2 comments about The Need to Win: Football from My Own Heart.

1. Otis Taylor tells his life story in his honest way. He really was a great player and he knows that and tells you so, but it mostly doesn't come off as too arrogant, just honest.
   Taylor does a great job covering his life through the early seventies. He enjoyed a lot of success, as did his team, the Kansas City Chiefs. He provides some thought-provoking glimpses into racism and teamwork in a turbulent era.
   My only real complaint is that the book seems to quickly run out of steam as the Chiefs and Taylor fade. I would have loved to learn more about such a great athlete fading and accepting his career's end. I can handle his openness about his greatness, but how about when the greatness starts to diminish? The book does pick up a bit when Taylor discusses his post-playing career.



2. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT FORMER KANSAS CITY CHIEF GREAT, OTIS TAYLOR. I LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE OF THE HONESTY AND SINCERITY OF OTIS TAYLOR. HE DOES A NICE JOB OF TELLING HIS LIFE STORY INCLUDING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HANK STRAM, LEN DAWSON AND MANY OTHERS. I THOUGHT OTIS NEVER GOT THE CREDIT HE DESERVED AS ONE OF THE GREAT WIDE RECEIVERS OF HIS TIME. HALL OF FAME SHOULD INCLUDE HIM. A REAL NICE READ FOR CHIEF AND FOOTBALL FANS. RECOMMENDED.

No comments about Simply Devine Missouri Limited Edition.

1 comments about A Tiger's Walk: Memoirs of an Auburn Football Player.

1. If you love Auburn, particularly Auburn Football, this book is for you. Rob gives you the positive inside view of a great tradition as told by a young man with great talent. Once I started reading I could not put it down. This book is a great read for Auburn Lovers.

No comments about The 17 Essential Qualities Of A Team Player (Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants).

1 comments about I Remember Paul "Bear" Bryant: Personal Memories of College Footballs Most Legendary Coach As Told by the People Who Knew Him Best.

1. Paul "Bear" Bryant was a football coach rightly beloved by fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide, for his team won six national championships, thirteen Southeastern Conference titles, and twenty-four consecutive appearances in bowl games from 1959 through 1982. Those who knew him best continue to love him, and Al Browning's I Remember Paul "Bear" Bryant is heartfelt testimony to that love. Dozens of his friends and acquaintances, from former football players to childhood friends to family to opponents on the field reminisce in their own words the man they knew. I Remember Paul "Bear" Bryant tells of a master of reverse psychology; a steely disciplinarian; and a truly kind human being beneath the tough-as-nails exterior. Paul Bryant has moved on from this life, but he will not be forgotten. Recommended for anyone who would wish a glimpse into the life of one of the greatest football coaches who ever lived.

1 comments about Blazing Trails: Coming of Age in Football's Golden Era.

1. John Mackey revolutionized how the tight end position was played and for those of us that remember his on field exploits this book fills in the holes that many may not know. But, it is a surface book that does not go deeply into any issues. You learn that he was Ernie Davis' roommate and the trauma of watching him die. 70% of the book concerns his pro career. But probably the most controversial section is about his negotiating as the President of the Players Union. Some of the tricks the owners pulled were amazing and evidently Mackey did a great job slowing their process.
   
   Overall this is a good story of a very good man. And while it mentions all family members in a positive way, the book really doesn't delve deeply into the mind of Mackey. It's a great, short read if you like him as a football player and that was enough for me.

1 comments about Vince: A Personal Biography of Vince Lombardi.

1. This is a very good book, but not a great one. Vince does well describing Lombardi through his actions and the impact he had on those around him, especially his former players. Everything is written in a clear and easily understood manner, especially his paradoxical nature.

   However, it does not clear my threshold as a great book. A great book would have involved me not as a viewer from afar, but as a fly in the locker room. Since O'Brien did not play for Lombardi, I was hoping for more insight of how his players felt. I never got emotional reading this book, and emotion is a large part of what Lombardi was about.

   Basically, it reads like an exquisitely written research paper.

No comments about The Saints, the Superdome, and the Scandal.

3 comments about I Remember Bud Wilkinson: Personal Memories and Anecdotes About an Oklahoma Sooners Legend As Told by the People and Players Who Knew Him (I Remember).

1. Bud Wilkinson's name isn't mentioned with college football coaching legends like Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Woody Hayes, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner or Tom Osborne, but it should be. Wilkinson became a head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in 1947 at the young age of 31. Seventeen years later he retired from coaching in 1963 at age 47 after winning three national titles in 1950,1955, and 1956.
   
   Along with the titles, his coaching career included one win streak of 31 games and another spanning over four years at a record-holding 47 games. (So, how does won go on a 47-game winning streak and only win two national titles? The answer is in the book.) At one point Wilkinson's win/loss record stood at a incredible 94-5-2 over 101 games - a feat that will never be duplicated.
   
   'I Remember Bud Wilkinson' isn't a book about Bud Wilkinson's life as told by the author. Instead the story of Wilkinson's life is told by the people who knew him throughout his life. Included are comments from notable names such as Curt Gowdy, Keith Jackson, Barry Switzer, Jim Hart, and Ara Parseghian.
   
   The first part of the book contains stories from coaches and players during his career at Oklahoma. We are treated with several anecdotes about Wilkinson's coaching philosophy from how he handled his players to how he organized his practices. The stories give the reader a good idea of who Bud Wilkinson was as a person and how he developed the Sooners into the stuff of legend. At times, the stories are inspiring and may serve as guidance to young people - I realize this sounds a bit corny - on how to conduct themselves.
   
   The stories after Wilkinson retired from coaching and became a broadcaster tend to be more light-hearted. You're treated to a different side of Wilkinson and simultaneously what the early days in college football broadcasting were like.
   
   Some of the better ones include:
   
   * Keith Jackson recalling an experience when Bear Bryant was to assist in a broadcast. Bryant showed up 'pretty well greased', commented very little and eventually ended up nodding off while Wilkinson was forced to work him in and out of the broadcast.
   * Barry Switzer telling a story about how Wilkinson spent the night in a hotel room serving drinks to Woody Hayes, Bob Devaney, Bear Bryant, and Duffy Daugherty.
   * How a television cue mix-up lead to the Air Force Falcon flying off before the broadcast started. How another mistake left Wilkinson and fellow broadcaster Chris Schenkel shouting over the top of a marching band at the beginning of the first Peach Bowl broadcast.
   
   The last part of the book deals with Wilkinson's two-year with the St Louis Cardinals as a NFL head coach. Stories here relate why Wilkinson failed, how the Cardinals were run as an organization. The end of the book includes "In His Own Words" - which weren't nearly as interesting as the other stories throughout the book. The book then concludes with a history of Wilkinson's win/loss record throughout his career.
   
   'I Remember Bud Wilkinson' is a pretty fun read. It's also an easy read. The stories are interesting whether they're about football, broadcasting or Wilkinson's short-lived NFL career. You get a full view of his life and an understanding of the world in which he lived. The book isn't just for Oklahoma Sooners fans - it's for anyone who would like to know more about college football history and one of the greatest unsung coaches to shape the game.



2. I have always had great respect for Bud Wilkinson as a football coach and as a leader of men, I did not need to read a book where everyone who speaks of him lauds him needlessly and dumps sugar all over his legacy. I read "The Undefeated" by Jim Dent. It was all about Coach Wilkinson and his fabled OU football program. THAT, was a brutally honest account of the REAL Bud Wilkinson. I DO want to read about the real man that Coach Wilkinson was, not some perfect "god". I have total respect for Coach Wilkinson, no matter what human imperfections he may have had. I did enjoy "I Remember Bud Wilkinson", but it was WAY too candy-coated. If you're looking for an HONEST portrait of Coach Wilkinson, you won't find it in this book.



3. It is a fun book to read because it tells the reader how Bud Wilkinson was a football coach for young men that only players on so many other teams could only dream about. Bud Wilkinson was a coach who enjoyed the game and enjoyed practice aand he let his players do the same!

2 comments about Brett Favre: A Packer Fan's Tribute.

1. A good book for all Green Bay Packers fans, especially fans of Favre and those still mourning his retirement. Great pics and great overview of his career, which brings back many fond memories of #4.



2. Super quick delivery from Amazon. Book arrived in pristine condition and I'm proud to display it on my coffee table.