The Franchise Babe

March 3, 2008
In Jenkins's outrageous sports satire (after Slim and None
), middle-aged sportswriter Jack Brannon is sick of writing about Tiger Woods and the boring testosterone-charged PGA tour. So the swaggering Texan decides to check out the ladies of the LPGA, specifically hot teen sensation and fellow Texan, Ginger Clayton. She's a “fiery eighteen-year-old blonde” with the potential to become the next golf superstar (or, in pro golf parlance, a real “franchise babe”). Soon, Jack is impressed by Thurlene, Ginger's gorgeous single mom, and enamored of Ginger's talent, beauty and precocious professionalism. He decides to tag along, taking notes and observing the peculiar peccadilloes of professional sports—including crazed stage-golf moms and others who'll stop at nothing to get ahead in the high-stakes game. Jenkins pokes fun at the golf world eccentricities he knows so well and allows Jack major leeway in making smart-mouth commentary as he falls in love and gets a great scoop.