Paul Reeths's guest appearances

Paul Reeths

Good Seats Still Available

XFL Week In Review

Mike Carey

Bob Ross

Michael Lewis

Randy Hahn

Dave Coleman

Rob Brown

John Oreovicz

Bob Moore

Jim O'Brien

Matt Stone

Scott Morrison

Matthew Algeo

Rick Davis

Sean McIndoe

Paul Goldberger

OwlTail

Andy Crossley

We put the wraps on an event-filled 2019 with our first-annual holiday roundtable spectacular featuring the return of fellow defunct sports enthusiasts Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com &amp; Episode 46) and Andy Crossley (Fun While It Lasted &amp; Episode 2) – for a spirited discussion about the past, present and potential future of “forgotten” pro sports teams and leagues. It’s a no-holds-barred look back on some of the year’s most notable events and discoveries, including:   The short rise and quick demise of the Alliance of American Football;   Major League Soccer’s (unsustainable?) expansion to thirty teams;   The folding of the Arena Football League – again;   Major League Baseball’s minor league contraction plan; AND   Raiders NFL football moves on from Oakland for good.   As well as some predictions on what might transpire in 2020, as:   The second coming of Vince McMahon’s XFL kicks off in February;   Baseball celebrates the Negro Leagues’ 100th anniversary;   Las Vegas takes its biggest sports gamble yet with the Raiders;   The MLS Players’ Association flexes its pre-season bargaining muscles;   The Chargers and Clippers grapple with second-fiddle status in LA; AND   Mark Cuban’s Professional Futsal League . . . well, your guess is as good as ours!   Support the show by getting the Ultimate Shave Starter Set from Dollar Shave Club for just $5!

We put the wraps on an event-filled 2019 with our first-annual holiday roundtable spectacular featuring the return of fellow defunct sports enthusiasts Paul Reeths (<a href="https://www.oursportscentral.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">OurSportsCentral.com</a>, <a href="https://www.statscrew.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">StatsCrew.com</a> &amp; <a href="http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/listen/2018/1/26/episode-46-the-united-states-football-league-with-author-paul-reeths" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 46</a>) and Andy Crossley (<a href="https://funwhileitlasted.net/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Fun While It Lasted</a> &amp; <a href="http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/listen/2017/3/11/episode-02-sports-executive-andy-crossley-the-wps-boston-breakers-1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 2</a>) – for a spirited discussion about the past, present and potential future of “forgotten” pro sports teams and leagues. It’s a no-holds-barred look back on some of the year’s most notable events and discoveries, including: <ul> <li> The short rise and quick demise of the Alliance of American Football; </li> <li> Major League Soccer’s (unsustainable?) expansion to thirty teams; </li> <li> The folding of the Arena Football League – again; </li> <li> Major League Baseball’s minor league contraction plan; AND </li> <li> Raiders NFL football moves on from Oakland for good. </li> </ul> As well as some predictions on what might transpire in 2020, as: <ul> <li> The second coming of Vince McMahon’s XFL kicks off in February; </li> <li> Baseball celebrates the Negro Leagues’ 100th anniversary; </li> <li> Las Vegas takes its biggest sports gamble yet with the Raiders; </li> <li> The MLS Players’ Association flexes its pre-season bargaining muscles; </li> <li> The Chargers and Clippers grapple with second-fiddle status in LA; AND </li> <li> Mark Cuban’s Professional Futsal League . . . well, your guess is as good as ours! </li> </ul> Support the show by getting the Ultimate Shave Starter Set from <a href="https://dollarshaveclub.com/goodseats" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Dollar Shave Club</a> for just $5!

144: Year-End Holiday Spectacular – With Paul Reeths & Andy Crossley

For the first time since  Episode #11, we return to the brief, but unforgettable streak of pro football lightning known as the United States Football League, with the author of its definitive history, Paul Reeths (The United States Football League, 1982-1986).  The brainchild of New Orleans plywood manufacturer/car dealer/World Championship Tennis co-founder/Superdome director/art-and-antiques dealer David Dixon, the USFL splashily announced its intention to bring big-league, springtime professional football to 12 major markets, at New York’s famed “21” Club on May 11, 1982.  In short order, the league added its first commissioner (sports cable TV executive Chet Simmons), a landmark marquee player signing (Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker), and, most valuably, national television contracts with broadcaster ABC Sports and upstart cable network ESPN. In this illuminating episode, Reeths recounts some of the most memorable (and unbelievable) events from the USFL’s subsequent three-season run – and ultimately Pyrrhic antitrust legal victory over the National Football League – including the:  Origins of the “Dixon Plan” and its foundational belief in the insatiable fan appetite for pro football beyond the confines of the NFL’s fall schedule; Surprisingly common bond among the league’s deep-pocketed owner-founders, the alarmingly rapid rate with which many bailed after the inaugural season, and the large line of expansion owners ready to replace them; Unwittingly fortuitous 1982 NFL player strike that gave oxygen to the USFL’s challenger narrative; Swift and destabilizing impact of Donald Trump’s arrival to USFL ownership in the summer of 1983 – and the movement towards direct fall competition with the NFL; AND “Successful” restraint-of-trade federal court verdicts that provided way too little, and far too late to save the league from collapse.  We love our supporters Podfly, Audible and Sports History Collectibles – and you should too!

For the first time since <a href="http://goodseatsstillavailable.com/blog/2017/5/13/episode-11-the-usfls-philadelphiabaltimore-stars-with-publicist-bob-moore" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Episode #11</a>, we return to the brief, but unforgettable streak of pro football lightning known as the United States Football League, with the author of its definitive history, Paul Reeths (<a href="http://amzn.to/2Gl3LdP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The United States Football League, 1982-1986</a>).  The brainchild of New Orleans plywood manufacturer/car dealer/World Championship Tennis co-founder/Superdome director/art-and-antiques dealer David Dixon, the USFL splashily announced its intention to bring big-league, springtime professional football to 12 major markets, at New York’s famed “21” Club on May 11, 1982.  In short order, the league added its first commissioner (sports cable TV executive Chet Simmons), a landmark marquee player signing (Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker), and, most valuably, national television contracts with broadcaster ABC Sports and upstart cable network ESPN. In this illuminating episode, Reeths recounts some of the most memorable (and unbelievable) events from the USFL’s subsequent three-season run – and ultimately Pyrrhic antitrust legal victory over the National Football League – including the: <ul> <li>Origins of the “Dixon Plan” and its foundational belief in the insatiable fan appetite for pro football beyond the confines of the NFL’s fall schedule;</li> <li>Surprisingly common bond among the league’s deep-pocketed owner-founders, the alarmingly rapid rate with which many bailed after the inaugural season, and the large line of expansion owners ready to replace them;</li> <li>Unwittingly fortuitous 1982 NFL player strike that gave oxygen to the USFL’s challenger narrative;</li> <li>Swift and destabilizing impact of Donald Trump’s arrival to USFL ownership in the summer of 1983 – and the movement towards direct fall competition with the NFL; AND</li> <li>“Successful” restraint-of-trade federal court verdicts that provided way too little, and far too late to save the league from collapse.</li> </ul> We love our supporters <a href="http://www.podfly.net/#about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podfly</a>, <a href="http://www.audible.com/?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Audible</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/Sportshistory" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sports History Collectibles</a> – and you should too!

046: The United States Football League with Author Paul Reeths