The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with a very vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Decades after Curt Flood and Oscar Robertson sued their respective leagues to gain free agency, the college system is still operating under a set of archaic rules governing “amateurism,” even as young stars in hockey, tennis, and Olympic […]
Book Report: Bobby Skafish – We Have Company
I’m supremely jealous. Bobby Skafish had the ultimate gig. Interview some of the biggest rock stars on the planet at the behest of Chicago’s prominent rock stations. Wow. And now he’s recounting his experiences as interviewer, emcee, and observer. The book is called “We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters.” Rock music […]
Louder Than Hell – The Definitive Oral History of Metal – by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman
Heavy Metal is one of those musical genres with very little middle ground – you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I was a fan of the progenitors of the style, but didn’t really pay much attention once the Metallicas and Megadeths of the world took over. Regardless of my personal preferences however, […]
Book Report – Junior Seau by Jim Trotter
A review of “The Life and Death of a Football Icon” ESPN football analyst Jim Trotter didn’t have to dig too deep for his biography of NFL linebacker Junior Seau. Trotter covered the Hall of Famer while at the San Diego Union Tribune. Trotter has crafted a compelling story chronicling Seau rise from modest beginnings […]
The Martian – by Andy Weir
“SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE” – with Matt Damon no less. This book was on my “to-read” list even before I started seeing the trailer on the internet and on TV. Now that the movie is coming out shortly (October 2015) I figured I’d better get on with reading it. Good choice. As someone […]
Black Sabbath – Symptom Of The Universe by Mick Wall
This book should be sub-titled “A Cautionary Tale on the Perils of Drug Abuse”. After the release of their first two albums, the eponymous Black Sabbath and the stone classic Paranoid, Black Sabbath were poised on the cusp of superstardom, along with fellow Birmingham, England native son John Bonham and Led Zeppelin. But then began not years, […]
Book Review – Prog Rock FAQ (All That’s Left To Know About Rock’s Most Progressive Music) by Will Romano
The sub-title says it all, as the first thing that struck me after a few chapters of this book was that this was not entirely an FAQ for neophytes, casual fans, or even those who imagine themselves to be “proggers” thru and thru. Those expecting a linear history of the evolution of the genre, with […]
