Review of "Ant"

Having been a fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves since their debut season of 1989-90, of course I wanted to read this book.  Not only because of the subject matter, but also because of the author, who has been a very good beat writer for the team the last 7 years.  Here is my review of "Ant." 

Title/Author:

“Ant: The Incredible Journey of NBA Rising Star Anthony Edwards” by Chris Hine

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Anthony Edwards has propelled both himself and his team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, into levels of fame and prosperity that neither had ever occupied before.  However, for Edwards, his personality and approach to relationships with people and how he handles them have not changed drastically since he was a young boy.  This book by Timberwolves beat writer Chris Hine takes an in-depth look at Edwards’ path to where he is today.

The first section of the book focuses primarily on Edwards’ outstanding performance in a different sport, football.  While he eventually switched to basketball, the lessons learned in football on how to handle adversity, how to interact properly with coaches, teammates and other people in general, and who he can trust and not trust. The latter especially came into good use as Edwards’ star took off in basketball during his high school days. It should also be noted that he was often described by people who knew him well and were interviewed by Hine as one who was an “old soul” (a term used several time) because he would be asking inquisitive questions and say statements that just were not expected to be spoken by someone at a young age.

When writing about Edwards’ college and professional career (all 4 seasons in the book with the Timberwolves), Hine followed the same pattern of writing about Edwards’ interactions with people, whether coaches, teammates, his “inner circle” or other similar people important in his life. Even well after they passed away, his mother and grandmother were still important influences in his life.  While many, including myself, may remember the pictures of those two women next to him when the Timberwolves made Edwards the #1 pick of the 2020 NBA draft, it is noteworthy to see how much he still values their wisdom and guidance.

While there is some writing about the action on the court, especially during the Timberwolves’ 2024 run to the Western Conference Finals (the last season the book covers), this book focuses much more on Edwards the person instead of Edwards the basketball player and as a result, readers should learn a lot about the young man who is becoming one of the iconic faces of the NBA today.  This is true no matter how closely the reader follows the Timberwolves, the NBA or basketball in general.  

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

Link: Ant: The Incredible Journey of NBA Rising Star Anthony Edwards: Hine, Chris: 9780063438958: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Tales from the Minnesota Sports Beat"

While I may not be living in Minnesota any longer, I still read the Star Tribune sports page daily online and was thrilled to learn one of the long-time writers there, Patrick Reusse has written a memoir.  Of course I had to get a copy and it was as good as I had hoped.  Here is my review of his memoir. 

Title/Author: “Tales from the Minnesota Sports Beat: A Lifetime on Deadline” by Patrick Reusse with Chip Scroggins

Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:  Many cities have a sports broadcaster or sportswriter who over the years become very familiar to the fans of that city.  Often they are recognized when one states just either their first or last name.  In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Patrick Reusse is one of those sports writers as one just needs to say “Reusse!” and fans will know not only who that is but will have both an opinion and a memory or two about him.  Reusse, who has been a sportswriter in Minnesota since 1965, teams up with Chip Scroggins to produce this excellent memoir.

No matter which sport or team is the favorite of a Minnesota sports fan (including this reviewer), Reusse will have seen them, written about them and includes them in this book.  He does share his preferences on which sports he prefers to write about (baseball and golf are his favorites), which sports he admits to covering but not knowing much about it (hockey and figure skating) and a sport that he initially knew nothing about but became a big fan (volleyball).  He writes about these in the same style in which he has written his column for many years – some are flattering, some are biting and some are humorous but all are clearly written from the heart.

As one would expect, he has plenty of stories with his interactions with not only some of the best athletes around but also with other sportswriters and other notable personalities.  Because some of the stories come from a different time, he does note that when some of them took place, certain comments and actions would not be likely to be taken well today.  While the stories with athletes are great and some brought back some nice memories of sports events, the best ones were about other journalists.  His tales of pranks played on another long time Minnesota sports writer, Sid Hartman, left me in stitches.

Reusse not only worked for the newspapers in both cities, but he was also a radio personality for many years.  He teamed up with another sportswriter, Joe Soucheray, for a Monday night sports talk show (originally on Sunday night) that took on a personality of its own, attracted many regular callers and was a can’t miss event that had the ears of many Twin Cities residents.  In this chapter, Reusse is at his most humble self, giving all the credit to Soucheray for the success of the show.  As one who was a regular listener before leaving the area, I can state that it took both to make that show as good as it was.  Something in the book that Reusse states that seems amazing is that neither of them came in with a specific topic in mind to discuss – they simply let the callers drive the program.  Whatever they did, it certainly worked.

Of course, there are sports stories in the book.  Whether it was the good times, such as the two World Series titles for the Twins in 1987 and 1991, the bad times such as the Vikings’ loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the 1999 NFC Championship (he came up with the name of the famous “Weeping Blondes” photo from that game) or the background stories of various teams, such as the football team for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 1960’s, Reusse covers it all.  If there is something the reader remembers about Minnesota sports in the last 55 or so years, chances are Reusse has written about it or was there in some manner.  Minnesota sports fans, whether they are fans of Reusse or or think he’s just a curmudgeon, should pick up this book as it is sure to be one that will contain at least some material that will be pleasing to them.

I wish to thank Minnesota Historical Society Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Links:   Tales from the Minnesota Sports Beat: A Lifetime on Deadline: Reusse, Patrick, Scoggins, Chip, Barreiro, Dan: 9781681342306: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "Built to Lose"

A hot topic in sports today is "tanking" - purposely losing in order to improve a team's draft position in their respective sport.  While it is talked about in all the major sports, this book concentrates on basketball and the NBA and does a good job of teaching the reader the management and culture of those teams who have engaged in the practice.  Here is my review of "Built to Lose."

Title/Author: “Built to Lose: How the NBA’s Tanking Era Changed the League Forever” by Jake Fisher

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:  In basketball, more than any other professional sport, one draft pick can make or break a team’s future success.  Therefore, draft picks, or more correctly, draft capital, are considered a very valuable commodity.  Because the NBA draft lottery does not guarantee that the worst teams will get the first pick, some teams may want to accumulate draft capital in addition to losing more games, known as “tanking”, in order to improve their draft position.  How this was done by some NBA franchises in the five year period between 2013 to 2018 is chronicled in this very good book by Jake Fisher.

Fisher conducted many interviews with players, coaches and team management personnel to collect the information and stories he uses throughout the book and it provides very good insight into the workings of those teams who sought to improve their draft capital.  While several teams are discussed in the book, the primary focus was on the Philadelphia 76ers and their “process”, as it was called, in obtaining draft capital at the expense of wins.  They came very close to breaking their own record for the worst full season but did get some valuable picks. 

Other teams include two that might surprise people – the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.  While both of those storied franchises may not come to mind when the subject is tanking, they did fit the profile that Fisher gives to teams who may lose many games, trade veteran players for draft picks or realize that it may be more beneficial to try to gain draft capital instead of chasing a low playoff spot.  The results are mixed – the Celtics and Lakers did not take long to go back to their winning ways while others, such as the 76ers (on the rise, but not a champion yet) or the Minnesota Timberwolves (still struggling at the time of the book’s publication) have not seen the fruits of this type of management.

While the book is a good look at this type of management of a basketball franchise, the stories jump around and at times it’s hard to keep up with all the different names and stories being discussed.  Because of that, no one team’s experience is described fully.  Not even the 76ers’ story could be considered complete here.  There is another book on their process that is recommended if the reader wants to know more about them specifically – “Tanking to the Top” by Yaron Weitzman.  But if a reader wants to learn more about this type of management in a more general sense, this is good reference.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Built-Lose-Tanking-Changed-Forever-ebook/dp/B091FVVKFR/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1647543251&sr=1-1