Review of "Sporting Blood"

On a day when I post two reviews (something I very rarely do) it is only fitting that the two books reviewed are about my two favorite sports to read about, baseball and boxing.  This collection of tales of several boxers covering many eras and weight classes is an excellent book and one that is very hard to put down - I covered it in less than a day.  Here is my review of "Sporting Blood"

Title/Author:

“Sporting Blood: Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing” by Carlos Acevedo

Tags:

Boxing, professional, history, essays

Publish date:

March 31, 2020

Length:

256 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Anyone who follows the sport of boxing knows that for every success story, there are many others that have a darker side.  Even for those fighters that have enjoyed tremendous success during their careers, many of them had other tales of woe.  These can range from financial problems, drug abuse, crime, even an untimely death.  This book by boxing writer Carlos Acevedo tells some of these stories on many different boxers from different weight classes and eras.

The variety of the stories and the boxers portrayed is the biggest strength of this book. Not only are legendary fighters portrayed such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, but there are some very interesting tales about other fighters who may not be as familiar to readers such as Ad Wolgast, Carmelo Negron and Eddie Machen. There are several sad stories on fighters whose career either ended too soon after a defeat (Davey Moore), fighters who seemed to always be on a path to destroying themselves (Tyson, Aaron Pryor, Tony Ayala Jr.) and even one who became known to even non-boxing fans, Jake LaMotta.  While his story of sinking to very low depths and rising about them is familiar to movie goers who saw “Raging Bull”, Acevedo’s account of LaMotta does much more justice than the movie does in only a few pages.

That is pretty much the theme across the entire book as Acevedo writes essays about these pugilists that are complex yet very easy to read and comprehend.  Some of his prose is pure bliss to read.  Here are just a sample of some excellent quotes from the book:

-       -      When talking about the legendary third fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, the brutality of that match led Acevedo to state that “The ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ was a CliffNotes for sadism.”

-      -       He states that boxing “lends itself far too often to an intellectual clam chowder (common ingredients: social Darwinism, atavism, gladiatorial analogies, talk of warriors and so on)”

-       -      Describing promoter Don King when he dropped Davey Moore from his band of boxers: “Even Don King, a man who would rush into a burning oil tanker to rescue a crumpled dollar bill, cut him loose”

This is just a small sample of the excellent writing and research that was put into this great collection of stories on a wide selection of boxers. Any reader who has any interest in the “sweet science” will want to pick up this book – but be warned, once one starts, this is very hard to put down.

I wish to thank Hamlicar Publications for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                        

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                               

Buying Links:

https://hamilcarpubs.com/books/sporting-blood-tales-from-the-dark-side-of-boxing/

https://www.amazon.com/Sporting-Blood-Tales-Dark-Boxing-ebook/dp/B085FQKSDP/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585513673&sr=8-1

Review of "Change Up"

With a choice of either watching repeats of past games in various sports or reading books, I decided on the latter and as a result, I am posting reviews more often.  That's a good thing as I am discovering not only new books but also some that I may have missed earlier when they were published.  That is the case for this one written by Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez in 2016.  Here is my review of "Change Up."

Title/Author:

“Change Up: how to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better” by Buck Martinez

Tags:

Baseball, professional, memoir, Royals, Brewers, Blue Jays

Publish date:

March 29, 2016

Length:

304 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

John “Buck” Martinez could be considered a “baseball lifer”, considering he has been around the game in some manner for six decades.  He writes not only about his career as a player, broadcaster and (briefly) manager but also shares his thoughts on the status of the modern game and its strengths and weaknesses.

The book does have a few flaws – some of the sentences could have used a grammatical make over and Martinez does jump from topic to topic at times.  He does keep the chapters on his playing career together but the other portions do seem to skip around.  It makes the book at times a bit of a challenge to read, but does not detract from the points he makes and the unbridled joy he has for the game.

It is clear from Martinez’s words that he believes today’s players spend more time working on the flashier aspects of the game such as home runs and pitch speed and less time on not only fundamentals, but also time together as a team.  That is mentioned so often that I was picturing a younger reader wanting to write “#OKBoomer” to Martinez for his “old fashioned” views.  While nothing he states is incorrect, the reader may come away with the belief that the long time Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster doesn’t like the current status of the game.

That would be an incorrect assumption on the part of the reader. While it is clear that Martinez has the time-honored belief of pitching and defense is required for winning baseball, he acknowledges early that the analytics used by modern personnel are essential as well.  He shows his willingness to accept change when he writes about his career.  He was one of the players who learned the game in the baseball academy run by the Kansas City Royals in the 1970’s.  While there, he felt that he learned the game the proper way and it shows when he talks about his time in the major leagues with the Royals as probably his best time in the major leagues. 

While he was disappointed to leave the Royals, he does write with fondness while remembering his playing days two other clubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Blue Jays.  Martinez writes several pages about the importance of team chemistry (including mentioning it for the current Blue Jays team at the time of publication) and he credits his time in Milwaukee for providing the education in showing how important that is to the success of a team.  As for his time with the Blue Jays, he is grateful to the organization for not only finishing his career with a winning team, but also to allow him to work for the organization for many years, including a short stint as manager which wasn’t very successful and a job that he now admits he was not ready to take.

More than his career recollections, this book is best when Martinez talks about his vision of the game, what the game has and what it needs from its past.  The reader may not agree with all of Martinez’s points, but one cannot argue that he doesn’t love the game and a reader who shares that same enthusiasm should pick up this book.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                               

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Change-Up-Great-Baseball-Better-ebook/dp/B013PL1PJ0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/change-up-buck-martinez/1122494181?ean=9781443440752

Review of "Don't Call Me Goon"

As the time for reading is much higher now with social distancing and shelter-in-place being common now, the reviews will pick up as well as books are becoming my go-to when I need a sports fix (frequently) with no live games available.  Today's book review is one on a hockey book - one that fans of fighting in the game or whose favorite player is an enforcer will enjoy.  Here is my review of "Don't Call Me Goon"

Title/Author:

“Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers and Bad Boys” by Greg Oliver and Richard Kamchen

Tags:

Ice Hockey, professional, history, biography

Publish date:

September 1, 2013

Length:

288 pages

Rating: to

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While fighting and bench clearing brawls may not be as prevalent in the National Hockey League (NHL) today as it was in previous decades, players who are considered "enforcers" because of their fighting ability are still just as important to a team and just as popular with the fans as ever.  This book by Greg Oliver and Richard Kamchen provides the reader with a look at some of the more famous players who have had that designation for their teams.

Dividing up the book into sections based on the eras in which these men played the game, Oliver and Kamchen covers the entire history of the league and the various men whose fisticuffs were as much a part of their game as their skating and puck handling.  In the early days, the "pioneers of mayhem" included Red Horner and Jean Pusie. Moving to the Original Six era of the league, tough guys like Reggie Fleming and John Ferguson are portrayed.  Once the league expanded, so did the opportunities for players with this type of game, highlighted by the two Stanley Cup championships won in the 1970's by the Philadelphia Flyers.  Their rough and physical style of play, led by tough players like Dave Schultz and Andre "Moose" Dupont, gave opponents nightmares and led to many opponents wanting to skip a game against the Flyers, one of the better anecdotes in the book.

After writing about several players from the modern era, the book turns toward grouping enforcers into other subgroups – some would score goals as well as fight, some were very good on defense and as mentioned before, many were fan favorites.  Those types of players are profiled in the book as well.  Each player highlighted in the book is given a short biography of a few pages and some description of the types of scraps he would usually encounter on the ice.

The book finishes with a description of the reduction in fighting in today's professional hockey, a trend that doesn't sit well with many of the players highlighted in the book. There is also a discussion on concussions and the increased awareness of CTE in the game and also a final chapter about the "requiem for a gunslinger."  While the book is certainly not an exhaustive look at the life of a hockey enforcer, it tells about many entertaining players who filled that role.  Any hockey fan who is a fan of some of these players or the type of hockey that was played in the era of the aforementioned Flyers teams will enjoy this book. 

                                                                  

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Call-Goon-Enforcers-Gunslingers-ebook/dp/B00ER80A60/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Pennant Race"

For baseball fans like me, tomorrow will be somber as it was supposed to be opening day for the 2020 season.  But for now, we will have to be satisfied with replays of games and books.  For a good read on baseball in a different era, Jim Brosnan wrote two books about the game in the late 50's and early 60's.  This is the second of those books and it was a fun read.  Here is my review of "Pennant Race"

Title/Author:

“Pennant Race: The Classic Game by Game Account of a Championship Season 1961” by Jim Brosnan

Tags:

Baseball, professional, history, Reds, diary, classic

Publish date:

March 15, 2016 (e-book.  Original Publication Date: 1962)

Length:

272 pages

Rating: to

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Sometimes it's best to read a book that is strictly about baseball and nothing but baseball.  For those times, this classic book by Jim Brosnan is just right.  Brosnan was a relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and this is his diary of events through the regular season, one in which the Reds won the National League pennant.  

The book is a good reflection of baseball players and their day-to-day work life during the season, especially for relief pitchers.  At the time, these pitchers were the ones who weren't quite good enough to be in the starting rotation, but nonetheless their clubs and managers wanted to have them ready to pitch. Since these were the days when starters would work as many innings as possible, that left a lot of idle time for the relievers to swap stories and jokes with each other and, depending on the ballpark, fans as well.

These stories are told by Brosnan with very dry humor which will make the reader chuckle frequently throughout the book.  Some of the stories will contain names very familiar to fans of baseball in the 1960's such as Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson. Some of the best lines in the book come when Brosnan shares words about the curmudgeonly manager of the Reds that season, Fred Hutchinson.  Whether it is when Hutchinson is making a pitching change to either bring Brosnan in or taking him out or if it is about one of his clubhouse talks, those pieces were very entertaining.

While Brosnan talks about life as a ballplayer in the bullpen and on the road, it is not full of the controversial or shocking (for the time) aspects that "Ball Four" would contain eight years later.  Instead, this book is more like a diary with stories and accounts of Reds games in a season that became one for the ages as Cincinnati was the surprise winner of the 1961 National League Pennant.  It is a bit of a let down that the World Series was not included in the book, but this is still a very good account of a season and a team that is a reflection of the sport before multi-million dollar contracts and constant media exposure.  It's a good book for a reader who just needs a baseball fix.

                                                                  

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Pennant-Race-Classic-Account-Championship-ebook/dp/B013CCTJUE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Golazo!"

This book was certainly one that was not on my radar, but one of the online book clubs I belong to had a member suggest this as a buddy read.  Why not, I thought - it would expand my reading on soccer beyond the United States and Europe.  While it took awhile, I do believe that any soccer/football fan would enjoy "Golazo!"  Here is my review. 

Title/Author:

“Golazo! The Beautiful Game from the Aztecs to the World Cup: The Complete History of How Soccer Shaped Latin America” by Andreas Campomar

Tags:

Soccer, Football (European/Latin America), history, politics, World Cup

Publish date:

May 6, 2014

Length:

492 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The history of football (or soccer – this review will use the term “football”) in South American is not only rich with exciting players and teams on the pitch, but also colorful on how much it is intertwined with the politics of the continent’s nations.  This book by Andreas Campomar is a complete, detailed history of the “beautiful game” in that area of the world.

While the title does state that the book is about football in Latin American, once the ancient history about the game with the Aztecs is told, football and politics in three South American nations make up the bulk of the material:  Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. While this would not be completely surprising as these three nations have won nine World Cup championships among them, the book does lack material on most of the other nations, with a notable exception of Chile and Columbia, and practically ignores Central American football.  While this can be understood to a degree with the author being a native of Uruguay, this felt to make the book slightly incomplete despite its wealth of research and material.

There are times when the reading is slow and difficult as so many details are crammed into a passage, including many names of players that only appear once as that person’s last name. When this was happening, as it especially did when the discussion was about some of the best years for either Brazil or Argentina, I had to slow down and sometimes backtrack because I was getting lost.  Readers who are avid fans of these nations’ team or knowledgeable about the history may not have any trouble with these parts.  However, for a fan who either follows the sport in other parts or the world or is simply a casual fan who wishes to learn more about these legendary national teams, this might become a challenge.

However, working one’s way through this is certainly worth the time and effort as the football is rich with history. The most enjoyable section of the book for me was the description of how the Aztecs played the game.  If American fans feel today’s game lacks offense, then they wouldn’t want to know how difficult it was to score at that time.  Other excellent sections of the book include how Uruguay became a soccer powerhouse in the 1930’s and 1940’s, winning two of the first four World Cup tourneys and how Brazil’s rise to football power in the 1960's paralleled that of its government. 

Overall , this book is an excellent source of history on South American football and while at times is a dense and very detailed read, it is one that is recommended for readers who want to learn more about not only the game in the continent, but also about the politics of some of the bigger nations and how they closely related to the success or lack of success by the national football team.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

                                                                                                                              

 Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Golazo-Beautiful-Complete-History-America/dp/1594485860/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/golazo-andreas-campomar/1117163804?ean=9781594485862

Review of “Miracle on Grass”

While Americans were celebrating the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” in February, this year marks the 20th anniversary of another unexpected USA gold medal. In 2000, the USA Olympic baseball team composed of mostly minor league players, shocked Cuba to win the gold medal. This book chronicles their adventure to get there. Here is my review of “Miracle on Grass”

Title/Author:
“Miracle on Grass” by David Fanucchi

Tags:
Baseball, Summer Olympics, championship, history

Length;
328 pages

Rating; 
4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team is fondly remembered for its “Miracle on Ice”, the 2000 US Olympic Baseball team deserves almost as much praise and should be remembered just as much for its own “miracle” when it won a gold medal in Sydney. This book, appropriately titled “Miracle on Grass” does just that.

While baseball may be considered America’s pastime, the US did not have much success in baseball prior to 2000, having not won the gold medal in the two previous Olympic Games when it was a medal sport. USA Baseball vowed to change that, starting with the 1999 Pan American games, where team USA had to finish in the top two in order to secure a spot in the Olympics. Led by Pat Gillick and manager Buddy Bell, that was accomplished.

But after Gillick accepted a front office job with the Seattle Mariners and Bell was named manager of the Colorado Rockies, new blood was needed. It is here, where Team USA names its new leaders, including Sandy Alderson and Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, where some of the best stories told. Whether it talks about Alderson using “Moneyball” analytics to help determine who will play for Team USA or the stories about Lasorda firing up,the team or vowing to stay in the Olympic Village with his players (that lasted one night), they make for great reading.

Following the baseball, whether it was the players and their careers to that point or stats, or whether it was the game accounts of not only The US team but also those of the other teams in the Games, they were good but read more like newspaper accounts rather than details. The best parts of these games were descriptions of the games in the medal round, especially the win by Team USA over Korea in the semi finals. That almost made the gold medal game against Cuba, both in the book and in the Games themselves, seem anti-climactic. Ben Sheets dominated the Cubans in that game and after he retired the final batter, the reader will feel the same joy Lasorda and his team felt.

Many of the players will be recognizable to serious baseball fans as most of them played in the major leagues after the Games (MLB players did not participate as MLB continued its season during the Olympics). That makes this book a good one for those readers who want to relive the “Miracle on Grass” during its 20th anniversary.

Review of "The Back Roads to March"

Hopefully everyone reading this is safe and healthy.  With the entire sports world shut down, the next best thing for me to do is read even more books and post more reviews.  So, I am starting this game-less period with a great substitute for March Madness - a book on college basketball by one of the best authors on the sport, John Feinstein.  Here is my review of "The Back Roads to March"

Title/Author:

“The Back Roads to March: The Unsung, Unheralded and Unknown Heroes of a College Basketball Season” by John Feinstein

Tags:

Basketball, college, history, coaching

Publish date:

March 3, 2020

Length:

432 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

While most college basketball fans know much about the high-profile programs such as Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina, there are plenty of good basketball players and teams at smaller schools and conferences.  These are referred to as “mid-major” conferences and they are the subject of this excellent college basketball book by John Feinstein.

Feinstein wrote his first college basketball book over thirty years ago and he has become one of the most respected authors on the sport. This book adds to his legacy as he does a wonderful job of covering so many of the unheralded schools in the mid-major conferences, or as Feinstein calls them often throughout the book, the “one-bid” leagues. This reference is used because these conferences very rarely send more than one team, the winner of the conference tournament, to the NCAA tournament.

While most of the conferences highlighted are in the East, such as the Patriot League, Colonial Athletic Association and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference just to name a few, Feinstein covers a lot of territory and puts a lot of miles on his vehicle as he takes the reader on his journey to visit many of these players and coaches to share their stories and experiences. He writes about so many schools, players and coaches in this book that is it impossible to cover them all in a review without practically rewriting the book. It is safe to say, however, that no matter what type of story one wants to hear about college basketball, especially a story from a coach, then this is the book to read.

Even avid college hoops fans may learn something new from this book. For this reviewer, the best example of that was Feinstein’s many stories about an old arena in Philadelphia, the Palestra.  Many games between the Big Five schools have been played there and from Feinstein’s descriptions of the place, he and many others consider it a shrine for college basketball. Despite its rich history, I had never heard of the place before reading this book.  After reading this, I, along with probably many other readers, will now want to make a trip to Philadelphia to visit this arena and catch a game or two there.

This book is not only a terrific read, it is one that gives some much-needed exposure to the many talented teams, players and coaches in the mid-major – sorry, one-bid – leagues.  For some, including myself, seeing these teams pull off upsets over schools in the power conferences are what make March Madness (trademarked by the NCAA, something Feinstein writes about with some disdain) special.  It is highly recommended for all college basketball fans, no matter what level of fandom or who their favorite school may be.

I wish to thank Doubleday Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)                                                                                                                         

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Back-Roads-March-Unheralded-Basketball/dp/0385544480/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "The Eighth Wonder of the World"

Because I will include books on professional wrestling on this blog, I was requested by the publisher if I would review this book.  Having remembered Andre the Giant, I was more than happy to do so and boy, am I glad I did.  Certainly one of the best books on professional wrestling that I have read, here is my review of "The Eighth Wonder of the World"

Title/Author:

“The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of André the Giant" by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade

Tags:

Wrestling, professional, History

Publish date:

April 14, 2020

Length:

550 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Wrestling fans, young and old alike, know that André the Giant is one of the true legends of the business, but what some may not know was that his match with Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III was not the start of his career as he was quite successful for many years prior to that match in which many became familiar with the “Gentle Giant”.  This biography by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade is a very complete work telling the life and career of the wrestling icon.

Born André René Roussimoff, the book follows him through his childhood to his various jobs before getting his start in professional wrestling in Paris at age 18. From there, he went on to enjoy success in Japan and the province of Quebec, becoming a big attraction for wrestling fans in the province, most notably in Montreal and Quebec City.  His French roots and ability to speak the language helped him tremendously in the province and it provided him exposure to other promoters.  One in particular, Vince McMahon Sr, saw André perform and signed him to wrestle for the then-WWF (now WWE).  The authors do a commendable job of research and writing about this part of Andre’s life and career as it is not as well known as his later years in WWF and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan.

The story of André’s personal life, which included not only the acromegaly that made him the size that he was, but also his addiction to alcohol, his dislike of certain aspects of the life of a celebrity such as his distaste for flying, and also his lack of a romantic partner for most of his life, is treated with detail but fairness. There is not criticism for these aspects of André’s life and that makes for a terrific and fair read for those readers not familiar with his life.  This is also true for the discussion of André and his work in Hollywood and the movies he appeared in, most notably The Princess Bride. 

Of course, Andre’s legendary time with WWF and his appeal with fans after his match with Hogan is covered with the same amount of research and detail and fans who are familiar with this part of his career will thoroughly enjoy reliving some of his best matches in sold-out arenas that are described in this portion of the book.  It is here where the reader will learn much more about his personal life described above and also his injuries and diseases that would trouble him for the rest of career and his life outside the ring until his death in early 1993.

It should be noted that this book is not only an excellent account of André’s life and career, but also one about the business of professional wrestling. The details behind the contracts, agreements between promoters to let wrestlers perform for several wrestling promoters at the same time and how the matches are determined on how the heels or baby-faces will win in order to gain either maximum followings or ensure that there will be demand for rematches is great reading.  This reviewer has read wrestling books from this publisher in the past and every one of them, including this one, cover this aspect of professional wrestling thoroughly and they and the authors should be commended for brining the reader into this world.

Any wrestling fan who remembers André the Giant will want to add this book to their collection.  While it is a long read at 550 pages, it is one that is worth the investment of their time to complete.  I consider it to be one of the best books I have read on professional wrestling.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

                                    

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Eighth-Wonder-World-Story-Andr%C3%A9-ebook/dp/B083VWVDNJ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=