Sports

As the world series approaches - a talk about the life of a hometown baseball broadcaster with Scott Franzke, radio voice of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The former co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter faced criticism in 2017 for calling the president a white supremacist. In her memoir, Uphill, she talks about her career and her life growing up in Detroit.

Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights, tells the story of college football stars-turned Marines who endured some of the most savage fighting in World War II at the Battle of Okinawa.

John McEnroe is remembered as one of the most talented — and hotheaded — tennis players of all time. Over the course of his career, he won 155 combined titles — more than any man in the game's modern era.

Russell, who died July 31, led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles. He was also the first Black head coach in the NBA and a civil rights activist. Originally broadcast in 2001.

After a traumatic brain injury left her in terrible pain and unable to work, the legendary goalkeeper had to pawn her Olympic gold medals. Scurry charts her pioneering soccer career and her road to recovery in My Greatest Save.

Rapinoe has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights, pay equity and the Black Lives Matter movement. She was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Originally broadcast Nov. 9, 2020.

Staley won Olympic gold medals as a player and as a head coach. She played in the WNBA, and is now head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women's team, which won the NCAA championship in 2022.

Angell's writing earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame, when he received a career excellence award in 2014. He died May 20 at the age of 101. Originally broadcast in 2001.

In Bruised, which is now available on Netflix, Berry plays a disgraced mixed martial arts fighter named Jackie Justice, who takes on MMA's newest star. She does this to win back her name while figuring out how to be a mother to her estranged child. It's a role that Berry identifies with fundamentally.

Conan, who died Aug. 10, worked at NPR for 36 years, as a reporter, executive producer of All Things Considered and host of Talk of the Nation. Originally broadcast in 2002.

The book covers King's Grand Slam and Wimbledon championships, the "Battle of the Sexes," her activism for women's and LGBTQ rights, as well as some joyous and painful chapters in her personal life.

The six-time All Star pitched for the Yankees and the Indians during his 19-year career. He also struggled with alcoholism. Sabathia reflects on baseball and sobriety in the memoir, Till the End.

Actor Courtney B. Vance plays Rev. Franklin in the National Geographic series, "Genius: Aretha," now streaming on Hulu.

The second baseman, who died Oct. 11, played 22 years in the majors, mostly with the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds. He later became a commentator for ESPN. Originally broadcast in 1993.

The St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, who died Oct. 2, holds the record for most strikeouts — 17 — in a World Series game. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1994 and again, with slugger Reggie Jackson, in 2009.

About half of the Miami Marlins' roster has tested positive for COVID. ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian explains the challenges Major League Baseball faces as play resumes amid the pandemic.

In a new film by writer/directors Josh and Benny Safdie, Adam Sandler plays a jewelry store owner and gambler who's deep in debt. The brothers' father worked in Manhattan's diamond district.

Bouton, who died Wednesday, spoke to Fresh Air in 1986 about his 1970 tell-all memoir, in which he drew on his seven years with the New York Yankees to offer an insider's guide to baseball.

At the height of America's Jim Crow era, Taylor broke barriers by becoming the country's fastest and most famous cyclist. Michael Kranish tells his story in the new book, The World's Fastest Man.