Reader Views

Sumbitch: A Tale of Bigtime College Football and a Girl

Article first published as Book ReviewSumbitch: A Tale of Bigtime College Football and a Girl by Simon Plaster on Blogcritics.

In “Sumbitch” by Simon Plaster, the NCII has been created to solve the problem of the declining participation of colleges in the NCAA.  NCII stands for National Conference for Inmate Institutions.  There are two big pluses to this solution. The first one is that it will raise money to help pay for the inmate’s room and board. The second plus is that it will be much less expensive to promote.  On the other hand, there are people who will do anything to play football, even if it means committing a crime.  It is hard to imagine that someone would be desperate enough to do this knowing that they will end up locked up.  However, having the opportunity to play at the Big Penal Conference on a team like the Texas Chain Gang or the Oklahoma Wild Bunch proves to be exciting to many men.

As with all sports, politics and greed play a huge role in this story.  The NCII attracts a lot of attention, even from that of small town reporter Henryetta Herbert.  Hoping to get a story in the New York Times, Henryetta takes a break from writing real and fantasized obituaries to work on writing about this new organization.  One of the players is very endeared to her. Believing in his innocence Henryetta is determined to help prove his innocence and get him off death row. The problem with her involvement is that she doesn’t realize that he might not want to be proven not guilty at this time.

 “Sumbitch” made me laugh out loud.  Seeing how much drama has been involved with college football, it was fun to take a break from the real news and enjoy this satire.  The author Simon Plaster does a fantastic job of creating eccentric, entertaining characters.  The story is lively and fast paced, and the scenes are very creatively written.  I think that “Sumbitch” by Simon Plaster would be the perfect gift for someone who needs a football fix during the off season.


Sumbitch: A Tale of Bigtime College Football and a Girl
Simon Plaster
Mossik Press (2012)
ISBN 9780615606361
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/12)

The Longest Walk

Article first published as Book Review: The Longest Walk by Kirk Marty on Blogcritics.

Author Kirk Marty’s first novel, “The Longest Walk,” is an independently published book, but it reads like the work of a seasoned veteran. Marty’s highly creative and compelling tale offers a rich tapestry of the history, legend and lore that made baseball a beloved sporting pastime and an American icon. The author has a passion for the institution and he has clearly done his research. But it’s not the book’s meticulously told history, behind the scenes insights into minor league life and intriguing trivia that make this book stand out. Rather, it’s Marty’s ability to capture baseball’s mercurial magic and almost spiritual quality that makes “The Longest Walk” a special story. And the magic that Marty conjures is powerful stuff!

Kirk Marty’s writing acumen, knack for storytelling, and active imagination make wonderful creative collaborators. In some respects the storyline of “The Longest Walk” seems familiar. It is. But unexpected twists and deviations from the familiar very quickly begin to pique the reader’s interest and draw them into the uncharted waters of the author’s tale. The finely drawn characters populating the book make the reader eager to follow them throughout the story.

Without giving too much away, the book’s central character, Don Olgilvie, an alcoholic minor league coach with an intellectual bent, makes a deal with the devil to trade his life for the life of his unlikely best friend, the terminally ill seven-year-old son of one of his own players. Once the deal is done, the action on the book’s pages and on the field at the mysterious Limbotown ball park begins. To close the deal Olgilvie has to put together a team of dead Hall of Famers and beat an opposing team fielded by the colorful and charismatic Death Personified. An appealing side story is that of the coach’s new, dead love interest.

An intellectual attribute of the book on a higher level is the commentary it offers on the impact of the integration of the sport. Marty uses the assemblage of dead Hall of Famers, who are both multi-racial and multi-generational, to frame the issue. Collectively the team provides a microcosmical perspective on the perpetuation of race inequities in our society throughout the twentieth century.

Kirk Marty is the pen name for Kirk Grossman, an attorney and dedicated Dodger fan. “The Longest Walk” will lead many readers to wonder why we haven’t heard from Marty before now. Clever, fun and seriously relevant, “The Longest Walk” is an out-of-the-park, out of this world first novel.


The Longest Walk
Kirk Marty
Strategic Book Group (2011)
ISBN 9781609116613
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (2/12)

Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan Who’s Seen ‘Em All

In his new book, “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan Who’s Seen ‘Em All,” Stephen J. Koreivo firmly establishes that he is not an ordinary college football fan. He is an extraordinary one. He is immersed in the sport completely. He has followed his favorite team, Notre Dame, since childhood. Later, he began to also follow Penn State. Inspired by ABC Sports announcer Chris Schenkle’s signature opening line for game day – “College Football…what better way to spend an autumn afternoon?” – Koreivo watched every fall Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t long before he wanted to spend Saturday afternoons at a stadium, not in front of his TV. Even after marrying, he successfully juggled his passion for college football with the life he had begun with a wife and children on, into the new decade.

In 2000 he wondered just how many Division 1 teams he had seen. He concluded that he had already seen more than half, which resulted in a life-changing decision: he set a goal of seeing in person, every one of the 120 BCS teams play at least once. He achieved his goal in 2007. His new book celebrates his formidable feat.

This book is simply designed and easy to read. Each of the games Koreivo attended on the road to his goal is described in a one to three-page essay in the order in which he saw them. Each essay is seasoned with snippets of team history and trivia. Pre and post-game anecdotes of most of his road trips also add some of the flavor of the local fans, team traditions and a sense of the unique personality of each school’s stadium.

The book is a treasure trove of history of the sport. The team, program, and conference trivia will interest any true college fan. Most of the games the author attended were ordinary games. Since Koreivo’s event had both time and budget constraints – motels are costly; staying with friends who followed the home team saved money and came with free local flavoring added – the quality of the games were generally secondary to the goal of reaching the magic 120 number. 

Koreivo has a lot to say of interest about the sights, sounds and emotions of being at a game. But as Mark Twain used to counsel aspiring writers, “Don’t say the old lady screamed - bring her on and let her scream.” Koreivo is a good nuts and bolts writer, and his style works well with the historical and trivial content of the book; but, painting word pictures of the feelings and emotions that a fan experiences at a game requires a different skill set. His writing never made me feel connected to what he was describing; I never felt like I was there in the seats with him. Too bad, I thought more than a couple of times, because I think I would have enjoyed his company at the Louisville – Army (44) game a lot.

Fierce college football fans whose interest goes beyond their favorite team and the conference in which they play will surely like “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan Whose Seen ‘Em All.” And, if you’re a Notre Dame fan, I suspect the author would like to swap stories with you.

Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan Who’s Seen ‘Em All
Stephen J. Koreivo
AuthorHouse (2011)
ISBN 9781463416867
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (10/11)

Hell on Two Wheels: An Astonishing Story of Suffering, Triumph, and the Most Extreme Endurance Race in the World

I feel that it’s important to preface my comments on Amy Snyder’s new book for cycling fans, “Hell on Two Wheels,” with the plain fact that I am not a cyclist. I am a physical activist, not an athlete. I have enjoyed the solitude of both a lone runner and off-trail hiker, and most recently, an on-trail nature rambler. The sense of oneness with nature that is derived from these activities seems to also be part of the experience of the long distance, countryside, solo cyclist. But, the shared, simple pleasures of oneness with nature are not a part of the hellish physical destination we are taken on by Snyder.

“Hell on Two Wheels” goes way beyond the average person’s physical pursuits, and well past the experiences of even professional athletes, regardless of their sport. It takes us to an event most of us have never heard of. Snyder, herself a former Ironman triathlete, calls The Race Across America (RAAM), “…a bicycle race like no other…starting at the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, California, and ending at the Atlantic near Washington, D.C…once the starting gun goes off, the clock doesn’t stop, so if you sleep, you lose…it takes the winners about nine days to finish, the rest a couple of days more.”

In comparison to any other athletic competition, not just cycling events, the Race Across America is truly unique. And as such, the small group of men and women who are drawn to this surreal endurance test are highly unusual. Some might even contend that RAAM crosses the line separating sport from masochism. But while the physical and mental assault endured by the participants is relentless, others, including the writers of the books promotional text, believe that the emotional and spiritual rewards of this phenomenal experience are invaluable. Snyder includes explanations from participants that suggest the benefits they accrue from their RAAM experience are as varied as the participants themselves. There are common themes though; among them, being able to open up emotionally, realizing their connections to other people’s emotions, and being able to “feel, share, and be vulnerable with other people.”

Yet, for all of the positive emotional and inspirational payoffs of RAAM, it will be hard for many readers to accept that any reward could be worth the appalling physical toll the race takes on participants. Snyder’s detailed and graphic accounts of the pain and suffering are powerful; for example, she writes “RAAM racers also experience a horrifying physical condition rarely seen anywhere else. After days of nonstop cycling spent hunched over on a bike, a racer’s neck muscles can suddenly fail from the continuous strain of holding up his head. Known as Shermer’s Neck, this condition causes a cyclist’s head to flop forward like a rag doll’s that has had its chin pinned to its chest. No matter how hard he tries, once his neck muscles fail, just like a newborn infant, a cyclist is helpless to raise his head.”

Bob Babbitt, co-founder of Competitor Magazine, wrote about “Hell on Two Wheels,” “If you’re a cycling fan, you’ll love every page. If you’re not, you’ll become one! This book is a must read.” Well, I’m not prepared to take my enthusiasm for the book to that level, but the book does tell an intriguing and fascinating story about unusual people who have made a conscious decision to engage in an unbelievable life-changing experience. And, this is a book that undeniably lives up to its title.

Hell on Two Wheels: An Astonishing Story of Suffering, Triumph, and the Most Extreme Endurance Race in the World
Amy Snyder
Triumph Books (2011)
ISBN 9781600785252
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (5/11)