If the Cup Could Talk

Title: If the Cup Could Talk

Author: Michael Ulmer

Pages: 144

Genre: Non-fiction, Sports

Grade: B

Synopsis: Lord Stanley's Cup is known as one of the most iconic, revered and famous trophies in professional sports.  For more than 100 years, the Cup has been awarded to the best hockey team.  The names of the winning team's players are engraved on the cup for future generations to appreciate.  Each player on the winning team gets to spend a day or so with the cup, sleeping with it, showing it off to friends and families and taking it to their favorite local bars. In the cup's storied history, it has been lost, stolen, vandalized and treating in ways not typically becoming for a trophy. This book tells the story of the cup and stories about the cup.

My Review:  This book has been on my to-read list for years (I'm not sure where it came from), but the book isn't available from the local library, so for Christmas I ponied up the $4 and got a used copy on amazon.  I'm don't particularly care for hockey, but I did enjoy reading about the Stanley Cup.  It probably has the most interesting history of any professional trophy.  Next time I'm in Toronto, Canada I'll have to stop by the Hockey Hall of Fame to take a look at one of the official replicas.

The Fan

Title: The Fan

Author: Peter Abrahams

Pages: 320

Genre: Sports, Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Gil is a rabid fan of the Sox and the new player that they have acquired in Bobby Rayburn. Gil believes that Rayburn will be the solution to all of the Sox's problems. Gil has some major problems of his own. He sales knives for a company that his father started years ago, but is fired due to poor performance. The only thing that Gil can think about are the days when he played baseball himself - in the little leagues. The great Bobby Rayburn is in a slump and Gil thinks he is the only one that can help get him out of it.

My Review: I felt that this was a fitting book to be reading during the final days of the World Series. I enjoyed how baseball and real life are intertwined with each one controlling the other at different times. The story is very engaging and a little disturbing as Gil obsesses more and more over Bobby Rayburn.