It’s time to stop all the talk about preseason rankings, training camp holdouts, and Brett Favre’s annual “retirement.” This week on Only A Game, we talk real NFL and college football. Plus, Karen Given looks the unusual partnership between NASCAR and BET, and Bill interviews the authors of a book that examines the Washington football team’s scandal-ridden 2000 season.

If you’ve ever thought road races could be improved with flames, barbed wire and free beer – and who hasn’t? – tune in to Only A Game on Saturday to hear Kim Green’s report on the Warrior Dash in Georgia. Also, Only A Game’s Doug Tribou will look at some of the best teams ever to represent the USA as this year’s batch of Americans prepare for the World Championships.

This week on Only A Game, we’ll have the latest on Roger Clemens’ indictment for making false statements to Congress and author Michael Weinreb will explain how “Bo Knows” and the Boz created the modern athlete. Plus, Bill will speak with Jeff Benedict on why domestic violence is a more serious issue in sports than you may expect.

This week on Only A Game, Keith O’Brien catches up with the trash-talking, fist-throwing Cincinnati Reds. Also, we look at a new book that examines the successes and failures of Title IX and Karen Given reports on what’s next for the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints.

The trading deadline’s come and gone and A-Rod (finally) got his 600th home run. With that out of the way, we’ll talk with ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian about baseball’s stretch run. Also, we’ll profile Mamie Johnson, the first woman to pitch in the Negro Leagues, and check in on a team upsetting the delicate balance of power in unicycle basketball. Join us!

The weather is oppressively hot, but MLB pennant races are still lukewarm. Need a pick-me-up before the dog days of August? Only A Game has you covered with some of our favorite stories from the past year, including stories on Rome’s controversial swimming pool at Foro Italico; hangin’ with the dudes at the Big Lebowski Fest; the Pan-Mass Challenge and more.

Fueled by superstar Josh Hamilton and ace Cliff Lee, the Rangers are serious World Series contenders. But their success is clouded by complications in the proposed sale of the team. This week on Only A Game, Bill talks to Ken Belson of the New York Times about Texas’s financial troubles. Plus, the story of Tennessee Titans draftee and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle, and surfing kook Peter Heller looks for the perfect wave, but finds quite a bit more.

This week on Only A Game, Lance Armstrong may not be wearing his customary yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France, but the race has still provided plenty of fireworks (and even some flying fists). Plus, Greg Echlin reports on Marion Jones’ comeback not on the track, but on the basketball court. Also, author Dave Zirin speaks about how George Steinbrenner changed the business of sports ownership, and Bill talks to Esquire writer Chris Jones about the man who figured out “The Price is Right.”

Whether you think LeBron James is a selfless future NBA champion or a traitorous reality TV star, his announcement live on ESPN that he will play for the Miami Heat finally ended the circus that has dominated sports conversation for months. Saturday on Only A Game, Bill speaks with FoxSports.com’s Kevin Hench about the end of LeBronapalooza. Plus, biking in the Big Apple, Tim Kurkijan recaps the first half of the baseball season, and Bill previews Sunday’s World Cup Final. Join us.

“With this bullseye, I thee wed.” Bill has the story of hunters getting married in a tree stand. Also, these old books about cricket can’t be worth anything … or can they? Read Bill’s latest post about the wackier side of sports.

Roger Federer will turn 29 next month, but he looked over the hill in his disappointing exit from Wimbledon. This week on Only A Game, Bill speaks with Bud Collins about where Federer will go from here. Plus, baseball in the 70’s, Roger Bennett discusses the shady refereeing at the World Cup, and Only A Game’s Sadie Babits reports on a tournament showcasing some extremely creative facial hair.

Who says the USA doesn’t like soccer? This week on Only A Game, Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl talks about late-game heroics from the Americans, the collapse of the defending champs, and more from the World Cup. Plus, we speak with Wimbledon’s official poet, Bill chats with David Remnick, editor of a new collection of sportswriting from the New Yorker, and Only A Game’s Ron Schachter looks at “tornado and hurricane,” two children looking to become tennis’s next superstars. Join us.

This week only Only A Game, Tiger Woods tries once again to get back on track at the U.S. Open. Plus, international diplomats look to settle their differences on the soccer field, the latest on the real World Cup, and some classic cars on display.

Africans have been celebrating in the streets for weeks, and now they’re really excited! This week on Only A Game, soccer fans from the South, North, East and West brace for the beginning of the 2010 World Cup.

Don’t worry, Cleveland. The LeBron of whom we speak is a jaguar, not a star basketball player. The fate of the latter has yet to be decided. Bill has the story of LeBron the jaguar and the unlikely “winner” of the London Marathon, a 69 year old who says he was just trying to make it home.

This week on Only A Game, a report from England on the National squad’s latest preparations to follow up their impressive 1966 World Cup victory. Also, the nationwide decline of thoroughbred racing, and why the Celtics and Lakers just can’t leave each other alone.

The national 11 are headed for South Africa. This week on Only A Game, a report from Team USA’s send off match just ahead of the World Cup tournament. Also, the sometimes weird and frequently wonderful history of the World Cup, and a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bill Littlefield attended one of the US National Team’s final matches before heading to South Africa for the World Cup. Here are some photos from the event.

This week on “Only a Game,” NASCAR’s gas men, jack men, and catch can men compete trackside in the pit crew challenge, Diego Maradona tries to hold it together for the World Cup, and Henry “The Hammer” Aaron gets a big, thick book.

This week on Only A Game, meet the professional stooper who makes a healthy living by picking up discarded betting tickets at the horse track. Also, urban farming with former pro basketballer Will Allen, and the tale of 1400 South African political prisoners who pitted soccer vs. Apartheid.

Gentlemen, start your environmentally-sound engines! This week on Only A Game, university students put the pedal to the recyclable metal in the Formula Hybrid Challenge. Also, barefoot running and the battle for runners’ soles.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course, but 20-odd thoroughbreds make a Kentucky Derby field. This week on Only A Game, Jenny Rees helps sort ‘em all out. Also, a conversation with LPGA golfer Christina Kim, and the ups and downs of competitive Yo-Yo.

NFL teams are drafting new players based on speed, strength, and something called the Wonderlic intelligence test. This week on Only A Game, we’ll wonder over the Wonderlic. We’ll also explore kendo, the ancient art of Japanese fencing, and Harvard University’s national tournament dedicated to the sport.

This week on Only A Game, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry…“Sonicsgate,” a documentary about how Seattle lost the NBA team it loved. We’ll also paint the playoff picture for NBA teams that haven’t moved recently, and Wisconsin nixes Nike.

I hear there’s a big golf tournament this week in Augusta, Georgia, and that there’s some sort of wild animal on hand. This week on Only A Game, a Masters update. Also, former NBA Kings remember royal life in Kansas City, and story telling through baseball cards.

Baseball will soon begin anew, but at least one active major league pitcher is very, very old. This week on Only A Game, a profile of 47-year-old Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia’s Methuselah of the mound. Also, pole dancers compete with vigor…and with all their clothes on!

Rounds one and two of the men’s basketball tourney held more surprises than anyone had bracketed for. This week on Only A Game, an NCAA hoops update of the men’s regionals, the latest from the women’s dance, and a slam dunk contest to benefit Sudan.

This week on Only A Game, can Husker hoopsters of the female variety help Nebraskans forget about their relatively unsuccessful football team? Also, some good spring training talk with Tim Kurkjian, and Vermonters say goodbye to winter with wickets and mallets.

Sixty-four teams are good, so 128 must be better! This week on Only A Game, should the March Madness field be increased to include just about everybody? Also, the round-the-world saga of Canadian hero and Paralympian Rick Hansen.

This week on Only A Game, we endeavor to answer a most vexing question regarding the sexes: Why aren’t there more sports that pit women against men? Also, the New Jersey Devils rise from hockey purgatory, plus SI’s Peter King on the NFL, and a story of a sports hero who disappeared.