Greatest sports rivalry never told
358230
Great movie that combined the action of fourmula one racing with two very interesting and opposing main characters.  Well paced and interesting.
1598712
This is one of the best baseball books that I have ever read.  Even though I was not born during this season, I was able to get into the players' stories.  The social history that it also provides  is what makes it an  important book.  In fifth grade in every suburban school, you learn that  Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and are led to believe that it was  happily ever after.  Not so.  Just ask Elston Howard, who could not get a  house in the same towns in which the other Yankees lived.  Also, as a  Yankee fan, I thought it was a bad thing that the Yankees lost this series  and did not return there for a decade.  Reading this book makes you realize  that it was a monumental event for the diverse Cardinals to defeat what at  the time was the greatest, and perhaps most racist, dynasty in sports.
1856993
I was born, raised and still live in Indiana, so the story of Larry Bird in nothing new to me.  Davis does a great job retelling the story in a new fresh way with the help of the close circle of friends Larry has in French Lick and Terre Haute.
I also give props to Davis for digging into the downfall of ISU after Bird left.  The reluctance of ISU to even acknowledge this team in the years after 1979 where always a mystery to anyone living in the area.

I was 15 when that game was played.  Its hard to remember the time when NBC was the king of college basketball.  No ESPN, no blogs, no 24 hour news services, just a game on one of the three channels our house got.

Other than making me feel really old, this is a fantastic read.
3182577
I had never heard this phenomenal story, although I am fairly well read on sports and history. It's a great story of teamwork, overcoming obstacles and great satisfaction for achieving a rare goal. I would recommend this to anyone who also read "In the Garden of Beasts" about Hitler's Germany of the 1930's.
940004
I began reading this book with no background on what the story was about or that the Pirates baseball team had a bad streak.  As I got further into the story I realized that it was just like my childhood watching college basketball and agonizing over the losses my team had.  Once I finished I had to tell all my friends from Pittsburgh about the book because I knew the book was a story they knew so well.  A great book for any sports fan no matter what team or sports you follow!
3913949
If teams such as the Syracuse Nationals, Rochester Royals, and Fort Wayne Pistons mean anything to you, or names such as Dolph Schayes, Bob Pettit, Bill Sharman, and Bob Cousy ring a bell - or merely wonder why they do for many people - you will enjoy this book. It's a look at what professional basketball was like in the '40s and '50s, when the NBA was first coming to light (a mix of teams from various regional leagues) and developing. Charles Salzberg conducted 15 interviews with players from that era, asking them to relate their experiences - how they got started, what they thought of their teammates and opposing players, highlights of their careers, how they think the game has changed, what they think of basketball today (1980s) - and the results are interesting and informative.

The game was played differently back then, before the 24-second clock went into effect: it was a much more deliberate game, slower in execution, lots of passing, the set shot the main weapon. Just about all the interviewees note how the 24-second clock changed the game, made it more exciting (especially near the end of the game), some thinking it actually saved the NBA from extinction. Bill Russell is someone mentioned by many of them as having a profound influence on the game, too, and the reason for the Boston Celtic dynasty in the 50s-60s. Most of those interviewed believe that players today have more talent, especially when it comes to shooting the ball, but regret the loss of team play the way it was for them. There aren't a whole lot of surprises here (most of the interviews talk in generalities rather than specifics) and no skeletons in the closet are revealed, but for anyone getting a little long in the tooth it's a nostalgic look back at the game before multi-million dollar contracts and schoolyard antics became the mainstay. And for younger fans it's a reminder that there was basketball before Michael Jordan.
1848628
Yes, I concur...this book is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, that discusses in most honest terms, the relationship between sports and politics. It cites examples such as Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Tommie Smith, John Carlos and several others that did not permit wealth and fame to discuss issues pertaining to social injustice in the US. Zirin debunks that myth that politics and sports are seperable or that they should be separated. For instance, since it humiliating defeat at the 1998 World Cup soccer-football tournament, including its defeat at one of its perennial adversaries, Iran, the US has strongly built up its soccer squad, thus emerging as an eminent force to be reckoned with. This enables the US to portray its power, the more, especially, in light of the complicated and abysmal standing it has i the eyes of the world, due to its "War on Terrorism," that has included the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. So since soccer, being the world's favorite past, is a great boon to exhibit some of its military prowess. Thus, one's power need to be felt also in cultural terms, especially within the world's most coveted sport-soccer.

My only problem with this book lay in the author's analysis of Charles Barkley. His portrayal of Charles Barkley as having been always a progressive, defies, the contradictory trajectory and development of this NBA superstar. In his earlier superstar days, Barkley drew a lot of eyebrows, when after the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 on which he was a member of the US dream team, uttered to the defeated Angolan team, that he thought they (Angolans) were coming after him with spears, which drew a lot of hatred for him and the Phoenix Suns when they met in the finals NBA Champonship the following year in 1993. This hatred was further accentuated when he said that he would be a Republican Governor for Alabama, which in the eyes of many made him look like an Uncle Tom. However, since then Barkley's politics has evolved in the progressive domain. Regardless, this book is a classic in discussing the relationship between sports, politics, oppression and resistance. It is definitely a must-read!!!
4597901
Enjoyed the history of the rivalry from both perspectives. The book expresses just how heated the match up is each and every year.
426292
In 1981, the Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League met for a 32-inning marathon that wasn't halted until 4 o'clock the next morning. The game began around 8 p.m. on Holy Saturday, April 18, and was finally suspended with Eastern Sunrise approaching. When play resumed a little over two months later, it only took a short time for the Pawsox to pull out a victory in the bottom of the 33rd.  The story of the longest game in the history of professional baseball becomes the backdrop for a larger meditation on the transitory and sometimes cruel turns of fate in baseball and in life in this beautifully-written book.

While The Red Wings and Paw Sox play Triple-A baseball, just a step below the majors, and it's only 40 miles from Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium to Boston's Fenway Park, the distance might as well be measured in light years.

Wade Boggs took the field at third base for Pawtucket that night, and his dreams of major league stardom came true. His counterpart across the infield, first baseman Dave Koza, never even tasted the proverbial "cup of coffee" in the big leagues. Their stories are here, along with those of the other players (including Rochester's future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr.), plus the wives, batboys, broadcasters, owners, clubhouse boys, sportswriters and fans who came together for an evening that none of them ever suspected would be history-making. Although there are many wonderfully-drawn profiles in these pages, Koza's story may be the most moving. He peaked just below the very top level of the game; the decades that followed have brought all kinds of personal and professional struggles, but three decades after his singular moment in baseball, he's finally found redemption. It's fitting that he closes the book.

Dan Barry does a wonderful job of capturing the moment and its lasting meaning, three decades later. This should be a big hit with fans of baseball, but deserves a wider audience as well.--William C. Hall
218030
Frei does a marvelous job of telling the story of what truly was the GAME OF THE CENTURY.  You may be surprised as to who suggested tha the game be moved from it's normal date to become the last game of the year.  It was a time when Arkansas and Texas dominated the old Southwest Conference.  Much went into the preperation and much came out of it.  Frank Broyles, AD at Arkansas and the head coach at the time of the 1969 game has NEVER watched the tape of the game.
833375
Sports fans have been blessed with a number of quite readable books in the past decade, and this ranks right up there with the best of them. The author recreates an entire era when boxing was the king of sports and then tells one of the most amazing stories in the annals of the ring. And while the book is comprehensive, it is not a difficult read -- so I'd even recommend it as a gift for the sports fan who usually doesn't do more than ESPN: The Magazine.

My grandfather grew up in New York City's immigrant neighborhoods and boxed as a young man. He lived the life described in the book, and he attended major prize fights in NYC for decades. This book filled out some historical figures and events my grandfather used to tell me about, with both the hardship/drudgery of boxing anonymity and the glamour of boxing fame.
4102926
New York and most every major city has been through some sort of stadium  game of late. But no state has such a rich history of sports hijinks as  Minnesota. Weiner does both an entertaining and informative case study of  that would be interesting and enlightening for any fan, reporter or elected  official in any city that has a franchise or is trying to lure one. Weiner  shows that the games off the field are as fun to watch as the ones on.
3617213
When I chose to read and review "Starry Knights", I had no preconceived notions of what to expect from a first time author detailing an obscure game in my memory of a football series that no longer exists.  Wow!  Am I glad I dove in and devoured this light, fast-paced read that is both informative and nostalgic for those of us who remember the annual College All-Star Game series that finally ended in 1976.  McCarthy pays homage to the last collection of college all-stars to beat the defending NFL champion in this series that stretched from 1933 to 1976.

"Starry Knights" is well written and edited and, improbably, one does not have to be a sports fan to appreciate the story and the history.  The history of sporting contests is filled with mismatched teams from the little league level to the professional level.  Sporting dynasties and odds-on favorites would, over time, discourage betting and cheering on sports and games involving underdog teams if there were never unbelievable upsets such as the NY Jets beating the vaunted Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and the US Hockey team outlasting the powerful Russians in the 1980 Olympic Games.  The College All-Stars made just such an upset against the mighty Green Bay Packers on a hot humid August night at Soldier Field in Chicago.  As someone said many decades ago, despite the odds, the heavy favorites, or the disrespected underdogs, anything can happen on any given night-- "it's why they play the games".

McCarthy does a masterful job of presenting the history of the College All-Star game as a prelude to focusing on the 1963 game.  History is revisited as he reviews the writers, charities, coaches, and players who made this college/pro game so important as the professional game matured and transitioned into the behemoth it is today.  Along the way, he also colorfully describes the social and cultural changes occuring in the US during each of the eras that this game flouorished.  He presents interesting back stories in these reminders of the societal changes that accompanied changes in pro football.

McCarthy presents a tense, at times, nailbiting recreation of the actual game played between a stable of superior College All-Stars who coalesced around their great coach, Otto Graham and the team often touted at that time as the greatest professional football team in history, the Green Bay Packers led by their Hall of Fame coach, Vince Lombardi.  I remember the game and the series.  I watched the 1963 Rose Bowl Game described in great detail by the author as an introduction to the late-blooming Ron Vanderkelen from Wisconsin who led a breathtaking comeback only to finish on the losing end of a 42-37 score but who distinguished himself well enough to gain a spot on the miracle All-Star team of 1963.

Having witnessed and studied the games described in "Starry Knights", I can unequivocally recommend this book to any fan of football, sports in general, or those who love tales of the downtrodden underdog rising up against overwhelming odds to snatch victory from defeat and to prove "that's why they play the games"--to see who will win, despite what the odds makers tell us.
231993
Virtually all serious NFL fans know about the storied coaching careers of Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys, but there are many younger fans that do not know that in the 1950s both of these legends served together as assistant coaches for the New York Giants under Jim Lee Howell.  In "Lombardi and Landry," author Ernie Palladino looks back at the era when the two coached in the Big Apple.

Palladino recalls how the Giants' superlative coaching staff was assembled, how fortunate Lombardi and Landry were to work for Howell, and describes the working relationship between the two.  The author notes some of the innovations Lombardi made on offense and Landry made on defense, and relates some of the personal characteristics of each that were integral to their coaching success.

The book provides good detail of the key games in Giants history during the five seasons (1954 through 1958) that Lombardi and Landry were both assistants for the team, with special emphasis on the 1956 title season and the 1958 campaign in which the team fell to the Baltimore Colts in the famous title game.  The author closes by chronicling the post-New York years of the two coaches.

Since it has now been almost a half-century since the first Super Bowl was played, many tend to focus on the Super Bowl era only and forget that the NFL had much rich, interesting history prior to 1967.  In "Lombardi and Landry," Palladino does fans of the league a service by providing a thoroughly researched, well-written look back at the role of two legendary coaches in an era of NFL history that deserves to be remembered.
3651183
Add Mark Kram to a list that includes George Plimpton, Norman Mailer and Nick Tosches of authors that attempt to take the most barbaric of sports and rise it to a higher poetic level with their prose. And also add Kram to a growing list of sports and non-sports writers who take what should easily be able to mold a great book out of a page turning, thrill a minute topic only to get their fighters lost in a swamp of alliteration and a metaphoric morass.
"Ghosts" recounts perhaps the greatest rivalry in sports history, the blood feud between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It was a rivalry that was haunted with heavy racial overtones, Ali cast as the hero of the black man, Frazier as the sellout to the white establishment. In the end, it left Ali a punch drunk simpleton (and not just a victim of Parkinson's as Kram correctly points out) and Joe Frazier a man consumed by bitterness.
Not that "Ghosts of Manila" is easy to put down- in reality Kram builds to the climax, the apocalyptic brutal fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the Philippines. So much so you are willing to read many sentences twice, and kick yourself for not paying more attention in College Lit. It's like suffering through a good undercard, but one you cannot appreciate because of the anticipation of waiting for the Main Event.
Kram does a terrific job breaking down both men's psyche and backgrounds, mapping the path in the 60s for the horrific collision course between the two great athletes in the 1970s. But just like many heavyweight title fights, you walk away from the main event with that sinking feeling the promoter just took you for a sucker.
To his credit, Kram shatters the Ali myth. It's not a pretty picture. The Greatest is reduced from the civil rights icon he has been portayed by the media as, to a semi-moronic easily lead tool of the American Islam movement, and even a con man. Ali as egotistical womanizer. Before someone mistake the author as some contrarian looking to make a quick buck by writing a controversial book, credibility abound: Mark Kram tips his hat to Ali as a fighter, and he should know, seeing he wrote numerous articles on him in Sports Illustrated.
But the most venom is reserved for Howard Cosell. Cosell liked to portray himself as Ali's partner in his crusade against the Man. Kram does not buy it- his Cosell is a cocktail swilling, ambulance chasing egomaniac and frontrunner.
Why do sportswriters feel the overwhelming need to impress the reader with their writing skills? Perhaps frustration from seeing their journalistic pedigree being dismissed because they are sports writers. But then why can I read Phil Berger's books without my head spinning?
"Ghosts of Manila" is a must read for boxing fans and those interested in learning more about Muhammad Ali, and for that reason, it is reccomendable. For casual readers, I recommend looking up his 1970s Playboy interview and drawing your own conclusions.
2848044
Sports fans now have no concept of what came before. These short stories are told by a master scribe and tell of events that everyone should know but few do. It was a lot of un reading and I suppose I'll read over some of them many times.
1237205
A wonderful story telling of an often forgotten football great. The book surpassed my expectations.