Detroit: An American Autopsy – Wow! If you have ever wondered how it is that a city like Detroit ended up filing for bankruptcy, Charlie LeDuff has written a real eye-opener. This isn't a book full of numbers; it is a book loaded with anecdotes that will leave you shaking your head. Time after time, you will stare at the heavens in bewilderment. A good portion of the book is centred on Detroit's firefighters and the incredible conditions under which they were expected to work. Sheesh, they had to bring their own toilet paper to work. LeDuff is a former Los Angeles Times and New York Times reporter who returned home to Detroit to write for the News. I highly recommend this book. (The Penguin Press, 286 pages, Kindle)
Dream Team: The book’s subtitle almost says it all – How Michael, Magic, Larry Charles, and the greatest team of all time conquered the world and changed the game of basketball forever. . . . Yup, that about sums it up. Except that it doesn’t, because it doesn’t say enough. This is a terrific book, full of colourful anecdotes involving some of the greatest basketballers of our time. But it is so much more than that. Author Jack McCallum, he of Sports Illustrated fame, does a wonderful job of explaining how all of these huge egos came together to form a team in the truest sense of the word. (Ballantine Books, hard cover, 351 pages, Cdn$34.00, US$28.00)
A Drinking Life: A Memoir – Pete Hamill, a New York newspaperman with Irish in his blood, opens his book with this: “This is a book about my time in the drinking life. It tells the story of the way one human being became aware of alcohol, embraced it, struggled with it, was hurt by it, and finally left it behind. There is no hero.” There may not be a hero, but this is a wonderful read that paints a terrific picture of growing up in a hard-scrabbled area of New York when booze was the milk of the working man. It really is a book about coming of age and starting to grow old. (Kindle, $10.03)
Drunk on Sports – Tim Cowlishaw is a recognizable face on the sporting scene; after all, he is a sports columnist with the Dallas Morning News and also holds down a spot on ESPN’s popular show Around The Horn. This is his story, and it’s an interesting read. This is a man who had the world by the tail, with a dream job and all that goes with it, including booze, booze and more booze. He wrote about and talked about the Dallas Cowboys and drank with then-head coach Jimmy Johnson. He covered Super Bowls and drank. He covered NASCAR and drank. A lot. He covered the Dallas Stars and drank. Yes, he drank a lot. But he didn’t see that as a problem, until he ended up in hospital a couple of times, once with a fracture to his skull. It’s worth noting that Cowlishaw says the aforementioned A Drinking Life: A Memoir, by Pete Hamill, had quite an influence on his desire to be a sports writer. (Kindle, $9.73)
End Zones & Border Wars: The Era of American Expansion in the CFL – Written by Vancouver Province sports columnist Ed Willes, the title pretty much says it all. This is a decent overview of what had to have been the darkest and most hilarious days in the CFL's history. In all honesty, though, this book could have used more Pepper Rodgers. (Harbour Publishing, soft cover, 208 pages, $19.95)
Fall of Giants – This is the first of Welsh author Ken Follett’s expansive historical trilogy that follows five families through the 20th century. Fall of Giants takes the families, and the reader, through the First World War and the Russian Revolution. If you like good, long reads that are loaded with great characters, international intrigue, historical figures and some just plain folks who are trying to make their way in the world, you won’t want to miss this. Just be prepared to get hooked on the series. (Kindle, $12.82) (See Winter of the World further down here.)
419 – Anyone with a computer and an email account has received one of those Nigerian notes. And, surely, you have wondered what might happen were you to respond. This is the riveting story about all that and more. There is deceit and death and death and deceit and, in the end, the circle is unbroken. An award-winning work from author Will Ferguson, this is one of those MUST reads. I found it to be thoroughly engaging. (Penguin, Kindle, $15.99)
Gordon Lightfoot: The Man, The Music and the World in 1972 – Author/musician/man-about-Canada Dave Bidini, who is really good, set out to write a book about Canadian icon Gordon Lightfoot but the subject chose not to co-operate. Bidini forged ahead anyway, and has produced another gem. Like Stompin’ Tom Connors, Bidini writes about things Canadian, mostly hockey and music. In this book, he examines Lightfoot’s legacy in detail. In one aside to Lightfoot, Bidini writes: “Your music tapped into the very essence of the Canadian soul at a time when Canadians were just trying to figure out who they were and what they were about. You gave your people a voice. You gave them a musical hero.” Bidini wraps it all around the 1972 Mariposa Folk Festival. Ahh, 1972. Yes, Harry Sinden makes the odd appearance, and so do Bidini’s beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. At one point, he writes that Lightfoot records “most of your song ideas on a cassette recorder, often while you’re sitting around watching the Leafs play (you’ve done a lot of estimable things, Gord, but finding inspiration in the god-awful Leafs might be your greatest achievement.” If you haven’t met Bidini on the printed page, you should. (McClelland & Stewart, soft cover, 256 pages, US$18.99, Cdn$21.00)
The Innocent – I hadn't read anything written by David Baldacci prior to picking up this book. The central character is Will Robie, a hitman/assassin who is in essence a U.S. government employee. In this story, he gets tangled up in a web that involves a 14-year-old girl who has witnessed the murder of her parents. All in all, it was a good read over a couple of hotel days. (Vision, paperback, 543 pages, US$9.99, Cdn$10.99)
The Instigator: How Gary Bettman Remade the League and Change the Game Forever – Author Jonathon Gatehouse, who obviously knows his way around the National Hockey League, goes into great detail in explaining how the NHL has gotten from where it was when Gary Bettman moved into the commissioner's office to where it is today. You won't be surprised to read that this is Bettman's league and he wants/has total control. There really aren't any surprises here, but it is an interesting and valuable read, just the same. (Penguin, soft cover, 379 pages, Cdn$20.00)
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season, he went 20-14-3, 2.62, .915. . . . He was No. 2 among North American goaltenders in NHL Central Scouting’s mid-season rankings that were released earlier this week.
In Brandon, F Leon Draisaitl drew three assists as the Prince Albert Raiders dumped the Wheat Kings, 3-2. . . . Prince Albert F Mark McNeill scored the game’s first two goals, both on the PP. He’s got 17 goals. . . . F Marek Kalus, acquired last week from the Spokane Chiefs, had both Brandon goals. Those are his first goals this season. . . . Prince Albert F Jonas Knutsen broked a 2-2 tie with his fourth goal at 5:39 of the third. . . . Brandon was 1-9 on the PP. The Raiders were 2-5. . . . Bruce Luebke, the radio voice of the Wheat Kings on CKLQ, reported via Twitter that he had spoken with F Tyrel Seaman, who is out with a concussion, and he “feels it’s highly unlikely he’ll return to the lineup this season.” . . . 
In Regina, F Jaedon Descheneau scored twice as the Kootenay Ice edged the Pats, 2-1. . . . Descheneau, who has 12 goals, is on a nine-game point streak. . . . He tied the game at 15:03 of the second and won it at 1:16 of the third. . . . The Ice has won 10 of 11 and has moved from 12th place to ninth, four points out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot. . . . There was one penalty called in the game, that to Regina D Colton Jobke for a check to the head at 19:32 of the third period. . . . Ice G Mackenzie Skapski stopped 29 shots. . . . The Pats have dropped four straight. . . .
In Saskatoon, the Blades opened a 4-1 lead and hung on for a 5-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . F Lukas Sutter gave the Blades a 4-1 lead at 14:09 of the second and F Erik Benoit provided them with a 5-2 lead at 13:13 of the third. . . . The Warriors, who have lost eight in a row, made it close when F Sam Fioretti got his 22nd at 14:18 and D Spencer Morse got his first at 16:04. . . . Fioretti scored twice. . . . The Warriors had D Morgan Rielly back in their lineup after he returned earlier in the day from the camp of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. He had one assist and was minus-1. . . . 
In Edmonton, F Trevor Cox had a goal and an assist as the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Oil Kings, 2-1. . . . Edmonton has lost two in a row. . . . Cox scored his 13th goal at 14:41 of the first on a PP. . . . The Tigers went up 2-0 on F Elgin Pearce’s 20th goal at 11:03 of the second. . . . Edmonton D Keegan Lowe got his 11th at 15:16 of the second. . . . Among the Tigers’ scratches was F Hunter Shinkaruk (ill). . . . D Griffin Reinhart was back in the Oil Kings’ lineup after going to camp with the NHL’s New York Islanders. . . .
In Calgary, F Victor Rask scored moments after Prince George had a goal disallowed and the Hitmen went on to beat the Cougars, 5-3. . . . The victory lifted the Hitmen to the top of the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Edmonton. . . . The Cougars thought they had tied the score 3-3 late in the second period. But it didn’t count and Rask, in his first game after playing for Sweden at the World Junior Championship, scored his fourth goal of the season moments later for a 4-2 lead. . . . Calgary lost D Alex Roach in the third period when a redirected puck struck him in the neck/throat area. He was treated by both trainers and a doctor before leaving the ice and being taken to hospital. Reports indicated that he was having trouble breathing. Early this morning, Carlos Sosa, who represents Roach, told me via text that Roach had been “released from hospital. Has pain but will be OK.” . . . Calgary F Calder Brooks, who has yet to play this season due to injury, took the warmup but didn’t play. . . . 
In Vancouver, F Steven Hodges scored twice for the third straight game and the Victoria Royals dumped the Giants, 6-2. . . . Hodges, who has 18 goals, has four straight two-point games. . . . The Royals erased a 1-0 deficit with four straight goals. . . . F Alex Gogolev scored his 15th goal and added two assists. . . . Victoria F Tyler Soy, the eighth overall selection in the 2012 bantam draft, scored his first WHL goal. He is from Surrey so you know he had friends and family there for what was his third WHL game. . . . The Royals have won four in a row for the first time since they relocated from Chilliwack. . . . 
In Spokane, G Jordon Cooke put up his 17th straight victory to lead the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-2 victory over the Chiefs. . . . Cooke, who stopped 38 shots, has won each of his last 17 starts. He last tasted defeat on Nov. 17 when the Rockets were beaten 3-2 by the host Tri-City Americans. . . . The Rockets, who are 10-0-1 in their last 11, dumped the Chiefs 5-3 in Kelowna on Wednesday. . . . F Ryan Olsen scored twice for Kelowna, giving him 23 goals. . . . Chiefs D Brenden Kichton scored his 15th goal as he ran his point streak to 10 games. . . . Among Kelowna’s scratches was F J.T. Barnett (ill). . . . Spokane F Alessio Bertaggia, who had two assists, left late in the third period after being hit by Kelowna F Carter Rigby. Bertaggia appeared to be favouring his right arm. . . . 
In Everett, F Kohl Bauml had two goals and an assist to help the Silvertips to a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds. . . . Seattle’s losing streak has reached 15 games. . . . Seattle still holds the Western Conference’s last playoff spot. It is three points behind Everett and three ahead of Prince George. . . . F Ryan Harrison, who scored his seventh goal and added two assists, broke a 1-1 tie at 5:00 of the second period. . . . Seattle to 73 of the game’s 114 penalty minutes. . . . Seattle D Jerret Smith, a 17-year-old from Surrey, B.C., scored his first WHL goal. It came in his 44th game. . . . Everett G Austin Lotz turned aside 44 shots. . . . Seattle G Brandon Glover (flu) watched from the bench as Danny Mumaugh stopped 18 shots. . . . According to Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald: “Everett lost defenseman Austin Adam to injury when he took a hit into the boards midway through the first period.” Everett GM/head coach Garry Davidson told Patterson that Adam "had his bell rung.” . . . 
In Kennewick, Wash., F Colin Smith scored twice as the Kamloops Blazers beat the Tri-City Americans, 4-1. . . . Smith now has 30 goals. . . . The Blazers scored the game’s last four goals. . . . F Jesse Mychan scored for the Americans. He has six goals, with five of them coming over his last three games. . . . F Cole Ully had two assists for Kamloops, giving him six points in his last four games, all of them on the road. . . . Ully’s linemates, Matt Needham and Chase Souto, each had a goal and an assist. . . . Tri-City F Lukas Walter took a headshot major and game misconduct at 7:29 of the third period for a hit on Kamloops D Joel Edmundson. . . . Kamloops scratched F Tim Bozon and D Landon Cross, both of whom were ill.
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