Historically Speaking Sports

There are teams that gain success with championships and superstar players. Yet very few teams become ingrained in the culture and identity of a city. From their debut in 1967 with the backdrop of the city's aerospace industry which gave Seattle its "supersonic" name to the rise of players such as Fred Brown, Dale Ellis, and Nate McMillian. Still others with colorful nicknames such as "Slick" and "The X-Man". This team from the "Emerald City" also had "The Wizard, "The Reign Man" and "The Glove". Throughout their history, the Seattle SuperSonics weren't just a team based in the Pacific northwest, they were a vibe. In this episode of the podcast, Dana Auguster and Charles Combs will take a look back at one of the most beloved franchises in NBA history which in a few years, may be making a triumphant return. The Seattle SuperSonics, the first pro sports team in the city of Seattle, was one of the most successful franchises in the NBA whos history is filled with a myriad of all star players and hall of famers including a star point guard that played in the teams early years that would eventually lead them to their only championship while serving as their head coach. Also we will talk about the team owner who not only threatened the NBA by taking his team to join with the American Basketball Association but also talked openly about leaving Seattle all together to be a direct rival to the Lakers in Los Angeles. Speaking of leaving town, we will also talk about the heartbreaking and controversial move in 2008 as the sonics left the pacific northwest to find literal greener pastures in Oklahoma City. Leaving an empty shell in the coffee Capital of the world and fans still waiting, still hoping and still holding onto the Green and Gold. Rounding out the episode we will send a shout out to the Sonics first bonified superstar. In the fall of 1970, a young player arrived in Seattle from the ABA named Spencer Haywood. He not only he took on the best of the NBA on the court, but he took on the league itself off the court and then -- in court. Paving the way for college underclassmen to be eligible for the NBA draft. To contact the show, please drop us a line at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

Which school had the best overall collection of individual talent in the history of college basketball? That is a question that have sparked barroom and cookout debates for years. In this episode co-hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs will add their two cents into the debate. In this all new edition of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast the Podcast that gives the best of sports from back in the day, we will continue our discussion of the best of the best in college basketball history. In the previous episode we determined the starting lineup, a reserve and coach of the 12 most prestigious programs in history. Now. in part two, the Co-hosts will put together a bracket and forecast a winner in a hypnotical tournament with the 12 teams. Then later in the show, Charles and Dana will put the lineups in AI and have it determine a winner. To contact the show, please e-mail the show at Historically.Speaking.Sports@Gmail.com

The Final Four returns to Indianapolis for the ninth time with four schools arriving in the Circle City with varying degrees of pedigree but a whole lot of Final Four history. This weekend four teams, UConn, who reached the tournament by erasing a 15 point Duke half time lead that climaxed with one of the most memorable shots in tournament history makes their way to the final four for the 8th time. Illinois, back in the final four for thie first time since 2005 aiming to win its fist ever Final Four, the school's first National Championship since 1915. Then there's Michigan, back in the Final Four since 2021 and trying to bring Michigan back to heights never before reached since 1989 when interim coach Steve Fisher led Glen Rice and the Wolverines to their title. Rounding out the Final Four field is the Arizona Wildcats. Its been 25 years since Arizona has been to the final four and nearly 30 years since the Wildcats cut down the nets led by coach Lute Olsen and point guard Mike Bibby.....that year U of A won the title in, of all places....Indianapolis. To contact the show please e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

As a sports fan and more specifically a basketball fan, the month of march consists of making brackets and then after the first four days of the tournament, possibly ripping up those very same brackets. It is a month of hoops, last second buzzer beaters and ultimately one shining moment. For us here at the Historically Speaking Sports podcast, the month of March also means looking back on the best that the sport of college basketball has to offer From the Indiana Hoosiers perfect season to Christian Laettner's game winner against Kentucky and the unrivaled dominance of the UCLA Bruins led by Lew Alcindor (Later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton and the "Wizard of Westwood" John Wooden. Yet in this episode --- we are going to be treading into dangerous waters. In this special March Madness edition of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast Co-hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs will share their takes on basketball history that will certainly spark debate among the listeners as well as possible outrage. Those so called dangerous waters that the hosts will be drifting into in this episode is putting together the starting five, one bench player and the coach of 12 of the most prestigious college basketball programs in history. Some of the questions we will be tackling, who starts at point guard for Georgetown, Allen Iverson or Eric Sleepy Floyd. Who will team up with Michael Jordan at the University of North Carolina? Which two supremely talented guards will make up the back court for the University of Arizona which has a very rich history at those positions. And which of the five Kentucky coaches that have won championships in Lexington be tapped to be the head coach of the ultimate collection of Wildcats. All those questions and much more will be answered in this episode. But there is a point to all of this. this is only part one of a two part series. After the teams are constructed with lineups filled with legendary players, the second part of the series will feature a 12 team bracket and Charles and Dana will predict the winner of the tournament. Then with the help of artificial intelligence it will determine a winner and we will compare our predications with AI. Now how close they will come is yet to be seen. But....in this episode.... Charles and Dana will discuss and in some cases debate who is most deserving to be on their alma maters greatest collection of hoops talent. So sit back and prepare to either be in agreement or in total outrage on who we select for the first annual Historically Speaking Sports Alumni Basketball tournament... right here on the sports history network. To contact the show, you could write to us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

Between 1972 and 1997 the Southeastern Conference in basketball grew in stature from just being a premier football conference. During that time of conference growth of both prominence and popularity, the team most emblematic of that growth in national prestige was located in -- of all places-- Baton Rouge Louisiana. And the leader of this team from the sidelines hailed from the hinterlands of North Dakota. In his episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, Co-hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs highlight the era of LSU Tigers basketball under the direction of Head Coach Dale Brown. During his tenure with the Tigers, Brown didn't just coach basketball at LSU, he made it matter in a football crazed state and made it a national brand. He took a program that had flashes of relevance and turned into a powerhouse that would go toe-to-toe with anyone in the country. This was the era of superstars such as Chris Jackson who would later become Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, whose scoring brilliance electrified the country and garnered comparisons to Pete Maravich. It was also the era of the unstoppable force of Shaquille O'Neal, a once in a generation talent who turned LSU into must see TV. And before them there was Rudy Macklin leading the Tigers to the final four, for the first time since the early 1950s But the Dale Brown era wasn't just about wins and NBA draft picks . It was about personality, passion and conviction. Brown was outspoken, emotional, sometimes controversial -- a coach who wore his heart on his sleeve and fought fiercely for his players. He believed LSU could compete with the blue bloods of college basketball and for stretches from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s ... it absolutely did. To contact the show please e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

The United States Hockey team just won its first gold medal in Men's Olympic Hockey in 46 years. Almost to the day that team USA pulled off one of the greatest upsets in history, beating the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid New York. In this short podcast bulletin, Historically Speaking Sports Podcast co-host Dana Auguster talks about the other two instances that team USA had won the gold in Olympic Hockey. Please like and subscribe and to contact the show, please write to us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

Like any other pro sports league, the NBA is made up of players of different personalities, different perspectives and hale from different backgrounds. They all come from different areas of the country and now the world as the NBA has now become truly a global game. But in this episode, we will sharpen our focus to feature a special group of players and Hall of Famers that all have this one thing in common. In this special Black History Month episode Dana Auguster and Charles Combs are celebrating Black History Month and will highlight star players and Hall of Famers that came from Historically Black Colleges and Universities that helped grow the NBA to its current standing on the sports landscape. Those they will highlight include the greatest player in Chicago Bulls history......before Michael Jordan. Also a diminutive point guard that led the San Antonio Spurs to their first NBA championship. Charles and Dana will talk about a member of the Boston Celtics who won 10 NBA championships. Also a man who was part of the Warriors organization in different capacities for over 60 years. Also a player who was one of the most devastating scorers in NBA history during the 1970s who had a various amount of different nicknames and another player who authored not only one of the greatest moments of New York Knicks history, but the greatest sports moment in the history of Madison Square garden. Later in the show we will send a shout out to a coach who we consider the Eddie Robinson of college basketball. His coaching career spans nearly a half century at this Historically black college in North Carolina who compiled over 800 victories in his long career. Please like and subscribe to the show. To contact us email us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

In January of 1967, it was just a game between the champions of both the American and National Football Leagues. Now here in 2026, it has become America's unofficial national holiday where a certain number of people tune in to see the halftime show to see who is the most popular music entertainer of the year. While still others view the game just to see various entertaining commercials where you may quickly forget the product they are endorsing but don't forget the laugh it may induce or just maybe the cinematography. However a good number of people including the football fans that are featured in this podcast episode, it is the game that still matters. In this episode co-hosts Charles Combs and Dana Auguster along with a couple of their friends join the show to talk about their Super Bowl memories. They will discuss their favorite memories, their picks of the best and worst Super Bowls and describe the times their favorite teams reached the big game and for some of them to who was lucky enough to see their teams win the Super Bowl. Please stay tuned to the end as we will reveal our picks to win this years Super Bowl. We have that and so much more right here on the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, the Podcast that bring you sports from back in the Day right here on the Sports History Network. To Contact the show, please write Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

It is the NFL's version of an all-star game. The Pro Bowl, played every year the weekend before the Super Bowl, has become a glorified flag football game. But for decades the NFC and AFC would come together and play in a game that was sometimes as hard hitting as a postseason game with nothing more than just bragging rights on the line. Using the format of a Pro Bowl game, podcast hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs select players they view as the best players by position during their lifetimes. Dana Auguster will pick the best players from the AFC while Charles Combs select his favorite stars from the NFC. Don't forget to like and subscribe to the show and you could contact the show at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

If you are a football fan, this weekend is one of the most important weekends of the year. Along with the College Football semifinals taking place, there is also the Wildcard matchups in the NFL postseason. Unlike in previous seasons, there is no clear cut favorite to reach Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX. Yet what's really cool about this weekend in the NFL, the Playoff games are rematches of past postseason matchups. Some determined who reached the Super Bowl. We had one that was talked about for a week, not for this teams performance, but the peculiar absence of a certain star quarterback. There is one matchup this weekend that is a rematch of one of the few postseason games in NFL history that went to double overtime. There is also a rematch of a championship game from the American Football League and a game between two football rabid fanbases whose team's matchup in the late 1970s brought about instant replay. To contact the show, email us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

We are in the mist of College Bowl season and this is the time of year where legends are born, where underdogs rise, dynasties show signs of cracking and one play could live forever. In this episode, Dana Auguster and Charles Combs are counting down their five most memorable bowl games that they have seen in our lifetimes. Along with the games, Dana and Charles will add personal antidotes about each game they are describing from personal remembrances to people who watched the game with them. Their list includes a miracle finish that placed a little known west coast college bowl game and an even lesser known football program on the map. Also on the list a couple of ties that includes one in which one of the coaches turned the tie into a charity event. And also we have a couple of wild finishes in perhaps the most prestigious of all the bowl games, authored by the same player in back to back years. Also Dana and Charles send a shout out to a sportscaster who was the lead broadcaster of some of these games that we're talking about who is considered the Voice of College football . To contact the show please send us an e-mail at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.

Before the dynasties, before the banners, before Brady, before Belichick, even before Bledsoe, there was the 1985 New England Patriots. A team built on grit, not glamour. History often remembers the champions, yet the 1985 New England Patriots didn't win a championship. Yet in this case, they are remembered for the journey, a journey that was one of the most memorable in NFL History. In this episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, the place where we give you sports from back in the day, Co hosts Charles Combs and Dana Auguster will bring you back to the mid 1980s. In this edition will will talk about Patriots' first AFC Championship team that posted three, count them, three postseason upsets that included ending a losing streak that dated back to the Lyndon Johnson administration. This was a team that was devoid of big names and huge stars. But was comprised of several solid individuals that was the personification of blue collar teamwork. Leading this group was a head coach who had made his own way into Canton as a Hall of Fame receiver, but his quiet understated style was the trademark of this great team. Later in the show we will send a shout out to a former Patriot great, whose clutch performance that season made him a New England legend plus a discussion on who was actually the worse Super Bowl participant. You could contact the show at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

In his episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs discuss, and in some cases, debate on the cities that could be considered the best and worst sports cities in the United States. We breakdown in our opinion the Top Five Best Sports Cites, where celebrating championships come second nature. Places where championships, culture, loyalty and sheer sports madness collide to create something both unforgettable and special. These cities live and breathe their teams and often have the championship banners to prove. then here is the other side of the coin where we also rank in our humble opinion out Top Five Worst Cities, where heartbreak come standard, expectations go unmet, and hope is often the MVP. Whether its a lack of success, fan apathy, bad ownership or just years of pure misery, these cities have earned their place -though not the one their fans were hoping for. If you wish to contact the show, please e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com

There are certain college football rivalries that resonate around the country. There is Michigan vs. Ohio State, Alabama vs. Auburn and Notre Dame vs USC just to name a few. However, there is another football rivalry based in Louisiana that over the years has become more than just a battle for bragging rights between two institutions. It has become the cornerstone event for both a city, and a culture. In this all new edition of the Historically Speaking Sports podcast, the Sports History podcast that gives you the sports for back in the day, we will talk with author Tom Aiello and his book the History of the Bayou Classic. The annual game between the Grambling State Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars evokes memories of great coaching matchups which featured the great Eddie Robinson and incomparable players on both sides with a good number of them reaching the pro football hall of fame. Even though the game known as the Bayou Classic has been around since 1974, the rivalry between Southern and Grambling goes back nearly a century with a very interesting history and back story. Along with the game there is a number of other events connected with the bayou classic that includes the Greek Show, job fair and the famous Battle of the bands. Yet of course, what makes the game are the players. And some of the greatest players in NFL history have played in this game. In our shout out segment, we will highlight some of the players that have stared in this annual game that has become the biggest and most important football rivalry in the state of Louisiana. All that and more in this all new edition of the historically Speaking Sports here on the sports history network. To contact the show, please e-mail us at Historically.speaking.sports@gmail.com Here is the link to Tom Aiello's books: https://www.thomasaiellobooks.com/

The year was 2002. The price of gas was roughly a $1.19 a gallon, a dozen of eggs were under a dollar and the biggest hits in Hip Hop was "Getting Hot in Here" by Nelly and the song from the movie Eight Mile "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. In the world of college football, the Miami Hurricanes were coming off of a national championship run and were looking to continue their 22-game winning streak, a streak that seemed to have no end in sight. However "The U" was beginning to hear rumbles from other programs looking to knock them off of their lofty perch. In this episode of the podcast, we will travel back to the year 2002 in College Football in our first episode of the series we call "A Year in the League" where we talk about all of the headlines, best teams and memorable moments that made that season so memorable. In addition of the Larry Coker coached Miami Hurricanes, there were other teams that included the USC trojans that were on the rise who were led by head Coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Carson Palmer who went on to win college footballs most coveted trophy. Another team that was making noise in college football that year was Oklahoma who had returned to glory after years of struggle that followed the exit of their legendary coach Barry Switzer and also will revisit one of the most improbable finishes in college football that fans have called the "Bluegrass Miracle". Yet that season climaxed in the desert of Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl when a team with a second year coach and a freshman running back pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in one of the best national championship games ever and brought a national title to a place that hadn't celebrated one for more than a generation. Later in the show, we'll send a shout out to all of the schools in our home state and what they did in that season of 2002 including our alma mater who won their rivalry game for the ninth time in a span of 10 seasons. To contact the show, send us an e-mail at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail .com Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0

This is a short bulletin previewing from a historical perspective the upcoming World Series. In this, the 121 edition of the fall classic, features the National League and defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. looking to repeat as World Champions and to claim its ninth World Series in history They will face the Toronto Blue Jays, looking to win its first title in 32 years when they themselves won back to back titles under manager Cito Gaston in the early 1990s. Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0

Historically Speaking Sports co hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs are both natives of Louisiana and also the southern part of the United States where college football is more than just a sport. On Saturdays in the fall it is the south's secular religion. In this edition of this podcast, Dana and Charles highlight teams they they consider the best college football teams they had ever seen. The teams that are highlighted are some of the best college football teams ever. Most won championships. Some came close to winning. A couple won despite of on and off the field controversy. One team made the list that had two losses on the season but in the process had a Heisman Trophy winner and rewrote the NCAA offensive record books. Later in the show we will send a Shout Out to pair of coaches that were major parts of the college football landscape and had some of the best players and some championship season but for whatever reason, they both had fallen through the cracks of sports history. We have all that and more coming up on this all new edition of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast. To contact the show you could drop us an e-mail at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com. Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0

Between the years of 1985 thru 1996, the New Orleans Saints had risen from the cellar of the NFL to become a perennial playoff team. Though they never won a playoff game during that time, the Saints, behind quarterback Bobby Hebert and a legendary linebacking corps known as the Dome Patrol, became one of the NFL's elite teams. Behind it all was the quotable head coach with ties to the USFL, Jim Mora. In this episode of the podcast, hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs will talk about the key players and moments from that time in Saints history along with there own personal memories of that team, both growing up in Louisiana at the time. Later in the show we will send a shout out to the Who Dat Chant. a chant, which actually became famous in the 1960s thanks to high school and colleges in the area but actually predates the NFL itself and we will settle....sort of ...the debate which have raged on for decades. Which came first the Who Dat chant in New Orleans or the Who Dey chant in Cincinnati? To contact the show you could send an e-mail to Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com. Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0

September 3rd, 1995 was the start of the 76th season of the National Football league. The San Francisco 49ers were the defending Super Bowl champions and every team was looking at the new season with new hope, possibilities and opportunities. For two of the now 30 teams in the National Football League however, the hope, possibilities and opportunities were new. On this early fall afternoon, in 1995 were the first games of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville jaguars as newly minted members of the NFL. Though they both lost their opening games of the regular season, no one had any idea just 16 months later, some 497 days later, both would be playing for a right to play in Super Bowl XXXI. In this all new edition of the podcast, Co Hosts Dana Auguster and Charles will take a look at the first two seasons of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. Two franchises that shocked fans and football experts alike, crawling from expansion obscurity to the darlings of the NFL in just two seasons. Later in the show, we will send a shout out out one of the members of the Carolina Panthers team who embodied the leadership and toughness of that team that was one step away from the Super Bowl. An undersized linebacker who came up with the teams motto that it still follows today and thus far, the only player to have his number retired by the team. To contact the show with questions, comments or show ideas, please e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com. Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0

Ladies and Gentlemen, football is back and not a moment too soon. In this episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs are joined by fellow football fans and good friends Mark Boutte and David Bashay to talk out of course, football. We will discuss our our hopes this year for out teams as well as debate on who is the most overrated and underrated quarterbacks, coaches and teams heading into the the 2025 NFL season. Also later in the show, on a lighter note, our favorite all-time football movies as well as out top five favorite fictional football players. all that and more as well welcome back football in our lives. To contact the show, you could e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com. Mentioned in this episode: Sports History Network Theme Song This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz https://sites.google.com/view/sportsfanztastic/sports-history-network?authuser=0