Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller

May 12, 2013 Leon rated it 3 of 5 stars

It began, in 1979, as a mad idea of starting a cable channel to televise local sporting events throughout the state of Connecticut. Today, ESPN is arguably the most successful network in modern television history, spanning eight channels in the Unites States and around the world. But the inside story of its rise has never been fully told-until now.

Drawing upon over 500 interviews with the greatest names in ESPN's history and an All-Star collection of some of the world's finest athletes, bestse

...more

It began, in 1979, as a mad idea of starting a cable channel to televise local sporting events throughout the state of Connecticut. Today, ESPN is arguably the most successful network in modern television history, spanning eight channels in the Unites States and around the world. But the inside story of its rise has never been fully told-until now.

Drawing upon over 500 interviews with the greatest names in ESPN's history and an All-Star collection of some of the world's finest athletes, bestselling authors James Miller and Tom Shales take us behind the cameras. Now, in their own words, the men and women who made ESPN great reveal the secrets behind its success-as well as the many scandals, rivalries, off-screen battles and triumphs that have accompanied that ascent. From the unknown producers and business visionaries to the most famous faces on television, it's all here.

Review

Praise for THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN:

"Those who work in the business of sport will devour the book...[readers are] granted the kind of behind-the-scenes access that sports media junkies are rarely given..." (SportsIllustrated.com Richard Deitsch )

"Those Guys Have All the Fun is a de rigueur read for sports fans who wonder how a fired hockey announcer used a $9,000 credit card advance to start a broadcasting empire that changed what we think about sports and how we view them." (Denver Post Woody Paige )

"Packed with entertaining stories of unpleasant people and awful behavior....[Those Guys Have All the Fun is] offers a nuanced look at ESPN, does some top-notch TV-biz reporting on the early days of the cable industry, and offers compelling behind-the-scenes stories...[It is] a serious, impressive, piece of work." (Entertainment Weekly Rob Brunner )

"A revelation: what goes onto the TV screen turns out to be just the glossy tip of an iceberg of ugly backstage drama. Miller and Shales must be extraordinarily talented interviewers, because their subjects are surprisingly uninhibited and frank and willing to dish and slag....[They are] good at zeroing in on a debacle and getting everybody involved to weigh in...by the end of the book you're amazed at the disconnect between the chaos behind the scenes and the relatively slick end product." (Time Lev Grossman )

"Fascinating and compulsively readable." (Wall Street Journal Tim Marchman )

"A fascinating little-engine-that-could tale of money, power and the early days of cable television." (Cleveland Plain Dealer Clint O?Connor )

"As highly anticipated by sports junkies as a Chicago Cubs championship, [Those Guys Have All the Fun] provides painstaking details on how a nutty idea concocted by a father-son team developed into a brand worth more than the NHL, MLB and NBA combined...Shales and Miller manage to create a page-turning document about the ultimate dysfunctional workplace" (Minneapolis Star Tribune Neil Justin )

"...Perhaps the most anticipated book in sports media history." (Newsday )

"Those Guys Have All the Fun delivers a hell of a narrative...[and] an outstanding work of journalism. Easing interviewees into such comfort that they said what they did on record is an enormous achievement for Miller and Shales." (Fortune Daniel Roberts )

"This treat for sports fans has a cast of characters that is huge and varied." (New York Times Janet Maslin )

"What a story: larger-than-life personalities, salacious gossip, backstabbing and corporate intrigue set against the backdrop of the rise of cable television as an economic and cultural force....The quotes flow seamlessly, and the voices are fresh and vibrant...The depth and breadth of the interviews make it not only the definitive account of ESPN's first three decades but one of the best books yet on how cable shaped American culture." (Hollywood Reporter Andy Lewis )

"A rollicking glimpse behind the guys and gals who sport around at ESPN, America's sports church. Amen." (Publishers Weekly )

About the Author

James Andrew Miller is the author of Running in Place: Inside the Senate and Live from New York. He has also written for the New York Times, Life, the Washington Post and Newsweek. His various positions in television include Senior Executive Producer of "Anderson Cooper 360" and Executive VP of Original Programming at USA Network. He lives in Bucks County, PA.

Tom Shales won his Pultizer Prize for television criticism in the Washington Post. He is the author of On the Air!, Legends, and Live from New York, and has written for publications such as Esquire, Playboy, Life, Interview, among others. He lives in McLean, Virgina.

(less)

like · see review

Nov 08, 2011 Michael Berman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sports

Some oral histories are really interesting, because they have a "you were here" aspect to them that a traditional history doesn't have. Others are just an excuse to allow the "writer" to slack off, and not add any context or analysis. While it is interesting (at least a bit) to read about the specifics behind the rise of ESPN, this book, in my opinion falls into the latter category. I made it about a third of the way through before I gave up.

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Devyn Duffy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: ESPN viewers, present or past

Presents itself as "the story" of ESPN, but it's only one possible story. It's in-depth about the things that interest the authors, but the choices of what to cover and what not to cover are seemingly random: for example, pages upon pages of Tony Kornheiser (why?), but little about hockey, not a word about how ESPN came to air Australian Rules Football in the '80s, almost nothing about soccer until more than 700 pages in, and the Women's College World Series is not even mentioned. NFL Primetime...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 David Macpherson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Wow, the people who created and maintained ESPN are insufferable megliomaniacs. This is an oral history, so it is almost nothing but the players talking about how they created the network and without them there would have been financial ruin, moral injustice and increased global warming - oh thank you Sports Center Producer man, wihout you, America would have perished. There is a great story in the rise of ESPN but it would have benefitted more with a writer than a curator. These interviews shou...more

like · see review

Sep 22, 2012 Steven E rated it 2 of 5 stars

When everything is important, nothing is. Shales and Miller, had they employed a better editor, might have absorbed this lesson. Instead, we get more pages on the late-aughts announcing crew of Monday Night Football, say, or the production of the ESPYs, than we do on more interesting and important topics like the representation of minority anchors on the network, or the treatment of women in a massively expanding company.

Which, hey, is fine as far as it goes. There's still some wheat among the c...more

like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Rick rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sports, non-fiction

If taken literally the sub-title would suggest that if all the fun to be had has been had by the guys at ESPN then none is left for the reader, which is about right. This book is as much fun as the worst high school reunion you ever went to—mostly boring stories, hyped glories, and stabs at score settling by ESPN’s mostly male “mean girls.” Basically ESPN was a brilliant idea, well-executed (minus the sexist shenanigans that plagued its early years and the infighting for credit), particularly fr...more If taken literally the sub-title would suggest that if all the fun to be had has been had by the guys at ESPN then none is left for the reader, which is about right. This book is as much fun as the worst high school reunion you ever went to—mostly boring stories, hyped glories, and stabs at score settling by ESPN’s mostly male “mean girls.” Basically ESPN was a brilliant idea, well-executed (minus the sexist shenanigans that plagued its early years and the infighting for credit), particularly from a business and entertainment perspective that has grown ever more successful over thirty plus years.

The book lets its participants (and some external witnesses) tell the story, start to present. Miller and Shales assemble excerpts from scores and scores of interviews and (I’m guessing) emails. The snippets are strung together chronologically to give the narrative the illusion of structure and the only spine the book has, alas. Everyone is here: founders, executives, clients, owners, and talent—Berman, Ley, Patrick, Olbermann, Roberts, Saunders, Steiner, Kilborn, Gammons, Stephen A, Kornheiser, Wilbon, Bayless, Schaap, Kremer, Scott, Reilly, Fowler, Andrews, Jackson, Limbaugh, Tirico, Gray, Storm, Simmons, and Beadle…among others. Some come off quite well, Robin Roberts and Bob Ley, for example. Others hustle to hang themselves with the petards of their own vanity and pettiness. Olbermann, Simmons, Limbaugh, Rome, and Kornheiser come off the worst. Each is obliviously insensitive of mouth but hyper sensitive of eye and ear when it comes to what’s said or written about them. None of them can take what they dish out. Berman seems at the beginning of the book to be living the dream but as the book progresses he sounds pissy and aloof, like a man who is a Brand and must be snarky to protect it. ESPN ces’t moi.

Jocks make appearances, sometimes as guests and sometimes as analysts. Rivals get their say every now and again. The President makes an appearance for his Baracketology participation. The founding, the role of Getty, Capitol City/ABC and Disney as investors/owners, the contracts with major league sports, the comings and goings of executives and talent, Jimmy V’s appearance at the ESPYs, the buying and mis-management of Monday Night Football, the mutually beneficial partnerships with America’s Cup, NASCAR and extreme sports, different scandals that send folks with ratings clout into brief suspensions (Kornheiser and Olbermann, for example) and those without it into exile (Sean Salisbury), trying to balance the incestuous relationships between ESPN and its journalistic expectations and the business relationships they have with major sports and some athletes, and women and minority hiring all get attention, as do more trivial topics (ESPN cell phones, Jim Gray’s tug of ego-war with no one over credit for the Lebron James “decision” program, and an anchor who can’t read his own handwriting—the first two might have been interesting if there was either any thoughtful self-reflection or interviewer challenge to the self-serving narratives presented).

At almost 800 pages tedium is the main mood, pursued closely by backbiting, sniping, self-promotion, and corporate and personal self-congratulation. Miller and Shales do little to earn their money in terms of sorting, contextualizing or effective framing. Hell, they don’t even keep score. There are italicized bits between trains of interview excerpts of varying utility with ten underlined italicized notes along the way signaling one of the ten steps that Miller and Shales identified as putting ESPN on its way to world domination. In an afterword added to the paperback edition Miller and Shales congratulate themselves (self-congratulation must be infectious; say, this is a pretty good review) on their reporting on the grounds that all the calls for apologies and correction that followed the hardback edition were directed at those who spoke, not at them, who only recorded. But since Miller and Shales do so little that might pass as reporting there is nothing they do say for anyone associated with ESPN to complain about. This is a book for ESPN addicts, not necessarily for sports fans or journalism fans or for people who enjoy oral history or an interesting reading experience.(less)

like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Owen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I couldn't go below four with this one, even thought I thought long and hard about it. This is an exhaustive tome on the vagaries of all things espn. This book fascinated me for long stretches (and the stretches are loooong indeed), illuminating things going on behind the scenes of events that marked epochs through my childhood. On some level, even though I knew that it couldn't possibly be true, I believed that the espn headquarters was a place where mascost and athletes roamed freely, acting o...more I couldn't go below four with this one, even thought I thought long and hard about it. This is an exhaustive tome on the vagaries of all things espn. This book fascinated me for long stretches (and the stretches are loooong indeed), illuminating things going on behind the scenes of events that marked epochs through my childhood. On some level, even though I knew that it couldn't possibly be true, I believed that the espn headquarters was a place where mascost and athletes roamed freely, acting out any way they wish. Even though this book specifically disabuses this notion by pointing out that the ad campaign was a major turning point for espn... I don't care. I still willfully refuse to believe the obvious truth. I believe the Syracuse Orange(man?) is still morosely staring from one bathroom to another, faced with an impossible choice and harassed by whatever anchors walk by.

I was shocked by how many people involved with the founding of espn were bitter and how relatively little money they made in starting a global multi-billion dollar empire(though these are likely correlated). I was not shocked that it was a raunchy boys' club. I was the opposite of shocked, in fact. I got a little bogged down in the dramatization of recent 'controversies' and could do without ever hearing Jim Rome or Skip Bayless talk again. Also, the romantization of what top executives actually do by the same top executives was beyond tiresome. You make sports entertaining and you are compensated handsomely for it. You are not solving world hunger. Deal with it. I was also entertained at how much everyone in the book hated my favorite columnist- even mroe than Olberman for some, a legendary prick. (This in now way shape or form changed my opinion. The guy is biting and funny and likes creative control. He's also too popular to clamp down on, so he gets to do what he wants. Tough noogies)

all in all an impressive feat of writing by Miller and Shales and co. Self aggrandizing at times, but mostly by the people talking about how awesome they are- and that just being transcribed. If you grew up watching Sportcenter multiple times a day in the summer like I did (and every boy in the late 80s), it's a must-read.

Owen Gardner Finnegan (less)

1 like · like · see review

May 20, 2012 Adrian Carpio rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew up watching ESPN. I was a 90s ESPN child. I watched it everyday. I stayed up to watch Olbermann and Patrick. My friends and I would share catchphrases. I loved Craig Kilborn, SO I was excited to read this tome (at 800 pages, it is a tome).

The first 2 chapters were excruciatingly boring. It read like a business text. As a result it was difficult for me to get into the flow of the narrative. Luckily it picked up.

The book is told through first person accounts. However, the chapters are long...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 Steven Salaita rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have so much to say about this book, which aggravates me because really it's kind of silly (the book AND my aggravation).

I was an undergraduate during the golden years of The Big Show and the incorporation of ESPN into a part of indispensable mainstream culture. My roommates and I used to watch Dan and Keith and Craig almost every night. It was a ritual. So the book evoked a fair amount of nostalgia for me.

However, Shales and Miller have no sense of critical acumen. The book is mostly self-t...more I have so much to say about this book, which aggravates me because really it's kind of silly (the book AND my aggravation).

I was an undergraduate during the golden years of The Big Show and the incorporation of ESPN into a part of indispensable mainstream culture. My roommates and I used to watch Dan and Keith and Craig almost every night. It was a ritual. So the book evoked a fair amount of nostalgia for me.

However, Shales and Miller have no sense of critical acumen. The book is mostly self-told hagiography. My problems with it:

--not nearly enough Craig Kilborn. I realize he may not have granted much access or didn't say anything interesting (which didn't seem to bother Shales and Miller with other interviewees), but Kilborn was definitely the fave among male college students way back when. I wanted to hear more from him.

--the transitions are absolutely terrible. We'll be reading about a fairly important issue, then, boom, it switches to something else.

--the italicized narration is just really fucking stupid and sycophantic.

--way too much emphasis on executives.

--the worst part of the book is when it attempts to confront the entrenched sexism of ESPN. Just horrible. Listening to the same men who perpetuated sexual harassment prattle on about the issue is painful. They haven't learned a fucking thing.

--if you suspect that Chris Berman is an arrogant, overblown douchebag, then pat yourself on your back. You are correct.

--the only interesting character in the entire book is Keith Olbermann. Whatever one thinks of his demeanor or politics, at least he isn't boring. Almost everybody else in the book is boring. White male executives tend to be, in general. (Actually, to be fair, John Saunders is also interesting.)

It would be great to hear a properly critical story of ESPN, one that focuses on its undeniably brilliant rise to corporate behemoth, but one that also critically assesses the institution and its effects on a variety of social politics (race, gender, class, pop culture, corporate malfeasance, and so forth). (less)

like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars

I appreciate the fact that the authors put in a lot of work in collecting all of their interviews and in organizing them into a cohesive narrative. At times, I was a little disappointed in what they chose to emphasize and what not to emphasize. For instance, I thought the discussion over the politics of the Monday Night Football announcer booth dragged on for too long. The book also mentions ESPN's reality show "Dream Job" from a few years back and notes that it received an extraordinarily high...more

like · see review

Jan 10, 2012 Jamaal Buckley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Is it possible for a book that is 700+ pages to be disjointed? To feel as if it is missing something? Have you ever felt like you didn’t get the full story, or that you were cheated after reading something that could easily be confused for a dictionary? If you have, then you know what I am feeling right now. If you haven’t, and you don’t want to share in this not-so-wonderful feeling with me, then I suggest you stay as far away as you can from Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESP...more Is it possible for a book that is 700+ pages to be disjointed? To feel as if it is missing something? Have you ever felt like you didn’t get the full story, or that you were cheated after reading something that could easily be confused for a dictionary? If you have, then you know what I am feeling right now. If you haven’t, and you don’t want to share in this not-so-wonderful feeling with me, then I suggest you stay as far away as you can from Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN.

When I first heard that there was going to be a tell-all book about the Worldwide Leader, I was geeked. I’m one of those guys who turn on ESPN as soon as I get home, whether it is at 6pm or 3am. I turn to them whenever I need information on my favorite sports teams, or when I want a provocative sports documentary to watch. For as long as I can remember, ESPN has been the first voice in everything related to athletics. For me (and other sports fans in my generation), other sports entities just couldn’t match up. It was ESPN or bust. So when I found out that I would be able to find out all the dirt about my favorite sportscasters in their own words…how could I lose?!

Very easily, apparently.

Those Guys Have All the Fun is told strictly from the point of view of the people who lived the events, with very little in the way of narrative from the authors, except to move the topic from one event to the next. It begins where ESPN began, and shows how the network grew from a small idea into a sports (and television) goliath. There are interviews with the men whose brain child the idea of a 24-hour sports network was, as well as interviews with the parties who financed the company. There are interviews with the more popular anchors from SportsCenter; hosts of many of the shows on the network; and even a few sections that involve the writers from ESPN.com and ESPN: The Magazine. The chapters in the book are broken down into fractions of time, from the infancy of the network to the domination in sports that it enjoys today. But it still felt like there was something missing, something that the die-hard fans of the network should have known, yet was still being withheld. It wasn’t until I neared the end of the book that I realized what it was: there was none of the scandal that the book promised!

If I were a person who was looking to learn how to start a company, negotiate partnerships with the major sports leagues in the world, or learn how to start off as a nobody and end up with the highest title in the company–only to use that to leverage a new position elsewhere–then this book would be perfect for me. From a business standpoint, this would be a great learning tool. If I wanted to know about behind the scenes bickering between people who never set foot in front of a camera, this would be an excellent read. But this book was marketed toward the ESPN fan; the person who doesn’t care how they get their sports information, just that they get it from knowledgeable people. This book doesn’t focus nearly enough on the people who we are accustomed to watching, or the voices we are used to hearing; instead, it focused on the people who made decisions behind the scenes. Those are the people that we wouldn’t know from a stranger on the street, so we don’t really feel a connection with them. Unless you are a television network insider, does the name Tom Skipper ring a bell? Do you care how he got promoted to the head of ESPN, and how others who wanted the job were pissed because they felt that he kissed ass in order to get the job? Or would you rather find out, in detail, about the issue behind the on-air tension between Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser? Yeah, me too.

Of all the things that this book failed to do, there is one thing that stood out the most: it failed to persuade me to feel one way or another about the company. The scales have not tipped, even minimally, in my affection for ESPN. It did, however, create in me a huge dislike for Chris Berman.

Chris Berman is probably the most recognizable name/face on ESPN. He has been there from the beginning, and has made Sunday mornings during football season a must-see event on ESPN. But the things that Berman said–and that were subsequently printed in the book–made him come off as an arrogant, self-absorbed prick. In the section where it is described how Sunday Night Football was moved from ESPN to NBC–taking with it the exclusive rights to the highlights from earlier games–the only thing that Berman said was, “What about me? How could you do this to me? I built this damn show.” There is another snippet of Berman, where he says that he has no knowledge of one of the bigger names on ESPN (Bill Simmons), only because that person is associated with the website and that is “a branch of the family tree that I don’t have any association with.” I lost a large amount of respect for Berman after reading his quotes throughout the book.

Maybe my expectations for the book were too high; Dan Patrick, on his radio show, kept saying that this book was going to expose a lot of the in-office issues that the fans were never privy to. Deadspin.com claimed that the book detailed a major issue between Erin Andrews and Michelle Beadle , where Beadle gave the opinion that Andrews handled her scandal incorrectly, and that Beadle would have done it completely differently. None of that was ever said. At most, Beadle said that what happened to Andrews was sad, and that she felt for her.

It was said that over 300 pages were edited out of the book. Maybe they should have re-evaluated what they kept and what they removed. If they were to just take the information that had to do with the people whom we fans have grown accustomed to and put that into a book, this book would be 400 pages shorter. After reading Those Guys Have All the Fun, it feels as if I have learned about every star in the universe, but I have no idea what the names of the oceans on my own planet are. The title states that ‘Those Guys Have All the Fun’; they must have been the only ones, because reading this book definitely wasn’t fun for me. Out of five stars, Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN earns two from this reader.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 29, 2011 Rich Sanidad rated it 2 of 5 stars

I thought this was going to be a lot better than it was. I didn't mind the epistolary-like format; in fact, I thought it was appropriate for this type of book. However, I did have a problem with the inordinate amount of space allotted to executives. If you look at the index which lists where to find quotes from all of the personalities that are featured in the book, you can easily see that the majority of the book is composed of quotes from presidents/vice-presidents/etc. It made sense for the e...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 24, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Easily the best of the "biographies" of ESPN I have read to date. Yes, it is quite long, but it rather needs to be to cover the entire history of the 'Worldwide Leader" to date. A very fair and balanced account, pulling few punches.

It does peter out, detail wise, in the final 1/3 of the book or so. I would have appreciated more on Bill Simmons, the departure of Jason Whitlock, the return of Jim Rome, the hiring of Rick Reilly (and the response to that hiring) and the death of Ralph Wiley. All b...more

like · see review

Sep 11, 2011 Sean Saxe rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book has two conflicting problems. First of all, it is too long to read as a single narrative. Secondly, it is too short to adequately delve into the intricacies of the stories it wishes to tell. For every fully developed and interesting vignette, there are half a dozen 1-2 page summaries of what seemed to be very interesting and nuanced developments in the company. When confronted with these stories, often the editors had a hard time fully contextualizing their importance to ESPN or the sp...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 01, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-about-work

It's obvious that this one is too long. The book is 763 pages, and the audiobook, which is what I'm doing, is 24 CDs. After the book gets done chronicling "the rise of ESPN," it really loses steam and starts to meander -- just covering the big headlines from the past decade or so, one after another. My impression, whether or not this is true, is that the authors did a mountain of interviews, selected every halfway interesting tidbit, and then arranged them in chronological order. This may be goo...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2011 Zac Mccrary rated it 2 of 5 stars

Exceedingly interesting subject matter, but an exceedingly lacking presentation. I don't care for the oral history style in the first place, but the execution here was particularly bad. The narrative suffered from a lack of context...there are dozens of obscure behind the scenes personalities (producers, executives, middle management types) and Miller / Shales identify the title of each just once and rarely re-set the table to help the reader keep the individuals straight. Additionally, there ar...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oral history ranging from ESPN's beginnings in Bristol to the now-infamous Decision. Good read if you watched a lot of ESPN in the 90s and are familiar with the personalities, but I'd imagine this would be pretty boring if you didn't. Luckily for me, I watched Sportscenter before going to school every day in middle and high school.

The value of the book comes from the surprising amount of access they got to ESPN's seemingly never-ending supply of hilariously egotistical white dudes (Berman, Olbe...more

like · see review

Jul 11, 2011 Bobby Otter rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Oral histories aren't always the easiest thing to do, but I felt like this was hit out of the park. They had access to pretty much every major player at ESPN which helped greatly.

I was a little afraid that this would only focus on the rumors and gossip at ESPN over the years... and while eventually it did get there, most of the book details how ESPN went from something no one wanted to arguably the most powerful TV network in the US. For the most part,...more I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Oral histories aren't always the easiest thing to do, but I felt like this was hit out of the park. They had access to pretty much every major player at ESPN which helped greatly.

I was a little afraid that this would only focus on the rumors and gossip at ESPN over the years... and while eventually it did get there, most of the book details how ESPN went from something no one wanted to arguably the most powerful TV network in the US. For the most part, it reads more of a business book than some sort of extension of Deadspin. I'm sure the ESPN haters hate this book.

That said the book is flawed. I wouldn't have minded less on why Kornheiser or Simmons were suspended and more on the authors putting down the tape recorder and sort of giving their insight as to where ESPN is headed. (IMO, I think ESPN either has or is about to peak. Programming isn't what it was, while at the same time, the impact of the college conference networks, MLB and NBA channels and the NBC/Comcast merger should probably loosen ESPN's grip on sports. In short, I think the college conference networks will hurt ESPN bread and butter programming (NCAA stuff) while at the same time they'll be hurt by the MLB channel during the summer (when ESPN is most exposed) and the Comcast/NBC merger will lead to Vs or some other Comcast owned network throwing money around for sporting events).

I think my favorite part was reading the various personalities at ESPN and how they came across. My rundown just for fun:
John Walsh--in the end, comes off well, however, he does seem like someone who is far too rigid and not totally connected to the average viewer. Probably a necessary voice in the building, but ultimately good that he had to take a back seat for a while.

Chris Berman--Aloof, egoistical and completely unlikable.

Mark Shapiro--Egoistical, smart but ultimately probably the guy who we'll look back and say, wow he made a lot of bad calls which lead to ESPN handing over market share/power.

Tony Kornheiser--I'm shocked at how featured he was, but he comes off pretty likable and sympathetic.

Mike Tirco--How this guy has a job is beyond me. Hypocritical and a creep to boot.

Bill Simmons--Believes the hype a little too much, self martyrs himself for reasons I'm not sure about.

Keith Olbermann--Everyone hates him, but no one could really say why they hated him other than he was a pain in the ass. He comes across much better than I ever thought.(less)

like · see review

Jul 03, 2011 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an interesting, but flawed, book about the history of ESPN, full of lively stories and good analysis of the network's rise to prominence, but ultimately rather soft. It's an oral history, which I didn't realize going in and found off-putting to read at first. Ultimately it's an effective story-telling mechanism, but it really limits the extent of distant analysis of what happened, and especially criticism of the parties involved.

Nonetheless, you do get a good feeling for a few of the mai...more This is an interesting, but flawed, book about the history of ESPN, full of lively stories and good analysis of the network's rise to prominence, but ultimately rather soft. It's an oral history, which I didn't realize going in and found off-putting to read at first. Ultimately it's an effective story-telling mechanism, but it really limits the extent of distant analysis of what happened, and especially criticism of the parties involved.

Nonetheless, you do get a good feeling for a few of the mainstays:
--Keith Olbermann is a real genius, albeit impossible to work with
--Bill Simmons is just as hard to work with as Olbermann, with about half the talent
--Dan Patrick is a consummate professional
--Chris Berman is a buffoon and moreover a slappy for the "partners." He says directly that he didn't watch Playmakers but that "I knew if the league was pissed, I probably should be pissed."
--Mark Shapiro is a prick, albeit one with some good ideas. Just clear from the way he treats people, and the way he talks about the WNBA.

And as far as how the network operates, it seems like a real meat-grinder, actually. It was probably a good business idea not to promote specific anchors/personalities, instead viewing them as replaceable, but it does seem like an extremely demanding place to work. And it's clear that the network's degree of deference to its "partners" (gag--that would be the leagues) is well beyond what it should be, not least in its cancellation of the show Playmakers. Playmakers's producer makes a good point, that the leagues needs ESPN more than ESPN needs the leagues, but the network behaves as if it's the opposite.

There are several memorable stories:
--Loren Matthews, about happening upon Tim McGraw while working a college baseball game with Tug McGraw (who had met his son only recently) and seeing Tim's talent listening to cassette tapes in his car.
--Dan Patrick sticking up for production assistants, and then the same guys meeting him at home as he brought home his baby, asking if they could help
--That the network insisted the magazine be called ESPN, and the magazine editors compromising with "ESPN: The Magazine," and the resulting joke being that we live on "Earth: The Planet".
--"Operation Cool Nuts" for Steve Levy doing Sportscenter in Iraq

However, the book also drags in parts--at this length, how can it not?--and it desperately needed a better copy editor. Many names are misspelled, which is inexcusable for what had to have been a high-budget project: Jermaine O'Neill (O'Neal), Jim Nance (Nantz; several times), Mac (Mack) Brown, Will Leach (Leitch), Beano Smith (Cook). Most egregiously, it refers to the US-UK World Cup game, when of course, the UK does not field a World Cup team--England does, Scotland does, Wales does. Anyway, the large number of errors makes you wonder about all the errors you didn't catch, and it really damages the book's credibility, in my view.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2011 Bob rated it 2 of 5 stars

This lengthy oral history of ESPN had a huge amount of buzz before it. There was an embargo on its release to help drum up interest.

But like a summer blockbuster, all the interesting stuff was in the trailer. The book is 700 pages full of TV executives talking about expanding market share, blowhard ESPN anchors talking about how wonderful they are and how awful other people are, and then there are bits and pieces about the seemingly rampant sexual harassment at the cable sports network.

I watch a...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 29, 2011 Woody Eveland rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was a disappointment, unless you were looking for confirmation that most executives take credit for any ideas that occured to anyone in the company while on their watch. It also confirms that, like most folks, professionals in the tv industry can be incredibly petty. The whinings of Ebersol and Gaudelli about how ESPN screwed up by not choosing Madden, Micheals and Gaudelli clearly means they haven't figured out that none of us watch a football game to listen to specific announcers or...more

like · see review

Jun 19, 2011 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just read this ridiculous monstrosity of an oral history, which says a lot about me but its existence says enough about the people like me who want it. ESPN either revolutionized sports or fashioned itself as an entity that revolutionized sports. Whatever the case, the people involved alternate between fairly well-adjusted (Dan Patrick, Rick Reilly, the current President, Bob Ley) to shockingly arrogant (Chris Berman, any asshole involved with Getty Oil particularly this one guy, Jim Gray, eve...more I just read this ridiculous monstrosity of an oral history, which says a lot about me but its existence says enough about the people like me who want it. ESPN either revolutionized sports or fashioned itself as an entity that revolutionized sports. Whatever the case, the people involved alternate between fairly well-adjusted (Dan Patrick, Rick Reilly, the current President, Bob Ley) to shockingly arrogant (Chris Berman, any asshole involved with Getty Oil particularly this one guy, Jim Gray, every ESPN President and Programming director since this last one). A neat story turns into a depressing one as a guy and his son come up with a 24 hour sports network when such a thing was a madman's fantasy; then big companies become involved and everything turns into a pissing contest between idea people and money people (who think they're idea people). Then once the network take off, it creates stars in its photogenic, sardonic anchors of the ubiquitous Sportscenter, which is the last thing the network ever wanted. Then the internet comes along and that's ACT III. There's no King Lear in this story, because it's not tragedy in the big sense, though there are some personal tragedies. And, as you can predict, it's also chock-ful of Horatio Alger stories - the current President of ESPN got his start as a chauffeur at the company.

I learned more about sideline reporters than I ever needed to know. Maybe they are journalists, but all I see them doing is asking a coach who wants to go to the locker room what he has to do to win the game. Yet sideline reporters clearly think they are doing important, necessary work. And Chris Berman believes in his icon and integrity more than anyone else does. Tony Kornheiser is (unsurprisingly) a neurotic, misanthropic curmudgeon. Keith Olbermann is a tortured genius who most everybody hated. Bill Simmons hates to be edited, and views himself as the common-sense virtue that ESPN lacks. Lou Holtz thinks he's doing just fine, thank you very much.For me, That kind of inside dope, while oddly self-congratulatory, is as enticing as the box of grocery store cupcakes I ate in a sitting that one time.

Really: there's not much they don't touch. The Erin Andrews naked-filming thing; the Monday Night Football Kornheiser debacle; any time an ESPN.com writer makes a reference to Hitler; Stephen A. Smith. The oral historians sometimes tend to overcelebrate minor successes no one cares about (I have never bought a copy of ESPN: THE MAGAZINE, nor do I care about the way they revolutionized filming yachting). And my disdain for COLLEGE GAMEDAY is unshared here: as narratives go, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler come off about as flawless as Dilsey in THE SOUND AND THE FURY. Still, there's enough to fuel the contrarian in me.

Before reading this book, I thought ESPN was at worst banal, mostly unoffensive, but occasionally really annoying, while at best a deliverer of superior joy (ESPNU and ESPN360 assures that I can watch 10 regular season Mississippi State football games, which in fairness is rarely joyful). But now I find it to be a place where everyone who ever played any part in it likes to slap themselves on the back for being the visionary who changed sports. If you watch enough sports to know that Hannah Storm is not weather terminology, and care about the formation of an institution, you'll read this with the same kind-of-guilty enthusiasm that I did.

FYI - the oral historians (Miller and Shales) wrote an oral history of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, which I read twice. It's the same general theme: reveal all the intriguing gossip of f something while overzealously celebrating (and not really critiquing) the stature of its internally-promoted accomplishment...(less)

like · see review

Jun 06, 2011 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is great if you love sports. Rather, this book is great if you love watching ESPN, which is not the same thing. Shales does the same basic trick he did with the SNL book -- interviews anyone who had anything to do wit the subject, and strings the interview quotes into a story, with a few bits of exposition tucked in here and there. That sounds easy, but making it all come out coherently, with some semblance of order, must have been a monumental task, and my hat is off to him.

That said,...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Dachokie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sports

A Cavalcade of Egos ..., July 1, 2011

As a sports fan whose mid 1980s college experience included an addiction to the then-budding network, buying THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: INSIDE THE WORLD OF ESPN was a no-brainer. Looking back, ESPN was THE channel to get everything about anything that was sports related ... and it had NO peers. The title of the book was titillating enough; we were going to get an invasive peek into the Mecca of sports media and discover the dirty, scandalous lives of those...more A Cavalcade of Egos ..., July 1, 2011

As a sports fan whose mid 1980s college experience included an addiction to the then-budding network, buying THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: INSIDE THE WORLD OF ESPN was a no-brainer. Looking back, ESPN was THE channel to get everything about anything that was sports related ... and it had NO peers. The title of the book was titillating enough; we were going to get an invasive peek into the Mecca of sports media and discover the dirty, scandalous lives of those "fortunate enough" to get paid for being sports fans. Instead, we get a 750+ page monstrosity that comes across as a sports-themed manuscript of "Barbarians at the Gate" or "The Late Shift" ... a lot of boring big-business philandering, bruised corporate egos, chest-thumping over contracts and a rehash of scandals that, for the most part, were dead horses being dragged in for an unneeded additional beating. The book does however, have redeeming qualities that, in my opinion, save it from being a total snoozer.

At one time, ESPN had the formula to draw the sports-nut masses religiously to their programs, especially the witty sports-minded anchors/hosts who delivered sports news/programs in a vernacular that was both hip and entertaining ... non-athletes of whom the majority of fans could easily identify with. It was easy to view the world of ESPN with envy ... good looking men and women traveling the globe to bring us sports, sports and more sports ... a seemingly dreamy lifestyle. What THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN does is take a lot of veneer off the dreaminess aspect of the inner ESPN world by presenting a history of the network and the rather unappealing cast of characters that comprise that history. Here comes the not-so-shocking surprise: most of the on-air personalities are not such great guys off camera ... many are pompous and egotistical ... and they get on each other's nerves. Another no-so-shocking surprise introduced by the book: the on-air personalities' egos pale in comparison to the backstabbing and petty nature of the network's corporate honchos ... who, in all their glory as corporate geniuses, are presented as quite unsavory and unlikeable individuals for the most part. I found the book to be rather tedious at times and frequently found myself wondering whether the 750 pages could have been served better by being two separate books: 1) the more interesting and mildly salacious entertaining content (250 pages) and 2) the tiresome business history of ESPN (500 pages). To be fair, however, I thoroughly appreciated the format in which the book was written, as well as the accumulation of 500+ interviews that comprised the book. I believe both of these aspects were enough to somewhat appreciate THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN.

The format that authors James Miller and Tom Shales chose to use is letting the "ESPNers" tell the story themselves, in their own words. Starting with the networks gestational period in the late 70s to present day, the chapters of the book are chronologically organized by periods of historical significance to ESPN. The authors graciously lead the reader from topic to topic with italicized print that is followed and supported by the commentary of ESPN's vast array of personalities through the years (and there are quite a few). I really appreciated this because there is no need to interpret things ... we "hear" people like Chris Berman, Tony Kornheiser and Linda Cohn directly. While I thought Miller and Shales contribution to the book ultimately took a back seat to the voices of ESPNers, their portion was critical in wading through such a wide array of issues that were discussed. In my opinion, it was the italicized sections that provided the gist of the entertainment in THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN. The voices of ESPN, while candid, were simply not that interesting. In fact, many of the personalities come across as rather smug and it was easy to assume they actually believe their careers reporting on superstar athletes made them bigger stars than the athletes themselves ... a not so mild case of egomania is a recurring theme throughout the book. If you think Keith Olbermann comes across like a pompous jerk nowadays, don't be alarmed to find out most of his former co-workers thought he was one fifteen years ago as well.

While most of the sports milestones that ESPN covered over the years are represented in grand fashion, so are the gaffes, warts and problems within the network. The rampant sexism, boozing and drug use that defined the early days of the network are covered, as well as the gulag-like qualities of Bristol, Connecticut (ESPN's headquarters). Reading of this made me wonder how many times I may have watched Sportscenter in college and not realized that most of the reportable action wasn't occurring on a ball field, but in a custodial closet at the ESPN studio. And while the dirty laundry being aired is certainly entertaining, it tends to underline my belief that many of these sportscasters think they're in the same league as the athletes they cover or even worse ... Hollywood. I did like the fact that equal time was given to those involved in loutish behavior as even the guilty parties' commentary is included as an opportunity to excuse, make amends or confirm the behavior. Amid the mildly salacious content is the topic of sports itself and there are some defining moments covered in the book that ESPN should be proud of (such as Chris Berman cutting off his mike for some twenty minutes when Cal Ripkin broke Lou Gherig's record or its awesome 30 for 30 series). What I found very interesting in reading about ESPN's coverage of significant moments in sports is that the book triggered memories of me watching many of these events play out ... on ESPN.

What I found particularly bothersome with THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN is that so much effort is spent on the business side of ESPN's history ... a significant amount of the book's bulk involved the behind-the-scenes scheming of network executives (and they are big ones: Disney, ABC, NBC, etc.). While many of the on-air personalities at ESPN are shown to have sizeable egos, they pale in comparison the network suits, whose commentary in the book can politely be described as ... verbose. I found the business wrangling for control of the network and garnering deals with NASCAR, the NFL and the NHL often interrupted the flow of the book. An account of intense contract bidding would be followed by the story of Suzy Kolber's encounter with a drunk and smoochy Joe Namath. While I am not dismissing the importance of business aspects of ESPN's rise to prominence, I simply didn't need such a heavy dose of it. Additionally, I was a little perplexed in how much attention was given to some stories, yet others weren't even mentioned. For example, the Rush Limbaugh Monday Night Football debacle commands around seven pages of attention and the impact of September 11, 2001 on ESPN and the sports world gets only a brief comment or two. And the onetime ESPY award winning, ESPN highlight hero Michael Vick and his dogfighting was not mentioned at all ... maybe no one ESPN owns a dog . I was also remiss that Gayle Gardner, a true sports media pioneer in my opinion, didn't get more attention in the book.

THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN is a mildly interesting story (there are definitely some highlights), but I was disappointed in that it didn't excite me in the manner I thought it would and felt it was more tedious than entertaining. While ESPN is absolutely an icon and still may be king of all sports media, other networks have siphoned the secret mojo from ESPN's tank and offer a similar, if not better product at times. I guess, even as a sports fan, I don't see the greatness in ESPN that would justify such a hefty volume. Shoot, a majority of the ESPNers included in the book have worked at most all of the other networks ... ESPN is just another career stepping stone in the mega-media world. THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN reads more like an commemorative recollection effort for the benefit ESPN insiders past and present. On many occasions I felt less like a fly on the wall and more like an outsider being privy to a private conversation among people I didn't know telling stories that didn't matter much to me.(less)

like · see review

Oct 14, 2011 Dave rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was like watching the ESPYs and no awards are given out. Granted, there were some very compelling stories told such as the Tom Mees piece, the bits about Keith Olbermann and his clashes with management, and the Jeremy Schaap/Bobby Fischer confrontation. However, sometimes I enter into a mindless read like this hoping for more scoop and dirt and less technical speak. Perhaps it was my fault for not researching the book enough before immersing myself in it, but 700+ pages, many of which...more

like · see review

Jul 19, 2011 Garrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is marketed as 'an oral history' which at first I assumed was a misnomer because how do you present anything oral in text form? What they mean, is the entire book is first-person recollections of the evolution of ESPN.
The subject matter is fascinating. For years it was a true start-up living month-to-month on an oil company's dime. They have been innovative, brash, and emotional. The 'This Is SportsCenter' campaign is one of the best ever.
However, ESPN is now a monopoly and behaves ba...more

like · see review

Jun 30, 2011 Scott Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book offers a series of first-hand accounts of how an early cable TV network grew into the mega-sports enterprise that ESPN is today. The book follows the 1st 30 years of the sports program, speaking with key players at all levels. Interestingly enough, the key stories do not so much center on sporting events, at least in the early years. At the beginning, it was a power struggle between individuals with dreams, egos, and access to money. The book can take on a bit of a gossipy feel, but wi...more

like · see review

Jun 25, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

3.5 stars. A fascinating (sometimes more than others) look at the lifespan of EPSN. As an oral history, this book really isn’t “written” but instead involves the cobbling together of various firsthand accounts, with the occasional commentary by the authors thrown in. This works for the most part because you get a sense of the various personalities. Also, it’s fun when people contradict each other.

The thing that struck me the most, at least at first when my husband asked why the hell I was readi...more 3.5 stars. A fascinating (sometimes more than others) look at the lifespan of EPSN. As an oral history, this book really isn’t “written” but instead involves the cobbling together of various firsthand accounts, with the occasional commentary by the authors thrown in. This works for the most part because you get a sense of the various personalities. Also, it’s fun when people contradict each other.

The thing that struck me the most, at least at first when my husband asked why the hell I was reading a 750 page book about ESPN, is this is in a way a business primer, or the story of any given startup. I’ve never worked at ESPN but have experienced the startup dynamic multiple times, complete with the locker room vibe and arbitrary rule enforcement. (At ESPN feel free to feel up coworkers but do not make a Hitler joke on air! Do not! There is a zero tolerance policy for Hilter jokes!) There really is nothing like that atmosphere, in good ways and in bad. So you take a really unique environment and throw in sports, and I’m sold.

Now this is a long freaking book so naturally it goes off on subjects I don't really care about, both in terms of sports and people. America’s Cup? Yawn. Ditto for Nascar and soccer. Also, there are so many behind the scenes players at certain points it’s hard to keep them straight. When Steve whoever talks you’re like, wait, who are you again? It’s a little different when it’s Chris Berman or Dan Patrick. Though executive John Walsh, “the albino cat" (as Dennis Miller calls him), sticks with you.

There are some hilarious parts. For example the phrase “This is SportsCenter” really started as a smartass comment by Keith Olbermann (shocking). He was trying to promote it in the least promotable way because he was pissed about something, per usual. Other phrases included “you are immersed in SportsCenter” and “of course this is SportsCenter.” He’s always been a douche. A smart and hilarious douche, but a douche nonetheless, which is different from a dick, a la Tony Kornheiser. Unsurprising, but unlike with Olbermann he doesn’t really have a humorous side.

The popularizing of poker was an interesting little twist, even if they were helped by the meteoric rise of Chris Moneymaker. Wow, I hate myself knowing those words. Television poker makes me nauseous. Thanks a lot ESPN. PS: poker is not a sport.

I don’t think you have to be a hardcore ESPN fan to enjoy this. I am a sports nut and while I watch ESPN, I definitely don’t watch it every day. Basically, this tome is a great combo of business and sports. The early years would make a fantastic television or miniseries (think Mad Men plus twenty years and add in Keith Olbermann in a leather jacket and cheesy mustache!) After reading this I spent way too much time on You Tube looking at old “This is SportsCenter” commercials. They really are brilliant. All in, a highly enjoyable read. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 21, 2011 Amanda Griggs rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, dad-reads

Once again, Miller and Shales have hit this one out of the park. I completely adored their look into the halls of Saturday Night Live with "Live From New York." I completely adore this. Their look into the history, the present, and even the future of ESPN was done with a deft hand.

I love the style of their books, with all of the interviews giving the reader a great insight into the subject. It's one thing to read a book about the Dan and Keith SportsCenter, about the Erin Andrews violation scand...more

like · see review

Oct 09, 2012 Bryan rated it 1 of 5 stars

I knew when I picked this book that it would be a long read, considering that it's roughly 750 pages. However, I was expecting an entertaining, funny, informative read about the creation and culture of ESPN with a lot of behind the scenes looks at what the network is really like and perhaps some awesome stories about the anchors, athletes, etc.

A lot of this did come through (i.e. the origin of the idea, the formation, growth, and the culture), but the book was so long winded in describing everyt...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN
avg rating	preview: Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN Goodreads rating: 3.57 (3946 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9476510-those-guys-have-all-the-fun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344271458l/9476510.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9476510-those-guys-have-all-the-fun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller[/url]

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (8)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About James Andrew Miller

Books by James Andrew Miller

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Those Guys Have A...