Product Description
In The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time, long-time TV sports statistician and self-professed skeptic Elliott Kalb examines the most notable conspiracies in sports history, from Major League baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Olympics, NASCAR, the horse track and the prize ring.Separating fact from myth, Kalb attempts to determine which of these long-held conspiracy theories hold water, and which ones fall flat under scrutiny. Ranking the conspiracies from 1 to 30 and the likelihood of each conspiracy from 1 to 5, Kalb boldly asks:

• Did baseball avoid integration in the 1930s and 1940s with an unwritten agreement?
• Was Super Bowl III a fixed game?
• Did Sonny Liston throw both of his fights vs. Muhammad Ali?
• Was the NBA’s first-ever draft lottery fixed?
• Why did Michael Jordan really retire from basketball the first time?
• Are some NASCAR race outcomes too good to be true?
• Did the New England Patriots cheat their way to a dynasty?
• What really happened at the 1921 Kentucky Derby?
• Why weren’t any Japanese players signed to major league contracts from 1965-1995?
• And much more!

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating Insider's take on sports' greatest conspiracies
Awesome. One of the best books on sports I've read in years.Kalb and Weinstein take you through some of the biggest moments in sports that you've always wondered about and manage to introduce you to some conspiracy scenarios that you never knew about before.The writing style is fun, yet authoritative and leaves you thinking, "Wow, could that really have happened that way?" The chapters on the Patriots and UNLV/Duke are particularly outstanding.I highly recommend this to both conspiracy nuts and sports nuts alike.It's also a great read for lovers of truth and non-fiction. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Spygate should be #1. The NE Cheatriots are the worst ever.
The New England SPYGATE scandal was the biggest and longest sports scandal in history... by far. They cheated their way into winning 3Super Bowls, during a 7 year cheating scandal. How is this not #1 on your list? Apparently, this book is just as big of a fraud as their "dynasty" was. Laughable!

An interesting read
If you like conspiracy theories and you like American professional sports, this book is something you'll enjoy. Kalb writes well, and he gets his facts straight. Most of the stories are the ones you'd expect to read (1919 Black Sox scandal, Patrick Ewing's NBA draft, the Jets first Super Bowl, 1972 Olympic basketball final). But there are a few stories that surprised me. Kalb ends each story with his own 5-Oswald rating system, indicating the likelihood that a conspiracy really happened.

Sports conspiracies? Love it!!!
Elliott Kalb has done a lot of sports writing and a couple of videos that I can remember off-the-bat, too. He knows his stats, and when the sports stories get a good conspiracy thing going, you've got a lot of guys hooked.

This is great "toilet reading;" The kind of not-necessarily important reading one would need to know, but for the record, stuff I've sort of thought about and having seen so much of these pondered out loud for time immemorium, really cool.
Kalb covers everything from Sonny Liston through Nascar and all of it is awesome stuff worth not only reading but talking about.

The pluses: The facts, the side dope and a good dollup of color to history. Minuese: hate the lousy page layout (no chapter heads and text is too big, filling the page like a grandpa's large-printedition. Conclusions to a conspiracy get ranked, rated and opinionated by the author with a small Lee Harvey Oswald face for ranking of "maybe."Not a damned picture anywhere except little icons of a presidential assassin; a cute gimmick that wears thin without a photo, doodle or something for low attention span readers like me. Don't get me wrong: you'll love the read, but the publisher should've done a much better job and probably could've charged much more and I'da paid it.

[...]

Really?
I got this book for Christmas from my mom as a surprise gift.She knows I love sports and sports trivia, but I probably could've done without her spending $20 on this book.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the writers sat down and named the most common conspiracies out there, and then proceeded to write a 1,500-2,000 word summary of each of them, ending each chapter (or subject) with their opinion on whether or not the conspiracy is possible.

Every chapter/subject was a summary of things most sports fans already know.The only chapter I found enlightening was the one on Dennis Rodman and if there's a group of people keeping him out of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

It reads easily and can be done in an afternoon, but, unless you've never heard of a single sports conspiracy, there isn't really anything new here.You can find most of this content for free online.

I guess you could argue that it is a nice compact version of the greatest sports conspiracies ever, but why would you need that...unless you were planning on writing a book about the 25 greatest sports conspiracies ever just to make a few bucks around the holiday season.

Terrific Read
This is a must-read for sports fans, who can learn more about the different conspiracy theories from the world of sports.Kalb wrote the book in a style that is filled with warmth and wit.I especially enjoyed how each chapter ends with one-to-five face shots of Oswald, to give a sense of how much stock the author believes in each conspiracy theory.There are several terrific chapters in here, including one on the 1985 NBA Draft and one on Super Bowl III.I highly recommend it ... Read more

Product Description
It’s The Big Question in the world of sports: Who’s number one?

Which player? Which coach? Which team? Now, the authors of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller, The Mad Dog 100: The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time, get down and dirty to tackle the central issue that consumes every sports fan: Which players, teams, venues, and moments would make the top-ten list of all time?

With characteristic candor, explosive energy, and unquestioned expertise, top-rated sports talk radio personality Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo tackles the tough questions head-on and creates his own personal Hall of Fame. But the Mad Dog sets the bar much higher than usual—only ten honorees are inducted in each category—so plenty of all-time greats will find themselves on the outside looking in.

Russo ranks Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, and Walter Johnson...and one of them doesn’t even make the cut. He ranks Jerry Rice and Dick Butkus and Mean Joe Greene...and try telling one of them he’ll have to pay admission to get into this Hall of Fame. He takes sides and ranks Fenway Park ahead of Yankee Stadium...or will it be the other way around? He names the single greatest sports moment of all time, across all sports...and no, it’s not what you think.

Each enticing chapter is packed full of intriguing facts and sidebars, including tidbits that will surprise even the most seasoned sports fan. The magic of Russo’s analysis is not just an explanation of who makes the cut and who does not--but why. The Mad Dog Hall of Fame is essential reading--the kind of book every sports enthusiast will want to have on hand as a quick reference guide to the best of the best.Russo and St. John have crafted an entertaining, fast-paced, and provocative tour of the world of sports, chock-full of close calls and tough choices designed not to end arguments...but to start them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

There's a reason Doggie is on the air.....
There is nothing better than Mad Dog alone in the booth on Saturday morning after a postseason Yankees/BoSox game that goes the wrong way.You can have lotsa laughs just witnessing his opinionated ranting without the baggage of the need for rational argument.

And that's where this book goes wrong.Doggie tries to create some objective approach to a totally subjective issue.Who cares, doggie?Let's just have some fun and argue about the rankings on the drive home.

BTW, there is no way anyone could leave Wayne Gretzky off the top 10 Movers & Shakers.He basically made the NHL what it came to be in the US before the house of cards came down 2 years ago.If you just go by the number of franchises pre vs. post career, its clear that Gretzky did much more for hockey than even Jordan did for basketball.And that's saying something.

See - you want to start arguing this point already don't you?But you can't in print.That's why this book only gets 2 stars.

Easy to Read and Enjoyable Even if You Don't Agree
This is a book with which you cannot possibly agree. It is guaranteed to be the subject of discussion over lots of beer at the local hang out.

Why I'd bet that you could even get up some pretty good arguments about what sports to include - No NASCAR! No pistol shooting championship, no log rolling, no tiddlywinks! Not even any Quiddich! And putting Tiger Woods in ninth place!!!

I think this is probably the point. Here's the opinion of a couple of guys who do sports talk. Well, all you can say is that they have a right to their opinions, even if they are wrong.

The book is about lists. It identifies the top 10 players in the NBA, NFL and baseball. It has other lists about college, Sports Venues, coaches, and the top ten athletes of all time. With the lists comes comment. A lot of discussion as to why they made the picks they did. If you agree with their decisions or not, the book is a light easy read and certainly brings out their point of view.

A disappointment after sucj a winning first book
The authors previous book about Sports Arguements was thought provoking and so easy to read.
This successor seems to have been assembled very quickly witout a lot of deep thought. I looked forward to the next two hundred arguements but as with many authors Mr Russo appears to have just one noteworthy book in his head.
I am genuinely disappointed but this will be in the reainder section by the fall.
In short, not a terrible idea for a book but poorly executed.

Chris Russo's Maddog Hall of Fame
Chris Russo's new book is the perfect book to read on a plane ride or a bus ride.The format is fun and easy to get through. The top ten lists are well thought out and provide great tidbits of information on each player/coach.He had gotten input on the baseball and football categories from people like Joe Torre and Ernie Accorsi. I am only 21 years old so it is nice to read a book from an experienced sports talk show host without an agenda like most of those other so called journalists like Gammons or Morgan who vote for people they like or played with.Chris Russo along with his partner Mike Francesa are as good as they come on the radio or TV.The top 10 lists are sure to spark an argument between you and your buddies and for younger sports fans like myself, its good to learn about the old timers in a fun, not tedious way.I recommend this book to any sports fan.

Just a Bunch of Wacky Lists!!!
Anybody with any knowledge of sports could basically write this book! it's not even a book! it's chris russo's own personal opinions about who deserves to be in "his" own little hall of fame and why? why is a good question? why would anybody read this shlock? and why would he think anybody is interested? where's the indy 500? what about nascar? the Daytona 500? he knows nothing about nascar, which is and has been the largest spectator sport in the country for years! ( his sports credibility drops off the map right there alone! ) the book is more of a goof, or novelty than anything based on reality.Whatever decent writing there is in the book, Allen St.John should get all of the credit. Russo can't write. He just dictates, or should i say screams to allen! Bababababababa Babe Ruth! his last book i purchased the 100 great sports arguments of all time did not impress me either. Whose arguments are these other than for the one's in russo's head?. Hall of Fame??? These are one man's opinions on sports, and many are literally Out Of Left Field!!! do yourself a favor, get out the sports encyclopedia, and you can write your own hall of fame! yeesh.... ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on October 24, 2007. The length of the article is 478 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: CFL Power Rankings.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 24, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c3

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Product Description
Sugar, having spent more than three decades in sports media, has selected those athletes whom he personally considers to be the best that ever played throughout the history of sports. He then ranks them according to achievement and adds vignette biographies of each. The book is heavily illustrated with photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Painfully bad
Despite Bert Sugar's reputation, this is one of the most worst sports books I have read.He is guilty of "overwriting", inserting awkward metaphors and descriptives throughout each fact-starved page.I have tried several times to read this book, but each section is bloated with commentary such as "...Aaron had quietly snuck up on Ruth's record...he was laying claim to more records than an Alaskan claim-jumper..."Huh?And describing a young Bill Russell: "...a skinny, six-foot-two, 128-pound teenager who looked like he worked in an olive factory dragging the pimientos through..."What in the world are you talking about, Bert?

This book is better when Sugar sticks to facts and doesn't try to dazzle us with his "wit".He is not a terrible writer, he just tries way too hard here.I wouldn't recommend this unless it were rewritten.

a great book
well what do you expect, it isnt biased towards boxing, boxing is the greatest sport of all time, and many great athletes have been boxers. This book is very thorough and well written.

Entertaining!!A must for trivia buffs everywhere!!!
I have known Bert Sugar personally for almost thirty years and I have always found him to be very interesting with a mind like a steel trap.Reading this book, for me, was a real treat, because, like Mr. Sugar, Ifancy myself to be a fan of sports-related trivia.Unlike one previousreviewer, I found Mr. Sugar's rankings to be equally distributed among allthe sports.Ranked among the top 5 were yesteryear's incarnations of BoJackson and Deion Sanders - multi sports stars who could do everything onand off the field.Jackie Robinson, ranked number 4, excelled at baseball,football, basketball, swimming, track, and even tennis.Number 2 rated JimThorpe, in addition to his success in football, baseball, and track, alsowon (Bert, you might or might not be aware of this!) the 1912Intercollegiate BALLROOM DANCING championship!Coming in at numberone........JIM BROWN, a FIVE sport star at Syracuse in football, baseball,basketball, track, and...get this... LACROSSE!I consider Bert's book tobe a must read and a sure-fire conversation starter.

Useless
When reading the description, high hopes are raised on the potential reader. Mr. Sugar's selection is disproportionally biased towards boxing. Even Mr. Sugar's boxing selections are disappointing; quite a surprise considering his prestige in the field. Other popular sports such as football, soccer, and basketball are not covered in the depth that they deserve. Furthermore, his oppinions are rarely supported by facts, sometimes leading to disinformation . Sincerely, I regret buying it and I would not recommend it to any serious sports reader. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on December 12, 2007. The length of the article is 486 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Power rankings.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 12, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c2

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on December 26, 2007. The length of the article is 509 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: NHL power rankings.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 26, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c2

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Customer Reviews (2)

Thoroughly entertaining
Bert chose the 100 greatest atheletes of all time, but the reader must understand that these are his choices, not yours. Who is ever going to agree with lists like these? THe previous critique of Berts book said that there was aheavy slant to boxers, which there is not. Ali, Robinson, Louis, Dempsey, Johnson, Armstrong and Pep are the only fighters chosen. 7 boxers in a list of 100 athletes is not a heavy slant. One could make the argument that he left out too many fighters. Bert's list, like all other lists of it's like. are very subjective. They are derived from personal opinions and are meant to strike up debates. I did not agree with several inclusions and omissions, but the book was an excellent read. Bert is a very entertaining writer and his profiles on each athlete was well worth the purchase. The selections and order, I felt were secondary. A must buy for sports fanatics

Not worth it
When reading the description, high hopes are raised on the potential reader. Mr. Sugar's selection is disproportionally biased towards boxing. Even Mr. Sugar's boxing selections are disappointing; quite a surprise considering his prestige in the field. Other popular sports such as football, soccer, and basketball are not covered in the depth that they deserve. Furthermore, his oppinions are rarely supported by facts, sometimes leading to disinformation . Sincerely, I regret buying it and I would not recommend it to any serious sports reader. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on February 20, 2007. The length of the article is 860 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ducks dropping but stay in rankings.(Sports)(Lost weekend in the Bay Area doesn't knock Oregon out of the Top 25)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: February 20, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: e1

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This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 4, 2002. The length of the article is 1790 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Title blows away.(Sports)(Rankings: Oregon closes its best season in school history ranked No. 2 in both polls.)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 4, 2002
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: D1

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Vuelta a España (English: Tour of Spain) is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar.First held in 1935 and annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain. The inaugural event (1935) saw 50 entrants face a 3,411 km (2,119 mi.) course over only 14 stages, averaging over 240km (149 mi.) per stage. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 24, 2003. The length of the article is 946 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Blazers trail in fan-player relationship.(Sports)(Rankings: UO students take part in magazine's rating of pro franchises.)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 24, 2003
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: A1

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Ranking the top 50 players in Major League Baseball, sorted by position as well as the overall top 50. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 753 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Sports participation trends.(News)
Publication: JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 76Issue: 7Page: 3(2)

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This digital document is an article from Parks & Recreation, published by National Recreation and Park Association on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 392 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Extreme sports have national appeal.(Tip-Off)
Publication: Parks & Recreation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: National Recreation and Park Association
Volume: 39Issue: 10Page: 23(1)

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This digital document is an article from Arkansas Business, published by Journal Publishing, Inc. on June 7, 2004. The length of the article is 350 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Big Creek club nabs five-star rating.(Sports Business)(Big Creek Goff and Country Club)(Brief Article)
Author: John Henry
Publication: Arkansas Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 7, 2004
Publisher: Journal Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 21Issue: 23Page: 10(2)

Article Type: Brief Article

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This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on December 11, 2007. The length of the article is 484 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Panthers' Jokinen not on top 50 list, but why? Peers figure centreman dominant player now; Peers figure centreman dominant player now.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 11, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c3

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This digital document is an article from ColoradoBiz, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 806 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Colorado sports: trends to watch.(Sports Biz)(Top sports business stories of 2005)(Editorial)
Author: Stewart Schley
Publication: ColoradoBiz (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 33Issue: 1Page: 61(1)

Article Type: Editorial

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Chapters: Official World Golf Rankings. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 118. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Official World Golf Rankings is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers. They were introduced in 1986 and are endorsed by the four major championships and six major professional tours, five of which are charter members of the International Federation of PGA Tours: Points are also awarded for high finishes on four other tours: The initiative for the creation of the Official World Golf Rankings came from the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, which found in the 1980s that its system of issuing invitations to The Open Championship on a tour by tour basis was omitting an increasing number of top players because more of them were dividing their time between tours, and from preeminent sports agent Mark McCormack, who was the first chairman of the International Advisory Committee which oversees the rankings. The system used to calculate the rankings was developed from McCormack's World Golf Rankings, which were published in his World of Professional Golf Annual from 1968 to 1985, although these were purely unofficial and not used for any wider purpose (such as inviting players to major tournaments). The first ranking list was published prior to the 1986 Masters Tournament. The top six ranked golfers were: Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Tom Watson, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman. Thus the top three were all European, but there were thirty-one Americans in the top fifty (compared with twelve at the end of 2008). The method of calculation of the rankings has changed considerably over the years. Initially, the rankings were calculated over a three year period, with the current year's points multip...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1323466 ... Read more