Bill remembers a time when dinosaurs roamed the earth-and newspaper beat writers were the only voices young boys could count on to cover their favorite teams.

Inevitably, success in the Confederations Cup is followed by the question: Has soccer finally “arrived” in the United States? Rather than let the debate overshadow the sport, Bill implores those of us who enjoy soccer to simply appreciate good competition when we see it.

There are plenty of role models in professional sports, but Manny Ramirez probably isn’t one of them. In his commentary, Bill muses about the ramifications of the slugger’s unaltered ability to sell tickets, despite what many would consider a tarnished reputation.

To wade through the marketing waters is to find advertisers that believe the public should buy products famous athletes endorse simply because they are famous. Bill Littlefield notes in his commentary that finally, there is a product spokesman that makes sense.

In his commentary, Bill Littlefield laments the fact that the walls that shield the privacy of an athlete’s life from the public are becoming increasingly transparent. He cares about issues that will directly affect the outcomes of games, and thinks you should, too.

What better place to gain perspective than on vacation? Sports are in many ways a microcosm of society. The stakes and the drama are real, franchises are run like businesses, and incentives drive everything. Nonetheless, Bill Littlefield yearns for a respite from the repetitive plotlines of athletics while he catches up on the world outside of sports.

In today’s impatient and hurried society where journalists compete for attention-grabbing headlines as much as worthwhile stories, hyperbole rules. Bill Littlefield comments on the often inappropriate use of language and catchphrases in contemporary sports reporting.

Often, the first words out of an athlete’s mouth after being linked to performance-enhancing drugs are of complete and aggressive denial. In certain settings an athlete can refute the charges and his guilt will forever be shrouded in subjective analysis, but commentator Bill Littlefield examines an event where guilt is the only indictment the participants can’t disprove.

For some, this time of year is magical. Playoffs in the NBA and NHL combine with the regular seasons of baseball and soccer to saturate the public thirst for competition. But for others, like commentator Bill Littlefield, the craving is occasionally for something the sports culture has labeled taboo: A break.

With teams in the NBA and NFL playoffs and a perfect record against their MLB rivals, Boston’s sports teams are dazzling fans this spring. In light of all this fun, Bill Littlefield muses on what it means to be a fan.

On Monday night, Barry Bonds returned to At&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Sitting in a box seat between the team’s CEO and its president, Bonds, who faces ten counts of making false statements to a grand jury regarding his use of steroids, received a warm welcome from Giants fans…a reaction that did not surprise commentator Bill Littlefield.

Baseball players can be fined for using corked bats, throwing illegal pitches, or disparaging the integrity of the umpires. Elijah Dukes of the Washington Nationals was recently fined for being late to the ballpark on game day, which, commentator Bill Littlefield suggests, is more a complicated story than it might seem to be.

The Red Sox are off to a less-than-inspiring start. (3-6) But commentator Bill Littlefield promises this has nothing to do with his dissatisfaction with some of the season’s early games.

Though Opening Day at Fenway Park was delayed a day by rain, throughout the country Major League Baseball got underway this week. Commentator Bill Littlefield briefly surveys the baseball landscape.

On Sunday, Tiger Woods won a golf tournament. Among those who were delighted, if not especially surprised, was commentator Bill Littlefield’s mother.

On Tuesday Curt Schilling blogged the news: He was retiring from baseball. Schilling helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and again in 2007. He was still employed by the team last season, to the tune of eight million dollars, though he did not pitch. Commentator Bill Littlefield reviews Curt Schilling’s Boston days.

On Thursday the men’s NCAA basketball tournament will get underway. Remembering that the “C” in NCAA stands for “collegiate,” commentator Bill Littlefield foresees some surprises.

On Sunday – Selection Sunday – college basketball fans will find out the rest of the teams that will be involved in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament…an event that will consume millions of sports fans from then until early April, when a champion is crowned. Bill Littlefield is anticipating the madness and its potential benefits.

The spectacularly successful season upon which the men’s basketball team from the University of Connecticut is currently embarked was marred somewhat in late February when Coach Jim Calhoun exploded during a press conference. His angry outburst was provoked by a question about his salary, which is one point six million dollars annually. Several Connecticut legislators have since called for Calhoun to apologize. Commentator Bill Littlefield speculates on how the coach might have avoided the embarrassment.

An empty bottle from which the owner says Tiger Woods drank during the 2007 PGA Championship appeared for auction on Ebay this week. The asking price was twenty five thousand dollars. This gave commentator Bill Littlefield hope in his attempt to weather the current financial crisis.

As spring training gets underway in Florida and in Arizona, many of the stories have been about steroids and the players who’ve used them, and those who might have done so. Commentator Bill Littlefield has been trying instead to think of Ernie Banks, the hall-of-fame Cubs shortstop who liked to say – no matter what the weather – “It’s a beautiful day. Let’s play two.”

As the best Division One basketball teams work their way through February toward the tournament known as March Madness, commentator Bill Littlefield finds that there are stories in the gyms of less illustrious teams as well.

As the scolds in the U.S. Congress try to shame executives at major corporations into responsible behavior, commentator Bill Littlefield warns that in that pursuit, as elsewhere, moderation is advisable.

Fifteen years and still going strong – Only A Game’s Super Bowl Haiku make a triumphant return with some notable hut-hut-Haiku players.

On the eve of the Super Bowl, two new cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy – the brain damage associated with multiple concussions – have been in the news. Commentator Bill Littlefield remembers – sort of – one of his worst days as an intramural athlete – and wonders why it’s taking so long for physicians associated with teams to acknowledge the obvious.

With the Super Bowl just 11 days away, commentator Bill Littlefield offers a few humble suggestions for improving the event.

Beginning in mid-March, Bob Knight, who has presided over more Division One wins than any other men’s basketball coach, and Billy Packer, who spent twenty seven years broadcasting college games for CBS, will be discussing the product with which they are both thoroughly familiar from a bookmaking establishment in Las Vegas. Commentator Bill Littlefield wonders if you find that arrangement as bizarre as he does.

The NFL’s second round of playoff games will transpire on Saturday and Sunday. Commentator Bill Littlefield acknowledges that his attention will be on one particular player…and how hard he gets hit.

As we move from 2008 into 2009, many people find themselves looking forward. Commentator Bill Littlefield, on the other hand, looks backward and thinks about what might have been.

It is late summer, 2007.
I take the luxury flight to Las Vegas…the one reserved for high rollers bound to lose vast amounts, the absence [...]

In 2009 women’s professional soccer will try its hand at restarting the enterprise that created soccer stars Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy. Starting in January the new league, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), will fight the economic battle for fans and funds, but as Bill Littlefield comments, everyone loves an underdog.

During the New Year, women’s professional soccer will [...]