Only A Game is a weekly sports program distributed by National Public Radio and hosted by Bill Littlefield

Bill Littlefield

William "Bill" Littlefield is the host of National Public Radio's Only A Game program, covering mainstream and offbeat United States and international sports...

. The show is produced at WBUR

WBUR

WBUR refers to two radio stations in Massachusetts, WBUR AM and FM, both owned by Boston University. WBUR is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, Massachusetts, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM, and the only one to focus exclusively on news and talk...

 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 and airs on 210 affiliate stations around the country every Saturday. The program is one hour long.

Only A Game features coverage of mainstream sports including the NFL, Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

, the NBA, the NHL, NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

, and men's and women's collegiate sports. Littlefield discusses mainstream sports with the program's regular analysts including Tim Kurkjian

Tim Kurkjian

Tim Kurkjian is a Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. He is also a contributor to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. He guests on Mike and Mike in the Morning on Thursdays at 7:44 AM, discussing the latest in happenings in Major League Baseball...

 (baseball) of ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

; Kevin Hench

Kevin Hench

Kevin Hench is an American screenwriter, television producer, television writer and columnist for Foxsports.com.Hench is a frequent collaborator with comedian Adam Carolla, having co-written and co-produced the 2007 film The Hammer and two network TV pilots starring Carolla. Hench was also a...

 (NBA) of Fox Sports

Fox Sports (USA)

Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...

; Pat Forde

Pat Forde

Pat Forde is a sports journalist who currently serves as a national columnist for Yahoo Sports.- Work :Forde is currently a writer for Yahoo Sports. Forde left ESPN on November 1, 2011 to pursue a career with more journalistic freedom. Prior to leaving ESPN, Forde was a staple on radio and...

 (men's college basketball) of ESPN; Dan Wetzel

Dan Wetzel

Dan Wetzel is an author, screenwriter, and national sports columnist for Yahoo.com.He is a New York Times best-selling author. He's written sports-related books "Resilience", Sole Influence, Glory Road, and Runnin' Rebel. As a sports journalist, he has covered NASCAR, college football, the NFL,...

 (college football) of Yahoo! Sports

Yahoo! Sports

Yahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...

; Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott is an American sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times who is a general sports columnist. She is the first female journalist to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, receiving the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for bringing "honor to journalism and to hockey" in 2005.One of the...

 (NHL) of the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

; and others.

The program is also known for its coverage of offbeat sports and competitive events. Subjects covered on the program include a race up the stairs at the Empire State Building

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...

, an adaptive rowing competition for disabled athletes, lobster boat racing in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, and an event formerly known as the Rat Olympics.

Every week Littlefield is joined by Charlie Pierce

Charlie Pierce

Charles P. Pierce is a nationally known American sportswriter, author, and game show panelist.He graduated from St...

 of the Boston Globe and the two discuss the week's top stories and oddball sports news items.

Guests on Only A Game have included John Updike

John Updike

John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....

, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky

Robert Pinsky

Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...

, commentator Bud Collins

Bud Collins

-External links:*** 2001 interview with Collins*...

; current and former athletes Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

, Kristine Lilly

Kristine Lilly

Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is a retired American soccer player who last played for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team for 24 years...

, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley

William Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....

, Bill Russell

Bill Russell

William Felton "Bill" Russell is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association...

, Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson

Oscar Palmer Robertson , nicknamed "The Big O", is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks...

, Lenny Wilkens

Lenny Wilkens

Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...

, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...

; and coaches Pat Summit and Geno Auriemma

Geno Auriemma

Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team, which he has led to seven National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I national championships...

.