Reading with the Roost: Downtown Owl

by Ryan

This is Downtown Owl:



This is also Downtown Owl:


Technically, this book isn't out yet, but thanks to the good people at Amazon.com, I received it on Friday and finished it yesterday.

However, this causes a problem when you want to discuss it, especially when 1) a handful of people have read the book, and 2) discussing any part of it would almost immediately ruin it for anyone.

So here's the situation. The situation is this: I liked this book, and I'd like you to buy it so we can talk about it. This post is going up now, and if you plan on buying the book let me know so we can talk about it in the future. If you'd like to buy the book, that would be nice too, because then we could talk about it.

The post will go up on the sidebar, so whenever you finish it, I'll be there to talk about it. Let me know what you thought, and I'll respond. That post won't be going anywhere, so even if it takes you a few years to get around to it that's fine.

I'd imagine this post stays up as long as Google has servers, which seems like a long, long time. At least until Google figures out how to beam things directly into your brain using a subtle radio wave and bacon bits. I figure at that juncture in your life reading a Chuck Klosterman book is the last thing on your mind, so it probably doesn't matter.

So yeah, get back to me on this.

Reading with the Roost: Fargo Rock City

by Ryan

If you've been keeping track of the reading list, I originally said we would be talking about Chuck Klosterman's third book, Killing Yourself to Live. However, before going on vacation I dropped about $70 bucks in Barnes and Noble. Wrapped in a fantasy football magazine were a few books, including the only Klosterman book I haven't read, Fargo Rock City.

I begrudgingly bought this book, but only because I wanted to read it so badly. The fact of the matter is that I could have had the hardcover version for about six bucks back when Media Play was going out of business. I dropped the ball, and my wallet paid the price.

ANYWAY, Fargo Rock City was another great effort by Chuck Klosterman, although you can tell it was his first try. He has four books under his belt, but his Metal Odyssey is the first, and the one that started it all. Talking about everything from music videos to proper hair etiquette, Klosterman relives his childhood through the pages of this very engaging work.

What I like best about Klosterman is his writing style, and when I say that I mean he seems to write like me. At the very least, he writes the way I wish I could write all the time. Perhaps I would be a bit less self deprecating, but his blend of conversational tone and philosophical reasoning is something most writers dream of achieving. In reading his other works I've come to discover my writing format is much like him: writing nonsense in the middle of the night. However, I do it without all that pot, which may be why I'm not as good.

The truly great thing about Fargo Rock City is that Klosterman is writing about something he loves. Metal was his life growing up, much like watching sports has been the majority of my childhood. Klosterman is truly hurt by insinuations that metal means "nothing", and sets out to prove that it indeed does. Now I'm no literary critic, but I think he did a pretty good job proving his theses.

That conclusion may only be made because sometimes I imagine myself in a similar predicament. There are many people out there that think sports are worthless, but to me so much of my life is tangled up in it. In a strange way, I have to justify the significance of sports in my life much like he tries to make Metal matter.

My favorite Klosterman book is Killing Yourself to Live, in which he travels the country searching for the answer to a fascinating inquiry: Why is death the best career move any musician can make? In his travels he goes looking for places in which musicians die, trying to understand why it makes an artist's music so much more "important". The great thing about the book is that the majority of the time it becomes a reflection upon his own life. Much of his writing becomes about himself, and while some consider this vain, I look at it as a fascinating way to communicate.

There is a chapter where he professes his love of KISS, then completes an extended metaphor that categorizes each member of KISS as a past girlfriend. On the surface that looks really, really crazy. However, isn't that what we do with sports? In a strange way, us fanatics look at sports in the same way Klosterman looks at and writes about music.

To an extent, what Klosterman does in his books is what we all try to do in our own lives, and certainly what we try to do here. We do not aim to rip Klosterman off, but in every single post we try to explain why sports matter, whether we can or not. Most times we don't even get close, but the more I write the more I realize that even forming the argument is what matters most.

I guess what I'm trying to say, I mean what I'm asking is, I know we haven't talked in a while, but you should give Klosterman a try. If there is any writer I could recommend to you in the off season, it would be Chuck. He'll get you there, I promise.

Reading with the Roost: Live From New York

By Chris


You can't win a championship every year. With some sports franchises, that lofty goal is set for themselves at the beginning of every preseason or spring training. If they're not lifting that trophy over their heads at the end of the season, then all of the hard work that got them there is considered for nothing.

For those that have been to that promised land before, nothing is as good as your first championship. For the new players coming on, they wonder what it was like to be a part of those glory days, the days everyone--players, critics and fans alike--compares the current standard to.

There's a reason why television, like sports, is broken up into seasons. With the start of each new season, old faces are gone and new faces emerge. Finding the right combination to put together a winning season every year is a constant struggle and the pieces don't always come together.

Saturday Night Live has been going not for a championship, but for it to be the funniest it can be for 35 years now. Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller get the byline for Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, a massive 600-page book about the television institution, but the words, for the most part are not theirs. Shales and Miller conducted countless interviews with everyone from the stars to the writers to the production assistants. It is their words that tell the story from the beginning to 2002, when the book was published.

While it is lengthy, the multitude of quotes from so many familiar names actually makes for a quick read. Everyone from Lore Michaels to Chevy Chase to Conan O'Brien is interviewed, save for Eddie Murphy who seems to want nothing to do with the show that made him a household name.

Being a part of the show, for many, was the best time of their lives. Most of the interviewees, especially those that found success afterwards, look upon the show with fondness, reverence and gratitude. The harshest words spoken are from and about those who feel bitter about their experience because the show wasn't the launching pad they expected it to be. Harry Shearer and Janeane Garofalo are among the leading gripers.

The person who most interested me through it all was Jane Curtain. An original Not Ready For Primetime Player, Curtin was a bit older than the rest of her castmates and had a different perspective on it all because of it. She really didn't need the show the way the others did, she had a house, a husband and a dog to go back to after the show. She didn't need the extracurricular sex and drugs like everyone else. Her quotes are usually short and to the point. Her tolerance levels for all the non-professional stuff that went on was very low but she dealt with it because she really loved the job and the opportunity it presented. She doesn't mince words when she doesn't have to and is brutally honest.

Curtin's working environment attitude is the norm on the show today. The drug atmosphere is so far removed from the current set that many of the cast can't even fathom doing the show stoned. Staying on your game is hard enough without all of those the destructive habits.

Those drug habits, along with other tragic events have cost the Saturday Night Live family some great talents. Among them are Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman and Michael O'Donoghue, one of the show's most influential writers. Each is talked about fondly with the spirits of Radner and Farley seeming to take center stage. You can see smiles form whenever someone conjures up memories of Farley's kindness and Gilda's warm heart.

Everyone always compares the show to the early years. Some say that the show will never live up to those glory days. Maybe that's true. But it's mainly because when the show first came on the air, there were no expectations. They went out and made history. The show today can't possibly be what the show was the fist five years. It was a revolution back then and the stories are those of legends. It’s a tamer show now for sure, but it’s because the early years set the tone and SNL has been stretching the limits ever since.

The book seems at times to glorify the show a bit too much, but the authors don’t apologize for it. Live From New York is a celebration of the show and what it has brought to popular culture. Every year may not exactly be a championship season, but it’s entertaining and interesting regardless. The book is a must-read for any fan of the show just makes sure you give yourself a few lazy weekends to read it.

Reading with the Roost: The Blind Side

by Ryan

I would like to say that I am an above average football fan. My winter months are spent in front of the TV each Sunday, unless I'm tailgating outside of the Ralph. I watch football like it will give me some sort of special password, and the more I watch the closer I get to the answer.

However, there is much about the game I am ignorant to. It's really not my fault; no one has ever told me to devote myself to the game's intricate details. I have never played on an organized level, and while I understand a zone blitz, the majority of my defensive knowledge comes from NFL Quarterback Club '98 or one of the Maddens.

The thing is, I want to get better at it. The fact of the matter is that I understand hockey on a much deeper level than any other sport, and I want to level that depth of understanding.

A book such as Micheal Lewis' Moneyball helped out a few years back on the baseball front. Since then publications such as Baseball Prospectus have became the norm in the summer months, and much about the way I watch baseball has changed. Heck, I even have a shred of respect for YES Network because of it; they show on base percentages when batters come up.

As far as football is concerned, it took another book from Michael Lewis to move things along: The Blind Side.

In the book, Lewis takes his inquisitive nature and turns it upon the offensive line. He asks the simple question: why is the left tackle paid more than any other offensive lineman? What he found was an important development in football strategy (West Coast Offense), a revolution of sports economics (Free Agency), and the impact of a single linebacker (Lawrence Taylor). Most important of all, he found him.



This is Michael Oher, and he is the focal point of the book. There is far too much story to replicate here, but the important thing to know is that Michael was born to play left tackle. He is an absolute monster with regards to stature, but has a quickness in his feet, a wingspan, and a surprising power that gives him the perfect skill set to counteract the fastest pass rushers in the game.

The reason the left tackle is so important is because the majority of quarterbacks are right handed, which means they block the defenders he can't see: "the blind side." The rise of the West Coast Offense and its clash with Lawrence Taylor brought the left tackle to a place above the offensive line in regards to importance. Suddenly your best lineman had to be at left tackle; and no matter what anyone thinks, he must be handsomely paid for it.

While the game's evolution is extremely interesting to follow, the real reason to read is to hear Michael Oher's story. He grew up in the third poorest zip code in the country, West Memphis, Tennessee. One of thirteen children born to a crack-addicted mother, he was homeless for most of his life until a grandmother's dying wish made a man bring his son to the doorstep of Briarcrest Christian School. "Big Mike" was dragged along, hoping to get a basketball scholarship. He got a scholarship, but the hardwood would be his second sport. (Shot put would be his third)

It is a complicated story, complete with a struggle to maintain grades, assimilate to a wealthy lifestyle, and to simply communicate with his peers. Amazingly, a family takes him in and became his legal guardians. He started 10th grade almost completely illiterate, yet graduated on time and with a high school diploma.

His true purpose was found on the football field. The Briarcrest football coach got one look at his body type and knew he was born to play left tackle, and so he did. With only 15 games in his high school career, Michael Oher became the top left tackle prospect in the country. Hundreds of college coaches tried to lure him to their schools, and within the span of two years Michael Oher goes from a poor black teenager destined for gang activity to a budding NFL star.

If the above summary sounds absurd, you have to get your hands on the real text. It is an amazing story that doesn't end where I leave it. Lewis does a fantastic job retelling a story Michael himself seemed too shy to disclose, chronicling his brief life as a human interest piece as well as sociological interpretation of our culture. The simple question of football economics morphed into an amazing tale of one youth overcoming a society firmly stacked against him.

I really don't want to ruin the story, and it would be impossible to tell it any better than Lewis in this space. However, I did learn a great deal from the book, and have a new appreciation for the play of a left tackle. I know I'll look at the work of Jason Peters much different come September, and the name Michael Oher won't leave my head for some time.

Overall the book was done very well. It was hilarious, heartbreaking, and engaging, all at the same time. I'll leave you with my favorite part of the book, and you can leave your thoughts in the comments.

Michael listened to Sean's little speech without responding except to grunt "okay." He was still eerily calm, as if this whole fuss didn't really concern him. Finishing his lecture, Sean looked over at the Munford bench: Michael had picked up a 220-pound defensive end and moved him at least 60 yards. In seconds

"Michael," said Sean. "Where were you taking him, anyway?"

"I was gonna put him on the bus," said Michael.

Parked on the other side of the chain-link fence was, in fact, the Munford team bus.

"The bus?" asked Sean.

"I got tired of him talking," said Michael. "It was time for him to go home."

Sean thought he must be joking. He wasn't. Michael had thought it all through in advance; he'd been waiting nearly half a football game to do just exactly what he had very nearly done. To pick up this trash-talking defensive end and take him not to the chain-link fence but through the chain link fence. To the bus. And then put him on the bus. Sean began to laugh.

"How far did you get?" asked Sean.

"I got him up against the fence," said Michael.

Reading with the Roost: The Game

by Ryan

I think I read Ken Dryden's The Game at the perfect time. It's summer, I had post concussion syndrome, and I was completely removed from any form of hockey. In those conditions, even with a concussion-shortened attention span, I devoured The Game in two days.

To say that the book is great would be an understatement, but to say it is phenomenal would imply you like reading these kind of books. Dryden is very intelligent and downright brilliant when it comes to discussing the game of hockey, and if you are a fan you simply must give the book a read.

The book's format is odd, only covering a number of days; but so much is discussed over the course of the work. Dryden's preparation for games was to completely clear his mind of everything related to "the game", and in that process his every thought on hockey is spilled onto the pages.

Dryden talks of the game's history, how the Habs' team culture has changed with winning, and how he has changed as a hockey player. He talks candidly about many of his own teammates, the various teams in the league, and his thoughts on retirement. There is just so much covered, but I tried to narrow down a few sections to talk about.

Page 5:
There is something remarkably strong about a team that wins; and something remarkably weak about that same team when it doesn't. The team that is "more than just a hockey team," the athletic, cultural, and political institution that inspires romance in more than its followers, is just a hockey team if it loses; and the romance disappears. The team that won together, our favorite metaphor for sharing and cooperation, loses as twenty separate guys, each running for his own lifeboat.

There was so much about the books' opening pages that rang familiar it surprised me. The arc of success Dryden described seemed to be a path the 06-07 Sabres team followed to perfection. However, the frustrating and terrible thing about it is that the Sabres acted that way with absolutely no prior success. The more time I put between myself and that season I see a team that lost its way down the stretch; and it only makes their subsequent collapse more painful to remember.

Page 73:
Nothing is as good as it used to be, and it never was. The "golden age of sports," the golden age of anything, is the age of everyone's childhood. For me and for the writers and commentators of my time, it was the 1950s. For those who lived in the 1950s as adults, it was the 1920s or the 1930s. Only major disruptions like wars or expansions can later persuade a child of those times that what he feels cannot be right. For me, the greatest goalies must always be Hall, Sawchuk, Plante, and Bower.

To me this proves that no one is ever satisfied with the current state of hockey. Dryden himself says that hockey isn't perfect, but the fact that it is an inherently flawed game is one of the reasons we love it so much. Every generation has said the previous one was better, and it is a fact that will not change.

The interesting thing is that today an emphasis has been put on labeling things as "the greatest" or "the best." Part of this is the "ESPN effect", in which an artificial hype is injected into events to bring viewers to the fold. However, for the most part hockey has been left out of this movement.

While every college football team is openly argued as the greatest ever, no one questions the greatness of Dryden's Canadiens when talking about the Red Wings, and no one is putting current goaltenders in Dryden's category. Even when Carey Price was being compared to Patrick Roy this spring there was much debate against the comparison. It is an interesting exception in the world of sports, one that is actually quite refreshing.

Page 158:
But there's one more thing. What does money do to the game on the ice? How does it affect a player? In playoff games, does Guy Lapointe put aside his shot-blocking phobia because of money? And what about Lafleur and his relentless brilliance? What about Robinson and Gainey and Lemaire? What about the so-called money players? Do they play the way they do because of money? No amateur would believe it, nor would many fans, nor indeed many players, but on the ice, in a game, more money, less money, playing for team or country, a blocked shot, a body check, a diving save comes only from instinctive, reflexive, teeth-baring competition. Money, like other motivations, comes from the mind and has nothing to do with it. More money can't change that.

This is something I've always wanted to believe, and while it may be less true in the era of max contracts and arbitration, you still want to believe that on the ice the money doesn't matter. Later on in the book Dryden will talk about playing the Red Wings, who were awful at the time. Only then, when a game was "easy" and other thoughts could creep into their minds did bonus incentives or contract expectations come up. Perhaps this has changed over time, but so much of what Dryden describes is still the same today. You have to wonder how much "the game" actually changes as generations pass.

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Much of what Dryden talks about mirrors the same discussions hockey fans have today. The fundamental "problems of the game", the defensive mindset of teams, the differences between "speed" and "quickness", the way good teams play. However different we think the game is, however "advanced" the rule changes have made hockey, it is still the same game.

Dryden wonders who is the authority when it comes to rule changes, citing the history of Canadian hockey and its roots in defense. A decade before the trap, he predicts the same problems will be repeated over and over again. In his prose he is a true goaltender, seeing the entire ice, understanding the game completely as it is happening.

His foresight does not come simply from his own brilliance, but rather a complete fundamental understanding of hockey. He has studied its history, lived a part of it himself, and wants to follow it as it progresses. It is admirable at the very least, and to me quite inspiring. Even with a career in law, even with a family, even with other interests, "the game" is still with Dryden. As a mere fan, you can only hope the sport affects you that much.

There is a lot more to talk about with the book, but I'm curious to see what other people think. If you have read The Game, I'd love to hear what you have to say in the comments. If you haven't and have some time to kill, I'd say pick it up before the summer is over.

There is so much time left before you see the puck drop in October. Why not get a glimpse behind the lean?

The Season's Change is a Conduit

by Ryan

So... if you came here expecting a review of The Game, you just don't know us well enough. I'm currently about halfway through the book, and although I will have something to say about it, it's not coming today.

The good news is that Chris is reading Live From New York and will have something about it posted by the end of next week; so look for that before mine. Rich is enduring a life without the series of tubes, so you know he is reading something. Or going insane, either or.

I think I've said enough about the playoffs over the course of the last six weeks or so. Being the first full season with a blog to ramble with, I must admit I enjoyed the postseason a lot more than I usually do after the Sabres gracefully implode. Having the hockey blogosphere to get a feel for all those "other" teams really makes for an exciting postseason, and I look forward to checking back in over the course of the summer to see how free agency shakes out.

So that's the question now, isn't it? What the hell are we going to do with ourselves?

Well, plenty. Over the next few months we are going to branch out a bit, covering some basketball, baseball, and whatever else happens during the summer. Of course, there will be plenty of silly season news in the hockey universe, and we fully intend to cover every angle of the off season. The NHL Awards, Draft, UFA Day, all of it is going to be talked about here, and Chris has spreadsheets and all kinds of things ready for the summer.

We're also trying to plan a road trip to see a baseball game, although the location seems to be getting farther and farther away as we flesh it out. Somewhere between Boston and Minnesota, I'm sure.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though the hockey season is officially over, we're not. In fact, we're pretty excited about the summer. The Sabres will retool, the Bills will try to pry Money away from the iron fist of Roger Goodell, and we should have some nice weather to avoid in the comfort of our homes, computer screen aglow with the shades drawn.

So in the words of Jonathan Papelbon: "Stay tuned. I've got something for ya, kid."

Summer Reading

by Ryan

When you are young and impressionable, you are taught that summer is the best of the four seasons. Then you grow up a sports fan in Buffalo and realize that nothing of importance happens during the long days. Here in the Roost, we intend to use up that time to make ourselves better sports fans, and what better way to kill daylight then by reading?

We thought it would be an interesting experiment to share this summer reading with you. So, below is the initial list of books we intend to read this summer. They are subject to change and you are welcome to suggest others to us, but we will make note if there are any changes. Attached to each title is the Amazon.com link to purchase the book, if you'd like to play along.

This post will be attached to the sidebar and updated with a date for "discussion" of each. So far that discussion will be a post breaking the book down, with anyone willing to chime in doing so in the comments. Consider it a book club without having to pretend to read crappy books and gulp down crappy coffee. If you'd like, you can bring your own biscotti, we won't hold it against you.

Kübler-Ross model- Required reading for all sports fans, or anyone who happens to be a human being. This probably won't be a post, but it is good to know as a fan.

The Game, Ken Dryden- Every Habs fan I know will quote this at some point in their life, may as well know what they are talking about. Discussed Here

Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk- The book is always better, right?

Between the Lines, Ray Scampinello, Rob Simpson- Hockey book written by a ref. It has to have some good stuff in it.

Killing Yourself to Live, Chuck Klosterman- If you've read his stuff on ESPN.com, you know why this is included. A great read otherwise, I'm a big fan.

A Season on the Brink, John Feinsten- I've heard good things, and it was laying around in my house. What else am I going to talk about until October, right?

God Save the Fan, Will Leitch- We may not do this one after all, but everyone in the blogosphere has to give it a shot, right?

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson- Just to prove that Rich is indeed not dead.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Micheal Lewis- Hyped as the "Moneyball of football." We'll be the judge of that. Discussed Here

Ball Four, Jim Bouton- If you don't know, you will soon enough.

For the Love of the Game, Michael Shaara. Again, the movie probably doesn't do it justice.

Blink, Malcolm Gladwell- I've always wanted to read it, and Rich has. Now I have an excuse.

The Code, Ross Bernstein, Marty McSorley, Tony Twist- A bit behind on this one, but it should be well worth the wait. Discussed Here

Live from New York, James A. Miller, Tom Shales- Chris says it will be done in a week or so, so expect to see this one first. (To be discussed whenever Chris reads the last chapter)

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My guess for the my first book is Dryden's The Game, with a date around the end of the Cup Finals. Setting dates for these things probably won't be an exact science, but we promise you there will be plenty of notice. As mentioned before, if you have any ideas or blatant criticisms of this, feel free to post them in the pop-up comments.