3 comments about Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton.

1. "Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton" is a wonderful collection of quotes, stats, stories, and pictures illustrating the complete Payton. He was indeed one of the greatest running-backs of all time. What this book gives, that many don't, is a review of Walter's off-field perfomances. He was kind, caring, and loving to all. This book clearly shows that Walter was in all aspects.....a hero. This title is a must for all those who miss the headbands, the dives over the goal lines, the amazing runs, the jumping high fives, and a great man----SWEETNESS!



2. This is a terrific book, especially for parents who want to show their sports-mad kids a real role model. The photos are wonderful, and the text describes the whole man, not just the football player. And he was as good a man as he was player, and there wasn't ever a better player.

   Give this to a football-loving kid for Christmas, and try not to cry when you read it yourself.




3. Walter Payton was the model of what every player should be like, even in today's "me only" generation. Walter was a first class football player amd first class individual as well.

   He is what other players should strive to be like, Walter broke the mold and still stands as the premiere football player of all time. Walter can not and will never be replaced, he represented what all of us should be like no matter what color we are or where we came from or anything!

   A truly remarkable individual that went beyond being a great football player, Walter was a great person as well. If a person couldn't be inspired by what Walter Payton represented, they just couldn't be inspired with anything!

   I named my son after his son, and my family will never forget watching #34 on the field on Sunday's. Walter is my all time hero and inspiration, and always will be.

5 comments about Marcus: The Autobiography of Marcus Allen (Marcus).

1. He shows an amazing insight into what really goes on in the dirty world of american football. To the specifically vindictive nature of Al Davis towards Marcus, to the heartfelt news which so totally devasted him upon learning of the revelation of O.J.!! Written we a great deal of intelligence almost as if he was a best selling novelist. Definitely makes you support the Chiefs whenever they play the Raiders, even though i support the Seahawks. Maybe now Marcus has retired he will put pen to paper more often, I certaintly will purchase any of his material.



2. This is not your typical Professional Jock Worship book, primarily because (1) very little of the narrative is taken up with descriptions of individual games or plays, (2) Carlton Stowers is an excellent writer who portrays Marcus well, and (3) Marcus himself is an intelligent and thoughtful person who has had a fascinating life to date.

   The real heroes of this book are Marcus' parents, Harold (Red) and Gwen Allen, who put the necessary time and effort into providing their children with the integrity that has made Marcus successful.

   This is a book of contrasts and conflicts, the first of which are with Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders. Marcus despises Al and is candid in describing his reasons. Anyone who is not familiar with Al Davis might think Marcus is exaggerating, but those who are familiar with him will find the criticism reasonable, if not understated. Corroboration for his descriptions of Al's eccentricities may be found in "Slick: The Silver and Black Life of Al Davis" by Mark Ribowsky [ISBN: 0-02-602500-0], a highly entertaining biography that is now out of print but may be available through a used-book service.

   The other interesting contrast is that between Marcus and his friend O.J. Simpson. As Marcus described Nicole Simpson's death and the subsequent murder trial, I kept asking how these two men, similar in so many ways, could have ended up so differently. As I said at the outset, the real heroes of the book are Marcus' parents.




3. After reading this book, I was amazed at the things that went on between Al Davis and Marcus. How Marcus stayed in Los Angeles that long amazes me. This book covers Marcus' life before football, during high school, at USC and the heisman, and being drafted by the Raiders and then ending up at Kansas City. Marcus talks about the O.J. fiasco and how it changed his life. This book is excellent for any football fan and shines light on the dark side of being a Raider.



4. I REALLY ENJOYED READING THIS. MARCUS DOES A GOOD JOB DESCRIBING HIS CAREER WITH THE RAIDERS AND CHIEFS. HIS CRITICISM OF AL DAVIS AND RAIDER ORGANIZATION IS EXTREMELY INTRIGUING. ALSO INTERESTING IS HIS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE OJ MURDER TRIAL AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH OJ AND HIS WIFE. THIS IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.
   A MUST READ.



5. I really enjoyed this well written summary of Marcus Allen's life and his extraordinary career in football. If you are at all interested in football, this book would be a great choice. He starts from the beginning telling us about his family and his hometown. He then describes his life as a high school football player. He goes on to talk about the transitions he had to make on the field from defensive back to quarterback and then to running back later on in his career. Marcus really goes in to depth when he describes his years at U.S.C and the heisman trophy. He emphasizes his dedication towards his health and the team. Marcus says in the book that playing backup to Charles White helped him more because he got to see greatness right before his eyes in Charles. Charles describes the felling of being drafted to the Oakland Raiders. Marcus shows his dislike towards the teams manager Al Davis and describes conflicts between the two. Marcus goes into great detail of the games and the situations that occur off the field on both the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. It is very interesting to see the relationship between Marcus Allen and Mr. and Mrs.OJ Simpson. He talks about the OJ trial and how he handled it.

5 comments about COACH: The Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant.

1. Bryant was a great coach, but Dunnavant is a Bryant fan, plain and simple. He tells a sweet and sugary account of Bear's storied life, and leaves out the true tales of Bear's excessive drinking and also of his extra marital adventures. A "fan" should never write a "biography" about his or her hero. I think Bryant was an outstanding coach, but you'll have to look elsewhere if you want any REAL enlightenment about the life and times of Bear Bryant.....



2. Dunnavant just doesn't deliver with his enamoured account of Bryant.
   
   I suggest "The Last Coach: A Life of Paul "Bear" Bryant" by Allen Barra.



3. All told, "Coach: The Life of Paul 'Bear' Bryant" is probably the best in-depth analysis of Bryant as not only a coach but as a man. Although "The Last Coach", a new Bryant biography, may eventually take this particular book's place in that regard, this is nonetheless the standard text for those seeking an in-depth look at Paul "Bear" Bryant.
   
   Most Bryant biographies lack depth and real analysis, and mostly just repeat common knowledge such as "Mama called", etc. However, this particular book thoroughly analyzes and details Bryant as he grew up in the Moro Bottoms of rural Arkansas, and what were the influences that shaped his life. It has a great section regarding Bryant as a player, and the writing on Bryant as a coach is particularly good, dealing with Bryant's views on the psychology, philosophy and strategy of the game. Moreover, the sections of the book regarding the Bryant / Butts scandal, and the Holt / Granning incident are all particularly good.
   
   I would recommend this to anyone looking to read about Bryant.



4. "Coach" is a well researched biography of Paul Bear Bryant, but like many of the other books written about Bryant, author Dunnavant is relunctant to tread on issues that might tarnish the image of the man in the houndstooth hat. For instance Dunnavant's reporting about the Condredge Holloway recruiting story is interesting; but Dunnavant does not allow himself to express how Bryant could have become a conduit for change regarding the civil rights movement in the South. Dunnavant quotes Bryant as saying "I'd love to have you ( Holloway) at Alabama, but Alabama's not ready for a black quaterback". That one sentence tells me that Bryant lacked the courage and moral integrity to change the acceptance of Blacks as leaders in the state of Alabama. Instead Bryant shrewedly hedged his position with the likes of George Wallace. Dunnavant also quotes Bryant as saying "We're not recruiting Negro athletes; that's a policy decision for others to make". According to Dunnavant, Bryant made that quote in a 1965 interview for Look magazine. Paul Bryant wielded tremendous power and influence; he could have been that individual to change "policy decisions". Instead 2,000 miles away, in a town nearly void of Blacks called Green Bay, Wisconsin, Vince Lombardi took the stand that Bryant backed away from. Lombardi did not see white or black players, he saw players that were Green Bay Packers. It should also be noted that Lombardi sought out Black players as early as 1958, seven years before Bryant's interview with Look magazine. Bryant was "forced" to recruit black players at Alabama when he realized that he could not compete with other Division I programs with an all white Crimson Tide team. Dunnavant also reluctantly avoids any mention of the unlimited NCAA football scholarships that Bryant took full advantage of. When Bryant's winning teams were storming through the South in the 1960's and early 70's they did it with close to a hundred players on football scholarships. Since the University of Alabama placed such a high premium on its football program, the university could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on players; money that other Division I colleges in the South would not do. A 18 year old boy in the South recruited by Bryant had an easy choice. Get a full 4 year scholarship and maybe play 2nd or 3rd team (that is why Bryant's platoon system worked so well) or be a back-up at another university as a non-scholarship player. Bryant stockpiled scholarship players because he had deeper pockets than other coaches. When the NCAA limited football scholarships to 30 incoming freshman; (75 total) things began to change at the University of Alabama. How many national championships has Alabama won since the Bryant era? Not many. The final issue that Dunnavant avoids is Bryant's record against Bowl teams. Sure Bryant's teams made it to 29 bowl games, which Dunnavant cites in bold print on p. 331. But Dunnavant omits that Byant won only 15 of those bowl games. This is barely above a .500 winning percentage, well below Bryant's lifetime winning percentage of .780. When the playing field was even and Alabama began to face football powers outside its conference, Bryants success diminished. Dunnavant fails to make any mention of this glaring fact. A Bear Bryant team, never beat Notre Dame. Bryant's teams were 17-14-3, against Tennessee, the only other formidable SEC team during the Bryant era. It was easy for Alabama to steamroll over SEC teams that the Crimson Tide were "locked into" such as Vanderbilt, Southern Mississippi, Virginia Tech, Tulane, and Mississippi State. Lombardi's Packer teams of the 1960's lost 1 playoff game, the NFL championship to the Eagles in 1960. The Packers never lost a playoff game again under Lombardi, and they went on to win 5 NFL championships, 3 championships in a row. I have read 5 books about Bear Bryant. He was a very good football coach who demanded commitment and excellence from his players and coaches. What I still don't feel from my readings, especially from this book, is a sense of Bryant's character,integrity, and human emotion. It seemed that author Dunnavant wrote this book high atop Bryant's famed practice tower, afraid to expose the soul of a man who is considered great by many, but is considered shallow by this reader.



5. I never saw an Alabama game that Coach Bryant was a part of, at least that I remember, because he retired when I was a kid. But I love college football and the history and Bear was the biggest figure of all. The book does a great job on his history and achievements and is never boring but I think it may have been written with a little bit of homerism. I would like to see some of the darker sides portrayed more in depth (racism, rules violations, etc.) Overall, a great introduction to a great program, a great coach and the best sport, college football.

No comments about John David Crow: Heart of a Companion (Texas Legends Series).

5 comments about I Remember Woody: Recollections of the Man They Called Coach Hayes.

1. I was surprised that such a complete collection of stories and experiences existed. Woody was bigger than life but at the same time he was only a simple man that expected the best from everyone he touched. A must read for all fans--not just Buckeyes!



2. being woody's grandson, i liked it, there was a wide array of people talking to the author about him. I thought that my favorite section was the last, the friends, foes and fans part. it seems as if many people here in columbus have their own personal run-in or encounter with him and for me, those stories are infitley more interesting than anything else.

   the recollections from the players and coaches were good, but they kind of blurred together under the "they may be smarter than me but i can outwork 'em" mantra.

   overall, good job. the photos were pretty interesting. we have a few at home that will never make it out, including one of woody in my darth vader helmet at christmas (i must've been ten or less).




3. This book shows Woody Hayes as the true person, not just the ranting coach on the sideline. As an aspiring coach, I see Woody as an excellent model for success. His genuine love and concern for his players is unique and inspiring. This book is a must read for those who want to see Woody as his players, friends, and family see him. Great book about a Great man.



4. This book was amazing. I could not put it down. It is a must for Ohio State fans. I will remember Woody after reading this.



5. This book was amazing. I could not put it down. It is a must for Ohio State fans. I will remember Woody after reading this.

4 comments about All the Rage: The Life of an NFL Renegade.

1. Charles Haley returns to the trenches; this time however, he uses the muck and mud to bury real and imagined enemies in the National Football League.

   "All the Rage: The Life of an NFL Renegade," are exhausting anecdotes of the petty grudges, lacking any greater reference point than "I got even," of a former football great.They say defensive linemen to be successful must be mean and meanspirited, profane and not profound. Somebody, unfortunately, offered the same advice to Haley the writer.

   At its best the book is unsportsmanlike conduct; at its worst, no gain for reader, writer and the many enemies of Mr. Haley.




2. I enjoyed Charles Haley's book very much. He talks VERY openly about the NFL and the pressures put on every player. Pressure from the coaches, the media, and the players themselves. Not to mention the disregard many players show for their own health to keep playing, and the drugs they take to do so. I enjoyed Charles' style very much. Some may find it offensive, but if you expected anything different from him what were you thinking when you bought the book?



3. Haley expresses his views (openly) on everything from racism in the NFL to the physical and emotional toll the game takes on its players. He doesn't hold anything back and just tells it how it is. Not many players get to play for two great teams (like the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers) and win Super Bowls with each. He's a legendary player and that explains why he's the only man to earn five Super Bowl rings. This is a very well-written book and a great one for the true Dallas fans!



4. I read the book when it was first released and actually I just "happened" upon it. I was and am still the BIGGEST Charles Haley fan and I was just looking to get any memorablia that I could. I thought the book was great because it explained why he played so hard and why he felt the way he did about things going on in the NFL. I think that he is a great player and he is just misunderstood by players, coaches and fans alike. If you read the book then you would gain more insight on him and his thinking. And being one of his biggest fans, I guess that I am a bit biased on this review. But he was very frank and candid in his portrayal of the NFL. He didn't sugarcoat anything. Also it showed how committed he was to playing the sport and committed to his personal life as well. The only thing that could have changed was some of the foul language but again I think that that was just him being Charles Haley. Anyone knowing anything about him knows that he does not hold his tongue, not even on live television. So you would have to expect that from his writing. I would love for him to read this so he will know that he has one devoted fan in me!

4 comments about Dat: Tackling Life and the NFL.

1. A great read - especially for Texas Aggies and fans of the NFL.



2. I've been following Dat's career since his college days, not because I'm an Aggie, but because I'm Asian American (who also happens to be a lifelong Cowboys fan). Watching him play and seeing him accumulate tackles has been thrilling. But as he notes in this book, he has never granted many interviews, so I've always wanted to know more about his life story, his family, and how he came to be an exceptional football player. So for me, this book really delivers. The story is really quite an incredible tale of courage, determination, tragedies, and triumphs big and small. It's also written very well in terms of structure, clever turns of phrase, and the balance between detail and movement. I tip my hat to Dat, Rusty Burson, and even to Darren Woodson, who contributed a very eloquent and insightful foreword. I believe that Dat's sense of humor (pretty goofy), decency, candor, and passion really came through consistently throughout the book. After finishing it, I felt glad to have rooted for such an admirable and giving individual with such an interesting tale to tell. Now I'm really curious what he's going to do with the rest of his wonderful life.



3. I received a signed copy of this book for free after seeing him speak for my high school. The novel was written very well, and the story was very interesting. It starts from before he was born, when his parents fled war-torn Vietnam, to his glory days with Texas A&M and the Dallas Cowboys. With his career finally over, this is a good note for him to leave on. As a casual fan, I thouroughly enjoyed this book.



4. For Dat Nguyen, "quit" is the worst of the four letter words. He didn't take rejection well, just kept getting right in the face of the bigots. And when Becky Foster, the prettiest girl in town, excused herself from the vertigo dancefloor, saying she had to use the bathroom, and then left the club entirely, well, that just made Dat more interested in the cute, perky winner who went home, and boasted to her girlfriends, "I just danced with the biggest Chinese boy you've ever seen!"
   
   Well, as the world knows, Dat Nguyen is not Chinese but instead, Vietnamese American, born in a refugee camp to two starving people who had flung themselves onto America's welcoming arms. His mom and dad advised him, go wary among the white people, but soon enough Dat was thriving with whites and included them among his best friends. And when it came to showing his athletic prowess, he did not go with the traditional Vietnam sports, but instead threw himself gloriously and momentously into the most all American of sports, football at Texas A & M, where he became a legend. Then, later, in his 20s, he became the first NFL player of Vietnamese descent.
   
   Becky is a dreamboat who looks like a cross between Michelle Pfeiffer and Martha Stewart, a young Martha Stewart before the lines and wrinkles of age and care made inroads into her laugh lines. When Dat and Becky married, even the preacher asked him to sign some footballs! It just shows what Dat humorously knows, an autograph hound knows no privacy! They were married in March, 2001, and now have two little biracial angels, and "Dat" is now a "Datty."
   
   The book is informational in many aspects, for instance we find out a good deal about Vietnamese superstitions. No group photos with odd numbers of subjects, so "you can take a photo of two, four, six, or eight of us, but don't even think about snapping a shot with only three, five, or seven of us." As a budding photographer, this will be a culturally sensitive tip for me. Also, you can't have a house where you can see the back door and the front door at the same time (from inside). Footballers have their own innumerable superstitions and Dat's a Christian, but it all seems to work for him. He's clean living and so the book is a little dull, for as he says frankly and upfront, he's the type who'd rather suck on a McDonalds milkshake than a bottle of merlot.

2 comments about When It's Fourth and Long: Keeping the Faith, Overcoming the Odds, and Life in the NFL.

1. Football and sports fans will love this book (esp. those from Oregon)! Josh is a small-town Oregon athlete who eventually attends U of O and then reaches the NFL. He credits his dad, coaches and others along the way who encouraged him. Most of all, he clearly notes how his faith in Jesus Christ not only helped him through the trials of cancer, but also gave him purpose and meaning in life.



2. When It's Fourth and Long by Josh Bidwell is the autobiography of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter and former member of the Green Bay Packers. Bidwell was struck down by testicular cancer when he was 23 and had just signed on with the Packers. He kicked the cancer and it strengthened his faith in God and his love for then girlfriend now wife Bethany. The child of a divorce, Bidwell has lived through some rough times in his life, and he's very honest about his mother's battles with addiction and his own struggle with anger. His pride in his wife and two sons brings a smile to my face. He tells a few good tales about playing with the Packers, but really focuses on his deep friendship with Ryan Longwell. His story is inspiring and very moving; his writing isn't poetic, but he's the type of guy you would want your daughter to bring home. This would be an excellent book for someone who loves sports but normally wouldn't read a book about faith and God. It's nice to read about an athlete who recognizes the impact his celebrity can have and wants to do good with it.

2 comments about Not So Fast, Sonny.

1. A must read for any CSU fan or aspiring coach. I didn't want the book to end.



2. I grew up being a UW Cowboy and therefore hating the Rams of CSU, but after reading this book I would have to say that Sonny Lubick is one of hereos! This book was amazing and I just could not put it down. This is a must read for any football fan, or anyone who is a fan of overcoming life and the triumph of the human soul! GREAT BOOK!!!

5 comments about Papa Bear : The Life and Legacy of George Halas.

1. Pros: Everything you should know about Papa Bear (including everything the McCaskeys have spent years trying to hide from you)
   Cons: None
   
   I think it's safe to say we've finally seen the
   definitive literary work on George Halas. It did take
   more than two decades after his death for it to be
   published, but that's fitting. To truly grasp
   everything about the man and his legacy, you need to
   have lived through it and it's aftermath. Finally,
   one of us who has experienced it all first hand has put
   it out in the open for all to see. It's the most
   captivating sports book I've read in years, easily.



2. As a Bears season ticket holder and lifelong fan who attended the same grade school (St. Emily's in Mt. Prospect, IL) as the McCaskey children and grew up their neighborhood, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Then, right on page 3 it says the McCaskeys lived in Arlington Heights when they actually lived in Des Plaines, and I am left wondering how many other inaccuracies this book contains. It seems very anti McCaskey.



3. George S. Halas was, depending on who wrote the piece that you're reading, either the cheapest, back-stabbingest skinflint who ever threw nickels around like manhole covers, or a visionary who had the foresight to see what the NFL could become and ran his family business and associations (read: NFL) to the top of the sporting world heap. You can find both sides in this book, which is a reason that it ranks as high as it does.
   
   To understand the man, the book starts out with his parents, from the old country, Bohemia. As new immigrants, they worked in ways that we don't seem to do any more, like thrift, saving for something better, hard work at odd jobs to get that extra change. This is how George Halas operatered because he was "programmed" to do this at a young age. Subsequently, when he owned the Bears, that was how he operated his business. He saw the possibilities of growth of his team and the NFL through the media. He saw the wealth could be generated, mainly in terms of the league as a whole. He was determined to make his franchise the best, and that meant applying those principles that he learned when young (i.e., thrift). But he could also be extremely generous with his money, especially in family/business tragedies like Brian Piccolo, Willie Galimore and others. His line of succession, to take over the Bears, was also something learned from The Old Country, and thrown into pandimonium when his only son died and his son was estranged from Halas. Therefore, it fell to the McCaskeys to carry on the Halas-nurtured Bears into the 21st century, something G.S. Halas would conceivably be turning over in his grave about.
   
   The book does no favors at all concerning the McCaskeys; they are depicted as rather ignorant of most things concerning football and especially about the Bears, and greedy, controlling the Bears only for the money and prestige. The accuracy of this, since it was laid on so thickly by the author, makes you wonder if it is really true, but the record and gaffes committed by the Bears over the last 20 years tend to bear the author's characterization out. "Papa Bear" is a good, absorbing book for the history of the Chicago Bears and how the league got to where it is today, and hits much closer to the heart, mind and soul of George Halas and how he lived that many other biographies and autobiographies that one may find.



4. ...though it's a bit long at 512 pages (excluding notes, index, etc).
   
   The book does read pretty quickly. Not any particular chapter that I enjoyed the most. Sid Luckman was George's favorite. Interesting insights on the way the author describes George Allen, Mugs (George, Jr.), the rest of the Halas clan, and many of his ex-players including Geo Blanda, Bobby Layne, Rich Casares, et al. Definitely worth your time to read the book. When I visited Chicago, I passed by the old Soldier Field several times, but never took the time to visit it which is uncharacteristic of me. Wished not I had taken the time, as the place was reportedly to be very antiquated.



5. What a treat this book is, not only for Bears fans but also for anyone who loves the NFL. There wouldn't be an NFL without the tireless work of George Halas, the Papa Bear. And Davis's book tells you all you need to know about this fascinating character. It is also a trove of information about the early years of the NFL. It is a delight to read, and it belongs in the library of anyone who fancies himself a true follower or professional football.
   
   Al Bowers
   Prescott, Arizona