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Rating: 
Summary: A Legend in his own Mind
Review: After recently watching the Howard Cosell HBO documentary, I felt compelled to read of Howard in Howard's words. I graduated from high school in 71 and my interest in sports overlaid Cosell's rise to prominence. This book is good and bad. The bad part is that Howard writes it and therefore Howard covers only what he wants. He picks out about 5 themes and covers the story from his perspective while overlaying his importance and how these events may have led to his eventually leaving network sports. For example, the first quarter of the book is an in-depth analysis of the Raiders leaving Los Angeles and Al Davis' fight with the NFL. Howard does a good job covering this issue from an intelligent standpoint but feels compelled to consistently drop names and inform you of his importance in the story. The most compelling part of this subject, which is further covered later with the section on the Jets and Giants leaving New York, is how it plays out in today's culture of sports franchises still successfully blackmailing cities and states. At least in that perspective, Howard was correct. In addition to NFL franchise moves, the other big story is NFL Monday Night Football. Fans today have no idea how big this was for football to be carried on the weeknight. Howard Cosell was perfect for the role. He was clearly the most hated man in America. Brass, cocky, controversial but always wanting to open his mouth and have everyone listens to him. My fondest memories of Monday Night Football is Don Meredith and his comedy. It was worth watching just to listen to Don. Frank Gifford was the ballast, the middleman compromise between Frank and Don who made everything run smoothly. Howard was like the nerd who never fit in but felt like he needed to lead the show. And actually he was pretty good at it at times. Eventually Howard self-implodes. Struggling because all the print media hates him, his partners don't like him, but self-delusionally believing it's everyone else's fault, he asks to be removed from the show. And with this change, Howard leaves the spotlight but doesn't seem to ever get comfortable without the light on him. Howard was an intelligent, complex man who had a huge desire to be loved. Probably what he should be known for most is his complete devotion to his wife. When she died in the mid-90s, Howard was just lost. Basically his life was over except for dying. Other stories covered in this book are his reason for walking away from boxing coverage as well as his personal history with Ali, Ray Leonard and O.J. Simpson. In summary, this is a book of stories that are interesting to Howard, not a biography. But it does give good insight into the man. I recommend this book for anyone with interest in sports, the 70s, or television history.
Rating:
Summary: A Legend in his own Mind
Review: After recently watching the Howard Cosell HBO documentary, I felt compelled to read of Howard in Howard's words. I graduated from high school in 71 and my interest in sports overlaid Cosell's rise to prominence. This book is good and bad. The bad part is that Howard writes it and therefore Howard covers only what he wants. He picks out about 5 themes and covers the story from his perspective while overlaying his importance and how these events may have led to his eventually leaving network sports. For example, the first quarter of the book is an in-depth analysis of the Raiders leaving Los Angeles and Al Davis' fight with the NFL. Howard does a good job covering this issue from an intelligent standpoint but feels compelled to consistently drop names and inform you of his importance in the story. The most compelling part of this subject, which is further covered later with the section on the Jets and Giants leaving New York, is how it plays out in today's culture of sports franchises still successfully blackmailing cities and states. At least in that perspective, Howard was correct. In addition to NFL franchise moves, the other big story is NFL Monday Night Football. Fans today have no idea how big this was for football to be carried on the weeknight. Howard Cosell was perfect for the role. He was clearly the most hated man in America. Brass, cocky, controversial but always wanting to open his mouth and have everyone listens to him. My fondest memories of Monday Night Football is Don Meredith and his comedy. It was worth watching just to listen to Don. Frank Gifford was the ballast, the middleman compromise between Frank and Don who made everything run smoothly. Howard was like the nerd who never fit in but felt like he needed to lead the show. And actually he was pretty good at it at times. Eventually Howard self-implodes. Struggling because all the print media hates him, his partners don't like him, but self-delusionally believing it's everyone else's fault, he asks to be removed from the show. And with this change, Howard leaves the spotlight but doesn't seem to ever get comfortable without the light on him. Howard was an intelligent, complex man who had a huge desire to be loved. Probably what he should be known for most is his complete devotion to his wife. When she died in the mid-90s, Howard was just lost. Basically his life was over except for dying. Other stories covered in this book are his reason for walking away from boxing coverage as well as his personal history with Ali, Ray Leonard and O.J. Simpson. In summary, this is a book of stories that are interesting to Howard, not a biography. But it does give good insight into the man. I recommend this book for anyone with interest in sports, the 70s, or television history.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Cosell
Review: After seeing Monday Night Mayhem I bought the Hardcover version of the book. I bought it used, but it was in like new condition. It was a good read. Cosell was at a point in his life where he could afford to be especially candid. The title "I never played the game" incidentally refers to both that he never played sports but also he never played the game with ABC executives or the sports hype. Cosell is right in that he never got the respect he deserved from the public and the other sports commentators. Cosell was just the type of guy people loved to hate, but deep down I think most people loved cosell. He always brought out the emotion in any sporting event. He always had the uncanny ability to draw people in without hyping. Monday Night Football was never better when Cosell was the announcer in the early 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Cosell
Review: After seeing Monday Night Mayhem I bought the Hardcover version of the book. I bought it used, but it was in like new condition. It was a good read. Cosell was at a point in his life where he could afford to be especially candid. The title "I never played the game" incidentally refers to both that he never played sports but also he never played the game with ABC executives or the sports hype. Cosell is right in that he never got the respect he deserved from the public and the other sports commentators. Cosell was just the type of guy people loved to hate, but deep down I think most people loved cosell. He always brought out the emotion in any sporting event. He always had the uncanny ability to draw people in without hyping. Monday Night Football was never better when Cosell was the announcer in the early 70's.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating man and a great book
Review: Cosell's "I Never Played the Game" is not a biography as much as it is a series of stories and essays by the famed sportscaster. Howard Cosell WAS sports in the 70s. In an era before cable and sports shows on every channel, Howard was a one-man network. He is best known as the face and voice of ABCs Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports and Sportsbeat. Cosell was loved and hated during his career, gathering hate mail as well as a deep respect from fans, broadcasters, newspapers and sports figures alike. The praise and respect, unfortunately, came in the form of private conversations and compliments on his skills. The public criticisms of Howard were plentiful, more so than he deserved. Cosell was a brilliant man, and he's quick to remind us that he has a law background. The first segments of this book reveal Howard's insightful thoughts regarding the NFL and its policies when it comes to allowing teams to move from city to city. Cosell's problem is the fact that the fans shouldn't have to suffer their team to move by an arbitrary decision by the owner or the city. Cosell proceeds to talk out of both sides of his mouth, and comes out on the side of governmental intervention. (I initially wrote three long paragraphs going into detail on this, including the reasons I think Cosell was wrong. My review ended up being over 2000 words long, so I can't comment on the specifics of my disagreement with Cosell on this issue.) Anyway, Cosell also goes into some detail regarding his Monday Night Football days. These passages are fascinating if you know the players involved. Howard's behind-the-scenes conversations with Roone Arledge and his criticisms of Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and OJ Simpson etc. are a lot of fun to read. Howard does not go overboard with his criticisms. All of it in regard to his sportscasting colleagues centers on what Cosell calls the "Jockocracy", wherein TV and radio sports were (are) increasingly dominated by ex-jocks. Howard thinks they are a detriment to broadcasting, as their inexperience makes for a boring broadcast. I tend to agree. Even today, there are some excellent ex-jocks in broadcasting, but there are a LOT of mediocre ex-jock broadcasters out there. Also included in this excellent book of essays is an outstanding look back at Sugar Ray Leonard and Cosell's relationship with him. Cosell uses this opportunity to talk about boxing in general, and his reasons for walking away from professional boxing. Again, Cosell loves big government solutions; he advocates a boxing commission in order to keep fighters "safe" and prevent the underhanded dealings of the promoters. Since there already ARE boxing commissions, why not let those with a gripe take them to court instead of making all sorts of new commissions and wasting tax dollars. Cosell loves to talk about himself and his role in the world of sports politics, but I can't help but question some of his affiliations. Cosell effortlessly lambastes those who deserve it, but at the same time he always seems to "pal around" with these people (owners, politicians, sneaky network executives, "unqualified" colleagues) whom he claims to despise. That's the journalist in him (also the lawyer in him), digging for the scoop instead of standing up for his own personal beliefs. If I thought Joe Owner was a crook, I wouldn't associate with him as a matter of principle; Cosell seems to associate with his ideological enemies MORE than his friends. As disagreeable as I find his politics to be, I have always liked Howard Cosell. He was the Voice of sports in the United States all through the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. When Howard brought his thoughts to the table, he was always outspoken and forceful in his opinions. Cosell never got his just rewards while he was still a public figure, but if you go back and ask anyone from that era who the highest profile broadcaster was, they would say Cosell. Cosell is sorely missed. I am not old enough to remember him in all his glory, but the few years I was still able to hear his Monday Night Football broadcasts brings back fond memories. Howard comes across like an opinionated friend to me. I would love to sit with a drink in one hand, a cigar in the other, and Howard Cosell to have a long conversation with. In the sports world, there is nobody I would have liked to meet more than Howard Cosell.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Cosell
Review: Howard Cosell was a national treasure. In reading this book I believe I have begun to understand why it was that the golden age for sports entertainment is long in the past. I hardly knew Howard Cosell in the media, since I was born in the early '70's. I missed out. Yet, I have been able to view the sports media and journalism business without him, and it is only a shadow of its former greatness. In "I Never Played the Game," Mr. Cosell pulls no punches. He "tells it like it is" all of things that are wrong in sports...or what were wrong in sports in the late 1970's early '80's (in retrospect: nothing has changed). He tees off on team-owners who carpet-bag to other cities (then it was a big deal if the Rams moved from LA to Anaheim!); he jabs deliberately at the "sport" of professional boxing. He also lets looses a few dingers on professional baseball, but not before sacking his former fellow announcers in the Monday Night Football booth. Are you tired of the sports analogies? In reading this book I began to weary of Cosell's whippings (probably it's main flaw), but believe it, he has something to say! He saw professional sports in a way that is non-apologetic. He does not excuse ANYONE. He criticized the fascination with "Jock-ocracy," or the praising of former athletes as being the "authorities" of the sports. I found it humorous when he took on John Madden as being a "caricature" of himself, and Frank Gifford as "boring." You can't help but think of these praised members of the today's sports media and smile, realizing that Howard was right. Today, Monday Night Football's ratings drop due to boring games and simply a pop-culture identity crisis--it can't figure out if they are sports or entertainment. We cry out when team owners threaten to move if they don't get a new stadium with elite luxary boxes; and we're sickened by greedy promoters that exploit boxers and the sport in terribly overrated matchups on pay-per-view, all for the almighty dollar. Nothing has changed in 20 years, people. Howard prophecied most everything that is a "concern" in sports today. We have not come far at all. ESPN's Chris Berman is close, but we need Howard back...or someone willing to take the risks and actually tell us everything as it is. If you are sports fan and if you can find this book (mine was a gift several years ago), it is a treat to read.
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