• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Mark Weinstein is my editor, and the reason that you’re reading this book. He’s the best kind of sports fan—he’s passionate and intelligent and he knows so much about a lot of different sports. Carol Mann must dread each and every one of my phone calls. Thanks to a great agent. Jim Gallagher led me in the right direction regarding Japanese ballplayers. I was so lucky to be able to work with him beginning in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics. Phil Harmon read several chapters of mine, as I pestered him with first-hand accounts of the 1946 NFL Championship Game. Of course, he was only in elementary school at the time, but he should have taken notes, figuring the information would come in handy one day. There are my friends and colleagues at NBC Sports—I am so lucky to have a chance to work with men like Dick Ebersol and Tommy Roy and Sam Flood and Joe Geshue. The Peacock has been like a second family to me, and I have to mention longtime associations with Cathy Crowther, Arnie Marshe, and Gil Capps.

Dennis D’Agastino is a sports historian and author who happens to be married to Helene Elliott, who is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Thanks to both for setting this hockey puck straight. Howie Deneroff would have made a great investigative journalist. Instead, he chose to be the best radio producer and executive I know. I can’t thank my manic friend enough for support, phone numbers, and his memory. Brian Tuohy is a thoughtful and provocative author that I came across on the Internet. I contacted him and got his permission to share some of his musings with my audience. Thanks again, Brian. I work with great colleagues at HBO Sports, including Rick Bernstein, Brian Hyland, and the ever-caffeinated Peter King. And then there is the great Cris Collinsworth, whom I can’t say enough good things about.

John McCarthy has been a friend long enough for me to consider him family. Thanks to Dave and Ruth and Maris and Rachel Harmon for letting us into their ski house each winter and for letting us into their hearts. Thanks to Lisa Kalb, who shared many earlier important moments in my life. There are plenty of conspiracy theories about my close friend Steve Horn. Before you sleep tight, Mr. and Mrs. America, remember this: Horn probably does have something on each and every one of you.

SOURCES

BOOKS

Araton, Harvey; Keteyan, Armen and Dardis., Martin F. Money Players: Days and Nights Inside the New NBA. Atria Publishing, 1997.

Ashe, Arthur. A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African- American Athlete, 1919-1945. Warner Books, 1988.

Asinof, Eliot. Eight Men Out. Holt and Rhinehart, 1963.

Barber, Red. 1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball. Da Capo Press, 1982.

Brodowsky, Pamela K. and Philbin, Tom. Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby. Collins Publishing, 2007.

Bryant, Howard. Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball. Plume Publishing, 2006.

Canseco, Jose. Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ’Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big. William Morrow, 2005.

Carroll, Bob, Gershman, Michael, Neft, David, Thorn, John, eds. Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. Harper Collins, 1999.

Chamberlain, Wilt. Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7 Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door. Macmillan Publishing, 1973.

Cobb, Ty and Stump, Al. My Life in Baseball: The True Record. Bison Books, 1993.

Cosell, Howard. Cosell. Playboy Press, 1973.

Cosell, Howard and Whitfield, Shelby. What’s Wrong With Sports? Easton Press, 1991.

D’Agastino, Dennis. Garden Glory: An Oral History of the New York Knicks. Triumph Books, 2003.

Daly, Chuck and Sachare, Alex. America’s Dream Team: The Quest for Olympic Gold. Turner Publishing Inc, 1992.

Davis, Jeff. Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas. McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Fainaru-Wada, Mark and Williams, Lance. Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroid Scandal