3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great resource on sports trivia, November 14, 2008
This review is from: ESPN Sports Almanac 2009 (Paperback)
I love books like this. Jam-packed with facts, including sometimes little known facts. Sports trivia catches my attention. . . .
The ESPN Sports Almanac exemplifies the genre.
It begins with a look at the past year in sports. My favorite section in this part of the book is "Extra Points," weird things that happened. For example, John McEnroe, playing in a kind of "old-timers" match got thrown out of his match for going ballistic over a line call. I thought he'd mellowed?
Following are sections organized largely by sport: baseball, college football, pro football, college basketball, pro basketball, hockey, and a host of other topics (such as Halls of Fame, Olympic games, motor sports, and miscellaneous sports (such as bowling, chess, Westminster Kennel Club competition, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champs, and so on).
Take baseball as an illustration. You have team hitting and pitching statistics (Among Chicago White Sox hitters, Jermaine Dye had the highest average among those with 125 or more at bats [.292], while Bobby Jencks had the lowest ERA among Sox pitchers [2.63]). I could spend an entire evening porting over such figures. There are also box scores of the 2008 post-season games; World Series winners from 1903 onward; home run champions each year; batting champ each year; Cy Young Award winner; and so on and on and on.
Another feature is a listing of Halls of Fame. For instance, looking at the Hockey Hall of Fame, I see some of the players whom I watched on TV and listened to on radio in the 1960s (Stan Mikita, Jean Beliveau, Gump Worsley) as well as recalled some classic officials (Andy van Hellemond and Ray Scapinello). The Boxing Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, Bowling Halls of Fame, and so on.
Anyhow, if you like sports statistics and trivia, this book will be a treasure for you.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent reference for sports., July 1, 2010
This review is from: ESPN Sports Almanac 2009 (Paperback)
Anyone who loves sports will appreciate this book. Whether you're arguing with your buddies over a particular record or looking for good bathroom material, this is the book to have. The book is loaded with just about every record and statistic and is a great sports reference.
My 13 year-old son loves baseball and reads this book all the time. We have fun quizzing each other on baseball facts and he's getting tougher to beat.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book for the Fan in You, August 1, 2009
This review is from: ESPN Sports Almanac 2009 (Paperback)
I received this book as a present due to my love of sports and my every growing thirst for knowledge. I am an avid sports fan who can get into an hour long conversation on why Eli Manning could out duel Brett Farve and Tony Romo any day, but I am always looking for stats to back up my arguments and here they are. In this book I can find almost anything. Want to know who won the 1954 world series, well that would be the New York Giants in a four game sweep over Cleveland and the winning manager was Leo Durocher and the losing manger was Al Lopez.Bet your buddies didn't know that one. How about the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold? mark McGwire 70th HR ball, 1998 HR Chase purchased by Todd McFarlane and sold for $3,005,000. Now I could go on forever, but the point is that this book is any awesome addition to any collection and allows you to expand your sports knowledge until no other can match your sport smarts.
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