Customer Reviews

The Fix Is In: The Showbiz Manipulations of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have to say that Im totally enjoying this book. Im not even a big sports fan and I dont think you really need to be one to enjoy this. Its just super interesting reading about all the,drugs, greed, booze, and gambling (and the cover ups by the leagues, owners, coaches and players: WOW!!) that plays a HUGE roll in pro and college sports. Im about half way done and I dont want it to end. I just love reading about these so-called "role models" hanging around with gangsters, getting wasted, getting high, and gambling themselves so deep, that they have to throw games to get out! This book helps me justify my own feelings about most sports (especially football) being fake and or rigged by players, owners or even umpires.

....and I havent even got to the Pete Rose section yet!!!!

GET THIS BOOK!!! HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND HIGHLY RECOMENDED!

TERRIFIC BOOK. I bought a copy after I heard author Brian Tuohy doing an interview. I was skeptical, but it's hard to ignore the arguments and information put forth here. It's amazing that no one has written this book until now.

Michael Jordan's sudden and abrupt retirement now makes sense against the backdrop of his unpublicized gambling issues; the emotional Daytona 500 win by Dale Earnhardt one year after his father's death which seemed way too good to be true and Referee Tim Donaghy who admitted fixing games but who has now been silenced and has disappeared...AND these are only three stories out of DOZENS AND DOZENS.

Tuohy makes a good point when he states that cheating or fixing is not illegal. Professional sports are self-regulated. Despite the fact that cities subsidize these franchises which gives the leagues the ability to negotiate billion dollar deals for broadcast rights, there is no accountability.

The players that succumb to their own demons will always exist (that's why as Tuohy points out that the leagues have their own ad-hoc police force made up of ex-FBI agents-it's amazing and TRUE!) AND the sports reporters in order to keep their jobs and preserve access will always look the other way.

It's the big money-no ethics mentality of the sports leagues that is the root of all evil and the league commissioners are the true villains. If they clean up their act when it comes to drug testing, etc., perhaps professional sports will have the integrity that the fans deserve and should demand.

I checked out author Brian Tuohy's webpage [...]. On it he states "There are no coincidences." This couldn't be truer.

If you are able to separate yourself from speaking or thinking about your favorite sport team in the collective "we" then you will love Brian Tuohy's "The Fix is in". The book has been tabbed as a "conspiracy theory" book - but I would argue that the book in fact is NOT a conspiracy theory book as those books usually just throw out wild accusations with no basis or foundation to begin to even build a question or theory on. The Fix is In - is rather a suggestion and challenge to the general public and "die hard" sports fan to consider certain truths both documented and notably alleged. If you approach the book as a research document you will find much more supporting evidence of very "shady" transactions or occurrences that have gone widely ignored or unknown. Even the lack of coverage of such transactions / transgressions is a very interesting topic covered in the book. I think Tuohy opens the door to some very provocative and potentially very damning questions... and I say its about time

This is a fantastic book. Anyone who watches professional sports, who lives and breaths with a team or player should get this book. It covers a wide variety of sports and situations. It will take off those rose-colored glasses if you are wearing them.

As a long time sports follower, I have seen a few too many "coincidences" to ignore them, which prompted me to buy this book and I was not disappointed. While many of the journalists who reviewed this book try to say that the author does not have evidence to support the claim, that is not the case at all. He is simply presenting what is known and how to view the league from the perspective of a CEO running a company trying to maximize profits. When looking at the league through that lens and seeing the many "coincidences" (that he suggests may be fixes) that have happened in sports, it makes one wonder if there are just too many of them. Also, remember that, as he said, many of the sportswriters and journalists MAKE A LIVING reporting on sports and they will certainly not get the best interviews and access to players if they support ANYTHING that is not good PR for the league.

It is certainly a very interesting read and one that I would recommend, especially if you have followed sports for a long time.

Thanks to my Dad (thanks Dad), I grew up a big professional sports fan. There was nothing more thrilling and wonderous for me than driving to NYC to see the Mets play at Shea Stadium. The players were my heroes. As I grew older, however, I began to notice the games seemed a bit too scripted, overly dramatic, poorly officiated and just plain unreal. I felt the "fix was in" for the first time when the Giants fumbled away a game (that game) to the Eagles in 1978. Ironically it is not a game that critics have considered fixed. I've continued to watch and attend sports events with a wary eye, though I still root hard for my teams. Then came this book. Wow. I knew pro and bigtime college sports were a bit crooked but this well-researched and well-written book puts it all into perspective, supported by something called facts and convincing evidence. While I am riveted by the copy I am saddened by the reality of it all. I collect video games of 1970s/80s sporting events but I watch the games now with the hope the games were not fixed. I look for bad calls, I look for odd plays. Say It Ain't So...but it is. This book does a great job of laying out the cold, hard truth. Through it all, however, as the author points out, the public will continue to watch. Hey, that's entertainment.

After hearing afew interviews on the authors website I decided to get the book, over all rating is superb for this book but the thing I want to comment most on is Dale, Jr.'s Pepsi/Firecracker 400 win. It didn't mention much about how that race was FIXED other than Michael Waltrip and Elliot Sadler saying they "WEREN'T going to pass him!", but the passing 5 cars alone part made me watch it online again. Dale certainly didn't have a completely unrestricted NASCAR engine since he didn't go 230 mph alone. But he definitely had an unrestricted 'crate motor' that made no more hp than the CUP engines make while restricted, that's the only way you can sling shot by people at WUSStona and WUSSadega since the WUSSplate creates zero throttle response.

Tuohy asks how many fans vowed never to watch baseball again in 1994, or swore off hockey in 2004. I am that guy. I was a Reds fan... until Rose blew up. I turned to hockey, but watching the NHL dismantle itself and its history into a mess of uninteresting, play-off driven teams infuriated me. About the same time, I picked up the habit of watching the Pacers never manage to close a championship. I both love and hate professional sports, so Tuohy's book was up my alley. This book kept me awake for two days. After work, I read late into the night, reviewing dubious calls and such on YouTube. Tuohy's book is engaging and readable. He's a good story teller who worked hard to transfer that on the written page. Tuohy's articulation of the "synergy" between sports and television is illuminating and depressing. These elements of his story are well supported by external evidence. (Most of which somehow include the quote "better than if we had written the script ourselves.") The other end of the story -- gambling -- is more difficult to prove, but Tuohy establishes the GENERAL case beyond a resonable doubt. Which games were thrown or manipulated in the past 20 years? That's more difficult... The first half of the story suggests a cynical answer: None that the league would rather alter for good television... A third thread concerns drug abuse, performance enhancers and crime (chiefly gun charges) but I find the problems of individual players are less troubling than the general dirtiness of the leagues. I'm sure a thousand stories got cut from the book (remember how Reggie Miller -- like Joe Namath -- said he had a job in the entertainment business?), but what remains will fuel discussion and speculation for years.

Brian Tuohy takes us on fascinating look at the major issues that have plagued American sports for over the last century. Prolific drug users, abusers, murderers, game fixers, point shavers, bribers and all around thugs...and that's just the athletes and league officials.

Ever wonder exactly how much money teams rake in for TV rights, or how much they scam out of your taxpayer dollars to build new stadiums, or how many athletes have well documented problems with drugs and gambling? Tuohy gives plenty of documentation as proof, and gives a comprehensive overview of various scandals dating back to the 1800's.

This is a must read for anyone ignorant enough to take professional sports seriously.

nothing really shocking or surprising in this book which just states alot of obvious things and how the big market and business of selling said tean, athlete, etc... equals more money, higher ratings, etc.. it has gotten even worse over time and been covered up really well.i mean with all the money and advertising what else can you expect? i see it in all sports and have been sitting year after year with my mouth wide open in disbelief at some of the things that have gone down and its bout time a book as this comes to the fore front and states the facts.