Sports With Friends

Hall of Famer Dan Issel is the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky, the second-leading scorer of all time for the NBA's Denver Nuggets, and the second-leading scorer of all time for the ABA. Issel played for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and later played for the Nuggets. Recently, Issel was featured in an Amazon Prime Video documentary entitled "Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association."In 1997, Issel began hosting a radio show on a then-fledgling radio station, "AM 950 The FAN" KKFN in Denver, Colorado, where he worked with a young Seth Everett. This episode ends with stories from that time.

On May 19, 2026, Arsenal were crowned the 2025-2026 Premier League champions. It was Arsenal's first league title since the 2003–04 season. They held a parade in North London, celebrating their title. Mikel Arteta coaches them.Journalist Natasha Henry has worked in sports media for years, based in England. She has been an Arsenal supporter her whole life, and brings that enthusiasm to the podcast.In this episode, they discuss the unique relationship that exists between the fans and the club, and how that has evolved over the years. They also talk about the Louis Dunford song “Th' Angel (North London Forever)” becoming an Arsenal anthem after Arteta introduced it to the players. They discuss the stardom of Bukayo Saka, and the chances of repeating as Premier League champions, as well as trying once again to win their first-ever Champions League. They discuss how Arsenal's social media global following is six times that of the most popular USA team, the Kansas City Chiefs.Don't forget on [@ultrapouches]. New customers get 15% off with code SWF at takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad

On June 13, 2026, the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4 games to 1 to claim their first title since the 1972-1973 season. The championship captivated New York, a city that was starved for a major pro championship.Game 4 saw the Spurs take the largest halftime lead of any visiting team in Finals history, then the Knicks overcame the largest deficit in Finals history to win. It was the first Finals series since 1975 in which a single point won multiple games. It was the first Finals ever in which the teams were within five points of each other in the final five minutes of each game. The average margin of victory was just four points. The Spurs built double-digit leads in all these games, but lost four of them.It was the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998, with an average of 20.6 million viewers per game. Alan Hahn is a broadcaster during Knicks broadcasts on MSG Network and a radio host on ESPN New York. He has covered the Knicks for twenty years. Hahn spent 16 years as a writer at Newsday, where he covered every major professional sports team in the New York area, including five seasons as the Knicks beat reporter. He also previously served as an Islanders reporter and NHL writer.In this episode, Hahn recounts the historic Knicks run. He also addresses some of the storylines and controversies over the season, including that historic Game 4 comeback and President Donald Trump attending Game 3. He also paid tribute to two historic broadcasters, Al Trautwig and John Andreise.

Longtime ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas has been with the network since 1995. He is featured on ESPN’s game and studio coverage and calls the top men’s college basketball games involving the nation’s marquee teams and conferences every week throughout the season. In 2024, he joined ESPN’s NBA commentator team as a game analyst. Bilas is a nine-time Emmy nominee: Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Analyst (2007, 2008, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) and Outstanding Sports Personality – Event Analyst (2016, 2017, 2019). In 2016, Bilas received the prestigious Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2022, Bilas was selected for induction into the Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame.Bilas is participating in Lake Tahoe’s American Century Championship. The American Century Championship is a made-for-TV event owned and broadcast by NBC Sports. The premier celebrity golf tournament, which also raises funds for local and national charities, awards a $750,000 purse. The tournament is a 54-hole modified Stableford format that features some of sports and entertainment’s greatest celebrities.In this episode, Bilas speaks about the current landscape of college basketball and how it differs from that of college football. He also addresses the incredible talent in the NBA and how he cherishes covering that league as well.Fans can get involved and play Fantasy Golf with the participants in Lake Tahoe. This year’s tournament is July 8-12, 2026. For more info, https://www.accfantasygolf.com/.

First-ballot Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz first came on this podcast on Episode 450. The eight-time All-Star and National League Cy Young Award winner is currently FOX MLB’s lead game analyst. He is participating in Lake Tahoe’s American Century Championship. The American Century Championship is a made-for-TV event owned and broadcast by NBC Sports. The premier celebrity golf tournament, which also raises funds for local and national charities, awards a $750,000 purse. The tournament is a 54-hole modified Stableford format that features some of sports and entertainment’s greatest celebrities.Smoltz is an avid golfer. He finished second twice and third once in the last three ACC events in Tahoe. He is now in the final stage of qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open. The 46th U.S. Senior Open is scheduled for July 2-5 in Columbus, Ohio.In this episode, Smoltz offered his thoughts on the recent passing of his manager with the Braves, Bobby Cox. He talked extensively about how the role of manager has changed in today’s MLB. He also comments on the increase in playoff teams and the ongoing propensity for strikeouts. He also weighed in on the question of whether Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player ever.

Legendary college and NFL quarterback Joe Theismann rejoins the show for his fourth appearance. Theismann was an all-pro quarterback for the then-Washington Redskins from 1974 to 1985. His career abruptly ended in ’85 when he was sacked by Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor and broke his leg. Theismann was an NFL broadcaster for ESPN for 20 years, calling games for both Sunday and Monday Night Football.For 36 of the 37 years, Theismann has been one of the original participants in Lake Tahoe’s American Century Championship. The American Century Championship is a made-for-TV event owned and broadcast by NBC Sports. The premier celebrity golf tournament, which also raises funds for local and national charities, awards a $750,000 purse. The tournament is a 54-hole modified Stableford format that features some of sports and entertainment’s greatest celebrities.In this episode, Theismann weighs in on his alma mater, Notre Dame’s role in the continually changing college football landscape. He discusses the NFL’s increase in games in Europe and extra midweek matchups. He also weighs in on the current Washington Commanders franchise and the changes there that are connecting the past to the present.Theismann speaks extensively about the amazing experience with the American Century Championship. Fans can get involved and play Fantasy Golf with the participants in Lake Tahoe. This year’s tournament is July 8-12, 2026. For more info, https://www.accfantasygolf.com/.

Bobby Cox was a Baseball Hall of Fame manager who led the Atlanta Braves to five National League pennants and a World Series championship in the 1990s and was ranked No. 4 for career victories among major league managers, died on May 9, 2026. His Atlanta teams won division championships 14 consecutive times, from 1991 to 2005. His lone World Series championship came in 1995, when the Braves defeated the then-Cleveland Indians in six games, with the clincher coming on a 1-0 victory behind Glavine’s one-hitter and David Justice’s sixth-inning home run. Fredi Gonzalez is a longtime friend and coach under Bobby Cox. He joined the show to pay proper tribute to his longtime friend and mentor. Gonzalez managed the Florida Marlins from 2007 to 2010 and replaced Cox with the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2016. For four seasons before 2007, he was the third base coach for the Braves under Cox.In this episode, Gonzalez discusses his longtime relationship with Bobby Cox. He also tells a fascinating story about how he and Bobby both listened to Seth Everett on SiriusXM radio from 2009-2011. Finally, Gonzalez discusses his most recent reunions with Cox, shortly before he died.

Legendary Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling died on May 4th, 2026. His broadcasting career began in the 1970s, but in 1989, he was hired as the radio voice of the New York Yankees. He called their games from 1989-2024, and in the process called 5,060 consecutive games from ’89-’19. He was a 12x Sports Emmy Award winner. His career included calling games for the New York/New Jersey Nets, the New York Islanders, the Baltimore Bullets, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Atlanta Braves. He was a talk show host in New York before the invention of 24-hour sports radio. Longtime Yankees radio engineer Jack “Candy” Maldonado traveled with John and worked with him for decades. In this episode, he explains what made John so endearing to Yankee fans. He discussed the various partnerships, including working with Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman. He also told some class Sterling stories, as well as the origin of his nickname after former baseball player Candy Maldonado.John Sterling was 87.

14-year NBA veteran Muggsy Bogues is now the general manager of a new Baltimore team in the Hall-of-Famer Tracy McGrady’s Ones Basketball League. Bogues is best known for his ten years as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. He also played for the Washington Bullets (then), Toronto Raptors, and Golden State Warriors. A 5-foot-3-inch-tall Muggsy is the shortest player in NBA history. Bogues finished in the top seven in assists in six consecutive seasons (1989–1995), and in the top ten in steals in three of those seasons. He had 146 career NBA double-doubles.The OBL has launched a new “Battle of the Cities,” which will feature an expanded version of the original OBL, with elite one-on-one athletes tied to the city where they grew up, played, and/or call home. Each city-based team will have a four-person roster, comprised of players who best reflect the tradition, values, and basketball culture of the city the 1 v 1 team represents, hand-selected by the Owners/GMs. Bogues is the GM of his hometown team in Baltimore.In this episode, Bogues talks about the origin of his nickname, his long career, especially in Charlotte. He also talked about how he got involved with the OBL. He also addressed tanking and load management in today’s NBA. He also discusses being in Space Jam and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Finally, he tells an amazing story about meeting Prince.For more information on the Ones Basketball League: https://oblhoops.com/