No comments about The Book of Bowden: Words of Wisdom, Faith, and Motivation by and about Bobby Bowden, College Football's Most Inspirational Coach.

No comments about Beyond XS and OS: My Thirty Years in the NFL.

No comments about Captain Crash and the Dallas Cowboys.

2 comments about One Final Pass: The Brook Berringer Story.

1. This is one of the most wonderful books that I have ever read.
   I must admit, Brook Berringer was a hero to me growing up.
   I have always liked him as a Quarterback, but after reading the book, I realize that the way Brook lived his life and accepted God as his savior and higher Power.. it's the way I want to live my life. He was the most wonderful, caring, kind hearted person.
   The way he held his head up high when the chips were down was amzing. He will always be a great hero to me and I absolutely recommend this book to everyone who is wanting to have someone to look up to.



2. I can't believe nobody reviewed this book so I'll take a crack at it. Brook Berringer was one of the greatest Nebraska quarterbacks ever and he was really considered a back up. Sadly his life was cut short in an airplane accident. I haven't talked to anyone here in Nebraska that doesnt know where they were when they heard, he had that much of an impact on everyone. The book does talk about his football days but I think more importantly it shows how he came to find God and how his faith helped him through trying times. It is a very moving book and it is very inspirational, it will bring a smile to your face and make your eyes well up in tears. I hope you'll read this book if only to learn how good of a man he was and maybe you'll find a little comfort in knowing God will always be there when you are ready to accept him.

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

1. 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!



2. 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!



3. 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?



4. 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.

No comments about Winning's Only Part of the Game: Lessons of Life and Football.

2 comments about A Reason to Believe: The Blaise Winter Story.

1. Blaise tells a very inspirational story about his life and all the challenges that he was able to overcome to follow his dream. Blaise used football as a way to communicate when he was unable to talk plainly. He tells how he never gave-up and continued to believe in himself when no-one else would. Blaise had a vary successful football career and is now a successful speaker. I would highly recommend this book.



2. This book is a great illustration of where heart and determination will get you in life. Blaise Winter, from day one, had to overcome many problems. From his cleft palate to his stubborn high school principle and coach, Blaise battled against all who didn't believe and reached his life-long dream....playing in the NFL. If you are feeling down on yourself or have little confidence, read this book and allow Blaise Winter to inspire you.

1 comments about Emmitt: Run With History.

1. This is a great book that displays Emmitt Smith's life and football career and his pursuit of Walter Payton's rushing record. The pictures in this book are very good since they are contributed by an official Cowboys photographer. The book also shows another side of Emmitt, his family life, that you probably wouldn't know even if you have been a fan of his for many years. By reading this book you really get the sense that Emmitt is a good man as well as being an extraordinary running back. I would recommend this book to all Cowboys fans and Emmitt fans.

No comments about Tradition: Bo Schembechler's Michigan Memories.

5 comments about Rozelle: Czar of the NFL.

1. When I first saw this book, I knew I had to buy it and read it immediately as Pete Rozelle was one of the icons of my young life. What a disappointment :( ! The book seems to be about everyone else but Pete Rozelle - he's like a guest star in his own story.
   
   Starting from the time Rozelle was elected commissioner, we hear more about George Halas than Pete Rozelle. Why was he a compromise candidate? After his election the story meanders and deals with people, places and incidents only tangentially related to Pete and the growth of the NFL. Many times I was lost in the maze of names both personal and corporate that surround and protect the story of Rozelle from outsiders.
   
   Some of the chapters are long and rambling and make one wonder why the story of the beginning of NFL Films requires 23 pages. Other chapters are the same.
   
   I really thought I would get some more insights into the NFL I grew up with, as a baby boomer "I saw it all" from the rise of the packers to the merger, expansion and becoming the #1 spectator sport. After reading a biography about Wellington Mara and Ernie Accorsi's autobiography, I thought I'd learn more about the people who shaped the NFL. But after some 200 or so pages, I can't continue. It's too painful.



2. An excellent high level history of the NFL since 1950, but not so much as a biography of Pete Rozelle. There is little insight into the man. Lots of what's and when's, very little "how".
   
   Example...many instances are offered about his ordered life, his ability to make people feel at ease. How did he do it? What made him unique?
   
   Far too much reliance on Rozelle's daughter, Steve Rosenbloom, and Eddie Accorsi as sources. Too many lines of thought were opened, and then dropped. For instance, he goes on about how in the 1950's Redskins' owner George Marshall was a major player as an owner...then suddenly he disappears. Jack Kent Cooke is described as a Rozelle enemy because Rozelle married Cooke's former daughter in law...and then the point is dropped. Did Cooke every hamstring Rozelle because of the relationship?
   
   To many ideas are brought up, then dropped without completing the circle. To little is told really flesh out the picture of Rozelle beyond a stick figure with a great tan and ready smile who drank Rusty Nails and smoked too much.
   
   It is a good book...but it could have been great.



3. This isnt a book...it's an awful run-on sentence. This is a worthy subject nonetheless....hopefully someone who knows how to write will take on the subject someday. This is nothing but as told to Jeff Davis "kerflooey"...a word that was actually used on page 24
   
   
   Jeff Davis should have stayed dead with the confederacy....he devalues his Northwestern education with this...can the university give him an honorary defrocking for this. In sum...this book wa neither written nor edited......just bad journalism.



4. Despite what other reviewers have said, this is an excellent book. No, it's not really a biography, so if you want to get more indepth into Rozelle's divorce or what he wore to the Senior Prom, then skip the book. But, if you are interested in a first hand look at the NFL through the eyes of those responsible for its ascent, this is a great book. It very much parallels the Mark Maccambridge book, "America's Game" which is terrific. The reader learns about the intricacies of the NFL/AFL merger, the labor strife of the 70s and 80s, and the "threats" from wannabe football leagues as well as little known facts regarding Joe Namath's almost early retirement due to indirect gambling associations and the infamous Heidi Game. The book is more about the NFL than it is about Rozelle, but it's a terrific book for anyone who enjoys modern NFL history.



5. Rozelle: Czar of the NFL alleges to be a biography of the former NFL Commissioner, but instead it is a meandering, disjointed, almost unreadably round-about tale of certain aspects of the NFL's history. It provides remarkably little, if any, true insight on the man who served as the league's Commissioner from 1960 to 1989, relying heavily on interviews with Ernie Accorsi and Rozelle's daughter for its material but oddly enough not providing any true insight from these sources.
   
   What do I mean by meandering? Well for instance, after 250 pages of the book I've learned through the book's contents that Marlboro cigarettes were originally marketed as a "women's" brand... but I don't know what Rozelle's mindset was when the AFL came along, I don't know anything about his relationships with owners other than Dan Reeves of the Rams, and I know absolutely nothing as to what possessed the owners of the NFL to elect him as their Commissioner beyond the fact that he was a compromise candidate.
   
   Simply and bluntly put, this book is worthless to anyone wanting to learn about its subject. Does anyone know how I can get in touch with Jeff Davis in an effort to get my money back?