Mad as Hell

Syndicated sports columnist Lupica (Shooting from the Lip, etc.) piles anecdote on top of anecdote to illustrate what he thinks has gone wrong with sports. He criticizes virtually every group associated with sports but plunges his sharpest barbs into sports agents and unions. It is Lupica's contention that the stronger the union, the weaker the sport, and he cites baseball as his proof case. While he acknowledges that for a long period he was more sympathetic toward players than owners, he now thinks the pendulum has swung too far to the players' side. Athletes in all major sports earn salaries ranging from the low six figures to eight figures (yes, that's $100 million over seven years for the likes of basketball player Shaquille O'Neal). The exorbitant amount of money made by the players has made them feel superior to fans, and above the law, according to Lupica. The escalating salaries, coupled with the greed and mismanagement of the owners, has driven ticket prices beyond the means of many middle-class Americans. Even watching sports on television can be difficult, since many of the top events, such as the World Series, start too late for most kids to watch the end of the game, thus not developing the fans of tomorrow. To bring sports back to the public, Lupica urges that fans revitalize a watchdog organization formed by Ralph Nader in 1977 called FANS. He even suggests the person to run FANS if enough support can be generated: Mario Cuomo. For sports fans who think players are greedy, rude and overpaid, and that team owners are an even worse bunch, this is the book for them. (Oct.)