Review of "Howard Cosell’s Great Moments in Sports, A Sport Magazine Anthology"

Review of

Howard Cosell’s Great Moments in Sports, A Sport Magazine Anthology

Four out of five stars

 While the stories cover many sports, from baseball to boxing to basketball, football and tennis, track and golf, there is a lack of emotional intensity. These events that sometimes revolutionized the specific sport are described in a very matter-of-fact manner, missing the emotional intensity that took place in the event.

 My favorite was the story about the first on-court encounter between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. After a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters, Chamberlain joined the NBA and his team was facing the fabled Boston Celtics led by Russell. The Celtics won handily, with Russell outplaying Chamberlain. Yet after the game, Russell quietly acknowledged that Chamberlain would go down as the best basketball player ever. That is a class act.

 Without question, the events described in this book were great moments in sports. Yet, the descriptions would be better if more of the intensity of the moment had been captured in the writing.