Review of "Everybody Loses"

Danny Funt’s Everybody Loses is a sharp, deeply reported examination of how America’s sports‑betting boom took hold — and who pays the price. Through policy history, industry insight, and wrenching personal stories, Funt shows just how risky the nation’s wager on legalized gambling truly is. 

Title/Author:

“Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling” by Danny Funt

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

As any sports fan can tell you, it’s now impossible to watch a game — in person or on television — without being bombarded by ads for betting apps and sportsbooks. Why this explosion happened, who pushed it forward, and how it’s reshaping lives across the country are the central questions of Danny Funt’s excellent, deeply researched book Everybody Loses.

Right from the start, Funt makes clear that this moment didn’t arrive by accident. It came from what he calls “an extraordinarily risky gamble: that a nation of sports fans would be better off as a nation of sports gamblers.” The rest of the book is a meticulous, often unsettling exploration of that gamble’s consequences. Funt weaves together stories of addicted bettors, interviews with current and former sportsbook employees, and a close look at how FanDuel and DraftKings have effectively become a duopoly controlling the vast majority of the industry. Every thread reinforces the central idea: this is a wager with enormous human and societal stakes.

One of the most compelling sections examines how sportsbooks treat their two most valuable customer groups — the consistent losers and the rare big winners. The former are courted relentlessly, especially those who lose heavily and often. The latter, labeled “VIPs,” are showered with perks that border on fantasy fulfillment. If you’re a baseball fan whose team just reached the World Series and you’ve wagered at least $5,000 a week, you might find yourself whisked to the Fall Classic on the company’s dime. But if you start winning too much, the tone shifts quickly: frozen accounts, revoked bonuses, vanished VIP privileges. Funt makes clear that the system is designed so that bettors, no matter how savvy, rarely come out ahead.

Importantly, Funt doesn’t place all the blame on the sportsbooks themselves. He traces how professional leagues — once staunch opponents of gambling — reversed course when they realized how much money was being left on the table and how widespread betting already was. He also details the political and legal forces that accelerated the industry’s rise, most notably the Supreme Court’s 2018 Murphy v. NCAA decision, which opened the door for states to legalize sports betting at a rapid pace.

These examples represent only a fraction of the ground Funt covers. Everybody Loses is comprehensive without ever feeling dense, and accessible without sacrificing nuance. Whether you’re interested in the human toll of gambling addiction, the political machinery behind legalization, or the inner workings of the industry itself, this book delivers an informative, balanced, and highly readable account of how sports gambling became a defining feature of modern American fandom.

An excellent read — and an important one.

Link:  Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling - Kindle edition by Funt, Danny. Humor & Entertainment Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

Review of "The W"

Tamryn Spruill’s The W: A History of the WNBA offers a rich, narrative-driven account of how the league survived early challenges, evolved through franchise upheaval, and emerged as a powerful cultural force. Her reporting balances celebration, critique, and social context, making the book both informative and engaging. For anyone interested in the WNBA’s history and impact, this is essential reading.

Title/Author:

“The W: A History of the WNBA: How the WNBA Survived, Evolved and Changed Professional Sports: by Tamryn Spruill

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

Women’s basketball has never been more popular, and the WNBA is currently enjoying some of the strongest attendance and viewership numbers in its history. In The W: A History of the WNBA, Tamryn Spruill guides readers through a comprehensive and engaging chronicle of the league’s evolution.

Spruill begins with the league’s launch in 1997, noting that the WNBA entered the landscape alongside the rival American Basketball League (ABL), and that the NBA’s financial support was crucial in the W’s early years. Each chapter follows a consistent and effective pattern: off‑season developments, franchise movement, draft selections, season highlights, playoff results, and award winners. Presented in a narrative rather than statistical format, this structure makes the history accessible and enjoyable.

A standout element of the book is Spruill’s reporting on franchises that folded, relocated, or emerged. She praises owners and league leadership when warranted and does not shy away from criticism when she believes poor decisions or injustices occurred. Her discussion of the Houston Comets—winners of the league’s first four championships—ceasing operations due to ownership issues is particularly compelling, as is her later coverage of the league’s handling of the Connecticut Sun sale and the planned return of the Comets in 2027.

Spruill also addresses the WNBA’s role in social justice movements, from Black Lives Matter to women’s rights, while examining moments when league leadership appeared out of step with its players. Although most of her arguments are grounded in factual reporting, there are a few instances where her conclusions feel less certain. One example is her framing of the Sacramento Monarchs’ demise as evidence of sexism in sports; given the long history of owners leveraging taxpayer-funded arenas across all professional leagues, that situation felt more like a familiar sports-business standoff than a gendered injustice.

These moments are rare, and Spruill’s overall approach to difficult subjects is thoughtful, well-supported, and illuminating. For anyone interested in the WNBA—its past, present, and future—this book is highly recommended.

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

Link: Amazon.com: The W: A History of the WNBA: How the WNBA Survived, Evolved, and Changed Professional Sports: 9781419758812: Spruill, Tamryn: Books

Review of "Moses and the Doctor"

Luke Epplin’s Moses and the Doctor is a smart, lively, and deeply researched look at Julius Erving and Moses Malone—two Hall of Fame greats who helped shape the NBA’s rise but rarely get their due. Epplin blends history, personality, and humor as he traces their ABA roots, their contrasting paths to stardom, and their unforgettable partnership on the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers. Basketball fans of any era will find new insights and plenty of joy in these pages.

Title/Author:

“Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship and the Birth of Modern Basketball” by Luke Epplin

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

Luke Epplin’s Moses and the Doctor is a rich, deeply researched, and thoroughly entertaining reconsideration of two Hall of Fame giants who helped shape professional basketball’s rise in the 1980s: Julius Erving and Moses Malone. While Bird, Magic, and Jordan usually dominate the conversation about the NBA’s boom years, Epplin makes a compelling case that Erving and Malone deserve far more credit—both for their brilliance and for the ways their careers bridged the ABA’s renegade creativity with the NBA’s emerging mainstream appeal.

Epplin traces their early paths through the ABA, where Erving became a cultural phenomenon with his soaring, improvisational style, even if few fans actually saw him play on television. Malone, meanwhile, broke barriers as the first player to sign professionally straight out of high school, grinding through unstable franchises while quietly developing into one of the most intelligent and relentless centers the sport has ever seen. Epplin’s portrayal of Malone is especially strong, dismantling long‑standing misconceptions about his personality and intellect.

Once the ABA folded into the NBA, their trajectories diverged—Erving becoming the polished superstar of the Philadelphia 76ers, Malone bouncing from Portland to Buffalo before blossoming into a two‑time MVP in Houston. All of this background sets the stage for the book’s most compelling section: the unlikely pairing of these two contrasting stars when Malone signed with Philadelphia in 1982 for a then‑record contract.

Epplin shines here, capturing the humor, tension, and surprising evolution of their relationship. The book is filled with laugh‑out‑loud quotes, sharp reporting, and memorable anecdotes, including Malone’s famous “Fo’, Fo’, Fo’” prediction (accurately rendered as “Four, Four, Four”) that nearly came true during the 76ers’ dominant 1983 championship run. Epplin also illustrates how both men subtly swapped public personas—Erving becoming quieter and more introspective, Malone stepping into a more vocal leadership role.

For fans of that era, this is a wonderfully nostalgic trip, but even die‑hard basketball junkies will learn something new. I certainly did—I had no idea Malone nearly backed out of the deal to join Philadelphia because Caldwell Jones was no longer on the roster. Details like that make this book a standout.

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

Link:  Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball: Epplin, Luke: 9780306833496: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "A Soaring Season"

 As I work on the never-ending task of catching up on my TBR pile, I pulled out this one that the author sent to me nearly a year ago.  Under the category of "better late than never", I read it as it was a quick and good read on one of the "Cinderella" college basketball teams fans get to see every now and then.  

Title/Author:

“A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003-04 St. Joseph’s Hawks” by Aaron Bracy

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

College basketball has had its share of teams, mainly from smaller schools, go on unbelievable runs during a season to get far into the championship tournament otherwise known as March Madness.  This book by Aaron Bracy tells the story of one of these teams, the 2003-04 St. Joseph’s Hawks.  For those not familiar with the fate of the team, skip this sentence – the Hawks made it to the Elite Eight, losing a heartbreaking game to Oklahoma State 64-62, denying them a trip to the Final Four.

Located in Philadelphia, the Hawks made their run on two future first-round draft choices of NBA teams.  Jameer Nelson and Delonte West were the stars of this team and were the clear leaders.  Nelson was also named as the national Player of the Year in college basketball that season.  However, as basketball is a team game, it also took contributions from many players and coaches.  This is the strength of this book as Bracy did a very good job of not only providing information on every player and coach (and even the mascot) but also ensuring that contributions by them were included in every game summary.

The book follows a very familiar format for books describing one season for a team, no matter the sport or the level (college, pro, amateur, etc.).  The book starts with a cliffhanger scene from the Oklahoma State game, then goes on to give the back story of how they built the team, mainly concentrating on West, Nelson and the head coach Phil Martelli. Then the book goes into the season with a game-by-game account that is typical for this genre, but as mentioned, will go beyond just the stars and provide highlights and quotes from other players as well.  Once the games are completed, there is a wrap up of the season and a “where are they now” section for each of the key contributors.

While this book wasn’t much different than other books that capture a special season, I did enjoy reliving the story of this team that caught the attention of many basketball fans, including myself.  I remember the Oklahoma State game quite well and Nelson lying on the floor after just missing the shot that would have tied the game, then sitting up with his knees up and staring out in disbelief that it was all over.  That was captured in one of the many very good passages on the players by the author.

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

Link: A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks: Bracy, Aaron, Lunardi, Joe: 9781955041430: Amazon.com: Books

Review of “Heartland”

The strong start to 2026 for my reading continues with this excellent book on Larry Bird’s time at Indiana State and stories about his teammates there as well. 

Title/Author:

“Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream and the Miracle of Larry Bird” by Keith O’Brien

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: 

Before Larry Bird became a legendary NBA player with the Boston Celtics, he was an All-American player for the Indiana State Sycamores, a basketball program very few knew about before Bird’s arrival. The story of Bird’s path to the Terre Haute campus and the Sycamores’ magical 1978-79 season is told in this excellent book by Keith O’Brien.

Much like his other books, most notably his biography of Pete Rose, O’Brien conducts hundreds of interviews with people involved in Bird’s life. They can be family, teammates, other acquaintances or even someone who had a brief encounter or event with Bird. An example of this is that O’Brien interviewed the two Indiana State cheerleaders who appeared with Bird on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1977. At that time, getting on that cover was very prestigious. Getting the perspective of that event from these two women is just one example of the depth of the book.

O’Brien has also shown in other books that storytelling is one of the strengths of his writing and this book has plenty of stories. Whether these are from coaches such as Bob King and Bill Hodges the two coaches for Indiana State during Bird’s time there (King had to give up coaching due to health issues and Hodges, who was on King’s staff, took over those duties), from teammates such as Carl Nicks and Bob Helton, or even people from Bird’s hometown of French Lick, Indiana, these paint a fascinating picture of Bird during this time frame.

The book not only covers the Indiana State basketball team, but also a deeper look at Bird’s life before he reluctantly agreed to go with King to visit the campus. It is known that he originally intended to attend Indiana and play for legendary coach Bob Knight there, but he grew depressed and lonely there and did not play a game for the Hoosiers. This, along with other parts of his personal life such as a short marriage that resulted in a daughter being born, his father’s suicide and his time working for the town as a garbage collector are also chronicled here. No matter what Bird was doing at that point, O’Brien describes it well and completely.

The book is an easy read and is broken up into many smaller chapters, making it easy to digest and finish in a short amount of time. Any basketball fan will enjoy this book on one of the true legends of the game. 

I wish to thank Atria 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/Heartland-Forgotten-Place-Impossible-Miracle/dp/166821170X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 

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  

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

Review of “On Her Game"

It’s been awhile since I last posted a review here, but that’s because I have read books on other subjects the past week and a half - shocking, I know. So, to get back on track, I listened to an audiobook written and narrated by Christine Brennan, a sportswriter I have followed and admired for a long time. More of her good work is on display here in this book on Caitlin Clark. 

Title/Author: “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports” written and narrated by Christine Brennan

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent) 

Review: Basketball had never seen such interest and conversation (both good and bad) in one player like the attention given to Caitlin Clark from the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final to the end of the 2024 WNBA season. This book by accomplished sportswriter Christine Brennan is an excellent account of Clark’s accomplishments on the court and all of the attention her play and presence received off the court.

Brennan also narrates the audio version of the book, which really enhances some of the content. This is most evident when she twice mentions controversial topics about Clark in which she (Brennan) wrote about in her column. One was the decision by USA Basketball to leave Clark off the 2024 U.S. Olympic team, a decision that shocked many. Another involved Brennan interviewing DiJonai Carrington, then of the Connecticut Sun (now a member of the Minnesota Lynx) about an unintentional poke in the eye on Clark. Why that’s notable is that Carrington, her Sun teammates and later the players union called for the banishment of Brennan due to the insensitivity of her questioning.

These two issues are just a very small sample of what Brennan writes about on the “bad” publicity around the attention given to Clark. But there is so much more good about the young star from Iowa that Clark fans - which Brennan frequently reminds are many - should love to read about. Whether it’s her play on the court, her poise when answering questions at press conferences, or the attention she receives from opposing players on the court or elsewhere, the book does a great job of making the reader understand Clark better. It also begs the question, which Brennan does ask at least indirectly, of why Clark is not better supported by the league. She was quickly embraced by her teammates - the stories of Clark’s interactions with Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston are great. 

This is just a small sample of the type of information on Caitlin Clark that any women’s basketball fan will want to absorb. Whether they are long time fans of the women’s game like I am or they are brand new to the sport and became a fan due to Clark, this book is for them. 

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Her-Game-Caitlin-Revolution-Womens/dp/1668090198/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EKogTfL8Y9ZHfljcb_rQ0-31jynunpS9O1eIcFQMAuZJf_CnLStv4hUtTHPXS2AUcIBWPes9i0WfGLve_AJySYsUIk6BxQMD8orWrpCBwuc9RAhIEd_dXcbroGfFw3lETvJj-Y0R2g7IJ_F8svlRgxksR5WYPxfjO0viaGD8qxWPvTlRJwW_VqHnNQTVgtxTXN55twMvx5gRJeA-tmyikqnS4yIeXVkCwKOYz0AWF4U.0cowJANWEE-KigTD9OQ01kS2zneOZ7iqyShBQyZ9ctY&qid=1761605830&sr=8-1 

Review of "Game Changer"

Normally, the books I read about the business side of sports are about labor disputes.  This one instead focuses on on the work of a team's general manager.  It's a very good description of the job. 

Title/Author:

“Game Changer” by Bob Whitsett

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good) 

Review:

If someone followed professional sports in the Pacific Northwest during the 1990’s, chances are good that he or she has heard of Bob Whitsett. He was the general manager for the two NBA teams in that region at the time, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Portland Trail Blazers.  Plus, for a short time, he was also the GM of the Seattle Seahawks.  All of this work made him one of the more prominent front office personnel at the time and he writes about this work in this memoir.

The most interesting story of the book, in my opinion, was the work he did to keep the Seahawks in Seattle.  For those who were not aware or did not follow football at that time, the team threatened to move to Anaheim unless Seattle built the team a new stadium. Whitsett worked hard to secure the votes to get the stadium, negotiated contracts (his arrangement to sign two players in the midst of the campaign for the new stadium was very good) and still ran the Trail Blazers at that time. It shows just how much multitasking that he was doing.

Multitasking is a good word to describe what Whitsett writes about, as he was constantly at work – or so it seemed.  Whether it was contract negotiations, putting out fires, public relations, working with players or a multitude of other tasks, Whitsett was on top of his work.  It goes with his upbringing, and he started out in the business by doing anything needed.  As he called it, he started as a “gopher” with the Indiana Pacers and worked his way up, becoming one of the youngest GM’s in the NBA when he got the job with the SuperSonics.

One of the big topics he has in the book is negotiations. On this topic, I do believe that this topic had the best stories and also included a nice checklist for anyone who has to do negotiating in their job. While each skill he describes is explained by how he handled contract negotiations with players and their agents, they had great tips for everyone else as well.  Also, he had a great story about his first draft choice signing, Clark Kellogg.  Kellogg was a first round draft choice by the Pacers, but at the time, the team didn’t have enough revenue to pay Kellogg the going rate for a first round draft choice. As Whitsett could only amount one maximum amount and let Kellogg and his agent know this, he nonetheless signed the player. How he pulled it off is an excellent tale on how one can still accomplish their negotiating goals. An excellent book by an excellent sports executive

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

Link: Amazon.com: Game Changer: An Insider's Story of the Sonics’ Resurgence, the Trail Blazers’ Turnaround, and the Deal that Saved the Seahawks: 9781959411260: Whitsitt, Bob: Books

Review of “Losing Isn’t Everything”

On a recent business trip to Boston, about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive for me, I had time to listen to an audiobook and chose this one as it sounded interesting- it was.  Here is my review. 

Title/Author: “Losing Isn’t Everything: The Untold Stories and Hidden Lessons Behind the Toughest Losses in Sports History” written and narrated by Curt Menefee 

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Whenever a memorable moment happens in sports in which there is a winner and a loser, the winner is usually remembered over the years. But not always - sometimes the losing team, player or in individual sports, a performance where the athlete failed to perform as expected, is remembered just as much. This book by Curt Menefee, who also narrates the audio book, tells their story.

Each one follows a pretty standard format - the setting is set, the athlete featured is highlighted. Then the moment happens and how he or she handled that ignominy is the bulk of the material. This would include not only in the immediate aftermath of the event, but how that person has carried on in the following months and years. Many of the stories also started to feel the same as most of them were able to do fine, but almost to a person, it did upset them at least a little that that particular play was all that was remembered. 

The best example of that last statement would be Everton Walls, who was the safety pictured on the famous photo of “The Catch” by the San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark. The other extreme example of this - where the athlete is perfectly fine with what happened - is Jean van de Velde, whose infamous 72nd hole at the 1999 British Open cost him a major title. Van de Velde has always maintained that yes, he lost, but he lost by attempting the shots he wanted to do. 

This book is interesting in not only the content of all of these stories, but for the wide variety of sports that is covered. Snowboarding (Lindsey Jacobellis, whose extra move cost her a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics), speed skating (Dan Jansen, who fell at two Olympics before finally winning in 1994) and track (Mary Decker and her fall in the 1984 Summer Olympics) and covered as well as football, baseball and basketball. 

From Craig Ehlo to the 1992 Kentucky "Unforgettables" and from Rodney Harrison to Calvin Schiraldi, many memorable moments are covered and this book covers the other part of them 

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Isnt-Everything-Stories-Toughest/dp/0062440071/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0