The Best Chicago Sports Arguments [Paperback]

Mullin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

Every Chicago fan knows that the only thing better than watching sports is arguing about them-picking the best, the worst and who will come out on top. And no city tears its sports teams apart like we do in the Windy City!
Veteran Chicago sportswriter John "Moon" Mullin takes you inside the 100 best debates in Chicago sports. Covering the Bears, Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and beyond, every question you want to debate is here-as well as a few surprises.

Arguments include:
Who wins? Butkus vs. Payton. Sayers vs. Urlacher
Who is the best Chicago announcer? Jack, Harry...or?
NBA's best? Jordan's Bulls, Magic's Lakers or Bird's Celtics?
Who really killed the '85 Bears? Was it just McCaskey?
The Ultimate Bears Coach? Papa Bear or Da Coach?
Who does Chicago most love to hate? A Piston, a Packer or one of our own?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Who’s the best?

Every Chicago fan knows that the only thing better than watching sports is arguing about them-picking the best, the worst and who will come out on top. And no city tears its sports teams apart like we do in the Windy City!

Veteran Chicago sportswriter John “Moon” Mullin takes you inside the 100 best debates in Chicago sports. Covering the Bears, Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and beyond, every question you want to debate is here-as well as a few surprises.

Who wins?
Butkus vs. Payton or Sayers vs. Urlacher

Who is the best Chicago announcer?
Jack, Harry...or?

NBA’s best?
Jordan’s Bulls, Magic’s Lakers or Bird’s Celtics?

Who really killed the ’85 Bears?
Was it just McCaskey?

The Ultimate Bears Coach?
Papa Bear or Da Coach?

Who does Chicago most love to hate?
A Piston, a Packer or one of our own?

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402208219
• ISBN-13: 978-1402208218
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, but...., February 7, 2007

By 

bcat (Huntersville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Chicago Sports Arguments (Paperback)

As a Chicago sports fan, I enjoyed this book, but when I rated it I tried to step back from being a Chicago fan to being a sports fan. Some folks outside of Chicago might enjoy this book, but not many. Even those in Chicago will only be marginally interested. Let's face it, sports radio is the real venue for these types of arguments, not books.

Still, if you're a Chicago sports fan, you'll enjoy Mullin's book. You'll find things to argue with (and that's the point) and you'll find things you'll agree with, and you'll remember things that'll still drive you nuts, like 1984, 2003...oh, who am I kidding? All of Cubs history will drive you nuts, unless, of course your a Sox fan. Some of the debates are boring, such as which golf courses are best and what killed tennis in Chicago, but all in all it's interesing. But, like I said, these are arguments better heard on the radio.

The organization of the book was nice - no debate will take more than a few minutes to read, so it's easy to pick it up for only a few minutes a day and read a complete section.

I can't disagree with most of Mullin's arguments, but I do take issue with a few of his comments:
1) He calls Nolan Ryan an "over-hyped sham" - Ryan won over three hundred games with some of the worst teams in MLB. He could have won 370, possibly 400, if he had ever played for a decent team. For instance, he had the best ERA one season but finished 7-17.
2) He says Ted Lyons won "only" 260 games. Only 260? That's a huge total.
3) Sosa's 66 home runs are only "marginally more" than Hack's 56. If by marginally you mean only a month's total (in a six month season), then I guess you're right.

But really, aren't those arguments what make sports fun? I recommend this book for Chicago sports fans, but I can't give it a high rating, because there's nothing particularly original about it and it won't reach much of an audience outside Chicago.