Four for the Month




 

 


Well, professional football is all but wrapped up for another year. The Pro Bowl doesn’t really count, does it?

There are many options to help fill the pigskin void. You could mow the lawn, wash the car, paint the fence, get in shape, play sudoku, throw the ball around with the kids or learn to dominate foosball.

Or there’s always picking up a good book.

If that’s the path you choose, then here are four suggestions that could probably get you through until Major League Baseball’s Opening Day.

“The Yankee Years”

Authors: Joe Torre

and Tom Verducci

Amazon.com price: $14.82

This is, without a doubt, the hottest sports book on the market. It was released on Tuesday.

Joe Torre, who managed the New York Yankees to four World Series titles before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, is talking about his time in Gotham—and the early response has been somewhat negative toward Torre.

In the book, Torre dishes dirt on Alex Rodriguez—they called him “A-Fraud” in New York, the manager says. He also lets loose on pitchers David Wells and Kevin Brown, to which the always outspoken Wells has already fired back by calling Torre a “punk.”

Remember, it was Torre who criticized Wells for his 2004 book, “Perfect I’m Not: Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches and Baseball.”

Baseball people, including L.A. Times columnist Bill Shaikin, have questioned whether or not Torre broke one of the game’s unwritten rules— what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.

There are also concerns that some of the current Dodgers may develop trust issues with Torre, fearing that what they say or do will end up in a book years down the line.

Either way, this should be a page-turner.

“The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear

Bryant Forged a

Championship Team”

Author: Jim Dent

Amazon.com price: $10.17

Paul “Bear” Bryant won six national championships in his 38-year coaching career.

So why did the legendary coach with the red fedora often say his 1-9, 1954 Texas A&M team was his favorite?

The answer lies in a Central Texas town named Junction, a flyspeck on most maps.

In the summer of 1954, Bryant decided to avoid the media and take his team to a city in the midst of a drought, to a field that didn’t even have grass. Two buses full of players made the trip—only one bus returned.

Author Jim Dent dissects the 10 grueling days in scorching temperatures that left some players moments from death and others escaping in the middle of the night to hitch a ride home.

Those who remained, however, formed a bond that would last forever.

“Four Kings: Leonard,

Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing”

Author: George Kimball

Amazon.com price: $15.61

Depending on who you talk to, the 1980s were either the best decade ever or the worst.

There was a stock market crash, synthetic music coming from every speaker and fashion was, to be kind, different.

Thankfully, boxing was never better.

During the decade there were four outstanding boxers in the middleweight division—Sugar Ray Leonard, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns and Roberto Duran.

They all fought each other at least once, and author George Kimball was ringside to see each bloody bout.

In his book, Kimball describes nine different fights, including the “No Mas” fight from Duran-Leonard II in 1980.

Also included is the epic Hagler-Hearns battle in 1985 that featured 339 punches thrown in eight minutes.

Boxing is going through a tough time these days. This book serves as a friendly reminder of the sport’s glorious past.

“The Revenge of Hatpin Mary: Women, Professional

Wrestling and Fan Culture

in the 1950s”

Author: Chad Dell

Amazon.com price: $19.99

Back in the day, your mom or grandmother may have been a big fan of professional wrestling. It’s true, because many women loved the burgeoning sport in the middle of the 20th century.

This is more than just a book about sweaty, over-the-top wrestling characters and their female fans. There’s also a large cultural component to what was taking place at wrestling venues throughout the nation.

Women were showing up in numbers to see these grapplers/ entertainers, and they were watching on TV, too. This was certainly against the grain from mainstream society, a small-time cultural phenomenon, so to speak.

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