1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Youngstown State professor Denis Crawford (&quot;The Life and Teams of Johnny F. Bassett: Maverick Entrepreneur of North American Sports&quot;) joins the 'cast for a jam-packed deep dive into the life of one of the most underrated, yet enormously influential pro sports figures of the 1970s/80s. &amp;nbsp; A third-generation scion of a prominent Canadian industrialist family steeped in both media and sports team ownership, John F. (Johnny) Bassett distinguished himself from his elders as a marketing-savvy showman with a P.T. Barnum-esque flair for spectacle and a penchant for challenging the traditional conventions of professional sports - notably with teams in leagues predicated on bucking the establishment: The World Hockey Association's Toronto Toros and Birmingham Bulls; The World Football League's Toronto Northmen/Memphis Southmen; World Team Tennis' Toronto-Buffalo Royals; AND The United States Football League's Tampa Bay Bandits &amp;nbsp; Through all his adventures, Bassett catered to the common fan, demanded fair treatment of athletes, and forced traditionalist sports owners to take hard looks at the way they did business. &amp;nbsp; Crawford helps us unpack some of Bassett's most notable escapades, including: a quixotic attempt to compete with the NHL's Maple Leafs; raiding the NFL for Miami Dolphins stars Larry Czonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield; battling the Canadian government over American football; an audacious attempt at marketing pro hockey in the Deep South; and his bitter rivalry with a greedy Donald Trump for the soul of the USFL. &amp;nbsp; Support the show by downloading the DraftKings app NOW and using promo code GOODSEATS to join the free One Million Dollar College Hoops Survivor Pool! Good Seats Still Available https://goodseatsstillavailable.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/18318530/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/aa0926/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/98345621