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Only a Game was a weekly sports program distributed byNational Public Radio and hosted formerly byBill Littlefield. It was hosted and produced byKaren Given.[1] The show was produced atWBUR inBoston and aired on 264 affiliate stations around the country every Saturday.[2] The program was one hour long.
Only a Game featured coverage of mainstream sports including theNFL,Major League Baseball, theNBA, theNHL,NASCAR, and men's and women's collegiate sports. Littlefield discussed mainstream sports with the program's regular analysts includingTim Kurkjian (baseball) ofESPN;Kevin Hench (NBA) ofFox Sports;Pat Forde (men's college basketball) of ESPN;Dan Wetzel (college football) ofYahoo! Sports;Helene Elliott (NHL) of theLos Angeles Times; and others.
The program was also known for its coverage of offbeat sports and competitive events. Subjects covered on the program include a race up the stairs at theEmpire State Building, an adaptive rowing competition for disabled athletes, lobster boat racing inMaine, and an event formerly known as the Rat Olympics.
Every week Given (or a guest host),and before her,original host Bill Littlefield, was joined by sportswriterCharlie Pierce and the two discussed the week's top stories and oddball sports news items.
On June 7, 2018, WBUR announced that Bill Littlefield was "hanging up his cleats."[3] He hosted his final episode as regular host, after 25 years of hosting Only a Game, on July 28, 2018. On June 17, 2020, WBUR announced that the show would end in the fall of 2020.[4]
Guests onOnly a Game includedJohn Updike, former U.S. Poet LaureateRobert Pinsky, commentatorBud Collins; current and former athletesMuhammad Ali,Kristine Lilly, former U.S. SenatorBill Bradley,Bill Russell,Oscar Robertson,Lenny Wilkens, andKareem Abdul-Jabbar; and coachesPat Summitt andGeno Auriemma.
