Any Good Sports Books?

[7teen]

I'm looking for some suggestions. I'm about to wrap up my current book and need some ideas. Over the past 4-5 years, I've become a regular book worm (I used to hate reading) but lately I can hammer out about 7-8 books a year now. Would be more but family, tv, video games, job, etc.. get in the way every now and then!

The ones I have read this year I would recommend.

I'm currently reading The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. If you're an NBA fan and/or a fan of the Sports Guy then you have to read this one. It's 700 pages long so be prepared to spend some time with it. A majority of the book is his Pantheon of Hall of Famers where he ranks to the top NBA players of all-time and puts them in his own version of the HOF with levels. The top level reserved for the 12 best players ever.

I've also read this year:

The Machine by SI's Joe Posanski. A great look at the '75 Big Red Machine.

When March Went Mad by Seth Davis. Details the ISU and MSU 1979 college bball season and the stories of Bird and Magic leading to that 1979 National Title Game.

Last Dance by John Feinstein. I'm yet to read a book by Feinstein that I haven't loved. His golf books are the best in my opinion. This book details the whole NCAA selection process for the basketball tournament. All the changes, rules, current system, how refs are chosen, etc... of selecting the field and how the tournament plays out.

The Greatest Game Ever Played and The Match by Mark Frost. Both are older books about golf but good reads. The first one is a movie now and has been for a while about Francis Ouimet's U.S. Open win as an ammy. The second one is about a private 4-ball match that took place between Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward vs Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.

The Long Ball by Tom Adelman. Discusses the entire 1975 MLB season with a large portion focusing on the World Series between Cincy and Boston.

I'd recommend each of those to anyone interested in those topics.

so anyone else have any? I tend to focus on baseball, basketball, or golf books. I'm not much into the history of football.

[Glory_Days]

Urban Way is pretty good. How good do you want to be by Nick Saban is good as well.

[4six3]

Success Is a Choice by Rick Pitino is pretty good.

[Biggin]

A Season on the Brink by Feinstein was good

Out of Bounds by Jim Brown

any of Charles Barkley's books are entertaining

[royalflush]

"The Last Great Fight" by Joe Layden is a good one. Chronicles the Buster Douglass-Mike Tyson fight.

[joedirt]

Bear - about Bear Bryant is real good. Written in kind of interview format. I think the author actually just transcribed hours of interview and made it a book.