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Five sports books to check out
As I wrote last month to introduce this occasional book discussion series, I've long been obsessed with books of all sorts. And the sports world alone is filled with fascinating ones. I'm planning to keep highlighting as many as I can, from upcoming to recently-released to older ones worth a look. Here are five on my mind this month if you're looking for any post-Christmas gifts for yourself or others:
Iron In The Blood, by Jay Busbee
Released this fall, available now.
I'm biased on this one because Jay is a great guy who has long been fantastic to me, whether as a somewhat-colleague at Yahoo (I worked on the Canadian side from 2010-17, while he's had an incredible run with the American side since 2008), someone I hung out with at the Blogs With Balls events, and even an interview subject (I spoke to him about his Home Turn special with NASCAR earlier this year). His long-running (free!) Flashlight and a Biscuit newsletter is also always a great read on sports, food, music, and the South. But even if I had no personal connection to the author, I would still love this book on the history of the Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl and what it means; Jay has the perfect background to cover this rivalry and its implications for people with widely varying levels of exposure to it, and he does a great job of presenting a detailed and entertaining history with a terrific variety of perspectives.
That Deserves A Wow, by Chris Myers and Travis Thrasher
Released last November, available now.
Myers' memoir is simply one of the best sports books I've read, especially for those with an interest in sports media. There have been a remarkable amount of crazy things he's been involved with, from ESPN coverage of the 1989 World Series earthquake and 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl proposal, and he's shown incredible national longevity in a huge amount of roles across ESPN and Fox Sports. But this isn't just a listing of what Myers has done; he provides great insider perspective and details (especially relevant to the sports media interested) on these and many more moments, and also tells his own remarkable career story (from fake radio calls through local radio and TV to national work) with both insight and humility. I spoke to him on it in much more detail for Awful Announcing last year. This one is a strong recommendation.
Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate, by Gary Myers
Released this September, available now.
There have obviously been lots of words and books written about both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick over the years, but Myers' work here stands out for a few reasons. For one thing, as famed sportswriter Peter King said in his praise for the book, "There is no definitive answer here, just the best compendium of continuing education you'll read on the two men." Indeed, while there are plenty of interviewees in the book who make their own cases for the coach or the quarterback as more important, the book overall stands out for the new perspectives it provides (including from Belichick himself, Bill Parcells, Tom Brady Sr., and more, and even figures like former Jets' LB Mo Lewis, who discusses how he feels about being blamed for Brady's rise thanks to the hit he delivered on Drew Bledsoe) and the way it lets readers mull and evaluate those. Regardless of your opinion on which central figure you find more important, there's interesting material here for you. And with both Belichick and Brady still major sports figures in their newest roles with North Carolina and Fox Sports, the information here is quite relevant going forward as well.
The Year of the Rocket, by Paul Woods
Released in 2021, available now.
Sticking with football, but a somewhat different kind, the Canadian Football League has long been my favourite league to closely follow. And beyond its many current interesting dimensions, there's a lot of great and wacky CFL history. A particularly notable element there comes from the brief time in the 1990s where the Toronto Argonauts were owned by John Candy, Wayne Gretzky, and Bruce McNall, and where they outbid the NFL for Rocket Ismail. And veteran journalist and CFL chronicler Paul Woods (whose earlier Bouncing Back I also loved) does a phenomenal job of exploring that era in Year of the Rocket, hitting not just the highs and lows, but providing excellent detail on all the key points that happened along the way.
Back from the Dead, by Bill Walton
Released in 2017, available now.
Let's jump over to basketball for another remarkable memoir. Like Myers, Walton was involved in an amazing series of events throughout his life, from playing for John Wooden (almost his polar opposite in many ways, but someone who still deeply inspired him) at UCLA to starring in the NBA to a remarkable run as one of the most unique basketball commentators out there. And Back from the Dead covers all that in interesting style, but is also fascinating for how deeply it dives into Walton's devastating 2008 spinal injury, his recovery from that, and what kept him going through the hard times. It's also notable for its coverage of Walton's long-running love for and interactions with the Grateful Dead, and what that band and its members meant to him throughout his life. For those with any interest in Walton's life and career, this one's a great read.
Thanks for reading! Have any books you'd like to see featured in a future edition of Scribblings of the Scribes of Sport? Drop me a line at andrew@andrewbucholtz.com, or reach out on Bluesky or X.
