We're joined this week by Canadian transplant Brent Savidant. The son of a Canadian Air Force member, Brent and his family spent time in various remote outposts throughout Canada and even several years on a NATO base in the Netherlands. It was during this stint overseas that Brent has his first core sports memory: The 1974 World Cup Final between the Netherlands and host West Germany. Dutch start Johan Cruyf and company lost to West Germany, 2-1.

Brent recollects about the forced choice most Canadians needed to make during the 1970s pre-cable TV and NHL expansion era: Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens. He chose the Canadiens and his disdain for the Maple Leafs and Leafs' fans burns hot to this day.

We reminisce about visits to the old Montreal Forum as well as the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and the Montreal Expos. He was a fan of them all, especially the Expos. We discuss painful memories like 1981's "Black Monday" loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series as well as the strike-halted 1994 season when - Brent's convinced - the Expos were on their way to a World Series Championship.

Brent also touches on switching his allegiance from the Canadiens to the Ottawa Senators upon their 1992 expansion, his love of English Football (his club, Leeds United was relegated to the Championship this season), and the Tour de France.

Finally, he notes falling hard for the Detroit Lions upon relocating to the Detroit area at the height of Barry Sanders' time on the field.

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We're joined this week by a pair of notable sports fans. One is highly acclaimed sports photographer Jean Fruth. The other is the former President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Jeff Idelson. Together, the pair have founded Grassroots Baseball, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to promoting and enhancing the game of baseball, especially at the amateur levels.

The organization has published a pair of coffee table books about baseball: Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin and Grassroots Baseball: Route 66 (sold out) and is working on a third, Grassroots Baseball: Women.

During our time with this duo, we learn of Jean's beginnings as a sports photographer (her children's youth leagues, of all things) and tips for the aspiring sports photographer (hint: the equipment does make a difference but there are other things you can do) and of Jeff's work for two of baseball's most storied franchises, the Boston Red Sox (his childhood favorites) and the New York Yankees. We also learn of the rather flippant advice Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner gave him upon starting in the Bronx.

You're able to view Fruth's remarkable works of photography (sports and otherwise) at her website which is located here.

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In this episode we're joined by longtime Seattle-area resident Tom Steury who shares tales of the Mariners, SuperSonics, and Seahawks where he's been a season-ticket holder for years which makes him a bonafide 12th Man. Tom also reminsces about his early life growing up in Berne, IN, huddling around an uncle's TV to watch tiny Milan defeat Muncie Central, 32-30, (the inspiration for the movie, Hoosiers), and his time at Purdue University with a future Olympian and NBA star, Terry Dischinger (who just recently passed away).

And, not to bury the lead, but Tom also shares his decades-long quest to shoot 1 million free throws (accomplished in 2022) and recently making his 1 millionth free throw. Check out the video of the event here.

What's next for Tom? Not to spoil it, but he wants to get his overall percentage up to 93%. No shocker that this retired Boeing engineer knows exactly how many more he'll need to make to get there and about how long it'll take him to accomploish it.

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We're joined in this episode by Alex Parker, a Fairbanks, AK, native who grew to love sports early on thanks to his father, Tim (S:1, E:3).

At first, it was exposure to local hockey teams such as the University of Alaska Nanooks and the NAHL's Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Later, he was exposed to the beautiful game at the 2010 and 2014 Men's World Cups. After matriculating to Denver University, an early roommate of Alex's exposed him to the English Premier League and he became a devotee of Liverpool FC.

During out time with Alex we learn of his experience as part of the Seahawks' renowned "12th Man," his immediate devotion to the Kraken, being in Denver for the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 victory and the DU Pioneers' 2017 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

And we also veer into non-mainstream sports such as Australian Rules Football, which partially led him to choose New Zealand as his study abroad location where he became fond of rugby. He's a fan of cycling and American Sepp Kuss who recently stunned the cycling world by winning the Vuelta a Espana as a domestique (Alex explains) as well as British rider Mark Cavendish. He even drops in how he witnessed the final stage of the 2005 Tour de France as a youngster atop his father's shoulders along the Champs-Elysees as later-disgraced champion Lance Armstrong won his final Tour.

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We're joined in this episode by Steve Nagengast, a retired CPA from the Grand Rapids, MI, area who is, shall we say, a big Detroit Tigers' baseball fan. How big you ask? Well, big enough to have amassed a collection of over 1,200 autographed baseballs of - primarily - Detroit Tigers.

Among some of the more unique items:

And good news for all, Steve found a willing taker on his desire to donate the entire collection. The Grand Rapids Public Museum will receive the collection early next year. Steve and his wife, Mary, are currently undertaking the rigorous process of appraising the value of the collection to appease the IRS which, we learn, is pretty persnickety when it comes to sports appraisals.

We learn about all that and so much more during our time with Steve, including many trips to Notre Dame Stadium through the years to root on his wife's alma mater.

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We're joined today by John Pakledinaz a now-retired educator and union leader from Farwell, MI, who previously appeared in S:1, E:12 (Little League Baseball World Series Special).

In this episode, John gets the full "Conversations" treatment. We learn about going to Detroit Tigers' games with his Teamsters' member father who parked at the union hall on Trumbull Avenue and walked to the old Tiger Stadium.

We also follow John to college at Central Michigan University where he grew to appreciate women's athletics and continues to be a champion of those "non-revenue" sports to this day. (Of course it wouldn't be a conversation between John and host Doug [an Eastern Michigan University alum] if there wasn't some digressing into the intra-state Mid-American Conference rivalry.)

We also discover that John has some sort of lucky aura about him as he's won The Masters lottery twice (he's going again next spring) and has been to a pair of Ryder Cups (Hazeltine National Golf Club [MN] in 2016 and last month in Rome.) He also won tickets to 2022's 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews but was unable to attend.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Conversation with John if his family's long-standing involvement with the Little League Baseball World Series didn't come up.

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We're joined in this episode by Andy Appleby, founder and owner of the 4-team United Shore Professional Baseball League in Utica, MI.

Andy has spent a lifetime working in the sports business, beginning out of Springfield (MA) College with the Detroit Pistons before ultimately founding General Sports Worldwide. It was through this enterprise that he wound up becoming chairman and owner of the Derby County (England) Football Club and owner of the Midwest League's Fort Wayne (IN) Wizards (now the TinCaps).

The USPBL just completed its eighth season of competition between the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers, Eastside Diamond Hoppers, Utica Unicorns, and Westside Woolly Mammoths.

During our time with Andy we touch on just about everything from being a fan to being an employee to being an owner and how's attempted to marry the three at the USPBL. Andy even notes how "Welcome to Wrexham" is a pretty close representation to what it was like in Derby County.

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In this episode we're joined by Fran Scislowicz, a 47-year coach in southeastern Michigan, including his forthcoming 37th season in the dugout of the Rochester Adams Highlanders' softball team. For his work on the diamond, Scislowicz was a 2011 inductee in the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame.

A native of metro-Detroit, Fran's able to trace his fandom back to his hometown Detroit Tigers and his favorite Tiger, Willie Horton. He eventually matriculated to the University of Detroit for his college years where he was a physical education major and was able to enjoy the Dick Vitale era with the Titans and such notable alums (and fellow PE classmates) as Earl Cureton, Terry Duerod, John Long (uncle of Season 1, Episode 22 guest, Grant Long), and Terry Tyler. His time at UD even included an brush with legendary Georgetown University Coach John Thompson.

We also talk about the evolution of coaching, baseball vs. softball, and the caliber of the college powerhouses such as the 3-time defending NCAA Champion University of Oklahoma Sooners.

Finally, Fran shares the touching story how his younger self orchestrated a family trip to the 1971 MLB All-Star Game at Detroit's Tiger Stadium. A game that featured over 25 future Hall of Famers.

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Today's guest is Ashley Bettas-Alcala, an educator and union leader in San Bernardino, CA, who is a third-generation Pullman, WA, native. This means we dive deep into Washington State University talk during this episode.

The conversation ranges from Cougars' quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, and Gardner Minshew to football coaches Babe Hollingberry, Dennis Erickson, Mike Price, and Mike Leach to the Ol' Crimson Booster Club (the group responsible for getting the Wazzu flag on ESPN's College Game since 2003 [that's 290 straight appearances and counting!]) to the pending dissolution of the Pacific 12 Conference as it's been known and what's to come for the "2Pac" to some chat about WSU volleyball and women's soccer programs as well as notable men's basketball alum, Klay Thompson.

We hope you enjoy our time spent vicariously on the Palouse with Ashley.

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This week's conversation with Rich Maison begins normally enough. He shares how his fascination with sports began with a long-ago Detroit Tiger and Pittsburgh Pirate first baseman, Jason Thompson. Nicknamed "Rooftop" during his Detroit days for a pair of prodigious shots in 1977 that he deposited on top of Tiger Stadium, he captivated young Rich in his childhood home. (No footage of either shot is readily available, but enjoy this full Tigers-Blue Jays telecast from June 20, 1978.)

From there Rich takes us on a journey into competitive swimming as well as fishing. Yes, fishing! We learn more than we have to this point about both sports and how Lake St. Clair has some of the best bass fishing in North America. Along the way, Rich shares how technology has changed fishing (especially competitive fishing such as the Bassmaster Elite Series) and the tale of an epic hunting and fishing trip he took several years ago to Kodiak Island, AK.

We eventually return to more mainstream spectator sports when Rich notes the one event he'd like to go back in time to witness in person was the 2006 American League Championship Game between Oakland and Detroit at Comerica Park. It's the game best known for Magglio Ordonez's game-tying 6th inning homer and his walk-off in the bottom of the 9th.

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