Anybody who grew up on ESPN has to read this book. I picked it up on Friday morning before I flew up to Connecticut for a week with the gf and her family and I've already been yelled at several times for not being able to put it down.

It pretty much uses quotes (most of them long ones in the form of very short stories) to fill up 750 pages on the history of ESPN. The "authors" will put in little pieces of information after a series of quotes to kind of pull all the preceding quotes together...but it's basically all first hand stuff from the people who started ESPN and helped it grow into what it is today.

There's a lot of juicy stuff which they've been leaking to sell the books (mailroom boys using an ESPN exec's NYC apartment to pimp out hot secretaries just for one example). And although that stuff is fun to read, the best parts involve the people behind the scenes.

I started at the age of about 7 or 8 and watched ESPN religiously...getting up at 6 am so I could get ready for school and still have time to catch a full hour of Sportscenter before I had to leave and never missing the 11pm show with Keith and Dan and later Craig. I learned a lot of stuff in the first quarter of the book (which was still amazing), but now it's all really hitting home. I'm halfway through and it's hitting the first X-game.

I repeat...MUST-READ for ESPN fans.

6/5/2011 3:22:42 PM

You guys really need to read this. Finished it a couple days ago. First 3/4 of the book is probably the most interesting with the chronological history of how ESPN became what it is today (interesting to read the behind the scenes on negotiations for NFL/NASCAR/MLB/etc deals) and how little things made huge differences in building the ESPN brand.

Last 1/4 of book included a lot of the more recent scandals (Harold Reynolds, Philips, Andrews, Kornheiser, etc).

750 pages of quotes. I don't know how it worked, but it did. People really opened up. A lot of shit talking about each other (Olbermann must be the most hated man in ESPN history...and maybe the most brilliant).

6/10/2011 12:30:48 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuYvKLZXKhI

6/10/2011 12:39:49 PM

What's the story behind Keith Olbermann? I started watching SportsCenter religiously around 97. That's what I consider the Golden Age of SportsCenter. Sports Center is total ass today. They will never get back what they had with Dan Patrick, Kenny Mayne, and Rich Eisen. I've heard almost all of them talk about the controversy surrounding K.O. but I never heard the full story.

[Edited on June 10, 2011 at 12:42 PM. Reason : lol @ Bullet]

6/10/2011 12:41:45 PM

He's one of those individuals who is convinced they are right about everything, and the fact that you can't see that makes you an imbecile, and he's a complete dick to work with. (at least, this is the characterization)

However, he gets away with it because it turns out, most of the time he does have the right idea. (Early in his career, at least)

6/10/2011 12:51:12 PM

I read it. Pretty good, drags near the end though. The 80s is the most interesting part.

6/10/2011 12:57:11 PM

how much discussion is there of Berman hitting on and getting rejected by various females in the production staff?

6/10/2011 12:57:54 PM

^There was one small blub about Kornheiser calling out Berman years ago about using a corny line involving "leather" to pick up a girl in Minnesota. No extra details, but Berman and Kornheiser don't get along. Apparently Tirico hated Kornheiser as well. I actually respect Kornheiser a lot more after reading this book.

As for Berman...I expected a lot more dirt on him. He was mentioned a lot as someone who thinks he's a God at ESPN. I think he did a lot of good for them early, but now he's just a figurehead. Lot of, "yeah...well Berman is Berman, I don't really pay attention to him."

6/10/2011 1:04:12 PM

There have been follow ups to that story that insist that Berman never said that, and Kornheiser has just been banging on that drum because he's a dick like that.

I for one believe Berman said it. Look at him. I bet when he gets liquored up he's a hound.

6/10/2011 1:07:31 PM

Does it talk about the Whalers contract?

6/10/2011 1:09:58 PM

Quote :

"using a corny line involving "leather" to pick up a girl in Minnesota"

This is new to you?

6/10/2011 1:14:56 PM

hey leather, you're with me.

I bet kornheiser is a supreme douche.

6/10/2011 1:21:49 PM

^^

No, I was just answering the poster's question. But good job on your daily goal of being a prick.

6/10/2011 1:34:17 PM

I just wish I could've seen jbrick's face when he logged in after five days and probably expected a good number of replies.

But petty lols aside, I plan to check this out shortly as well.

6/10/2011 2:07:18 PM

^True. I actually kept checking on it with the smart phone while I was up north. I figured it would get a little interest from the more decorated Sports Talk posters like yourself and Ernie...but I was going to wait until I completely finished the book to add more myself.

But this topic isn't an ego booster. I really really really enjoyed this book. And anyone who is a major "sports buff" now, had to have grown up on ESPN. And if you did, then you will love this book.

6/10/2011 2:32:40 PM

i'll get it on Kindle... sounds like a good read.

6/10/2011 2:36:43 PM

The thing with KO was he was a little bitch that everyone hated and no one liked to work with. He would rip anyone that he didn't like but was really thin-skinned. But he was really, really good at his job. I read an excerpt about him being asked to write a several minute on-air memorial when Mickey Mantle died. Apparently he wrote it in like 15 minutes and it was full of obscure stats that any normal sports writer would have spent hours looking up.

When he finally left everyone was glad he was gone. Too bad he was such a douche. He was great on SportsCenter.

Same thing happened at MSNBC.

6/10/2011 2:42:36 PM

Quote :

"I read an excerpt about him being asked to write a several minute on-air memorial when Mickey Mantle died. Apparently he wrote it in like 15 minutes and it was full of obscure stats that any normal sports writer would have spent hours looking up."

Yeah...that was impressive.

There wasn't a lot of gray area in the book about KO. Everyone hated him, but everyone also respected his work and thought he was a genius. It was funny reading everyone's own personal KO story where he was being a dick.

I also completely forgot that they tried to make him the figurehead of ESPN2 where he wore that god-awful leather jacket. ESPN2 was very interesting in the beginning.

6/10/2011 2:47:31 PM

ESPN2's original graphics are one of the lost treasures of television. Bringing them back for the X Games and College Basketball would be a godsend.

6/10/2011 3:05:11 PM