Book Review.
This month’s entry. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis.
A football story that simultaneously focuses on two somewhat related stories. It is the story of Michael Oher a 6-5 350 pound African American form the inner city, with absolutely no family, no education, nothing. He gets “adopted” by a wealthy family who send him to an exclusive Christian school in Memphis and transform him into an elite athlete, passable student and caring human. The somewhat related story is the evolution of the Left Tackle position on football and its importance in the game (protecting the QBs “blind side.”)
Of course the publisher is going to sell this up as doing for Football what Moneyball did for Baseball. It won’t. But it is a good read. And Lewis is back to his much more entertaining style of writing that he seemed to have lost in his last book. Funny thing about Blind Side is that he stumbled on Oher when he was writing Coach – the adoptive parent was one of Lewis’ friends from High School that he contacted to write the story of their coach.
Plus, I always have thought it was pretty cool that he is married to Tabitha Soren from MTV fame. Overall a pretty good book.
One bit of follow up from this past week (and I'll use my Mike Lupica/CHB/Peter Gammoms voices):
ReplyDeleteWill someone please explain to me how all this talk of Derek Jeter losing the MVP to Justin Mourneau is the result of anti-NY, anti Yankee bias. Just one short year after the villainous A-Rod upended jovial Sox slugger David Ortiz. Even though the "evidence" suggested that Ortiz truly had one of the most valuable seasons in recent memories. What with all the walk off hits, the upbeat nature, and glimmering smile, many felt he would overcome the stigma as a DH and be victorious over the slugger from 200 miles to the south whom the locals were trying to run out of town. Where was the anti-NY bias then?
Not to mention the sam Derek Jeter winning three straight Gold Gloves. Take a poll of the BABR community and you universally hear that Jeter winning the Gold Glove would be the equivalent to W winning a mensa contest.
So folks, let go. Just because everyone in NY annoints Jeter the MVP this season, does not mean the rest of the country will jump on the bandwagon.