The Game Behind the Game: High Pressure, High Stakes in Television Sports

O'Neil, veteran of TV sports, begins his behind-the-scenes memoir with a vivid recollection of the tragic Munich Olympics. He then moves on to his experiences with Monday Night Football , and particularly with Howard Cosell, whom he depicts as a sort of monster. He also discusses his tenure at CBS Sports, where he put together the team of Pat Summerall and John Madden and introduced the so-called ``chalkboard'' to analyze plays--before corporate maneuvering, the game behind the game, brought about his ouster from the network. O'Neil concludes with a warning to TV executives not to let on-camera figures become so powerful that they control the industry. An insider's account, the book, covering both network politics and sports, lacks focus for a specific audience and as such is unlikely to find its reader ship. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)