Sports Will Save Us All | A Sports Podcast Where Sports Are Just the Beginning

Considered one of the nation's greatest water polo players, Jody Campbell was an All-American water polo player at Woodrow Wilson High School and at Stanford University, where he led his team to three national championships.   Jody played on three Olympic teams (1980, '84 and '88), winning silver medals in the '84 and '88 Olympics. He's been inducted in the Halls of Fame of Stanford University, US...

Rich and Sasha dive into Negro Leagues baseball history and the stories of some of the greats; Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, and Josh Gibson. Rich's new book is called SUGARBALL and it was inspired by the true events of 1937 when a Dominican Republic dictator hired several high-profile stars of Negro League Baseball to come play for his team in the Dominican Republic. When they arrived they found...

Tobias Bloyd was born in a log cabin on Mt. Tobias, near Woodstock, New York. The cabin had no electricity and no running water, and difficult family dynamics.    Tobias spent his young childhood with the woods as his escape—running "completely feral," as he describes it, climbing anything he could find and launching himself into the air while attempting to swing from vine to vine.    In addition...

Bruce Chen grew up in Panama and was named Bruce because his dad loved Bruce Lee. He caught the eye of Major League Baseball scouts when he was just a teenager playing in Panama and eventually went on to pitch in 400 Major League games over 17 seasons. Hear what he misses most about playing in the Majors, what he thinks teams should do differently when signing players from Latin America, and what...

When Nebraska track & field athlete Amanda Moreley was approached at Nationals about giving bobsledding a try her response was, "Isn't that cold and dangerous?" Now, having traveled the world as an elite bobsledder (she was a six-time national team member and an alternate for both the 2006 and 2010 winter Olympics) she can confirm that her initial reaction was spot on, but she never could have ant...

Richie Bennett grew up in a family full of athletes, with brothers everywhere, and himself has achieved  all sorts of athletic success—he was named a High School Academic All-American by the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and twice represented the United States as a USA Track and Field athlete at the Cerebral Palsy World Championships, once in Australia, and once in England, earning in...

Jenna Ross shares her incredible stories of serving over 13 years on active duty in the  Arizona Army National Guard where she was a recruiter, a drill sergeant, a combat medic, and the very first female infantry soldier. She describes becoming fascinated by human motivation and what caused the people around her to remain committed to their goals or abandon them completely. Dr. Ross earned her doc...

Christine    D'Ercole is a remarkable human. She is a Masters World Champion and 13-time Masters National Champion in bicycle racing, she is one of Peloton's most popular and beloved instructors, she has a degree in acting from Carnegie Mellon, she is an entrepreneur, a writer, a motivational speaker, and the creator of the unique and empowering Workshop program. Get ready for a big dose of inspir...

Ever wonder why it's called Pickle Ball? Where this odd, mash-up of a sport came from, or why people can't stop talking about it? Pickle Ball Coach and enthusiast Wendy Cracchiolo is here to answer all of your questions, give us a quick primer in how to play, and, just maybe, light the Pickle Ball spark in you. Want to learn more? You can find Wendy on Instagram @pop_culture_pickleball.  

It is that time of year again when lots of us start making goals for the new year and for many of us that includes resolutions about spending a bit more time at the gym. If that sounds like you then you are going to want to pay special attention because my guest today is group fitness instructor and personal trainer, Annie Shelley.  

There was one thing Meagan Kukowski always knew as a kid, she was fast. Having never competed in cross country because it conflicted with the Field Hockey season, Kukowski walked on to the Division 1 St. Louis University Cross Country Team where she found community and purpose. Now, as the Executive Director of Girls On the Run in Arizona she helps young girls who are grappling with the challenges...

Dan Levitt has written a book, along with Mark Armour, about a subject that tends to elicit incredibly passionate responses from baseball fans—you guessed it….cheating. The book is called Intentional Balk and folks, there might not be any crying in baseball, but there sure seems to be a LOT of cheating, and according to Dan Levitt, it's been going on for 150 years.   You can find more information...

Bea Graves came of age in Phoenix before the landmark Title IX legislation made organized girls' sports commonplace, but when she discovered a bunch of guys playing volleyball at Encanto Park as a teenager, she was home.    Her passion for the sport made her unstoppable, earning her an invitation to red shirt for the Arizona State University team, and a multitude of trophies over the years that fo...

Ray Klein has been a commercial hot air balloon pilot since 1996 and a few years ago took 15-year-old, Indiana Graham, under his wing to show him the ropes of this rapidly growing adventure sport. Ray reflects on three decades of ballooning, including a very sketchy emergency landing high in the Swiss Alps, while Indiana still marvels at experience of lifting off the ground at all. 

Camelot Therapeutic Horsemanship is a magical ranch in the Sonoran Desert where kids and adults with physical disabilities come to learn horsemanship and horseback riding. Mary (Executive Director) and Hannah (Principle Riding Instructor) on why the "right to risk" is one of the foundations of their program and why they will never charge for the services they provide.   We discuss the book, WILDHO...

Chuck Keels coaches people every day to live their best life so last year he decided to take his own advice and attempt a solo bike ride from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida. Chuck did not let his complete inexperience on a road bike deter him, and with his wife Hannah and their dog Jax following him in a borrowed RV, the three set off on the adventure of a lifetime. More informati...

Britt (Williams) Willard began diving competitively at age 8, became a national age group champion by the time she was 11, and was a four-time All-American at UCLA. Her career has been full of unusual twists, and turns, including working as stuntwoman and model, and later, in marketing for the Denver Broncos. Hear her incredible story including the unusual advice Greg Louganis gave her about overc...

A sneak peek at what's ahead on SWSUA!