3 comments about Still Roaring: Jim Phillips's Life in Broadcasting.

1. I miss Jim Phillips. As the voice of the Clemson Tigers, Jim filled the rooms of my house growing up more often than some of my relatives did. In fact, for the first 30 years of my life, Jim Phillips was the only "Voice of the Tigers" that I knew. His genuine warmth, friendliness, and passion for Clemson athletics made him the perfect ambassador for the university.
   
   Jim was working on Still Roaring at the time of his sudden death in 2003. He shares his memories of growing up in Northeast Ohio, his start in broadcasting, his unexpected hiring at WFBC in Greenville, South Carolina in 1968, and his 36 years of covering Clemson athletics. In those 36 years, Jim broadcast more than 2,000 sporting events, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, and 401 football games. For a while, he was also the voice of the Greenville Braves, the longtime AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, and he covered The Masters golf tournament for 13 years. He had a remarkable career.
   
   Those who are familiar with Phillips will instantly recognize his friendly, easy going style in the pages of Still Roaring. It's like he's sitting there, talking to you again. The text is loose and conversational as Jim shares some of his favorite memories from his long tenure at Clemson. In his 36 years at Clemson, the school grew from having a regional presence to having a national presence, including winning a football national championship in 1981. Jim witnessed it all.
   
   Listening to a Clemson football game isn't quite the same now that Jim is gone, but, of course, life goes on. We were truly lucky and blessed to have Jim as long as we did.



2. Jim Phillips' autobiography "Still Roaring" tells the life story of Jim Phillips -- the Voice of the Clemson Tigers for over 30 years. Although it was written with the assistance of Ken Tysiac, but you can hear Jim Phillips' conversational style come across in the narrative.
   
   After a short history of Phillips' childhood and early broadcasting days in Ohio, Phillips tells how his hiring at Clemson was almost a fluke and was certainly unexpected. Phillips tells his stories about some of Clemson's most memorable football, baseball, and basketball games, interspersed with personal anecdotes from his travels with the teams. For an avid Clemson fan, though, Phillips' selective storytelling leave you wanting to read a game-by-game and year-by-year history of Clemson's sports teams, which this book is not.
   
   Phillips also gives insight into the coaches and personalities in the Clemson athletic department during his tenure: Danny Ford, Ken Hatfield, Tommy West, and Rick Barnes especially. However, at times Phillips tells the story as an insider and whitewashes some of the failings of these coaches.
   
   Finally, Phillips tells some interesting stories about his days covering the Greenville Braves, Masters golf tournaments, and other sporting events. His stories hearken back to a bygone era in sports broadcasting, and his nature as a true gentleman comes through in these stories.
   
   This book is a must-read for any Clemson fan - and I would recommend it for any fan of South Carolina sports or for anyone with an interest in college sports or sports broadcasting.



3. Jim Phillips trusted Ken Tysiac to help him tell his life story, and the trust was well-placed. Although Phillips has passed away, you can hear his voice again in this well-organized, fast-paced book. If a book can feel like a football Saturday afternoon in the fall, this one does. All Clemson fans will get a big kick out of it.

1 comments about Brett Favre: Huck Finn Grows Up.

1. This is a well written book. Personally I liked it. Not only because I'm a fan of Brett Favre, but that this book shows the life and personality of him. The book goes behind the scenes of this football superstar into his personal life. The author (Steve Cameron) provides a great view of Brett's personality and ability. The book includes personal insight and quotes. Another plus is a few pictures, and even one of Brett's wedding night! From high school hard ball to a pro career with the Packers Steve Cameron shows you the life of Brett Favre, All in all this is one great biography!

5 comments about What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football.

1. This book is a collection of semi-autobiographies of many of the most famous NFL football players of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s when the league was just getting started and fighting for its spot in the sun. Each chapter centered around one player such as Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman and host of other legendary players still alive to write their story. Its an insightful look of the "good old days" NFL, often funny and other time, amazing. The book has been well edited and reading is superbly entertaining as well as educational. Each chapter also got couple of short anecdotal stories on some of the legends of the game long gone like Jim Thorpe or Bronko Nagurski.
   
   When I read this book, there is no doubt in my mind that men who played this game back then, were probably the toughest players ever to played NFL football. Sure there are guys today who are built bigger, faster and all that, but these stories in this book make any reader realized how tough and mean, NFL used to be compared to today's soft touch rules design to lessen injuries. These players were in the game for 60 minutes, they have to be good in both offense and on defense. Compared that with the specialized players of today.
   
   This book is should be read by any fan of the NFL to give such a fan a good perception on how the NFL evolved and developed during the past 75 years.



2. An oral history about the NFL's early early days, like before most of us were even born and in some cases, before our parents were born. It feels like the author took these oral histories word for word so it makes for very choppy and uneven reading, not something that you can zip thru in one reading, despite the barely 200+ pages - it's nice to read about players who I've barely heard of and some I never knew about, and also about the two way players then. I think the author could have shaped the oral histories better to make it a better read, and like I always say, beware of books which Amazon sells for at the list price - there's a reason for that.



3. In the same vein as Lawrence Ritter with "The Glory Of Their Times," Richard Whittingham interviewed several of the diminishing handful of participants in the NFL's early days, took their words and wove an interesting and insightful book. Much like baseball when it started professionally, scheduling, paychecks, record-keeping and crowd size was often haphazard in those days, and players often played out of love of the game or to pick up some extra money aside from their regular jobs, mostly the latter. But the stories that they tell are wonderful - rugged men playing in football's infancy, helping to build the league that we know today through their legendary work. Many of the players included in the book are enshrined in the Hall of Fame, so these guys had the opportunity to be around a long time and see a lot of changes going on. It's a fascinating book about the birth and growth of the league, told by the guys who were there to help it grow - I highly recommend reading this book.



4. THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT NFL STARS THAT PLAYED IN THE 1920'S THRU THE 1940'S. SUCH STARS AS RED GRANGE, SAMMY BAUGH, DON HUTSON, AND SID LUCKAMN ARE FEATURED. THEIR STORIES AND INSIGHTS ARE VERY INTERSTING AND ENTERTAINING. I BELIEVE THE AUTHOR RICHARD WHITTINGHAM, DID A GREAT JOB. THIS WAS AN ERA WHEN MEN WERE MEN, THEY PLAYED THE ENTIRE GAME. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED HOW THE GAME WAS PLAYED BACK THEN OR ARE A REAL HISTORIAN OF PRO FOOTBALL THIS IS A GREAT READ FOR YOU. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.



5. Stories about great athletes that were famous and not so famous. Each of the chapters talks about an athlete that contributed to the sport in very unique ways. After reading it, I wanted to know more about some of the characters that were great athletes and times very humorous. It's a book I will re-read and recommend highly.

5 comments about In Control: The Rebirth of an NFL Legend.

1. Thomas Henderson tells it straight up . If you want to know how a man can right himself after falling from grace then you need to read this book . From the top of the mountain , fame , money , prestige , all pro line backer with the Cowboys to a destitute , strung out crack head . Want to learn how this man dealt with his demons ? He takes one day at a time , just like the rest of us . But Thomas makes a pledge to take one day at a time " sober " . It's an option , you gotta suit up every day !
   
   God bless you Thomas . Keep fighting the good fight



2. I Really enjoyed reading In Control, Years ago I read Thomas's other book Out of Control and while I enjoyed it also. This one is different -- his first one told how he got sober, but this new one tells HOW TO STAY SOBER!!! While he tells us how to stay sober he also entertains the heck out of the reader. It is a book I am going to find myself rereading every couple years or so, and there are not very many books that are like that for me.



3. This book really made me re-think about my sobriety.Thomas Henderson helped me understand better about the 12-steps.About being able to better my life while dealing with my addictions.I really recommend this book for anybody who is going through a recovery process or knows somebody who is,to help them understand what that person is going through in their head.



4. I just spent the weekend reading this book and couldn't put it down.
   
   Thomas Henderson has written a book about addiction and recovery, but his message is actually a universal statement of how to identify challenges, find solutions, produce results and to live a more meaningful life. I think its message has meaning to everyone.
   
   If you (or a family member, friend, or associate) is challenged by addiction, you will learn and find inspiration.
   
   If you are concerned about public policy issues and the burdens of our criminal justice system, you should read this book to understand more about addiction as a foundational problem that produces crime and recidivism.
   
   If you are the leader of a company, of your household, of your kids, or of your peers, this book has important messages that can help you look at problems differently, consider new solutions, and to make better decisions.
   
   While the narrative involves the recovery of Thomas Henderson, reading this book will help you be a more effective CEO, a better parent, or a more enlightened leader. Every thinking adult should read this book.
   



5. This book is the straightforward, easy to read, incredible story of one mans trip to hell and back. Cowboy fans and anyone interested in reading a testimony to the human spirit will enjoy In Control. It is also an excellent heads-up to anyone thinking of dabbling in the world of alcohol and drugs. For those who can identify with Thomases plight, it is an excellent companion to the Big Book of A.A. For those who cant, let it serve as a warning to any who think addiction is a problem "other people" have to worry about.

5 comments about Paper Lion.

1. During the summer of 1963, Plimpton became a rookie for the Detroit Lions, after joining their preseason camp as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback wannabe. He ended up sticking with the club through an intra-squad game before the paying public a month later. He traveled from the east coast to Michigan where he spent four weeks at the Lion's training camp learning how to call plays and take snaps. He ran formations, dressed in thick layers of padding and tried to tackle his opponents. He played cards with the coaches, played pranks on the players, bunked in the dormitories and debriefed in the locker room. Wearing the number zero, he finally was put in the game in a scrimmage, managing to lose yards on each play.
   Throughout his book, Plimpton describes the grueling physical aspects of this sport, and through conversations with many of his teammates, he also captures the mental training these players go through. But, because he immersed himself so deeply into this culture, Plimpton also captures a sense for who these players are. He listened to their stories, learned about their backgrounds and became one of them. This memoir sticks out for its insights into the personalities of the players and the coaches. Compared to a memoir like The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer, Plimpton sticks to his journey to make the team, rather the venturing off about his life. He's not afraid to take detours, such as explaining who Harry Wismer is and his failure as the owner of the AFL team the New York Titans. Reading this classic work of literary nonfiction today, the reader sees that Plimpton not only captured a sense for what football was like in 1963, but what the world was like back then.



2. A talented journalist joins the Detroit Lions to get get a greater insight into what it is to be a professional American football player. Some amusing moments because of his ineptitude.
   
   This was a top class team dominanting their opponents, so they wangled an agreement that if they got a big enough lead they could put George in as a last string quaterback.
   
   Top quality sportswriting work here.



3. Long before ESPN cameras and behind-the scenes television programs, George Plimpton went out on a mission to the magical world of the NFL, looking to bring back an original insight on the dream life of a professional football player. In Paper Lion, Plimpton arrives in Michigan for a month of training camp and a preseason scrimmage with the Detroit Lions, having brought a suitcase of clothes, some cleats, and a minimal trace of athletic ability. Though he was not a very skilled or successful member of the Lions, his role is an essential one for us as readers. Plimpton does a marvelous job of painting the picture of a profeesional football player with vivid details and intriguing technique, most notably simile. He details aspects of the training camp with clear references for the everyday reader. This helps explain feelings and strategies such as the Lions' kickoff coverage: " the downfield rush was straight, like a ruler sweeping crumbs off a table." (178). Plimpton also captures the emotions of the players during camp and reproduces them through simile as well: "When a player was hurt in a scrimmage, the others seemed to point their backs pointedly...as if an injury were communicable, like mumps." (194). Another example comes on page 253 when he compares the physical toll of football to "Bronco riding." These details and relatable comparisons are what help Plimpton to bring the reader into the setting and let him experience training camp as if he too were wearing shoulder-pads.
   
   While Plimpton does an excellent job of depicting the setting and emotions that go along with training camp in the NFL, at times he seemed a little too out of place. Plimpton was a writer for Sports Illustrated and thus should have a keen sense on sports and what the players go through. However, there were times in the book where he approached the situation as if he had come from another planet, rather than a different occupation. Such is the case on page 180 when he asks a running back: "do you close your eyes when you run for the middle of the line?" As a sportswriter and an intelligent person it would seem that he would know that a professional athlete would keep his eyes open and not shy away from the contact of the line in a game situation.
   
   George Plimpton's Paper Lion is a great read as well as an entertaining passageway to the world of sports. Plimpton's ability to accurate scenes and vividly detail characters makes a reader feel as though he has not so much holding a book but in fact his own personal uniform on the Detroit Lions.



4. Back in the 1960s, writer George Plimpton began "covering" a variety of sports through participating on/with pro teams/athletes and reporting on it through books, magazine articles and TV specials.
   
   Perhaps his most famous was in the early 1960s when he was "signed" by the Detroit Lions as a 36-year-old rookie trying to make the club as a third-string quarterback. Plimpton - wearing jersey number 0 - practiced with the team for one month.
   His quarterbacking culminates with his appearance in a scrimmage where Plimpton calls a number of plays under game conditions.
   
   The book leads the reader through the highs and lows of Plimpton as a player, along with great anecdotes on the teammates and coaches.
   
   A reprint is slated for publication in September 2006. I hope the TV special on Plimpton's training camp and QB play gets dusted off during the upcoming NFL season. Anyone reading this inside that large campus in Bristol, Conn.?



5. A very interesteng read, If you are old enough to remember all the players.

1 comments about A Damn Good Yankee: Xen Scott and the Rise of the Crimson Tide.

1. General biography of a little known football coach that became the cornerstone for The University Of Alabama's legacy of great head coaches and very select membership in college football's elite over the past 100 years.
   
   It is the story of Xen Scott but is more important as a history of early college football; especially in the South where so little was documented. The author goes into great detail about the life of both Scott and the teams he coached; especially the Crimson Tide. For an Alabama fan, it gives great insight into the early years and why years of greatness were derrived from Scott's teams in the late teens and early 20's.
   
   Over the years, there have been many books written about Alabama football and particularly Bear Bryant. However and for the most part, very little has been written about Bama's great football history prior to the early Bryant years. Anyone interested in knowing more about this earlier era, should greatly enjoy this author's work.
   
   William M. Moore, Jr.

1 comments about A View from the Bench: The Story of an Ordinary Player on a Big-Time Football Team (Sport and Society).

1. Interesting insight into " big time " college athletics. Parents can learn to guide their children into the " best option" for college athletics by being realistic. The book confirms what we all know.

3 comments about Mean on Sunday: The Autobiography of Ray Nitschke.

1. It's almost hard to believe that the same man who terrorized NFL offenses in the 60s could be the nice guy that this book makes him appear to be. Ray Nitschke was truly a class act. He might have enjoyed crushing an opposing quarterback, but off the field he was set a great example as someone who cared deeply for his family, friends and teammates. Although he had a rough start in life, he learned early that he wanted a life he could be proud of, and where he could be an example for others. I never expected this book to be inspiring when I bought it, but it certainly is.



2. THIS BOOK IS VERY INTERESTING, WELL WRITTEN, AND DONE WITH HONESTY. RAY'S TEAM ATTITUDE AND WORK ETHICS ARE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. HE WAS A BUTT KICKER AND A FORCE IN THE NFL. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ALL FOOTBALL FANS. TO GET A REAL GOOD LOOK AT HOW FOOTBALL SHOULD BE PLAYED READ THIS. ONE HELLUVA GOOD READ.
   VERY RECOMMENDED.



3. Ray Nitschke gives great insight into the human side of professional football. Takes readers on a great journey, from being orphaned as child, to success with the Fighting Illini, and finally to near immortal status as a member of The Green Bay Packers. Definitely not your typical pro-athlete memoirs.

No comments about A Salute to Nebraska's Tom Osborne: A 25-Year History.

5 comments about The Bowden Way: 50 Years of Leadership Wisdom.

1. Underneath the southern hospitality is a man who understands the importance of taking risks and managing those risks. I think what makes Bowden unique is his ability to keep his ego in check with a sense of humility and gratitude that's rare in leadership today. I always got the feeling that he's grateful for being in the position where he is today, be it family or his coaching career.



2. I'm a Penn State grad and fan, but I enjoyed Bobby Bowden's leadership book. It's very easy to read and has lots of good advice. Also, I respect his religious beliefs and that he openly shares them throughout the book. This is a good leadership book!



3. I have read Maxwell and a host of other leadership books, but there is a world of difference between a consultant or a middle-manager telling you about leadership...and the winningest coach in college football telling you about leadership!

   The thing I liked the most is that rather than vague affirmations or ambiguous principles, Bowden gives us SPECIFIC, hard-won advice regarding handling staff, planning for success, etc.

   The fact that he has done so remarkably well--with his job "on the line" based on each season's performance, not to mention every time he plays a strong rival--Bowden gives us a CEO/Chairman of the Board-level view of how to handle matters.

   I bought it because I am an FSU fan. I kept it because it was the best book on leadership I had ever read.




4. On the football field Bobby Bowden is king! He is also a very inspirational and motivated person. This book is amazing, in ALL aspects. You don't have to be a Florida State or even a football fan, this book goes so far beyond any sport. This book basically tells you how too live a better life, and Bobby Bowden obviously has a awesome one.



5. i would recommend this book to anyone who has to manage people in any capacity...from managing your children to managing your employees...Coach Bowden has proven himself to be a true leader both on and off the football field.