SPORTING READS
ASTERISK-HOME RUNS, STEROIDS and RUSH TO JUDGEMENT-David Ezra
If you’re Jose Canseco, you believe a player who hits 24 more home runs than he ever hit before must be using steroids, especially if he gained a lot of weight during the off-season. If you’re Turk Wendell, the steroid use was clear ‘just seeing his body.’” But the outfielder we have been talking about isn’t Barry Bonds, it’s George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth. Early in his career Babe Ruth weighed around 185 pounds. In his last year with the Red Sox (1919), he hit .322 and slugged 29 home runs. But he quickly went from that 185-pound toothpick to a very solid 225 pounds and that was in his prime, long before he swelled up to the 250 pound behemoth we see in some of the old photos. The new and larger Babe, playing for the Yankees in 1920, hit an unprecedented 54 home runs while batting .376. Steroids? We know Ruth did a lot of crazy things, but not steroids.” Where you initially thinking it was Barry Bonds? David Ezra does a solid job of causing you to at least contemplate the fact that Barry Bonds may be a victim of his own personality flaws. Could Barry Bonds actually be the greatest Home Run hitter of all time because he outworked everyone in the offseasons? Ezra presents a fair argument that Bond’s weight gain was gradual and not 40 lbs of muscle in one season as other books report. Look at a picture of Michael Jordan when he first entered the league and then when he retired for the final time, two very different bodies. Asterisk is extremely detailed and at times Ezra repeats the same facts over and over, which to be blunt is quite annoying. However, if you have an open mind and can place Bond’s grating personality to the side, then this may be the book for you!
Read it only if you can have an open mind, if not this book is not for you!
HERO OF THE UNDERGROUND
-Jason Peter
I actually felt discomfort and nausea (could possibly be attributed to 8.5 months of pregnancy) as I read his in-depth accounts of life and his downward spiral from All-America, Co-captain of a National Championship team, first round draft pick in the NFL and finally ex-NFL player. He chronicles his drug use with such clarity and detail it is almost difficult to accept that he was high on cocaine or heroin because his recall is so astoundingly detailed.
Jason Peter writes his story of every kid’s dream turning into every parent’s nightmare with absolute brutal honesty. I am not condoning his choices in life, but rather applauding him for having the guts to put into words what most people would never admit to themselves, let alone their family or the public. His story kept leading me back to the same question: is the adulation and God like status heaped on players at major athletic programs leaving some with the feeling that there is nowhere to go but down?
Read it!!
WAR AS THEY KNEW IT-Michael Rosenberg
Easy to read book, covering the Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler eras at Ohio State and U of Michigan. Provides a great look into their lives, football philosophy and personal beliefs. Brings you back to a time where Coaches were in charge and players actually listened. Also covers much of the campus and political unrest that was occuring during the Vietnam war and how Coach Hayes responded. The leadup to the OSU vs UM game each year is chronicled and you actually believe that you know what its like to attend this rivalry game. Of course in less you have actually been, you can never know the true excitement.
I enjoyed the book because it wasn’t simply a play by play of each and every game; as a fan you want to know about the people, the places and their experiences and Rosenberg combines all into this book.
Read it!
LIVING ON THE BLACK-John Feinstein
For the most part I have been a fan of many of the books that John Feinstein has written, however this is one I could have done without reading. He follows Mike Mussina of the Yankees and Tom Glavine of the Mets during the 2007 season. At times the book is insightful, but for the most part I found it extremely long and arduous. I suggest only reading LIVING ON THE BLACK if you are a die hard fan of either of these pitchers. Or just read the first few chapters and then skip to the end!
Only Read it if you have a few weeks to spare and nothing else to do!
