As the years have progressed, I have started to loathe sports arguments. As the shouting culture of television “analysis” has continued to “evolve,” the mere thought of debating a sports topic honestly has seemed to disappear.
Everyone seems to be trying out for a spot on “Around the Horn” next to Jay Mariotti. Why anyone would want to do that is beyond me, but they do. Too many discussions turn into shoutfests when the topic is really just for fun.
Enter Todd Gallagher, the author of “Andy Roddick Beat Me with a Frying Pan.” Gallagher set out to get the definitive answer on some of sports’ burning questions, like “Can a basketball player really make change off the top of the backboard” and “Would a team of midgets be the best baseball offense ever?”
There are so many more – this book will definitely entertain. Each question gets its own chapter so you can skip around and read what strikes your fancy. If you don’t want to read about a pro bowler trying out skeeball, find the chapter on the pro dart player giving Beirut a shot. Not interested in whether a pro pool player can beat a regular person with one hand? See how easy it is for an attractive woman to get picked up by a pro athlete at a bar.
Yes, Gallagher’s book knows no bounds. More importantly, he has fun. Well, as much fun as the subjects will let him. Major League Baseball showed why so many people think the whole thing is run by douchebags when they totally blew off the midget lineup theory. They wouldn’t even play along with the joke, even after Gallagher got a quartet of midgets to frustrate a pitcher toiling away in the independent Northern League.
So I guess the people running MLB are just like the dickwads who think arguing sports is a competitive sport itself. Which is a shame because they’re missing the fun the rest of us are having. Just ask Todd Gallagher.
1 thought on “Book Review: Settling the Bets”