Basketball History 101

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Unpopular Essays on Sports History is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

HIGHLIGHTED SHOW

Unpopular Essays on Sports History

Supposition. We live in a golden age of sports.

I mean this not in the sense of athletes becoming stronger, speedier, savvier and smarter than ever before, nor in terms of the amazing access we have to live streams and stat feeds, instant insights and opinionating, the quirks and personalities of our celebrity heroes.

This, rather, is a golden age of sports in humanistic, historical terms. The truth is that the great majority of people today, willingly or not, have a direct and regular connection to organized and/or participatory sports in their everyday lives than anyone born before the 20th century.

In the United States, not a person alive can recall a time when sports was not a staple of the daily newspaper. For four generations, the notion that nightly news programs should devote up to one-quarter of their airtime to sports is taken for granted. Why do we take this for granted?

At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, everything is questionable.

Supposition: Those who play the games have ascended in the public eye to heights unimaginable in times past. Playing top-level sports can get today’s athlete into business, TV production, national politics – and just how did this happen?

At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, everything is up for examination.

Supposition: Sports – wherever they are played but particularly in these places where they are invented – effect culture, even pace it. One could argue that sports are more important than ever.

Corollary: Sports history, too, should be more important, yet is probably more disrespected and disavowed than ever.

At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, we love the past while marveling at the present, and wondering about the future.

The “unpopular essays” of the title is a nod to Bertrand Russell, the logical positivist and my favorite philosopher. (Plus it’s a great excuse to get my BA degree to finally pay off.) And as we’re taught in philosophy, It’s not about answering the questions; it’s about making them clearer.

Three days a week, Unpopular Essays on Sports History will examine a moment in sports history, probe some modern ethos of our games, or speculate on what the past can teach the future – and all in 500 words or less – though probably occasionally throwing in the occasional longer interview. We’ll tour the spaces and times of the whole wide world of sports history about as quickly as Secretariat ran the Belmont Stakes.

Supposition: Sports history is fascinating, illuminating and fun. Join me, Os Davis, in making the questions of sports history clearer right here an Unpopular Essays on Sports History, an SHN production.

Os Davis, host of Unpopular Essays on Sports History

Os never played the games but has enjoyed a nearly 30-year career in sports writing, reporting, blogging, and podcasting. He has hosted/co-hosted and produced/co-produced podcasts on NFL football, CFL football, European basketball and sports movie review. For the Sports History Network, he currently writes and co-produces the historical fiction audiodrama Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer and will return soon with more episodes of Truly the GOATs (promise).

Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

When it comes to team chemistry, the 1989 Detroit Pistons epitomized the concept of a complete team. They had the perfect balance of offense, defense, team leadership, and commitment to winning above individual statistics.

CREDITS

Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice

Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher

MUSIC

"Rock You" by RockSounds

"Horizons" by Roa

SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK

sportshistorynetwork.com

sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/

FACEBOOK

m.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/

BUSINESS CONTACT

[email protected]

HOLD ON FOR ONE QUICK SECOND! As many of you will remember, over the past few months, we here at Basketball History 101 had a message at the beginning of our episodes asking you to vote our podcast for the Best Basketball Podcast award in the first annual Sports Podcast Awards. We were facing off against one-time defensive player of the year Michael Cooper's podcast, hall-of-fame coach George Karl's podcast, and several other amazing basketball podcasts. Well, against all odds, thanks to you loyal listeners, WE WON THE AWARD!

That's right! BBH.101 is now an award-winning podcast! We started this weekly show during the height of the virus out of our love for basketball and some newfound free time, and here we are a year and a half later with an award for it!

We here at BBH.101 could not be happier, and of course it's all thanks to you. Thank you for supporting us over the past year and a half. It means the world to us to have as many of you tuning in every week as we do, and for your love of basketball history to have brought us to where we are today. Again, thank you so, so much. Without each and every one of you, our lives would be that much less.

See the full awards show here!

Or, if you only care about the basketball segment, click here for that clip!

CREDITS

Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice

Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher

MUSIC

"The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa

"Horizons" by Roa

SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK

sportshistorynetwork.com

sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/

FACEBOOK

m.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/

BUSINESS CONTACT

[email protected]

We share the story of the Lakers' 18th championship, or rather, their first of 18 championships. This is the story of how the Minneapolis Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the NBA where they won 17 more championships.

CREDITS

Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice

Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher

MUSIC

"Slow Dance" by Doug

"Horizons" by Roa

SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK

sportshistorynetwork.com

sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/

FACEBOOK

m.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/

BUSINESS CONTACT

[email protected]