Michigan State University – The Sports Fan Project

Conversations with Sports Fans – Joey Ellis

August 13, 2026August 13, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

Guest on Conversations materialize in random places.

Take this week’s guest, Joey Ellis from Queen City News and Carolina Sports Live in Charlotte, NC.

During our recent trip to the United Kingdom and France, my wife and I enjoyed a dinner with high school friend, Colin, and his wife, Tia.

Somewhere between bites of pasta and refilling wine glasses, Tia mentioned that their nephew, Joey, would be a good guest for Conversations.

“He’s an avid sports fan,” she said. “He works in the business and has plenty of stories to share, I’m sure.”

No sooner had Tia mentioned this, I noticed Colin pecking away on his phone.

“He says he’d love to do your show, Doug,” Colin said. “I’m sending you his contact information now.”

And today, you get to enjoy the dare I say, the leftovers, from our evening out in Knightsbridge, an egaging Conversation with Colin and Tia’s nephew, Joey, who does, in fact, have some stories to share including recollections from attending University of Michigan football games with his dad to pursuing a career in sports broadcast media that’s taken him to ESPN’s campus in Bristol, CT, to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and, now, to North Carolina’s Queen City.

You’re able to follow Joey on the following social media platforms:

Twitter/X – ⁠@jellis1016⁠
Instagram – ⁠@jellis_1016⁠
Facebook – ⁠Joey Ellis – Queen City News

^{My Conversation with Joey Ellis.}

Conversations with Sports Fans – Rob LaCommare

July 16, 2026July 16, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

I graduated from high school an unfathomable 41 years ago.

While I had a few good friends from the Class of 1985, I may have had more in the Class of 1986. One of those friends is this week’s guest, Rob LaCommare.

As will occur, time changes those friendships, folks enter and leave our lives, and Rob was – to some extent – one of those.

That said, in mid-June, we found ourselves at a high school graduation party for his niece (and my wife’s good friend’s daughter), and the stories, well, they flowed.

Eventually, an invitation to appear on Conversations was extended (and accepted), and we agreed upon a time to record.

So, in this episode, I invite you to eavesdrop on a pair of longtime acquaintances talking sports, life, and, um, pickleball?

Yes, in addition to discussing his opportunity to see Brazilian soccer club CR Flamengo play a home match, knock off countless arenas and stadiums thanks to his work travel, Rob sneaks in some pickleball talk, which just might be a first in Conversations’ 277 episodes!

I hope you enjoy!

My Conversation with Rob LaCommare.

Conversations with Sports Fans – Dr. Trey Rogers

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**^{The University of Tennessee’s Dr. John Sorochan, left, and Michigan State University’s}**
**^{Dr. Trey Rogers, led a team from the two universities in developing the turf being used in all 16}**
**^{2026 FIFA World Cup stadiums. (Photo courtesy of MSU)}**

Recently, I happened to read an article about a Michigan State University turf management professor who led a team of colleagues and graduate students in partnership with a similar team from the University of Tennessee.

Their mission: Identify the appropriate grass types, design a growth plan, and oversee the growth of the turf that comprises the 16 pitches (e.g. fields) being used for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

That MSU professor? Dr. Trey Rogers.

What’s even cooler, is that he was part of a similar team leading up to the last time the World Cup was contested in North America (USA 1994) to develop and execute a plan to grow grass in the Pontiac Silverdome (the only domed facility used for that World Cup). And his counterpart at Tennessee, Dr. John Sorochan, was a student member of that 1994 team.

Even more fortuitous for me – and you! – was the fact that MSU had a press kit on Dr. Rogers as well as a person to contact for media requests.

With that, in this episode, I go deep into turf talk (playing from the rough, so to speak😉) with Dr. Rogers, who nearly 20 years ago authored book on growing grass Lawn Geek: Tips and Tricks for the Ultimate Turf from the Guru of Grass.

I suspect you’ll find this Conversation as fascinating as I did as Dr. Rogers discusses both 1994’s successful endeavor as well as the current one which he watches play out – quite literally – on his television every day.

^{My Conversation with Dr. Trey Rogers from Michigan State University.}

The Fan Teaser: Week 128 Solution

April 6, 2025April 3, 2025DouglasTHillLeave a comment

**^{You’d have to be mad to not get this one.}**

March 26, 1979 … the night March Madness was born.

Top-ranked and undefeated Indiana State University, led by a fella named Larry Bird, met the third-ranked Michigan State Spartans and a dude named Earvin “Magic” Johnson on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for the 1979 NCAA Championship.

At the time the pair met, the NCAA Tournament was a quaint little affair of just 40 schools. The next year it was bumped to 48 and by 1985 it was at 64. The ratings for this game topped out at 35% of U.S. televisions and led to seismic jumps in rights fees to the current amount of roughly $900 million per year. What’s more, back in the 1970s, not all games were televised nationally. Today, someone with solid remote control skills and plenty of caffeine for the early rounds could see the tips and finishes of every game live.

Much of this is attributed to the two men in this week’s Fan Teaser. As former Marquette University coach and later NBC college basketball analyst Al McGuire said, “The college game was already on the launching pad. Then Bird and Magic came along and pushed the button.”

Kaboom!

Magic Johnson, left, and Larry Bird, during the 1979 Men's NCAA Championship Game — ^{Earvin “Magic” Johnson, left, and Larry Bird during their first of many high-profile matchups at the 1979 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship in Salt Lake City, UT. (Photo by James Drake/Sports Illustrated)}

For more reading, check out this Michael Wilbon piece from the Washington Post back in 2009, when the game was but a mere 30-years-old.

^{A highlight package of Bird vs. Magic during the 1979 NCAA Championship Game.}

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.