Customer Reviews

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

James Miller's--its obvious from the Introduction to the Acknowledgments to the writing itself that the sports-indifferent Tom Shales main contribution was lending his name to the project--THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN is an engaging, if overly long, look at what has made ESPN the media and cultural phenomena that it is. Using an oral history format, the narrative runs from ESPN's humble beginnings to its current status of world domination. According to Miller, there were nine steps in ESPN's history that fell perfectly for the company not only to survive, but to rise to the top of its field.

1) Original founders Bill and Scott Rasmussen's decision to buy a transpounder on RCA SATCOM I in 1978.
2) Getty Oil's investment of $15 million in May of 1979.
3) Creating a dual revenue stream in March 1983.
4) Coverage of the America's Cup Challenge in 1987.
5) Getting TV rights to NFL games in 1987.
6) The $400 million, 4-year MLB deal in 1989.
7) The mid-90s generated "THIS IS SPORTSCENTER" advertizing campaign.
8) The acquisition of a full season of NFL games in 1998.
9) The documentary series SPORTSCENTURY.

The main players behind the scenes receive as much attention as the talent on screen. The Rasmussens have the idea, and negotiate an incredibly unlikely start, but are almost immediately kicked out the door by Stu Evey, the moneyman from Getty, and Chet Simmons, the legendary NBC producer. By the mid-1980s, Evey and Simmons were replaced by Bill Grimes and Steve Bornstein. By the 2000s, the respected and congenial George Bodenheimer was teamed with talented, but utterly brash Mark Shapiro. What didn't change, however, was Bristol, the little Connecticut village that is as much a character as any. To say that the talent didn't like living in Bristol would be an understatement. Better to work all day than to have an off day in Bristol.

Miller, however, realizes that the best copy is always the talent. The main groupings are the professionals (Bob Ley, Robin Roberts, Charlie Steiner, Dan Patrick), the performers (Chris Berman, Craig Kilborn, Stephen A. Smith) and the out-of-control but immensely talented (Keith Olbermann). Smart, quick and insufferable, Olbermann's five years provide material enough for a separate volume. Miller writes, "Have Keith Theodore Olbermann spend a few seasons working at your TV network and see how you feel. Sort of like Kansas after a twister." On a level below Olbermann in talent (in Miller's eyes), but on the same level of being a whinny pain in-the-you-know-what is Bill Simmons.

Those whom Miller exposes as being less than what they appear are Mike Tirico, Linda Cohn and Chris Berman. Tirico, rightly or wrongly, refused to give Tony Kornheiser any love in the MNF booth. Cohn's self-absorption tops Olbermann's. Berman is shown to be incapable of not being linked to the NFL, and also gave a cold shoulder to Kornheiser.

Those whom Miller loves are Kirk Herbstreit and College GameDay ("a show prized as if it were the Golden Fleece and Hope Diamond put together"), Robin Roberts ("an unmistakeable aura of authority, a true pro's unflappability"), and Michelle Beadle ("humble but fearless standout").

Miller's previous connections with WASHINGTON POST alum such as Kornheiser and John Walsh lead to very positive portrayals of their roles. The one glaring editing mistake of the book (apart from spelling Jim Nantz's name Jim Nance), however, is connected with a virtual repeat of the quotes on pages 607-608 and 676-677 dealing with Kornheiser's 3-year run on MNF. It is apparent that Miller takes the same Tirico clip and edits it two ways, and also uses the same John Skipper piece with slightly different editing. For such a professional job throughout, seeing the repetition stuck out like a sore thumb.

Surprisingly, some of the more profound statements are found from Rick Reilly, who was beaten to a pulp in Malcolm MacCambridge's history of SI. Reilly points out that ESPN.COM exponentially spreads his column in a way that SI never could. He also recognizes the difference between those who learned the trade with fences (a 800 word column limit) versus those who learned on the internet (Simmons) without fences and battle to retain every word.

Dan Patrick is also surprising. Given the light-heartedness of his radio show, he doesn't come off as a family man, but that is the main reason he left ESPN. He wanted more time with his family, sometime that he had abandoned under the regime of Mark Shapiro. When ESPN didn't relent from their demands, he came to the conclusion that ESPN cared mainly about the profit, and not the talent.

And, that is the thread that runs through the story of ESPN as a whole. Business comes first. It comes first over the content. It comes first over the talent. It comes first over family. With that paradigm in place, the dream goal of the 1980s was realized in the 2000s--making ESPN a way of life. Welcome to the Mothership.

I just finished the book yesterday and I must say 748 pages later I was completely disappointed in the end product. I was originally inspired to read the book based on the hype by some of the pundits calling it extremely controversial, etc etc etc. In particular Dan Patrick was the biggest culprit. When he was promoting the book he made you think the majority of the book would be about the rivalries and backstabbing that went on. I should have known better when I received the book and saw how ridiculously thick it was.
To make a long story short it is more of a historical time line of the network rather than an inside peak at the personalities. I'm a huge sports fan so that was what kept me reading. Nothing really "bombshellish" was dropped except for the fact that in the early days Mike Tirico was a pervert and by today's sexual harassment standards he'd be in the unemployment line for life. That was the only revelation that really surprised me. Aside from that, the same arrogance and over inflated egos that are on display regularly on ESPN continually resonate throughout the book.
At the end of the day I let a good marketing and PR campaign bamboozle me into buying this paper weight. You can't really say it's well written because there is no writing. The "authors" (and I use that term loosely) just took quotes from various people about time line based happenings at ESPN, slapped a collage on it and called it a book. Not that I am a stickler for this sort of thing but I found a TON of grammatical errors that I would assume would have been found prior to print seeing as how the authors did nothing more than collect quotes and interject a few lines of back story on every other page.
The only reason it gets a 2 star versus a one star is because it was sports related. Other than that save your time and money; however, if you do decide to read the book expect most of the interviewees to "tow the company line", and those who don't claim they revolutionized the whole network.

I've grown up with ESPN so when I heard there was a book coming out based around the network I was beyond excited. Well, i've finished it and all i can say is that i'm disappointed. When I found out it was 700+ pages i thought to myself "great, they must have a TON of juicy, behind the scenes stories to fill the pages." I was incorrect. Don't get me wrong, there are some juicy, behind the scenes stories, just not enough to carry 750 pages. The book could literally be cut in half and I don't think you'd lose much in terms of content. There are some hilarious and interesting portions, but the majority is difficult to get through. Many times I found myself reading stuff I just didn't care about. I'm not saying to completely avoid this book, but you probably don't need to run out and buy it. Wait for a copy at the library or borrow one from a friend. Just don't plan on returning it to your friend for a month. It's looooong.

First off, this book is an exhaustive look at ESPN, from founding to the present. And when I say exhaustive, I mean it. Page after page of almost day to day activity at the network. There are some funny portions, but they are buried under the weight of people patting each other on the back, or telling the author about how much they hated someone in charge. This book could easily have been cut in half (it is 748 pages long) and you wouldn't have missed anything important. It seems as if the publisher had a price point in mind when they greenlighted the book, and didn't think they could get $28 for something 300 pages long. At best, this is a decent book, long on minutea, about the people who made ESPN into what it is now.

I can't believe how much I disliked this book. I expected so much more, especially given that it was over 700 pages long. But at least 500 pages of it didn't tell of anyone having fun at all. If you're into the corporate intrigue and big egos that come with starting and growing a huge sports network, then this here's your huckleberry. But if you think you're getting an endless parade of behind-the-scenes pranks, hijinks, and random buffoonery with all of your favorite anchors, think again.

It takes a whole lot of effort to stay with it. Half of the stories are about the producers and executives that the average fan doesn't care one whit about.

Also, if more person said 'Keith Olbermann is a genius', I would've gagged. I watched damn near every episode of 'The Big Show' in the 90's, and I never thought he was that great--Dan Patrick was the talent in that duo.

Anyhow, it's not worth the money--a few high points and interesting stories, but overall, it was a complete snoozer.

I am a sports person, and sports has played a large role throughout my life. I grew up with espn and I watch, analyze it everyday. That being said, this book is boring. The first half is an uninteresting business book, and the second half drags on and on, flimsily held together by random quotes/stories, often in a bizarre order. Numerous times I felt like I was reading this book out of order. Also, most of the personalities come off as being completely pompous jerks, Dan Patrick being an exception. Do we really need 100 pages on the dynamic of the Monday Night Football booth? I waited for this book, now I want my money back. SKIP IT!

As someone interested in the sports industry, I looked forward to this book.
And it does lay out the story of ESPN via the players themselves.

But just because the authors gained access to the protagonists doesn't mean they should regurgitate anything and everything those folks said onto the book.
This book really needs a good editor to pull all that was said and lay it out in a concise manner.
the current book is some 700 pages long but perhaps it could have been edited down to half that.
I gave up halfway into the rambling.

This book was one of the most hyped titles of 2011, and I was extremely disappointed in it. I expected, indeed wanted, a lot more focus on the talent in front of the camera, as well as behind the scenes stories of the great moments ESPN has covered. Instead, what we get is a primer on high finance as it pertains to corporate acquisitions, stories about how much sex and drinking went on in the early days of the network, and snarky comments from long term employees about those who left. So, Bob Ley acts like an ass, Keith Olbermann offended a lot of people, and Charley Steiner was a clown, and everybody is sorry about Tom Mees, but they still have plenty of negative things to say about him. I get it. So what? I've believed, for years, that ESPN, if needed, could cover world news much better than other networks, but there isn't one single thing in this book that would back up that belief.
In short, this book is much more about corporate finance than it is about America's premier sports channel. I ended up seeing it much like their worst announcer, Sage Steele, approaches her job: as something to be hurried through and put behind me so I could move on to something better. Skip this one, it's just not worth the money.

I gave up. After having this book in my house for over 3 months, initially having it as my full-time book, then relegating it to the bathroom in the hopes that would be a better environment for the book to be read, and now putting it on my shelf of books that have already been read, I can safely say that I will never ever pick this up again except to possibly kill a wayward spider, crack open walnuts, or donate to a charitable organization's book sale.

This stunk. The 'authors' previously put together a terrific book about the history of Saturday Night Live that is a book I recommend to anyone. That book featured interviews and oral commentary from the stars and writers and producers that flowed seamlessly together and formed a well-woven tapestry of SNL's history. I thought I'd get the same quality here, but it's not even close. This features disjointed commentaries from ESPN anchors, writers, and producers that meander, bore, and avoid all the interesting back-stage information that made the SNL book such a treasure.

The Mike Tirico sexual harrassment incident is glossed over. The bitter edges to the Keith Olbermann years are watered down so no one can take any offense. Worst of all this simply isn't interesting.

If anyone wants my copy of this book be forewarned: There might be bug splatters on it, but the last 300 pages have never been read, and never will be.

Boring - Way too long. The people at ESPN are full of themselves, think what they do is much more important than it is, think they're great journalist when they are just shills for the NFL. Endless accounts of things like how Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser couldn't get along. They think they are more important than the sport they cover and the stories of their problems and "triumphs" (triumphs to them, trivial to most people) get old quick. The book is a metaphor for ESPN, not a well written, engrossing story about ESPN. If you want to read about self absorbed people making way too much money for doing trivial stuff, and crowing about it then try it. You will be disappointed.