The Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time [Hardcover]

Christopher Russo (Author), Allen St. John (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2003

THE ESSENTIAL BOOK FOR ANY SPORTS FAN, FROM ONE OF THE REIGNING KINGS OF SPORTS TALK RADIO, CHRISTOPHER “MAD DOG” RUSSO

Which was the greater achievement, Ted Williams’s .406 season or Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak?

Who’d be left standing in a battle between Joe Louis and Mohammed Ali?

Which NBA team was the greatest of all time—the ’66–’67 Celtics? The ’71–’72 Lakers? What about the ’95–’96 Bulls?

Who would dominate the ultimate Pebble Beach showdown—Ben Hogan or Tiger Woods?

Who was the most important athlete of the twentieth century?

You’re a sports fan. You love a good argument and you’ll defend your position as fervently as Michael Jordan at crunch time. You’ll analyze games and terrible calls, throw out stats to prove a point, and heatedly debate whether a player is an overachiever—or merely overpaid.
Now, in his long-awaited and completely original book, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo sets up and breaks down the one hundred greatest sports arguments of all time. In classic Mad Dog style, each chapter tackles a classic sports debate and takes sides with the clear, step-by-step opinions that have made Russo one of the top radio personalities in the country. The Mad Dog 100 covers it all: from baseball (Who really should go to Cooperstown?), to basketball (Chamberlain, Russell, or Shaq: who’s the NBA’s most dominant center ever?), to football (Who is the greatest NFL quarterback ever?), to hockey (What are the greatest hockey dynasties of all time?)—and is a catch-all of other crucial modern-day sports questions like: Is instant replay really worth it? What’s the true role of performance-enhancing drugs? Are salary caps really necessary?
Whether you’re reading The Mad Dog 100 or debating these sports arguments with friends, this is the definitive companion for any self-respecting sports fan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Russo shows a shocking willingness to be fair, citing the evidence on both sides before choosing one.” —Wall Street Journal”Opining about sports in a spirited fashion is Chris Russo’s specialty.  You don’t have to agree with him 100 percent of the time to find plenty to like and talk about on these pages.” —Bob Costas, NBC and HBO

From the Inside Flap

THE ESSENTIAL BOOK FOR ANY SPORTS FAN, FROM ONE OF THE REIGNING KINGS OF SPORTS TALK RADIO, CHRISTOPHER ?MAD DOG? RUSSO

Which was the greater achievement, Ted Williams?s .406 season or Joe DiMaggio?s 56-game hitting streak?

Who?d be left standing in a battle between Joe Louis and Mohammed Ali?

Which NBA team was the greatest of all time?the ?66??67 Celtics? The ?71??72 Lakers? What about the ?95??96 Bulls?

Who would dominate the ultimate Pebble Beach showdown?Ben Hogan or Tiger Woods?

Who was the most important athlete of the twentieth century?

You?re a sports fan. You love a good argument and you?ll defend your position as fervently as Michael Jordan at crunch time. You?ll analyze games and terrible calls, throw out stats to prove a point, and heatedly debate whether a player is an overachiever?or merely overpaid.
Now, in his long-awaited and completely original book, Christopher ?Mad Dog? Russo sets up and breaks down the one hundred greatest sports arguments of all time. In classic Mad Dog style, each chapter tackles a classic sports debate and takes sides with the clear, step-by-step opinions that have made Russo one of the top radio personalities in the country. The Mad Dog 100 covers it all: from baseball (Who really should go to Cooperstown?), to basketball (Chamberlain, Russell, or Shaq: who?s the NBA?s most dominant center ever?), to football (Who is the greatest NFL quarterback ever?), to hockey (What are the greatest hockey dynasties of all time?)?and is a catch-all of other crucial modern-day sports questions like: Is instant replay really worth it? What?s the true role of performance-enhancing drugs? Are salary caps really necessary?
Whether you?re reading The Mad Dog 100 or debating these sports arguments with friends, this is the definitive companion for any self-respecting sports fan.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (May 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385508980
• ISBN-13: 978-0385508988
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A bummer....I really thought it would be compelling., August 31, 2004

By 

Jamie (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time (Hardcover)

As an avid listener of the mad dog's radio program, I really wanted to read his book. After all, he plugged it at every possible moment on air for three months. It must be good, right? Not really.

This book is not for the hard core sports fan. At the same time, I can't imagine a casual sports fan picking it up either. At every turn of the page there was one big problem - no depth. There was no subject that grabbed a hold of me and consequently, I found the book boring.

Too much SF Giants and NY Yankees. He had no thoughts that made me even remotely interested. How would mad dog change the NHL? Everyone knows the dog doesn't even watch the NHL! Not even in the playoffs. Get rid of the blue line! Why didn't I think of that? I was really looking for the fire that makes his radio show special. Maybe all of those years being bored having to listen to Mike have finally taken their toll. About the only chapter I found interesting was the one where he recommends his favorite sports books. I plan on reading the ones on his list that I missed. I doubt this book will make anyone's list.

Sorry Doggie.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars vintage Mad Dog commentary, June 15, 2003

By 

S. Khetan (Martinsville, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time (Hardcover)

A long time listener of Mike and the Mad Dog radio, nothing gets me in a better mood driving on weekday afternoons that Mad Dog's high octane, intense viewpoints on everything sports. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when the Mad Dog 100 was released.

His book is vintage Mad Dog. Tackling 100 arguments of sports on a surprisingly wide and thorough range of topics, he provides arguments that are reasonable, if not correct (everyone has their own opinion), and presents many hidden factors or facts that fans don't often realize. A few reasons in particular why I liked it...

1. Not too technical. An earlier reviewer said that Mad Dog's analysis was "watered down", meaning they only scratched the very basics of a topic. I think this is actually a good thing. Why? I could follow arguments and enjoy the commentary on sports I don't know much about, such as football or track. Going into too much detail will alienate much of the book for many readers, besides it's 300 pages even with basic arguments.

2. The hidden factors. I mentioned this before- on seemingly every topic, the Dog brings up relevant facts that the reader (at least I was) wasn't aware of... the "I didn't think of that" kind of fact. For example- the fact that Gherig batted once and took the rest off the day off several times to extend his consecutive games streak, while Ripken's playing every day ofteh hurt his team but occurred because of Ripken's drive for the record are two factors in the streak debate (which was better?) that most non-religious baseball followers don't realize.

3. The authority factor. I like the fact that the Mad Dog will admit when he knows little about a sport or topic and won't try to ram an argument down your throat for these (although he will for everything else :)- he won't try to dissect a topic he knows nothing about. Same goes for his time period- Mad Dog states several times he won't comment as critically on players or periods before his time, and I respect him for that. I don't need a guy who's forty five-ish trying to examine the ins and outs of Christy Matheson's game because he wasn't even born yet- Mad Dog understands that.

I'll be the first to tell you that Mad Dog isn't right about every topic, and he can be more than a bit stubborn. But reading the book, I fully realized how smart the guy is in sports- even if you think he's wrong, he's going to bring up some aspects of ANY argument you might not have thought of. So enjoy Mad Dog 100, it's a lot of fun for those of us who ponder the great sports arguments and love talking about em...

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Read for Sports Fans, June 20, 2003

By 

A. M. Sulkin (wayne, nj USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time (Hardcover)

The title of the book is partly misleading, because the 100 chapters are not so much devoted to the greatest sports arguments of all time, but 100 issues/topics of particular interest to Chris "Mad Dog" Russo phrased in the form of a question. More than a few of the topics are opportunities for Russo to vent his opinions and/or suggestions on a particular sports issue, although the bulk of the book does focus on argument issues that most sports enthusiasts have participated in one time or another. One drawback is that many lists of greatest players or games is limited to Russo's personal history, dating back to the 1960s, although a few old timers occasionally pop up in the essays.

Russo has his biases, and some of his analyses are questionable. For example, batting average is given far greater emphasis than the more reliable on base percentage for evaluating players. Some of his picks will create controversy, and some bewilderment. For example, selecting the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff as one of the greatest when the starters, excepting Sandy Koufax, barely won more than they lost, or choosing Sammy Sosa, over Ruth, McGwire, or Bonds, as the guy you would choose when you needed a home run for one at bat. He does deserve more than a few kudos, however, when he appears to be going against the crowd when bypassing Michael Jordan as the top pick in a few categories; real sports fans agree with him that Jordan's selection by ESPN as greatest 20th century athlete was questionable. Also, selecting Alex Rodriguez over Honus Wagner as the greatest shortstop may rustle the feathers of oldtimers, but its a bold choice.

The book may have benefitted by including more statistics to back up some selections, and also including some additional background information on a few of the athletes discussed, but overall it was a quick and enjoyable read.