Last review of 2025 - "The Last One Out of Town Turn Out the Lights"

Happy New Year!  2025 was a good reading year for me - over 110 total books read with this one being the 90th one reviewed on this site.  While it was good, I am shooting for 120 total books with 100 being reviewed here.  I won't call it a "resolution" - that means it will be broken.  Instead, enjoy the end of 2025 with this review of a very good high school basketball book.

Title/Author:

“The Last One Out of Town Turn Out the Lights” by David Albee

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

When a basketball fan thinks of areas where high school basketball is big, Maine won’t be the first thing on their mind.  Indiana will certainly come to mind, and maybe Kentucky and Maryland, but certainly not Maine. However, in 1975, a school in rural Maine captivated the town and the state with their improbable run to the state championship.  The story of the Foxwood Academy basketball championship team of that year is told in this book by David Albee, a graduate of the school.

This came at a time when there were school closures and consolidations were common in rural Maine. A good section of the book begins with this backdrop.  Foxwood Academy, located in Dover-Foxwood was consolidated with Monson which led to much grief, especially in the latter town. Monson was very good in basketball at the time of the consolidation, which added another layer of issues many had with the merger.  While reading this part of the book, I was wondering what this had to do with the story, but as it turned out, Albee was right to include this history in the book as it was important to the story of Foxwood’s success on the court later in the decade.

The biggest factor (literally) in the rise of Foxwood basketball was a 6’ 8” player named Kevin Nelson.  He came over from the Monson school district while younger and grew into one of the better players in the state.  His story is told well by Albee as is that of the Foxwood coach Skip Hanson.  In fact, many of the players, parents and others who were important to the success of the Ponies are portrayed well in the book.

The basketball action, not only for the championship season where the Ponies went undefeated, but for the seasons in which Monson was a powerhouse for smaller schools as well as the rise of Foxwood Academy is described quite well.  A reader will not only feel the action on the court, but the excitement in the stands and in the band as well.  They are just as important to the story as the players.

Overall, this was a very good account of a rural school and community coming together after a rough transition period.  The story of the Foxwood Academy basketball team is one that high school basketball fans will want to read.

I wish to thank Globe Pequot Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: The Last One Out of Town Turn Out the Lights: The Epic 1975 Foxcroft Academy Basketball Season eBook : Albee, David: Kindle Store

Review of “Moses Malone”

 As I usually do at the end of every year, I am making on last post-Christmas rush to get multiple reviews done. Here’s one on a book on Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone.

Title/Author: “Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet” by Paul Knepper

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Fairly or unfairly, the public perception of a superstar athlete will often be evaluated on his or her relationship with the media. Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone was a player who may not have had the popularity of others in his era like Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan, but that didn’t stop him from having a great basketball career and show his true side to teammates and others out of the spotlight. That trait of Malone’s, as well as his success on the court, is documented in this excellent biography by Paul Knepper.

Malone became famous at a young age when he became the first high school player to be drafted and signed by a professional team in 1974. After a brilliant high school career in Petersburg, Virginia, Malone was ready to play college ball at the University of Maryland, he instead signed with the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The poverty he experienced due to being raised in a fairly large family led by a single mother certainly played a role in the decision. Knepper’s research and interviews help the reader learn about this period of Malone’s life. 

The pages about Malone’s professional basketball career are just as good. The ABA and its teams were on shaky financial ground and the Stars eventually folded and Malone joined the Spirits of St. Louis. While he was a young and raw talent playing for these teams, he impressed coaches and veteran teammates with his work ethic and willingness to listen to coaches. This bode well for him after the ABA and NBA merged. Because the Spirits were not one of the 4 teams to enter the NBA, Malone was put in a dispersal draft, where he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers and soon thereafter dealt to the Buffalo Braves. After some time in Buffalo, Malone was traded again, this time to the Houston Rockets.

It was in Houston where Malone was finally able to show the talent, skill and smarts on the court that made him a Hall of Fame player. He led the Rockets to the NBA Finals once and made several all star teams. However, after not receiving an offer he saw as fitting for what he did in Houston, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. That team was already loaded with stars like Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, and Maurice Cheeks. The 76ers, having lost twice in the Finals to the Lakers in the previous three seasons, finally won it all in 1983. Malone made a famous quote of “Fo, fo, fo” meaning the Sixers would win the three series needed to become champions in four game sweeps - he was only one game off.

During this time with the Sixers is when the reader, thanks to Knepper’s excellent writing, learns the complicated person Malone is. He is generous with his time to teammates and fans, but not always with the press. He can seem charming but infidelity and allegations of hitting his wife brings down that image. After his skills were declining, he struggled to find a career after basketball although he did not blow all his money away. All in all, this book is an excellent look at the complex life of one of the best basketball players of the 1980’s. 

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link:https://www.amazon.com/Moses-Malone-Life-Basketball-Prophet/dp/1496238974/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0  

Merry Christmas! Review of “Seniors to Juniors”

Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating today! 🎄As those who do celebrate know, it gets very busy to prepare for the season and that was certainly the case for me, so I haven’t posted here lately. But finally, with a little downtime before the guests arrive at my place, I wanted to post this review of an audiobook I recently finished on a hockey team I did not know was still around - the Waterloo Black Hawks. Here is my review:

                                 

Title/Author: “Seniors to Juniors: A Collection of Waterloo Hockey Stories” written and narrated by Tim Harwood

Rating:  4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: The United States Hockey League (USHL) is a junior hockey league for players age 16-20 and has been around for several decades. The most successful franchise through its history is the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks with 9 championships. This audio book written by Tim Harwood (who also is the narrator) provides a good look at the team and several of its players over the years.

Using various sources such as the team’s website and its magazine, Harwood puts together a good collection of various stories. Like any collection, there are some clunkers as well as the good ones, but overall, this was quite interesting. I was hooked at the beginning with the story of one of the best alumni of the Black Hawks, Joe Pavelski, who was a member of the 2020 Stars team that reached the Stanley Cup Finals and enjoyed an 18 year NHL career with the Stars and San Jose Sharks. Stories like that one and those of the Black Hawks history, such as when they got a new arena, were the best of this collection. 

One aspect of non-fiction audiobooks I always appreciate is that when the author is also the narrator, it lends an aura of authenticity to the book. That certainly was the case here as the narration was not only crisp and easy to listen to, but it also gave off a vibe of certainty. Meaning to me, the author was very knowledgeable on the subject and it could be told in his voice. It was a quick, enjoyable listen as I drove to see college hockey games.

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

Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/Seniors-to-Juniors-Audiobook/B0G365YNTN?eac_link=MgFQqqlqU2Gs&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0G365YNTN&qid=mUDs49qXXC&eac_id=133-8902370-9982300_mUDs49qXXC&sr=1-1 

Review of “The Long Run”

 Most of my reading lately has been books about running.This one covered some topics I have read about before, but even so, it’s a well crafted book on the premier marathons for runners. 

Title/Author: “The Long Run: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Join Benoit, Greta Waitz and the Decade That Made Running Cool” by Martin Dugard

Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Running as a sport has had a long and interesting history. The marathon event is the premier race, testing an athlete’s endurance and mental fitness. This book by Martin Duggar’s, a marathon runner himself, tells the interesting period from the 1970s where the marathon became more popular for both runners and spectators.

The story actually starts in ancient Greece. The legend of Pheidippides running to tell the people of Athens about the victory at the battlefield of Marathon is a great story, but Dugard shows why that myth doesn’t hold up. The story of why the length of a marathon is 26 miles and 385 yards also is questioned as Dugard explains that the legend of the extra 385 yards being added so the finish line is directly in front of Queen Mary’s box doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. These stories along with others make this early part of the book very interesting.

However, it gets even better when Dugard starts writing about the great runners named in the subtitle of the book. Steve Prefontaine was THE MAN for running in the early and mid-70s as his popularity soared before his tragic death in 1975. Frank Shorter’s gold medal for the marathon brought that race home to millions of American viewers. Joan Benoit Samuelson and Greta Waitz were early pioneers in breaking the glass ceiling (wrongly constructed by the AAU and officials of the Boston and New York City Marathons) for women running long distances. Each of these athletes’ stories are fascinating and make for great reading.  It should also be noted that Dugard writes about those two marathons and important milestones for them such as when the New York City Marathon became a run through all five boroughs.

Whether you’re an experienced marathon runner, a runner who settles for shorter distances or even a non-runner, this book is sure to be one that a reader will want to add to their shelves. 

I wish to thank Dutton for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/738256 

Review of "Hammered"

While the reading volume has slowed down as I get busy with the holiday season and work at my full time job picking up, that doesn't mean that the books I do get to read are any less interesting.  This one is a good example - the memoir of former hockey enforcer Dave Schultz. 

Title/Author:

“Hammered: The Fight of My Life” by Dave Schultz with Dan Robson

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Hockey fans will recognize the name Dave Schultz, even if they were not around to witness his legendary fights on the ice. He was one of the early “enforcers” in hockey, who would often fight or cause other ruckus on the ice. This was usually done to protect star players or to send a message to the other team that our team will not back down. His record of 472 penalty minutes in the 1974-75 season still stands. He tells his story in this memoir written with Dan Robson.

The book starts off very dark, with Schultz sharing a scenario where he is in a fight – but it is not on the ice.  Instead, he talks about provoking a fight with a bartender.  That was an attention grabber, and it worked to grab the attention of this reader. It was a good metaphor about his fight against his alcoholism.  He would fight (argue and resist, not with fists like the metaphor) those who tried to help him such as ex-teammate Bill Clement.  He would fight while in treatment.  Once done, he would fight (and still is fighting) to try to stay clean.

There are other fights he talks about, such as trying to suppress the memory of being sexually assaulted when he was a child.  He never shared that with family, his wife nor others until recently.  He was also fighting off depression over his losses, especially those of his brother and father, as well as his divorce. 

While this sounds like an unhappy book, it really isn’t as bad as this description sounds.  It is clear that he is working his way through them.  He talks about many happy memories with family and especially while in hockey.  His best days in the NHL were with the Philadelphia Flyers and he shares excellent accounts of not only his play, but that of his team when the Flyers won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. What is also notable about this part of the book is how he recalls the Flyers and himself in particular drawing the ire of NHL President Clarence Campbell for the rough style of play that helped the Flyers win. 

Schultz did not end his career with the Flyers, as he also played for the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.  He did not find the same joy with those teams like he did with the Flyers and like his other battles mentioned above, he was fighting off bouts of anger when playing for those teams.  While the book overall is not a happy one nor is it one where Schultz comes off as looking for sympathy or redemption, I found it an interesting read as someone who is realizing what life has thrown at him and his way of addressing it as he enters the latter stages of life.  It made for an interesting read.

I wish to thank Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Hammered: The Fight of My Life: 9780735247017: Schultz, Dave, Robson, Dan, Parent, Bernie: Books

Review of "Race Across America:

This book was a little different than other running books I have read - mainly because of the endurance that these athletes had to have in order to complete a transcontinental journey.  Here is my review of "Race Across America." 

Title/Author:

“Race Across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbie” by Charles B. Kastner

Rating: 

3 ½ of 5 stars (good)

Review:

It’s hard to imagine this today, but there was a time in the early 20^th century when athletes would compete in ultramarathons and other endurance running events with footwear such as working boots or shoes more fit for suits. One such event, that took place in 1928 and 1929, was a transcontinental run from Los Angeles to New York, commonly called the Bunion Derby. This book by Charles B. Kastner looks at one runner who entered both years, Eddie Gardner. 

Gardner was one of a handful of Black runners who ran the race and endured harsh racism when the race ran through southern states where Jim Crow laws were in effect, most notably Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.  Kastner does a good job of describing what Gardner and his fellow Black runners faced during that stretch of the run.  It should be noted that the organizers of the race did what they could and when they became aware of discrimination when it came to lodging and meals, they did step up and provide these items, but often it wasn’t enough to offset the emotional toll this would take.

The book also portrays Gardner well, especially when he would show off his “Shiek” outfit while running.  That was simply a towel around his head but his fans, especially those in the Black community, loved it.  It felt like Kastner was trying to elevate Gardner into the same level of importance to the legacy of Black athletes like Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali.  While certainly not in the same level of importance to the acceptance of the Black athlete, Gardner’s story is still one that should be told, finishing 8^th in the 1928 race and was a leading contender in 1929.

While this book told a story that needed to be told, the description of the races repetitive in nature by giving updates on who was in what place at the end of each day’s events.  This was the only part that I didn’t enjoy reading – which is a rarity for me with a sports book.  I usually love the description of the actual action, but in this case, the stories of the runners – Gardner, the Black runners and other contenders – were much better and made the book a good one overall.  

Link: Race across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbies (Sports and Entertainment): Kastner, Charles B.: 9780815635772: Amazon.com: Books

Review of “Sitting Bull Run”

As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend comes to an end, I hope everyone who celebrates enjoyed the food, family, friendship and football. This also marks the end of November, a fairly slow sports reading month for me, but I did find time for this great novel.

Title/Author:

“Sitting Bull Run” by Pat J. Daly

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: It isn’t often a reader can find a book about a high school cross country team, whether fiction or nonfiction. However, author Pat J. Daly has penned an excellent novel about a team on Long Island, New York in the mid-1970’s. It’s a great mix of sport (with great explanations of the scoring, the grueling runs that the athletes endure and even some coaching strategies), coming of age for the young runners, some mystery and even a glimpse at some issues of that time such as the winding down of the Vietnam War.

What makes this novel such an enjoyable read is Daly’s character development, especially of three main characters. A reader will certainly understand the pain that the captain of the team, Dennis Hurley, has been facing. This is true for the physical pain he’s facing during several meets and the manual anguish he has over maintaining silence about a terrible incident over the summer when he and two teammates, the “core” of the team, witnessed a death on parish grounds.

The leader of the Catholic school, Monsignor Cassidy, is also portrayed well, but as the antagonist as he is in line to be named a Bishop and will do anything to keep any bad publicity about the school away from Rome. His means of trying to do so are great reading but maddening at the same time.

The other character that a reader will enjoy is the cross country coach, Jack Hogan. His methods are unconventional, he can be downright cruel to his team and he seems downright maniacal when it comes to fitness and selecting a captain. It’s a good thing that his current captain, Dennis, takes his role seriously.

While these are not the only important characters for the story, they are good examples of how the author took complex characters and the setting of a Catholic school and made a gripping novel that will grab the reader and not let go. This is true whether the book is being read for the sport of cross country, whether the reader likes young adult books about coming of age or just wants to read a good mystery. This novel has it all. 

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

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Sitting-Bull-Run-Jack-Hogan/dp/0996045392/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Tb8k488bc7bhVHKWUnx1vX69xvL9tKqPBx_PodXgEKL5Kl9mUJRU2P4dTn8gdgi5bMlwI_RL1RKwYBxxrQ2iRRpF_mtph4-jPBavr66NAkf3X_QVJs8p6HHxjmntge979BppCTkoGkwHhftRitP4IVwz0_PJzEpVC8zQq1gTWqWPdbUh8UulMJtt6uFQA9LYeVlWjtUn_2BeurJZxHh508Nrq8_sp10SVC3CYrbVfwE.EqNDppw7p-ibDKM9UpJH84B70-ErCc5SlKdQM0i3p9Y&qid=1764550087&sr=8-1 

Review of "Madden & Summerall"

For years, if one wanted to watch the most intriguing match-up of that Sunday's NFL schedule, the viewer would be hearing Pat Summerall and John Madden on the telecast.  This is a very good book on the success of that duo. 

Title/Author:

“Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting” by Rich Podolsky

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

For football fans who watched games on TV in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there were a pair of broadcasters who were assigned to the biggest game played on Sunday: Pat Summerally with the play by play and John Madden as the color commentator.  Their chemistry in the booth was fantastic and made the games must-see TV.  This book by Rich Podolsky offers an in-depth look at both men during their partnership in the booth.

Both of them became well known before pursuing broadcasting.  Summerall had a successful playing career as a kicker, mostly for the New York Giants.  Madden had ten highly successful years as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, capping it off with a victory in Super Bowl XI.  Their pre-broadcasting days are covered quite well by Podolsky.

Their paths to becoming the most popular and successful broadcasting team took different paths and the book takes the reader onto both trails in a very informative and entertaining manner. Summerall was much more comfortable with the transition to the role of broadcaster and had several successful years with his first partner, Tom Brookshire. 

That changed after Madden was hired to do commentary full time after a 4 game audition, one of which was with Summerall.  Madden always expressed his gratitude toward Summerall for helping him through those early days.  When CBS, the network the two worked for at the time, made the decision to replace Brookshire with Madden, it was like a match made in heaven.  Fans, critics and nearly everyone associated with football loved the pairing.

The book doesn’t just talk about the games and broadcasts as many other topics that affected the pair are discussed, for both their professional and personal lives.  On the former, that included when Fox outbid CBS for NFL games in 1994 and the pair went to that network where they remained until Summerall’s last game in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002.  There’s also Madden’s “turducken” (always mentioned on their Thanksgiving Day game), the telestrator and the All-Madden team.

As for their personal stories, those are covered thoroughly as well. From Summerall’s alcoholism and health issues to Madden’s fear of flying and closed spaces, just about everything you want to know about their personal lives (not all of it bad, despite these examples) is covered in the book.  It’s a fun, entertaining and informative read on this iconic broadcasting team.

I wish to thank The Globe Pequot Publishing Group for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting eBook : Podolsky, Rich, Aikman, Troy, Buck, Joe: Kindle Store

Review of "A Hollywood Ending"

It might come as a surprise that I was interested in a book that concentrated on a player AND a team where neither rank high on my favorites of their sport.  But...glad I read it because it was quite interesting.  Here's my review of "A Hollywood Ending"

Title/Author:

“A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers” by Yaron Weitzman

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most prominent sports franchises, have never had an issue to attract star players who want to add an NBA championship to their resumes (additional if they already have one or more) and LeBron James is one of those players.  His time with the Lakers, as well as some of the lead-up to his signing, is well-documented in this book by Yaron Weitzman.

As a basketball fan who is not a big fan of either James (although I do acknowledge he is one of the best players ever) or the Lakers, I expected this to be very critical of both parties.  It wasn’t – I was impressed with how fair Weitzman presented his information. This doesn’t mean everyone is off the hook – especially the children of Dr. Jerry Buss that inherited the team after his death.  There are plenty of critical pieces of both the family, James and other parties such as Klutch, the sports agent conglomeration who represented most notably Anthony Davis. 

There are plenty of complimentary stories about the Lakers and James as well, and together they paint a great picture of how this chapter of Laker history has its ups and downs. The best of the positive pieces is how the team handled themselves in the “bubble” during the pandemic of 2020, when they won their only championship during the LeBron James era.  There’s also the feel-good (to some) story of LeBron playing alongside his son Bronny.  The only downside to the entire book I would say is that the ending feels too abrupt, especially after the trade that brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers – unless there’s another book in the plan for a new “era” in Laker history.

I wish to thank Doubleday for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: Amazon.com: A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers: 9780385550222: Weitzman, Yaron: Books