A Sports Book Club

[erpowers]

I know DU already has a book club, but the club seems to be more about political books. There seems to be some good sports books out there that could be discussed. So would anyone like to start a sports book club. As of right now I am reading the book "$40 Million Dollar Slaves" by William Roden. I have just read the prologue, but the book does seem interesting so far. I disagree with Roden on certain issues such as how he seems to blame white people for blacks not owning the teams that black athletes play for. I would ask is it not the fault of black people and black leaders for not encouraging young black people to desire to own teams instead of just playing for the teams. In addition, is it not the fault of black people and their leaders for not encouraging more black kids to be investers instead of just being consumers? I know it is hard for many black people to buy sports teams, but is it really the fault of white people that more black people do not own sports teams? There are many black people who could afford to buy teams on their own or join with other blacks and buy teams.

[NJ Democrats]

1. i heard that Shaq and Grant Hill

are going to buy the Orlando Magic when they retire. Also, Bob Johnson (founder of BET) bought the Bobcats, and now Jordan is a part=owner there.

[erpowers]

2. Good News

I had known about Bob Johnson and Michael Jordan, but I did not know about Shaq and Grant Hill. I think it would be good for them to buy a team.

[H2O Man]

3. I include sports books

as among my favorite reading material. I'm a boxing fan, and I think it's fair to say that boxing is the sport with the greatest social-political implications, in the historic sense. But certainly, the issues that are mentioned in the OP are of real significance -- the team ownership, etc.

I recently read Teddy Atlas autobiography ("Atlas"). As most DUers who read the sports forum probably know, Teddy is one of ESPN's guys who does the Friday Night Fights, and the Wednesday NF when ESPN covers them. He has called himself "kind of a psychology guy," and in reading the book, sports fans get an honest look at the psychology of boxing. Teddy was an angry, violent youth. Unlike many people associated with the sport, he didn't come from a poor background; his father was a successful doctor, and Teddy had material comforts. But his family was "dysfunctional," so to speak, and he had a lot of hostility. He was a criminal who found that he could channel his rage in the ring. And he ended up associated with the great Cus D'Amato, and in an interesting way, he carries on Cus's ways.

My friend Rubin Carter wrote a heck of an autobiography in the 1970s, and has been the subject of two books and a movie since then. He wrote another book, though there have been some legal issues that have delayed its publication.

And there have been a few high quality books in recent years that cover the political significance of a couple heavyweight fights: the Jack Johnson vs Jim Jefferies, and the second Joe Louis vs Max Schmeling matches.

I also have enjoyed books like Bill Bradley's autobiography, and the two by Howard Cosell.

If there are threads on good sports books on this forum, I'd certainly be reading them.

[northzax]

4. well, there aren't that many black billionaires

floating around to buy teams, you know?

and didn't Isiah Thomas own an entire league once? (of course, he sucked at it, so not the best example)