The book is a funny, insightful and a reasonably priced item for the sports-obsessed husband, wife, brother, sister, father, son, daughter or co-worker. It is the perfect holiday gift and beyond. Complementing the 96-page cartoon book is commentary by renowned writers such as Frank Deford, Jackie MacMullan, Peter King, and others. It celebrates and perfectly skewers several beloved teams including the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, NY Yankees and LA Dodgers, among others. Any sports fan will give a hearty chuckle, or tongue-in-cheek smile, at every page.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
The changes in sport since Larry Johnson and I arrived on the premises me with my note pad, he with his sketchpad have been manifold. To start with the obvious, sport is indisputably bigger than ever and practically ubiquitous, so, whether people care or not, sport s pretty difficult to avoid nowadays. As they say: it s in yer face. So, us troubadours of the fun and games shouldn t complain because we have a larger audience to sing to. And yet, and yet . . . I would say that sport isn t nearly as interesting as it used to be. Now, please, I promise you this isn t just some old man looking back wistfully on the days of his youth when all the songs were sweeter, the women prettier and the children better behaved. But just think about the way it was when sport was going through what I fairly think you could call its revolutionary era. This started right after the war when Jackie Robinson came to the major leagues and integrated the National Pastime. That broke the logjam. Teams began to move. Then new teams were created and the universe expanded. Teams? Whole leagues were created out of whole cloth. Agents arrived on the scene. So did national television. Older players fought to be free agents and younger ones to escape the clutches of the NCAA. Some of them actually got involved in politics. There were strikes and lockouts. Monstrous domes were constructed. Eighth wonders! Amateurism was routed in most of the world. The Olympics exploded in size. Billie Jean King led women into sports. A lot of this stuff was fun, and for a reporter, it was an absolute bonanza to chronicle. But now, despite a few periodic hiccups (mostly just greed raring its ugly head), sport around the world is fat and happy. Oh sure, there are some terrific games and some amazing athletes, but play Foreword enough games and put enough money on the table, and you re always going to get a certain amount of wonderful entertainment and fantastic star turns. Otherwise, though, instead of drama and upheaval, we are left with little to do but ponder the over-sized ego of vulgar wide receivers. The cosmic issues, it seems, have all been laid to rest. So for journalists, it s more difficult to find good stories. It s difficult even to make the athletes into particularly engaging human beings. They learn at younger and younger ages not only how to excel physically, but also how to spout cliches, just like their adult heroes. With all their wealth, they retreat into gated communities in houses the size of Estonia and confine themselves to their entourages and their personal trainers. I ve thought for years that what changed athletes wasn t so much that they became rich as it was that they became so rich they didn t have to work at regular jobs in the off-season. Insulation more than filthy lucre itself made them different from you and me, and as nice as many of them really are, they re just not very intriguing. Given this homogenization of the genre, it s all the more special that Larry Johnson can continue to work his magic so well. As always, he sees the folly and the foibles and, yes, the glory and the evil of sport, as well, and portrays it in such a way that we laugh at his humor or nod at his wisdom or grind our teeth at what he has so perfectly skewers. To capture the human sporting condition as simply and sharply as Larry does is such a blessed talent, so turn the page end enjoy the Johnson cavalcade of athletic life on the hoof. Frank Deford, Author, Commentator
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The cartoons by Larry Johnson are the best! Mr. Johnson gets to the "heart of the matter" with his sharp, incisive wit. Incredibly funny!
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