More Sports-Related Books

Here are a few more books again, not reviewed but rated. As will be come apparent very quickly, I primarily only read sports books about college football and basketball. I love the professional versions of these sports as well, but few books in that sub-genre interest me - unless it is about Michael Jordan, the G.O.A.T. Just a reading quirk I have. I suppose it has to do with every win seeming so much more important in college because this is about pride and not money (unless you look UNDER the table, of course).

1. The Junction Boys: How 10 Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Championship Team by Jim Dent

Rating: 4 Stars

Note: Now, everyone knows I roll my eyes whenever I hear a 'Roll Tide', and that I can't stand 'Bama, or Nick Saban, or anything about the program, but that doesn't mean you can't respect it. And seriously, Bear Bryant, how could you NOT want to read about one of the greatest college coaches in the history of the game?

2. Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger

Rating: 5 Stars

Note: Trust me, way better than the movie or the show. Give it a read.

3. Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

Rating: 5 Stars

Note: This is one of the few books that breaks from my typical reads in the sport genre. Still, a really wonderful book and again, better than the movie. (Isn't that always the truth? Almost always. The only exceptions I can think of are The Godfather and Jurassic Park. Very different books, both with movies that are on par (Jurassic Park) or better (The Godfather. Especially II. I could dedicate a whole post to this, but that would be a major tangent.)

4. War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest

Rating: 4 Stars

Note: Now, I have always come down on the side of Michigan in the Michigan/OSU Rivalry - one of the greatest in college football. (Give Michigan a little time with Harbaugh and it'll be a contest again. It's not easy to replace Lloyd Carr, and you try with Rich Rod? Come on. But I digress.) This is when the rivalry was WAR, when it was nasty and mean and terrible. And awesome. Highly recommend for college football fans in general, you don't just have to be a fan of either team.