52 Weeks
by Dave Hollander (9781592287543)

"You see, people are gonna say anything and nine times out of ten it's all a bunch of crap anyway." -- J.R. Richard This is a book about a man who loves sports in a way that's hard to find these days -- a pure and very personal conviction that blossomed as child and deepened as an adult. Then he found himself in a world where his love was unrequited. So he did something about it. Tired of athletes who sound like Stepford Wives, offering nothing but the most vapid sports cliches and equally fed up with interviewers whose questions range from inane to rude to incongruous, Dave Hollander spent a year tracking down the biggest names in sports and conducted very unusual interviews. No agents, no handlers, no marketing executives, no public relations scripts. Here are uncensored, no-holds-barred looks at the world of sport from current and former stars like Rickey Henderson, Vince Carter, John Riggins and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It's a must-read for any sports fan. Hollander stays off the well-beaten sports path leading his subjects instead into off-beat topics. The result is always candor and never cliche. Hollander muses on prison life with Lawrence Taylor, discusses the finer points of head-butts with ex-New York Knick John Starks, appreciates a good bowl of oatmeal with John Wooden, theorizes with running back Dave Kopay about Reggie White's sexual frustration, tempts NFL great Larry Csonka with a trip to Hooters, vigorously debates big men with Willis Reed, walks the Lower East Side with Micheal Ray Richardson, prompts Jim Bouton to call Alex Rodriguez "a quitter," enrages Kellen Winslow on the subject of "tight ends," chats amiably with Earl Campbell about Mad Cowdisease and patiently listens to Larry Holmes analyze the practical merits of the George Foreman Grille. And there are also stunning interviews with Bill Bradley, Dwight Gooden, J.R. Richard, Oscar Robertson, Keith Hernandez, Tommy John, Jeanette "The Black Widow" Lee, Sparky Lyle, Becky Hammon, Archie Manning, Mickey Rivers, Mike Richter, Darryl Dawkins, Chuck Wepner, Luis Tiant, Bum Phillips and many more. Plus, read the last interview ever given by George Plimpton. Human and revealing, hilarious and heartfelt, Hollander's interviews are part Charlie Rose, part Jon Stewart. Along with Hollander's charming (and at times laugh-out-loud) personal essays, the entire book is part manifesto, part sports journalism, part Aesops Fables. 52 Weeks is off-the-hook fun that sports fans have been waiting for -- a refreshing break from pat sports writing. If you really love sports, you'll love 52 Weeks.

USD $34.56

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