Review of “Baddest Man”

This book grabbed my interest because of the author. Mark Kriegel wrote excellent biographies on two of my favorite childhood athletes, Joe Namath and Pete Maravich.  Knowing this and also that he covered boxing for a New York City newspaper during Mike Tyson’s era, I felt this would be an excellent book on him - I wasn’t disappointed.

Title/Author: “Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson” by Mark Kriegel

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Mike Tyson is probably the most talked about boxer in the history of the sport aside from Muhammad Ali. His life has taken so many twists and turns. Despite all that has been already said and written about him, this book by bestselling author Mark Kriegel is excellent in not only its portrayal of Tyson, but also in its ability to make even those readers who think they can’t read anything new about him will find something they didn’t before.

While the book is about his life from his childhood in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn to his 91-second knockout of Michael Spinks in 1988 to unify the heavyweight championship of boxing, the prologue will grab a reader right away. Kriegel writes about Tyson, the father who is watching his daughter at a tennis match. From just this passage, it will be clear to readers that this will not be a typical sports biography.  

From there, Kriegel takes the reader on a journey that will not only reveal much about Tyson, but also provide in-depth looks at a variety of topics: poverty, crime, gang activity, the media’s love of celebrity issues, the crookedness of the boxing business and its characters, the greed of the 1980’s and so much more. None of these topics will be new to anyone, but the depth to which Kriegel writes about these topics, especially the business side of the sport, is excellent. It should be noted that Kriegel was a long time boxing writer for the New York Daily News, so his knowledge of this side of the sport is well-grounded.

While the fights Tyson had in the ring as an amateur, his failed attempt at making the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, and those as a professional are well covered (including the famous bout with Spinks), the work on Tyson’s life outside the ring is what makes this book so good. Kriegel writes about the myths on Tyson, especially in his days in Brownsville and those when he was taken in and mentored by Cus D’Amoto. Also noteworthy is Kriegel’s accounts of Tyson’s marriage to actress Robin Givens, his relationship with her mother Ruth Roper , his lack of business acumen when dealing with Jim Jacobs, Bill Clayton and especially Don King. If one remembers this time as a tangled, salacious time for what Tyson was doing, the reader will find out even more twists as Kriegel navigates then through all of the lies, deception, stories and craziness.

But one conclusion that one will make, no matter their view on Tyson as a person, is that it’s very clear that he was a person who lacked the love and support he wanted and would accept it from whomever would provide it. Nearly every person mentioned in the previous paragraph was doing that in some way and Tyson was always seeking it, no matter what it would do to him later.

Since this book only covers Tyson’s life up to that June 1988 night in Atlantic City and the anticipation that accompanied it, I am hoping Kriegel writes a sequel covering some of the other events that made Tyson such a compelling character. This book is highly recommended for any reader who wants to read about any aspect of Mike Tyson’s first 22 or so years of life. 

Link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552034/baddest-man-by-mark-kriegel/ 

Review of "Death of a Racehorse"

I used to follow horse racing more closely but the recent scandals, deaths of horses and general overall lack of enthusiasm about the sport compared to others has made me follow it less and less.  Nevertheless, I was intrigued by this book by its title - the book was not quite what I expected but still a good read.  

Title/Author:

“Death of a Racehorse: An American Story” by Katie Bo Lillis

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Horse racing has been rocked by scandals involving drugging and doping the race horses and the deaths of some of these thoroughbreds. The death of Medina Spirit, the horse trained by well-known trainer Bob Baffert and whose Kentucky Derby win was taken away when testing revealed a banned substance in the horse’s system.  That was the start of this in-depth look at the world of horse racing by Katie Bo Lillis.

The title of the book and the first chapter made me think that this was going to be a compilation of sad stories of horses who had to be euthanized for one reason or another due to their participation in races. That turned out not to be the case at all as Lillis, a journalist who used to work in the racing industry, exposed both the therapeutic and performance-enhancing use of various drugs in horses that run in the sport.

The book also took a critical look at training methods, the horse racing industry as a whole and the various degrees of interest by the federal government in their investigations of criminal activity in the sport.  An example of this would be the consideration of wire fraud charges if illegal substances were sold across state lines using electronic technology (phone, email, texting, etc.) and money exchanged hands.  There are many people involved in these stories, not just the big names like Baffert. 

It was also interesting to learn new knowledge about the industry.  One example that was a recurrent topic in the various chapters was the need for a full complement of horses to run in each race for an event to turn a profit. This is so that there are more betting options for gamblers, resulting in a higher purse for the track.  It makes sense after reading this, but it is something that I was never aware of.

At times, the book does get very detailed, especially about the drugs used in the sport.  It felt at times I needed a pharmacology degree to understand these nuances, but despite this, it is a book that is very informative and one that would be enjoyed by readers of all levels of interest in horse racing.  

I wish to thank Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Death of a Racehorse: An American Story: Lillis, Katie Bo: 9781668017012: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "The Dark Side of the Diamond"

While the weather was better on Mother's Day (belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers or those who perform the duties of mothers) there was still enough wet weather to keep me inside and reading or listening to multiple books.  Finished two in two days - here's the first one, an audiobook that would probably be better read in the physical or e-book format. 

Title/Author:

“The Dark Side of the Diamond” by Charlie Bradford, narrated by Virtual Voice

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

Baseball has been rife with scandals and controversies throughout its history. This book by Charlie Bradford sheds light on these events. They are not only told through an objective lens, which is the biggest strength of the book, but the fallout from the controversy is also well documented.  This goes for the players involved, teams involved, the game itself and even the fans.

Just about any issue that made headlines, usually bad ones, is discussed in the book.  Segregation, the unionization of players and the subsequent labor issues that interrupted the 1972, 1981 and 1994-95 seasons, performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) and gambling are just a few of the topics covered.  Also, it should be noted that not just the big headlines are mentioned.  One example: when discussing gambling in the game and its effects, Bradford went beyond just the Black Sox of 1919 and Pete Rose. He talked about when Bowie Kuhn banned Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays for taking jobs with casinos as ambassadors. By working for companies that invested in gambling, they were banned but later were reinstated by Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner who succeeded Kuhn. Covering issues like that was a strength of this book.

While overall this book is very good, if a reader is interested in it, I highly recommend avoiding the audio version and picking either the physical or electronic copy.  The biggest reason is that the virtual voice narration reads the player statistics in a manner that is not done by baseball fans and broadcasters, among several other issues.  For example, the steroids discussion always says PED’s as “peds” (rhymes with meds). There are several player mispronunciations. These all distract from the main points of the book. But because I finished the book and overall, it does give some information that I did not know before listening, it gets a passing grade.

Link: The Dark Side of the Diamond: Inside the Shocking Scandals that Changed Baseball Forever: Bradford, Charlie: 9798338785546: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Men in White"

Upon reading the synopsis of this book when I learned that there was going to be another book on the Penn State scandal more than a decade ago, I wanted to pick it up as it looked to be a different perspective.  It certainly was that and more.  Here is my review of "Men in White" 

Title/Author: “Men in White: The Gutsy, Against-All-Odds Return of Penn State Football” by Chris Raymond

 

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: November 5, 2011 is a day that will forever be etched in the minds of any person connected with the Penn State football program.  That was the day that a former coach, Jerry Sandusky, was charged with 40 counts of child molestation.  This led to the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno (who died shortly thereafter) and later to sanctions against the program including a $60 million fine, four years of probation from postseason play, reduced scholarships and most shocking, every player on the football team at that time could transfer to any other school without waiting a year as all other transferred players had to do.

Which leads to why this book about the 5 seasons after that announcement is so good.  The first salvo fired to show that those who care about the Nittany Lions were not going to let this affect them was by two players on the team:  Michael Mauti and Michael Zordich. After deciding to stay at Penn State, despite many recruiters attempting to lure them to other schools, they made an announcement on national TV stating that “This program was not built by one man. And this program sure as hell is not going to be torn down by one man.” 

From there, author Chris Raymond gleans information from hundreds of interviews from people who had some kind of connection to the program.  People who spoke of the progress range from two head coaches who were important to keeping the team together and then bringing it back to success (Bill O’Brien and James Franklin) to the students who were the mascot through those years.  That is a big reason why I enjoyed this book so much.  This was not only a story of a football team and its coaches and players – this was about the entire program and what it meant to students, alumni and the state.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t football in the book.  Many of the chapters and stories from players and coaches were about the games in those seasons between 2012 and 2016.  From ensuring the team played respectable football in the first two seasons (bowl eligible both years, even if there were some difficult losses) to winning the Big Ten championship in 2016, there is enough football described to make those who love the X’s and O’s of the game.  This is done through quotes by players and coaches involved. While a different way to write about games, it really works in this case because the reader can feel the emotions of the people involved.

There are also chapters on related topics such as Coach Paterno and one dedicated entirely to the students who camp out to get tickets. The dedication of the latter did not diminish during this dark period, which ended sooner than expected.  George Mitchell, the senator who also oversaw the investigation into the use of steroids in baseball, updated the NCAA on the subsequent actions by the school after the sanctions were handed down and gave glowing reports on the progress. As a result, all sanctions were lifted by 2014 and that gave the program even more of a boost, capped off by the 2016 conference championship.

This review really doesn’t do justice for this book – everything about it was top notch.  The writing, the honest reality of the subjects interviewed, and the storyline were all excellent.  For a glimpse into just how raw the honesty was, the interview with Silas Redd, a player who did leave Penn State when there were no restrictions, his talk about his decision and reasons for leaving are as honest and emotional as any of those by the players who stayed.  Just another small story in a collection that when put together is a great piece about one of the blue bloods of college football.

I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Link: Men in White: The Gutsy, Against-All-Odds Return of Penn State Football: Raymond, Chris: 9781250280480: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "The City Game"

One sports trivia question that I have burned to memory is that City College of New York is the only college basketball team to have won the NIT and NCAA in the same season.  A book on that remarkable team and the point shaving scandal that brought them down is coming out in November, but I was fortunate to obtain an advance review copy - and it is one that I will purchase when it comes out.  Here is my review of "The City Game."

Title/Author:

“The City Game: Triumph, Scandal and a Legendary Basketball Team” by Matthew Goodman

Tags:

Basketball, college, scandal, gambling, politics, championship

Publish date:

November 5, 2019

Length:

448 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

The 1949-50 basketball team from the City College of New York accomplished a feat that will never be done again. They won both the National Invitational Tournament  (NIT) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tourney in the same season. At that time, they were held at different times rather than concurrently as is done now. These championships came at a time when college basketball was much more popular than the professional game and also at a time when gamblers have a large influence in the sport. Through these gamblers, City College was found to have participated in a point shaving scandal along with several other college teams. This City College team, its players and both the good and bad times for them is captured in this outstanding book by Matthew Goodman.

What is the most striking feature about the book and the writing is how a reader will have a deep connection with the City College players, especially Eddie Roman and Floyd Layne.  Roman is Jewish and Layne is black, making them the perfect symbols to represent the student body make up of City College, which was tuition free and comprised mainly of black and Jewish students who were gifted intellectually but would not otherwise have been able to pursue higher education.  Goodman starts the book off by introducing the reader to Roman and his family and ends it with a wonderful success story achieved by Layne in a surprising twist.  In between, the reader will be taken back to that era of smoke-filled arenas and students cramming the cheap seats while the gamblers, politicians and businessmen filled the lower bowls with other items to take care of than watching the games.

While the writing about the basketball was very good and the recap of that special season for City College was easy to follow (and to cheer for them), the coverage of the point shaving scandal is even better.  The reader will get information from several viewpoints – the City College players who accepted bribes to shave points, the gamblers who set up the players and the informants who provided the information prosecutors needed to charge the players and gamblers.  On the latter, the story of Joseph Gross and his flip-flopping on his willingness to testify was especially entertaining.  Between his arrogance when he was arrested and his speedy exit from the courtroom when he was supposed to testify, he is just one character of many with whom readers will become very familiar.

However, that quality is best illustrated when writing about the City College players and their lives.  Whether Goodman is sharing their family life, their basketball prowess, the shame they felt when arrested and deposed, or their various degrees of success after City College, the reader will feel like they have known these men for a long time. The best section in the entire book is when the players are arrested at Penn Station after disembarking a train after a road game – the emotions of not only the players but Coach Nat Holman are on full display.

One more quality about the book that makes it an outstanding read is how several issues that are still discussed today are raised in this book.  Only two of the City College players that were arrested served jail time – both of them African American.  Several times it was pointed out that nearly everyone involved – the schools, the arenas, the gamblers – were making money off college basketball except the players.  These are issues that are still being discussed today.

For these and many other reasons, this is a book that should be picked up by either college basketball fans or readers who want to learn more about the history and times of New York City in the 1950’s as the dialogue has an authentic feel. 

I wish to thank Ballentine 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/City-Game-Triumph-Legendary-Basketball-ebook/dp/B07NKP9869/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-city-game-matthew-goodman/1130550459?ean=9781101882849