Historically Speaking Sports Sports History Network

In the late 1980s, NBA Commissioner David Stern looked to take full advantage of the growing popularity of his league. So on April 5, !987, the NBA announced the addition of four new teams to the NBA.
Beginning in the fall of 1988, the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat took the floor for the first time as NBA franchises. One season later, in 1989 two more teams, the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves joined the league.
In this episode, host Dana Auguster brings us back to the late 1980s when these four franchises were formed and takes a look at their inaugural seasons where struggles were expected - some more than others.
Later in the show, in keeping with the hoops theme, we will take a look at the best rivalry in the 1990s in the NBA, Pacers and Knicks.
The Knicks and the Pacers are embroiled in a exciting seven game series currently in this years postseason. Yet the matchups between these teams in the 1990s were simply epic and incredible.
Also we will examine pro sports' new loveable losers, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It is hard to believe that a team that has as much history as the Maple Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967. This episode takes a look at English-Speaking Canada's favorite team and how it compares to other teams in the mist of championship droughts in other leagues.
To conclude the show, we will send a shout out to the first round of the 1999 Western Conference playoffs between the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings.
Back then the first round of the NBA playoffs was best three-out-of-five series and it was between an established NBA power and a team that came out of nowhere and became in subsequent years, one of the most popular and exciting teams in the league.
The series itself was an absolute classic, one of the best over the last 30 years. And it was in the first round.
To contact the show, you could send an e-mail to Historically.Speaking.Sports@Gmail.com and you could follow us on Twitter at Historically Sp2.

When you think of classic ballparks throughout the history of Major League Baseball, Ebbets Field or Yankee Stadium or Shibe Park in Philadelphia comes to mind. Yet Comiskey Park, located on the corner of 35th and Shields on Chicago's southside, is just as charming and as famous as all of the others.
It was the home park for the Chicago White Sox from 1910 through 1990 and has been the site of so many different sporting events and special moments.
In this episode we talk with author Ken Smoller about his latest book "Last Comiskey" as he chronicled the final White Sox season at the old ballpark. With podcast host Dana Auguster they talk about how that final season became a rallying cry for the team that made a surprising run toward winning a division title.
Later in the show, in keeping with the Chicago baseball theme, I will send a shout out to the first time I had attended a Major League Baseball game. In the summer of 1989 I was 16 years old, my Godfather and Dad took me to the baseball shrine Wrigley Field and two seasons later, attended a game at the new Comiskey Park.
I will talk about those two wonderful days and those games in this edition of the show.
To contact the show you could e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports.com and you could follow us on Twitter @Historically Sp2.

Through the duration of the American Basketball season which spaned nine years, only two teams played every season of that league. One was the Indiana Pacers who is one of the four teams that merged with the NBA in 1976. The other was the Kentucky Colonels.
In their nine seasons as a member of the ABA, the Colonels won more games, had the highest winning percentage in league history and featured three future basketball hall of famers. One of them is the ABA's all-time leader in points and assists.
Host Dana Auguster will highlight the great moments of this once great pro basketball franchise.
Later in the show, we will send a shout out to the coach that led the Colonels to their only ABA title in 1975. But he is best known for his time as a coach and television analyst for the NBA.
As a long time coach in the NBA with several stops including the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies, Hubie Brown could be considered a basketball lifer. His two coach of the year honors occurred 26 years apart and knowledge of the game of basketball is unmatched and is still showcased on television even at the age of 90.;
To contact the show, please e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@Gmail.com or you could hit us up on Twitter/X @Historically SP2

University of Iowa star Caitlin Clark may be the best college basketball player this season. This season she is without a doubt the most well known. She is one the verge of surpassing a record that most basketball historians felt would never be broken.
Clark is set to surpass Pete Maravich as college basketball's all-time leading scorer, a record set back in 1970.
In this episode of Historically Speaking Sports, we will take a look back at the college career of the man they called "Pistol Pete". A player that averaged more than 40 points per game in a time in college basketball that freshmen were not allowed to play varsity, no shot clock and no three pointers.
Later in the show we will send a shout out to the very first NBA Dunk Contest that took place 40 years ago in McNicholls Arena in Denver.
The contest featured some of the most iconic dunkers in basketball history including Julius Erving, Dominque Wilkins, Clyde Drexler and Darrell Griffith.
Yet the competition was won by a little known forward of the Phoenix Suns at the time that was known as the "Flying Sun" or "The Slambassador" or "The High-Attolla of Slamola" But is is best remembered for being the backbone of the one of the most snake-bit teams in the late 1980's.
To contact the show, you could e-mail us at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com or on Twitter at @Historically Sp2.

One of the many storylines heading into Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas is the opportunity of the Kansas City Chiefs to become one of the handful of NFL franchises to win consecutive Super Bowls.
One of the teams that accomplished this was the Denver Broncos in 1997 and 1998 led by Hall of fame quarterback John Elway. Yet from a historical standpoint, the Denver Broncos are far more than just John Elway.
In this latest edition of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, host Dana Auguster sits down with Broncos historian and podcaster Thomas Hall discussing the history of the Denver Broncos and the great players and great moments that made the Broncos one of the more consistent winners in the National Football League.
Later in the show we will send a "Shout out" to great team nicknames in the history of the NFL. Over the years the imaginations of fans were captured by the likes of the "No-Name Defense", and the" Dome Patrol", the "Fearsome Foursome" and the "New York Sack Exchange".
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During the 1990's, a sports phenomenon took hold in South Louisiana that was impressive yet unexpected.
In the part of the country where football is king and the other sports are fighting for relevance, the sport of hockey fired the imaginations of passionate sports fans in the heart of Cajun Country.
Host and native of South Louisiana Dana Auguster is joined in this episode by longtime friend and six year ticket holder of the Louisiana Ice Gators Shane DeRouen. They will remember and reminisce about time hockey and not football, was the most popular sport in an area that was not known for pucks.
Later in the show we will send a shout out to former hall of fame head coach of the then San Diego Chargers, Don Coryell.
The very day that he was hired, Sept 25, 1978 was both the best day in the sports history of San Diego California but also the darkest day that city's history.
That and more on this episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, a member of the Sports History Network.
Please don't forget to like and subscribe to the show. You could follow us on twitter at Historically Sp2 or you could send us an e-mail at Historically.Speaking.Sports@gmail.com.