Customer Reviews

Between the Lines: Not-So-Tall Tales From Ray "Scampy" Scapinello's Four Decades in the NHL

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I (asked for and) received this book for Christmas (Thanks, Mom!) and read it on the plane ride to Minnesota. It was a fun, entertaining read. For a post-lockout new fan, as I am, I found the mentions of the mechanics of the game interesting and for a short while I considered trying to be a referee or linesman in the NHL, until I realized I couldn't skate forwards that well, let alone backwards, sideways, or while holding myself up on the boards. The non-mechanics parts of the book were also fun - It has a lot of stories of "Scampy's" personal experiences working in the league for over 20 years. If you're looking for a light*, fun read about hockey, this is certainly the book for you.

*"Light" meaning quick and mostly painless, and we're comparing it to the wide range of literature rather than other hockey books.

As a hockey fan with an appreciation for the history of the game, I jumped at the chance to read and review Between the Lines: Not-So-Tall Tales From Ray "Scampy" Scapinello's Four Decades in the NHL by Ray Scapinello and Rob Simpson. From the perspective of a fan, it was fun to read. But from a critical perspective, it could (and should) have been much, much more...

Contents:
The Essential Scampy; Big Games, Colossal Pressure; Fighters and Brawlers; Young "Gus" Grows; Gaining Experience; A Brotherhood of Pranksters; All in the Family; NHL Evolutions; Privet (Hello) Russia; What's Left Behind and Lies Ahead; Index

Ray Scapinello, aka "Scampy", was a linesman in the National Hockey League (NHL), and has a career of respect and longevity that will never again be matched by an official. Due to excellent conditioning and more than a little luck, he never missed a game and was on the ice until his late 50's. During that time, he skated with many of the legends of the game. And at only 5' 7", he was almost always outmatched in the size and bulk department when breaking up fights. But again, his commitment to the game and fearless attitude had him diving into scrums with some of the league's most notorious brawlers. Throughout the book, there are a number of stories related to the games he worked, personalities he met, and other officials he saw come and go during that time. From a pure hockey appreciation standpoint, the book provides an insight to the life of a "zebra", quite often the most thankless job in sports.

So where did things go wrong with the book?

Primarily, a lack of focus. I wouldn't expect fellow officials to be left out of stories, but far too often the stories were more about them than Scampy. It also wasn't unusual for the author to head off on a tangent related to some aspect of the game. Again, interesting from a hockey standpoint, but not seemingly relevant to Scampy's story. The stories don't always follow a chronological order in his life, so you jump from his last game to his childhood to the strike season back to his son, etc. It made the organization of the book seem very disjointed, and detracted from what could have been both an entertaining read *and* a solid book.

I'll pass this along to my son, who is also a linesman and referee at the junior level. I have no doubt he'll enjoy the book and relate to many of the on-ice incidents. But I have a feeling that even he will be less than impressed at the overall layout. Too bad, as Scampy is a part of the game that's often overlooked and should have more attention. There *are* real people under those striped sweaters...

I really don't write reviews that much. I am only doing this because I truly loved the book and finished it in a few days. I just love hockey stories and this book fit the bill for me.

A good insight on a long career. If you're a referee, not only hockey but in any sport, it keeps you entertained

I bought 2 copies. One an electronic download for myself and a paperback for another huge NHL fan I work with. It was very interesting to read. I think of all the games I watch and how you don't really notice the refs. Well they have a lot of insight to the players and coaches personalities and situations along with the behind the scenes stuff. I enjoyed the book a great deal and couldn't put it down.

This was a good book. But if you're looking for juicy stories you won't find many (if any) here.

I bought an autographed copy of the book directly from Ray at the HSBC arena in Buffalo. I loved Scampy as a ref and I loved his book. Sure, it could've had a bit more content but overall it was a very enjoyable read.

Fantastic Book - a must have for any die hard hockey fan. Great insight into the game and it's history.

I really looked forward to reading this book over the Christmas holiday.

However, it's very painful for me to say that this book was a complete and total let down. Based on Scampy's tenure in the NHL, I would have expected so much more, but Scampy held back. Clearly, Scampy didn't want to do a "tell all" book, but this book was so poorly written and organized with weak stories and annecdotes. Scampy certainly had better material that he could have shared with us. Perhaps I can't blame him for not wanting to get into more details on topics the average hockey fan would want to know.

Scampy was the best linesmen I ever saw and his career spanned so many years. It's just too bad the book did not get into the level of detail and stories that Scampy must surely have filed in his memory banks that we all would have enjoyed reading.

As an avid hockey fan, I enjoyed all of the stories in the book. It provides incredible insight into the NHL and its officials. I found myself thouroughly amazed at how much extracurricular stuff goes on during a hockey game between the officials and players.

That said, the book itself was dissapointing. It seems to skip around alot, telling a story and then going off on several related tangents before returning to the original point. This causes the author to repeat himself several times, particularly across several chapters.

Perhaps most dissapointing is the general lack of "Scampy" stories through the first two thirds of the book. It's more of a "life of the NHL officials" type of book than a story about the life and career of a specific person. This is why hockey fans will still enjoy this book, reading background stories about NHL games always provides a unique, new, and enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, this book is published as an [auto]biography and that takes away from the overall enjoyment of the book.