NPR Columns: Sports with Frank Deford Podcast

As fans prepare for the first college playoff games, commentator Frank Deford points out that the sport faces far more serious problems than which school will win the conference title.

Women are everywhere in sports — coaches, executives, athletes and reporters. Commentator Frank Deford wonders why there's still low viewership for women's sports on TV.

In honor of Derek Jeter's last game, commentator Frank Deford recalls other sports' so-long-see-you-laters.

Commentator Frank Deford reflects on the owner of the Atlanta Hawks' controversial efforts to market the team to white audiences.

The NFL has suffered a number of scandals recently, but the sport has emerged relatively unscathed. Commentator Frank Deford asks if anything could change the way Americans feel about football.

This Sunday marks the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key's penning of "The Star-Spangled Banner." As commentator Frank Deford explains, baseball and the national anthem go way back.

With baseball's pennant race in full swing, commentator Frank Deford takes a moment to examine an oft-used baseball phrase ... and imagines how sportswriters might apply it to big moments in history.

President Obama has been widely criticized for not being combative enough. Commentator Frank Deford says we elected a basketball player, but ended up with a golfer.

Forget peanuts and Cracker Jack. Sausages are the food most closely linked to the national pastime, says Frank Deford.

Frank Deford says that, with recent legal developments, the stage is set for college athletes to get paid for their performances. Will March Madness ever be the same again?

In light of legendary coach Phil Jackson's recent move to the New York Knicks as the organization's president, commentator Frank Deford looks at how the office has evolved (or hasn't).

As March Madness gets underway, commentator Frank Deford wonders if Americans just have too many teams to root for.

Outside of sport, the word "hustle" has a negative connotation: A hustle is a scam; a hustler a flimflam man. But in the world of sports, says commentator Frank Deford, you can never hustle too much.

It's not just his long career that sets apart tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, just accepted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It's how he transformed the way we raise our athletic children.

Commentator Frank Deford has a modest proposal to make baseball more interesting: cut an inch and half off each side of home plate. It'd lead to a better game to both play and watch, he says.