Rating: 
Summary: The best sports book ever written?
Review: If you remember the ABA, and loved the red, white and blue ball, the original 3-point line, and what it all brought to the game of basketball, then consider this required reading.I cannot remember when I have laughed so hard while reading a documentary. The depictions of the players, and the unusual antics the owners tried to get people to come watch is simply too funny to describe here. Whether it was making a big deal out of $100,000 contracts (really just "very" long annuities) or getting the whole crowd to move to one side of the arena (the side shown on TV) the league went to new lengths to promote the product. Cow milking at halftime? Whatever the means, there is no doubt that the ABA changed the game forever. The first slam dunk contest, the 3-point line, and the creativity of the play itself were brand new. While the league may have been a circus act compared to the classic NBA who had the Laker's, Celtic's, Wilt, Russell, West, Oscar and others, make no mistake that some of the best to ever play came not out of the NBA but the ABA. Connie Hawkins was MJ long before MJ himself followed in the footsteps of another ABA great; Dr. J. The ABA started the early college exodus with the legal decision "hardship" rule applied to the great Spencer Haywood. If you think Rasheed Wallace with his 28 technicals a season is a strange act to follow, he pales in comparison with some of the bruisers in the "other" league. One story about a player/coach, who had benched himself for fighting, ends with the coach putting himself in as a player and decking someone not 30 seconds into the game! Who can forget the famous Marvin Barnes? Here was a guy so talented he could arrive at the game 5 minutes before tip-off wearing nothing but his uniform and a full length mink coat and carrying a sack full of take out hamburgers. His coach is so mad he benches him for the start of first quarter. Marvin gets in the game, yet manages to pay his charter pilot from his checkbook during a time-out! Final stat line for the game for the late arriving Barnes: 49 points and 19 rebounds. If the stories and no-way-you-can-make-this-up depictions are not enough, then how about a chapter written by Bob Costas on his first assignment - the announcer for the ABA's "Spirit's of St. Louis". The chapter about the wild antics and totally undisciplined plays, including some of the classic on-air gaffes that Costas makes, will leave you laughing until your sides hurt. Who can forget "Fly" Williams? A street player so out of control he tried a 360 dunk on a fast break all by himself and ended up so spun around he threw the ball over the backboard. It was a close game at that! If you are at all a fan of basketball, you have to read this book. 10 stars!!
Rating: 
Summary: excellent book about a glorious failure
Review: in this narrow corner, not one of the great sports books of all time yet still of much interest because it deals vividly with the late, lamented ABA. it seems the ABA was a league 30 years ahead of its time. if it came out today with such colorful stars as connie hawkins, dr. j and even colorful failures like fly williamson and desperadoes like warren jabali and john brisker, it would really catch on with the public. after you get used to the original dumbness of the red, white and blue ball, it seems really nifty, and with the wild, crazy styles of running, dunks and afros, not to mention a bunch of thugs willing to level anybody at anytime, the ABA would be sort of like pro wrestling. Unfortunately, it is never coming back, so you'd better read this book, sit back and imagine Dr. J flying through the air with his giant afro. basketball doesn't get any better.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent "oral history" about the late, great ABA
Review: Like many others who grew up in the late 60s/early 70s, I wondered about what was really going on behind the scenes of this "upstart league" that wound up ultimately changing the way pro basketball is played (and not just the 3 pointer either!). Pluto took a great approach with this book, letting the former players, coaches and execs tell their own stories of what really happened. From the league's start to its ultimate merger with the "enemy," (ie the NBA) it also showcases the successful (Indiana, Denver, Kentucky, San Antonio, NY Nets) and the "flameouts" (Spirits of St Louis, LA/Utah Stars and esp the ill-fated Baltimore Claws and San Diego Sails). It talks about the bidding wars for players, the personalities from each team, and what ultimately led to the merger with the NBA. This book contains a wealth of humorous and virtually unbeleivable stories about the ABA. What little I did see on TV of the ABA I always enjoyed and finally sitting down to read this book brought back some memories. There is a "new ABA" now called "ABA 2000," but it's strictly a developmental league. While at times the ABA could be "rinky dink," it was never a "minor league" for the NBA. If you want to know what the ABA was really like in its heyday, get this book. It's a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent "oral history" about the late, great ABA
Review: Like many others who grew up in the late 60s/early 70s, I wondered about what was really going on behind the scenes of this "upstart league" that wound up ultimately changing the way pro basketball is played (and not just the 3 pointer either!). Pluto took a great approach with this book, letting the former players, coaches and execs tell their own stories of what really happened. From the league's start to its ultimate merger with the "enemy," (ie the NBA) it also showcases the successful (Indiana, Denver, Kentucky, San Antonio, NY Nets) and the "flameouts" (Spirits of St Louis, LA/Utah Stars and esp the ill-fated Baltimore Claws and San Diego Sails). It talks about the bidding wars for players, the personalities from each team, and what ultimately led to the merger with the NBA. This book contains a wealth of humorous and virtually unbeleivable stories about the ABA. What little I did see on TV of the ABA I always enjoyed and finally sitting down to read this book brought back some memories. There is a "new ABA" now called "ABA 2000," but it's strictly a developmental league. While at times the ABA could be "rinky dink," it was never a "minor league" for the NBA. If you want to know what the ABA was really like in its heyday, get this book. It's a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: An absolute must for thinking hoops fans
Review: Loose Balls has to be on any basketball fan's short list of the greatest books ever to be written on the subject. Terry Pluto (whose 48 Minutes and Falling from Grace are also more than worthwhile) lets the principles-players, coaches, refs, media, agents, front-office folks, etc.-tell most of the story in this Studs Terkel-esque oral history. It's a fascinating tale on numerous levels, useful not only as the definitive source for information on the ABA but also as a way to understand where the NBA stood just prior to the Bird/Magic era. Funny, sometimes poignant, and always informative and interesting, Loose Balls is the rare book that's at once entertaining and indisputably credible.
Rating:
Summary: The best basketball book ever written
Review: Loose Balls is without a doubt the greatest basketball book ever written bar none. Nothing else needs to be said as no other basketball book comes close.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful history of the league told with humorous anecdotes
Review: My nine-year-old son and I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although the language is inappropriate for young children at times. Stories were very informative while being extremely funny. The history of the ABA comes alive through interviews and anecdotes by and about some very colorful players, coaches, and team representatives. People "in the know" are extremely open and honest about their experiences in the ABA and involve the reader immediately, from the league's inception to its demise. All fans of basketball, especially the ABA, will enjoy this tome. A riotously funny book.
Rating:
Summary: Gives the reader a brilliant, vivid history of the ABA!
Review: Pluto gives the reader a brilliant and vivid history of the ABA! Loaded with bone-tickling anecdotes, "Loose Balls" is a thoroughly entertaining read. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all hoops fans to read this book!! No doubt the ABA, though dead for two decades, has made a huge impact on the NBA (and other professional sports too). Logos of all the ABA teams is superfreakycool.
Rating:
Summary: Lively oral history
Review: Sports Ilustrated recently selected its Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. 'Loose Balls,' Terry Pluto's history of the ABA, was listed in an eye-opening 13th place. That intrigued me. Well, the book is as good as advertised. Pluto's master stroke is in his recognition that he was never going to be able to tell the ABA stories better that the people who participated first hand. So Pluto simply collected the stories, arranged them, made some brief editorial remarks here and there, and really lets the guys tell the story themselves. It's the perfect approach, because the ABA is all about the you-had-to-be-there stories. There are many highlights, but two that stand out are the recounting of the many wild stories of Marvin Barnes with The Spirits of St. Louis (made more notable by the fact that Bob Costas was the Spirits 22-year-old rookie announcer & is an excellent source of ABA lore - in fact, he gets the book's last word), and the stories recounting the discovery of Julius Erving. Like stumbling on to El Dorado. I mean, it's spine-tingling, these guys telling you what it was like when they first saw Dr. J play. I really urge you to buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Lively oral history
Review: Sports Ilustrated recently selected its Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. 'Loose Balls,' Terry Pluto's history of the ABA, was listed in an eye-opening 13th place. That intrigued me. Well, the book is as good as advertised. Pluto's master stroke is in his recognition that he was never going to be able to tell the ABA stories better that the people who participated first hand. So Pluto simply collected the stories, arranged them, made some brief editorial remarks here and there, and really lets the guys tell the story themselves. It's the perfect approach, because the ABA is all about the you-had-to-be-there stories. There are many highlights, but two that stand out are the recounting of the many wild stories of Marvin Barnes with The Spirits of St. Louis (made more notable by the fact that Bob Costas was the Spirits 22-year-old rookie announcer & is an excellent source of ABA lore - in fact, he gets the book's last word), and the stories recounting the discovery of Julius Erving. Like stumbling on to El Dorado. I mean, it's spine-tingling, these guys telling you what it was like when they first saw Dr. J play. I really urge you to buy this book.
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