You Herd Me!

December 1, 2013
ESPN Radio host Cowherd sounds off on a variety of sports topics. Although his business obliges him "to summon a strong opinion," the author insists his views are honestly held, not adopted merely for the sake of controversy. It's his job, he claims, to look beyond the press releases and the consumer's to figure out who among the talking heads offers a reliable source of information. In his debut, Cowherd shotguns the sports world in a series of short chapters, each a blast on a hot topic--e.g., why Nike is the only company that can mount a marketing campaign sufficiently powerful to drive public opinion; why college basketball coaches are so insufferable; why quarterbacks from second-tier colleges have greater success in the NFL than those from big schools; why home-field advantage is so pronounced in the NFL; why the X Games ought to get out of the Olympics; why the Southeastern Conference is the biggest dynasty in sports; and why the NFL should ban in-stadium beer sales. The phone lines light up when Cowherd compares Bill Belichick to Steve Jobs, Major League Baseball to the Republican Party, Boston fans to 5-year-olds, John Daly to Allen Iverson, Peyton Manning to Robin Williams. Occasionally, he discourses on a nonsports topic--how "menstrual synchrony" has its male equivalent in the group stupidity of young men, why all comedians eventually lose their edges and why a so-called balanced life is overrated--but he sticks mostly to the games and personalities that obsess our sports-crazed nation. Cowherd's socially liberal views often place him at odds with the sports world, and his brashness can be off-putting, but his departures from conventional wisdom, his humor and--notwithstanding his confessions of predictions gone horribly wrong--his frequently incisive trendspotting and analysis set him apart from the pack of radio hosts who do no more than fill time. Provocative and amusing takes on the passing sports parade.

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