Talk Sports Like a Pro - Softcover

Don't let the subtitle--or Boticelli's Venus-in-the-pocket-of-the-glove on the cover--fool you. Talk Sports Like a Pro may be aimed at women, but every fan at any level of expertise could pick up a few nuggets from its pages. Once it gets beyond absolute basics like, "When you discuss a game, know three things. Who won. Who lost. One key play or fact," Talk Sports Like a Pro becomes a versatile and handy reference.

Take the section on baseball. Its opening pitch covers the least you need to know: there are 162 games in a season, each league is divided into three divisions, and the head coach is called a manager. From there you'll quickly pick up on the kinds of stuff fans like to grouse about--the World Series being played at night, for one; the essentials of the pitcher-hitter confrontation (complete with explanations of important stats like ERA, RBIs, and batting averages); a basic reading list; the names and contributions of important players past and present; why the Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, and Indians seem cursed; even how to decipher the cuneiform of a box score.

All the major spectator sports (plus extreme sports) are addressed here, though track and field is oddly absent. Still, Jean M. McCormick--a former ESPN producer herself--nicely balances cleverness with information, and seasons her sporting stew with useful insights in the form of short essays from sports' interpretive goddesses--Robin Roberts, Lesley Visser, Summer Sanders--and gods--Chris Berman, Jim Nantz, and Bob Costas--alike. --Jeff Silverman

Jean M. McCormick graduated from Wellesley College, with honors, and Harvard Business School. She was the chief researcher at ABC News' "Nightline" for several years. In 1990, she became the first female Studio Producer for ESPN and worked at the popular "SportsCenter" and "SundaySportsDay" shows. In 1992, she became the first Coordinating Producer for "Outside the Lines," ESPN's documentary unit. She received seven Emmy Awards and two Cable Ace Awards during her time at ESPN. She also served as Executive Producer of "CNN/Sports Illustrated" during its start-up phase. Currently, Jean McCormick is a Visiting Research Scholar at Wellesley College. In 1998, she released a study on gender differences in sports knowledge under the auspices of Wellesley's Center for Research on Women.