Sports Connections with David Smale

Episode 74: Dennis Leonard - The Way the Game was Meant to be Played

To say that former Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard was a competitive athlete is an understatement. How competitive was he? One time when a “camper” at the Royals Fantasy Camp got a hit off him during one of the games, and then bragged about it from first base, that player wore one in the back the next time he came up. Leonard remembers fondly the rivalry with the New York Yankees that saw George Brett and Graig Nettles exchanged blows during a game and neither one got thrown out of the game. He joins us to talk about “the good ol’ days.”

Episode 73 - Vahe Gregorian - A Man of Many Letters

Vahe Gregorian comes from a family with a rich tradition in education, led by his father, Vartan, who helped lead two different Ivy League schools and eventually restored the New York Public Library from shambles to honor. Vartan recently passed and Vahe joins us to talk about his both his mother and father instilled in him and his brothers that they didn’t really care what they did professionally, as long as they did it to the best of their ability.

Episode 72: Brian Cooper - Fit and Cut

Brian Cooper’s story is not unlike a lot of former athletes. He was disgruntled about how his playing career ended, and he made some bad choices as a result. Heavily overweight, he was impacted when his younger brother told him he was afraid that Brian was going to die if he didn’t get things turned around. He set out to lose weight—nearly 140 pounds in all—and took up bodybuilding as a motivating goal. He now helps others—bodybuilders and average folks—learn about nutrition, training and overall fitness.

Episode 71: Steve McCrath - In the Image of His Father

Steve McCrath got to play college soccer for his father—legendary coach Cliff McCrath. While saying he was not the type of player he would recruit today, because of a lack of maturity, he relishes the years he spent playing and coaching for his dad. He’s now the highly successful coach at Barry University, where he won the 2018 national championship, joining his father as a championship coach, one of only two father-son combinations in that lofty group. He joins us to talk about being the “coach’s kid.”

Episode 70: Cliff McCrath - Didn’t See That One Coming…

Cliff McCrath had his sights set on playing for his hometown Detroit Redwings in the late 1950s. But a challenge from a college roommate drew him to the soccer field, where he started in the first game he ever saw four days later. His career has spanned more than 60 years, impacting countless coaches and players across the country and around the world. He joins us to chat about his life’s journey in his own unique way.

Episode 69: Paul Mills - Meeting Expectations

When the Oral Roberts University basketball team knocked off No. 2 seed Ohio State in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, most of the world was shocked. But not head coach Paul Mills. When the Golden Eagles followed that up with a victory over No. 7 seed Florida, the world was shocked again. Not Mills. Mills has instilled confidence and belief in the system to his players, and the results have been impressive. The former assistant under Scott Drew at Baylor joins us to talk about how faith—in a system and in God—can have profound impact.

Episode 68: Daniel Salloi - Returning to Form

Daniel Salloi was one of the up-and-coming stars of MLS following the 2018 season, when he led Sporting Kansas City in goals. But rough 2019 and 2020 seasons, when he scored just one goal had folks wondering what was wrong. He has responded so far in 2021, returning to the same confident, aggressive style of play that has him finding the back of the net with regularity and has Sporting near the top of the Western Conference table. He joins us to talk about the importance of playing with confidence.

Episode 67: Dima Rachkovskiy - Giving Back to Make an Impact

Dima Rachkovskiy had a promising career ahead of him as a youth in basketball crazy Ukraine. But some bad experiences with coaches—some of whom coached through negative reinforcement and others who didn’t seem to care about the individual at all—he lost the joy of playing the sport. Through an experience at a basketball camp in nearby Poland, he found the love again, and now he helps coaches in his homeland discover a new way to pour into their athletes.

Episode 66: Seth Davis - Right Where He’s Supposed to Be

Seth Davis isn’t quite sure what he’d be doing if he weren’t writing about—and talking on television about—college basketball. The son of an attorney and a 1992 graduate of Duke University, he’s probably smart enough to excel at anything he chose. But he says he didn’t enjoy applying himself to prospects outside of sports. After trying his hand at other sports and other levels, he’s made his living covering the great game of college basketball.

Episode 65: Wayne Tinkle - Don't Forget About Us

Oregon State head coach Wayne Tinkle said even he was a little surprised about the success his team had in the recent NCAA tournament. Being on the “left coast,” Pac-12 hoops doesn’t get the credit the conference’s coaches believe they deserve, but did anyone expect the success the conference enjoyed in 2021, when five teams (the fifth highest total of bids) had the most wins (13) and the highest winning percentage (.772). Four of the five teams made the Sweet 16, and three made the Elite 8, including Tinkle’s Beavers.