“NBA Playoffs: The Atlanta Hawks”

July 5, 2021

“The Third of Four Profiles of the 2021 NBA Final Four”

Los Angeles, California - Good news, bad news.  Good news is that the Atlanta Hawks will always own the fact that they are one of only four franchises that made the NBA playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons, between 2008 and 2017.  The bad news?  After they were eliminated in the sixth game of the Eastern Conference Finals Saturday, they remain the franchise with the second longest drought, failing to win an NBA championship for the last 63 seasons.  

The Atlanta Hawks (est. 1946, 1958 NBA Champions):

Established in 1946, the team that is now the Atlanta Hawks have had their share of good and bad news.  In 1946, the franchise got its start in the National Basketball League (NBL, the pre-cursor to the NBA) as the Buffalo Bisons.  

Okay, first of all, what is it with the city of Buffalo and their fascination with Buffalos?  Second, the Buffalo Bisons?  Really?  That’s the best they could come up with?  Redundancy is an under appreciated skill, I suppose.  That is like naming your team the “Los Angeles Angels”.  The only thing more stupid than that would be if your team didn’t even play in the city you were being redundant about.

The Bisons lasted in Buffalo about as long as Pope Paul I wore The Ring of the Fisherman.  The Bisons, however, were not sent to their death by the Free Masons like PP1.  They just decided that after 38 days it would be a good idea to rebrand and move on from Buffalo and their obsessive Bison ways.  

So, it was off to the Tri-Cities area and time come up with a new name, the Blackhawks.  The Tri-Cities, as we all know, are made up of the “big three” of Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport in Iowa.  Sounds more like witness protection land than up and coming metropolis, but a Bison is going to do what a Bison is going to do.

With a charismatic and inventive owner in Leo Ferris, the “Blackhawks” signed William Penn “Pops” Gates and William “Dolly” King to play for the team a full seven months before Jackie Robinson would break the color barrier in pro baseball in 1947.  Besides breaking racial boundaries together, all three have their places in history.  Ferris would go on to bring the 24-second shot clock to the NBA, “Pops” would go on to coach and play for the Harlem Globetrotters and “Dolly” would excel at both pro basketball and baseball.  

The same way the town of Bomont was not ready for Kevin Bacon’s type of dancing in “Footloose”, Moline and the Tri-Cities area wasn’t quite ready to support what was now an NBA team.  In 1951 the franchise moved on again, and this time they landed in Milwaukee.  We have already learned from “shock rocker” Alice Cooper in the first of this blog series about “mill-e-wah-que”, so let’s just say that the beer loving city of Milwaukee would do much better supporting the Bucks as a new franchise in 1968 than they would the newly dubbed “Hawks” in 1951.

The Hawks decided to move again in 1955 to the only other city ready that could stand up to Milwaukee when it came to beer production, St. Louis.  In the city of the renown Anheuser-Busch Brewery, the Hawks games were broadcast on KMOX radio with the legendary Robert “Buddy” Blattner on the call.  “Buddy”, a former pro baseball player who also won a world championship in table tennis in 1936, was instrumental in the appeal of the Hawks in St Louis.  Buddy provided nicknames for the players and colorful descriptions of the games and the STL took the team into their hearts. 

The St. Louis Hawks would make it to four NBA Finals, winning the big prize in 1958 behind MVP and all-time NBA great Bob Pettit.  Pettit dropped 50 points in the game six clincher of the ’58 series, sending the Celtics back to Boston without a title despite their disproportionate advantages over the league through the lack of free agency and the regional draft. 

That’s pretty much the high point of the Hawks.  After a conflict over building a new home arena, the team was sold and moved to Atlanta in 1968.  Atlanta was not exactly a big-time beer town, but the Milwaukee Braves baseball team was cast off from Milwaukee to the ATL with some success in 1962, so perhaps the Hawks would at least have a relation in town that could show them around.

I would be remiss not to recognize the hall of fame sensation Dominique Wilkins and his high flying theatrics in the 80’s.  There certainly was some excitement generated over those Hawk teams with “The Human Highlight Film”, “Tree” Rollins, “Doc” Rivers and “Spud” Webb, but the Hawks were better in the nickname department than they were in putting together a championship run.

Mascots are always a hit and miss adventure when researching NBA teams.  I must say, Harry the Hawk is more the former than the latter.  Harry, who has been around since the mid 80’s, has endured multiple groin injuries and early playoffs exits, but the Hawk has hung on.  In 2015, Harry the Hawk nailed an “Uptown Funk” performance that is worthy of commendation.

Maybe the bad news is that the Hawks are suffering from a 63 year drought, but let’s consider the fact that in recent history both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs were able to overcome their respective droughts to win a championship.  

Perhaps good news for the Hawks is coming soon.  

• Denny Lennon is the host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” and the “Preps To Olympians” Live Show, available on YouTube and LA36 CableTV in Los Angeles County.

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

“NBA Playoffs: The Milwaukee Bucks”

June 21, 2021

“The First of Four Profiles of the 2021 NBA Final Four”

Los Angeles, California - I will not complain.  The greatest franchise in all of sports, the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, was eliminated from the 2021 NBA playoffs in the first round, but I will offer no excuses nor express any dismay.  One can have this kind of disposition when one’s favorite team has basically dominated the league since one was eight.  It was that magical year of 1972 that the Lakers captured their first championship in the city of Los Angeles.

Over the almost 50 years of which I speak, the team wearing purple and yellow, or forum blue and gold if you prefer, has been to the NBA finals 19 times and have hung 12 championship banners.  Bam!  Step to that Celtics!  Your numbers are half those in the last half century, with a mere nine appearances in the finals and only six championships.  What rivalry?  

That said, let us not forget, I am an almost respected writer who sometimes adheres to the idea of journalistic integrity.  Therefore, I will now turn my attention to the four teams still standing in the next four blogs I publish.  Given my affection for history and pop culture, I will be evaluating the remaining four teams in the 2021 NBA playoffs through that lens. 

It is the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals, the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference finals.  In the past 50 years for those franchises have combined for two NBA Finals appearances and only the ’71 Bucks have won an NBA championship.  I am not needlessly bragging on the Lakers 19 and 12, just giving perspective.  That’s what nearly award winning journalists do in this business.

Up first, the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Milwaukee Bucks (est. 1968, 1971 NBA Champions):

It took a “Shock Rocker” from Detroit, Alice Cooper, to teach us in the 1992 film “Wayne’s World”, that Milwaukee is pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which of course is Algonquin for "the good land.”  The franchise, founded in 1968, was an expansion team and for a long stretch of time was owned by former U.S. Senator Herb Khol.  That was, until he heard his “kohl-ing” and sold the team so he could run the family owned Khol’s department stores.  

A fan contest was held to name the new team.  The most votes went to the name “Robins” after Wisconsin’s state bird, not Batman’s side-kick who always seems to get his ass kicked by villains.  Good thing they went with the second most popular choice, “Bucks”.  One fan came up with some flimsy justification that the team would be “spirited, good jumpers and agile” like the white-tailed deer they were name for.  That reasoning won him a new car.

For some reason, the new franchise based their uniforms on the Boston Celtics uniforms, featuring similar colors with block lettering and numbers.  They did add a nice red trim to make it look like they weren’t ripping off the leprechaun lovers.  We all know how those Southies can be irrational and vengeful about getting ripped off.

The Bucks originally played at the Milwaukee Arena, which went by the name of “MECCA Arena” from 1974-1988.  There is a great ESPN “30 for 30” about how the hard scrabble, rust-belt city used public funds to commission an openly gay artist to paint the iconic basketball floor at MECCA Arena.  When the team moved to the Bradley Center in 1988, that floor went into storage, then was listed as “scrap for sale”.  A couple of Bucks fans saved it and then refurbished it, which led to the redesigned MECCA floor in 2013.  Those guys should have won cars for that save.

The Bucks reached the promised land just three years later in 1971 when the then Lew Alcindor teamed with the “Big O”, Oscar Robertson, to win the team’s only NBA championship over the then Washington Bullets, becoming the fastest North American franchise to win a championship.   

Alcindor by 1972 was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and by 1974 he led the team back to the NBA finals, where they lost in seven to some team with green uniforms.  Consider that Alcindor/Jabbar won three NCAA championships with UCLA in ’67, ’68 and ’69 and then an NBA title in ’71 and made a trip to the NBA finals in ’74.  Legendary run.  Then add in his run with the “Showtime” Lakers and those five titles in the 80’s and the fact that he is the leading scorer in the history of the NBA.  It is criminal that he is not in every conversation as the greatest basketball player of all time.  

No discussion of the Bucks is complete without talking about their mascot “Bango”.  “Bango” was named after the teams legendary play-by-play announcer Eddie Douchette’s call of long range made baskets.  “Jon McGlocklin with a jumper from way outside, BANGO!”  Wonder if Douchette got a car for that?

Bango has been the Bucks official mascot since the opening game of the 1977-78 season.  That game happened to be the night Kareem Abdul-Jabbar returned with his new team, the one that was wearing “forum blue and gold”.  

It would be 21 years later that Bango would really make a name for himself.  Bango was among a few chosen mascots to participate in the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix.  Performing during a skit, Bango was standing one of the basket’s rim when tragedy struck.  First, a basketball hit him in his own private basket of balls. Then, his right leg slipped through the hoop and he fell on the rim, further traumatizing the basket area.  

This was not part of the show!  Poor Bango then slipped further and fell through the basket entirely.  If you don’t think that is physically possible, then you don’t know Bango.  

If you have the stomach for watching a grown man dressed as a white-tailed deer nearly destroyed, here is the YouTube link:

https://awfulannouncing.com/2009-articles/mascot-fail.html

Bango would miss the rest of the season on the MIL (Mascot Injured List).  He would, however, make appearances at Milwaukee Bucks’ games in a wheelchair.  Unlike the Celtic faker Paul Pierce in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bango was not using the wheelchair to hide the fact that he had pooped his pants.  Bango had torn his ACL and was out for the season.  

Bango did return and inspired the Bucks franchise to persevere and move forward.  12 years later, the franchise is one series win away from a third NBA Finals appearance.

• Denny Lennon is the host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” and the “Preps To Olympians” Live Show, available on YouTube and LA36 CableTV in Los Angeles County.

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

SSDL Two Time Winner at 42nd Telly Awards

May 31, 2021

“Sports Stories with Denny Lennon Takes Silver in Online Documentary and Bronze in Online Sports for Jerry West Interview”

New York, New York - The Telly Awards, the world’s largest honor for video and television content across all screens, announced this year’s winners on May 25th. Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) walked away with two awards for “The Definitive Jerry West”, capturing a Silver for Online Documentary and a Bronze for Online Sports. 

The 2021 Telly Award winners included a number of well known channels, media organizations and companies, including Adobe, Al Jazeera, Apple, BBC Global, CBS, Disney, HBO, Netflix, Microsoft, and PlayStation.

SSDL partnered with Allport Productions and the Alpha Command Unit for the edited 40-minute documentary/interview “The Definitive Jerry West”, which takes a historical look at the impact of one of the all-time greats of basketball.

The interview took place in November of 2020 at Buck Studio ( formerly 7428 Studio) in the Centinela Adobe Corridor. 

Established in 1979, this year The Telly Awards received more than 20,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents, a 15% increase in entries from the previous year.  The increase was driven by a significant rise in remote and virtual productions. 

Entries are judged by the Telly Award Judging Council, a group of leading video and television experts from some of the most prestigious companies in entertainment, publishing, advertising, and emerging technology.

This is the first time SSDL has submitted and won a Telly Award.  Edging out SSDL for the Gold in Online Documentary was “Fly on the Wall - The Virus”, an entry from the powerhouse Al Jazeera Media Network, the group that also won this year’s prestigious “Company of the Year” Telly Award to go with their 60 total wins across all categories.  

Despite the fact that Al Jazeera and SSDL won a combined 62 awards, SSDL was somehow left off of the “Company of the Year” list of winners this year.

The SSDL Award Winning Team includes:

• Denny Lennon, Executive Producer and Host

• Jerry West, Interviewee

• Chris Allport, Creative Director

• Marlee Rice, Line Producer

• Bob MacColl, Cinematographer

• Christine Jinbo, Producer

• Ciena Lennon, Photographer

Special thanks to Wayne Boehle for arranging the interview with the 83-year-old West, a  Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee whose image serves at the logo of the NBA.

Link available on SSDL Website:  

https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

Link to Telly Awards Website:  

https://www.tellyawards.com/

Silver Award Online Documentary

https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2021/online/general-documentary-individual/the-definitive-jerry-west-on-sports-stories-with-denny-lennon/249514

Bronze Award Online Sports

https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2021/online/general-sports/the-definitive-jerry-west-on-sports-stories-with-denny-lennon/249935

Denny Lennon is the host of the Video Podcast “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” and the “Preps To Olympians” Live Show, which are available on YouTube, LA36 and KTLA Orange County.

“Kentucky Derby Runs from Affirmed to Hot Rod Charlie” 

May 1, 2021

Boat Racing LLC and 2x Derby Winner Doug O’Neill Bring Back Memories 

Churchill Downs, Louisville - Growing up as a a kid in the 70’s, I played  and watched plenty of football and basketball and baseball, and as a Southern Californian, volleyball was always part of my world.  Fortunately, the Rams, Dodgers and Lakers, along with UCLA and USC, were taking turns at championship seasons and compelling story lines.  But there were three other sports, ones I didn’t play or know a whole lot about, that grabbed my attention every year when their marquee events came around.

Wimbledon, the Masters and the Kentucky Derby.  I mean, if I was not playing hoops on my backyard cement or in a school parking lot, I was playing football on someones front lawn.  The way Wimbledon took care of their “lawns”, and promoted the “All England Lawn Tennis Championships” grabbed my attention.  The Masters?  Oh, well now, that was beyond legit.  I mean, besides a trophy, when you win this golf tournament you get a green jacket, a coin and you get to pick the menu of the following years “champions dinner”, where only previous winners attend in their green jackets.  

These traditions played out later in life. I used to run a tournament called “The McDonald’s Cup”, which was billed as the “largest blacktop middle school volleyball tournament in the country”.  If you have to play on a black top parking lot, you might as well treat it like it’s Wimbledon’s lawn.  The winners of this 8th grade Catholic school classic won t-shirts with “McD Cup Champions” on the back (green jackets) and the following year, their school team got free Egg McMuffins prior to the start of the event at the McDonald’s that was next door to the school.  Look, if you are a 13 year-old kid in a one of a kind T-shirt eating an Egg McMuffin in a dirty booth alongside some of the early rising homeless people in Venice, the obvious next stop on your athletic career is probably the Masters.

Then there’s the Kentucky Derby.  The premier horse race held each year on the first weekend of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.  “America’s Greatest Race” run on “the World’s Most Legendary Racetrack” is the best when it comes to tradition.

First, I was fascinated that horses were considered “athletes”.  I thought about that for a second, figured that’s how they roll in Kentucky, so, I was all in.  Next, the tag line of “the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” was brilliant!  How do you think I came up with a tag line like “the World’s Largest Backyard Volleyball Tournament” for the Venice Backyard Championships?  

“The Derby”, which is a cool nickname, was also known as the “Run for the Roses”, and it was the horse who got the roses draped over them.  Gotta like that.  The only thing I knew about roses then was that the Rose Bowl was the football game USC needed to win and that as a kid, my next door neighbor Mrs. Delaugarie wouldn’t give my ball back if it went over the fence and landed in her prized bed of roses.

The Kentucky Derby was first run in 1875.  Wait…what?  That was before Rutherford B. Hayes stole the presidential election!  Or perhaps it because Samuel J. Tilden stepped aside so reconstruction troops would be removed and Jim Crow could be set loose?  I digress, but the point is, that was a long time ago!  It was Meriwether Lewis Clark, grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who go the whole Derby thing rolling.  Do you think he might have had something to prove considering his grandfathers success or perhaps because he had to deal with the first name of Meriwether growing up?  Nonetheless, he created something that stands tall through the ages.  

The traditions and the rules fascinated me.  One and one quarter mile long race, got it.  Only three year olds?  You mean, these horse-athletes only only get one shot at this?  It’s the first leg of the triple crown, the mint juleps, the hats, the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” (back when the group singing of minstrel songs was overlooked), it was all so overwhelming and so exciting for one two minute race!

Sitting in front of my parents front room color-TV ( I had the old black and white in my room), I recall the first Derby I watched in 1973.  Jack Whitaker hosted the show on CBS.  Whitaker was a decorated WWII vet who also called football games, so I liked his style.  Secretariat won and would go on to win the Triple Crown.  That feat, which includes winning the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont, was rare.  Well, not so rare that Seattle Slew and Affirmed didn’t do it in 1977 and 1978.  

After those days, I rarely missed watching a Derby on TV, scrambling after playing or coaching some sport to get to a set to watch.  I handed off my enthusiasm for this unique event to whoever would listen, which includes my kids, who had to listen to me, theoretically.  But what stands above it all was my wife Christine’s 30th birthday and our quest to see the race in person.  

Thanks to our friends Bob and Wanda Blanford, we made a pilgrimage in 2005.  They made arrangements for us to stay at their home near Churchill Downs, we attended pre-race festivities on Friday and then, on Saturday, we were going to the 131st “Run for the Roses”.   

Wanda dropped us off early at the front gate, we grabbed a spot along the fence and enjoyed one of the best days of our life.  11 races precede the 12th race, which is the Derby Race.  We wore hats, enjoyed mint juleps and meat sandwiches and we especially enjoyed the craziness of the infield.  The infield was not too far removed from the Venice Boardwalk scene we knew so well, just with less people of color and different insanity taking place.  Then, as the 12th race, “the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” came near, the crowd swelled and the tension in the air was suffocating, I felt like I was about to play the biggest game of my life.  

I am not a gambler but, when in Rome…I threw down my last $50 on a horse called Giacomo to win.  My advanced reasoning was as follows:  $50 x 50 to 1 odds is $2500.  That would pay for our trip and then some.  Also, I coached a kid named Giacomo.  That was about all I could muster up as “intel” after a long day of juleps and meat.

The horses walk from the Paddock to the track was followed by the “Riders Up” call, then the crowd of 156,000 sings “My Old Kentucky Home” (old school lyrics), by this time we are smothered by more fans.  Pushed up against the fence, we can see only a portion of the track, but we can watch the race start on the jumbo screen above us, then as the horses turn in front of us #10 bursts through the crowd and goes from 18th place to first place as the fans roar.  Giacomo wins!

Unreal.  I grab the cash and somehow, Christine goes next level thinking and takes us through an exit out to the street and we avoid the other 156,000 people and their stampede.  Wanda finds us and takes us back to the Blanford home.  Perfection.  

To this day, the Derby stands atop all of the sporting events I have ever attended, which include all the biggies, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, World Series and NBA Finals.  My love affair with the Derby, and of course my wife, had reached new heights.  We make it a point to call Bob and Wanda each “Derby Day” since that one and check in.

Around this time, I hadn’t quite realized that my long time friend Mark Verge had become a part owner of horses and Doug O’Neill, Mark’s fellow St. Monica High School buddy, was a trainer extraordinaire.  My interest grew more as their horses ascended the ranks.  My affection for the sport was still mostly focused on the Derby and then the quest for the triple crown, but it was fun to follow Doug’s horses in the LA Times Sports section.  

In 2012, I was pumped when Doug was the trainer and “I’ll Have Another” won the Derby and the Preakness.  In 2016, O’Neill was in the winners circle again as Nyquist captured the 142nd “Run for the Roses”.  O’Neill, both a friend and guest on my show, told me about his nephew Patrick and his football teammates from Brown University buying in on a colt.  That colt, trained by Doug, is now going off at 6-1 to win this years Kentucky Derby.

Hot Rod Charlie and the ownership team of Boat Racing, LLC is an incredible story, one that has been featured all over sports media after the horse qualified for this years Kentucky Derby.  I especially enjoyed the John Cherwa written article in the LA Times Sports section.  Describing the day poll positions were selected, Cherwa wrote, “The usually staid but murmuring crowd was punctuated by loud hollering brought on by youthful exuberance when Hot Rod Charlie drew the nine.  The horse is partly owned by five former Brown University Football players, all in their late 20's, who go by the name of Boat Racing, after a college beer drinking game".

Doug O’Neill is in the hunt for another win at Churchill Downs.  The Boat Racing LLC boys remind us what smart, young and  enthusiastic people can do.  Kind of like Meriwhether Lewis Clark.  

Today is “Derby Day”.  It is also Christine’s birthday.  That qualifies today as of the best days of the year. 

Riders up!

• Denny Lennon is the host of YouTube Live Shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

“Bang the Drummond Quickly, L.A. Basketball is Hunting Championships” 

March 30, 2021

The Lakers, UCLA and USC on the Prowl with Big Game

Los Angeles - Today, the second to last day of March, is quite a day to be a Los Angeles basketball fan.  Just open the LA Times Sports page (yes, I still read the “paper” paper) and you will see what I mean.  Side note:  Isn’t it time for a full time return of the LA Times Sports Section?  Isn’t the recent relaxing of covid protocols and the success of LA sports teams enough to break free of the California section?  

On the first page of the Sports “section” (or “B6” of the California section…see what I mean?) is a breakdown from sportswriter Dylan Hernandez on how USC can beat the unbeaten Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Elite Eight of the NCAA mens basketball tournament tonight. On page two (“B7”, so embarrassing, what would Jim Murray say?) is a heartfelt story from Bruin beat writer Ben Bloch on UCLA coach Mick Cronin and his dad, and finally, the great NBA columnist Dan Woike is relegated to “B9” (shameful) for an article on recent Laker acquisition, the dominant post playing force that is Andre Drummond.  The fourth basketball club in town, our Los Angeles Clippers, were recognized by Andrew Greif on page “B8” (that’s a move up for the Clippers) for their victory over the Bucks and the hold they have on the third spot in the Western Conference.

By the end of the day, USC and UCLA just might be facing one another in the Final Four and it will sink in to the faithful that the Lakers will have secured a path to repeating as NBA Champions, and passing the Boston Celtics in all time championships.  And maybe the Clippers can make a run at the Western Conference Finals?

Today is a good day, right Cube? 

As for that other sports journalist juggernaut in Los Angeles, Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (“SSDL: The Pride of the Centinela Adobe Corridor”), we’d like to make note that a few of our friends that are playing a role in this basketball nirvana that has fallen upon on our city.  

Laker studio host Chris “Geeter” McGee, not only a guest on SSDL shows but the defending Eastbay Shootout Champion, made an impassioned call for Andre Drummond to choose the Lakers on the Spectrum Sportsnet show last Friday, and now the greatest franchise in all of sports has secured the piece they needed for another title.

SSDL recently interviewed, for a soon to be released mini documentary, Dana and David Pump, the dynamic basketball entrepreneurs who reshaped the club basketball scene in Southern California with their AAU elite camps and teams.

Talking about elite, how about Compton Magic founder and chief executive Etop Udo-Ema, who’s interview with SSDL anchored the LA36 Cable TV slot for over a month?  The “Magic Boyz” super club team of 2018 has four players making magic for Pac 12 teams in this years NCAA tourney.  

UCLA basketball greatness is a constant on SSDL shows.  John Wooden grandson-in-law Craig Impelman has shared the genius of the most successful coach ever, 1975 team captain Andre McCarter spoke about Wooden’s final season and Tony Bailey relived the excitement of winning the 1995 NCAA championship. 

In 1972, the Los Angeles Clippers were still the Buffalo Braves and the USC basketball team went 16-10 under Bob Boyd.  But UCLA won the NCAA’s, going undefeated for the third time, and  all-time basketball legend Jerry West, who’s SSDL mini-series was nominated for a couple awards, led the Lakers to their first title in Los Angeles.  

It’s been almost 50 years since I have been so happy to be an L.A. basketball fan.

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

“The Cold War Set the Stage for Great Olympic Basketball” 

February 28, 2021

USA vs. CCCP at the LA84 Games was a Missed Opportunity

Los Angeles - Like many of my fellow citizens, I was always fired up when, particularly in the Olympics, Team USA would open a can of whoop ass on the USSR.  The “Miracle on Ice” Hockey victory at Lake Placid in the 1980 Winter Olympics made me feel something for sports that I had not felt before, while the truly big Cold War win in the global political arena theatre was surprisingly anti-climatic.  I must say as well, the FX award winning TV spy series “The Americans” was so compelling it made me think twice about what side I was on.  I also must admit that the “CCCP” on the hockey sweaters was, for some simple reason, really cool.

Being that basketball was the Olympic team sport that was my favorite, it was the one I followed most closely.  There was something so compelling about our best amateur and/or collegiate players taking on the best other countries, especially the Russians, had to offer.

The basketball debacle in 1972 at the Munich Olympic Games left a bitterly sour taste in my mouth, if that is even a thing.  The USA men’s team had won all seven previous gold medals in hoops, dating back to the ’36 Games in Berlin, in the days when the Americans and the Russians were on the same side, which happens when you are soon to have a common enemy.  

In ’72 in Munich, at a time when the Cold War was boiling, confusion and buffoonery with the officials led to the Soviets getting what seemed like a 100 chances to win the game and that’s what they did, allegedly.  21 year-old Doug Collins had made the two most pressure filled free throws in basketball history to give USA the lead, then the biggest steal in Olympic history happened.  The 63-game American Olympic winning streak was snapped, and I could not believe what I had seen on the black and white TV I had inherited in my room after the family finally got a color set for the living room.

I have a few takeaways from that craziness:  First, I think it is awesome that the USA men’s players from that ’72 team have never accepted their silver medals, some going so far as to have it put in their will that no member of their family could do so either.  Second, might the host country Germans have been trying to divide the victors of WWII?  Unlikely, but then again, one only has to remember how they manipulated the ’36 Games.  Third, why was the game so close in the first place?  Maybe because Coach Hank Iba was asleep on the bench? Put someone with their hands up in front of the inbound pass and we win.  I know this, If UCLA’s Bill Walton had played, the game would never have been in doubt.  The “big redhead” would’ve dominated the Reds.

The Montreal Olympic Games in 1976 at the was going to be time for some redemption for Team USA, this year coached by Dean Smith, who put four of his North Carolina players on the squad.  The only problem, the defending Olympics champion Russian team lost to Yugoslavia in the knockout round.  Sure, Yugoslavia was a country randomly thrown together after WWI, but those boys in the Balkans can ball!  They were not good enough to beat the Americans, who reclaimed the gold with a 21 point victory.

The 1980 showdown was kicked like a political football when president Jimmy Carter played the “better than thou” card and led a Western nations boycott of the Moscow Games.  The 1984 Games in Los Angeles would have to serve as the time and place for the great American Cold War basketball revenge.

The dystopian George Orwell novel “1984” was understandably dark, but that story was a walk in Gorky park compared to Indiana head coach Bob Knight, the USA coach that year. Just wait until those Russians see what is waiting for them in my hometown of Los Angeles, where the gangs and the LAPD were killing people and Coach Knight and the best amateur team since the 1960 USA Olympic team led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West were waiting.  

Ever heard of Bob Knight, Comrades?  The “1984” book may have been modeled after Stalinist Russia, but this guy Knight was the true despotic ruler.  He was such an ass of a control freak that he kicked the best player at the trials off the team for dunking too much.  The powerful Charles Barkley of Auburn didn’t care much for the totalitarian head coach, and made his position known.  The “Round Mound of Rebound” was making the best NCAA players at the trials the victims of his ferocious dunks and Knight laid down a no dunking role.  Barkley dunked on the very next play and then found himself on the very next flight home to Alabama.

The USA team had nothing to worry about, however, because the rising superstar that was the one and only Michael Jordan was on the team.  So were Patrick Ewing, Waymon Tisdale, Sam Perkins and Chris Mullin.  Of course Knight’s own Hoosier star Steve Alford was gifted a spot on the roster so someone could demonstrate the dictator’s drills properly.  

The player I was most interested in was Leon Wood from Cal State Fullerton.  I knew Leon when he set the California state scoring record at St. Monica High School in Santa Monica.  Leon was incredible, and I watched with keen interest as he took his unique skills and changed his role in college  to lead the NCAA in assists. Somehow, Leon played enough defense to satisfy General Knight and earned a starting spot on the Olympic team. 

Sadly, the “tit for tat” I had hoped wouldn’t happen came to be.  The Soviet Union led a retaliatory 14 country Eastern Bloc boycott of the LA Games.  Maybe they didn’t want any part of the Knightmare that waited for them.

All was not lost, because the 1980 Olympic gold medal winning Yugoslavian team was still coming, and so were the ’80 silver medal winning Italians.  Spain was a player in the FIBA world competitions and they would make their mark at the LA84 Games.  Your no-show was your loss. CCCP.  LA was a big, fun Hollywood party and you should’ve taken the high ground, showed up and taken your beating like patriots. 

My buddy Leon set an Olympic record with 8 assists per game, Jordan soared through the air and USA took the gold.  It would be the last time an amateur basketball team representing the United States in the Olympics would win the gold.  

The 1988 team, coached by the great John Thompson from Georgetown, was knocked out by, yep, you know who, the same team that won the ’72 fiasco.  Damn those Russians, they got us again.  The ’88 USSR team, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, had a wide geographic range of players to draw from, like Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis of Lithuania.  Those two were as tough to stop as Charles Bronson was in Death Wish.   

By 1992 the Soviet Union had lost the Cold War and was broken apart.  The Americans were intent on reclaiming the gold medal in basketball.  USA would field the first “Dream Team” of NBA professionals and never look back.  The American pro’s playing in the Games might’ve helped grow the game across the world, but it was sad to see a pro like Barkley finally get his shot at Olympic play and then elbow some poor Angolan as the USA routed a team with only three gyms in their entire country, 116-48.  

I miss that period of Olympic basketball history before ’92 when the USA amateurs and Russia were the top two dogs, with Yugoslavia nipping at their heels.  In that time from 1936 to 1988, USA went 5-2 against Russia and won nine gold medals, a silver and a bronze.  The Russians won two gold, four silver and three bronze.  Yugoslavia won a gold, three silver and a bronze.  Brazil and Spain had game, and China was a rising giant.  

I’m not so sure I miss the Cold War, but I sure do miss those days when the best amateurs represented America in basketball and took on the rest of the world in the greatest of all competitions, the Olympic Games.   

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

“Love it When a Plan Comes Together”

February 1, 2021

Governor Newsom Making Moves 

Not a Single California HS FB Player Named to All-American Team, Why?

Los Angeles - Being a fan of conspiracy theories takes a lot effort and a big imagination.  You think some 40 years ago in Catalina that Natalie Wood was really just moving the dinghy because it was making noise banging against the yacht Splendour?  With her husband soon to star in a TV series where he solves murders with a new wife and another actor who would soon star in “The Dead Zone”?  Think again.

So, perhaps the state of affairs in my home state is an elaborate plan to return us to the top of college football.  Hear me out:  What if there is method to the madness of the haphazard “Stay at Home” policies that California Governor Gavin Newsom has turned off and on, and in turn effectively cancelled a high school football season in California? 

The apparent “lack of a real plan” resulted in not a single from player the Golden State selected for the “2020 MaxPreps High School All-American Team”, the first time in history that the most competitive state in the union did not have a representative on the team.  Maybe this was a way to keep our football players in state.  If the SEC coaches who have been stealing our boys away don’t know who they are, how will they recruit them?

I mean, this past January 24th, Californians were able to point with pride to the fact that in the AFC and NFC championship games, three of the four starting quarterbacks were from California.  But as of today, we don’t even have a single All-American in the whole state.  Very clever Gavin, very clever. 

Combine that with the fact that Larry Scott, who has basically destroyed Pac-12 football and basketball as commissioner the past 11 years, will be moving on from his position.  Maybe now the Pac-12 can get a decent TV deal.

Could the crafty G-man have “cooked up” the Scott departure over dinner?  The Pac-12 offices in San Francisco are a mere 50 miles away from “The French Laundry” in Yountville.  Did Newsom risk it all at a maskless dinner for the sake of California retuning to glory in collegiate football?

Maybe we need to rethink the recall after all.  

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

 “Hank, Hippies and a Homer”

January 23, 2021

Hank Aaron was the GOAT as Ballplayer and as a Man

BTW: Where was Security on April 8th of ’74 at Atlanta Stadium?

Los Angeles - Most years, for a sports fan, January is the month we watch some regular season hoops and dive deep into the NFL playoffs.  This particular January of 2021, I have found myself preoccupied with the grand old game of baseball.

Sadly, death is all around us these days, and like many Americans I am looking for the uplifting stories that sports bring to us.  Sometimes we look back, as I did with my last blog about Tommy Lasorda, who died during the first week of this month.  Now, we face the loss of the one and only Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron, the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves star, a ballplayer who I argue as the greatest of them all.  When you should still hold the home run record and you rightfully own the top spot in RBI’s and total bases, being the GOAT is your rightful place.

As a nine year-old watching my Dodgers play in Atlanta on April 8th of 1974, I was well aware of #44’s pursuit of 715.  What I was not aware of was the social component.  The despicable letters and threats that were a part of everyday life for Aaron, and the significance of this hallowed record being broken in the South. 

What I do remember clearly is that pitch from lefty Dodger starter Al Downing was up and over the middle of the plate and “The Hammer” did what he always did, driving the ball on a line just over the fence.  I also remember seeing Dodger left fielder trying to climb the fence to get the ball, which is when the camera shot returned to Hank rounding second on his way to third base.  

What were those two white guys doing on the field patting him on the back?  They certainly were not working media nor were they athletes.  My 70’s upbringing kicked in, wondering if those Georgia style hippies were going to strip and streak or burn a flag or maybe even kidnap him? Where was security? SECURITY!  

Fortunately, they were a couple of 17 year-old’s, Cliff and Britt, probably just stoned on some Sticky Southern Weed, enjoying the moment with their new buddy.  I suppose the security team at Atlanta Stadium was on break or perhaps dealing with their own “sticky” situation.  Hank handled the moment with his trademark “cool under pressure" persona, turning what could have been a tragedy into a moment of peaceful celebration.

Then, Vin Scully, the poet laureate of baseball, the GOAT of all announcers, did what he always did, which was provide spot on perspective:  “A Black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep South”.  Consider my young mind blown and challenged to figure out what that meant.  

It took extra effort to gain perspective, but it was well worth it.  I dove in and found out about Aaron’s upbringing in Mobile, Alabama, the prejudice he faced coming up in the game, the dignity with which he carried himself and performed.  I learned more about the South, about the after-math of the Civil War and about Jim Crow.  Wow, that was a lot to get my head around.  I learned that “Oh Henry!” was an even more impressive person than he was a ballplayer.    

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

Sports Stories with Denny Lennon shows, including video podcasts, archived live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

Social media links, archives and more are available on our website:  SportsStoriesDL.com

The ’72 Kid comes Full Circle 

The Lakers Jerry West and the Rams Bob Klein Complete my 48 year Journey

November 15, 2020

90045 -  I was into sports at an early age, in fact, I cannot remember a time where I wasn’t playing or watching a game, or at least planning to do so.  By the time I was eight, I knew more about sports than most adults, as was certified time and again when I would answer various sports questions from the adults in my life.  As the youngest of seven in my family, I may not have noticed I was serving as some kind of trick pony for my older brothers and sisters.  

I learned to read at higher level than I ever would have from the sports pages, advanced my math skills through understanding the statistics related to my favorite teams.  I learned to speak up by re-telling the game that Vin Scully or Chick Hearn or Dick Enberg had just described.  Sports was how I identified with the world.  My mom, Jeanette Lennon, knew exactly who I was and how much sports meant to me, and in her wisdom she became my biggest fan.  Or at least pretended to listen to all my stories with interest. 

The year I turned eight,1972, is a year that is cemented in my memory.  Some people might remember ’72 as the year the band Chicago had a hit song with “Saturday in the Park”, or perhaps as the year that the iconic movie “The Godfather” was released.  The Vietnam War raged, Nixon did what guys like Nixon do, but me, I kept my eye on the ball.  

I remember that in 1972 three of my favorite teams had incredible years, I played on my first team and my sports heroes were somehow within in my reach.

In January of ’72, I was as excited as a too tall for his age, all knowing sports savant (idiot in the rest of my life) could be, because I love me some basketball and finally, finally, I would get to play on an organized team.  Dale Currier, a close friend I would lose at age 19, and yours truly were the only two third graders that made the St. Mark 4th grade “Mighty Might” basketball team.  That’s right!  Recognize!  We may have only played two games, but they were HUGE games!  

In addition to getting to play on an “official team”, my mom would let me stay up late on Thursdays and put off my chores on Saturdays in order to watch my beloved UCLA Bruins basketball team.  I have been fascinated with John Wooden for as long as I can remember.  In ’72, they did what they always did when I was a kid, as in for the 6th straight year, they won the NCAA tournament.  They finished off a perfect season with a 30-0 mark, beating Florida State for the championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.  How could basketball season get any better?  Funny you should ask.

I was incredibly fortunate that my godfather, Dick Gass, was friends with the Lakers Coach, Bill Sharman.  That meant I got to go to a handful of their practices at Loyola Marymount University (at that time Loyola University).  Are you kidding me?  I would sit on the floor and watch my heroes, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, and Jerry FREAKING West?!  I would wait until they went to get water, grab a ball and shoot on a hoop, and every once in awhile one of them would pass me the ball and talk to me.  Blew my mind.

‘72 was the magical season the Lakers won an NBA record 33 games in a row, which was memorialized with a collectible team photo by my favorite childhood eatery, Der Wienerschnitzel.  That now framed photo is a prized possession, and I stay loyal to “Der Wee Wee” by eating a few mustard dogs every year.  

The ’72 Lakers stormed to a 69-13 regular season mark, another record, then won the NBA championship over the New York Knicks in five games.  Yes!  I didn’t care they had lost in the NBA finals seven times previously since they had been in LA, they won the year I started going to their practices.  I would celebrate the team when shooting on my backyard hoop, pretending I was Jerry West, and now #44 was a champion, and I felt part of it.

The bounce in my step was not affected by the last place NHL finish of the Kings.  I did not know how to ice skate, and did not quite appreciate the sport yet.  The boys of summer, however, my Dodgers, always had my attention.  They finished with a respectable 85 wins, but that wasn’t good enough to beat out the Reds in the division, so I turned to football with clear eyes on my Trojans and Rams gridiron prospects.  

Okay, okay, I know it might appear as though I am “cherry picking” my teams, UCLA in basketball and USC in football, but allow me to explain.  I want all Los Angeles teams to do well.  I wanted then, as I do now, any and everyone to recognize that LA is the sports capital of the world.  I have felt this way forever.  I am true to who I was and that is still who I am.  

I’d prefer the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA West Conference finals, then for the Lakers to advance and get another Larry O’Brien trophy.  I want the Rams and Chargers in the Super Bowl, with the Rams hoisting the Lombardi.  I want UCLA and USC undefeated in basketball and/or football when they meet, and the Bruins to add to their NCAA record of basketball championships, while the Trojans to add their legendary status in football.

That is just what the mighty Trojans did that football season.  The John McKay coached team went undefeated, beat Notre Dame and UCLA, won the Rose Bowl and were named National Champions.  I loved USC football, their tradition, the fact they had a rival like Notre Dame and what that game meant on a national level.

Throwing the football in the air, then diving on the backyard grass to make a spectacular catch, occupied my time as much as shooting hoops did during basketball season.  My “go to” guy on the Rams was tight end Bob Klein.  First of all, he was playing the position I knew I would be playing in the NFL.  Second, he went to USC, my favorite college football team.  Third, my family knew him from St. Monica High School in Santa Monica, so that was another mind blowing moment.  The ’72 Rams sputtered to a third place finish in the NFC West, but Klein did catch 29 passes on the year, his best season to date.

Those days of imaginary backyard games, pretending to be my heroes like West and Klein, are forever etched in my mind.  I’d run in the house, brag to my mom about a spectacular shot or catch, and she would tell me she was proud of me.  Then she would make sure to tell me it was okay to brag to her, but no one else would want to hear it.  

Hmm.  That “no bragging to others” may have been the toughest lesson to learn.  Still is, by the way, as evidenced by me writing this blog to brag about this past week.

On Monday, Jerry West came to my house, politely declined to take the “7428 Shot” on my backyard hoop, but he did watch his friend, my cousin-in-law Wayne Boehle, knock a shot down and I noticed a competitive streak flash across this face.  Then, “the logo” sat in my garage (aka the “7428 Studio”) to talk for over an hour about his legendary life and times.

On Friday, Bob Klein met me at Casablanca Restaurant in Venice, talked for close to two hours about his life, the 1967 National Champion Trojans, the Rams, the Chargers and his family.  

Incredible.  Astounding.  And to think, it all started in my backyard.  I feel so lucky to have those moments.  

On Saturday, I basked in the glory.  On Sunday, I wrote this blog.  

I wish I could brag to my Mom, who I lost almost four years ago, I’m pretty sure she would have been proud.

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

The four part Bob Klein video podcast interview from Casablanca Restaurant in Venice will begin on Thursday, November 19th.

The three part Jerry West video podcast interview from the 7428 Studio begins Thursday, December 17th.

All shows, including video podcasts, live shows and special features are available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

“Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00am on “LA36” cable TV, and is also available at http://www.la36.org/

You can also follow SSDL on Roku, Fire and AppleTV by downloading the THSN.app (The High School Narrative).

Social media links on our website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

SSDL Pushing the Content to Multiple Platforms

November 1, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include the LA36 shows on Cable Television (LA36), “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.
All shows available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

You can also follow SSDL on Roku, Fire and AppleTV by downloading the THSN.app (The High School Narrative).

VOTE!!   Remember to vote in the “SSDL POLLS” on twitter @SportsStoriesDL…Polls up now include upcoming SSDL video podcast guests Laker legend Jerry West (’60-’74) and Rams great Bob Klein (’69-’76)…We’re counting on you to do your part!

This Week on SSDL (November 2 - November 6)  

Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00am:  Watch SSDL on Cable TV, channel 36 on most cable carriers, as we now distribute to millions of homes in Los Angeles and Orange County on LA36.  This week we feature an “L.A. Dodgers” themed show with interviews from softball sensation Ella Parker (niece of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts) and former Dodger pitcher Tim Leary, who was an integral part of ’88 championship team.  We also present interviews with AAU Beach volleyball national champions Savanna Standage/Kelly Belardi and women’s beach legend Patty Dodd.  Finally, we bring to LA36 the story of the Pacific Palisades Klein family, as we catch up with ex-Stanford football and volleyball star Jimmy Klein, his son Loyola High School (Los Angeles) volleyball standout Dillon and the head coach of Loyola High School, Mike Boehle. 

Also available at http://www.la36.org/

Tuesday:  Each week we discover another mural somewhere in Los Angeles created by the renown street artist, Jonas Never.  Posted on YouTube.com/SSDL playlist under “NeverSceneLA".

Thursday:  #VP drops part 3/4 of our interview with Sam Lagana, the voice of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and Los Angeles Rams announcer,  vice-chancellor at Pepperdine University in Malibu and chair of John R. Wooden Award.  Lagana, recently the focus of a Spectrum Sports TV interview and a feature in the Palisadian Post, conducted the multi-camera style interview October 1st with SSDL host Denny Lennon at Casablanca Restaurant in Venice.

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at 

YouTube.com/SSDL  

Social media links on our website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”

SSDL coming strong with LA36, NSLA, Special K’s, more Lagana and Andre1975!

October 25, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include the LA36 shows on Cable Television (LA36), “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.

All shows available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

SSDL is on Cable TV every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 9:00am on LA36.

VOTE!!   Please vote in the “SSDL POLLS” on twitter @SportsStoriesDL…Thank you for doing your part!

This Week on SSDL (October 26-October 30)  

Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00am:  Watch SSDL on Cable TV, channel 36 on most cable carriers, as we now distribute to millions of homes in Los Angeles and Orange County on LA36.  Also available at http://www.la36.org/  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA, each week we discover another mural somewhere in Los Angeles created by the renown street artist, Jonas Never.

Wednesday LIVE at 5pm (PT)* on YouTube.com/SSDL:  #PTO brings you a story on the up and coming volleyball sensation from Loyola High School (Los Angeles), Dillon Klein.  Klein will be joined on the show by the head coach of Loyola, Mike Boehle, as well as his father and former Stanford University volleyball and football star Jimmy Klein.  The Klein family, from Pacific Palisades, are an incredible story of elite student-athletes. 

Thursday:  #VP drops part 2/4 of our interview with Sam Lagana, the voice of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and Los Angeles Rams announcer,  vice-chancellor at Pepperdine University in Malibu and chair of John R. Wooden Award.  Lagana, from Pacifc Palisades like the Klein family, conducted the multi-camera style interview October 1st with SSDL host Denny Lennon at Casablanca Restaurant in Venice.

Friday LIVE at 5pm (PT) on YouTube.com/SSDL:  #HH on Friday is always a fun time, and this time week we are proud to have the 2x All-American from legendary Overbrook High School in Philadelphia and 1975 UCLA basketball champion Andre McCarter.  McCarter, who played on the last Coach John Wooden championship team, is also the inventor of the “Touch Glove”.

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at 

YouTube.com/SSDL  

Social media links on our website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

* - Wednesday “PTO” will be adjusted to 4pm (PT) if World Series goes to game 7.

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

SSDL Now on Cable @ LA36, NSLA, CIF HS Hoops and Lagana Casablanca!

October 17, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include the LA36 shows on Cable Television (LA36), “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.

All shows available at:  YouTube.com/SSDL

NOTE:  SSDL is now on Cable TV every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00am on LA36.  

VOTE!!   Please do your duty and vote in the “SSDL POLLS” on twitter @SportsStoriesDL…Thank you for doing your part.

This Week on SSDL (October 19-October 23)  

Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00am:  #LA36 is the next step in the “empire building” that is the SSDL way of life!  You can now watch our shows on Cable TV, channel 36 on most cable carriers, as we now distribute to untold millions of homes in Los Angeles and Orange County.  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA, each week we discover another mural somewhere in Los Angeles created by the renown street artist, Jonas Never.

Wednesday:  #PTO dives deeper still into L.A. high school basketball as we bring on the award winning Los Angeles Times prep sports columnist Eric Sondheimer and L.A. City Section Hall of Fame broadcaster Randy Rosenbloom to react to the intriguing, informative, absorbing and eye-opening interview last Wednesday with founder and CEO of the Compton Magic, Etop Udo-Ema. 

Thursday:  #VP drops a masterpiece from Casablanca Restaurant in Venice with a legend of the sports world, the booming voice of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Sam Lagana.  The Los Angeles Rams announcer, a vice-chancellor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, also serves as the chair of John R. Wooden Award, handed out to college basketball’s top player each year.  The two hour interview, which will be played out in four parts, was done in a cinematic multi-camera style and is a “must see” and hear.

Friday:  #HH on Friday comes at 5pm, and we are always ready to party with our fans in the live chat and with call-in questions and comments via phone.  Sam Lagana announcer for the L.A. Rams will lead a team of guest stars ready to take your questions.

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at 

YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  More social media links on our website.

SSDL Website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

NSLA Peacocking, Etop the Magician, Houston House and Vegas Baby!

October 12, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

This Week on SSDL (October 13-October 16)  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA stays in Culver City to celebrate Hispanic Heritage “Peacock Style” with another masterpiece from Jonas Never.

Wednesday:  #PTO dives deeper into L.A. basketball as we visit with the legendary founder and director of the Compton Magic, Etop Udo-Ema.  Etop has not only developed one of the top AAU club basketball programs in the nation, but has given back to his community with the help of his players. 

Thursday:  #VP drops part two of the incredible story of the “Volleyball Festival” as we release our restored conversation with event founder Dave Epperson from our December, 2019 visit to his home in Houston.  

Friday:  #HH on Friday comes at 5pm, and we want to know…are you feeling lucky?  Ready to gamble?  SSDL welcomes Josh Lozano, the Las Vegas based gambling expert and host of the “Benchwarmers and Burners” podcast.

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at 

YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  More social media links on our website.

SSDL Website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

NSLA in Culver City, Sneaker Wars, a Visit to Houston, and Bring in the Backup’s for another Stellar Week of SSDL

October 6, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

This Week on SSDL (October 6-October 9)  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA visits Culver City for a look at the Jonas Never “Point Break” inspired mural.  “UTAH, Get Me Two”.

Wednesday:  #PTO presents a round table discussion about NYC and LA city High School Hoops, past and present.  NYC based “Off the Ball Podcast” host Chris Lebron joins HOF sportscaster Randy Rosenbloom, prep basketball aficionado Carlos Haro, a veteran of the Sonny Vaccaro inspired “sneaker wars”.

Thursday:  #VP drops the incredible story of the massively popular girls volleyball “Davis Volleyball Festival” as we revive and release our conversation with the founder of the event Dave Epperson from our December, 2019 visit to his home in Houston.  

Friday:  #HH ramps it up with comedian Erick Hellwig, host of the hilarious  “Bring in the Backups” podcast.  Check out his episodes on backup QB’s Koy Detmer and Charlie Batch on apple podcasts. 

DOPE (Denny on Other Podcast Episodes):  SSDL host Denny Lennon was the guest on the “Off the Ball Podcast” and “Brandon’s Sports Talk” recently, both shows available on apple podcasts.

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at  YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  More social media links on our website.

SSDL Website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

NSLA, Norm and more Sports Stories, Live Podcast over Dinner, Lost Interview and Best Selling Author Jeff Pearlman this week on SSDL

September 28, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show.

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

This Week on SSDL (September 29-October 2)  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA visits the “Tyler Skaggs” mural across from Santa Monica High School.

Wednesday:  #PTO presents Author/Writer Eric Nusbaum will break down a few of his “Sports Stories” (no relation, officially speaking) on the show, including ones on O.J. Simpson, The Harlem Globetrotters and our favorite…Norm Bass.

Thursday:  #VP drops the FIRST EVER recorded video podcast in the 7428 studio, one that has never been released.  A sit down with volleyball champion athlete and coach, Mike Boehle.

THURSDAY SPECIAL:  The SSDL team will be at Casablanca Restaurant in Venice, CA, to do a live interview with the “Voice of the Rams” and the chairperson of the “Wooden Award”, the one and only Sam Lagana.  While we will be set up near the bar, however, you might want to enjoy an “SSDL dinner special” at one of their patio tables.  

Call Carlos for more information #310-505-5091.

Friday:  #HH hosts the New York Times best selling author of nine books, Jeff Pearlman!! Jeff has just released “Three-Ring Circus:  Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the crazy years of the Lakers Dynasty”.  Do yourself a favor and visit his website and follow him on social media:  https://jeffpearlman.com/

All SSDL live shows, special coverage and video podcasts are available at: YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  More social media links on our website.

SSDL Website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

#NSLA, LA Times Eric Sondheimer, “The Vault” w/ Jake Downey, “Wayne Uninterrupted”, Debbie Skaggs and Gary Lennon are on Deck for SSDL

September 22, 2020

90045 - Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) slate of shows include “NeverSceneLA” (NSLA), “Preps to Olympians” (PTO), the “Video Podcast” (VP) and the “Happy Hour” (HH) show. SSDL continues a march upward and onward with yet another huge week of content for our SSDL family of supporters.

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

This Week on SSDL (September 23-25)  

Tuesday:  #NeverSceneLA visits the “St. Mark” mural at Venice Beach.

Wednesday:  #PTO presents The LA Times preps columnist Eric Sondheimer and “The Vault” with Jake Downey breaks out a 2008 visit by NFL players to Barrow High School in Alaska.

Thursday:  #VP drops LMU athlete and attorney Wayne Boehle with “Wayne Uninterrupted”.

Friday:  #HH hosts Debbie Skaggs of the “Tyler Skaggs Foundation” and we present “Never Scene Art” with Artist and Teacher Gary Lennon reviewing famed street artist Jonas Never sports murals.

NOTE - September 24th:  #DOPE (Denny On Podcast Episodes) Denny Lennon will be featured guest on “What the Game Means to Me” with Jelani Brown on Twitter and Facebook.

Next Week on SSDL (September 30-Oct 2):

#NSLA (TBA), #PTO (TBA), #VP: Dave Epperson (Davis Festival) and 

#HH: Jeff Pearlman (Author “Three Ring Circus”)

All SSDL live shows and video podcasts, including this week’s “Wayne Uninterrupted” 120-minute interview with Wayne Boehle, is available at YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  More social media links on our website.

SSDL Website:  https://www.sportsstoriesdl.com/

All shows are on:  YouTube.com/SSDL

• Denny Lennon is the Host of YouTube Live shows and the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

August 28, 2020

Popular ESPN LA 710am Broadcaster Joins Tonight’s Lineup 

90045 - Happy Hour has returned to the Centinela Adobe Corridor and is back at the 7428 Studio! Steve Mason, aka @VeniceMase, will bring his unique personality and take on sports to the Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) “Happy Hour” show live tonight at 5:00pm (PT).  The self proclaimed “better half” of the #1 rated sports talk “Mason and Ireland” radio show, is also the host of the “VeniceMase Podcast”.

Joe Gura, The second vice president of the AAU and SSDL video podcast #9 guest, will make his first “SSDL YouTube Live Show” appearance with a highly anticipated announcement on SSDL’s bid for backgammon to be a recognized AAU sport.

Watch Tonight (August 28th) LIVE at 5:00pm (PT): 

YouTube.com/SSDL

All SSDL live shows and video podcasts, including this week’s “Bert Uninterrupted” 135-minute interview with Olympic Games and World Cup Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, is available at YouTube.com/SSDL.  Behind the scenes content is available at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.

SSDL Website: https://www.sportsstoriespodcast.com/  

• Denny Lennon is the Host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

August 7, 2020

It’s Geeter for the Win at the Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out!

#1 seeded Laker Broadcaster Engineers Epic Comeback

90045 - On January 23rd, Chris “Geeter” McGee calmly took a pass for his pre-interview 7428 basketball shot from Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) producer Marlee Rice and knocked down a 20 footer, calling “Bucket” while the ball was in the air.  The All-CIF standout from Crespi High School and Los Angeles Laker Studio Host knows his hoops, but what he didn’t know then was that “Bucket” would launch him into Eastbay immortality. 

Geeter, a popular MC from his days with the AVP pro beach volleyball tour, teamed with his charity partner, Stillpoint Family Resources, and engineered a historic comeback to win the championship.  Team Geeter came back from a 60% deficit to win the first ever Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out by a margin of 72% to 28%.

The epic victory over #11 seeded Sierra Canyon Athletic Director Rock Pillsbury and his charity, the Harold and Carole Pump Foundation, marked the biggest comeback in the history of the event.  An astounding 508 votes were cast in the championship matchup.  The champions will accept their $1000 Eastbay gift card from Eastbay’s Adam Wald tonight on SSDL5.  The 5:00pm live show can be seen tonight (August 7th) on: 

YouTube.com/SportsStorieswithDennyLennon.

The Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out matched up Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) video podcast guests pre-interview (pre-Covid) basketball shots against one another in a 12-team single elimination tournament, the outcome of each matchup decided by voting on Twitter @SportsStoriesDL.  The virtual event, which began on July 6th, offered the grand prize of a $1000 Eastbay gift card for the winner’s charity.

The unexpected wild popularity of the tournament attracted not only thousands of votes, but was by featured by popular ESPN anchor Neil Everett on Everett and Stan Verrett’s national ESPN Radio show.  The “Eastbay” also attracted retweets from high profile athletes, coaches and celebrities.

Behind the scenes content, including promotional videos and an epic post matchup tirade from LA City Section and Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductee, sportscaster Randy Rosenbloom, was made available for free at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.

On his way to the now coveted Eastbay championship, Team Geeter dispatched of #GirlDad Scott Rice in the quarterfinals and volleyball legend Mike Boehle in the semifinals.  Interesting enough, the Eastbay championship matchup took place without the participation of the King, as in in King James, LeBron James.  LeBron did not make the dreaded “Sophie’s Choice” between the franchise he plays for, the Lakers, or the school his son Bronny attends, Sierra Canyon.

After a highly successful inaugural event, look for the Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out to return with news twists, turns and stories once more pre-interview shots are launched. 

SSDL Website: https://www.sportsstoriespodcast.com/  

• Denny Lennon is the Host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

August 4, 2020

McGee and Pillsbury to Battle for the Championship of the Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out

90045 - Rock Pillsbury, the Athletic Director of the top high school sports program in the country, Sierra Canyon School (Chatsworth), and his charity, The Harold and Carole Pump Foundation, may have been seeded #11, but they have performed like a top seed en route to the finals of the Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out.

The Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out matches up Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) video podcast guests pre-interview basketball shots against one another in a 12-team single elimination tournament.  The championship team (guest and charity) of the event, which will conclude on August 7th, will receive a $1000 Eastbay gift card for the charity.

Behind the scenes content, including post matchup interviews and promotional videos are available for free at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  The Patreon link is also available at www.SportsStoriesPodcast.com.  

In the opening round, Rock beat back the power of the military and the worldwide leader in sports to chalk up the win.  Mike McKay, founder of The Heroes’ Movement, was promoted by popular ESPN anchor Neil Everett on Everett’s national radio show, but still came up short against the rock solid Rock.  

In the quarterfinals, Rock made like Rocky and knocked out the Hall of Fame Ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, Jr., then laid down the law with a 70% to 30% semifinal victory over LMU athlete and attorney Wayne Boehle.  

Now Rock will take on the #1 seed and the greatest franchise in sports history.  Chris “Geeter” McGee, the popular MC from his days with the AVP pro beach volleyball tour and the current

studio host for the The Los Angeles Lakers, has teamed with Stillpoint Family Resources to dispatch of #GirlDad Scott Rice in the quarterfinals and volleyball legend Mike Boehle in the semifinals.  

Geeter certainly will need the support of his charity, the AVP and the Lakers, as well as anything else he can muster to win the coveted Eastbay title.  Rock has corralled the community of Sierra Canyon and the Pump Foundation along with his home state of Texas in racking up a tournament record amount of votes.

Interesting enough, the Eastbay championship may come down to the support of the King, as in in King James, LeBron James.  Will LeBron through his support behind the franchise he plays for, the Lakers, or behind the school his son Bronny attends, Sierra Canyon? 

The matchup for the championship begins on August 5th at 12pm (PT) and concludes August 7th at 12pm (PT).

The final matchup on twitter @SportsStoriesDL, allows one vote per matchup per supporter.  To better inform voters, links to the SSDL video podcast interviews with each of the finalist has been included below.  

NOTE:  All voting takes place on Twitter @SportsStoriesDL

Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out Championship Matchup:

July 30-August 1: (1) Chris McGee vs. (11) Rock Pillsbury 

Chris McGee - Lakers Broadcaster

Link to SSDL Interview: https://youtu.be/YP6jl-6XyRc

Charity:  Stillpoint Family Resources

Website: https://www.stillpointfamilyresources.org/

Email: info@stillpointfamilyresources.org

Twitter: @FamRes

Rock Pillsbury - Athletic Director, Sierra Canyon

Link to SSDL Interview: https://youtu.be/BinlJjuZ_eg

Charity: Harold and Carole Pump Foundation

Website http://haroldpumpfoundation.com/

Email:info@haroldpumpfoundation.com

Twitter: @Dana_Pump

More information: info@SportsStoriesPodcast.com.

SSDL Website: https://www.sportsstoriespodcast.com/  

• Denny Lennon is the Host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon” 

August 1, 2020

McGee over MB in Semi’s of Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out!

90045 - It was the sweet “J” from “G” that won again and the #1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chris “Geeter” McGee and his charity Stillpoint Family Resources punched their ticket to the finals of the Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out with a 72% to 28% win over volleyball legend Mike Boehle.

The Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out matches up Sports Stories with Denny Lennon (SSDL) video podcast guests pre-interview basketball shots against one another in a 12-team single elimination tournament.  The championship team (guest and charity) of the event, which will conclude on August 7th, will receive a $1000 Eastbay gift card for the charity.

Behind the scenes content, including post matchup interviews and promotional videos are available for free at www.patreon.com/DennyLennon.  The Patreon link is also available at www.SportsStoriesPodcast.com.  

Next up is the semifinal battle of the bracket busters.  #10 seed Loyola Marymount University athlete and attorney Wayne Boehle and his charity partner My Stuff Bags against #11 seed Rock Pillsbury, the Athletic Director of the top high school sports program in the country, Sierra Canyon School (Chatsworth), and his charity, The Harold and Carole Pump Foundation. The matchup begins on August 2nd at 12pm (PT) and concludes August 4th at 12pm (PT).

The remaining semifinal and final matchups will continue on twitter @SportsStoriesDL, one vote per matchup per supporter.  Links to the SSDL video podcast interviews of each of the semifinalist have been included below.  

NOTE:  All voting takes place on Twitter @SportsStoriesDL

Eastbay 7428 Shoot-Out “Final Four” Matchup’s:

July 30-August 1: (1) Chris McGee vs. (4) Mike Boehle 

Chris McGee - Lakers Broadcaster

Link to SSDL Interview: https://youtu.be/YP6jl-6XyRc

Charity:  Stillpoint Family Resources

Website: https://www.stillpointfamilyresources.org/

Email: info@stillpointfamilyresources.org

Twitter: @FamRes

Mike Boehle - 2x VBC Champ

Link to SSDL Interview: www.patreon.com/dennylennon

Charity: My Stuff Bags

Website: https://www.mystuffbags.org/

Email: info@mystuffbags.org

Twitter: @mystuffbags

Winner:  Chris McGee

August 2-4: (10) Wayne Boehle vs. (11) Rock Pillsbury

Wayne Boehle - LMU Athlete, Lawyer

Link to SSDL Interview: https://youtu.be/QvNoCVOKIdc

Charity: My Stuff Bags

Website: https://www.mystuffbags.org/

Email: info@mystuffbags.org

Twitter: @mystuffbags

Rock Pillsbury - Athletic Director, Sierra Canyon

Link to SSDL Interview: https://youtu.be/BinlJjuZ_eg

Charity: Harold and Carole Pump Foundation

Website http://haroldpumpfoundation.com/

Email:info@haroldpumpfoundation.com

Twitter: @Dana_Pump

Winner:  TBA

More information: info@SportsStoriesPodcast.com.

SSDL Website: https://www.sportsstoriespodcast.com/  

• Denny Lennon is the Host of the Video Podcast, “Sports Stories with Denny Lennon”