Got Your Answers: The 100 Greatest Sports Arguments Settled

by Mike Greenberg, Paul Hembekides

Sports fandom can bring us together like almost nothing else in today’s world. Still, that doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. In fact, nothing is better than a healthy debate about any and every element of sports with friends, family, coworkers, nemeses, or even strangers at your favorite hangout.

Armed with a wealth of knowledge and fandom experience, Greeny and Hembo tackle the 100 most-debated questions in the sports-talk world and provide 100 lists that will tell you who is the best of the best in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, and more. What is the most coveted trophy in all of sports? Who is the most clutch in Game 7? Which ballpark has the most bizarre concessions? And why is Rocky without a doubt the best sports movie of all time?

Greeny and Hembo have got your answers. They’re correct across the board, of course, but pick up the book and let never-ending argumentation commence.

Also don’t miss the 100 Sneaky Hembo trivia questions designed to confound and delight!

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Jason Rosenstock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, LIGHT read. Exactly the kind of thing that a sports talk show host would come up with. Entertaining lists about various sports-related categories--bests, most controversial or noteworthy. Top answers explained/discussed. I would've liked more context for some of it, but really it's just designed to stimulate thought. Trivia questions were fun too.

[Nick Orman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not exact a "book" book but I really enjoyed reading it. I think it thrives in the "just pick it up and read a few pages" zone and not necessarily a "read all the way through it in one-go" zone.

[Mark Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good and quick read from Greeny and Hembo. Greeny’s dramatic takes coupled with Hembo’s black and white stats makes for great sports coverage and this book delivers just like their first one. Looking forward to reading the next one soon!

[Marcus Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. If you are a sports enthusiast, this is a must read. What I like about this book is that you will have different opinions. For example, what are the top 10 most indelible baseball statistics. What are the top 1 most iconic venues in sports.
Well done by Mike Greenberg and Hembo. I enjoyed Got your Number, but Got your Answers was much better.

[Mr. Book · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just “finished” The 100 Greatest Sports Arguments Settled, by Mike Greenberg & Paul Hembekides.

I am very disappointed in this review copy. It’s only a partial version of the book, with only nine of the 100 arguments included. I have reviewed more than 50 books since joining NetGally in the middle of May and I’ve never seen one so incomplete. It’s understandable when a review copy doesn’t have items such as a foreword or acknowledgments, but I’m never had one that only contained a fraction of the book’s actual contents.

But, I was not at all impressed with what I saw in this book. The writeups were as superficial as they come. While I barely saw much of the book, from what I did see, I wasn’t missing anything by not having the remaining 91% of the content.

I give this book an F. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an F equates to 1 star. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

i originally finished reading this on July 25, 2024.

[Jason Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own, a list of which athlete owns each number 1-100. I did not enjoy this book as much.

This is 100 sport debates, normally a list of 10, such as 10 best Superbowl QB performances. This book covers MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAA sports, NHL, boxing and more.

The questions though, are formed in a way that take out the argument. The questions aren't broad like, who is the greatest running back ever. I don't think there is room for much argument. Maybe a little discussion about the order of the list or a "what about this player or team? They should make the top 10" but there isn't much that is provocative or shocking in the book. Many of the questions weren't exciting.

I did enjoy the trivia questions for each discussion. Those were enjoyable. I also enjoyed being reminded of players or plays, or games and even looking up moments or athletes on YouTube that I wasn't familiar with.

It's an enjoyable book for sports fans, but it's not "as advertised"

[William Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed “Got Your Number” by the same authors, but this one isn’t nearly as enjoyable. The questions posed are interesting and the top-10 answers to said questions are generally good, but they could’ve gone more in depth with each set of answers. They generally focus on the top 1 or 2 and why they believe they are the top answers, but they generally don’t give any more information or thought to #’s 3-10 on the lists. It’s a really quick read, but they could’ve gone way more in depth with each of their answers and made this something more than bathroom reading material.

[Mark Youngkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an unabashed fan of Mike Greenberg. I've even read his novels - the only two fiction books I have read in at least 20 years. He is never less than witty and intelligent in print, as he is on television.
This book, written with ESPN researcher Paul Hembikides, isn't literature. But it's good at what it does, which is to summarize interesting questions surrounding the world of sports and present a reasoned view on them. It's probably meant to be consumed in short bursts. Lots of fun. Recommended for sports fans and other enthusiasts of intelligent banter.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting follow-up to Got Your Number where Greeny and Hembo make the case for which athlete "owns" each jersey number.

This book was harder to get into simply because my sport of choice is the NBA (with a little crossover into the NCAA). Many of these topics for debate were outside of my wheelhouse, so I didn't feel like I was learning anything new. I perked up when the discussion was about basketball, but my eyes glazed over when they talked about hockey or golf. I did appreciate the trivia questions posed for each topic; it was fun to try and guess the correct answer.

If you are a fan of Mike Greenberg, you can definitely pick this one up.

[Bob Engeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK but expected a bit more. Some of the 'arguments' I would not categorize of top 100 and others deserved more discussion. Instead of top 10 answers for each argument and a 1 or 2 paragraph follow-up, many of the chapters deserve a more thorough explanation of the top ten.
In many cases, I was not familiar with some of the lower rated answers and found myself Googling them to learn what or who they referenced.

[Corban Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, one that was definitely meant more to inspire conversation than provide stimulating reading material. I did enjoy the author's various sports arguments, many of whom I was ashamed to admit that I hadn't considered before, but there wasn't a ton of in the way of explanation as to why he picked who he did, and I was hopeful that there would be. All in all, a solid book to poke through and talk with others.

[Brett Gombita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read! This book shared many statistics and numbers that I had not heard of as an avid sports fan.
Greeny's takes were agreeable and Hembo's trivia was interacting and cool to play along with.

One slight critique: most of the entries only included an explanation for the thing slotted in the #1 spot, whereas I thought it would have been interesting to hear the reasonings behind the other things on those lists as well.

[Mark Shrum · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

It's a book I'd probably have rated higher in the past. Though it lacks the arguing side. I guess that's supposed to be the reader, but I'd almost rather use it as topics for a discussion over dinner with friends.

That being said, I consumed a lot of sports and this is just an invitation to unlock memories, so I can't say I didn't enjoy it

[Dave Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a 4.5.

Like Greenberg/Hembo's previous book (Got Your Number) this is a super-easy read and really light.

If you like sports and sports debate it is really a lot of fun.

One complaint... how is Sam Huff not in the top 10 toughest defenders in NFL history? C'mon!

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Info Please!!!

The content was okay, but I do wish the book was more informative and went more in-depth to why the rankings were the way they were. I just found myself reading each lists and skipping over the rest.

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amusing book that offers one commentator’s view on sports and his own personal top-10 lists on certain sports-related topics. That he has ESPN ties doesn’t hurt. Can spark some fun debate. Ultimately, one man’s opinion. Worth a library checkout, but not much beyond that.

[Garret Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was fun on my own, but then when I spent an entire evening reading it with my dad and then again with my uncles, I decided it was well worth every penny! Now I bought a copy for my dad as well! So fun to talk about, debate, guess, and enjoy!!

[Eugene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read.

[Clarence Goodman]

Okay, but not as enjoyable as "Got Your Number."

[Ty G. Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read!

[NS Kathirithamby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disagree with a list or two but makes for great debates

[Brad Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book too light on substance. The arguments were only a couple of paragraphs long. I would have preferred to read more about the what was debated.

[Jonah Popa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but not nearly as good as Got Your Number.

[Brandt Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good and easy read! I was really excited for this book and I believe I had the wrong initial impression of what the book would cover. I thought it was going to be more of an argument settler such as giving us the final say on who is better Lebron or Michael. But still love the book and came away learning a lot about the games that I love. Excited to see what Greeny and Hembo come out with next and will for sure be preordering anything coming out of their camps.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another home run by Greeny and Hembo. Very entertaining book.

[Jacob Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It gets you thinking about sports.

[Truman Griessel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lists and trivia were great, but the commentary was very lackluster, would’ve liked to see more.

[Steve Dutil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun to read. If the write up on each list was five pages longer, I would not have minded.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. I feel like I learned many new things about sports and about great players and teams, as well
as about Greeny & Hembo.

[Jeff Alexy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and easy read. It’s very superficial yet compelling. Easily forgettable.