The Best Boston Sports Arguments

"Best Boston Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Boston Fans" is not only an easy read but also a very fun read as well. Every chapter (nee “argument”) is only a couple of pages long making it a perfect beach book, travel book, bar reference or addition to the Irish library. The book was also surprisingly humorous and I highly recommend it.

As the title of the book suggests - the aim of the book was to lay out the top 100 Boston sports arguments and it more than meets the mark in presenting not only the questions but also taking a side in presenting what the authors felt was the proper answer. Like any good argument there are two sides to every question but I found myself agreeing with Jim Caple and Steve Buckley in most cases such as how they argued that Jim Rice was absolutely a Hall of Fame player (I’m sure many others would disagree with that one). Sometimes I did find myself scratching my head though. Adam Vinatieri as the most clutch Patriot player? Sorry that would be Tom Brady. I also have to wonder how a book about Boston sports can run 250 pages, mention Tony Conigliaro a dozen times but fail to mention Harry Agganis once?

I haven’t always been a fan of Jim Caple’s work at ESPN nor Steve Buckley’s work at the Boston Herald but I was very happy with the result of their collaboration on this book. I feel myself to be a fairly knowledgeable Boston sports fan but I found myself learning many new facts, stories and trivia with almost every turn of the page.

Some of the more thought provoking chapters included:

- Who was the most important front office executive in Red Sox history?
- Bill Russell deserves something named after him
- Boston’s greatest hockey myth
- Who was better, Ted or DiMaggio?
- Who are the most inspirational athletes in Boston history?

On that last one if you guessed Teddy Bruschi – you guessed wrong. I don’t disagree at all with their choice but I do wish Travis Roy at least got a paragraph or two as an honorable mention.