Top 5 - Sports Books on My Bookshelves

Not sure why I thought about this but here are the Top 5 books about sports on my bookshelves (in no particular order).

The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam

A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring 20's by Roger Kahn

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association by Terry Pluto

The League: Inside the NFL by David Harris

Bottom of the Ninth by Michael Shapiro

Just missing the list were Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy (because I liked the unheralded Bottom of the Ninth better), Gridiron Genius by Michael Lombardi and The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King by Michael Craig (because poker isn't a sport).

Also on my bookshelves but not making the list are Open by Andre Agassi and The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam. I haven't had the chance to read either book yet.

You may infer from the list that I'm fond of both sports and history. You'd be correct.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but Saddam Hussein, Billy Crystal and Fidel Castro were all Yankees fans. You are known by the company you keep. Friends don't let friends be Yankees fans... Seems to me that the Democrats came just one step short of screaming "Give us Barabbus instead!"... Reminder that it is flu season... "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen Hawking... I wish I could go back in time to change my senior year's yearbook quote to "Don't eat a scorned woman's spaghetti."... Sandy Koufax's career record in 1-0 games was an astonishing 11-3... If I were the Democrats I'd try to blame all the Kavanaugh allegations on a Dukes $1 bet... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Mike Leach never played college football. I'm not saying that coaches need to be all former players but I am saying that not knowing what it's like to have a concussion or being dinged up from playing should not be an overlooked aspect of this story. If you're not happy with a player's effort - send him off the field. You don't lock him in a closet... Former Red Sox minor leaguer Jeff Bailey signed with Diamondbacks. Bailey is 31 but was the 2008 International League Player of the Year. Don't be surprised if Bailey ends up as the starting 1st baseman this season for the Diamondbacks. Conor Jackson is no lock to regain his starting job after his bout with Valley Fever which cost him 5 months of the season in 2009 and the $4 plus million Jackson will cost the budget minded Diamondbacks may be a consideration... Happy 74th birthday to Sandy Koufax... If you haven't seen the video of Randy Moss and the fan in Foxboro - you should really check this out... Tweet of the day:

@FrankAdman Overheard at lunch " I've got a trophy wife, but she isn't what you'd call first place."

Holy crap - this was a real Super Hero? And his name was Codpiece? Too funny... FWIW Mike Leach also hasn't been real good at producing pro players at Texas Tech. Only Wes Welker and Michael Crabtree come to mind. I'll even give you Danny Amendola but that's not much from a supposed offensive powerhouse... Fantasy baseball players sleeper pick alert - Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies could be a 25 HR / 25 SB guy in 2010. He should be available in later rounds too... Happy 34th birthday to Tiger Woods. And happy 25th birthday to LeBron James. I never noticed that Tiger and LeBron have the same birthday. This must be a very big day up at Nike headquarters...