THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL A NOVEL APPROACH TO GIVING THE TV A REST.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

Monday starts the annual ``TV Turnoff Week,'' a day after ESPN finally ends its coverage of the NFL Draft. Darn the luck.

Not that we endorse such a nationwide effort - unless you have plenty of memory left on the TiVo - but at least it gives everyone an excuse for catching up on some reading.

Such as:

The book: ``Fun Is Good: How to Create Joy & Passion in your Workplace & Career'' by Mike Veeck, with Pete Williams (Rodale, $23.95, 240 pages).

The quick synopsis: Veeck, the son of legendary baseball owner Bill Veeck and transformer (with partner Bill Murray) of six minor-league teams into a $25 million business, delivers his savvy sales pitch on how to run any company based on his simple principles of bringing a positive attitude, high energy and finding a passion to deliver to the customer, even at the risk of making yourself look foolish.

The excerpt: ``A life of creativity involves taking risks, whether it's ... hiring a midget pinch-hitter, or something more important like signing Larry Doby (the first black player in the American League, three months after Jackie Robinson's arrival with the Dodgers in 1947, which Bill Veeck did when he was owner of the Cleveland Indians). It involves asking 'Why not?' every single day and proving the skeptics wrong by continually trying the impossible. It involves seeing the potential in exploding scoreboards, square beer cans and ivy-covered walls. ... It involves lots of laughter, never taking yourself too seriously, dealing with adversity ... and never missing the opportunity to learn about someone.'' - From chapter 5, ``Lessons from Dad.''

The rating: 5 stars out of 5. Both Frank McCourt and Arte Moreno could invest some time (and some spare change) and soak this up.

The postscript: Veeck's next promotion with his St. Paul Saints: A 5:30 a.m. exhibition game against the Sioux Falls Canaries on Sunday, May 8 - Mother's Day. It will set a record for the earliest start ever registered for a professional baseball game, and, as Veeck says, beer will be served.

The book: ``Illustrated History of the Dodgers'' by Richard Wittingham (Triumph Books, $29.95, 296 pages).

The quick synopsis: There have been previous attempts at coffee-table- sized books on Dodger lore, including Glenn Stout's thorough collection of essays that came out last year called ``The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball'' ($35, 455 pages). Wittingham's contribution tries a more simple history book approach, drawing some from his first volume of work on the subject published in 1982.

The excerpt: Describing the scene for Game 5 of the 1981 World Series at Dodger Stadium (page 243): ``Frank Sinatra and Johnny Carson were there, as were Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ... Howard Cosell, up in the press box, had comments about all of them. There was even a fan perched near the top of one of the palm trees just outside the park, held in place by a telephone lineman's harness - a rather unique method of watching the game without a ticket.''

Don't get any bright ideas.

The rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5. A compliment to Stout's work and a step above the 2003 ``Dodger Encyclopedia'' by William F. McNeil (Sports Publishing LLC, $39.95, 493 pages), any real fan of the franchise would want to have all three on the shelf.

The book: ``Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948'' by John Christgau (University of Nebraska Press, $16.95, 219 pages).

The quick synopsis: A sold-out exhibition game in Chicago between the all-white, George Mikan-led Minneapolis Lakers and the all-black, barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters with Marques Haynes and Goose Tatum is told in the sociological context of racial inequality and its effect on the future of pro basketball. So who won? Did it really matter?

The excerpt: ``The truth of what the game meant could be found somewhere in between the cynics who said it meant nothing and the Hollywood dream machine. ... On a magnificent and dramatic stage in the heartland of America, two teams that mirrored the country's racial divide met against the explosive backdrop of firebombings, coaches with six-guns tucked in their belts and a national argument over poll taxes and lynchings. ... For one night, the fans in Chicago Stadium put those worries aside and let themselves be swept up by the drama of a basketball game.'' - Pages 188-189.

The rating: 4 stars out of 5. Christgau's re-creation of every basket from newspaper accounts and statistical records is remarkable, considering no newsreel or audio of the game exists. If only there was a box score and some photos to help us imagine more what the encounter really looked like.

The book: ``Strat-O-Matic Fanatics: The Unlikely Success Story of a Game that Became an American Passion,'' by Glenn Guzzo (ACTA Sports books, $14.95, 316 pages).

The quick synopsis: Not just how this simple yet cerebral dice board game became an American phenomenon for kids in the '60s, but how its creator, Hal Richman, overcame many obstacles to make it happen.

The excerpt: Among the testimonies of those who grew up playing it is ESPN's Dan Patrick, who says his mother was concerned about his emotional investment, at age 11, in such a solitary activity: ``She'd say, 'Why don't you play outside?' But it was good, clean fun. It's not like mom can say, `Hey, I smell Strat-O on your breath.' '' - page 156.

The rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5. After a story on the book aired earlier this week on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, it jumped on Amazon.com's sales ranking from No. 22,000 to 4,800 in just a few hours. It's also available at www.strat-o-matic.com.

CAPTION(S):

9 photos, box

Photo:

(1) no caption (book: ``Fun Is Good: How to Create Joy & Passion in your Workplace & Career'')

(2) no caption (book: ``Illustrated History of the Dodgers'')

(3) no caption (book: ``Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948'')

(4) no caption (book: ``Strat-O-Matic Fanatics: The Unlikely Success Story of a Game that Became an American Passion,'')

(5) no caption (Pope Benedict XVI)

(6) PAUL TAGLIABUE

(7) SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

(8) NOMAR GARCIAPARRA

(9) - U.S. senator Joe Lieberman, the Democrat from Connecticut and former presidential candidate, on attending the Washington Nationals' home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who hail from the state where Republican John McCain legislates.

Box:

Sunday PUNCH

- Tom Hoffarth

- Rich Hammond