FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Dear Tom => Topic started by: captain carrigan on March 14, 2010, 04:37:32 PM
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Noticed on twitter that Tom is reading this, and was curious as to what any other FOTs thought.
For me, the good (made me want to dig up old clips, the pyramid discussion, Zapruder-style discussion of 1985 draft, actually did make me laugh out loud at least once) outweighed the bad, but would love to hear the thoughts of anyone who's read it.
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I'm still only about halfway through the pyramid stuff, just because it's easy to read a player or two and then put the book down for a while. Of course the book is full of the usual Simmons stuff that is off-putting for a lot of people (endless pop culture references, Celtics homerism, his pseudo everyfan-ness/namedrops, any time he tackles racial issues), but I've always felt his basketball writing is his strongest area because it's the most passionate. I agree with captain, with some of the older players I wasn't too familiar with, it definitely made me search out clips.
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I agree that he's a pretty great basketball columnist/writer. It's evident that he greatly benefits from the standards of ESPN, his weird cursing and sex jokes in the book are just unnerving.
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I've grown bored with Simmons's stuff on ESPN but I was looking forward to this book because I thought he was a good basketball writer. This books shoots holes in the "good basketball writer" theory. Yes. the guy knows his basketball and he can write well about it when he wants to. The problem is, he doesn't want to do that. He's made a career out of dated references, homer-ism, and an apparent refusal to do research so why change the formula?
The Book of Basketball adds a subtle but unmistakable streak of racism and some blatant misogyny to his resume; maybe some of this were his attempts at humor but the were painful to read. The book has some good pieces in in that would make excellent magazine features or interesting books if expanded upon by a better writer (The Pyramid Discussion being one but the 85 draft conspiracy theory is pure junk) but as Simmons has written it, the book is about 500 pages too long. This was Simmons' chance to make his mark with a basketball book the way John Feinstein or Terry Pluto did with Season on the Brink and Loose Balls respectively but instead it just shows Simmons as writer with limited range.
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I read it nonstop for a few weeks and was mostly entertained, but agree with most of the flaws everyone else pointed out. It was like eating cupcakes for breakfast -- fun for a day or two and then you're left feeling like you're missing some vital nutrients. It's also worth noting that I don't have cable so I'm starved for basketball, and I might have been compensating for that.
The Book of Basketball adds a subtle but unmistakable streak of racism and some blatant misogyny to his resume; maybe some of this were his attempts at humor but the were painful to read.
Yes, it was a little like the guy who has a few gay friends thinking he can get away with "fag" jokes because, you know, he's not homophobic. Comes off as a bit of a tool.
And might I add that this book just underscored what A MASTERPIECE that FreeDarko book is. Beautiful illustrations, some real research, and overarching theories that go beyond "The Lazy Guy".
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echoing the free darko book sentiments.
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I've grown bored with Simmons's stuff on ESPN but I was looking forward to this book because I thought he was a good basketball writer. This books shoots holes in the "good basketball writer" theory. Yes. the guy knows his basketball and he can write well about it when he wants to. The problem is, he doesn't want to do that. He's made a career out of dated references, homer-ism, and an apparent refusal to do research so why change the formula?
In his defense, I think he did do some research (went back to watch videos & I heard him say he read any basketball book he came across) so I'll give him some credit even if he is most likely exaggerating. I read a review somewhere that made a good point about what is frustrating about Simmons. He'll tell you an interesting fact that few people knew and he'll finish with "Why hasn't somebody written a book or made a documentary about this?" It just shows laziness on his part.
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The guy clearly knows his basketball, but it's still such a homer book that it drove me nuts.
Also, the Road Rules Challenge references.
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608190838?ie=UTF8&tag=freedacom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1608190838
Hopefully after this comes out, no one will ever have to be subjected to the Book of Basketball again.
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I think you mean this, right?
http://www.amazon.com/Knee-High-Livin-Large-According/dp/0609602365/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1
HOW IS THIS A BOOK?! The publishing industry officially has no right to complain that it's in trouble.
That FreeDarko book is going to crush Simmons.
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According to this: http://deadspin.com/5712872/ (http://deadspin.com/5712872/) and this http://deadspin.com/5713567/freedarko-also-scrubbed-from-bill-simmonss-book (http://deadspin.com/5713567/freedarko-also-scrubbed-from-bill-simmonss-book) Bill Simmons seems to be purging his book of references to people who were mean to him.
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If anyone doesn't already have the new Free Darko book, it's pretty great.
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If anyone doesn't already have the new Free Darko book, it's pretty great.
Santa better come through or I'm giving up.
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I still have to pick up Free Darko.
I just finished reading Played Their Hearts Out by George Dohrmann. I cannot recommend this book enough. It follows the travails of a California-based AAU program built around Demetrius Walker, ranked as the #1 basketball player in the world when he was in sixth grade. It's really heartbreaking at points and is a really good reflection of what's wrong with the sport of basketball in the US today. AAU teams are mostly meatmarkets for youth basketball players, run by people who have no idea how to coach but do know how to peddle to shoe companies. It's really eye opening and it kind of explains LeBron James' boneheadedness and Renardo Sidney and a teammate tossing haymakers while watching a game. It reminded me of Darcey Frey's The Last Shot which followed a high school team in Coney Island in the 90s which starred a young Stephon Marbury (who shows up skidding out in a Big Wheel at a 9th grader) and T'Chaka Shipp, who was a washout recruit at Seton Hall back in their heyday.
I'm going through Rise of a Dynasty by Bill Reynolds right now. It's supposedly about the Game 7 between the St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics in 1957. I'm nine chapters into it and haven't gotten anywhere near the tip-off of the game yet. It's pretty bad. The only other book I read by Reynolds is called Fall River Dreams which is the Friday Night Lights of New England basketball and is largely centered around Chris Herron, who played at Fresno State and for a few minutes in the NBA and was arrested for heroin possession a few times.
Just also reread Loose Balls by Terry Pluto, the oral history book about the ABA. This is one of the funniest sports books ever written. The stories about The Spirits of St. Louis and the guy who was an enforcer who left the sport of basketball to be a mercenary for Idi Amin are the best.
Simmons' book is about 500 pages too long. It's the world's heaviest coaster. His podcasts are pretty good but his articles have been pretty dreadful for a few years now, although I keep reading for some reason
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Free Darko is amazing. I'm halfway through now and I'm loving it. The only problem is I think I'm annoying my friends by constantly dropping trivia like, "Did you know Rod Strickland puked on the court in a '98 game against the Nets because he ate too many hot dogs in the press room?"
I also have to second Loose Balls - it's a favourite. Such a funny book and I've always been super interested in the brief phenom of the ABA. What a hot mess.
Another great basketball book that I read recently is Life on the Run by Bill Bradley. Total classic, for good reason - that man can write.
PS. Gregg, I'm a huge fan of the podcast.
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I did a book report on that Bill Bradley book when I was a kid. I'd love to check that out again. Those 70s Knicks were definitely a colorful team. Thanks for the compliments on the podcast!
I forgot to add that I also checked out "Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball" which is about, uh, basketball in the Philippines. I cannot recommend this book enough to people who love basketball and have an outlook on life that makes them love The Best Show on WFMU.
There are so many anecdotes in this book that are just beyond bizarre. There's an entire chapter on these events which happen in backwater Philippino islands where midgets take on transvestites in the world's most surreal version of the Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals.
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PS. Gregg, I'm a huge fan of the podcast.
I didn't realize it was the same Gregg. I've also been enjoying the podcast, started listening this year when Tom mentioned it on twitter.
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Patton is on the BS Report this week. 2 parter.
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Patton is on the BS Report this week. 2 parter.
Nice! I will definitely give it a listen. Thanks for the heads up.
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Patton is on the BS Report this week. 2 parter.
I listened to this and liked it and I'm not a fan in general of Simmons. I hope Patton gets to remake The Warriors his way.
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I forgot to add that I also checked out "Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball" which is about, uh, basketball in the Philippines. I cannot recommend this book enough to people who love basketball and have an outlook on life that makes them love The Best Show on WFMU.
There are so many anecdotes in this book that are just beyond bizarre. There's an entire chapter on these events which happen in backwater Philippino islands where midgets take on transvestites in the world's most surreal version of the Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals.
Is there much about Billy Ray Bates? "The Breaks of the Game" made him sound like an intriguing guy.
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There's an entire chapter dedicated to Billy Ray Bates and his impact on the PBA. And, not just that, there are tons of tales about his insane drinking and womanizing. He's one of the true tragedies in US sports history.
For those who aren't familiar, Billy Ray grew up in rural Mississippi as poor as possible in the US. He however was as close to being a natural at basketball as possible. He ended up at Kentucky State and played their but was allegedly completely illiterate. He played in the late, great Continental Basketball Association (One of the all-time amazing fly-by-night minor leagues. They had a dunk contest one year which I need to see if it's on YouTube. There was this one guy who did this dunk where he did a cartwheel with the ball in his hand, stumbled awkwardly and then failed a one hand dunk from two feet while paused. This was later repeated by JR Rider in the NBA dunk contest).
He led the CBA in scoring and ended up on that Portland team that's covered in Breaks of the Game and written about incessantly by Bill Simmons. He emerged out of nowhere as a terrific player and averaged over 25 a game in a playoff series which gave him the nickname as "The Legend." But he had a crazy drinking problem and ended up crashing out of the league until he bounced around international leagues (back before you could really do that) until he became arguably the best foreign player in Phillipines history, scoring over 60 points in his first game.
He ended up drinking his way out of that league. And then he ended up holding up a gas station in Camden with a knife and served 7 years. He now supposedly bounces between group homes and the like in Jersey's dicier neighborhoods.
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Also, fingers crossed, but I'm flying to Houston for work tomorrow. If all goes well I'll be headed to the Rockets/Clippers game to watch BLAKE SUPERIOR! in person.
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Also, fingers crossed, but I'm flying to Houston for work tomorrow. If all goes well I'll be headed to the Rockets/Clippers game to watch BLAKE SUPERIOR! in person.
I think I'm going to LA in late March and they're playing the Suns and Wizards. Definitely want to catch Blake in person.
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I managed to go to the Rockets/Clippers.
I didn't think I was going to be able to. My plane from Philly was delayed by four hours. And then my laptop completely broke last night so I had to run to a Best Buy somehwere near my hotel to get a new one. But I still managed to make it!
Is anyone from here from Houston? I kind of like the city. It definitely doesn't have the feel of the northeast -- the downtown's mostly empty after 5 and it's so spread out and there's literally no zoning codes so you can build whatever you want wherever you want -- but I like it more than South Florida which is pretty similar. I think you have a fine city, Houstonians.
Anyways, the Toyota Center's on the fringe of downtown. I got there a little before gametime. The ticket windows were a giant cluster -- the lines were huge and there weren't a lot of employees there to take tickets. I'm pretty sure that this is because of the Blake Griffin Effect -- the dude's selling tickets now. I scalped a ticket for $20 just to get in somewhat decently.
The Toyota Center is a dreadful arena. I sat on the upper tier and I felt like I had to scale down a cliff to get to my seat. I've never seen arena steps this steep at any arena or stadium anywhere. The Rockets also think it's a good idea to constantly blare music throughout the entire game. I mean the ENTIRE game. There was not more than three seconds where there was silence coming from the PA announcer. To make it worse, one of the songs that they played multiple times was some bass lick from an early Primus album. There are also all kinds of visual effects to go along with the noises, my favorite being a visual of Shane Battier holding a sign that says "LOUDER" which being electrocuted. They also have a graphic that says "TIME FOR BANGERS" which prompts people to bang those stupid thunder stick things.
It felt like a mixture of that Wang Chung video and A Clockwork Orange.
Also -- this was probably Blake Griffin's worst game of the year. 14 points and 11 boards. He went up for one dunk but got ripped to the floor by Chase Budinger. I think the "Blake Griffin Has Alll of the Top 10 Highlights on SportsCenter" era has ended. The Clippers have no one who will bust a dude up on Blake's behalf.
Oh well. It was a fun enough night, despite going to a NBA game by myself. The arena's Three Meat special was pretty tasty.
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The Rockets also think it's a good idea to constantly blare music throughout the entire game. I mean the ENTIRE game. There was not more than three seconds where there was silence coming from the PA announcer. To make it worse, one of the songs that they played multiple times was some bass lick from an early Primus album. There are also all kinds of visual effects to go along with the noises, my favorite being a visual of Shane Battier holding a sign that says "LOUDER" which being electrocuted. They also have a graphic that says "TIME FOR BANGERS" which prompts people to bang those stupid thunder stick things.
In the last few years I've only gone to games at the United Center, but I get the impression that that kind of nonsense is the norm at most arenas. The most infuriating thing is the food promotions based on scoring x amount of points. When you hear "fans" booing in the last few seconds of a close game that their team is winning, just because they're not going to get a free Big Mac, it's a sad state of affairs.
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I saw my first Knicks game in person last year (no idea how that happened). That was a really good time. They were a crappy team playing the Charlotte Bobcats but there was a close to sell-out crowd and it felt like Game 2 in the first round of the playoffs. Not a Game 7 crowd but a crowd that had some excitement and buzz to it. I don't remember any ridiculous noises.
Sixers games are pretty awful in person because of all the sound effects but it was nowhere near as bad as the Rockets. There's a lot of ridiculous noise at these games but there's at least some silence or just a general "DE-FENSE" prompt. The Rockets game was non-stop.
The Sixers are dissapointing because games during Allen's big years were AWESOME. The year they made the finals was Phillies-esque in love for that team. They had to shut down the corner of Broad and Walnut after winning Game 1 against The Lakers. My friends actually took a road trip to Indianapolis to see a Sixers playoff game. They ran into ex-team president Pat Croce there (who was oddly like Hank Scorpio in retrospect) who gave them fifth row seats for their next home game. There's no way the Sixers organization would do anything like that these days. They couldn't fan unfriendlier.
Chants of "CHALUPA" for 100 points are absurdly annoying.
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I forgot to add that I also checked out "Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball" which is about, uh, basketball in the Philippines. I cannot recommend this book enough to people who love basketball and have an outlook on life that makes them love The Best Show on WFMU.
I checked out a Borders that had just about nothing but romance novels, Glenn Beck books and ___ for Dummies book left but was pleasantly surprised by the titles left in the sports section. Picked up Pacific Rims, along with Walt Frazier's Rockin' Steady, which I had no idea had been re-released but had heard about from Free Darko. They also had several copies of the new Free Darko book, but I already have a copy.
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I forgot to add that I also checked out "Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin' in Flip-Flops and the Philippines' Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball" which is about, uh, basketball in the Philippines. I cannot recommend this book enough to people who love basketball and have an outlook on life that makes them love The Best Show on WFMU.
I checked out a Borders that had just about nothing but romance novels, Glenn Beck books and ___ for Dummies book left but was pleasantly surprised by the titles left in the sports section. Picked up Pacific Rims, along with Walt Frazier's Rockin' Steady, which I had no idea had been re-released but had heard about from Free Darko. They also had several copies of the new Free Darko book, but I already have a copy.
Yeah, I picked up Free Darko today at Borders. lol jocks don't read