S.L. Price on A-Rod/Richard Ben Cramer

But enough about Doug Ferguson and Tiger Woods.

 

Chilling is the word. That relationship was a story in itself. White sounds like she was quite a person
that sadly went off the rails due to some job setbacks. Given the positions that she held would
imagine that some SJers ran across her.

 

At times it felt like I was reading about a real-life Fletch in the ways he/RBC went about getting information; Fletch pretending to be a private jet inspector in the hangar or getting a rectal exam or flying to Provo, whereas RBC climbed down an elevator shaft to listen to a closed judicial session, etc. Not to mention the ways they entered the newsroom -- Fletch, larger than life and wearing a Magic Johnson jersey and interrupting everyone to get a line on the Lakers game that night, RBC with his goat/camel story.

In a way RBC was like A-Rod, like any bona fide rock 'n' roll superstar: LOOK AT ME!

I enjoyed the story. I think it could have been compartmentalized a little better. A little too much weave.

 

I would put the very end much closer to the beginning (or in the middle section where they break up) and ended the story with Ruby's quote.

Otherwise, I really liked it. I think the two subjects had to be merged; otherwise, it wasn't a story.

And I think the piece is written well enough to allow you to come to your own conclusions about why Cramer didn't write much. I don't think I'd put that all on Rodriguez, or even much of it.

 

It should not be lost on anyone that Cramer apparently got a $550,000 advance - for a sports biography - did not complete the project, and, if I read it right, was able to keep half of it anyway. Good work if you can get it.

Was the publishing industry completely oblivious to the public's indifference to A-Rod? Serena Roberts wrote a bio of him, presumably got a six-figure advance, even broke major news reporting the book, and nobody bought it.

I'll take it one step further: People seem very disinterested in reading serious biographies of athletes who are still active. I cannot think of one that was a success.

 

I think it hurt Selena that a lot of people really do not like her, both for what she did with the Duke LAX case as well as all of the stuff that came out about her book before it ever hit the shelves.

 

I thought the issue had very good enterprise, more so than in a typical issue. Not only A-Rod/RBC but Oakland point guards and Danbury Trashers.