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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN num: 9781416540618
ISBN number: 141654061X
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 464
Printing Date: November 06, 2007
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 52611
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association.
The NBA may have won the financial battle, but the ABA won the artistic war. With its stress on wide-open individual play, the adoption of the 3-point shot and pressing defense, and the encouragement of flashy moves and flying dunks, today's NBA is still -- decades later -- just the ABA without the red, white and blue ball.
Loose Balls is, after all these years, the definitive and most widely respected history of the ABA. It's a wild ride through some of the wackiest, funniest, strangest times ever to hit pro sports -- told entirely through the (often incredible) words of those who played, wrote and connived their way through the league's nine seasons.
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Rated by buyers -
One of the funniest books I have ever read. Great stories told by the players themselves. The pre-packaged NBA in its current form has nothing over the ABA and its love of the game.
Included in every chapter seemingly is a Bad News Barnes story involving Bob Costas as the rookie broadcaster of the St. Louis Spirit. Dr. J's exploits are talked about with reverence. Tales of strength and awe about Artis Gilmore and George McGinnis make current NBA musclemen seem puny.
And then there is the smell. Yes, the smell of the bad ABA areas, hotels, and travel accommodations literally seap through the book.
Pluto, as always, does a great job in putting it all together. No one is a better interviewer in sports journalism. A book that I've read two times and will probably read again.
Rated by buyers -
Losse Balls is funny and thoroughly entertaining book about the old
American Basketball Association. It covers all the individuals involved
in the forming of the league, its quirky players and all the stats
during its existence. For those who like basketball, its a great read.
Rated by buyers -
I can't recommend this book highly enough. I love basketball to death but have the misfortune of coming of age in the late 90's, well after the holy trinity of MJ, Bird, and Magic and WELL after the ABA.
This book is an oral history that gives some amazing insights as to how things were before the world of cable and internet and before the NBA was the marketing juggernaught it is today. It is also full of ridiclous stories about players, coaches, fans, and owners. It is facinating to see what aspects of the ABA resonate in todays NBA. Though some of the book is dated (the book was written in 1990) in terms of how things are relayed to the reader, the essense of the book has and will continue to hold up very well.
Rated by buyers -
What can I say about Loose Balls that has not already been said??...Probably nothing...There is a reason why Sports Illustrated ranked this book Number 13 on the Top 100 Sports Books of alltime and why it is still in print 18 years after very first coming out....That reason is it's a great book that is the definitive history of the ABA and at the same time has you literally laughing out loud at times...I had more laughs reading this book than I do at most movies....Most people in other reviews have noted the principals like Fly Williams...Marvin "Bad News" Barnes....John Brisker..Pat Boone.. Julius Erving..etc..etc so I won't rehash or spoil the tales but they are memorable because they are true....Pluto's genius in putting this book together was that he let the principals tell their stories and he just put them on paper in an orderly format and let the story tell itself...No need to do anything else...I was pretty young during the ABA Days so I only remembered a little about it,but after reading this book I felt like I was there for all 9 years of the ABA....I can't recommend a book any more than I do this one...Buy this book...you will not be able to put it down once you start and I guarantee you will get a ton of laughs
Rated by buyers -
This book is a sports gem. The wild ride of the American Basketball Association from inception to its eventual collapse and NBA absorption of the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.
The book is divide into 3 parts.Opening Gambits, Middle Game and Endgame.
The very first part deals with the origins of the league from the hiring of its very first Commisioner, George Mikan and the idea behind the red, white and blue basketball and the struggles of early ABA teams to stock their rosters to a great section on The Indiana Pacers, one of the leagues best organizations. Everything is told in a series of stories told by the people involved. It is a credit to author Terry Pluto's reporting skills and ability to edit that makes this so enjoyable.
Part 2 deals includes a lengthy section about the greatest player to come out of the ABA, Julius Erving. The Doctor must have been a wonder to behold in his early years as he is spoke of in awe by teammates, opponents, and coaches. Also the many stories of the often bizarre characters that inhabited the ABA are priceless in and of themselves.Of which the reader will often find themself laughing out loud. The section on The San Antonio Spurs is enjoyable in that you learn the humble origins of the current NBA dynasty.
Part 3 covers such franchises as the Kentucky Colonels who were considered underachievers until they finally won an ABA championship in 1975. Probably the most entertaining section of the book chronicles the story of the Spirits Of St. Louis. The tales told of this franchise often boggle the mind if one has any isea how professional athletes are expected to act. The antics of Spirits star Marvin "bad news" Barnes are some of the most outrageous I've ever heard of in my life and I've been a sports fan for decades. Great stories of All time great coach Larry Brown and so many others they are too numerous to name.
In the end the massive contracts the ABA gave out became their undoing and eventually forced capitulation to the rival NBA. It is a fun read and you learn so much about so many unheralded ABA players and coaches.
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