Review by Budd Bailey We love our rivalries in sports. The concept probably started in the 19th century, when the team in my town challenged the team from the town…
Review by Budd Bailey Let’s start with a personal story about the regionally famous snowstorm that hit the Buffalo area on October 12-13, 2006 – known in most places as…
Review by Budd Bailey As someone who has spent most of the past half-century in Buffalo Bills country, it’s been easy to avoid discussions about the New England Patriots during…
Review by Budd Bailey It’s time for another look at the tragedy and triumph of unfulfilled potential in the sports world. Sam McDowell seemed as if he was one of…
Review by Budd Bailey An unusual book, “No One Wins Alone.” There are all sorts of biographies, sports-related or not, out there. This one is simply different in some ways….
Review by Budd Bailey The concept is a simple one: track down 10 pitchers who have won a Cy Young Award, have a nice, long conversation with them about their…
Review by Budd Bailey How many athletes really mattered in the 20th century? Not too many. Jackie Robinson, absolutely. Muhammad Ali, certainly. Babe Ruth, perhaps (mostly for starting the rise…
By Budd Bailey College basketball fans probably have noticed something odd and interesting about their favorite sport. Catholic colleges and universities probably punch over their weight, as they say in…
Review by Budd Bailey Basketball fans have learned a new word over the past several years: bracketology. If you were trying to define it, you’d say it is the study…
Review by Budd Bailey It was particularly appropriate – and perhaps a little scary – to read this book shortly after the mass shooting in Buffalo that killed 10 African…
Review by Budd Bailey I waited about 10 years for someone to get this right. Back around 2011, I read a biography of Tom Seaver called “The Last Icon.” It…
Review by Budd Bailey Something has gone wrong in baseball in the past few years. The symptoms are quite obvious. Games take too long to play, and there’s less ball-in-play…
Review by Budd Bailey Ah, Bobby Valentine. No matter what you think of him, you have to admit it’s difficult to ignore him. That means the baseball lifer has a…