Episodes

  • AJ Foyt Survivor Champion Legend From Racing Historian Art Garner

    AJ Foyt Survivor Champion Legend From Racing Historian Art Garner
    Nov 16 2024
    A.J. Foyt: Survivor, Champion, Legend (Volume One, Octane Press, October 2024), an extensive and highly entertaining biography of one of America's most popular, colorful, and controversial sports heroes, is now available for order. Art Garner-an award-winning author and finalist for the prestigious PEN/ESPN award for literary sports writing for his bestselling book, Black Noon-has captured the action on and off the track that led many to consider Foyt to be one of the greatest race car drivers of all time-and one reporter to write that A.J. stood for "another jerk."Known for his fiery disposition and bare-knuckled approach, Foyt's driving career spanned five decades-six if you count an exhibition race when he was five years old. He was the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times and still holds Indy car records for most victories and championships. He is the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Daytona 500, one version of auto racing's triple crown. He also won the International Race of Champions in 1976 and 1977 and still holds the world closed-course speed record that he set in 1987. "Statistics tell only part of the story," Garner says. "Foyt likes to say, 'I'm just A.J., ain't no different than any other man,' but nothing could be further from the truth. He's one of the most complex and intricate personalities in the history of auto racing, perhaps all of sports." The biography also explores the unique relationship between Foyt and his "Daddy," Anthony Joseph "Tony" Foyt Sr. Although they often clashed-it was Tony who said working with his son could be like "dancing with a buzzsaw"-A.J. called him "the only man I can trust." It was Tony who instilled in his son an overwhelming drive to be the best, teaching him that victory was expected, excellence assumed. And it was Tony who told a crowd celebrating A.J.'s fourth Indy 500 victory that his son had "done fair."Through tireless research and hundreds of hours of new interviews with Foyt, his family, friends, and the biggest names in motorsports-including Mario Andretti, Roger Penske, Al Unser Sr., Johnny Rutherford, Jackie Stewart, Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and many others-Garner has compiled an unprecedented look at Foyt's life and career. At 656 pages it includes ninety-five photos, some from Foyt's family albums, and fifty-five pages of source notes and index.
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    18 mins
  • Professional Wrestlers Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez From WWE's NXT On The CW

    Professional Wrestlers Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez From WWE's NXT On The CW
    Nov 10 2024
    With a chaotic and history-making run during her time in NXT, Perez has as bright of a future as any WWE newcomer has had in a long time. WWE NXT Announced For Historic Philadelphia Wrestling Venue - NXT will broadcast from the former ECW Arena for The CW on November 6th. After rumors were reported online regarding this historic wrestling venue, WWE is officially returning to the House of Hardcore. WWE announced this morning that NXT will broadcast live from the former ECW arena, 2300 Arena, in Philadelphia, PA on November 6th. The episode will air on The CW at 8pm ET. "The city of Philadelphia has a rich wrestling history, and we are excited to bring a night of unforgettable action to such a storied venue," WWE Sr. Vice President of Talent Development, Shawn Michaels, was quoted as saying in the press release. During WrestleMania XL weekend in April, NXT ran "Stand and Deliver" from Wells Fargo Center, which became the most attended NXT event of all time with a recorded attendance of 16,545 people. Located at the corners of Swanson and Ritner Streets in South Philadelphia, 2300 Arena is synonymous as the ECW Arena, and was the home of Extreme Championship Wrestling during its meteoric rise and throughout most of its existence. The arena is currently the home of Major League Wrestling, as well as previously hosted boxing, MMA, and other events.WWE and The CW announced their five-year agreement to bring NXT to broadcast television for the first time in its 13-year history in November 2023. It's been a historic 2024 for #WWENXT!
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    20 mins
  • Pro Wrestler LA Knight WWE's Wrestlemania 41 In Vegas

    Pro Wrestler LA Knight WWE's Wrestlemania 41 In Vegas
    Nov 3 2024
    WrestleMania is the WWE’s most anticipated event of the year, and this time, WrestleMania 41 comes to the entertainment capital of the world, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on April 19 and 20. Tickets for Wrestlemania 41 will be available at Ticketmaster.com beginning Friday, October 25.Over the last four decades, WrestleMania has evolved from a made-for-television spectacle to a cultural phenomenon complete with stadium and arena events, fan festivities and premium experiences. In addition to the two-night stadium event, WWE will bring Raw, SmackDown, NXT Stand & Deliver, WWE World (with Fanatics) and the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to Las Vegas, as well as a variety of local outreach events designed to give back to the Las Vegas community.
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    9 mins
  • Stanley Cup Winning Coach Mike Keenan Releases The Book Iron Mike

    Stanley Cup Winning Coach Mike Keenan Releases The Book Iron Mike
    Oct 26 2024
    The must-read memoir of one of the NHL's most controversial and successful coaches-winner of the 1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers. In the fraternity of NHL coaches, some stand out for their winning records, some for their big personalities and some for their unprecedented methods. Mike Keenan stands out on all these counts, and more. Breaking into the NHL as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984, Keenan got instant results, leading them to the Stanley Cup final in his first year. In 1987, he coached Team Canada to victory in the Canada Cup using his intuitive bench management, putting superstars Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux together on a line at key times to great, winning results. Keenan's teams succeeded at every level. With championships in university athletics, the OHL and AHL, it seemed only a matter of time before his resumé would include the ultimate prize. One of the NHL's most valuable franchises, the New York Rangers, hadn't won a Cup in fifty-four years-the league's longest championship drought at the time. But with five-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Messier as captain of the star-studded Rangers lineup, there was only one thing missing for a championship run on Broadway: a coach who could focus all the talent and desire on victory. After a season of much controversy, in 1994 the Stanley Cup finally returned to Madison Square Garden, considered by many to be one of the greatest Cup wins by a US-based NHL team. In the hands of veteran sports journalist and bestselling author Scott Morrison, Iron Mike takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most explosive runs to the Cup in NHL history, one that Keenan shares at long last. There is only one Iron Mike in hockey, and love him or hate him, his memoir is an essential read for any fan of the game.
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    10 mins
  • John Madden Working Morning Radio Stan Bunger Brings It Back To Life In Mornings With Madden

    John Madden Working Morning Radio Stan Bunger Brings It Back To Life In Mornings With Madden
    Oct 19 2024
    "What a joy to read Stan Bunger's book. Bunger captures a complex John Madden who is, of course, hilarious, but also poignant and introspective. For 18 years at 8:15 a.m. on KCBS, Bunger was the perfect straight man teeing up Madden. You can hear Madden on the pages of "Mornings with Madden,'' unspooling one engaging tale after another. He was a truly gifted storyteller. And so, as I've learned, is Stan Bunger. I challenge anyone who picks up this book to stop turning the pages."An intimate and freewheeling portrait of John Madden through the NFL legend's own words" - Joan Ryan, author of "Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry" John Madden is synonymous with football. He was the television face and voice of the nation's most popular sport, the namesake of its best-selling sports video game, and the man with the highest career winning percentage of any NFL coach. Despite his international fame, there was a side of Madden known only to those who listened to morning radio broadcasts in the San Francisco Bay Area. That's where Madden grew up, lived, and died. It's where for decades he found joy in a daily chat with his hometown radio station: a chance to unwind, tell stories, and impart his own brand of wit and wisdom. In Mornings With Madden, Stan Bunger-the man most often on the other side of the mic-illuminates this larger-than-life figure, drawing upon memories of more than fifteen years of daily broadcasts, backed up by thousands of recordings of those conversations. Readers who adored Madden's football acumen and quirky personality on NFL broadcasts will get to know the father, husband, bad golfer, dog owner, lover of roadside diners, and philosopher whose personality dominated our radio chats. Featuring moving reflections alongside Madden's own words, this is a treasure trove of wry observations, self-deprecating humor, clear-eyed thinking about sports and society, and the "Maddenisms" that endeared the legendary coach to millions.
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    18 mins
  • Versatile Five Sport Broadcaster Kenny Albert Marks His 31st Season At FOX Sports

    Versatile Five Sport Broadcaster Kenny Albert Marks His 31st Season At FOX Sports
    Oct 5 2024
    When Kenny Albert was growing up, family gatherings sounded a lot like a dispatch from the first all-sports radio station. There was his father, Marv, whose voice shaped the sound of modern basketball, and there too were his uncles Al and Steve-a trio of professional play-by-play men with a listenership that spanned the country.It was only a matter of time before Kenny, armed with a toy tape recorder, yearned to follow in their footsteps.Some 3,000 broadcasts later, Kenny Albert has amassed countless stories from the world of sports and media. A Mic for All Seasons is his chronicle of a charmed yet unlikely journey, from a youth spent calling games in his bedroom for a fictitious audience to ten-hour bus rides with a minor-league hockey team, plus the time he worked five different sports in one chaotic, 19-day stretch.The only play-by-play broadcaster who currently calls all four major sports in North America, Albert details the stand-out moments from his three-decade career, including the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, Jose Bautista's bat flip in the 2015 ALCS, and the U.S. women's hockey Olympic gold-medal winning shootout in Pyeongchang in 2018.Part memoir, part behind-the-scenes look at the world of broadcast media, A Mic for All Seasons also features stories about life in the booth, game preparation, travel hijinks, marquee events, meetings with star athletes and coaches, and much more.
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    6 mins
  • Josh Rivera Is Aaron Hernandez In American Sports Story On HULU And FX

    Josh Rivera Is Aaron Hernandez In American Sports Story On HULU And FX
    Sep 28 2024
    The first installment of American Sports Story is based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc. from The Boston Globe and Wondery. The 10-episode limited series charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the disparate strands of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture.

    Starring as Aaron Hernandez is Josh Rivera, who recently starred in the hit film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Prior to that, Rivera made an impact as “Chino” in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Storywhich received rave reviews from critics. A seasoned stage actor, Rivera also performed in the first national tour of the smash hit musical Hamilton.
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    8 mins
  • Shad White Unveils Mississippi Swindle Brett Favre And The Welfare Scandal That Shocked America

    Shad White Unveils Mississippi Swindle Brett Favre And The Welfare Scandal That Shocked America
    Sep 21 2024
    This is the book NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre DOES NOT want you to read. Shad White is the Mississippi state auditor who exposed Favre for his involvement in the diversion of millions of dollars in TANF money- money meant to aid the poorest people in the nation's poorest state-in order to build a deluxe volleyball facility at his college alma mater. But Favre was only part of a much larger coverup. Now, in MISSISSIPPI SWINDLE: Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America (Steerforth Press; August 6, 2024), White tells the riveting story of how a small group of powerbrokers enriched themselves by misdirecting nearly $100 million in federal money, and how White led a scrappy team of investigators and auditors to bring the culprits to justice. White's office unmasks a sprawling conspiracy that stretches from Mississippi to Malibu and involves famous athletes, media personalities, and public officials. -more- Born and raised in Mississippi, White won a Rhodes Scholarship and earned a JD from Harvard. He returned to Mississippi and became the youngest state auditor in the country. Eleven months after his appointment, he received a tip that would lead his team to uncover the largest public fraud case in Mississippi history. At the scheme's heart was John Davis, the head of the state's Department of Human Services. Through the agency, Davis provided tens of millions of dollars of funding, meant to provide services for the state's poor, to organizations run by a woman named Nancy New. White discovered that Davis, New, and a cadre of family and friends collected that money to fund their lavish lifestyles that included a home, vacations, and luxury cars. White and his team also discovered the New family had spread money so widely around the community that it was in plenty of people's best interest to not question it. Charity after charity received TANF funds-from local high school bands and beauty pageants, to the Junior League of Jackson and sports booster clubs, to the millions of dollars for the volleyball facility, via Brett Favre's influence. MISSISSIPPI SWINDLE is a story of how power is acquired and maintained. For White, some of those in power sought to maintain it by pressuring him to "handle the case quietly." Favre himself dug in, issuing denial after denial, and later using his celebrity bullhorn and an army of lawyers in an unsuccessful bid to intimidate White and his family. It's also the story of the corrosive nature of fraud that's at the heart of Americans' loss of faith in their institutions. White offers the good news that the remedy resides with the people who can put a stop to that fraud and convince everyday Americans they are being treated fairly and their money is being protected.
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    19 mins