Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard
- Downloads：2494
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-16 06:19:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jim Gray
- ISBN：0062992074
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Malin Friess
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It looked like a fascinating topic---interviews with the GOATS （Greatest of all time）-- Michael Jordan， Tom Brady， Muhammad Ali， Kobe Bryant， Michael Phelps， Tiger Woods。 Jim Gray is well respected。But this book is a snoozer。 I couldn't finish it。 It seemed like a promotional book that went South。 It looked like a fascinating topic---interviews with the GOATS （Greatest of all time）-- Michael Jordan， Tom Brady， Muhammad Ali， Kobe Bryant， Michael Phelps， Tiger Woods。 Jim Gray is well respected。But this book is a snoozer。 I couldn't finish it。 It seemed like a promotional book that went South。 。。。more
Melanie Earles
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For the most part I really enjoyed this book。 Jim Grey has lived a fascinating life。 He has met and gotten to know so many interesting people。 I enjoyed getting to learn about all kinds of sports figures。 The I felt like some of the chapters got a little long though。
K
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I gave up after listening to 46% of the audio book narrated by the author。 At first I was enjoying it even though I couldn’t get over how poorly the author was at reading his own words。 Jim， you speak to the public for a living！ How can you be so bad at reading a book YOU WROTE？ I liked the chapters on Tyson and Ali。 But then I got to the chapter about Pete Rose and wow， is this guy bitter！ It’s evident by the length of the chapter and how long he whines about the situation that even after 20 ye I gave up after listening to 46% of the audio book narrated by the author。 At first I was enjoying it even though I couldn’t get over how poorly the author was at reading his own words。 Jim， you speak to the public for a living！ How can you be so bad at reading a book YOU WROTE？ I liked the chapters on Tyson and Ali。 But then I got to the chapter about Pete Rose and wow， is this guy bitter！ It’s evident by the length of the chapter and how long he whines about the situation that even after 20 years he’s still not over it， and I got sick of listening to him prattle on about it。 I decided to skip the steroid chapter because I was sure it would also be a downer， but could only get through a few minutes of the Tiger Woods chapter before the whole “someone did Jim wrong” vibe came back full force and I decided to quit the book entirely。 。。。more
Taylor
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Totally loved all the stories！ What a really remarkable life he has led。
Hilary Hugin
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Was gifted this book。 Written by a sports reporter I （unsurprisingly） don’t know。 Got through chapter 7 before remembering I don’t like autobiographies because of their bias。 Would rather read a historical account of these stories about athletes， many of which were also underwhelming。
Sabin
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I really enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of athletes and what makes them so successful。 Jim Gray has done thousands of interviews and his story of how he has met so many wonderful GOATS （Greatest of All Time） Athletes was fun to read。 He too has had a wonderful career sprinkled with a little bit of luck。 For being known as Scratchie， the nickname Jack Nicholson gave him for always digging for the truth about his stories， he seems to be very very personable as well。 Having Snoop D I really enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of athletes and what makes them so successful。 Jim Gray has done thousands of interviews and his story of how he has met so many wonderful GOATS （Greatest of All Time） Athletes was fun to read。 He too has had a wonderful career sprinkled with a little bit of luck。 For being known as Scratchie， the nickname Jack Nicholson gave him for always digging for the truth about his stories， he seems to be very very personable as well。 Having Snoop Dogg read the acknowledgments on the audiobook was entertaining as well。 3。5 stars 。。。more
Lane
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I was familiar with many of the stories but there is some nice background information。 This is not a book about the GOATs but it is about Gray's interaction with them。 This leads to short views of many of the GOATs and a focus on Gray。An easy read but the story jumps around。 I was familiar with many of the stories but there is some nice background information。 This is not a book about the GOATs but it is about Gray's interaction with them。 This leads to short views of many of the GOATs and a focus on Gray。An easy read but the story jumps around。 。。。more
Patricia GG
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Enjoyed well enough even though I am not what you would call a sports nut。
Greg Henning
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A better title would have been “Name Dropping with Jim Gray。” Throughout the book， he made excuse after excuse for the bad behavior and poor decisions made by athletes he considers friends。 It was clear he didn’t want to say anything negative about the guys in the book because it could impact an exclusive interview down the road。
Josh
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It started out pretty strong but it quickly turned into a name-dropping session。 Jim seems to take credit for a multitude of positive events but refuses to take criticism for any of his mistakes（Pete Rose interview）。 I watched that interview live on TV and felt that he really pushed Pete into a corner on a night that was supposed to be a special occasion。 Anyway， not the worst book I’ve read， but certainly not the best。
Majid Hussain
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I don’t know much about the man but read the book because I wanted to hear some good stories about the athletes he mentioned on the cover。 Some he went into great details， others he mentioned briefly。 Some athletes I did not know because they played sports I did not follow。 The stories are Jim’s stories with those particular athletes and the impact it had on his life。 Some parts I enjoyed and some I couldn’t engage。
David King
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A quick listen。 Surprisingly less self-serving/promoting than you’d expect。 The story of Ali was more interesting I think than the others but his most compelling was telling of his dad。
Andy Mesecher
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I've seen a fair amount of criticism for this book's general tone and perspective。 However， with knowing little-to-nothing about Gray's journalistic accomplishments， I was able to use this book as a way to learn about so many big moments in sports history， and from the journalist's perspective who was on the scene。 Included are stories from the Malice at the Palace， the Decision， Pete Rose， Michael Jackson， Mike Tyson， and so much more。 Gray also gives us insight into how his career began and th I've seen a fair amount of criticism for this book's general tone and perspective。 However， with knowing little-to-nothing about Gray's journalistic accomplishments， I was able to use this book as a way to learn about so many big moments in sports history， and from the journalist's perspective who was on the scene。 Included are stories from the Malice at the Palace， the Decision， Pete Rose， Michael Jackson， Mike Tyson， and so much more。 Gray also gives us insight into how his career began and the family that instilled the work ethic he brought to every interview （and how community opened several doors for his career）。 Some chapters were extremely hard pills to swallow， including the legacy of his father， and also any mention of covering sports before social media （boy， what a dream job that must have been！）。 One thing was for sure， after every chapter， I found myself on YouTube looking for the interviews （like Kobe going public about his problems with Shaq， to the infamous Pete Rose interview on the field）。 My only criticism of this book is how much time is spent on Tom Brady。 I felt Gray gave a fair shake on most of his stories -- setting a scene， explaining his perspective， then telling events as they happened （Malice at the Palace is a great example）。 But for Tom Brady， even if he were completely innocent of all his "investigations，" Gray's opinions did little to sway me and instead made me want to re-read previous chapters to see if such bias oozed there as well。 All in all， this is a great book for your Sports Savvy Dad， or a young buck who thinks he wants to go to "Dan Patrick's School of Sports Broadcasting。" 。。。。 or any Boston apologist now that I'm thinking about it。 Guess I know what I'm getting my friend Steve this holiday season！ 。。。more
LP
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3。5I had never heard of Jim Gray before reading this book。 I'm interested in sports moments not in sports commentary。 But it was interesting to get the picture from the man inside。 There was a whole chapter dedicated to one of my favorite 30 for 30s， the First Pitch， which was produced by Gray。 I had no clue。 That alone made the book worth reading。The negative Gray came across defensive of his decision and loyalties （which everyone is entitled to be but doesn't read well on the page） specificall 3。5I had never heard of Jim Gray before reading this book。 I'm interested in sports moments not in sports commentary。 But it was interesting to get the picture from the man inside。 There was a whole chapter dedicated to one of my favorite 30 for 30s， the First Pitch， which was produced by Gray。 I had no clue。 That alone made the book worth reading。The negative Gray came across defensive of his decision and loyalties （which everyone is entitled to be but doesn't read well on the page） specifically about his interview with Pete Rose， Lebron， and the criticism toward Brady。 The other negative there was not one female GOAT mentioned。 Maybe Gray never had the opportunity to interview a female super athlete， but for someone who obviously covered the Olympics I don't get it。 。。。more
Socraticgadfly
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If we could do half stars， I might 3。5 star this。 I do think that at times， there was some name-dropping， but it wasn't horrible。 And， in general， books like this just aren't 5-star stuff。That said， there's some good stuff here。First， on Pete Rose？ Gray points out that， in games with the Reds where Pete didn't bet at all， he essentially bet AGAINST the Reds。 （That would be especially true if Rose wore out his bullpen to cover a bet in the game before。） Frankly， I still wonder if Rose didn't actu If we could do half stars， I might 3。5 star this。 I do think that at times， there was some name-dropping， but it wasn't horrible。 And， in general， books like this just aren't 5-star stuff。That said， there's some good stuff here。First， on Pete Rose？ Gray points out that， in games with the Reds where Pete didn't bet at all， he essentially bet AGAINST the Reds。 （That would be especially true if Rose wore out his bullpen to cover a bet in the game before。） Frankly， I still wonder if Rose didn't actually bet against the team， not indirectly， but directly， and either Dowd never found that out or else that was swept under the rug in Rose's "plea deal" with Fay Vincent。Tyson。 I didn't know Gray was that close to him。 （I've not been a fan of boxing for years， no， decades。） He gets a sympathetic portrait。Barry Bonds does as well。As for criticism of "where's the female athletes，" well， Gray focuses on athletes he's closest to and has interviewed the most。 Women's boxing wasn't a thing way back when。 The WBNA didn't exist。 His network obligations and restrictions may have blocked serious LPGA work。 Women's pro football doesn't exist。 Etc。， etc。The fact that this is partly "gotcha" is part of why I bumped up half a star。I don't think Gray is perfect。 Pete Rose tough line aside， and him thinking his bosses at ESPN pulled punches after The Malice at the Palace， I think he's pulled a punch or two as well。 。。。more
Holly
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A low 4 stars。 If you cut out the massive Tom Brady adoration， it would jump to a high 4 stars。 This is a fun read for any sports fan， and especially fun for this Denver girl。
Jacob Gambill
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A collection of Jim Grays stories that span the course of his Hall of Fame reporting career。 The details behind some of the biggest happenings in sports history， as well as details behind the ones we never heard。
Kristen
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Interesting because I like sports， but I felt like the author was a little naive and had a blind spot toward some of the subjects。 The parts about his father were endearing。
McKay
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If you are a sports fan， this is definitely worth checking out。
Derek Davidson
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Not a fan of the writing style seemed to ramble adding irrelevant details often and jump around during chapters， the book was more about himself than the “GOATS” he interviewed for the most part。 Still some great insight on some legends just didn’t like how it was put together 2。5 would be more fitting。
John
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Outstanding read and even better than I expected。 Jim Gray has delivered not only a good sports related book， but also delves into the human aspect of the athletes and people he deals with throughout the book。 I could go on but then I'd be just rambling。 Check it out for yourself！ Outstanding read and even better than I expected。 Jim Gray has delivered not only a good sports related book， but also delves into the human aspect of the athletes and people he deals with throughout the book。 I could go on but then I'd be just rambling。 Check it out for yourself！ 。。。more
Nancy Opat
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For a sport fan its an interesting read
Michael
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I laughed a lot during this （but I admit I'm biased because I know one of the people close to the book）。 If you want a quick， funny read through the last half-century of sports， this is a good way to go。 I laughed a lot during this （but I admit I'm biased because I know one of the people close to the book）。 If you want a quick， funny read through the last half-century of sports， this is a good way to go。 。。。more
Stephen mcneil
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Such an enjoyable read。 Gray’s ‘honest to goodness’ enthusiasm is contagious， and makes each topic fun to learn about。 A book for sports fans， for sure， but the chapter about his experiences with his father go far beyond athletics， and brought a tear to my eye。
Roger
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Disappointing。 Self-centered， whiny， and defensive （especially the pieces devoted to Pete Rose and LeBron James）。 Given the athletes who are the ostensible subject matter of the book， could have been fascinating。 Alas， it's definitely not。 Better title "Talking About ME and My Very Close Relationships with Much More Interesting People。" Disappointing。 Self-centered， whiny， and defensive （especially the pieces devoted to Pete Rose and LeBron James）。 Given the athletes who are the ostensible subject matter of the book， could have been fascinating。 Alas， it's definitely not。 Better title "Talking About ME and My Very Close Relationships with Much More Interesting People。" 。。。more
Jack
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Wasn’t as much about the athletes he encountered but more about himself。 Wasn’t a fan of his writing style。 Didn’t know anything about him before the book， but I’m not a huge fan of him
Michael Allhands
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There are some really interesting stories in here-I had forgotten just how many major sport stories Gray had been involved in over the last 40 years。 The high point was the chapter on Tyson; the low point the love letter to Tom Brady。 A big problem is a lack of insight into female athletes。 I am astounded in all those decades covering major sports events， including the Olympics that no interaction with a female athlete was worthy of inclusion。 It also does seem a large part of Gray’s opinions of There are some really interesting stories in here-I had forgotten just how many major sport stories Gray had been involved in over the last 40 years。 The high point was the chapter on Tyson; the low point the love letter to Tom Brady。 A big problem is a lack of insight into female athletes。 I am astounded in all those decades covering major sports events， including the Olympics that no interaction with a female athlete was worthy of inclusion。 It also does seem a large part of Gray’s opinions of players is based on his friendship with them （though I did enjoy his take down of Phil Jackson） He also seems a bit thinned skinned about any criticism of his work （see “The Decision”）。 。。。more
Pat Lampe
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I loved this audio book even though I don’t really follow sports。 There were his memories of famous events and unknown events。 Insights into famous people。 What I liked best was his own story and that of his family。 A true American dream。 I’m so glad I listened to this book。
Gregory
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This was a good book。 A highlight for me was reading of the integrity and good character described of the various athletes and famous people。 They were good examples of people willing to do the right thing， even at the risk of their career。
Kristel Martin
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