Only a Game

Only a Game is a weekly sports program distributed by National Public Radio and hosted by Bill Littlefield. The show is produced at WBUR in Boston 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, the NBA, the NHL, NASCAR, and men's and women's collegiate sports. Littlefield discusses mainstream sports with the program's regular analysts including Tim Kurkjian (baseball) of ESPN; Kevin Hench (NBA) of Fox Sports; Pat Forde (men's college basketball) of ESPN; Dan Wetzel (college football) of Yahoo! Sports; Helene Elliott (NHL) of the Los Angeles Times; 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, an adaptive rowing competition for disabled athletes, lobster boat racing in Maine, and an event formerly known as the Rat Olympics.

Chris Bateman

Dr. Chris Mark Bateman (born 1 January 1972) is a game designer, outsider philosopher and author, best known for the games Discworld Noir and Ghost Master, the books Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, 21st Century Game Design and Beyond Game Design: Nine Steps Toward Creating Better Videogames, and his eclectic philosophy blog Only a Game. Until 2012, Bateman was the managing director of International Hobo Ltd, a consultancy specialising in market-oriented game design and narrative, which he still consults with. He has worked on more than forty published games and is currently pursuing research into the neurobiology and aesthetics of play at University of Bolton, where he has earned a PhD by Publication on the basis of his work.

Biography

Bateman was born in the United Kingdom in the historic market town of Bishop's Stortford, but moved to Ventnor, Isle of Wight before he was one year old. He spent much of his time growing up in Steephill Cove, a secluded bay on the south coast of the island, where he studied marine wildlife, snorkelled, and surfed during the winter. During one such winter, he was almost killed in a surfing accident having chosen to go out into stormy waves despite a warning flag cautioning against entering the water. He was rescued by a local crab fisherman.