good fortune allowed him to discover the sport after his mom moved the two of them into southern California's La Canada Flintridge which just happened to border Pasadena's Oak Grove Disc Golf Club ; the United States' first permanent disc course. During our Conversation wit...

We're joined in this episode by Stephen Miller a Seattle-area native and longtime resident of the Emerald City. The son of English immigrants, Stephen was smitten by soccer at an early age and it continues today. We discuss plenty about the Sounders , the Reign , how the Pacific Northwest (including Portland and Vancouver) is a soccer hotbed, and its men's squads even play for the Cascadia...

As the NBA regular-season winds to a close and the Detroit Pistons will once again be among the playoff contestants, we felt it timely to share this Conversation with Rich Kaschalk an individual who's been part of the organizations official scoring crew dating back to the 1981-82 season. Along the way we learn about Rich's early sports fan memories (Detroit Tigers on the radio) growing up...

Earlier this NHL season, John Keating , the longtime Detroit Red Wings' studio host on FanDuel Sports Network Detroit, announced his retirement folllowing the conclusion of the Wings' season. We caught up with John during the NHL's February break for the 4 Nations Face-Off and chatted with, maybe, the only studio hosts many Red Wings and Detroit Tigers' fans have ever known. During...

During Event No. 15 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, Doug and Colin, his sidekick during this event, offer some brief reflections about how their full day at New York's iconic Madison Square Garden is going. The pair were in the crowd for the New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks matinee and again for the New York Knicks vs. Washington Wizards nightcap. If you're enj...

Just in time for Major League Baseball's U.S. Opening Day (we'll discount those Cubs-Dodgers' Tokyo tilts for the moment), we're joined by a fella whose sports travel goals are to see games in every Major and Minor League ballpark. For those of you scoring at home, that's 149 and - to the moment - Justin Byrd's knocked 62 off that list with plans in place to check 10 or mor...

Our guest this episode is semi-retired sports columnist and author, Mark Whicker. A North Carolina native, Mark ultimately landed in southern California where he worked at both the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Daily News as a sports columnist for over 30 years, chronicling some of the biggest moments in sports history. He retired in 2022 but is still scratching his writing itch on Su...

We first met Jim Wikman during an episode featuring him and his fellow NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament junkies aka The Basketball Mavens ( S:3, E:12 ). In this episode we catch up with Jim, learn about what The Mavens have in store for this year's Tourney (their 28th straight together), as well as his myriad sports travels. Jim is certainly the first - and likely the final - guest on Conv...

As high school and collegiate wrestling champions are crowned across the land, we felt it timely to go to the mats with a hardcore amateur wrestling fan. Todd Oliver is that guest for us. A Michigan native who currently resides in Chattanooga, TN, Todd was oblivious to the sport of wrestling until his 6-year-old son, Justin, was persuaded to join a local club. An eventual collegiate All-American a...

As host Doug Hill works his way through a week's worth of Indiana basketball as part of his Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, we figured it might be a good idea to learn why the game means so much to so many in the state. To that end, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame 's Executive Director, Matt Martin, joins us in this bonus episode to discuss what basketball means to the...