My favorite Radio host Michael Holley, of WEEI’s “Dale & Holley” program, who just finished his latest book, “Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery & My Return to the NFL,” written with Tedy Bruschi is already working on his next book. It’s going to be about what it takes to manage the Boston Red Sox in sports crazed Boston. Holley has already met with Terry Francona about the book and has agreed to provide input.

Holley’s first book, Patriot Reign, was a behind the scenes look at the Patriots and their operations. It is a must read for Pats fans.

Its official we have less than 48 hours till the 7th and final installment of the Harry Potter series shows up to my doorstep!(CLICK BOOK TO ORDER)  Yes, I do realize that it is a children's book but this Muggle loves them and cannot wait to pour over hundreds of pages to see what fate awaits Harry and his gang of friends.  It has been two years since the last book came out and if I had a whole lot of extra time I would love to read it again but it really is just to time consuming to do again!!  When we last left Harry the somewhat evil teacher Snape had murdered sweet Dumbledore and Harry was left chasing him.  It will be interesting to see if Snape inherently ends up being evil or good.  Generally when a character has been set up to be evil he always ends up being in the end good.  I can only hope Snape and Dumbledore had a plan and it will aid Harry in the end with a showdown with Lord Voldermont.  My wish for the book is to give Harry and all his fans closure and not leave it open ended ala Sopranos.  Now if only my girlies will allow me the time to read it so as to not find out the outcome that is already being spread around the internet.  For now I will gear up for a great fantasy adventure and put the blinders on when anyone mentions it.  Thank God for no computer at the cottage!!!  Be back with my verdict later!!!

Author of the great book Patriot Reign, Michael Holley is releasing his new book co-authored by Tedy Bruschi. Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery & My Return to the NFL will be released on August 17 (PRE ORDER HERE FROM AMAZON)

The Herald's Albert Breer has an advandced copy and released this excerpt.

The six-month echo in September was incredible. All we heard was, “You’re looking great, Tedy. Everything is neurologically fine.” It was early when we left Dr. Greer’s office, no later than seven or eight, so I asked Heidi if she wanted to get breakfast. She said she did, so we drove from Boston to one of our favorite places in North Attleboro, A&J’s. There wasn’t a lot said during the drive, but I know both of us sensed something significant had just taken place. There’s is no way I could’ve had a more positive and upbeat health report than the one Dr. Greer had just given. When we got to A&J’s, I was feeling so great about my health that I decided to splurge and order something with a little grease and fat: I had blueberry pancakes with butter on top, a side of corned beef hash, a glass of orange juice and some coffee. Heidi had chocolate chip pancakes. We sat in a booth and considered everything that we had been through.

“What am I waiting for Heidi?” I asked her. “Physically, there is nothing wrong with me. Mentally, all right, I might be a little messed up in the head. But what am I waiting for?”

We weren’t arguing. Heidi knew everything I did about my health. She knows me better than anyone, so she could see how much things were bothering me, from not being able to participate to the “I thought you were just trying to get paid” comment from a teammate.

“I know,” Heidi said. “I know that you’re fine.”

We looked at each other across the table. We were about to come to a decision in our neighborhood diner.

“Let’s just go for it this year,” I said.

Heidi agreed that waiting one year didn’t make a lot of sense. It was time to resume my career in 2005. I didn’t have to wander about on golf courses anymore, asking myself what I was doing. I didn’t have to fight myself anymore, asking what the purpose was of taking notes in 2005 for something I couldn’t do until 2006. No more; It was time to play.

Bill Belichick had Oakland on his mind, but I went to see him in his office and tell him the news. I told him that I wanted to stay on the PUP list until I was eligible to practice and play with the Patriots.

“Bill, I want to take advantage of that practice time,” I said.

“Let me get this straight,” Bill said. “There’s still no way of you playing this year at all?”

I just looked at him. There was a pause, and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“Bill, I want to practice because I’m going to play this year,” I said.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Bill with a look on his face that let you know you said something he didn’t expect. We’re talking about the man who is always thinking ahead, two or three steps ahead of you. He’s the one who mentioned the year off in the beginning when I wasn’t thinking that way. Now it didn’t appear that he had anticipated what I was going to say to him. He went over the gist of what I said, just to be sure he heard me say it.

“I want to make sure we’re on the same page here,” he said. “Are you telling me that going out there and picking up another linebacker this year would be the wrong move?”

“Yeah,” I said. “That would be the wrong move.”

Bill had seen me in all phases of my comeback. He talked to me when I thought I had to retire, he saw me when I told him I was going to take the season off, and he had to sense the joy I was feeling when I told him I was returning in 2005. I left his office and headed up a flight of stairs so I could see Mr. Kraft. I’ve never had a problem communicating with the owner of the team, and now we were talking more than ever. Each time I had something to report, I’d make a point to personally tell Bill and Mr. Kraft so they could stay in the loop. Mr. Kraft had always realized how important Heidi is to me and how we figure out issues together. So before he told me what I had to do, he asked a good question.

“Is Heidi on board with this?” he said. “I’d like to know what she thinks.”

For those of you who listen to sports radio, you must have a favorite host. My favorite is WEEI's midday co-host Michael Holley. Holley is knowledgeable and calm unlike most other radio guys. He also is the Author of one of my favorite books, Patriot Reign. He's currently co-writing a new book with Tedy Bruschi about his life. Last week Holley had some interesting info from his sources, both bad news.

He said that Greg Oden will not leave Ohio State at the end of this season, but will stay on for one or perhaps two more seasons. Holley says he has this "on good authority."

Holley also said today that a trustworthy source told him that Curt Schilling is "woefully out of shape." He said there are those who worry about his legs and that this could be the reason the Red Sox might be hesitate to give him a contract extension.

To me, there's no more depressing period than January 2nd through March 1st or so.  The days are short and cold.  Opening Day is still weeks away.  Sure, there are a few weeks of NFL playoffs, but those are mostly on Sundays.  What to do with the rest of the week?  Perhaps read?  Remember, after the age of 21, we lose 20,000 brain cells a day to atrophy, so a little reading never hurt anyone.  So, I thouight I'd give you a short list of fine tomes to get you ready for this 2007 baseball season.  And to help you gentle readers out, click on the title to be taken right to Amazon if you're feeling inspired.

Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the 2004 Red Sox by Bill Simmons

Okay, so this is an obvious one to start off with, but I had to throw it in because the Sports Guy is an old friend.  It's more than that, however.  This isn't just a collection of his columns from the last decade or so.  It's a capsule look at the recent history of the Red Sox, and sports in general, thanks to all the references and quips Bill tosses in.  It's a hilarious and poignant trip down memory lane, and the best part is you know it has a happy ending.  And he can put that on the jacket if he wants.

 

  Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports  by Mark Fainaru-Wada, Lance Williams

I originally thought this book was going to blow the cover off the whole steroid scandal, but since baseball likes to bury its colletive fat head in the sand, that didn't happen.  However, it has become topical again now that those 100 names might be relased to the public.  If you're interested in the seedy underside of the game, then this is the book for you.  It really pulls no punches, so if you can read through the pages and pages on Greg Anderson and some of the bit players and get to the dirt on Bonds and his juiced-up cohorts, then it will be worth it.  My favorite part of this whole scandal is the fact that Jose Canseco appears to have been right all along.  I knew it.

 

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

by Michael Lewis

Let me state right off the bat that Billy Beane is a lunatic.  If you enjoy reading about lunatics, then this is the book for you.  If you enjoy reading about baseball and lunatics at the same time, then this is definitely the book for you.  Beane may be a nuttter, but it's hard to argue with success.  What I found most interesting, however, was the detailed description of the baseball draft, which is basically a big conference call between all the GM's.  We always know what's going on in the NFL draft, but this was the first time I've ever seen anything written about MLB's draft.  It was quite provocative, especially the scene where Billy threw a chair against the wall when he almsot didn't get who he wanted.  I also liked the quote from Theo Epstein regarding Beane's quest to land Kevin Youkilis (a Moneyball player if there ever was one.)  "If he called three months earlier, he would have had him," Theo said.  Thank God it worked out the way it did.  I had had about enough of Kevin Millar and his KFC commercials.  To paraphrase Rocky, he looked like a Kentucky Fried Idiot.

 

Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay  by Kenneth Walton

This isn't a baseball book, I know, but it came up when I did a search on Amazon for the Bonds book.  It is not quite as scandalous, but it's still an interesting study in human psychology.  I didn't remember the story, but as an avid eBay user myself, I was drawn to Walton's story.  He sold art on eBay for years with his friends, sometimes jacking up the price on each other's auctions to get more money.  Some of them were real and some, not so much.  When the FBI gets involved, things really heat up.  It put the fear of God in me, I tell ya.  Not that I have ever done anything wrong on eBay.  Heh-heh.

So, there's my winter reading list to get you through these cold (or 50 degrees as it's been lately) months.  Bon appetit.  Keep those brain cells fresh.

Hello to all the faithful readers of Bostonsportz.com. It has been a long time since I posted anything to this site. I am excited about the year ahead for Bostonsportz.com. I plan on writing about a number of different topics over the near future.

Like many people who live on the South Shore and work in Boston, I take the commuter rail into work everyday. While there are some pros and cons of the commuter rail, one of the pros is the time it gives me to read. For someone who never really like reading in school, I really enjoy it now. Of course most of the books I read are sports related. So, I will try and give some of my opinions on recent sports books that I have read. I am always looking for new suggestions so if anyone has one please let me know. Today I just started ":07 Seconds or Less" by Jack McCallum. It is a behind the scenes look at the 2006 Phoenix Suns. Once I am finished I will give everyone my review soon.