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Now I Can Die in Peace - How ESPN-s Sports Guy Found Salvation- with a Little Help from Nomar- Pedro

1 stars (blah blah) - I used to like the Sports Guy before he got all cocky. You may live in a sports mansion, but your writing style is piss poor. 4 stars (Tremendous upside potential) - I'm a Yankees fan, but after living in Boston for a couple of years I can appreciate the pain and agony that Red Sox fans have endured. Very funny and entertaining- not the least bit bland which is so typical of books that focus on sports. 5 stars (Give this one a Pullet Surprise* (see footnote)) - Oh man, what a great book! Bill Simmons is not just one of our best sportswriters, but he's one of our best writers, period. This book epitomizes "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." As a sometime New Orleans Saints fan, I can identify so much with everything Simmons writes about. Except the thrill of victory part. At any rate, Simmons writes straight from the gut in a way that any true sports fan can embrace. It helps if you are a Red Sox fan, but that is not a pre-requisite.* (see another footnote) If you have ever faithfully rooted for a team that always breaks your heart, and then, suddenly, they win it all, what do you do? How do you react? Probably a lot like Simmons. Packed with footnotes that are as funny and insightful as the original prose, this book will provide the reader with some grin-inducing entertainment and also food for thought. What you get here is a highly personalized, almost impressionistic, account of the ultimate triumph of the Red Sox and the city of Boston. It reminds me of a couple of other fine sports-related books I've read recently that tell a grand tale by focusing on small vignettes and details.* (See yet another footnote.) Bottom line...pick this one up ASAP, before the dreaded Yankees makes some kind of freakish comeback. FOOTNOTES: 1. "A Pullet Surprise" is how one young high school student once spelled the name for the highest award for journalism. 2. In the 2004 ALCS, everyone in the known universe, outside of the Bronx...
ESPN Books :: Sports & Recreation & General :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: General :: Boston Red Sox (Baseball team) :: Baseball - History :: Baseball - General :: B :: Now I Can Die in Peace - How ESPN-s Sports Guy Found Salvation- with a Little Help from Nomar- Pedro

 

ESPN College Football Encyclopedia - The Complete History of the Game

4 stars (Best of its kind, but watch out for all the flaws) - This is the best college information resource I have seen. It has always been difficult to find an ACCURATE source of college football scores; this comes closer to that goal than many others' previous attempts. The year by year poll information is particularly helpful. The essays are interesting, and the brief summary information on each of the schools is very good. But I have found too many nitpicky errors to be entirely satisfied. One problem is the lack of "key" information, which makes deciphering a lot of information difficult. What does "RB" mean in the final polls? I THINK it refers to the R Billingsley poll, but the book is silent. I know some of the key information on Southern California's list of games is wrong--USC never played in Pendleton or Albany, Oregon, and the Key fails to explain that the neutral site reference to "FIE" means Fiesta Park in Los Angeles. And lots of neutral sites are not listed at all. I have not "audited" the book to see if all the scores are accurate, but the amount of errors here and there causes concern. But, this is a must book for the serious college football researcher, with enough "prose" info to be of interest to the casual fan. 3 stars (Great resource, but not without faults) - I'd really echo what the first reviewer wrote, that this is a valuable book hurt by some poor editing. And since this publication is meant to be a complete and authoritative source for college football, those mistakes detract from its overall value. The capsule looks at each program are great. Not only can you look back at scores and performance from past years, but the leaders for each team are a useful resource. It's fun to look at certain schools, to see how their fortunes have risen and fallen over long periods of time. The historical polls are also enjoyable to look at, for much the same reason, seeing which teams have stuck around near the top for long periods of ti...
ESPN Books :: Sports & Recreation & General :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Reference And Information Services :: Reference :: History :: Football - General :: Football - Col :: ESPN College Football Encyclopedia - The Complete History of the Game