This Saturday 01/28/2012

North Carolina is enjoying a fine season, currently ranked #7 in the country, but if they falter there's a whole crew of Tarheels willing to step in: the UNC J.V. team. (AP)

With no NFL football on Sunday, we turn to… just about everything else. This week on Only A Game, we’ll hear a story from North Carolina’s basketball program, but not the team that you usually see in the highlights. We’ll also hear about a few Major League Soccer prospects that are trying their feet at art. Hockey writer Roy MacGregor joins Bill Littlefield to talk about his new book Wayne Gretzky’s Ghost, and Helene Elliott of the LA Times assesses the NHL season at the All-Star break. All that, plus Charlie Pierce. Join us.

 
By Karen Given | Thursday, January 26th, 2012
A fan photographs championship rings on display before last year's Super Bowl. This year, one Hall of Famer will spend Super Bowl week talking about a different type of ring. (AP)

With multi-million dollar television ads and “big day” radio promotions, the Super Bowl has long served as a way for companies to get their message to consumers. But, a recent pitch from a fast food chain has left Only A Game’s Karen Given confused.

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Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
The Patriots and Giants will square off in the Super Bowl next Sunday. Do you suddenly have the urge to write Haikus? We do.

Do you think you have what it takes to write a Super Bowl Haiku? Post yours in the comments below and it might be read on the air.

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By Bill Littlefield | Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Kyle Williams couldn't bear to watch after fumbling away a punt at a pivotal moment in overtime. However, Bill Littlefield says that it's nothing to fret over. (AP)

Baltimore and San Francisco fans have labeled Billy Cundiff and Kyle Williams as “goats,” for their mistakes during last Sunday’s AFC and NFC Championship games. Bill offers some perspective for NFL fans who have lost theirs.

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By Bill Littlefield | Thursday, January 19th, 2012
The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011. Apparently that makes Boston a Hockey Town, at least until someone else wins a title. (AP)

Nobody would deny that Boston is a sports town. But which sport? Bill Littlefield tackles the age-old question in his latest commentary.

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By Bill Littlefield | Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Trash-talking and expert predictions are not reserved for the world of sports. Bill looks at some similarities between sports and politics.

Statistics, polls, leaders, projected leaders, winners, losers. As primary season rolls on, Bill Littlefield wonders when political coverage started sounding so much like sports broadcasts.

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By Doug Tribou | Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Derrick Mason's 943 catches puts him near the top of the NFL's all-time list, but the evolution of the league's passing game might leave him off Hall of Fame ballots. (AP)

NFL wide receiver Derrick Mason retired this week after 15 years in the league. He is eleventh on the all-time receptions list, but in an era of unprecedented NFL passing, even eleventh place doesn’t guarantee you a spot in the Hall of Fame. Only A Game’s Doug Tribou examines how the history books receive receivers.

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By Bill Littlefield | Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Is David Beckham's new underwear line the reason he's staying with the Los Angeles Galaxy? (AP)

David Beckham, the star of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, will be staying stateside, not jumping back across the pond to Europe. Bill Littlefield wonders if Beckham’s new line of underwear is a factor.

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By Doug Tribou | Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Thomas Junta beat Michael Costin to death inside the Burbank Ice Arena in Reading, Mass. (shown above) in 2000. Junta was released from prison in 2010 after serving 8 years. (AP)

A Minnesota resident is accused of punching his eighth-grade son in the face after the boy’s team lost in a basketball tournament on Saturday afternoon. It’s the latest occurrence of a parent losing control over a child’s sporting event.

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