While teachers give elementary, middle, and high school students summer reading lists to keep them busy over the summer I figured I could share a few of my favorite sports novels with the 3 sports fans that read my articles on this site.
Rick Reilly - Missing Links
We all know Rick Reilly for his mixture of clever, moving, shocking pieces he became known for by writing the back page of Sports Illustrated. Missing Links is a fictional novel about a group of golf addicts. The story features a group of friends that play golf for the love of the game. They play on a dump of a golf course which is juxtaposed directly next to a pristine country club. The main characters decide to hold a competition to see who can play a round on the neighboring course. Reilly is a great storyteller and shows the he can write more than nonfiction with this book. Anyone that appreciates golf will have trouble putting this book down will find themselves laughing as often as they turn the page.
Paul Shirley - Can I keep my jersey
Paul Shirley played basketball for Iowa State with Marcus Fizer and Jamal Crawford. After graduating, he ended up playing for 11 teams in 4 years. He played in the NBA, the CBA, and for numerous professional teams in Europe. He kept a journal during this time and basically edited it and published it. He tells some hilarious stories about his experiences but also gives a very good look inside the life of a professional basketball player. He criticizes famous NBA players and executives. This is definitely one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I can relate to alot of what Shirley writes about (Locker room fights, not being home for thanksgiving, injuries, etc.) since I pay college basketball but I really think that this book will be entertaining to all sports fans.
John Feinstein - The Last Amateurs
John Feinstein is clearly a master at writing sports nonfiction novels. In The Last Amateurs, he gives a behind the scenes look at the Patriot League. Unlike high major conferences, the Patriot League does not have a gigantic budget that allows teams to fly to every game, stay in the best hotels in town, etc.. Only 1 team from the Patriot League makes it to the NCAA tournament. Feinstein does a great job of showing what these teams go through. While I’d be able to make a good argument that there are a few other conferences that can be included with the Patriot League when referring to true STUDENT-athletes (cough Southern Conference cough). Overall, this book is a great read and can really open the eyes of sports fans that think that college athletes all have it made.
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