This book was one of the few times the cover was what got me interested in reading it more than the title, subject or author. The cover has the trophies of the four major team sports, and even though I had never heard of “Stugotz”, I thought that this book by Jon “Stugotz” Weiner would be about championship players and teams in those sports.

That was somewhat correct. Stugotz, whose main occupation is to be the second person on the highly popular sports talk show in South Florida hosted by Dan LeBetard, has some very interesting opinions on the best players and teams in various sports and he’s not afraid to tell you why, even if the reader will strongly disagree, as I did several times. A reader might even think some of his opinions are crazy.

Here is a small sample of those non-conforming takes: Babe Ruth isn’t one of the 10 best baseball players of all time; Chris Paul is not among the best point guards in NBA history (and while he doesn’t mention John Stockton’s name, he’s not included either since Stugotz says a player must win a championship in order to be great - something I strongly disagree with); and that Clayton Kershaw isn’t that great a pitcher because of his struggles in the postseason.

If these sound outlandish to a reader, this is what they will get throughout the book. However, keep in mind the general tone of sports talk radio - statements like these are made by hosts and callers all the time. Having heard his radio show, this review is not based on his on-air performance but instead by what he writes in the book. Reading it like a script for sports talk radio and even wanting to call in to either praise or bash his idea (most chapters have this at the end by a respected sports journalist) is the best way to enjoy this book. Just like what you hear on the air, it’s best to not take this extremely seriously and just enjoy reading it for the entertainment value.

I wish to thank Random House for providing a review copy of the book. The views expressed are strictly my own.

I have been looking for more sports books to read lately. When I saw this one I thought I knew what I was in for but man was I wrong. I was wrong in a good way though.

This book was funny but also interesting and a good read. I learned a lot about Stugotz who I had never heard of before reading this book but now I might check out his podcast. I learned a lot about different sports in the book as well.

When I first started this book I was not sure what I was getting into and if I would like it or not. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Honestly, as a Canadian who does not have easy access to ESPN, I was unfamiliar with the author and his unique feelings about sports. With that - I think I may not understand his schtick in a way that those more familiar with him might.

The topics were very surface level and at times it felt like the argument were just for the sake of argument - no idea why comparing Babe Ruth with Mike Trout might be a little off. I appreciated the context and details provided in each section - the chapters were quick and to the point. I also enjoyed the rebuttals from the author's friends/

It's a good read if you like controversial sports opinions but you might not agree with most of them!