Let's Go to the Videotape

February 28, 2000
Warner "Go to the Videotape" Wolf has long been a fixture on local television in both New York and Washington, D.C. Here, in no apparent order, the sportscaster and author of Gimme a Break reviews the highlights of his career and offers commentary on a variety of sporting events and personalities. Everyone knows who Wolf is--or at least he seems to think they should since he's been on radio or TV for more than 40 years. There was one brief stint in 1995 when he wasn't on the air anywhere until radio personality Don Imus hired him to substitute for the regular sports commentator. This fill-in stint eventually led to Wolf being rehired by WCBS-TV (for which Wolf thanks Imus profusely) as well as other career opportunities, including this book. The memoir itself is simply a compilation of Wolf-isms such as "I hate to say this but covering the 1998 World Series was a letdown. I was happy for the city of New York, the fans and the team, but as far as it being an exciting World Series... it just was not." Or "If any sports turns me off, it's auto racing. Never interested in it... If there's a machine involved, are you an athlete? Where's the sport in it?" Wolf isn't afraid to say what's on his mind, and his enthusiasm for sports and life is evident. However, a little literary Wolf goes a long way, and many of his fans will be satisfied watching him doing his sports report, rather than reading this erratic memoir.

February 15, 2000
Sports news anchors move from Fox to ESPN to CNN, and fans are as interested in their movements as they used to be in the big trades at baseball's winter meetings. Wolf, now in his fifth decade as a sports anchor, was the prototype for today's crop of cynical, catch-phrase-dropping talking heads. Currently the regular sports anchor on New York's WCBS-TV, Wolf has always equated sports with entertainment and has refused to place more import on the reporting of games than they deserve. That attitude is present here, in a series of anecdotes about his brushes with great players and great games--all delivered in the same breezy, self-deprecating style he uses on the air. He also offers opinions on everything from baseball great Tony Gwynn's determination to play a whole career on a mediocre San Diego team to the injuries in boxing and the deaths in auto racing. Wolf's fans--and they are legion--will enjoy his first book, as will the average sports nut. ((Reviewed February 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)