I first found out about the book “Titans” when I saw a list of must-read sports books. Titans was near the top of the list. I would agree that this is one of the most compelling sports books I’ve ever read.
Set in the early/mid 1990s, the fix is on when New York Titans' Super-Bowl winning quarterback Hunter Logan’s path crosses that of mafia boss Tony Rizzo of the Mondolffi crime family. Author Tim Green is uniquely qualified to write this book, having played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons for a number of years.
I was pleasantly surprised as how well the book was written and how gripping I found the plot to be. The plot builds steadily throughout the book, and the dialogue (on par for an NFL locker room and the inner workings of the mafia) make it quite realistic. It was intriguing how Hunter Logan's seemingly innocent $200 bets (mostly on other sports, including the NBA) suddenly caught Rizzo's attention after Logan plays golf with Patrick Ewing during the NBA playoffs and learns that Ewing has an injured ankle. Logan uses that info to place and win a $10,000 bet on the Bulls, and his life is never the same again. Rizzo traces the bet to Logan and begins to manipulate and threaten him (and his wife and daughter) to shave points in the Titans' NFL regular-season games.
This one is a page-turner that keeps you on edge until the last page. I'm surprised that something like this hasn't happened yet in real life... that we know of. It’s almost cliché to say it, but this book would make a great movie. Not sure why it hasn’t been done yet.