Fair Game

by Paul Daugherty

Three times a week columnist Paul Daugherty supplants the morning caffeine of thousands of readers in Cincinnati—and three states around—with a jolt of deadbolt honesty and opinion sharp enough to peel the clichés off the nearest sportscaster. This collection spans the rich sporting life of Cincinnati in essentially the last decade of the twentieth century, beginning with the joyous and eccentric Super Bowl run of 1988.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rodger Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a gift book received some years ago. Daugherty has collected some of his best columns or features, all published in the 1980s and 90s. The book came out in 1999, which makes some of the material seem dated. Anyone remember Ickey Woods and his "shuffle"? Indeed, the book is quite focused on Cincinnati sports since that's where the author works -- good news, I suppose, if you are a Reds or Bengals fan. Even if you are not, there's plenty of good writing and interesting pieces. Some of what Daugherty writes is quite personal, focusing on memories about his parents from childhood, or on his Downs-afflicted daughter (now in college at NKU, apparently). I don't read many books of columns, but this was every bit as good as one I read in 2010 by the far more famous Red Smith.