But you still need to activate your account.
Thanks to my uncle and my Mom, I am a reader. This time of the year usually finds me in the sun, deeply engrossed in a Robert Parker or a James Patterson suspense novel. If true confessions are the norm here, then I must admit that I am also taken in by sports books, too.
One of the great joys in my professional life is the opportunity to write sports-related books. And one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had as a professional writer is the year or so that I spent with basketball phenom Cindy Blodgett in our combined efforts to produce her biography, “Simply The Best: The Cindy Blodgett Story.”
Thoughts today, then, turn to two summer hardback sports publications, “Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits” by Red Sox slugger David Ortiz with Boston Herald sportswriter Tony Massarotti and “Sporting An Image: A Look At Sports Photography” by well-known Maine photojournalist Phil Roberts.
The phenomenon that has become Big Papi in Red Sox lore is, quite frankly, like nothing the New England sports world – or perhaps Major League Baseball, for that matter – has ever seen.
A Dominican Republican version of New York’s Babe Ruth, Ortiz has captured the hearts and the minds of baseball faithful everywhere.
The lovable giant, a surprising Minnesota Twin castoff, is the personification of all that is right with baseball. Talented on the field and generous with his time and money off the playing surface, Ortiz truly represents all that is good about baseball.
In times of conflict and controversy in professional sports, Ortiz stands out as perhaps the best representative of how athletes should conduct themselves. Sportswriter Massarotti, who began covering baseball for the Herald in 1991, tells the unique story of the big slugger in two voices: his own and Ortiz’s.
You, the reader, are in the batter’s box for the amazing ALCS comeback in 2004. You are there for all the game-winning heroics and record-breaking performances. And you get an award-winning journalist’s perspective on what it is like to be a big-time baseball hero.
The two voices, separate and in unison, give this book a special touch.
Phil Roberts’ book, “Sporting An Image,” is a talented photographer’s look – in living color – of the so-called digital age of sports photojournalism.
It was my wife Shelly’s and my privilege to work with the talented Roberts on our 1992 Kidney Foundation and University of Maine Foundation book project, “Basketball 2000: Coaching & Playing Into The 21st Century.”
We learned early on that Roberts is a gifted photographer.
“Sporting An Image” is no exception.
Phil’s passion is his camera, and in this one, he brings all of Down East sports to life.
From youth baseball to high school varsity soccer, Roberts’ talented eye for action is ever-clear in this book.
From Big Papi to Little League, this summer’s sports book offerings are top-of-the-line.
Beach readers never had it so good.
Purchasing information for Roberts’ book may be obtained from Machias Valley Imprint, 129 Hadley Road, Marshfield, ME 04654-5104.
Big Papi is sold at bookstores everywhere.
30-Second Time Out
Appreciative Roberts’ fans will be happy to know that the talented photographer is on the mend from a late-winter heart attack. Best wishes for a successful continued recovery go out to the skillful photojournalist. In addition to Phil’s many talents, he is a wonderful fellow.
BDN columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net
Comments
comments for this post are closed