Now I Can Die in Peace: HOW ESPN'S SPORTS GUY FOUND SALVATION, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM NOMAR, PEDRO, SHAWSHANK AND THE 2004

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It's a hit!

As a Red Sox fan, this book is an essential part of my personal library. I had always enjoyed re-reading Simmon's previous articles, and this comp... (show more)

As a Red Sox fan, this book is an essential part of my personal library. I had always enjoyed re-reading Simmon's previous articles, and this compiles some of his best Red Sox related pieces into one tome. The footnotes are extremely funny, and although they carry his usual heavy amount of references to his personal life, they should appeal to a reader who is experiencing The Sports Guy for the first time. The honesty with which he re-evaluates his old thoughts and references (his metaphors from 80s TV shows and the Godfather are priceless, to name a few) is refreshing and makes the articles twice as enjoyable the second time around. I don't think Simmons slights the passion of small-market fans (at least not all of them, like Twins fans), rather he respects their daily struggle to compete with the rich teams while acknowledging that Red Sox fans hold their team to a higher standard. (show less)

 

 

by Daniel J Sullivan

No, it's a flop!

Self-referential to a fault (that's what you get when you turn a blog into a book, I guess), and wicked hard to follow if you aren't a fanatical sp... (show more)

Self-referential to a fault (that's what you get when you turn a blog into a book, I guess), and wicked hard to follow if you aren't a fanatical sports guy. Still, stirred up some baseball memories, both bitter and sweet. Go Sox! (show less)

 

 

by Jeff Guevin

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  So here's the thing; I hate the Sox. They are, if not my most hated, then my second most hated team in all of professional sports. I hate the Cowboys, I hate the Yankees, I haaaate the Montreal Canadiens.. I (still) hate Manny Ramirez, I hate Tim Wakefield's knuckleball, I hate the Green Monster, I hate Fever Pitch.. I fucking hate the Boston Red Sox.
  
  I don't know if it's because Roger Clemens is a dickhead, I don't know if it's because all of my first memories of attending Jays games are c... (show more)

  So here's the thing; I hate the Sox. They are, if not my most hated, then my second most hated team in all of professional sports. I hate the Cowboys, I hate the Yankees, I haaaate the Montreal Canadiens.. I (still) hate Manny Ramirez, I hate Tim Wakefield's knuckleball, I hate the Green Monster, I hate Fever Pitch.. I fucking hate the Boston Red Sox.
  
  I don't know if it's because Roger Clemens is a dickhead, I don't know if it's because all of my first memories of attending Jays games are crushing losses to Boston (seriously, I feel like my first season of watching baseball consisted of 162 heart-emptying losses to the BoSox), I don't know if it's because they seem to think they're not as repulsive and awful and free-wheeling as the Yankees... Wait.

  Anyway, I hate them. So why did I read this? I like Bill Simmons. Bill Simmons is funny. I am a geek. And who knows more about false promises, suffering and general misery than a Leafs fan?

  My favourite line came in the first 10 pages (is that bad? the book is like 350p long..), when baby Bill Simmons realizes for the first time that being a sports fan is hard. "Um ... what? There's something wrong with the Red Sox? Whaddya mean?"

  I guess this was probably more up my alley than I thought. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-användare on Nov 26, 2009 at 02:29AM

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  I'm not a Red Sox fan and I rarely read the Sports Guy column on ESPN Page2 so most (if not all) of these columns were new to me. The most interesting aspect to this book clearly has to be Bill's footnotes (or rather "sidenotes") as he reflects on things he had written years earlier -- sometimes, head-shakingly dumb and sometimes, absolutely spot-on predictions. The columns take you from the dismal Red Sox teams of the late nineties, through the acquisition of the pieces (Manny, Ped... (show more)

  I'm not a Red Sox fan and I rarely read the Sports Guy column on ESPN Page2 so most (if not all) of these columns were new to me. The most interesting aspect to this book clearly has to be Bill's footnotes (or rather "sidenotes") as he reflects on things he had written years earlier -- sometimes, head-shakingly dumb and sometimes, absolutely spot-on predictions. The columns take you from the dismal Red Sox teams of the late nineties, through the acquisition of the pieces (Manny, Pedro), the heartache of losses to the Yankees (Boone!) to sweet redemption against the Cardinals. Some parts will seem redundant, but there are plenty of laughs throughout (the wedding column in particular). And hands-down, this has to be the largest collection of Shawshank reference you'll find in one book. (show less)

   

   

  by Andy Strickland on Jul 21, 2009 at 12:20PM

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