Tim Donaghy and his book have returned from the dead to haunt David Stern like any common horror-movie villain. Stern labeled Donaghy a rogue ref who worked alone but the just out of prison Donaghy says everybody from refs to “The League” were involved in fixing games. He was set to release a tell-all book via Random House but the publisher backed out because they either received or didn’t receive heat from the NBA. Apparently the VTI-Group has bigger balls than Random House.

The Tampa Bay-based VTI-Group has picked up Donaghy’s book and flipped the name from Blowing The Whistle to Personal Foul. Deadspin has a press release and all the details. Here’s the cover:

Donaghy’s book hits selected stores Dec. 4, and his partner in crime Jimmy “The Sheep” Battista says he has a book and 13 referees were on the take. That would crush Stern’s rogue ref claim. Seems the best move for Stern and the League is to get out in front of this story, do another investigation, and come as clean as possible. If there’s nothing to hide so be it but do something because ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away.

I blew up the quote across the top of the book just in case you can’t read it.

So Deadspin posts titles make for good cover quotes? I can’t wait to see how the following people pick up on the trend.

Jay Mariotti: “Jay Mariotti Tossed From Chicago Bar After Scuffle With Patron Over Cell Phone Pic?”- Deadspin.com

Kate Lacey: “ESPN Horndog Dossier: Katey Lacey”- Deadspin.com

Lee Corso: “The One Where Lee Corso Takes A Massive Dump”-Deadspin.com

Tim Donaghy Has Found A Publisher [Deadspin]

David Beckham and Tom Cruise are well-known BFFs, so much so that the new book, “The Beckham Experiment”, dedicates a chapter to their bromance. The book says Cruise has influenced every major Beckham decision since 2003 which I find hard to believe. That would be like Michael Jackson being one of the most influential people in Magic Johnson’s life..Bad example.

If I was a huge David Beckham fan my biggest concern would be Cruise luring Becks to Scientology. Beckham has denied that Tom Cruise has tried to recruit him but you know it’s only a matter of time.

Tom Cruise-David Beckham friendship explored in book about soccer star [Daily News]

Jose Canseco isn’t the most credible man in the world but, love him or hate him you have to admit he’s a necessary evil of the steroid era. He might not have done it with the right intentions in mind but Jose’s book “Juiced” helped get the anti-steroid ball rolling. Canseco’s new book, Vindicated, spills more dirt although the information seems less reliable this time around.

Jose writes about people that he unsuccessfully tried to blackmail, and reminisces about the good ole days of being a washed up 38-year-old ballplayer that’s trying to catch on with the Los Angeles Dodgers.. At an open tryout. Jose remembers the day well..

“I was so desperate to get back in the game, in fact, that I did an open tryout for the L.A. Dodgers, a team that was in miserable shape back then. I ran well, I threw well, and I hit well, but they still didn’t want me.”

Newspaper reports from that fateful day paint a different picture.From the L.A. Daily News:

We retrieved the Daily News account of what happened that day at Vero Beach, Fla. Staff writer Rich Hammond wrote that Canseco “flubbed groundballs and flailed at offspeed pitches.” He documented that “in a timed sprint at the start of the workout, Canseco started a half-second early, then refused a request to run again. As his colleagues lined up to field grounders at shortstop, Canseco walked to the dugout and didn’t participate in the drill. In 18 batting-practice swings, Canseco hit one home run and four balls to the warning track, then went 2 for 5 with two singles, a walk and two strikeouts in a game among the tryout participants. He played an awkward first base during the game.”

I don’t know what it is but for some reason the newspaper’s account seems more like what happened.. Could it be because it’s the truth? Do PEDs affect the memory? That would explain Jose mistaking the play described above for hitting, running, and throwing well. It would also explain why Andy Pettitte misremembers details about Roger Clemens.

WALL: Canseco squeezing out more juice. Courtesy of the Daily News

Tags: Jose Canseco, baseball, steroids, book

After getting taken to the cleaners by his ex-wife in a divorce settlement, Michael Strahan isn’t the first person you think of when it comes to investing advice. #97 joined Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money last month to talk about football, investing, and his new book, Inside the Helmet: My Life as a Sunday Afternoon Warrior. The interview didn’t make me want to run out and buy the book, but the snippets that Cramer talked about were interesting.
Here are a few things that stuck out to me:

1. Michael Strahan had $3.3 mil in a checking account and got scammed for $1.6mil.
2. Michael Strahan doesn’t want to take a dollar and make a million dollars.
3. Michael Strahan owns one stock, and it’s Under Armour.

The best part of the interview is at the 3:20 mark of the video when Cramer is chumming it up with Strahan and doing some play fighting.

MS: Watch yourself now. I might have some flashbacks and then we’re in trouble.

JC: I’m good at cheapshot. I can do a cheapshot.

MS: All right Trent Green, watch yourself.

Strahan went on to say that he and Trent are good friends, and he was just joking, but I guarantee Travis Johnson jumped out of his seat and yelled “Preach Brotha Strahan“.

Monday Night Quarterbacking. Courtesy of CNBC

Tags: Michael Strahan, New York Giants, NFL, Football, Jim Cramer, Mad Money

Hell nah.. But Oprah is gonna have Fred and Kim Goldman, the father and sister of Ron Goldman, and Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, on her show on September 13th. The two families will be discussing O.J.’s “If I Did It Book”. “How I Did It” “If I Did It” is the Juice’s ghostwritten account of how he would have committed the infamous 1994 murders.

The Goldmans won the rights to the book in July, and are having it published to show O.J. Simpson as “a wife-beater, as a murderer, written in his own words.”. Denise Brown wants the book boycotted, and she’s upset with the Goldmans for making the book deal… Or the fact that her family lost out on the book revenue.

In a related story, book superstore Barnes & Noble says it will not carry the “If I Did It Book” in it’s stores. It’s great to see B&N taking a stand.. A stand so strong that you can go to Barnes and Noble.com and order the book!! It’s #16 on the bestsellers list as I’m typing this. WTF?!?! Barnes and (not so) Noble won’t sell the physical book in the stores, but you can special order it at a B&N store or buy it online…Great job fellas.

O.J.’s Book to Get ‘Oprah’ Treatment. Courtesy of The Washington Post

Family of Murder Victim Ron Goldman Awarded Rights to O.J. Simpson “If I Did It” Book. Courtesy of Fox News

Pre-Orders Surge for Simpson Book. Courtesy of The Guardian