This is a fast-moving collection of funny and insightful INSIDE anecdotes involving more than two dozen very famous sports personalities with whom the author interacted, both professionally and socially, during his 30-year run as a syndicated sports columnist. The anecdotes are mostly untold or lightly mentioned only in local media. How did Jimmy Johnson's wife extract a measure of revenge when he dumped her when he began coaching the Dallas Cowboys? What did defiant former Florida football coach Charley Pell do to an investigator in a meeting that convinced then-assistant coach Mike Shanahan that the Gators were headed for the NCAA jailhouse? How did Shaquille O'Neal shock the stately owner of the Orlando Magic and staff in their first head-to-head meeting? Why was Hawk Harrelson seeing three balls each time Luis Tiant threw a pitch and what was the outcome? What did a huge lineman say in a NY Jets team meeting that left Coach Weeb Eubank, Joe Namath and the rest of the team gasping for breath? Which Mets player did Manager Davey Johnson challenge to a clubhouse fight? What did Triple Crown trainer Bob Baffert tell a Louisville styling shop that had all the stylists scrambling to be the one to serve him? How did Collinsworth react when told his horse needed to be gelded? Why did Woody grant total access to the BBC for a week to his usually inaccessible Buckeyes? Why did nervous reporters fear Steve Spurrier was close to becoming postal when he became tearful during a mid-week press conference? What prized belonging did Bobby Bowden leave behind at a roadside cafe, only to be stopped by a highway patrolman? What was the unexpected reason patrons at a small Maine theater give Don Shula and his wife a standing ovation? Why did Mickey Mantle play one hole of an upscale Dallas golf club wearing only his spikes? Did Payne Stewart really walk on water hours after winning the Bay Hill Classic? What stunning thing happened when Lou Holtz asked his team about their formidable approahing bowl opponent? Those are just a few of the unusual happenings that come at the reader like a machine gun in this quick read. After an advance read, Holtz said, "I;m still laughing. An entertaining read. Said Florida novelist Bob Morris: "Icons are funny No, Icons are freaking hilarious!" And Pat Williams, an NBA exec, motivational speaker and prolific author, said of this book: "Chock full of entertaining stories, one after another, from one of America's leading sports writers."
About the Author: A graduate of University of Southern Mississippi, where he pitched for the baseball team before an injury ended that pursuit, Larry Guest likes to tell his speaking audiences that he still holds a strikeout record at the school. "In 32 consecutive dates with coeds, I struck out." He became sports editor and columnist for the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger in 1970 and moved to the Orlando Sentinel as syndicated sport columnist 1973-2000. Two of his previous six books made various bestseller lists -- ARNIE: Inside the Legend and The Payne Stewart Story. He thought he was fully retired after collaborating on a book with certain Hall of Fame baseball executive John Schuerholz in 2006. "Then I made the mistake of sharing some of these back-stage stories with friends over golf and dinner," Guest recounts. "The common reaction was laughter followed by the command: 'You've GOT to put all of these stories in a book.' So I did." He was voted by his peers three time as sports writer of the year in Florida, a state with a plethora of talented sports scribes. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Golf, Golf Illustrated, Golf Digest, The Wall Strreet Journal and assorted other magazines. An avid and once-proficient golfer, Guest once beat and aging Arnold Palmer by two strokes in a social round. He says that brought his lifetime record against Palmer to 1-25. Guest and his wife Mary, a tax accountant, live in Cape Canaveral, FL. They have three grown daughters -- all successful professionals -- and seven grandhildren.