"Sports Illustrated" columnist Stewart Mandel tackles the ten issues that confound college football fans
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reviews
Apr 10, 2011
William
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Though it's now four years old, this survey of the controversies that make NCAA football what it is, by SI.com's Stewart Mandel, is still relevant. Even if I don't believe his early prediction that the BCS will give way to, or accomodate, a playoff (though to be fair, by the time he wrote an extra chapter for the paperback edition, he seems to have changed his mind).
It's breezy (sometimes including jokes that you'd better be ready to recognize) but informative (you can also tell he's d More...
It's breezy (sometimes including jokes that you'd better be ready to recognize) but informative (you can also tell he's d More...
Dec 24, 2010
Michael
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I decided to read this just in time for the DunderMifflinConsolidatedNortheastRegionalRecycledPaperDivisionLLC .com Stargazer Lilly Bowl and it’s other 35 counterparts. It did not disappoint. Mandel, a Sports Illustrated columnist, was clearly exacerbated by innumerable fan/reader email inquiries/obscenities regarding the oddities of the BCS system and decided to cover it all. He attacks, chapter-by-chapter, such topics as Heisman debacles, idiot NFL recruiting criteria, conference realignments,
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Oct 08, 2008
Amber
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I LOVE college football, and I also love Stewart Mandel's columns and the SI Mailbag. He's hilarious and knowledgeable, though I of course am prone to putting him on my "shit list" and refusing to read him for a certain amount of time after he's said something I consider egregious about Cal. Mostly these periods of silence last about a week, after which I am again groveling at SI.com for the new Mailbag. I admit, I am just as bad as every college football fan out there!
That More...
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Jun 29, 2011
Dustin
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If you love college football, but hate the university presidents, sanctioning bodies, bowl committees, booster, alumni, and the goddamn BCS, read this. It does a great job explaining why everything is wrong with college football, and why the powers that be will never give the fans a fair playoff system that we all want. It does a great job explaining that not only is the system broken and corrupt, but it also has no intention of ever being fair as long as the legacy programs and conferences have
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Nov 03, 2010
Mike
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Nothing that I didn't already know about college football, but Stewart Mandel is a fun writer who not only knows college football but loves it. He always offers an intelligent perspective over the emotionally charged, irrationality that often dominates in sports. A nice easy read to cruise through on a Saturday.
Jan 04, 2009
Jt
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I think Mandel is one of the best college football writers out there -he's logical, he understands the big picture and he can add a touch of humor to the ridiculous without being bombastic. This is a fun and quick read, if you love college football.
Jan 05, 2008
Jeff
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This was a very informative and entertaining explanation of why college football is the way it is. I now understand the convoluted sport a lot better. I would like the sport to institute a "plus one" championship game, to make the Cotton Bowl one of the BCS bowls and to eliminate about 10 bowl games, but aside from that I kind of like the chaos! (Do I think any of that will happen? No.) The one really annoying thing about the book was the author's tendency to make a joke at the end of
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Aug 30, 2008
Joel & Christie
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An excellent book for the serious college football fan. Stewart Mandel, college football analyst for Sports Illustrated, dedicates each chapter to explaining some of the confusion that reins in college football. Why is college football the only NCAA sport without a playoff? Why does Notre Dame merit its own TV contract? What's up with the BSC mess? Just exactly who votes for the Heisman and why to Heisman winners usually bust in the NFL? Oh, and tell me again why does college football not h
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Apr 25, 2011
Megan
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A funny, lighthearted and clear view of the NCAA as a business. A fantastic pool-side read if you're a fan of college football.
Apr 25, 2010
Andy
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The guy and book is hilarious and appropriately addresses the hot ticket issues in college football
Jun 29, 2009
Mike
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Good breakdown on college football for both knowledgable and not so knowledgable fans of the game.
Mar 13, 2009
Diana
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A discussion of college football from the BCS to the Heisman and everything in between.
Absolutely fascinating. I've enjoyed Mandel's Mailbag column for quite some time, and this is a natural extension of it. He really explains the intricacies and absurdities of college football in a way that both informs and entertains.
Absolutely fascinating. I've enjoyed Mandel's Mailbag column for quite some time, and this is a natural extension of it. He really explains the intricacies and absurdities of college football in a way that both informs and entertains.
Feb 06, 2008
Ken
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i have been reading Stewart Mandel online at SportsIllustrated.com for several years now, and he is my favorite writer who covers college football. This book is well written and clearly explains the difficulties and challenges of college football in a number of different areas. For serious college football fans, I would rate this a five-star book. Less serious fans might get overloaded on details, so that is why I gave it 4 stars.
Nov 19, 2007
Bryan
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Stewart Mandel is one of the best sportswriters focusing on college football today. I regularly read his work at SI.com and this book reads like an extended column: in depth and interesting, full of humor, with a healthy dose of skepticism. He doesn't delve deeply into the emotional and narrative aspects of the college game that are so compelling to me but the book is informative and entertaining.
Feb 16, 2008
Dave
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My buddy Stewart wrote this book, for disclosure's sake.
While many of you know him from SI.com, I know him from my softball team.
If you have any inclination to read a book about football, to have a better understanding of what in the hell is up with the bowl system, Heisman voting or anything else going on in the crazy world of NCAA football, check out Stewart's book.
While many of you know him from SI.com, I know him from my softball team.
If you have any inclination to read a book about football, to have a better understanding of what in the hell is up with the bowl system, Heisman voting or anything else going on in the crazy world of NCAA football, check out Stewart's book.
Sep 16, 2008
Brad
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Somehow, the book isn't as much fun as the articles. Perhaps it's the distance from the present. Perhaps I expect more formality in a book than in a column. I still read Mandel every week during the fall, but this one didn't grab me, and I doubt I'll pick up the paperback with the 2007 update.
Feb 19, 2008
Robert
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The book gives you an insight into different aspects of college football (recruiting, why Notre Dame won't finally join a conference, why there won't be a playoff system too soon, etc). Mandel does a good job here. It was a better book then I thought it would be.
Oct 12, 2007
Dave
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pretty ok, as entertaining as his internet columns - everyone knows that Rockne and Dorais perfected the forward pass at Cedar Point on the shores of Lake Erie, not Lake Michigan - sheesh
Jan 02, 2009
Rae
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Although the author didn't eliminate any of the chaos and controversy found in college football, he did explain it well. I enjoyed this read while watching some of the bowl games.
Jun 21, 2008
Ezra
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This is a rarity: informed, thoughtful, well-written discussion of college football's highs and lows...
It's a must-read for any college football fan.
It's a must-read for any college football fan.
Oct 02, 2007
Eileen
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A fun read and an intelligent explanation of the crazy college football bowl system.
Jan 29, 2012
