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Drunk on Sports
Tim Cowlishaw never considered himself an alcoholic. By the time he reached his 50th birthday his career was everything he'd ever hoped it would be. With a sports column in a major paper, winning APSE's Best Sports Columnist in Texas four times, and a daily spot on ESPN's highly successful show, "Around the Horn," Cowlishaw had pursued and conquered nearly everything he ever desired professionally. However, the pursuit of that success nearly cost him his life.
DRUNK ON SPORTS is more than simply a memoir by one of America's most well-known sportswriters. Behind his happy-go-lucky public persona was a man with a considerable (but well-disguised) drinking problem. For years, Cowlishaw believed that his ability to drink with the best of them helped in his development of sources and pursuit of stories and, unfortunately, he was right. Among others, the relationship he built while sitting on a barstool next to Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson allowed him to get where other reporters couldn't. As all hell broke loose between Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in 1994, Cowlishaw was right next to Coach Johnson every step (and beer) along the way. In DRUNK ON SPORTS, Cowlishaw recounts first-hand stories never told and quotes never shared from the bizarre breakup of one of the NFL's most successful dynasties.
As he points out in the introduction, this is not an anti-drinking book. Cowlishaw loved alcohol for 35 years. If anything, this is a how-not-to book more than a how-to book. Along the way, Cowlishaw takes readers inside some of the biggest stories in sports. He joined ESPN in 2002 as a regular on Around the Horn and discusses life behind the scenes at the Worldwide Leader candidly and at length. Cowlishaw writes and talks and, at times, drinks his way into the sports world's fast lane - what else would you call getting hammered on vodka with Denny Hamlin at the Daytona 500 - before realizing the only way to continue was to call a halt to the partying.
The story of his rise and fall is more insightful and humorous than it is preachy as Cowlishaw examines some of the flawed decisions he made throughout his lifetime in sports. DRUNK ON SPORTS is a cautionary yet entertaining tale of never before told stories featuring some of the most recognizable personalities in sports, and if it causes some readers to reexamine their own lives, then it will have gone above and beyond its intended purpose.
DRUNK ON SPORTS is more than simply a memoir by one of America's most well-known sportswriters. Behind his happy-go-lucky public persona was a man with a considerable (but well-disguised) drinking problem. For years, Cowlishaw believed that his ability to drink with the best of them helped in his development of sources and pursuit of stories and, unfortunately, he was right. Among others, the relationship he built while sitting on a barstool next to Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson allowed him to get where other reporters couldn't. As all hell broke loose between Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in 1994, Cowlishaw was right next to Coach Johnson every step (and beer) along the way. In DRUNK ON SPORTS, Cowlishaw recounts first-hand stories never told and quotes never shared from the bizarre breakup of one of the NFL's most successful dynasties.
As he points out in the introduction, this is not an anti-drinking book. Cowlishaw loved alcohol for 35 years. If anything, this is a how-not-to book more than a how-to book. Along the way, Cowlishaw takes readers inside some of the biggest stories in sports. He joined ESPN in 2002 as a regular on Around the Horn and discusses life behind the scenes at the Worldwide Leader candidly and at length. Cowlishaw writes and talks and, at times, drinks his way into the sports world's fast lane - what else would you call getting hammered on vodka with Denny Hamlin at the Daytona 500 - before realizing the only way to continue was to call a halt to the partying.
The story of his rise and fall is more insightful and humorous than it is preachy as Cowlishaw examines some of the flawed decisions he made throughout his lifetime in sports. DRUNK ON SPORTS is a cautionary yet entertaining tale of never before told stories featuring some of the most recognizable personalities in sports, and if it causes some readers to reexamine their own lives, then it will have gone above and beyond its intended purpose.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 18, 2013
13 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Tim Cowlishaw
5 books5 followersTim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News’ lead sports columnist since July 1988. He has been a regular panelist on the ESPN sports talk show Around the Horn since its debut in November 2002, and has also worked with ESPN as lead reporter for the network’s NASCAR Now coverage from 2007-08.
Prior to The Dallas Morning News and Around the Horn, Tim covered the Dallas Cowboys for six seasons and the Dallas Stars for three. He also covered the Rangers as backup beat writer, the Oklahoma Sooners’ football, and was the San Jose Mercury News’ beat writer on the San Francisco Giants.
Tim attended the University of Texas at Austin, and has two children, Rachel and Ben.
Prior to The Dallas Morning News and Around the Horn, Tim covered the Dallas Cowboys for six seasons and the Dallas Stars for three. He also covered the Rangers as backup beat writer, the Oklahoma Sooners’ football, and was the San Jose Mercury News’ beat writer on the San Francisco Giants.
Tim attended the University of Texas at Austin, and has two children, Rachel and Ben.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 25, 2015
Addendum from June 23, 2015: Just got an apology from the author of the book via Goodreads. Unnecessary but nice move.
OK, here's my Tim Cowlishaw story.
Recently, he did a cool piece on 50 Great Sports Books in the Dallas Morning News. I had to write him and thank him as well as send him a couple of links -- one to a great Roger Angell piece on aging (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...) because he ranked an Angell book No. 1 on his list and one link mentioning one of my favorite (and now semi-obscure) baseball novels -- The Southpaw by Mark Harris, just because I thought he'd like both after seeing his list.
I didn't know at the time that he is also some bigshot ESPN dude or some such foolishness (He's on Around the Horn, apparently, whatever that is -- no, I'm kidding, now I know it's some show where sportswriters yell at each other, but I still haven't seen it) or that, according to a blogger reporting on his DUI arrest, he is capable of "getting seriously hot tail in Dallas." (Yes, he included that quotation in his book. Nice.)
So, apparently I wrote to a sportswriter about books and didn't realize that he is apparently the kind of sportswriter who probably has groupies. (And I haven't been mistaken for a groupie since 1992 or so -- at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Louisville, where some misguided MLB employee tried to kick me out of the press room, as I was apparently too young and female to be there legitimately.) But, anyway, Cowlishaw is clearly more of a hotshot than I knew.
Needless to say, he big-leagued me. I heard nothing. Not even a thank you.
Now, mentioning this sounds as if I'm being petty -- yes, he's a big shot and you're just a mom in the suburbs (hence my obvious lack of ESPN-watching time in recent years). Except for the fact that I email writers all the time, including, apparently, some of the other writers on his show. Little thank yous for pieces I like, maybe a link. I also worked for newspapers myself and edited a magazine for years where I got frequent fan letters and complaints. It really doesn't take a lot to just write "thank you!" or "glad you liked it!" back. The list of writers (or their "people") who write me back, invariably something short and sweet (because I also make it clear I'm not looking for pen pals by writing short and sweet myself) is extensive and full of people who are far, far more famous.
But, despite the fact that I sought this book out because of my curiosity after being irritated at Cowlishaw's lack of basic how-to-be-a-journalist-in-2015 manners, I enjoyed it. He can flat-out write.
Plus, after spending the first two-thirds of my life around pro sports and then newspapers, this memoir felt comfortable to me. The little asides about both the sports world and newspaper journalism rang true.
Cowlishaw tells what happens, entertainingly and simply and without a lot of hand-wringing -- which is a style that some people like and some people find annoying, particularly considering the subject matter: his years drinking and the problems that it caused him and his decision to stop. I like the style, but I can see how some people could be irritated by it.
This is not a traditional recovery book because he didn't do a traditional recovery. You can feel his contempt for 12-Steppers, and, although he talks about how his family was negatively affected by his drinking, he does so briefly and in an understated way. He talks about what happened and what he did. And then that he stopped. He doesn't come across as particularly apologetic, though he is clearly regretful, at least a bit. Or, maybe regretful he got caught, both by the law and by his drinking catching up with his body.
This book is an entertaining sports/drinking memoir, and Cowlishaw has a charming writing style. It's not really a recovery memoir, and I share some of the other Goodreads reviewers' concerns about how likely the poor guy is to stay on the wagon. I hope he does, of course, for his sake and for those who love him. He comes across as finding traditional recovery to be beneath him, though, and that's concerning. I don't think people have to do a traditional Alcoholics Anonymous recovery in order to successfully stop drinking, but AA does have a pretty good track record. Considering Cowslishaw had a serious health reason for stopping, he very well might be successful with his non-AA teetotaling, though.
I hope he is.
OK, here's my Tim Cowlishaw story.
Recently, he did a cool piece on 50 Great Sports Books in the Dallas Morning News. I had to write him and thank him as well as send him a couple of links -- one to a great Roger Angell piece on aging (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...) because he ranked an Angell book No. 1 on his list and one link mentioning one of my favorite (and now semi-obscure) baseball novels -- The Southpaw by Mark Harris, just because I thought he'd like both after seeing his list.
I didn't know at the time that he is also some bigshot ESPN dude or some such foolishness (He's on Around the Horn, apparently, whatever that is -- no, I'm kidding, now I know it's some show where sportswriters yell at each other, but I still haven't seen it) or that, according to a blogger reporting on his DUI arrest, he is capable of "getting seriously hot tail in Dallas." (Yes, he included that quotation in his book. Nice.)
So, apparently I wrote to a sportswriter about books and didn't realize that he is apparently the kind of sportswriter who probably has groupies. (And I haven't been mistaken for a groupie since 1992 or so -- at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Louisville, where some misguided MLB employee tried to kick me out of the press room, as I was apparently too young and female to be there legitimately.) But, anyway, Cowlishaw is clearly more of a hotshot than I knew.
Needless to say, he big-leagued me. I heard nothing. Not even a thank you.
Now, mentioning this sounds as if I'm being petty -- yes, he's a big shot and you're just a mom in the suburbs (hence my obvious lack of ESPN-watching time in recent years). Except for the fact that I email writers all the time, including, apparently, some of the other writers on his show. Little thank yous for pieces I like, maybe a link. I also worked for newspapers myself and edited a magazine for years where I got frequent fan letters and complaints. It really doesn't take a lot to just write "thank you!" or "glad you liked it!" back. The list of writers (or their "people") who write me back, invariably something short and sweet (because I also make it clear I'm not looking for pen pals by writing short and sweet myself) is extensive and full of people who are far, far more famous.
But, despite the fact that I sought this book out because of my curiosity after being irritated at Cowlishaw's lack of basic how-to-be-a-journalist-in-2015 manners, I enjoyed it. He can flat-out write.
Plus, after spending the first two-thirds of my life around pro sports and then newspapers, this memoir felt comfortable to me. The little asides about both the sports world and newspaper journalism rang true.
Cowlishaw tells what happens, entertainingly and simply and without a lot of hand-wringing -- which is a style that some people like and some people find annoying, particularly considering the subject matter: his years drinking and the problems that it caused him and his decision to stop. I like the style, but I can see how some people could be irritated by it.
This is not a traditional recovery book because he didn't do a traditional recovery. You can feel his contempt for 12-Steppers, and, although he talks about how his family was negatively affected by his drinking, he does so briefly and in an understated way. He talks about what happened and what he did. And then that he stopped. He doesn't come across as particularly apologetic, though he is clearly regretful, at least a bit. Or, maybe regretful he got caught, both by the law and by his drinking catching up with his body.
This book is an entertaining sports/drinking memoir, and Cowlishaw has a charming writing style. It's not really a recovery memoir, and I share some of the other Goodreads reviewers' concerns about how likely the poor guy is to stay on the wagon. I hope he does, of course, for his sake and for those who love him. He comes across as finding traditional recovery to be beneath him, though, and that's concerning. I don't think people have to do a traditional Alcoholics Anonymous recovery in order to successfully stop drinking, but AA does have a pretty good track record. Considering Cowslishaw had a serious health reason for stopping, he very well might be successful with his non-AA teetotaling, though.
I hope he is.
August 16, 2013
I wanted to feel better about this book than I really do. Cowlishaw seemed to present as reasonable on Around the Horn, and it was my affinity for the show which drew me to the book. As a social worker, I know not every alcoholic benefit from AA. I have seen every addict I’ve worked with struggle severely until they hit “rock bottom.” They speak of their drug of choice like a sought-after luxury; their methods and stories to do whatever they had to in order to get high like an epic. Throughout all the pain it caused them and their loved ones, they spoke of those things with such energy and positivity. Cowlishaw’s book made me think of these people as I read along. He doesn’t apologize about his actions, and rarely touches on the people he’s most affected. I applaud him for his efforts on staying sober his way, but my professional experience does not have high hopes for him.
September 15, 2013
I read this book because I have an unabashed crush on Tim Cowlishaw that makes my kids roll their eyes. I saw the book promoted on Around the Horn and ordered it as soon as it came out in book form. The unapologetic, yet humble, musings of a man whose truly privileged life has, sadly, been given over to alcohol are both interesting and startling to read. How little we know of the private lives of people who come into our homes everyday through the magic of TV. I never would have guessed. I am happy for Tim that he continues successfully in his ongoing struggle with recovery and wish him all the best, but I am happiest for his children. Here's to your new-found "boring" life, Tim. Long may it remain boring.
September 24, 2014
So boring. I thought it would be this great tale of a man who hit bottom and his journey in recovery. Instead is was a seres of name dropping episodes and his tale about really nothing. I hope he's still sober, but not much represented in his attitude during this book tells me he's got the humility it requires.
March 5, 2021
It's a funny, thoughtful book by the low-key guy from "Around the Horn" about the intersection of sports journalism and alcohol. If that doesn't capture your interest, it might not be the book for you.
July 11, 2013
I have not watched very many episodes of ESPN’s Around The Horn, where sports columnists from around the nation banter and debate the day’s hot topics in sports and sometimes pop culture. I can say, however, that of the shows I have watched, Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw (@TimCowlishaw) has generally been the guy I most enjoyed hearing from.
First and foremost, unlike too many of his castmates, Cowlishaw never yelled or said or did silly things to draw attention to himself. Knowledgeable and respectful of sports history, he also always seemed to have an apt movie quote or song lyric at his fingertips to make a point. His taste in TV shows — The Wire, Justified, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Archer — runs eerily parallel to mine.
Sealing the deal is his interest in hockey and NASCAR, and his polite but futile attempts to inject those sports into the conversation on an ESPN show (we all know the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” cares little for the NHL and only slightly less about NASCAR).
Bottom line: Tim Cowlishaw always seemed to me to be the kind of guy you’d like to sit down and have a beer with, maybe while catching a game or enjoying a dinner. He’d have great stories to tell about his years covering the Dallas Cowboys and Stars, or the San Francisco Giants, and could quote lines from your favorite movies or TV shows.
After reading Cowlishaw’s Drunk On Sports, only one thing about my assessment has changed: I’d still love to sit down with him, to chat about sports or Raylan Givens or maybe Omar Little, but I know we wouldn’t be drinking beer or vodka and cranberry juice. Because as Cowlishaw details in this candid and highly readable memoir, his thirty-five year affair with alcohol ended in 2009 after a tumultuous couple of years that included a DUI and two trips to the hospital emergency room, the first with a blood alcohol level of .266.
Eschewing rehab or AA sessions — although he is quick to point out how important those paths have been for so many — Cowlishaw quit drinking by simply stopping when he finally realized how important it was to his family and his health that he do so. This highlights what to me has always been a terribly important fact: people will not stop addictive behavior until they are ready to.
That’s not to say making that decision is the same as waving a magic wand —*presto* — and the desire to drink is gone. That desire never leaves but no one can tell an addict to stop and have it mean anything (which is why courts ordering Hollywood types like Lindsay Lohan to rehab is such a waste of time). Only the addict can decide when to stop; once the decision has been made others can help but staying sober belongs solely to the addict.
Make no mistake, this is not a doom-and-gloom tale filled with horror stories of blackouts and embarrassing social situations. Like many, Cowlishaw was adept at hiding his drinking in plain sight and his book is filled with self-deprecating humor, such as this thought in the weeks after he decided to quit:
The title Drunk on Sports is apt because as a kid, before he started drinking, Cowlishaw was in love with sports. Later in life, as his consumption of alcohol increased he became a highly functioning drunk who happened to cover sports, but now that his drinking days are hopefully ended he’s back to where he started: now a grown-up kid besotted with sports.
There are some very interesting behind the scenes sports anecdotes involving Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former head coach Jimmy Johnson, as well as a whale of a dinner with the management of the Texas Rangers. One story I found particularly humorous was how, as the financial collapse of newspapers began to be felt at the Dallas Morning News in the form of employee buyouts, Cowlishaw lobbied unsuccessfully to be let go when his editors and publisher decided he was too valuable to lose.
I believe there are more people like Cowlishaw out there, hiding in plain sight, than there are stereotypical falling-down-the-stairs drunks of TV and movies. Given his visibility on TV and in print, Cowlishaw has used this book to highlight some truths about his life and behavior, and in the process perhaps suggest to others that they do the same for their own situations. He does it gently, candidly, with some humor and above all without an agenda. There is some family history and juicy sports gossip thrown in as well, because when that stuff was happening he was there with glass in hand. That was Tim Cowlishaw’s life.
But it isn’t anymore, hopefully from now on. And good for him.
First and foremost, unlike too many of his castmates, Cowlishaw never yelled or said or did silly things to draw attention to himself. Knowledgeable and respectful of sports history, he also always seemed to have an apt movie quote or song lyric at his fingertips to make a point. His taste in TV shows — The Wire, Justified, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Archer — runs eerily parallel to mine.
Sealing the deal is his interest in hockey and NASCAR, and his polite but futile attempts to inject those sports into the conversation on an ESPN show (we all know the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” cares little for the NHL and only slightly less about NASCAR).
Bottom line: Tim Cowlishaw always seemed to me to be the kind of guy you’d like to sit down and have a beer with, maybe while catching a game or enjoying a dinner. He’d have great stories to tell about his years covering the Dallas Cowboys and Stars, or the San Francisco Giants, and could quote lines from your favorite movies or TV shows.
After reading Cowlishaw’s Drunk On Sports, only one thing about my assessment has changed: I’d still love to sit down with him, to chat about sports or Raylan Givens or maybe Omar Little, but I know we wouldn’t be drinking beer or vodka and cranberry juice. Because as Cowlishaw details in this candid and highly readable memoir, his thirty-five year affair with alcohol ended in 2009 after a tumultuous couple of years that included a DUI and two trips to the hospital emergency room, the first with a blood alcohol level of .266.
Eschewing rehab or AA sessions — although he is quick to point out how important those paths have been for so many — Cowlishaw quit drinking by simply stopping when he finally realized how important it was to his family and his health that he do so. This highlights what to me has always been a terribly important fact: people will not stop addictive behavior until they are ready to.
That’s not to say making that decision is the same as waving a magic wand —*presto* — and the desire to drink is gone. That desire never leaves but no one can tell an addict to stop and have it mean anything (which is why courts ordering Hollywood types like Lindsay Lohan to rehab is such a waste of time). Only the addict can decide when to stop; once the decision has been made others can help but staying sober belongs solely to the addict.
Make no mistake, this is not a doom-and-gloom tale filled with horror stories of blackouts and embarrassing social situations. Like many, Cowlishaw was adept at hiding his drinking in plain sight and his book is filled with self-deprecating humor, such as this thought in the weeks after he decided to quit:
I even wondered if they were starting to miss me at the three liquor stores that I used on a rotating basis. Doesn’t every drunk have a three-store rotation? I used two just off I-35 and one in the Uptown area closer to where I lived so that I didn’t need to buy a fifth of vodka from any of them more than once every two weeks.
Clever, huh?”
— Cowlishaw, Tim (2013-03-17). Drunk on Sports (Kindle Locations 2552-2555). Vigliano Books. Kindle Edition.
The title Drunk on Sports is apt because as a kid, before he started drinking, Cowlishaw was in love with sports. Later in life, as his consumption of alcohol increased he became a highly functioning drunk who happened to cover sports, but now that his drinking days are hopefully ended he’s back to where he started: now a grown-up kid besotted with sports.
There are some very interesting behind the scenes sports anecdotes involving Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former head coach Jimmy Johnson, as well as a whale of a dinner with the management of the Texas Rangers. One story I found particularly humorous was how, as the financial collapse of newspapers began to be felt at the Dallas Morning News in the form of employee buyouts, Cowlishaw lobbied unsuccessfully to be let go when his editors and publisher decided he was too valuable to lose.
I believe there are more people like Cowlishaw out there, hiding in plain sight, than there are stereotypical falling-down-the-stairs drunks of TV and movies. Given his visibility on TV and in print, Cowlishaw has used this book to highlight some truths about his life and behavior, and in the process perhaps suggest to others that they do the same for their own situations. He does it gently, candidly, with some humor and above all without an agenda. There is some family history and juicy sports gossip thrown in as well, because when that stuff was happening he was there with glass in hand. That was Tim Cowlishaw’s life.
But it isn’t anymore, hopefully from now on. And good for him.
July 1, 2018
Fun read about Tim Cowlishaw's adventure to the top of DFW sports reporting, the late boozy nights it took to get there, and how he eventually chose a different path.
March 3, 2023
Awesome Read. Tim took us through The Pain it takes to Succeed.
Great behind the Scenes look into Sports at the Highest Level.
Great behind the Scenes look into Sports at the Highest Level.
March 8, 2014
I first got to know Tim Cowlishaw through his appearances on ESPN's daily sports talk show "Around the Horn". On the show Tim is one of the more reserved panelists who will argue and disagree with opinions given by other panelists. In the midst of Bob Ryan's crankiness, Woody Paige's Tomfoolery or Bill Plaschke's chomping at the bit to get the next word in, Tim's mostly calm and straightforward demeanor sets him apart. Imagine my surprise to know Tim has had what he calls in the book a "30 year drinking career". This is the story of a sportswriter and how his relationship with alcohol started innocently (as many relationships with the sauce do) enough as a boy but became a part of his professional and personal life as an adult. Tim makes it clear that the book is not trying to preach the virtues of abstaining from alcohol nor is the book a love letter to drinking. The book begins with a police report and a frightening story of being under the influence. In the book there are stories from Tim's early years growing up in New Jersey, losing a mother at a young age, working at Dallas' North Park Mall in high school (you may be surprised to find how who his co-workers were!) his competitive relationship with his brother Pat, and of course stories of Tim's career as Sports columnist at The Dallas Morning News and with ESPN. Aside from Tim, his father Willis also plays an important part of this story as his own problems with alcohol become a major turning point. My favorite chapter involves the power struggle between Jimmy Johnson then head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and it's eccentric owner Jerry Jones and how Tim and a few drinks were involved. The book also features a foreword from NBA legend Charles Barkley. I am not a drinker nor have I ever been but I found this to be an honest and insightful look at how journalism and alcohol manage to work well together while at the same time are a antagonistic mix.
November 26, 2016
A great read from Dallas Morning News sports columnist, Tim Cowlishaw. This is candid memoir about his 35-year affair with alcohol ended in 2009 after a tumultuous couple of years that included a DUI and two trips to the hospital emergency room. A must-read for addicts who believe they don't possess the ability to get and stay sober.
May 30, 2013
Cowlishaw uses the timeline of sporting events in his lifetime to take the reader on a journey through his struggles with alcohol and his never ending journey to maintain sobriety. A nice read if you are a fan of this Around The Horn panelist.
August 24, 2013
I enjoyed this but it got a little unfocused here and there. Tim seems like a fun hang even while sober, though.
May 4, 2014
A worthy pursuit if I have ever known one. Love the perspective. I'll be sure to root extra hard for Cowlishaw and his Dallas Stars face times on Around the Horn.
March 23, 2017
A well written and interesting account of Tim's life and his battles with Alcohol. I really enjoyed it.
May 22, 2015
A little repetitive, but otherwise a good read from Cowlishaw.
June 19, 2015
If you enjoy Cowlishaw on ATH, you'll probably enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews