Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other [Hardcover]

Jim Nantz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2008

In the bestselling tradition of Big Russ and Me, America’s most visible sports commentator tells the stories of some of the most dramatic moments in American sports and pays tribute to the man who inspired him to pursue his broadcasting dream— his beloved father, who has fallen victim to the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Vividly written in exciting, you-are-there replay, Always by My Side gives readers an insider’s look into an unprecedented sixty-three-day stretch from February to April of 2007 when Jim Nantz became the first broadcaster to call the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Masters. Because Nantz was unable to share the voyage with his dad, however, this remarkable journey through America’s premier sporting events took on a bittersweet tinge. Nonetheless, the devoted son felt his father’s presence every step of the way, and used this championship odyssey to celebrate the people, venues, and moments that tapped into all the goodness that his dad—and his dad’s generation— represent.

In recounting the highlights of more than two thrilling decades with CBS Sports, this broadcasting hall of famer recalls the legends of the industry—Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Pat Summerall, Jack Whitaker, and others—who sparked his imagination and shaped his style.

Always by My Side traces Nantz’s career, from creating his own imaginary studio as a boy to his college days rooming with future PGA Tour golfers Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister to his successful network audition at age twenty-six. Along the way, readers are treated to an array of memories, including Nantz’s special relationship with the former president George H. W. Bush, as well as his friendships with such sports royalty as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, and many others. Poignant stories that explore the theme of fathers and sons who have bonded through a common love of sports complete this sparkling narrative.

Always by My Side promises to be the most cherished Father’s Day gift of the year.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sentimental look back, Nantz recounts his beloved father's descent into illness during his own rise to success in sports broadcasting. Nantz's early ambition was to announce sporting events, and he got his start by taking advantage of even the smallest opportunity; his first job was driving Houston Open announcers from the parking lot to the clubhouse. Meanwhile, his jolly, curious and encouraging father was fielding the first symptoms of Alzheimers; sadly, as Nance finds greater recognition within the industry, the man who inspired him becomes more distant. Nantz finds father figures in his friendships with George H.W. Bush and golfer/broadcaster Ken Venturi, and turns up charming stories of others he admires like Tony Dungy, Arnold Palmer and former college roommate Freddie Couples. Though it has a saccharine streak, Nantz's on-the-job memoir fulfills his old man's vision ("Good people with good stories... To him, that was what sports-and sportsmanship-were all about") with a gentle, anecdote-heavy tour.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

CBS sportscaster Nantz, who has broadcast every major sporting event from the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the Masters, is one of those rare people who defined his professional goals early in life and set about reaching them. While in college in Houston, he worked his way through a series of low-level jobs, all related to broadcasting, and then, with his businessman father serving as mentor, he negotiated his way upstream in an incredibly competitive field. The elder Nantz, who developed Alzheimer’s just as Jim was entering the most satisfying stage of his career, has served as a constant benchmark for his son, who approaches his life seemingly armed with one question: What would Dad do? This professional memoir works best when Nantz reflects on memories of his father’s irrepressible optimism. When Nantz the elder isn’t a presence, the book devolves into a series of anecdotes—interesting enough but hardly revelatory—about the big events in sports over the last 20 years and the machinations of sports broadcasting. One of Nantz’s best qualities as a broadcaster is his ability to fade into the background while emphasizing the action in front of him. That’s his approach here, too, and if it works slightly less well in a memoir, it does offer a refreshing change from the typical all-about-me celebrity bio. --Wes Lukowsky

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 273 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; 1st ptg edition (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592403611
• ISBN-13: 978-1592403615
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jim Nantz Shares A Very Personal Journey, May 6, 2008

By 

Christopher Byrne "The Business Controls Caddy" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other (Hardcover)

Sitting down watching the Master's over the past few years, we have noticed little change in the way Jim Nantz has called the action from the tower over the 18th green. The steady, calm voice would tell the story unfolding for the audience. Ever steady, his voice made you confident that that you were indeed watching a special event. However, things were not really so steady in his life as he has had to grapple with personal tragedy in his life, but who outside of a small circle of people knew.

This year, I was not watching the final round of the Masters. Instead, I was sitting on an airplane headed for Los Angeles. But I could still here Jim's voice in my head as I read his new book, Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other (Jim Nantz with Eli Spielmen,Gotham Books, May 2008, 273 pages, ISBN-10: 1592403611, ISBN-13:978-1592403615). To me, the measure of a good book is not the words that are printed on the page, but the pictures they paint and the emotions they evoke. And as I finished the book, I sat there crying as I thought of the relationship I did not have with my now-deceased father and as I thought of my own mother battling dementia in a nursing home.

You see, Jim's book is a not a typical sports memoir. It is a story of deep love and respect for his father, and the pain of not being able to be with him as Alzheimer's disease stole the father Jim loved so much. It is the story about not being able to celebrate the high point of a career with the man you know guided and nurtured you to that point.

You will notice that I refer to the author of this book by his first name. This is because I first met him when he was starting out on CBS Sports Golf Coverage and was surprised by how he treated everyone with open arms and kindness. I did not know him as Mr. Nantz, just Jim. He probably does not remember me at all, nor would I expect him to. I have not had the pleasure of seeing him since I the Washington, DC area over 14 years ago, but this new book opened a floodgate of memories that I had not thought of in a long time.

The book is at its absolute best when he is is telling the story of the relationship he has lived with his father, and of how specific people have been father figures and role models to him over the years. The book, thankfully, is not written to be a manipulative tear jerker. But when you read what he has written and weaved throughout the book, a reader would have to be lying if they say they were not moved in some way. Without giving away the ending, all I can say is that I was hit in the gut as much by the closing as I was with his personal disclosures in the first chapter.

The book is at it weakest when some things seem to be written just for the sake of getting names into the book so nobody would be forgotten. At one point, he quickly rattles off the names of a number of CBS Sports producers and directors in one sentence, without going into more detail of his relationship with them or how they fit into the whole growth of his career. At another point, he briefly mentions "research maven John Kollmansperger." Outside of anyone at CBS Sports or elsewhere that has worked with John (also known as JK), this has absolutely no meaning to ayone reading the book. Don't get me wrong, a lot of information readers of this book have seen presented on CBS Sports startiing back in 1987 came from JK's attention to detail. Without adding additional background on JK, readers will be left to scratch their heads.

There are also a couple of areas of the book that left me, as a reader, wondering. Very little is written about the relationship between Brent Musberger and Jim. Musberger's professionalism is noted, but nothing is said about the relationship between the two men and what Jim was REALLY thinking on April 1, 1990 when the axe fell.

And then there is Billy Packer. Jim refers to Packer as a good friend, but I can't help but feel he is throwing Packer under the bus in describing an incident when Packer was on his knees and knees picking up shards of broken backboard glass so that he could use them to cash in and make money. While Jim may have felt he wrote that to help explain what makes his longtime broadcast partner tick, it only shows a side of Packer that I have heard from many people who know him personally and drives their distaste for him.

Putting these things aside, or perhaps even considering them, readers will not be disappointed by this book. Who knew that Clint Eastwood made adult films, as described by Nantz? Does anyone really know, or remember, who besides Fred Couples he shared a room with in college? And who knew that the calm person we see in Jim Nantz really has enough chutzpah to walk up and ask for what he wants, without apology?

So if you should chose to read this book, and I really think you should, enjoy the stories from the sports world that Jim tells. More importantly, reflect on the relationship you have or had with your parents, and the relationship you want to have with your children. For make no mistake about it, Jim is hammering home how important it is for children to have a strong father in their lives. I do not know if I will be able to make it over to Sugarloaf next week for the AT&T Classic, but if I do, I will make it a point to seek out and thank Jim for this book and for this oh so important message.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honor They Father - Done Well, June 1, 2008

By 

John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other (Hardcover)

I have always thought that Jim Nantz had one of life's greatest gigs. He gets to do The Super Bowl, The NCAA Basketball Tournament and The Masters in sequence as well as covering the PGA and the NFL for CBS. Not bad.

Little did any of us know that he did much of it while dealing with the loss of his Dad to Alzheimer's. This book recounts that episode in his life and tells of the anguish and the pain that this terrible disease inflicts on loved ones.

Before reading this book and learning more about Jim Nantz, his family and his life experiences it has always been clear to me that he is a genuine gentleman and a caring and thoughtful person. After reading it, this is confirmed in spades.

For those who have never had to experience the heartbreaking realization of what Alzheimer's does to it's victims and their families, this book will open your eyes and tug at your heart.

For those that just love to learn some of the inside stories of what it is like to be Jim Nantz and rub elbows with some of the most interesting people around this book delivers on that score as well.

For those who hope to pick up some dirt or gossip about some of the issues and people that Nantz has been associated with during his time at CBS Sports, you will be disappointed. He may kiss, but he dosen't tell. That's not the kind of person he is.

Nantz still has a long career ahead of him and this is not intended to be an autobiography. It opens a window on his life that he wanted to share, to honor his father and tell the world what he meant to him. It does that quite well.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I took the picture at the beach in Aruba 08', May 27, 2008

By 

Jami (Stoughton, Ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other (Hardcover)

I am sitting here watching the Today SHow this morning and I glance up and see your book being spoken about with some photos, and then I realize how familiar you are.

My husband and I saw you and your dad in Aruba last March, We watched as you took your dads arm and walked along with him thru the sand to the water.
I said to my husband, (who lost his dad in 06' and who had always said he wanted to take his father to our home away from home- ARUBA) "Look at that man, with his elderly father, taking his pictures, watching his every step, What a wonderful place to bring him to. "Lucky Him" was my husbands reply, and as he spoke that , with tears in my eyes, I got up and went over to you and asked if you wanted a picture together. I am not usually that assertive, but I felt that I had to go over to you.
I had no idea if you were his son , a friend or a caretaker..

I am so glad I did..
Best of Luck