The story of the Lakers dynasty from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal combinedand collidedto help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse
"In Showtime, former Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman presents the complete, no-holds-barred story of the remarkable individuals who cam together to form pro basketball's most legendary dynasty: Johnson, the revolutionary 6-foot-9 point guard who charmed an entire nation with his megawatt smile and incomparable basketball wizardry; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the stoppable skyhooking center; and head coach Pat Riley, whose GQ-worthy style and perfectly coiffed hair reflected his basketball genius."--Back cover
A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball With Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, The Kid, and The Rest of The 1986 Mets, The Rowdiest Team Ever to Put On a New York Uniform—And Maybe The Best - With a New Afterword Celebrating The 25th Anniversary of The 1986 World Series
The Bad Guys Won , award-winning Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman returns to an innocent time when a city worshipped a man named Mookie and the Yankees were the second-best team in New York. It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin’s left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake—hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox. With an unforgettable cast of characters—including Doc, Straw, the Kid, Nails, Mex, and manager Davey Joshson—this “affectionate but critical look at this exciting season” ( Publishers Weekly ) celebrates the last of baseball’s arrogant, insane, rock-and-roll-and-party-all-night teams, exploring what could have been, what should have been, and what never was.