Not till the Fat Lady Sings: The Most Dramatic Sports Finishes of All Time
- Book Review,
by Les Krantz (Editor)
From Publishers Weekly
This compendium of the 50 most dramatic endings to sports events divides the great plays into first, second and third place rankings, along with honorable mentions. Krantz (Jobs Rated Almanac; etc.) recounts such moments as Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hitting a home run during the ninth inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951, winning the third and final playoff game and the pennant. He also pays homage to Joe Montana's fourth-quarter comeback for the San Francisco 49ers in 1989, game five of the 1976 NBA finals (Celtics vs. Suns) and Michael Jordan's parting shot-he had "16 points, including eight free throws, a rebound, and two steals in the last 12 minutes"-during game six of the 1998 NBA finals (Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz). Many of the book's finishes concern football, baseball and basketball, with just a smattering of other sports (such as golf, tennis and hockey) thrown in. Photos accompany each entry, indifferently printed with perfunctory-looking sidebars of player standings and athletes' profiles. The supplementary DVD, narrated by Jim McKay, adds a dramatic edge to the package, with commentators relating moments with wild excitement and fans roaring. Although it lacks an index, this collection, which kicks off with an introduction from Flutie-famous for his game-saving "Hail Mary" pass during a 1984 Boston College-Miami football game-should have sports fanatics arguing for days. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The public can't get enough of highlight reels, it seems, and this book/DVD combo may just be the sweetest of them all. Krantz has put together the top 50 final moments in sports history. Sure, there will be debate over the selections, but whether you think that Havlicek's steal in Game 7 of the 1965 NBA Eastern Conference Finals should be ranked higher than Fisk's waving-it-fair homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series makes no difference. The beauty here is in having all of these moments recorded not only in print but also on DVD, narrated by Jim McKay in his familiar style. The 50 events are subdivided in groups, the last 20 being "honorable mentions." Doug Flutie (whose 1984 Hail Mary pass comes in at number 10) writes the introduction. Sports books and broadcasting are overflowing with replays of great plays--amazing catches on the warning track, punts returned for touchdowns--but nothing is as emotional as a pivotal final play. An excellent addition to any sports collection--and at a good price, considering dual media. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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