Conversations with Sports Fans

Conversations with Sports Fans – Eddie Hillery

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Conversations with Sports Fans

Every so often a chance encounter leads to something more.

That was the case for me as I was exiting a local boys’ basketball state tournament game at my children’s alma mater back in March. As a full house began heading for the exits at Eisenhower High School, I recognized the fella walking next to me.

It was Eddie Hillery, who I’d first known close to 30 years ago when I was a sportswriter in the community where he was a 3-sport star (football, basketball, and track and field) for one of the high school teams (Rochester High School) I covered.

Much later in life, our paths crossed again when he was one of my teacher union’s recommended candidates for a local school board seat. During the arduous campaign we’d reconnected on several occasions and reminisced about his high school days and what had followed.

He had shared then that his post-high school life had included college football at Central Michigan University as well as a few seasons of professional football overseas in Germany, Finland, and Italy.

At that time, I found it to be an interesting story, but any thoughts of a podcast like Conversations with Sports Fans was still a way off for me.

But memories of those discussions from years before came flooding back as we chatted briefly on our way to the exits following Rochester High’s loss to rival Rochester Adams in the Division I District Championship Game.

A few texts and emails later and before you knew it Eddie and I were discussing how he went from diehard Detroit Pistons fan (during the Grant Hill era) to getting encouraged to try football by a middle school custodian to setting his high school’s all-time rushing record (over 2,300 yards). We discuss all that, plus what it was like going to Central Michigan University to play linebacker (having played only a handful of games at the position in high school) to the opportunity to play in Europe.

It was a lot of fun catching up with Eddie, learning about the trials and tribulations of a high school athlete (then and now as Eddie currently coaches at RHS) not to mention what it’s like being a girl dad and learning to be a fan of a new(ish) sport to him, volleyball.

My Conversation with Eddie Hillery.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Michael Clair

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My guest Michael Clair with the World Baseball Classic trophy and the cover of his debut book.

Around the time I was preparing to head to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the World Baseball Classic and Event No. 47 of the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project, I happened to catch this video from Major League Baseball about Korean baseball entitled “Behind the Flag.”

One of the individuals featured speaking about Korean baseball was someone name Michael Clair. Another featured speaker was Jee-ho Yoo, a 2-time former Conversations with Sports Fans guest (S:4, E:7 and S:5, E:17) and an English-language sports writer for Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

I figured anyone worthy of sharing screen time with Jee-ho was worthy of me doing a bit of research about. Turns out Michael is MLB.com’s lead writer for all things international which, of course, included the WBC. A little further sleuthing and I discovered Michael was about to publish his first-ever book, We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech’s Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes. It’s the story of the improbable rise of Czech Republic baseball. As I read the synopsis, I was reminded of the uniqueness of this national team where the players (almost to a man) worked full time jobs and played baseball on nights and weekends.

While I’m always up for talking baseball and writing, I was especially intrigued about the Czech story so I reached out Michael.

And here we are😊

During this episode Michael shares his journey from New England to telling the story of international baseball as MLB.com’s senior manager of storytelling and special projects. Oh yeah, we talk plenty about the Czech team and We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball.

I’m also delighted to give away an author-signed copy of the book to one lucky entrant. All you need to do to enter is email me at hilldouglast@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22, 2026, and you’re in the drawing. If you’re a member of the $80 for 80 Circle of Champions and enter, your entries will be tripled!

Good luck!

My Conversation with writer Michael Clair.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Chris Ullman

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Chris Ullman
Chris Ullman

Every so often I shoot my shot.

That happened about a month ago when I saw an Instagram post highlighting the rather unusual “Star-Spangled Banner” performance prior to a Baltimore Orioles’ game at Camden Yards.

There before me was a fella named Chris Ullman who whistled – yes, you’re reading that correctly – whistled the United States’ National Anthem.

Two things to note before I move on:

  • My children pointed out to me several years ago that I am a whistler. Not a good whistler, necessarily, but as I yutz about the house doing whatever it is that I’m doing, there’s a better-than-average chance that I’ll be whistling something.
  • I’ve always wanted to have an anthem singer join me as a guest on Conversations. I was close, a year or so ago, to landing a notable one but our dialogue fizzled when it came time to schedule the call☹

Chris, I figured, seemed quirky enough (in a good way!) that he might want to join the Conversation. Of course, I had no idea if he was even a sports fan, but I did discover he was a competitor, having won the international whistling championship four times over enroute to earning a sport in the Whistling Hall of Fame.

You can imagine my delight when I discovered Chris had a website (link here) that included a way to contact him.

A brief back-and-forth ensued which resulted in you about to learn what it takes to become a championship whistler, how one gets ushered into an Oval Office command performance for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that included a “Dueling Banjos” duet with his then-boss and future Indiana Governor and Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, and how to find your whistle … which also happens to be the title of Chris’ 2017 memoir (linked here).

Find the TEDx MidAtlantic talk Chris references here and follow him on Instagram here.

My Conversation with champion whistler, Chris Ullman.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Edith Zuschmann

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Edith Zuschmann
261 Fearless President and CEO Edith Zuschmann. (Photo by Markuss Traussnig)

As I was researching the Week 182 Fan Teaser I happened upon the subject’s – Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially complete the Boston Marathon in 1967 – website. One of the website’s tabs takes visitors to 261 Fearless, the global non-profit Switzer helped found in 2015. (Note: Kathrine’s Boston bib number in 1967 was 261. It’s since been officially retired.)

Sure, I’ll submit the contact form and see what happens, I figured. It’d be pretty cool to have the first official female Boston Marathon finisher as a Conversations’ guest, especially after I’d just been in Boston for the 130th running.

I heard back from the PR person that Kathrine was unavailable but her 261 Fearless co-founder and current President and Chief Executive Officer, Edith Zuschmann, might be able to speak with me.

And that’s how I wound up speaking with Edith, herself a former elite Austrian swimmer turned distance runner who devotes her time these days empowering women through 261 Fearless.

Sure, Edith and I talked about her early years as a sports fan (watching Alpine skiing on the television) in a home that was not sports oriented and how her grandmother introduced her to swimming.

More importantly, however, Edith and I spoke about the work 261 Fearless is doing in 14 countries over five continents. The goal behind these running clubs is to empower women to be the leaders and to, thus, provide a safe environment for fellow women to join and begin their fitness journey, free of judgment and at their own pace.

As Edith said, “Each one of us has the power to be an inspiration for our daughters or our nieces or the anonymous woman next door to us. … You believe in what you see.”

My Conversation with Edith Zuschmann from 261 Fearless.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Brian Fowler

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Brian Fowler’s social handle is @allinautumnwind.

I’m a sucker for a good sports fan quest.

Among my former guests on Conversations was been Craig Caswell (S:2, E:16), the Ohioan who wanted to see all 364 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Teams play in person. He then set off in pursuit of that goal and, thanks to spreadsheets, careful planning, and an understanding spouse (not to mention an unusual Hawaii Rainbows trip to Champaign-Urbana for a game) he accomplished his goal.

Similar to Craig, the Basketball Mavens (S:3, E:12) decided it was their mission to maximize the Madness each March so they set off on a goal to see all the Round of 64 and Round of 32 games at a pair of geographically close sites, then attend the three games at a Regional, before ending their annual hoops travel at the Final Four. Over 600 NCAA games later, the Mavens are still going strong.

It should come as no surprise, then, that when I learned about Las Vegas Raiders’ fan Brian Fowler‘s desire to establish a pair of new Guinness World Record for most NFL games attended in a regular season as well as the fastest to see a game in each stadium, you just knew I wanted to speak to him.

I’m happy to report both Brian and my missions have been accomplished.

He had both of his record attempts certified by Guinness (56 games in one NFL regular season shattered the previous mark of 33 and spectating in all 32 stadiums took him a scant 72 days, 20 hours, and 56 minutes). And, in this episode, I’m delighted to share my Conversation with Brian.

He discusses not only his sports fan origin story, but also how he came to love the Raiders and why, exactly, he decided to pursue these two records and what it was like pulling off the feat.

Brian Fowler is a 2-time Guinness World Record holder and a fine Conversationalist.
Watch Brian light the Al Davis Memorial Torch prior to his 56th and final regular-season game at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Melanie Thomas

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Melanie Thomas nee Valerio following her Olympic Gold Medal performance in 1996. (Photo U.S. Swimming)

And in my 257th episode of Conversations, I had the opportunity to speak to an Olympic Gold Medalist:-)

Back in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Games, Melanie Thomas was known as Melanie Valerio (her maiden name) when she was part of the women’s 4×100 meter Gold Medal-winning American team. She was a part of the team two years later that won the Gold at the Swimming World Championships in Perth, Australia, as well.

I’m speaking to Melanie in this episode as part of my ongoing series focusing on fans of the so-called college non-revenue sports. During her college days, Melanie was a 15-time All-American at the University of Virginia back in the early 1990s, was twice named the Cavaliers’ MVP, and was named the 1990 Atlantic Coast Conference Swimmer of the Year. The Cavaliers’ women’s swimming program is notable because it has won the past six consecutive National Championships, including this year’s title by a whopping 208.5 points over runner up Stanford University. Those six straight titles is the most consecutive wins in the history of NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and places UVa in fourth place in overall titles, trailing only Stanford (11), Texas (7), and Georgia (7).

During our time with Melanie, we discuss what led a Youngstown, Ohio, native into the pool in the first place (Spoiler: It’s an older sibling) and then to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she became the UVa’s first Olympic Gold Medalist. We also learn what it’s like to be a high-level swimmer, the regimented lifestyle, and spending 50 years in the pool as a competitive swimmer. Of course, we also discover what it’s like for Melanie to return to Charlottesville these days as one of the program’s original greats and see the success of the current iteration of the Cavaliers.

My Conversation with University of Virginia women’s swimming legend, Melanie Thomas.

Conversations with Sports Fans – The Masters Experience (a Reflection)

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Augusta National Golf Club
My dad and I in front of the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo by The Masters)

My number finally came up this year having been drawn in the annual Masters’ Lottery.

I received the notification as my family and I drove down a mountain near Estes Park, CO, in July 2025 and – quite frankly – have been nervously excited about the experience ever since.

When I registered for the aforementioned lottery, I selected every possible session (Augusta National Women’s Amateur, three Masters‘ practice days, and all four competition days) and when I learned I’d been selected for Wednesday, well, I attended Wednesday.

This bonus Conversation is just my dad and I (my friend Wayne and his father also attended) briefly discussing what it was like to be there as Event No. 51 of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project. (Spoiler: It did not suck!)

Albeit a tad road weary, here are some initial thoughts about our time on at Augusta National Golf Club during Masters Week.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Joe Flynn

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The home page of Joe Flynn’s Fantasy Football for Good 2025 Draft Guide.

A couple months ago I read former Conversations’ guest, Matthew Barry’s (S:4, E:52), terrific newsletter, Heart of a Fan and featured in that particular edition was a fella named Joe Flynn.

Joe, I discovered, works in the non-profit field and is also a big – really big – sports fan. His obsession each fall is fantasy football.

So when he learned about and had an opportunity to enroll in George Washington University’s Sports Philanthropy professional certificate program he didn’t hesitate.

The results were some life-changing networking opportunities for Joe and a capstone project that led me to contacting him about joining Conversations. His final project for the course was to create a Fantasy Football Draft Guide. However, this was no ordinary draft guide, it was the 2025 Fantasy Football Draft Guide for Good which compiled 180 NFL offensive stars and shares not just their on-field statistics but also those off-field statistics in the charitable and non-profit world.

It’s a fascinating concept and one that Joe’s already working on updating for 2026. As Joe himself likes to say, “The ultimate goal of the draft guide is to highlight the human under the helmet so hopefully you can use it to learn a little bit more about who’s on your team this year.”

If I were to get back into the fantasy football game, I believe I’d use Joe’s draft guide to help direct my decisions on draft day. Maybe you will as well.

My Conversation with Joe Flynn.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Conversations Live at AZ Sports Cards

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We took the show on the road and now you can listen to the show.

I decided to take the show on the road a couple weeks ago and the results are in. Well, at least the episode that came out of a 2-hour stay at AZ Sports Cards in Phoenix is now ready for public consumption:-)

In actuality, I had no preconceived notion what might occur when I sat at the high top table with my phone, a microphone, some business cards, and a handful of 2025 Allen & Ginter packs John Gola, owner of AZ Sports Cards, had donated to the cause for me to hand to any brave souls who were open to chatting with me.

The first Conversation was an easy one. We caught up with former guest Don Drooker (S:1, E:11) whose sports fan journey is still one of the most popular shows in our four-plus season history. (Seriously, if you’ve not listened to that one yet, do yourself a favor and head over there ASAP. The man name drops Ted Williams, Bill Russell, and Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field … yes, there was one!)

Clockwise from upper left, during my Conversation with Achilles, his dad, siblings, and cousins served as an audience; Carrie and Melissa were in town from Wisconsin, enjoying the warm weather, and some Milwaukee Brewers’ baseball; John’s a fan of the Chicago White Sox and sounded an optimistic tone about the south siders for this season; Josh and Tim were part of my traveling team who were along on the Around the World in 80 Sporting Events journey for Cactus League action. (All photos by Stephen Miller)

From there, I was able to speak to seven customers who’d happened into AZ Sports Cards that Monday morning and I learned about who they were fans of and why they were in the store. As you can imagine, some were Arizonans but many others were snowbirds or vacationers who, like me, were in town for some Cactus League action. They got to open some packs and talk about some of their favorite finds as well and, Achilles, gifted my father a Ron Santo he pulled, which warmed my heart and made my dad smile when I told him about it.

To learn what AZ Sports Cards is up to, give their Facebook page a Like and Follow here.

The remote recording from AZ Sports Cards.

Conversations with Sports Fans – University of Washington Men’s Soccer Fans

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In December, the University of Men’s Soccer Team won the program’s first NCAA National Championship.

My dream for Season 5 of Conversations with Sports Fans was to have regular Conversations with fans of the so-called non-revenue college sports. Broadly speaking, this means (for most programs) something other than fooball and men’s (and women’s in some instances) basketball.

Admittedly, it’s been slow to launch, but I was joined by Northwestern University Women’s Field Hockey fan, Perry Nigro, in Episode 7 (find it here) and I’m pleased to share the second installment with you in this episode that focuses on the University of Washington Men’s Soccer Team which won the 2025 National Championship in thrilling fashion (see the video below).

Thanks in large part to UW Men’s Soccer Sports Information Director, Jack Larkin, I was able to have some discussion with a quartet of Husky soccer (men’s and women’s, it turns out) fans that span three generations.

Listeners will first hear from the Patchin family, mother Katie and children Caroline and Charlie, as they discuss how they became interested in UW soccer and how attending soccer camps, various team events where they were able to interact with players, and Caroline and Charlie serving as ball retrievers, has helped create likely fans for life.

Then listeners will hear from Marty Rood who played soccer for the Coach Mike Ryan over 50 years ago. While the Patchins have only known of the recent successes of the program, Marty shares the long view, looking back to his era when the school won it’s first league title, how it’s evolved through the years, the disappointment of the National Championship loss in 2021, and the euphoric feeling he had sitting in the small UW section in Cary, NC, WakeMed Soccer Park, site of December’s victory over nearby North Carolina State.

The University of Washington sports fans episode.