cover image Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter

Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter

Keith Olbermann, Bonnie Nelson. Atria Books, $23 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-671-00918-2

Fans of ESPN's evening sports show who want to know more about their heroes, together since 1992, will enjoy this joint effort, which covers each of their lives from the cradle onward. Their appeal, they claim, is that they take sports, but not themselves, seriously so one of their stocks in trade is light banter, the other being a repertory of catchphrases. They recall their triumphs and their flubs and offer advice to young people who want to become sportscasters. One of the rare subjects on which Olbermann and Patrick disagree is the possible election of Pete Rose to baseball's Hall of Fame, which leads to their list of recommendations of the 100 players who ought to be elected. They also list the 10 athletes they consider tops and the greatest games they ever watched, and they lament the blackmailing of cities to build new stadiums and the perversions of baseball-card collecting. The writing is lively, but the authors' self-described ""healthy narcissism"" may not strike readers as all that healthy. (May)