Frank Deford's "Over Time" memoir

I am planning to use Frank Deford's new memoir "Over Time" in both my sports journalism classes this semester, one at N.Y.U., the other at Rutgers. What is the overall opinion of the book?

 

Enjoyed it immensely. I grew up reading Deford in SI, so it was a must read for me over the summer.

Despite a couple of errors in discovered (Dream Team beating Algeria (Angola) in the first game in Barcelona, Dwyane Wade's named being spelled incorrectly (Dwayne), I loved it.

Especially enjoyed the recollection of his days at "The National" and all the great stuff he discussed about Arthur Ashe.

 

What do you expect your class to get out of the book, aside from what it used to be like to be the best sports writer in the world?

 

Generally liked it, especially the stuff about Arthur Ashe.

And as noted earlier, there is that Angola/Algeria error.

 

I bought the book because of my awe over the features Deford wrote in SI in the 70's and 80's. But all that happened before your students were born and I am not sure if they can relate to Deford's body of work through this book.

The book was OK but Deford does not write about himself as well as he writes about others. I am not sure what lessons students would draw from the book. He does not discuss the craft of writing.

If I was going to assign something by Deford is there an anthology you could use of his best features from SI?

 

The World's Tallest Midget is a great DeFord anthology.

 

I'll second this recommendation.

 

Thanks. I just got it for $4 at Amazon.

 

I expected more personal Deford so was disappointed by Over Time. In addition to The World's Tallest Midget, The Best of Frank Deford published in 2000 collects his work in the 1990s including NPR Morning Edition commentaries.

 

While The National was a great experience for those involved. However, DeFord's Grand Plan was a disaster and it yanked some pretty good folks off of some staffs and they never got back. I always thought DeFord had no clue about how newspapers, sports and this country. He based The National on foreign countries' national sports papers. Also, these days when I see him on HBO he looks like an old gigilo.

 

Was there a single reporter or editor who went to The National Sports Daily and ended up five years later in a worse place than they previously had been? It seems as though it launched many careers.

 

What did you think when you read it?

What's your purpose in using this particular book over others?

Just curious.

I would use BASW.