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lisahelene's review
4.0
Funny, interesting read. What I learned from this book: 1) I will never make it in the NBA. (not a big surprise there considering my age & sex!)
2) Kobe Bryant really is a jerk.
2) Kobe Bryant really is a jerk.
paulogonzalez's review
2.0
This is a three-year diary in which a basketball player writes about professional sport, his opinions about his teammates and rivals (a surprising bad opinions), coaches and general managers. Shirley tells his struggles to make the NBA, and his experiencies playing in minor leagues and in Europe.
He pretends to write in a very self-deprecating way, but he really is a very conceited person; he makes a lot of racist, homophobic and sexist comments only to seem (supposedly) funny. Everything is written to be funny, at all times, and that way he spoils almost all the amusement. I give him that when he explains the clash of cultures in his trips overseas or when he tells the day-to-day of a profesional player who does not have a guaranteed contract, buy he goes beyond the pale.
He pretends to write in a very self-deprecating way, but he really is a very conceited person; he makes a lot of racist, homophobic and sexist comments only to seem (supposedly) funny. Everything is written to be funny, at all times, and that way he spoils almost all the amusement. I give him that when he explains the clash of cultures in his trips overseas or when he tells the day-to-day of a profesional player who does not have a guaranteed contract, buy he goes beyond the pale.
fredosbrother's review
2.0
There's a couple interesting stories but overall, it's a lot of whining. He's convinced he didn't make it in the NBA because he's white. He was making $20,0000 a month (after taxes) in Spain with a free apartment on the beach and a car but apparently that sucked. $55,000 a month also sucked.
There's an anecdote near the end about an old man who comes up and asks how tall he is and Shirley seems to be pissed off that people wonder just how tall he is. Old guy even helps him load his groceries but all Paul Shirley is concerned about is that he didn't want to hear the old man's stories about the Korean War.
I'm glad he got never played again in the NBA and that ESPN ended up firing him too.
There's an anecdote near the end about an old man who comes up and asks how tall he is and Shirley seems to be pissed off that people wonder just how tall he is. Old guy even helps him load his groceries but all Paul Shirley is concerned about is that he didn't want to hear the old man's stories about the Korean War.
I'm glad he got never played again in the NBA and that ESPN ended up firing him too.
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