That's Not the Way It Was: (Almost) Everything They've Told You about Sports Is Wrong

Outstanding book. Barra is a very smart columnist who understands several different sports. A few of his arguments are silly (the running game is important in the NFL, for example), but 95% of the book is on target. Well worth the price.

Everytime I hear somebody complain about how ballplayers today play for the money while old-timers played for the love of the game, I want to give them this book. The same is true for whenever somebody complains that high salaries drive up ticket prices. Those are two of the many myths that the author debunks in this book. The author backs up his arguments with plenty of historical evidence and presents well-reasoned cases for why many commonly accepted things about sports just aren't true. I don't agree with everything in the book and I doubt most sports fans will, but it's still a good read. The author shows he is very knowlegable and writes with a great deal of authority about several different sports, which is no easy task.