Our guest this week is 1-time sports writer turned government affairs consultant, Doug Levy, who saw his first book published in early 2025; Hero Redefined: Profiles of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar.

A Long Island native, Levy moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest as a youngster and has called the region home for much of his adult life. Consequently, he's traded his fandom of New York's Mets, Giants, Knicks, and Islanders in for a rooting interest in the Seattle's Seahawks, Mariners, and Kraken. (And a longing for the Sonics to return.)

Not a bad swap these days!

During our Conversation, Doug shares his fandom journey, what led him to author Hero Redefined, and how he came to choose the 13 subjects he's written about. We also discuss the Olympics in broader terms, the toll it takes on the athletes (physically and mentally) and what the definition of a hero means to Doug.

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In this special, bite-sized Conversation, host Doug Hill and his Around the World in 80 Sporting Events travel mate for Event No. 47, Justin Byrd, offer some instant reflections from their time in San Juan, Puerto Rico, watching three games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium as part of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

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We're delighted to be rejoined by Jee-ho Yoo, an English-language sports writer at Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Fresh off three weeks in northern Italy covering the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Jee-ho now finds himself in Tokyo for Pool C play of the World Baseball Classic where he'll be covering the South Korean entry in the tournament.

Jee-ho first appeared on Conversations in Season 4, Episode 7. During our current Conversation we discuss what the Olympic experience was like and what his expectations are for the WBC.

Jee-ho is also featured - prominently - in this Major League Baseball video highlighting the evolution of baseball in South Korea.

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A visual artist from the Fargo, ND, area, Paul Schlossman joins this episode of Conversations to discuss his sports fandom, his "Seinfeld" fandom, and his unique artistry.

Growing up a few hours from the nearest major league city (Minneapolis/St. Paul), Paul's entree into sports fandom was North Dakota State University and the Fargo South High School Bruins (his alma mater).

Among Paul's earliest memories of a significant sports year was 1991 when he attended his first-ever Minnesota Twins game in the Metrodome and then watched the Twins win the World Series in Game 7 from his home. He also has vivid recollections (as a Michael Jordan fan) of the MJ's Bulls beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 NBA Finals.

During this hey day of sports fandom, Paul found himself becoming enamored with Starting Lineup figurines. This led to other collectibles (trading cards and McFarlane figurines) which, some 30 years later during the long, isolatory days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, led to his ongoing photography project.

Paul began shooting photographs of the figurines (by themselves, in most cases) in exterior shots with additional lighting to create what he calls his "Under the Lights" series. The figurines are, in essence, how he imagined them while playing with them as a youngster. While some available on large prints, Paul has created many of the images in the size of a trading card merging yet another one of his childhood hobbies.

Check out all of Paul's artwork at his website, paulschlossman.photography.

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In this special episode, we're pleased to be joined by Ricky English, operations' manager at Kays Curling in Ayreshire, Scotland.

Kays is the only provider of curling stones for the Milano-Cortina Olympics. Further, Kays has owned this distinction since curling was reintroduced as a medal sport at the 1998 Nagano Games. We discover during our Conversation with Ricky that there are staff at Kays who have - literally - handled every stone ever thrown in the Olympics.

Kays, which has been producing stones since 1851, is uniquely positioned near the unihabited island, Aisla Craig, in the Firth of Clyde that holds the two types of granite best-suited for curling stone construction: Common Green and Blue Hone.

Ricky shares the history of Kays, a bit about the labor-intensive process of harvesting the granite every five years or so, how the stones are crafted (and an explanation of what a "cheesie" is), and what becomes of the scrap granite (Hint: There's a gift shop [link here]!)

Remaining curling events include the Men's Gold Medal and Women's Bronze Medal matches February 21 and the Women's Gold Medal Match February 22.

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We're joined in Conversation in this episode by Shamit Desai, a native of India who's also lived in the Houston, Detroit, London, Hong Kong, and Washington, DC, areas.

Currently back in India, Shamit's an active cricket player (he's a bowler) so we naturally chat him up about cricket attempting to build our knowledge of this sport.

More over, we discuss how his fandom for the NBA and MLB flourished once arriving in the United States and how he learned about football. (Shamit might be our first guest to have seen the Houston Oilers play in the Astrodome.)

He's also a big motor sports fan (NASCAR, Indy Car, F1, MotoGP, and the Le Mans) and shares this passion with us.

Shamit also drops a few legendary names from his time working in downtown Detroit: Jamie Foxx, Shaquille O'Neal, Barry Sanders, and Brett Hull.

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In this special bonus episode, listen in as host Doug Hill and his traveling mates, Carol, Tim, and Tracey, share their thoughts about the past week in Milano as part of the 2026 Winter Olympics which is Event No. 42 of Doug's Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project. The quartet also sums up their first-ever Olympics experience.

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We're joined in this bonus Conversation by Susan Schwartz, a Fairbanks, AK, resident and mother of of first-time Olympian, Kendall Kramer.

Kendall was a dual sport standout at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, achieving All-America Status eight times in her four years competing in both cross-country running and cross-country skiing. She was the 2024 NCAA Division II runner up while running and won the NCAA 20-kilometer Freestyle Championship on skis.

In addition to working for the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks, Susan also administers the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks' Junior Nordics Program, of which Kendall was once a member.

Susan shares what it's been like to be the parent of a world class athlete whose competition season took her far away from Fairbanks several times this past season, what she's hopeful for in Milano-Cortina, and what the excitement level is in greater Fairbanks area.

Remaining women's cross-country events are scheduled for February 18 (team sprint final) and February 22 (50-kilometer mass start classic).

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We continue our seasonal theme in this episode featuring Richard Dalley, former Olympic ice dancer and current Chair of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Richard and partner, Carol Fox, found the podium for seven consecutive years at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from 1977-84. The final year saw the duo skate at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics where it placed fifth.

Today, Richard serves as a judge for skating competitions and as the Chair of the aforementioned U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs. He was instrumental in creating this website showcasing that Hall's inductees.

During our Conversation with Richard he shares recollections of some of the enshrined, including those most are likely familiar with such as Dick Button, Scott Hamilton, and Dorothy Hamill, but also some who've flown under the radar such as Mabel Fairbanks and Atoy Wilson. He also touches on some of the contributors to the sport such as Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and Frank Zamboni.

Finally, Richard shares what visitors to the Hall of Fame, which sits on property donated by the famed Colorado Springs resort, The Broadmoor, can expect to see upon visiting.

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The traveling party along for the ride in Italy with host Doug Hill for Event No. 42 of his Around the World in 80 Sporting Events Project reflect on their time spent in Cortina d'Ampezzo for a pair of events during the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Doug's wife, Carol, his friend Tim, and Tim's wife, Tracey, reflect on what time was like among the Dolomites before heading to Milan for some more Olympic games.

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