Each week on Only A Game, Bill Littlefield talks to the author of a book about sports. Some of those books go on to be bestsellers, but others don’t get as much attention as they deserve, so Bill has compiled a list of three somewhat hidden gems of 2012.
The shootings in Newtown, Conn. on Friday did not have a direct connection to sports. However, the tragedy generated a lot of reaction among athletes and coaches, some thoughtful, some touching. Only A Game’s Doug Tribou looks at a few of the tributes to the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary.
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for the athlete or sports enthusiast on your list, Bill Littlefield suggests something you might want to avoid…at least if the person on your list is anything like him.
The NHL has canceled games through the end of the calendar year. So, on Monday, Bill Littlefield went looking for some pro hockey players who weren’t locked out. His search took him to Somerville, Mass.
In Kansas City and elsewhere, the business of the NFL continues despite the murder and suicide committed by Jovan Belcher of the Chiefs. The events of last Saturday left Bill Littlefield with a question.
Marvin Miller, who headed the Major League Baseball Players’ Association for 16 years beginning in 1966, died on Tuesday. He was 95 years old. Bill Littlefield offers his thoughts on Marvin Miller and his legacy.
It is time to give thanks. Bill Littlefield is thankful for small silver linings in otherwise depressing sports stories and for sublime physical feats that transcend from athletics to art.
R.A. Dickey is the first knuckeball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. The N.Y. Mets pitcher was awarded the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday. In 2011, Bill Littlefield spoke with Tim Wakefield, one of the pitchers who mentored Dickey about the wacky pitch.
Last week, the Rams-49ers NFL game ended with a missed field goal and a tie, 24-24. This week, Bill Littlefield remembers the last NFL player to cause the same result and speculates on the reason professional play-makers make so much money.
The NHL and the Players’ Association have been meeting again, so perhaps there will be some semblance of a pro hockey season after all. Bill Littlefield finds himself wondering if fans will be too disgruntled to recommit to the sport.
