WGBB Sports Talk New York

Host Bill Donohue welcomed four guests from across the sports world: Ron Swoboda, remembered for his spectacular catch in the 1969 World Series; heavyweight boxing contender Gerry Cooney; former NBA All-Star Jeff Ruland; and Brent Strom, pitching coach for the Astros’ 2017 championship team. Bill’s conversations brought together perspectives from baseball, boxing and basketball, giving listeners a chance to hear from the people who experienced professional sports firsthand.

Hosts Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo open the hour by remembering the late Don Cooper with Bob Hirschfield, the longtime Long Island baseball coach, best known as the former head baseball coach at NYIT, where he led the program for about 30 years. Before coaching, he played at St. John’s University and was part of its 1968 College World Series team. Bob shares stories about Cooper’s journey from a standout New York high school player to a respected Major League pitching coach.

Hirschfield looks back at Cooper’s days at McClancy and NYIT, along with the pitching workshops where he helped young players sharpen their skills through practice stations, video review, and plenty of repetition.

Cooper’s approach was about building on what a pitcher already did well. Rather than completely changing someone’s mechanics, he focused on small adjustments, pitch location, sequencing, and confidence. Hirschfield recalls how Cooper made each player feel valued while reminding them that improvement took hard work.

The conversation also touches on NYIT’s move to Division I, the New York Baseball Academy, and the connections that helped players and college programs grow. Stories of Cooper stepping off a plane in shorts to run a clinic or talking baseball at a local deli capture someone who stayed close to his roots and always made time for others.

Throughout the segment, Cooper comes across as more than an accomplished White Sox pitching coach. He was a dedicated teacher and mentor who made learning enjoyable, believed in his players, and helped them believe in themselves.

Takeaways:

• Mike and Chris open the episode with a sincere homage to Don Cooper, and he is vividly depicted as charismatic, loyal, and pedagogically gifted in both pitching craft and mentorship.
• Coach Bob Hirschfeld, delineates Cooper's concrete methodology — repetitive location drills, pitch sequencing, and psychological scaffolding — arguing that elite pitching is as much cognitive engineering as biomechanical power.
• Mike and Chris revisit NYIT's program arc, where he recounts fiscal crises, resilient recruiting itineraries, and adaptive travel-based exposure strategies that sustained Division I competitiveness despite institutional resource constraints.
• Bob articulates a managerial ethos centered on maximizing existing player traits rather than wholesale mechanic overhauls, a pragmatic developmental paradigm focused on confidence, repetition, and situational sequencing.
• Mike and Chrispivot to football coverage with AJ Rovener, who explains that the Giants' evolving identity will likely rest on defensive tenacity, superior special teams execution, and pragmatic quarterback contingency planning.
• Fred Kangi, diagnoses widespread declines in high school participation as multifactorial — post‑COVID disengagement, pervasive club-year specialization, and shifting youth priorities — necessitating systemic feeder-program revitalization.
• Mike and Chris propose pragmatic remedies: he urges cross‑sector collaboration among schools, community leagues, and private clubs to implement school‑first policies, flexible scheduling, and incentives for multi‑sport participation to arrest attrition.
• Mike and Chris close with layered anecdotes and strategic implications, reminding listeners that consistent coaching philosophy, community engagement, and mentorship remain indispensable to preserving the long‑term health of athletic ecosystems.

Host Bill Donohue welcomes two great guests from the worlds of baseball and basketball. First, former MLB pitcher Rick Wise joins the show and looks back on his career, including his 1971 no-hitter, his memorable relief appearance in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, and what it was like pitching in an era when pitchers were expected to hit, bunt, and go deep into games. Wise also shares his thoughts on how baseball has changed over the years.

Later, Bill talks with Long Island native Mitch Kupchak about his journey from Brentwood High School to Olympic gold, three NBA championships as a player, and a successful career as an NBA executive. Kupchak discusses playing in the NBA, learning from legendary Lakers executive Jerry West, and eventually building championship teams himself, including the trade that brought Pau Gasol to Los Angeles.

It’s a fun look back at two impressive careers, with plenty of great stories about baseball and basketball along the way.

Takeaways:

• Bill Donahue structures the program as a convivial, locally rooted forum where he foregrounds historical context and listener engagement while steering detailed conversations about legacy athletes and tactical evolution in sport.
• Rick Wise emphasizes the obsolescence of pitcher-hitting and small-ball fundamentals, arguing that he and his contemporaries cultivated bunting and situational hitting as indispensable strategic tools.
• He recollects career-defining moments with intricate anecdotal specificity — the 1964 doubleheader aftermath, a 1971 no-hitter where he also hit two homers, and an extended perfect-inning stretch against Chicago.
• Rick frames the 1975 World Series Game 6 not merely as Fisk's climactic homer but as a composite narrative in which he credits Bernie Carbo's oft-overlooked pinch-hit heroics and the bullpen's collective resilience.
• He candidly reflects on transactional realities — being traded for Hall of Famers, salary disputes with management, and the tension between monetary undervaluation and a lifelong devotion to baseball.
• Mitch Kupchak recounts his developmental trajectory from Brentwood prodigy to North Carolina standout and Olympic gold medalist, describing how formative mentors and high-school camps catalyzed his athletic and tactical maturation.
• He explicates his dual-phase professional arc: an impactful playing career with the Bullets and Lakers followed by a cerebral front-office apprenticeship under Jerry West that prioritized talent evaluation, clandestine acquisition strategies like Pau Gasol, and judicious veteran recruitment.
• Bill's broadcast repeatedly situates the guests within a communal Long Island sporting memory, as he uses the platform to connect listeners to archival narratives, upcoming shows, and local sports historiography.

Host Bill Donohue looks back at memorable careers in hockey and baseball. Bill opens the show by talking with former New York Islanders goaltender Chico Resch, who shares stories about his journey from Moose Jaw to Long Island, including his early nerves, the origin of his painted goalie mask, and how he became known as “Chico.” He also recalls the excitement of playing at Nassau Coliseum and explains how teammates such as Billy Smith, Clark Gillies, and Bobby Nystrom, along with coach Al Arbour, helped turn the Islanders from a struggling expansion team into a championship organization.

Resch discusses the different personalities and playing styles on those Islanders teams, including Billy Smith’s natural instincts in goal and his own efforts to stand out and help the team. He also talks about the Islanders’ rivalries with the Rangers and Flyers, the strong connection between the team and its fans, and the difficult business side of hockey, including trades and roster changes.

Later, Vada Pinson Jr. joins the program and reflects on his father's outstanding baseball career. He highlights Pinson’s breakout 1961 season, his place among Major League Baseball’s leading hitters during the 1960s, and his Gold Glove defense. He also discusses the racism, negative media coverage, and other barriers his father faced, including the well-known incident involving sportswriter Earl Lawson. Pinson Jr. explains why he believes those issues may have hurt his father’s chances of being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In a special bonus hour, Bill talks with Savannah Bananas pitcher Frankie Moscatiello, followed by Barry Goudreau, an original member of the legendary rock band Boston.

Throughout the show, Donohue keeps the conversations relaxed and personal while giving his guests room to share their memories. The episode offers an entertaining look at two important sports careers and the people, challenges, and experiences that shaped them.

Takeaways:

• Bill Donohue moderated a relaxed two‑hour program in which he steered substantive interviews, cultivating an affable yet earnest atmosphere for extended reminiscence and analysis.
• Chico Resch reminisced about Long Island's communal fervor and explained how his painted goalie mask together with the 'Chico' sobriquet materially amplified his public persona and professional prospects.
• He delineated the performative and psychological dynamics of goaltending, portraying Billy Smith as a quasi‑phenomenon whose ritualized mentality and clutch orientation materially influenced playoff success.
• They unpacked the Islanders' strategic metamorphosis under Bill Torrey and Al Arbour, emphasizing the imperative for a secondary scoring nucleus and the sometimes merciless calculus of roster transactions.
• Vada Pinson III delivered a measured, data‑driven appraisal of his father's career, juxtaposing prolific hitting totals and defensive excellence against the institutional and media forces that complicated Hall of Fame recognition.
• He recounted racially charged episodes in Cincinnati — notably the Lawson altercation and insinuations of a 'Negro clique' — situating those incidents within broader patterns of regional prejudice and media power dynamics.
• They highlighted the mentorship and camaraderie among Black players like Vada Pinson Sr., Frank Robinson, and their welcoming of rookies such as Pete Rose, illustrating how interpersonal bonds shaped clubhouse culture and career trajectories.
• Collectively, the interviews foregrounded the entanglement of athletic performance, personal identity, and organizational decision‑making, offering listeners nuanced perspectives on legacy formation, memory, and the contingencies that define professional sport.

Hosted by Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo, the guys look ahead to the upcoming NFL season, including the impact of roster cutdown day and player movement around the league. SiriusXM’s Zig Fracassi shares his thoughts on the latest NFL developments and explains why sports radio remains popular across both traditional and digital platforms. Later, AJ Rovner joins the show to discuss the New York Giants, their outlook under new head coach John Harbaugh, and the challenge of adding new players while building team chemistry.

Takeaways:

• Zig Fracassi shared his extensive journey in sports broadcasting, emphasizing the importance of adaptability in a constantly evolving industry.
• The discussion touched on the competitive nature of NFL teams, particularly focusing on the Los Angeles Rams and their aggressive strategies for the upcoming season.
• AJ Rovner provided insights into the New York Giants, highlighting the impact of new coaching and key player performances on their potential success this season.
• The podcast examined the changing sports media landscape, contrasting traditional radio formats with emerging platforms like podcasts and streaming services.
• A key theme was the significance of starting strong in the NFL season, with both guests stressing how an early win can set the tone for the year ahead.
• The conversation also addressed the challenges and expectations surrounding individual players, including the need for consistency and performance under pressure to achieve team goals.

Host Bill Donohue welcomes former New York Mets pitcher Jay Hook, who recalls earning the first win in franchise history during the Mets’ inaugural 1962 season. Hook also discusses his academic background in thermodynamics and how manager Casey Stengel gave him the nickname “The Professor.”

Next, former Mets pitcher Craig Anderson shares memories from the team’s challenging first season. Anderson looks back on his teammates and what it was like being part of the original 1962 Mets.

In the second hour, Bill welcomes legendary musician and producer Peter Asher. Asher discusses his time with Peter & Gordon, his connection to The Beatles, and his successful career in the music industry.

The show concludes with former NFL linebacker Phil Villapiano, who reflects on his years with the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills. Villapiano shares memorable stories from his playing career and discusses his new book.

Show Highlights:

• Bill Donohue hosts an engaging show featuring a mix of sports and music guests, creating a unique blend of entertainment.
• Jay Hook shares riveting anecdotes from the 1962 Mets, including their historic first franchise victory.
• Peter Asher discusses his profound experiences with The Beatles and influential music collaborations spanning decades.
• Craig Anderson recounts memorable moments from his time with the 1962 Mets, including interactions with legendary players and coaches.
• Phil Villapiano offers insights into his career with the Oakland Raiders, emphasizing the team's strong culture and competitive spirit.
• The episode highlights the deep connections and stories shared by former athletes and musicians as they reflect on their impactful journeys.

Hosted by Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo, the show first welcomed former New York Mets infielder and member of the 1986 World Series championship team Dave Magadan, who talked about his time with the Mets, the relationships he built with teammates, and memories from his career. Later, the show turned to remembering baseball great Tommy John, who recently passed away. John’s agent, Mike Maguire, joined Mike and Chris to share personal stories about John and discuss his character, determination, and lasting legacy. They also discussed the groundbreaking surgery that bears John’s name and how it has helped extend the careers of countless pitchers.

Takeaways:

• Dave Magadan reminisced about his time with the 1986 Mets, highlighting the camaraderie and shared experiences that defined the team's spirit.
• The show explored Tommy John's legacy, emphasizing his impact not only as a player but also through the revolutionary surgery that bears his name.
• Mike McGuire shared heartfelt stories about Tommy John's final days, illustrating the deep bond and mutual respect they cultivated over the years.
• The discussion around the recent reunion of the 1986 Mets underscored the significance of nostalgia in sports, evoking emotions tied to both victory and community.
• Magadan shared his thoughts on the Mets' current state, reflecting on their recent performance while staying hopeful for future success.
• The episode concluded with a poignant reminder of Tommy John's philosophy on life and baseball: the importance of making someone smile every day.

Hosted by Mike Guidone and Chris Caputo, this week's show covers the latest headlines in New York baseball with special guests including former co-host Mike Trezza, sportswriter Brian Heyman from Newsday, and longtime college basketball insider Dick Weiss.

The conversation opens with a look at the Yankees as the trade deadline approaches, focusing on the team's need for offensive help while dealing with injuries to stars Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Trezza also breaks down the Yankees' acquisition of Luis Garcia from the Nationals and discusses what the move could mean for the club down the stretch.

The attention then shifts to the Mets, where Heyman examines the team's recent struggles, possible trade deadline moves, and what they'll need to do to stay in the playoff race.

The show wraps up with Weiss, who shares his perspective on the changing landscape of college basketball, including the growing influence of the transfer portal, recruiting challenges, and how programs are adapting to a rapidly evolving game.

From baseball's biggest deadline decisions to the future of college hoops, the show delivers an informative and engaging discussion on the stories shaping the sports world.

Takeaways:

• Mike and Chris discussed the looming trade deadline and its implications for both the Yankees and Mets, emphasizing the critical need for roster decisions.
• Former co-host Mike Trezza highlighted the Yankees' offensive struggles, particularly in light of key player injuries affecting their playoff aspirations.
• Brian Heyman provided insights on the Mets' potential trades, suggesting a shift towards rebuilding with a focus on acquiring promising prospects.
• Dick Weiss offered a historical perspective on college basketball, stressing the importance of roster continuity amidst the changing landscape of player transfers.
• The conversation touched on the evolving nature of college sports, with coaches adapting to new norms around NIL deals and transfer rules dominating recruitment strategies.
• Mike and Chris wrapped up the episode reflecting on the future of New York sports teams, particularly concerning how they navigate uncertainty in player availability and market dynamics.

Host Chris Caputo welcomes former NBA player and New York City basketball legend Derrick Chievous, who reflects on his journey from Holy Cross High School to the University of Missouri, the NBA, and a successful international career. Chievous shares memorable stories about playing against legends like Larry Bird and Charles Barkley, discusses the importance of mentorship, coaching, and giving back through community service, and offers his perspective on how today's game has changed. In the second half, Mike Guidone joins Chris to discuss the FIFA World Cup, Seattle's sports scene, and the latest New York baseball news, including the Mets' trade deadline outlook and the Yankees' challenges following Aaron Judge's injury.

Takeaways:

• Derrick Chievous shared his early basketball journey, emphasizing the significance of his high school coach Joe Bostic in shaping his career.
• Throughout the episode, Chievous reflected on his experiences at Missouri, particularly the camaraderie and lessons learned under Coach Norm Stewart.
• Chievous discussed his transition into the NBA, highlighting the stark contrast between college basketball and playing professionally, particularly the physicality of the game.
• The podcast touched on the impact of modern basketball culture, with Chievous expressing concern over how entertainment values have overshadowed the essence of the sport.
• Chievous emphasized the importance of mentorship in basketball, discussing how players like Mark Jackson influenced his development both on and off the court.
• The conversation also explored Chievous's post-basketball life, focusing on his commitment to community service and mentoring young athletes.

Host Bill Donohue begins this two-hour special by welcoming golf legend Lee Trevino, who shares stories from his Hall of Fame career, memorable moments on the course, and plenty of laughs along the way. Next, Bill chats with former Yankees and Dodgers southpaw Al Downing. Later, Bill welcomes author Randall Sullivan, who discusses his new book about the first MLB All-Star Game in 1933 and the history behind one of baseball's most important events. Bill wraps up the show with Dr. David Fletcher, who talks about his documentary on Dick Allen, highlighting the baseball legend's remarkable career, the challenges he faced, and why his story still matters today.

Takeaways:

• Bill Donohue hosts an engaging show featuring guests like Lee Trevino and Al Downing, focusing on their significant contributions to sports.
• The episode highlights the historical importance of the first All-Star game in 1933, discussing its implications for baseball and American culture.
• Lee Trevino shares personal anecdotes about his career and experiences with golf, emphasizing the dedication required to excel in the sport.
• Dr. David Fletcher discusses the documentary 'My Father, Dick Allen', shedding light on Allen's legacy and the challenges he faced as a Black player in baseball.
• The show examines the impact of racism on Dick Allen's career and how he overcame adversity to become a beloved figure in baseball.
• Listeners are reminded of the cultural significance of sports in America, particularly during the Great Depression, and how figures like Babe Ruth and Dick Allen shaped that narrative.