Gridiron America Radio

The 107th Grey Cup game was played on November 24, 2019, before 35,440 fans at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

The 106th Grey Cup game was played on November 25, 2018, before 55,819 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

The 105th Grey Cup game was played on November 26, 2017, before 36,154 fans at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa.

The second episode of the season finds Greg James joined by former sports executive Dave Cieslinski for a candid look as to how the XFL performed in weeks one and two. Dave provides a perspective that you won't find on other XFL podcasts. He knows what it takes to put bottoms in the seats and to get fans interested so that they return. The two discuss ticket sales, attendance and ratings, and Dave explains why streaming numbers will likely remain a mystery to the public. They discuss not just the current incarnation of the XFL, but also the past attempts at spring gridiron, as well as the sloppy speculation by the XFL media hubs of the Toronto Argonauts moving to the XFL.

In the world of sports history podcasting, there is a curious little one that has carved out a niche covering the world of defunct leagues and teams from yesteryear. "Good Seats Still Available" has its roots in Tim Hanlon's youth, when he fell in love with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, who unfortunately, like the league itself departed us to soon, and thus began for him an obsession for the stories of the teams and leagues of yesteryear. His pioneering podcast, which is soon approaching its 300th episode, has covered defunct leagues and teams from all sports, and Tim has interviewed many gridiron legends and icons, including Larry Csonka, Upton Bell, and Dave Meggyesy, all of whom helped shape the world of professional football in America.  During this episode, Tim and Greg talk about his podcast and the challenges facing start up leagues in the 21st Century in the midst of a changing media and technological landscape.

For this third episode we move up to the Great White North as Greg sits down with Don and Heath of the Third Down Gamble podcast, where they go team by team through the Canadian Football League and review last year's performance and review all that has happened in the off season. The three also talk about the ownership struggles within the league and the challenges presently faced by the teams in an ever-changing media landscape.

The 104th Grey Cup game was played on November 27, 2016, before 33,421 fans at BMO Field in Toronto.

In the inaugural episode of his new XFL podcast, Greg James adds his laid-back historical approach to the crowded XFL field. Unlike the other XFL shows, he does not mince words as to what he believes was an under-performing week one. Specifically, he calls out the league for catering to the white male wrestling crowd and talks about how the marketing sucks. He also discusses what he believes were poor ratings when compared to the 2020 edition of the league and how the attendance numbers were nothing to brag about.

It is XFL kickoff eve in America! In this episode Greg sits down with the elder half of The World of Football podcast dynamic duo, Randy Snow. Randy is the Adam West to his own son Adam's Burt Ward, both of whom who broadcast weekly from the Man Cave news and history lessons that encompass the gridiron game around the world, including where Greg is, in Japan. Greg and Randy review the news out of the CFL of the Alouettes being placed in receivership by the league, look ahead to the upcoming XFL and USFL seasons, and discuss the state of indoor arena football in America. In addition, Greg and Randy reminisce about their summer road trips to visit the resting places of American gridiron legends.   The World of Football on Spotify The Adam Snow Movie Show

In this episode, Greg sits down with Canadian football historian and scholar, Dr. Frank Cosentino, to talk about his playing career and the CFL as a cultural institution in the 20th Century, especially during the time he played. They also discuss how the CFL dealt with the threat of the WFL in the 1970s, during which John Bassett planned on placing a franchise in Toronto. Lastly, they discuss the American expansion, changing sports landscape and the prospects of a successful CFL/XFL merger, should one ever be pursued again. Scott was slated to join the conversation; however, just minutes before recording tornado warnings were issued for Birmingham and power went out. We are happy to report that eventually the weather cleared and power was restored.  Grey Cup champion, Vanier Cup champion, hall of famer, scholar, teacher, and professor emeritus are just a few of the ways one describes the greatest Canadian sports historian who has authored 18 books, and not just only on football. Drafted by the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 1960, Dr. Cosentino was in five consecutive Grey Cup games, 1961-65, including the first overtime Grey Cup game in 1961, the “fog bowl” in 1962 and the “wind bowl” of 1965. The team’s two Grey Cup wins were in 1963 and 1965. As a Tiger Cat he also played in the last of the CFL vs NFL exhibition games against the Buffalo Bills, in which Hamilton prevailed and he passed for the team's final touchdown. In 1967, Dr. Cosentino was traded to Edmonton in 1967, led the team to a 9-6-1, and was named Edmonton’s nominee for the Best Canadian Schenley Award, after which he was traded to Toronto for the 1969 season. He finished his career after the 1969 season, playing in 141 regular season games and starting in 41, posting 20 wins, 19 losses, and two ties. He completed 482 passes out of 996 attempts for 7,678 passing yards with 53 touchdowns.  While playing in the CFL, Dr. Cosentino continued his education, earning both a master's and doctor of philosophy degree. After his playing days ended, in 1970, he was named head football coach at the University of Western Ontario and assistant professor. In 1976 he moved to York University where he was professor and chairman of physical education and athletics for a five-year term. As a professor, he taught courses in sport history, and as a coach, won two Vanier Cups at Western in 1971 and 1974.  He is a member of Halls of Fame at McMaster, York, Western, and Ontario University Athletics; and in 2018, was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.  Though retired, Dr. Cosentino continues to write and all of his wonderful books, which are required reading for students of Canadian football, are available at his website- www.valleyoldtimers.com.

From Japan, it's Greg James of CFL America Radio and the Sports History Network with a new show filled with commentary and observations about the XFL, as well as analysis of league news, and those important items that affect the business of gridiron football.

Welcome to the first episode of "Gridiron America," where Japan based Greg James (co-host of the "From the 55 Yard Line" and "Gridiron Japan" podcasts) sits down with fellow podcasters and gridiron experts to talk about the game outside of the lines. In this inaugural episode ("the beta episode") Greg sits down with fellow Sports History Network member, Aron Harris of "The Football Odyssey" to review the Super Bowl, and talk about the business of football, including the upcoming XFL season and the challenges to grow the game beyond North American shores.  The Football Odyssey is an eclectic show that features Aron's dulcet NFL Filmsesque voice (with an excellent accompanying companion website) covering topics that touch on the cultural impact of the sport. On air Aron provides reviews of classic books and movies, and also has in-depth conversations with authors and contributors to the game, as well as the gridiron heroes of our youth, including Dan Fouts and Phil Villapiano.   The Football Odyssey podcast is available via Spotify, Apple, and all other podcast platforms.

The 103rd Grey Cup game was played on November 29, 2015, before 36,634 fans at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

When one thinks of Howie Mooney, their first thought is about sports and sports history. Currently, he is the host of the Sports Lunatics Show, a sports history podcast, on the FiredUp Network, a Toronto website. He also writes a sports history column there. Indeed, his first venture into the world of sports history came when he began researching his first Canadian sports history calendar back in 1986. His success with that venture led to Howie becoming the host of "The Ultimate Sports Quiz," an interactive call-in sports trivia program, on local television in Ottawa, Canada in 1991, which he hosted through the decade of the ’90s.  Howie soon found himself covering the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders and the OHL’s Ottawa 67s for television. He was also selected out of many who auditioned to be the color commentator for Triple-A Ottawa Lynx baseball broadcasts and also covered the NHL’s Ottawa Senators for the magazine show "Overtime." Howie is also the co-author of "Third and Long: The Proud History of Football in Ottawa," which is available to read for free at www.archive.org. Howie’s new book, "Crazy Days & Wild Nights," is a collection of incredible and true stories taken from the pages of sports history. The audio book will be available on his website this year, with the book out for purchase in the summer. In this episode, Howie recounts a number of stories from the book, including tales from the Toronto Argonauts sidelines, and the legend of Taro Tsujimoto. In addition, Greg and Howie talk about the upcoming spring football season in America and the CFL, including where the league is headed into 2023.  

One of the most popular genres of science fiction literature is that of alternate history, and in sports one of the most common questions asked among fans of all sports is, "what if?" For instance, what if Bo Jackson did not get hurt in that playoff game against the Bengals? What if Bartman had not interfered with that foul ball in Wrigley Field during the NLCS in 2003? What if Babe Ruth played his entire career in Boston? What if Muhammad Ali had lost or quit in his first fight against Sonny Liston? What if the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants had never moved to the West Coast? What if Vince Lombardi had become head coach of his hometown Giants instead of heading to Green Bay? What if Browns had not moved to Baltimore and displaced the CFL's Stallions? How would sports history, and our perception of it, be different today? The questions are of course endless... In his book, "Gridiron Cup, 1982," Keegan Dresow asks two important questions... What if Bert Bell had been successful in getting war torn Europe to embrace the spectacle of gridiron football? And, what if Joseph Stalin had decided the Soviet Union would learn the sport and use it to wage a proxy war against the west on the gridiron. For fans of the TV show, "For All Mankind," in which the question of what if the Soviets had landed on the moon first is explored, readers will not be disappointed.  "Gridiron Cup, 1982," is available exclusively on Amazon Kindle.  His book imagines a world where it is gridiron football and not soccer football that is the most dominate team sport on the planet, and expertly weaves facts with fiction to present a look at a sports world that gridiron football fans can only dream about. Keegan Dresow previously served as the head coach of the Avedøre Monarchs, in Denmark, and is the author of "Offensive Football Systems," which is also available on Amazon.  Presently, Keegan, a 2010 graduate from the UC Davis School of Law, is an attorney and is also a 2006 graduate of Pomona College, where he played four years of gridiron football for the Sagehens. His website is TotalAmericanFootball.com