The 25 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time

October 29, 2007
The old-fashioned concept of sportsmanship takes a beating in these essays by Kalb, known as "Mr. Stats" for his broadcast work with NBC, HBO Sports and more. Scrutinizing more than two dozen famous incidents-from Cassius Clay's triumph over Sonny Liston to Pete Rose's considerable gambling woes to Michael Jordan's first retirement-the savvy author parses the ins and outs, as well as the insiders and outsiders, of each predicament, backing up his contentions with numbers, interviews and outside reporting. In each chapter, Kalb provides the background, the possible fix, and his own conclusions, including a one-to-five scale rating a given conspiracy theory's likelihood. Kalb's skepticism can be overbearing at times ("At Daytona... to go from seventh place all the way to first, seems almost unreal. In fact, I wouldn't believe it if I saw it in a movie") but his analysis is reasoned and the stories, from steroids stats to Howard Cosell testifying for the USFL to racial stonewalling in major league baseball to a meticulously detailed account of Superbowl III (did the Colts throw the game?) are largely fascinating.

January 28, 2008
The old-fashioned concept of sportsmanship takes a beating in these essays by Kalb, known as "Mr. Stats" for his broadcast work with NBC, HBO Sports and more. Scrutinizing more than two dozen famous incidents-from Cassius Clay's triumph over Sonny Liston to Pete Rose's considerable gambling woes to Michael Jordan's first retirement-the savvy author parses the ins and outs, as well as the insiders and outsiders, of each predicament, backing up his contentions with numbers, interviews and outside reporting. In each chapter, Kalb provides the background, the possible fix, and his own conclusions, including a one-to-five scale rating a given conspiracy theory's likelihood. Kalb's skepticism can be overbearing at times ("At Daytona... to go from seventh place all the way to first, seems almost unreal. In fact, I wouldn't believe it if I saw it in a movie") but his analysis is reasoned and the stories, from steroids stats to Howard Cosell testifying for the USFL to racial stonewalling in major league baseball to a meticulously detailed account of Superbowl III (did the Colts throw the game?) are largely fascinating.

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