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Cricket and America - two words that rarely appear in the same sentence without a smirk or a shrug. Yet, as authors Beth Simpson and Mark Greenslade reveal in their new book "An American Cricket Odyssey," the game's roots here run deeper than most realize — and its revival is one of the great under-told stories in modern sport.

We trace the sport's improbable journey - from its 19th-century heyday, when Philadelphia was a global cricket power; to its near extinction after baseball gained popularity; and finally to its 21st-century rebirth, fueled by immigrant passion and the game's modern-day incarnation, Twenty20 (T20). Along the way, Simpson and Greenslade take us inside the subcultures that have kept US cricket alive - from South Central LA's Compton Cricket Club to equal rights-seeking women cricketers to youth development programs from Bronx, NY high schools to suburban North Carolina ballfields.

We also tackle the political dysfunction, internal corruption and repeated false starts that have haunted American cricket for decades - including the 2019 collapse of the USACA national governing body, its not-much-better replacement USA Cricket, and the additionally complicating factor of International Cricket Council (ICC) recognition.

And of course, we examine the handful of attempts to make pro cricket stick in the States from 2004's erstwhile Pro Cricket to today's ambitious Major League Cricket, backed by nearly a billion dollars of domestic and global investment - and ask whether this latest experiment can finally overcome the sport's chronic infighting and infrastructure gaps.

It's a journey through sport, culture, and identity - one that reveals how America keeps rediscovering cricket, and why the game still struggles to find its true home on US soil.

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The story of Moses Malone is one of basketball's most remarkable - and underappreciated - journeys. Rising from poverty in segregated Petersburg, Virginia, in the early 1970s, Malone became the first modern player to jump straight from high school to the pros, quickly establishing himself as one of the game's most dominant forces. A three-time NBA MVP, relentless rebounder, and driving presence behind the rise of the early 1980s Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers' 1983 league championship, Malone redefined greatness - quietly, humbly, and unstoppably.

This week, biographer Paul Knepper, author of "Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet," joins us to explore the man behind the legend and how his life reshaped both the sport and professional basketball culture.

Knepper traces Malone's rise from a poor upbringing to his groundbreaking 1974 leap to the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars - an unprecedented move that paved the way for future hoops prodigies like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. On the court, Malone was a tireless worker, perennial All-Star, and the most dominant offensive rebounder in league history. Off it, the "Chairman of the Boards" quietly mentored rising stars like Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon, showing that greatness could coexist with humility.

Through rare interviews and meticulous research, Knepper restores Malone's rightful place in basketball history - not just as a Hall of Famer, but as a "prophet" of professionalism, perseverance, and quiet excellence.

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Unwitting US pro soccer historian Tim O'Bryhim ("Make This Town Big: The Story of Roy Turner and the Wichita Wings" and "God Save the Wings") makes his third trip to the show - this time in celebration of his wild new collection of stories from the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978-92). O'Bryhim has spent nearly a decade chronicling the MISL's wild and woolly history (including his essential "MISL 1980s" Substack) - and his new book "MISL 1980s: Tales From a Lost Soccer League" delights in its recounting of some of the truly underappreciated trials, tribulations and characters of what made this influential circuit special - and, to O'Bryhim's credit, memorable. We discuss some of them, including the 1974 NASL indoor exhibition that accidentally launched the league, the tumultuous year leading to Pete Rose's Cincinnati Kids taking on the New York Arrows in the MISL's first game, Jerry Buss' foray into indoor soccer with the Los Angeles Lazers, the Dallas Sidekicks' improbable 1987 championship run, and the absolutely bonkers ending to that 1985 playoff series between the San Diego Sockers and Minnesota Strikers.

"MISL 1980s" also delves into the careers and lives of players and coaches like Erik Rasmussen, Kevin Kewley, and Alan Merrick, examines how players approached their post-MISL careers, celebrates the fans who have kept the league's history alive, and explores why the MISL ultimately failed to become America's next major league sport.

From the short-shorts to the mullets to the pulsating synth music, O'Bryhim's book is a lovingly curated look at the pop-culture sensation that was indoor soccer in the "Me Decade".

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In the immediate years after World War II, the trajectory of America's pastime looked unstoppable.

By 1949, Minor League Baseball had swelled to 59 leagues, 448 teams, and some 10,000 players - the largest network in its history. But within a decade, the advent of television, suburban migration, and shifting leisure habits began to drain fans and revenue. Hundreds of teams folded, and by 1963, the entire minor-league system was on the brink of collapse.

We explore that turbulent era - the golden age of small-town clubs and ballparks, the struggles of owners and players to stay afloat, and the rescue plan that reshaped the minors for the rest of the twentieth century - with SABR baseball researcher George Pawlush, whose current books "When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946–1963" (a SABR-driven collection of essays); and "Dawn and Dusk of the Colonial League," which chronicles a short-lived Class B circuit from 1947 to 1950, both illuminate this fascinating period.

Pawlush describes stories of teams traveling on dangerously aging buses, cash-strapped franchises uprooting for survival, and the rise of players both transformative (like Jackie Robinson, whose minor-league stints with the Montreal Royals in 1946 helped pave the way for MLB integration) - and forgotten (like Ron Necciai, whose early 1952 strikeout feats dazzled fans and earned a call-up to the Pittsburgh Pirates later that summer) before injuries ended their careers.

We'll dig into how the minors were both a proving ground for future stars and a fragile ecosystem vulnerable to social and economic change: What caused the rapid collapse of so many leagues in the 1950s? How did the Colonial League embody both the promise and fragility of postwar baseball? And how did the 1963 Player Development Plan finally stabilize the farm system?

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In the late 1960s, Denver's business and political leaders were convinced they had secured the ultimate prize in international sport: the 1976 Winter Olympic Games. With the backing of the US Olympic Committee and a successful bid before the International Olympic Committee, Colorado seemed poised to showcase itself on the world stage. But just two years later, that dream collapsed in spectacular fashion — when the state's voters did the unthinkable, and told the Olympics to go elsewhere.

This week, we explore the fascinating saga of the "Olympics that never happened" with cultural historian and UNC Greensboro professor Adam Berg, author of "The Olympics That Never Happened: Denver '76 and the Politics of Growth." Berg examines how an elite coalition of boosters and officials promised a glittering event, only to face escalating costs, shaky logistics, environmental concerns, and — most importantly — a grassroots multi-issue opposition movement that united environmentalists, taxpayer advocates, and suburban "NIMBY" homeowners.

It's a story that goes far beyond sport — one about power, growth, democracy, and the limits of civic boosterism in a rapidly changing/modernizing Colorado. Berg reveals how the defeat of the Games energized a new political consciousness, launched the career of future governor Richard Lamm, and reshaped how host cities and the IOC think about public consent for mega-events.

It's one of the most remarkable "what-ifs" in Olympic history — and a story whose impact still resonates today.

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Peabody Award-nominated writer and Episode 389 guest David Fleming ("Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship") returns to the show to unpack one of the National Football League's most chaotic and fascinating chapters: the disaster of the 1952 Dallas Texans.

In his new book,"A Big Mess in Texas: The Miraculous, Disastrous 1952 Dallas Texans and the Craziest Untold Story in NFL History," Fleming chronicles the league's first attempt to plant a professional football franchise in football-crazed Texas — a venture so ill-fated that the NFL reportedly still disavows it.

Fleming guides us through the Texans' brief and turbulent existence, from their origins as the financially struggling New York Yanks to their relocation to Dallas under the ambitious but ill-prepared Miller brothers. We explore a 1–11 season riddled with logistical nightmares and meet the team's unforgettable characters: future Hall of Famers Art Donovan and Gino Marchetti, unsung heroes like Buddy Young and George Taliaferro, and a broader cast of characters who fought to keep the team afloat despite unrelenting chaos.

You'll hear about rattlesnakes on the practice field, barroom brawls, bounced checks, paternity suits, one-legged trainers, humiliating defeats, a miraculous victory, strip poker with groupies, and even a future Hall of Fame coach stealing a cab. Amidst the madness, Fleming spotlights the Texans' lone shining moment: a Thanksgiving Day "home game" upset over the Chicago Bears at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio — an improbable triumph that perfectly captured the team's fleeting flashes of brilliance against a constant tide of organizational mayhem.

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How do you build a professional women's hockey league from the ground up — and convince the sport's best players, skeptical investors, and hungry fans that this time it's built to last? CBC Sports journalist Karissa Donkin, author of "Breakaway: The PWHL and the Women Who Changed the Game," helps us dive into the backstory of the incredible Professional Women's Hockey League.

Donkin traces the roots of the PWHL back to the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019 and the rise of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association, whose "Dream Gap" tours kept women's hockey in the spotlight when no stable league existed. She also unpacks the complicated legacy of North American professional women's leagues: the original National Women's Hockey League (1999–2007), and the later NWHL launched in 2015 — the first U.S.-based league to pay salaries — which eventually rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The overlap of these leagues, combined with the PWHPA's touring circuit, splintered talent and divided attention, but it also highlighted what was missing: a single, unified, and financially sustainable league. These years of struggle, advocacy, and experimentation ultimately set the stage for the PWHL's 2023 launch.

We'll explore how the Mark Walter Group, Billie Jean King, and a coalition of powerful allies turned that vision into reality, and why the league's first collective bargaining agreement matters so much for players seeking true professional standards. Donkin also unpacks the drama and exhilaration of the inaugural 2024 season — from record-breaking crowds to the intensity of Boston–Montreal showdowns — and explains how the league is balancing rapid growth with the need for long-term sustainability.

Finally, we look ahead: what does expansion to markets like Vancouver and Seattle mean for the league's future? How will the PWHL navigate the ongoing battles for sponsorship, broadcast exposure, and cultural relevance in a crowded sports marketplace? And most importantly, how will the next generation of girls growing up with the PWHL on TV — and in their hometown arenas — reshape what professional hockey looks like in North America?

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The incomparable Jayne Kennedy ("Plain Jayne: A Memoir") joins us for an intimate conversation about a career that defied expectations and left an indelible mark on both sports broadcasting and American culture. Raised in small-town Ohio and catapulted to national attention through beauty pageants and professional ambitions, Kennedy soon found herself in early 1970s Hollywood — landing a succession of parts on TV variety shows, commercials, and film. But it was her move to CBS's The NFL Today in 1978 that cemented her place in television history.

For two groundbreaking seasons, Kennedy sat alongside Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, and Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder on what was then the most influential NFL pregame show in America. As one of the first women — and among the very first Black women — to co-anchor a national sports broadcast, she brought poise, charisma, and depth to a space long dominated by men.

Kennedy reflects candidly on what it was like to navigate the high-pressure world of network television, from the excitement of breaking barriers to the behind-the-scenes tensions that eventually led to her controversial departure in 1980.

In a conversation that spans both triumphs and challenges, Kennedy shares how her time on The NFL Today shaped her career, the lessons she carried into later endeavors, and why her story still resonates in today's conversations about representation in media.

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Veteran sportswriter, Sports Broadcast Journal columnist, and Episode 233 guest Rich Podolsky ("You Are Looking Live!") returns to the show to explore the story of perhaps the greatest broadcast partnership in NFL history.

In his new book, "Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting," Podolsky offers a rare inside look at how kicker-turned-play-by-play man Pat Summerall, and coach-turned-color-analyst John Madden became the voices of America's Sundays — and why their impact still reverberates across sports media today.

Through Podolsky's storytelling, we uncover how the duo's unlikely chemistry — Summerall's minimalist gravitas paired with Madden's booming energy and boundless teaching — redefined the way fans understood the game. We trace their journey from the heights of CBS to their groundbreaking leap to Fox, where their presence gave a fledgling network instant credibility. Along the way, Podolsky reveals how Madden transformed the role of analyst, turning film sessions and telestrators into staples of the craft, while Summerall perfected the art of saying more with less.

What emerges is not just a portrait of two men, but of a cultural moment: the rise of the NFL as America's most powerful television spectacle, carried into living rooms by a duo so iconic that no team since has truly replaced them.

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Few writers have illuminated baseball's legends with the depth, rigor, and heart of renowned sports journalist and author Jane Leavy. From Sandy Koufax to Mickey Mantle to Babe Ruth, her biographies of the game's greatest figures don't just recount their lives — they reveal the eras each helped to define.

Now, with her new book Make Me Commissioner: I Know What's Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It, Leavy turns her sharp eye and seasoned reporting toward the sport itself, asking what's broken, what's worth preserving, and how its lost magic might be restored.

In this episode, we sit down with Leavy for a wide-ranging conversation that blends her unparalleled knowledge of baseball history with a candid assessment of its present challenges — analytics overload, youth development crises, dwindling diversity, and the struggle to balance spectacle with spontaneity. She also shares her imaginative, sometimes provocative, ideas for how the game could evolve in the years ahead.

For longtime fans, casual observers, and anyone who cares about the soul of America's pastime, this episode delivers a masterclass in baseball storytelling — and a glimpse into the possible futures of the game from one of its finest chroniclers.

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