Showing results by narrator "Ron" in All Categories

To Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy is not just a pig–she’s a porcine wonder. And to the portly and good-natured Mercy, the Watsons are an excellent source of buttered toast, not to mention that buttery-toasty feeling she gets when she snuggles into bed with them. This is not, however, so good for...

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer played his entire 19-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning three World Series championships and three Cy Young Awards. He remains the youngest pitcher to throw a World Series complete game shutout. After retiring, Palmer became an MLB announcer that includes calling World Series games. He talks about his lengthy playing career and his book, Nine Innings to Success: A Hall of Famer's Approach to Achieving Excellence.

College Football Hall of Famer Steve Spurrier is the only person to win both the Heisman Trophy and the NCAA FBS Championship as a coach. Spurrier played for nearly a decade in the NFL before returning to college football, where he became the winningest head coach at both Florida and the South Carolina. He talks about his book, Head Ball Coach: My Life in Football, Doing it Differently - and Winning, his playing career, and his road to becoming a head coach.

Tony Granato played 13 seasons in the NHL, including a trip to the Stanley Cup while with the Los Angeles Kings. After his playing career, Granato coached the Colorado Avalanche. He’s now the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. In this interview, he discusses his return to college hockey and the changes to the college game in recent years.

Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito played 18 years in the NHL. He’s widely considered one of the best hockey players of all time and ranks sixth all-time in goals. After his playing career, Esposito was a founder of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, where he’s still part of the broadcasting team. This interview looks back at his time playing youth hockey, how the game has changed, and his playing career.

Apolo Ohno is an eight-time medalist in the Winter Olympics and the 2017 champion of the hit TV show Dancing with The Stars. As the face of short-track skating, he became the youngest US national champion at 14 and was the reigning champion 12 times. This Sports Byline Classic from 2016 examines his career.

Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz is the fourth oz book. In this story, a California earthquake sends Dorothy and her new friends - Zeb the farm boy, Jim the cab-horse, and Eureka the mischievous kitten - tumbling through a crack in the ground. Deep beneath the earth, Dorothy is reunited with her old friend the Wizard of Oz and his troupe of nine tiny piglets.

Author Erica Westly’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Slate, the New Republic and many more. She wrote Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and Women Who Made the Game, which was a finalist for the 2017 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports. She discusses the rise of women’s softball and the key figures that elevated the game.

NBA Hall of Fame center Bill Walton, one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, looks back on his incredible career in this 2016 Sports Byline Classic interview. He talks about his New York Times best seller, Back from the Dead, and how he was able to overcome injuries and physical obstacles to reach basketball greatness.

Mark Price is a 12-year NBA veteran, most noted for his shooting. A member of the Cleveland Cavaliers for nine years, he was a four-time All-Star and two-time 3 Point Shootout Challenge winner. His #25 jersey is retired by both the Cavs and Georgia Tech, his alma mater. Price discusses how the recruiting process has evolved over the years and how style of play has changed the game.

Shirley Babashoff owns eight Olympic swimming medals and has a part in 39 national records. Widely regarded as one of the best female swimmers of all time, she received the Olympic Order and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. She discusses her book, Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program, her Olympic experiences, and how her childhood affected her career.

Hall of Famer Lynn Swann won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was selected to two Pro Bowls. Swann also served as the chairperson of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. Swann returned to his alma mater, USC, and became the athletic director. Swann discusses his career with the Steelers, what drew him to USC, and what has changed since he returned.

"Halloween was made for carefree Mercy Watson." — School Library Journal When the Watsons decide to zip their porcine wonder into a formfitting princess dress for Halloween — complete with tiara — they are certain that Mercy will be beautiful beyond compare. Mercy is equally certain she...

Terry Porter played 17 years in the NBA, including 10 years for the Portland Trailblazers. Porter earned two all-star selections and had his #30 retired by the Trailblazers. The former first-round pick is now the head basketball coach at the University of Portland. Porter talks about growing up in Milwaukee, playing for Dick Bennett, and his NBA career.

Football rules analyst Mike Pereira serves as an analyst for Fox Sports’ NFL and college football coverage. Pereira was a college and NFL official before becoming the vice president of officiating for the NFL. He discusses his book, After Further Review: My Life Including the Infamous, Controversial, and Unforgettable Calls That Changed the NFL. He also talks about the differences between being a college official and an NFL side judge.

WNBA Center Brittney Griner has had an impressive career, including being only the second NCAA basketball player to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots. She played on the USA Women's Olympic Team and the McDonald's All-American Team. She discusses growing up in Houston, being bullied in her younger years, and how basketball helped her to move past it.

The Great Brain is Tom D. Fitzgerald, aged ten. The story is told by J.D., a sometimes confounded but always admiring younger brother. Such people as Mr. Standish, the mean schoolmaster, regret the day they came up against The Great Brain. But others, like the Jensen kids lost in Skeleton Cave...

In this Sports Byline Classic interview from 2016, Andre Ward talks about the mental aspect of boxing and his career highlights, including bringing home a gold medal in 2004 and subsequent WBA Super and WBC Super Middleweight title accolades.

Can Mercy Watson outwit Animal Control? The porcine wonder’s on the lam in her latest tongue-in-snout adventure! Mercy's appetite has got her into trouble again. When Eugenia Lincoln's pansies go missing, Animal Control Officer Francine Poulet arrives on the scene. But as she soon discovers...

Conceived during a fog-drenched car ride with nothing beyond the windshield but a horizon-less void, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid created the acclaimed Tales from Beyond the Pale, audio theater inspired by the vintage radio shows of Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.