Advertise on podcast: Once Upon A Game: True Sports Bedtime Stories

Boxing looks like a sport that is a test of pure strength and muscle—who can punch the hardest or move the fastest?  But boxing isn't just a physical fight; it is a giant game of physical chess. If you only rely on your muscles, a smarter opponent will quickly figure you out. You need a master plan—a strategy—to win. Tonight you will hear about the most famous boxing match in history.  Two legendary fighters came face to face. One was trying to preserve his perfect record and continue as world champion. The other was trying to reclaim a title that had been taken from him years earlier.   Get ready for  the Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman! 🥊🌍 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Tonight we are going back to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. This game was an emotional rollercoaster! It had big leads and comebacks. Players made mistakes, but also found ways to overcome them.  And most of all it’s about the fans of two cities whose hopes and dreams from over 100 years hung on every throw, hit, and catch of the baseball.   So settle in and listen up, as the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians take the field.  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

LeBron James is one of the most famous and influential basketball players in the world. He has been playing in the NBA for an incredible 24 seasons! During that time he has changed teams  four times. Every time he moves, it sends shockwaves across the league. His new team becomes an instant contender for the next year’s championship.  Tonight we will travel back to the early days of LeBron’s career and hear about his first team-change decisions and his ultimate quest to deliver a championship to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.  Settle in for the incredible story of the 2016 NBA Finals, when LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers battled the mighty Golden State Warriors in a winner-take-all Game 7, tonight on once upon a game! 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Travel back to the 1998 World Cup Final and hear the story of how legendary French superstar Zinedine Zidane led his team to its first World Cup championship in front of a home crowd!  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

No matter what sport or activity you do, you have probably had a moment where you tripped up and fallen  down.  When you do, You might think the mistake is too big, the challenge is too difficult, the pain is too great, or maybe you're just not good enough. But sports can teach us a special lesson. They  show us that the fall or the fail isn't the end of the story. What matters is what we do next. The story you're about to hear is about a group of young women who dreamed of doing something that no American women's gymnastics team had ever done before. At the center of that story is a gymnast named Kerri Strug, who will give us perhaps the greatest example of pushing through a fall and finding the courage to keep going.  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Young hockey players around the world grow up dreaming the same dream: to one day make it to the National Hockey League and win the Stanley Cup. Tonight you will hear about one player’s journey, from his home town in Canada, to college in the United States, and eventually to hockey’s biggest stage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  This is the story of the Cale Makar, tonight on Once Upon a Game  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Would your young athlete like to have their own achievements mentioned on our show?  Personalized highlights and shoutouts are now available!  Click the Link Below!  Do you have a favorite team, athlete, or moment you would like to hear featured as a full length story?  Full length story requests are also available for purchase!  Stories can take some time to research, write and record, your request will be made into a full length episode and uploaded as soon as possible!  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

After a week of back and forth battles the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees are closing in on the conclusion of the 2001 World Series.  Arizona had jumped out to a 2 games to zero lead but had watched their lead disappear when the Yankees won Games 3, 4, and 5 in New York.  Now it's back to the desert for the finals games of one of the most epic World Series in Baseball history!  For the full check out our last two episodes!  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

It was October 31…Halloween… the last day of the month… the day after the New York Yankees’ emotional win in Game 3 of the World Series. Now, they needed to do it again. The Yankees still trailed in the series. They were trying to keep their championship hopes alive—and give the people of New York another night to smile and cheer. The Arizona Diamondbacks meanwhile were still up in the series. They needed  just two more victories to become World Series champions.  What followed were two of the most dramatic games ever played at Yankee Stadium. 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Tonight's story is about a baseball game played 25 years ago, but it ended up being about much more than who won or lost. The game was played in late October 2001, just weeks after the United States had been shaken by the attacks of September 11. New York City was still grieving. Families were still searching for ways to move forward, and many people were still trying to understand how life could ever feel normal again.  In the weeks after September 11, New Yorkers had shown remarkable unity, resilience, and determination. They had faced unimaginable sadness, yet they continued to support one another, return to their communities, and look for ways to move forward. Then On that cool October night, more than 55,000 fans gathered inside Yankee Stadium. They came to watch the New York Yankees battle the Arizona Diamondbacks. But even before the game began, there was an emotional victory of sorts for the people of New York. For a few moments, an entire stadium—and a country—stood together united. As this game unfolds, the final score will become only part of the story. This night would remind people that sports can be more than games and championships. They can bring people together, give people something positive to believe in, and provide moments of joy, hope, and connection—even during some of life’s most difficult times. This is the story of Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, tonight on Once Upon a Game…  🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Every basketball player dreams of playing in the NBA Finals. It’s the last series of the season. The brightest lights. The loudest crowds. The time when the pressure is most intense, and the place where legends are born. For some, this pressure is too much. They get stressed or nervous and play poorly, knowing their teammates and fans are depending on them. But for others, these pressure-packed moments bring out their very best. You are calm. You are confident. You play your very best. Being able to do this in a game’s most critical moments is called being clutch. Tonight, you will hear the story of a player and captain of the New York Knicks basketball team who had done this so much that he had earned the nickname “Captain Clutch.” 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Right now the US Open tennis tournament is being played in New York City. Known as a major championship, it is one of the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.  There are four total major championships: The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open. Together they are known as the Grand Slam Tournaments.  Year after year tennis pros travel to these events. Each played in a different country at a different time of year.   Their skills are tested on different types of courts against the best players in the world.   winning just one of these events would be a dream come true for any tennis player… imagine trying to win all four… in the same year!  This is the story about a Queen of the Court and her quest to capture all four of tennis’s Crown Jewels. 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

There are baseball players who can hit. There are baseball players who can pitch. And then there is Shohei Ohtani. Part 2 of our two part story tells the story of Shohei and his Samurai Japan teammates as they advance through the knockout round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, eventually to a championship game when the entire baseball world seemed to stop and watch. The game would come down to the final at bat.  Where one pitcher and one hitter who were professional teammates took the field as international rivals carrying the hopes of two baseball loving countries with them.  For the full story of Shohei Ohtani's rise to stardom be sure to listen to part 1 of this story found here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2630057/episodes/19685066 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

There are baseball players who can hit. There are baseball players who can pitch. And then there is Shohei Ohtani. For more than a 100 years, young baseball players had been told that if they wanted to become truly great they would need to choose a path. A player could become a great pitcher, or a great hitter. But they could not do both.  But Ohtani never seemed interested in choosing. He believed he could do both. And his journey would take him from a small town in Japan to the brightest stadiums in America—and eventually to one unforgettable tournament and a championship game when the entire baseball world seemed to stop and watch. This is the first part of a two part story about Shohei Ohtani and the 2023 World baseball Classic.    🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show

A football team has 53 players. Each player has to master unique sets of skills depending on their position: Throwing, running, blocking, catching, tackling.  Players move up and down the field showing these skills over and over again.  But perhaps the most unique skill on this 53 man team is the kicker. He may only step on the field for a few seconds each game. Yet it is often in the game's tensest moments.  And each time the kicker is expected to be perfect.  All eyes are on him as he tries to blast the ball high in the air and between two  goal posts.  A kick can often be the difference between a win and a loss.  Sometimes kickers become known more for a kick they miss rather than the kicks they make.  But not tonight. Tonight you will hear a story about one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. One of only three who have been elected to the hall of fame.  And the game when he made perhaps the most difficult kick in nfl history. This is the story of Adam Vinatieri and his winter wonderland kicks in what became one of the most famous, and controversial, playoff games in NFL history! 🤸‍♂️ Young Athlete Highlights and Shoutouts 🎧 Episode Requests Follow our Socials:  Facebook  Instagram  Send us Fan Mail Support the show