OFF THE TOP SHELF BOOKS ON THE BOOKIES AND WHY IT'S ALL A LOSING PROPOSITION.Byline: - Tom Hoffarth --The books ``The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers, and the Death of their Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. ,'' by Chad Millman ($26, Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. Publishing, 260 pages with index) and ``Fixed: How Goodfellas Bought Boston College Boston College, main campus at Chestnut Hill, Mass.; coeducational; Jesuit; est. and opened 1863. Actually a university, the school's Chestnut Hill campus comprises colleges of arts and sciences and business administration, the graduate school, and schools of nursing Basketball,'' by David Porter ($24.95, Taylor Publishing, 256 pages with index). --The moral to these stories: Here's why the average person who puts a few bucks down on a game will, in the long run, never win. --The connection: The first book by Millman, a former Sports Illustrated reporter and CNN/SI correspondent, puts his collective work on the subject into a tightly written account of three knuckleheads (we particularly like Rodney) and their heartwarming heart·warm·ing or heart-warm·ing adj. 1. Causing gladness and pleasure. 2. Eliciting sympathy and tender feelings: a heartwarming tale. Adj. 1. stories of ill-conceived life choices and how ``March Madness'' destroyed their manhood in various special ways. Or to put it this way: When the night's marquee game at the Mirage book is the UC Irvine-San Diego basketball game on the same night in '99 when Utah is facing Kentucky in a '98 NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship game rematch, something's amiss. The second book by Porter, a New Jersey sportswriter sports·writ·er n. A person who writes about sports, especially for a newspaper or magazine. sports who expanded an assignment on the 1978-79 Boston College point-shaving scandal, follows the plot from its creation to its participants' convictions. This seems more like a movie than real life, especially at the climactic trial when the NCAA officials go up on the stand against mobsters Mobsters is a 1991 crime drama detailing the creation of the National Crime Syndicate/The Commission. Set in New York City during the Prohibition era, it's a somewhat fictionalized account of rise of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Benjamin "Bugsy" , wise guys and other corrupt individuals. For an interesting local angle, read up on the BC-UCLA game at Pauley Pavilion during that season. The 5-1 Bruins, with David Greenwood and Kiki Vandeweghe, were an 18-point favorite over the 7-1 Eagles. BC trailed by only seven with 9:36 left, but all of a sudden, point guard Jim Sweeney started walking the ball up the court and wouldn't pass to hot scorer Ernie Cobb. UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX won by 22, and Sweeney later testified this particular game wasn't fixed. --In summary: Before the average idiot considers a life as a professional wagerer, read both of these gripping, Mario Puzo-like accounts of addiction, corruption, betrayal, deception, greed and victimhood. The mystery and scandal really isn't glamorous, especially if someday you end up discussing it with the E! Channel's A.J. Benza. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) no caption (book: ``The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers, and the Death of their Las Vegas'') (2) no caption (book: ``Fixed: How Goodfellas Bought Boston College Basketball'') |
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