Sports Connections with David Smale

Episode 64: Bob Huggins- Straight Shooter

Bob Huggins is well-known (inside the world of college basketball) as a guy with a great sense of humor. He just hides it from the outside world to well. The former player and current coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers reached 900 career wins during the 2021 NCAA tournament. He joins “Sports Connections” to talk about things like “playing 5-on-8” in some conference games, analyzing the basketball talent of certain sportswriters and what he thinks about not being in the Hall of Fame yet (even though he deserves it).

Episode 63: Sherri Coale - Right Place at the Right Time Doing the Right Things

Sherri Coale didn’t take the typical path to becoming the head women’s basketball coach at Oklahoma. She was a very successful high school basketball coach and was named the head coach at Oklahoma without any stops in between. She credits the fact that she coached in Norman, where OU is located, so the decision-makers could see her success up close. But doing things the right way is what attracted the university to her. She joins “Sports Connections” to talk about her unique journey.

Episode 62: Kenny Mossman - Big Fish in a Big Pond

Kenny Mossman spent much of his career in intercollegiate athletics in behind-the-scenes jobs at schools with smaller athletics budgets. He always wondered what it would be like to be at a school that cared as much about sports as he did. So he joined the staff at Oklahoma 20 years ago. He has been promoted multiple times, but when pressed about his resume he says that he has a lot of people working for him who make him look good. He’s one of the most respected administrators in all of college athletics.

Episode 61: Lon Kruger - "Mr. Clean"

Lon Kruger has held the head coaching job at six different NCAA Division I schools, taking five of them to the NCAA tournament and two of them to the Final Four, plus two stops in the NBA. At practically every stop, Kruger was brought in to clean up a mess left behind by his predecessor. A very humble man, Kruger is proud of the fact that he’s known as a coach with integrity. He joins “Sports Connections” to talk about his long coaching career.

Episode 60: Mike "Doc" Emrick - The Voice of the Game

Mike “Doc” Emrick grew up in rural Indiana liking basketball like every other kid. He loved a lot of sports. In fact, he originally wanted to be a baseball broadcaster…until he went to his first hockey game in Fort Wayne. That began a lifetime pursuit of announcing hockey, locally, nationally and internationally. He’s been the primary voice of hockey for every major sports network, and his ability to keep the viewer informed of all the action in the fast-paced sport better than anyone else in the business. Doc joins us to talk about the places and events he’s seen in nearly 50 years behind the mic.

Episode 59: Dottie Pepper- Keeping the Competitive Fire Burning

Dottie Pepper was introduced to sports at an early age as the daughter of a Major League Baseball player. She was introduced to golf by her grandmother and quickly became successful. After her successful playing career ended too soon because of injuries, she grabbed a microphone and began an equally successful career in broadcasting. If there’s a golf tournament on CBS, she’s likely to be one of the on-course announcers telling you how her group is approaching the next shot. She joins us to talk about her career, and how describing the action feeds her competitive drive.

Episode 58: Dan Wood - Competing for 'the Mission'

Dan Wood was not unlike a lot of freshmen in college. A collegiate golfer, he wanted to be a “big fish in a big pond.” But he quickly recognized the “big pond” wasn’t good for his long-term goals, and he transferred to Southern Wesleyan University, where he was introduced to the National Christian College Athletic Association. It began a nearly 40-year journey that has seen him spend the last 21 years as the executive director of the organization. He joins us to talk about how the NCCAA differs from the other two national collegiate athletic organizations.

Episode 57: Justin Adams - He Knows Why He's Here

Justin Adams was a tight end for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, but he knew he wouldn’t get a chance to play professional football. So he figured out a way to stay in the game as a writer, and a broadcaster, and as a television sportscaster. Working in his native Denver, Justin has carved quite a career in many aspects of sports media, but he never forgot his roots. He joins us to talk about how his upbringing has served him in his multiple roles.

Episode 56: Jimmy Conrad - Family Line

Jimmy Conrad wasn’t the can’t miss kid when he got out of college, but his work-ethic and love of the sport allowed him to have a 13-year MLS career and earn 27 caps with the United States Men’s National Team. He was a four-time MLS Best XI and was the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year. He’s now a widely respected soccer analyst. He joins us to talk about his love of soccer that came from his grandfather.

Episode 55: Rex Hudler - The 'WonderDog'

Rex Hudler spent 21 years of his adult life as a professional baseball player. He spent 10 years primarily in the minors before finally catching on in 1988 with the Montreal Expos. He also squeezed a year of pro ball in Japan in the middle of his MLB career, where he says he learned “to calm down.” Hudler earned the nickname “WonderDog” from ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman because of the way he played. He joins us to talk about how he has carried that same approach into the broadcast booth for another 20 years.