Basketball

The Freethinkers | Walton & Spaceman | Ep 36

Posted on by zkutty 

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
Bright (bright) sunshiny day.
-Jimmy Cliff

The Freethinkers | There are exceptions to every rule, so our two guests aren’t rivals, but kindred spirits who are living for that “bright (bright) sunshiny day! Two great athletes as well as two of the most outspoken athletes of their time. They’re freethinkers who speak to everything in the world. Neither is shy to express themselves, they’ve been outspoken and even controversial at times.

The Freethinkers

Bill Walton

Bill Walton is a two-time NBA Champion and a two-time NCAA Champion. He played college basketball at UCLA for legendary coach John Wooden and was the National College Player of the Year three times, from 1972-1974. In addition to those two NCAA titles in 1972 and 1973, including an amazing 88-game winning streak, he was also the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player in those years as well. He won the NBA title in 1977 with the Portland Trailblazers and in 1986 with the Boston Celtics. He was the NBA Finals MVP in 1977 and the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1978. These incredible accomplishments have landed him in both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the College Basketball Hall of Fame. However, with all these feats, he might be best known as the biggest Grateful Dead fan on the planet.

Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee

Speaking of planets, Bill “Spaceman” Lee had a 14-year major league baseball career with the Boston Red Sox and the Montreal Expos. He was an all-star in 1973 and in 2008 was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. Bill played college baseball at USC under legendary coach Rod Dedeaux when they won the 1968 College World Series. He then was drafted by the Red Sox in the 22nd round of the 1968 draft. Bill began his career mostly as a relief pitcher, but then went on to become a starter in two games in the 1975 World Series. However, his career took a turn for the worse in May of 1976, as he got injured in a huge brawl with the Yankees and suffered a torn ligament in his left pitching shoulder. But Bill’s dynamic personality would not be curtailed and his tremendous popularity as the “Spaceman” continued even after his playing days in books and films.

So, fasten your seat belts as two planets are about to collide and hopefully you can see clearly again once you hear these freethinkers’ words of wisdom…

Further Listening:

Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:

If you loved this episode, check out our others:

RE-AIR: Coaches | Raftery vs Carlesimo | Ep 13

Posted on by garygft

If you derive a headache from constantly smiling widely or laughing uncontrollably, you better have a bottle of aspirin at hand for this matchup of coaches.

Bill Raftery and P.J. Carlesimo have run the gamut of basketball coaching and broadcasting, from college to the NBA, from regional networks to the Final Four.

They were direct coaching rivals from 1976 to 1981 when Carlesimo was the head coach at Wagner College and Raftery was the same at Seton Hall. There were some wild games between the schools, including a New Year’s Eve game that went to double OT, and boy, do these two ever give you some memories about that game.

The Coaches

Seton Hall coach Bill Raftery, January 30, 1975 (Photo by Vincent Riehl/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Raftery coached college ball from 1963 to 1981 and then went on to become one of the most popular TV commentators in a college basketball HOF career covering the last 33 years. His infectious laugh and sense of humor shine through in that job and it shines brightly in this podcast.

P.J. Carlesimo

Carlesimo began his coaching career in 1971, most notably putting Seton Hall on the basketball map between 1982-1994, arriving just one year at the Hall after Raftery left.

P.J. went on to head coach in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, Warriors, and SuperSonics/Thunder.

In between the coaching stints, Carlesimo also joined the ranks of TV analysts with TNT, ESPN, and NBC.

The Rivalry

What was the relationship between these two as they coached against one another? Raftery will kick it off with one big smile, “I never liked P.J.,” and off we go!

There were the weekly press conferences in New York City and New Jersey that turned into Broadway productions with the likes of Jim Valvano, Lou Carnesecca, and Tom Penders.

There were late-night feasts after games the likes of which may not exist today. There were antics and fireworks during the games that both coaches will regale you with.

Did priests really ref games? What about that picture of Raftery flying off the bench in midair parallel to the court? An endless needling by these two of one another continues here.

Joyful, insightful, unabashed, and unique are just some of the adjectives that describe what you will hear from two of basketball’s most delightful and knowledgeable individuals and coaches.

Prepare to smile.

Further Listening:

Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:

If you loved this episode, check out our others:

Arizona vs Stanford | NCAA Basketball | Ep 26

Posted on by garygft

Arizona vs Stanford | When it comes to rivalries, those involved in college sports are often the most inspired.

Richard Jefferson and Casey Jacobsen were (and still are) part of such a rivalry. 

Arizona vs Stanford | The Players

Richard Jefferson at Arizona

Jefferson played college hoops at the University of Arizona from 1998-2001 under the late Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson. 

Casey Jacobsen at Stanford

Jacobsen played at Stanford from 1999-2001, for another Hall of Fame coach, Mike Montgomery.

For those years they played against each other, both teams were among the elite in the nation, battling to get to the Final Four and to win a National Championship.

Richard and Casey will let you in on their meeting at a Michael Jordan basketball camp and on how they might have been teammates in college but for Jacobsen’s final college decision. In addition, they discuss their feelings regarding their coaches and how each coach’s approach was so markedly different, yet effective.

Jacobsen and Jefferson went on to extended professional basketball careers and careers in the broadcast booth. Through all of the years the memories of their college experiences ring fresh.

Here now is the inside look at a rivalry on the hardwood from two who helped write its history.

Further Listening:

Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:

If you loved this episode, check out our others:

Coaches | Raftery vs Carlesimo | Ep 13

Posted on by garygft

If you derive a headache from constantly smiling widely or laughing uncontrollably, you better have a bottle of aspirin at hand for this matchup of coaches.

Bill Raftery and P.J. Carlesimo have run the gamut of basketball coaching and broadcasting, from college to the NBA, from regional networks to the Final Four.

They were direct coaching rivals from 1976 to 1981 when Carlesimo was the head coach at Wagner College and Raftery was the same at Seton Hall. There were some wild games between the schools, including a New Year’s Eve game that went to double OT, and boy, do these two ever give you some memories about that game.

The Coaches

Raftery coached college ball from 1963 to 1981 and then went on to become one of the most popular TV commentators in a college basketball HOF career covering the last 33 years. His infectious laugh and sense of humor shine through in that job and it shines brightly in this podcast.

P.J. Carlesimo

Carlesimo began his coaching career in 1971, most notably putting Seton Hall on the basketball map between 1982-1994, arriving just one year at the Hall after Raftery left.

P.J. went on to head coach in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, Warriors, and SuperSonics/Thunder.

In between the coaching stints, Carlesimo also joined the ranks of TV analysts with TNT, ESPN, and NBC.

The Rivalry

What was the relationship between these two as they coached against one another? Raftery will kick it off with one big smile, “I never liked P.J.,” and off we go!

There were the weekly press conferences in New York City and New Jersey that turned into Broadway productions with the likes of Jim Valvano, Lou Carnesecca, and Tom Penders.

There were late-night feasts after games the likes of which may not exist today. There were antics and fireworks during the games that both coaches will regale you with.

Did priests really ref games? What about that picture of Raftery flying off the bench in midair parallel to the court? An endless needling by these two of one another continues here.

Joyful, insightful, unabashed, and unique are just some of the adjectives that describe what you will hear from two of basketball’s most delightful and knowledgeable individuals and coaches.

Prepare to smile.

Further Listening:

Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:

If you loved this episode, check out our others:

UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball | Ep 6

Posted on by garygft

Don MacLean

UCLA vs Arizona | NCAA Mens’ Basketball–Rivalries take time to build and this one has had decades.  UCLA and Arizona are two of college basketball’s premier programs.   Over the years the race for Pac-12 titles and the right to move to March madness has created high heat when they meet.

42 of the last 58 Pac-12 titles have gone to one of these teams. The intensity of their battles only increases.

Today we hear the magnitude of that rivalry from two who were in the middle of the spotlight.

Matt Muehlebach

Don MacLean played at UCLA from 1988 to 1992.  They won the Pac-12 championship in the ’91-’92 season. He thrived on the rivalry.

Matt Muehlebach played at AZ from 1987 to 1991.  His teams never lost a game at home. Ironically, that streak would be broken by UCLA and MacLean.

MacLean was a pot-stirrer, especially on the court.  Listen to Matt talk about that while Don tells you how that went over with former UCLA coach John Wooden.

Matt speaks to what it was like to be on each of these raucous home courts when the two great basketball programs went head to head.  He’ll tell you about the “offer the hand and take it back move” made by Don to one of Matt’s teammates.  

Enjoy the story of an epic basketball rivalry through the memories of two who helped create it.

Don MacLean with Coach Jim Harrick

Further Listening:

Be sure to subscribe to the Sports Rivals podcast to listen to this rivalry on your favorite podcast app:

If you loved this episode, check out our others: