This week's guest is a college football - nay, a University of Michigan football - fanatic, Mike Hellman. A resident of Macomb, MI, Mike is the third Hellman to join us on Conversations. His son, Jack, appeared on Season 1, Episode 4, and his wife, Jean, was part of the Season 2, Mother's Day Special. Those two are both big Michigan State University fans which makes for interesting Saturdays during football season in the Hellman Home.

Mike recalls the moment he first became a Michigan football fan. It was at his grandmother's home watching the 1975 UM-Ohio State game, won by the Buckeyes, 21-14. He recalls his first time in Michigan Stadium a decade later for Michigan's 20-0 whitewashing of the Bobby Ross-coached Maryland Terrapins.

Mike also waxes poetic about the the 1980s-era Detroit Tigers team he was exposed to featuring players such as Steve Kemp and Aurelio Rodriguez.

We also learn of Mike's love of Larry Bird, the only basketball player (he asserts) who was a College Player of the Year, an NBA Player of the Year, an NBA Coach of the Year, and a NBA Executive of the Year. He also won the NBA Rookie of the Year, NBA Finals MVP, and NBA All-Star Game MVP.

Mike counts among his memorable in-person spectating moments being in the Rose Bowl, January 1, 1998, for Michigan's, 21-16, victory over Washington State.

And among the events he'd love to go back in time to see in person, those were Game 7 of the 1968 World Series and the 1969 UM-OSU game which began the "10-Year War" between Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes.

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In this week's episode we're joined by Michael Thurston, a long-time educator and tremendous baseball fan from Maine (yep, check it off your Bingo Board if you're playing along;-).

Thurston shares with us memories of Fenway Park, 1972, when his father took him to his first game, and how, the next season, he became a Carl Yastrzemski fan, then the Boston Red Sox leftfielder. He was also, rather randomly, a big fan of New York Mets' pitcher, Tom Seaver, so much so that when he pitched for his Little League teams, Thurston felt like his follow knee needed to get dirty the same way Seaver's did. In 1983, Thurston shares that he and friends were able to see Yastrzemski in person during the waning moments of his final season (1983). Likewise, he and a group of friends were able to see Seaver pitch for Boston in 1986 (this game against Cleveland, based upon Thurston's description).

Along the way we touch on the many heartaches the Red Sox provided Thurston and other Boston fans, their ultimate run of good luck, and his renouncement of his BoSox fandom and transfer of allegiance to the Washington Nationals. It's a delightful tale that includes a Nationals' 2019 World Series win.

A lot of baseball chatter but a great discussion to be sure, complete with passing aircraft interupting the conversation for a moment as Thurston was chatting from his back patio.

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We're joined in this episode by Craig Pringle, an Ohio native who's lived in southern California for over 30 years. During our time with Craig we learn about falling in love with sports - football in particular - while attending Massillon Washington High School where he played football with both Spielman brothers (Rick and Chris) and participated in one of the great high school rivalries in sport: The annual Massillon Washington vs. Canton McKinley football game.

Craig also shares with us how he wound up at Eastern Michigan University and how, of all things, this north central Ohio native became a University of Michigan Wolverines' fan.

And, because Craig is a huge fan of Cleveland's professional sports scene there's plenty to conversations fodder there:

There's a good bit more ground covered so we hope you settle in and enjoy our time with Craig.

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We're joined in this episode by a metro-Detroit area mother of six and grandmother of 18, Carol Nihem. Those close to her call her sitto (which loosely translates to grandma from Lebanese). The one thing we discovered, however, is that she must be referred to as a sports fan.

With five brothers, Carol's love of sport developed early on and still burns brightly today ... though she's not as dye-in-the-wool as she used to be.

She counts among her favorites football (college and pro) and tennis, though we learn she's not particularly fond of Novak Djokovic.

Along the way we learn of Carol's visits to the now demolished Olympia Stadium, Tiger Stadium, and Chicago Stadium, not to mention some brushes with past Detroit athletes Mickey Lolich and Bob Probert.

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In this episode we're joined by a work colleague from decades ago at the Detroit Free Press, Derek Meinecke. A product of Northwestern University and Wayne State University Law School, Derek is the son of the much-beloved and late Michigan sportswriter, Corky Meinecke.

During our time with Derek we learn of his early days as a sports fan and how a kid growing up in the Grand Rapids, MI, area would become a fan of the Minnesota Twins, Vancouver Canucks, and the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals. We also discover one of the advantages of being a sports-crazed son of a sportswriter: a subscription to The Sporting News in the days when all the major sports/teams received some ink.

Derek shares sports recollections with Mandy, his wife; daughters, Jane and Kate; and son, Drew, that include just about every sport you can imagine. He also shares with us that unless we've been to one of his mom's tailgates on University of Michigan football game days we've not really been to a tailgate.

And, finally, he recounts a vivid and poignant memory about the time he and his father road-tripped to South Bend, IN, on September 2, 1995, and witnessed Derek's 27-point underdog Wildcats upset ninth-ranked Notre Dame, 17-15. (Check out the wonderful recollections of the game in this Chicago Tribune article.) Derek notes that it was more than just experiencing the game with his father, it was the trip home and the life lessons Corky imparted on his only son that resonate to this day. Six weeks later, Derek says, his father received a cancer diagnosis.

Derek also left us with a challenge (given to him by a friend): If you could go back in time, what are 10 sports events you'd like to experience in person? He admits, one of his 10 would be September 2, 1995, and the roadtrip to South Bend with his dad.

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This week's guest is Pam Forton, a retired math teacher and former para-legal from the Traverse City, MI, area. Pam traces her sports fanaticism back to her grandmother who was a huge Detroit Tigers fan her mother who was an even bigger college basketball fan; Isiah Thomas in particular.

Herself, Pam enjoys it all. She's not opposed to staying up late to watch west coast action, tennis, cycling, you name it. She fell in love with track and field during the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Those were the first times she ever saw women competing in athletic competitions. She's also a fan of the Winter Olympics and recalls being transfixed by Peggy Fleming's skating prowess and native son Jean-Claude Killey's skiiing during the 1968 Grenoble, France, Games. Pam also shares that her husband, Tom - then in the Army - was stationed in Germany during the 1972 Munich Games and was in the arena for the much-disputed USA-USSR Men's Gold Medal Basketball Game.

The Forton's are frequent sports travelers, especially in the spring and fall when they try to make a weekend out of it (seeing multiple events over the weekend). During the summer, they have the Traverse City Pit Spitters of the Northwoods League (a summer league for college players).

We're excited to be joined in this week's episode by Craig Calcaterra, author of the 2022 book, Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game. He also pens a daily Substack newsletter, Cup of Coffee.

During our time with Craig we learn about his sports origin story growing up near Flint, MI, and how he came to become an Alan Trammell fan. A family move to West Virginia led to Craig becoming an Atlanta Braves fan thanks to Superstation TBS.

We also dig into how and when he changed his perspective on being a sports fan, the impetus for his book, and some thoughts on how fans can alter their rooting habits to bring themselves more joy (think being a fair-weather fan, rooting for favorite players, and/or becoming more a casual fan).

We're joined in this episode by Dave Metter, known in the Twitterverse as @CooperstownDave.

With it being Induction Weekend at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, we felt it was the perfect time to check in with Dave, who first became enamored with the Hall of Fame when one of his favorite players, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. failed to reach the 75% threshhold needed for election his first year on the ballot (2017). He created a Twitter handle, @Vlad4HOF, and worked on educating the electorate nudging the free-swinger over the required vote total.

During our time together, we discuss how someone living in Philadelphia became such a Vlad Sr. fan in the first place (Hint: Harrisburg Senators), his newfound quest to move the needle on 19th Century catcher, Charlie Bennett (see these at #Charlie4HOF on Twitter); his thoughts on the Hall's Era Committees; and Rule B for said Era Committees (Those whose careers entailed involvement in multiple categories will be considered for their overall contribution to the game of Baseball; however, the specific category in which these individuals shall be considered will be determined by the role in which they were most prominent).

To that end, Dave provides his thoughts on Hall of Fame candidacy of the likes of Felipe Alou (player/manager), Lou Piniella (player/manager), and Dr. Frank Jobe.

All in all, a lot of baseball in this episode, but a few basketball recollections are scattered throughout. Keep an ear open for those.

As The Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all million dollar event, tips off next week, we're delighted to be joined today by Nick Elam, a high school teacher/administrator and sports fan, who had an idea about how to improve the end of basketball games ... and did something about it! The Elam Ending has been utilized by TBT since 2018. The NBA has used the concept for the finale of its All Star Games the past three seasons, the Canadian Elite Basketball has used the format since 2021, and the NBA G-League began using it during the 2022/23 season for overtime.

During our time with Elam, currently faculty member in Ball State University's Department of Educational Leadership, discusses his earliest recollections of being a sports fan and the nearly decade long journey from concept to reality the Elam Ending took him on.

It is, in our estimation, one of our most fascinating episodes to date.

This week's guest is recently retired educator and union leader from suburban Detroit, Tony Lucchi. As we learn about Tony's journey as a sports fan we discover it was a visit to his Aunt Pat and Uncle's Bill's house that first exposed Tony to sports. In this case, a Detroit Tigers' broadcast on a family radio. And, like may kids his age during that era, the exposure to baseball on the radio led to the request for a transistor radio as a gift.

Later, we learn it was Tony's mom, who worked for Henry Ford Hospital, who secured tickets to a game at Tigers' Stadium for she, Tony, and his aunt and uncle to attend. The specifics are fuzzy, but he remembers the opponent that day being the Kansas City Royals (likely during their expansion season).

Tony chats it up about his love of the Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks ... wait, what? Yep, he attended grad school in Columbia, SC, durign the late 1980s. We also discuss the prospects for the Lions this upcoming season (Spoiler: He's a believer), his time Los Angeles, what's on his sports bucket list, and, a late-episode riff on what does and does not qualify as a sport (Spoiler: He's not pro curling as a sport).