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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, incisive, entertaining
Review: I read David Porter's fascinating and well researched account of the real and perceived point shaving of Boston College's basketball team in a single sitting. In addition to his sensitive approach to each player's family history, psychology, and financial stresses, Porter presents the dynamic among the Mob, law enforcement and the players with nuance and professional objectivity.
A great read for all - serious sports enthusiasts to grandma on a Sunday afternoon.
Rating:
Summary: Great Expose of Corruption in College Sports
Review: I read the book a while ago and, having lived in a college town all my adult life, I want this book recommend highly. The story is important because big-time college athletics has had its share of scandals but nothing seems to change. Adding the Mafia connection, drugs, criminal trials - its a huge indictment of big money sports in academia. Porter does an excellent job of bringing it all together - the trials and the follow-up interviews with each of the indicted players are especially well-written. I look forward to more good writing from David Porter.
Dr. Rosalie Pedalino Porter
Rating:
Summary: A sort of reunion
Review: I thought the book was excellent. My boyfriend knows the guys from Swissvale so he rather enjoyed it also. It was great reading for him, especially the parts about Swissvale. A super book and I can't wait for the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost true
Review: I was disappointed with this book, as while it seemed to be well-researched, it is impossible to capture the spirit of the time or the personalities so many years later. It also happens that my interest in the book relates to personal knowledge of several of the atheletes involved. I think that the author was not fair to Ernie Cobb or several of the other players, but he was overly sympathetic to Jim Sweeney. I believed then, as I do now, that it really was Sweeney's show. Nevertheless, the players and their motivations get a lot of play in the book, but you can never really know what happened as you cannot see into the human heart, especially 20 years later. I believe that the real point to be made is that under the wrong circumstances, anyone can be had and the resulting tragedy can have lifelong consequences. The book does capture this important aspect of the whole case which makes it worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: What a joke
Review: Porter's agenda to clear Jim Sweeney's name and to cast more doubt over Ernie Cobb's name is disgraceful. Sweeney fixed games. Period. He admitted to that by accepting a plea bargain from his "buddy" Ed McDonald. Cobb, who would have been a very good NBA player was acquited of all charges, yet Porter wants you to believe that Cobb was guilty. This book insults any true Basketball fan's knowledge of the game. Kuhn wasn't good enough to dictate outcome, Cobb was acquited of all charges, leaving Sweeney the Point Guard as the obvious link on the court. I'm surprised Porter's never been sued for this inaccurate hatchet job.
Rating:
Summary: What a joke
Review: Porter's agenda to clear Jim Sweeney's name and to cast more doubt over Ernie Cobb's name is disgraceful. Sweeney fixed games. Period. He admitted to that by accepting a plea bargain from his "buddy" Ed McDonald. Cobb, who would have been a very good NBA player was acquited of all charges, yet Porter wants you to believe that Cobb was guilty. This book insults any true Basketball fan's knowledge of the game. Kuhn wasn't good enough to dictate outcome, Cobb was acquited of all charges, leaving Sweeney the Point Guard as the obvious link on the court. I'm surprised Porter's never been sued for this inaccurate hatchet job.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting On-/Off-Court Saga
Review: Tremendous read -- the characters come alive, the full range of personal fallibility: gullible to greedy, stoic to berserk. An amazing examination of the verious motivations of human behavior, and the way character is tested by pressure, by competition, by fear and by the temptation of money. Involvement of celebrity gangsters lends both intrigue and absurdity,as the stakes were simultaneously huge for the players but penny-ante for the kingpins.... Great book to read. You will watch March Madness with new eyes.Recommended to basketball, crime, and suspense fans.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting On-/Off-Court Saga
Review: Tremendous read -- the characters come alive, the full range of personal fallibility: gullible to greedy, stoic to berserk. An amazing examination of the verious motivations of human behavior, and the way character is tested by pressure, by competition, by fear and by the temptation of money. Involvement of celebrity gangsters lends both intrigue and absurdity,as the stakes were simultaneously huge for the players but penny-ante for the kingpins.... Great book to read. You will watch March Madness with new eyes. Recommended to basketball, crime, and suspense fans.
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