In the interest of full disclosure, when Bill Simmons’ 700-page The Book of Basketball landed on my front stoop, I decided then and there that I’d read the first few chapters and then post about it. After all, Christmas is coming up and people are probably wondering if this opus is a worthwhile gift for the beloved basketball fan in their life. (It is.)

Anyone familiar with Simmons’ work on ESPN knows that he’s an engaging writer who uses an easy-to-read, conversational style littered with funny pop culture references. His book is no different. As a former collegiate player, I often take exception to his knowledge of the game. I’m not talking about history — if there’s one thing that’s clear about this book, it’s that Simmons understands how the NBA got from Point A to Point Z.

I’m talking about things like his propensity to gripe about a player’s willingness to shoot three-pointers instead of attacking the rim. While his instincts are right that it’s better to penetrate, if the player in question suddenly starts to pass up every open three and attack the lane, defenders will adjust and play off of him, ultimately taking away (or better defending) his penetration. The player needs the threat of the three to keep defenders honest, even if he only makes 30% of his shots from downtown.

Here’s another example from page 121 of Chapter 3 — entitled “How the Hell Did We Get Here? — Simmons’ thorough history of how the NBA became what it is today. Here he discusses how Julius Erving was a terrible television analyst.

Julius Erving (’97). Hands down, the worst studio analyst of all time. And that’s a strong statement. Only two years before, Joe Montana appeared on NBC’s NFL show and may have been dead for all we knew. I remember waiting for Jonathan SIlverman and ANdrew McCarthy to jump in right before every commercial ad wheel Montana’s corpse out of the TV frame. Still, it wasn’t surprising that Montana stank–we didn’t like him for his personality, just for banging hot blondes and winning Super Bowls. It’s not like our expectations were high. But Doc was one of the few NBA stars to successfully strike that delicate balance between “articulate spokesman and ambassador” and “slick dude who lives for dunking on heads.” It was incomprehensible that Doc would suck on TV. Seeing him stammer awkwardly on the air, say nonsensical things like “Great players make great plays” and perform the deer-in-the-headlights routine was a little disarming. Every time the camera homed in on him, you could actually feel the tension in the studio. It was tangible. Before one Houston-Utah playoff game, Doc made history by predicting, “I think the key for Houston will be when Hakeem gets the ball , how fast he decides to either shoot, dribble or pass.” That’s an actual quote. I remember my old roommate Geoff and I spending the next fifteen minutes trying to determine what other options Hakeem could possibly have had on a basketball court, ultimately deciding on these: (a) turn the ball over, (b) call time out, (c) pass out, (d) shit on himself, or (e) drop dead. It was an unforgettable moment, as evidenced by the fact that I can remember where we were watching the game when it happened. Poor Dr. J. Some people just aren’t meant to be on television.

That excerpt pretty much sums up Simmons’ writing. There’s a reference to another sport (via Joe Montana) followed up by a humorous reference to “Weekend at Bernie’s.” There’s also an anecdotal, first-person account of a funny/strange event (Dr. J’s analysis) coupled with a first-name reference to one of his friends (Geoff).

Only his criticism of Erving’s analysis isn’t valid. Dr. J was talking about how quickly Hakeem decided to make a move; he wasn’t implying that there was more to do on the court than pass, dribble or shoot. As one of the greatest post players of his day, Olajuwon was constantly double-teamed. He had to either (a) make a quick post move and try to score before the other defender arrived, or (b) wait for the double team and pass the ball out, hoping to create an open shot for one of his teammates. Whatever route Hakeem chose would have a huge impact on any game in which he played. I’m not arguing that Erving was a good television analyst. Hell, I don’t even remember him in the studio. But in this case he was making a valid basketball point and 25 years later, Simmons still doesn’t get it.

Qualms aside, The Book of Basketball is an easy read. Simmons begins in the prologue with the story about how he first became a Celtics fan, discusses “The Secret” (unselfish play) in the first chapter, devotes the next chapter to what he describes as the unnecessary explanation of why Bill Russell was better than Wilt Chamberlain, tackles the “How the Hell Did We Get Here?” question in the third, ponders the 33 biggest “What-Ifs” in the fourth and ponders the legitimacy of all the MVP winners in the fifth. The next several chapters are dedicated to his “Hall of Fame Pyramid,” where he ranks the best players of all time. To close the book, he writes a chapter about the 20 best single-season teams in history, and creates an all-time team of 12 players who all know “The Secret” and would complement each other perfectly.

The Book of Basketball is a good buy for fans of his work on ESPN or NBA nuts who want a humorous (but informative) take on the league’s history.

Last night, “The League” debuted. It’s a half-hour comedy that follows a group of friends that are all in a fantasy football league together. One guy is the defending league champ, and his wife doesn’t want him to play, even going so far as giving away his lucky draft shirt. Another’s wife is supportive, and actually runs his team for him. Then there are the two clueless friends that are either too high or too ill-informed to compete in the league.

But fantasy football doesn’t dominate “The League,” which is more like “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” for the married, suburban set. It’s raunchy, but often funny.

FX is replaying the premiere tomorrow (Saturday) night and before the second episode next Thursday.

There are fascinating elements of the James story that have not been told. He was an amateur high-school player worth millions, and for years he was on rails to be an NBA superstar. What was the role of William Wesley (whom James called, in a GQ article, a “great role model”?) How did James navigate that forest of those who congregated to influence him, give him things and skirt the rules? Can he tell us more about the fascinating character of his mother? Did he know Sonny Vaccaro, Phil Knight or any of the various other stars in the constellation of youth basketball? What kinds of overtures did he get from colleges? Did anyone ever offer to help him cheat on his SATs? How did agents, financial advisers and the like approach him? How did he build the most important financial relationship of his life, with Nike? How did he choose his first agent, Aaron Goodwin? How is it LeBron’s close friend Maverick Carter got a job at Nike while James was in school?

But James and Bissinger essentially passed. If you’re looking for a dose of reality, look elsewhere.

Instead we get some touching but shallow insight into how much he likes his friends. Some pretty basic denials of wrongdoing in the little controversies that were in the paper (the expensive Humvee he drove with no visible means of support, the retro jerseys he accepted as a gift) and a little story about getting in trouble for once smoking marijuana.

It’s safe to the point of glossy. Barack Obama, running for the highest office in the land, took more chances.

It shouldn’t be all that surprising that James took the safe way out. His persona is generally calculated and anytime he does speak off the cuff (not shaking hands after the Magic series, rooting for the Yankees, being loyal to Akron, etc.), he usually gets in trouble. Maybe we’ll get the real story in 10 or 20 years after he hangs ‘em up.

In addition to the aforementioned topics, the documentary covers the ’05 comebacks by Louisville and Illinois to make the Final Four, Michael Jordan’s clutch shot in the ’82 finals, Keith Smart’s game-winner in the ’87 finals, Dwyane Wade’s triple-double as well as Jim Valvano’s N.C. State team that took down Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma. The film also highlights Shaquille O’Neal’s single-game record for blocks, Bo Kimble’s touching tribute to Hank Gathers and Bill Walton’s astonishing 21 for 22 performance in 1973.

Special features include highlights of three championship games: ’79 (Michigan State/Indiana State), ’82 (North Carolina/Georgetown) and ’83 (N.C. State/Houston). There is also an in-depth, uncut interview with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

All in all, this is a nice one-disc package that covers just about every buzzer beater and Cinderella story in the last four decades of the NCAA tournament.

This documentary follows the evolution of racing through archival footage of NASCAR’s first 60 years in business and also documents the technological transformation that has occurred in the sport. Long-time fans will have the opportunity to reminisce once again about the days when racing cars had the same look and feel of the automobiles that were sold at their local dealerships. It was a time when drivers repaired their own vehicles without the assistance of a pit crew.

NASCAR is a way of life for some of the drivers as racing has been a part of their families’ lives for generations. This DVD gives an in-depth look at the history of the Petty, Allison, and Earnhardt families and delves deep into each family’s personal tragedies that have taken place throughout the years. You will also hear an emotional account of the life of Wendell Scott, the first African-American NASCAR driver and the gut-wrenching story of Tim Richmond who died from complications of the AIDS virus in 1987.

And no racing documentary would be complete without a video montage of spectacular car crashes. My favorite was a still picture collage of an on-track fistfight between the Allison brothers and Cale Yarbrough. It serves as a great example of how tempers can flare up when drivers are jockeying for position at high speeds with a large amount of money at stake.

Racing fans throughout the country are gearing up to converge on Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend to attend NASCAR’s equivalent to the Super Bowl — The Daytona 500 — so the DVD’s release is timely. And the interview with former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr., where he recollects the early days drivers racing on the local Daytona beaches (prior to the speedway being built), will get fans primed for the big race.

From the back cover…

March 3, 1984
Chapel Hill, NC
North Carolina 96 Duke 83 (2 OT)
The final home game for North Carolina’s Matt Doherty, Michael Jordan, and Sam Perkins, was a memorable one. #1 North Carolina looked to be finished down two with just second to go in regulation when Matt Doherty took the inbounds pass the length of the court and hit a 15-footer to force overtime. Michael Jordan opened the second overtime with an alley-oop dunk and Duke’s Johnny Dawkins came back to cut the North Carolina lead to 82-81 with a short jumper but Duke would get only one more basket as Jordan and Perkins carried the Tar Heels to the victory.

February 2, 1995
Durham, NC
North Carolina 102 Duke 100 (2OT)
Duke seemed out-manned on their home court from the opening tip, falling behind 26-9 in the first half, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Carolina’s Rasheed Wallace and a reverse jam by Jerry Stackhouse over two Blue Devils. However, Duke rallied in the second half and led by as much as 12, before North Carolina staged a rally of its own. The two squads exchanged leads four times at the end of regulation before heading into overtime. With three seconds left in the first overtime Duke’s Jeff Capel hit a running, 37-foot heave that tied the game at the buzzer. With the game still tied late in the second overtime, Jeff McInnis stole the inbounds pass for an easy layup, putting North Carolina up 102-98. Duke answered with a basket of their own and had a chance to force a third overtime or win the game but fell short on Steve Wojciechowski’s missed jumper.

From the back cover…

February 3, 2000
Chapel Hill, NC
Duke 90 ∙ North Carolina 86 (OT)
The Tar Heels, unranked coming into the game for the first time since 1990, struggled in the first half. Shane Battier scored 14 first-half points for #3 Duke who jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead. Duke pushed the lead to 19 early in the second half before North Carolina turned the game around scoring on 19 of its final 22 possessions, including a Joseph Forte three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Blue Devils scored on their first six possessions in overtime and got seven points from Carlos Boozer in the extra frame to hold on for the victory.

February 9, 2005
Durham, NC
Duke 71 ∙ North Carolina 70
In arguably the most anticipated game in the rivalry since 1998, #2 ranked UNC came up Highway 15-501 to visit the #8 ranked Blue Devils for a heavily hyped, prime time broadcast. By keeping the game almost entirely in the halfcourt, the Blue Devils and their vaunted defense simply were too much for North Carolina. J.J. Redick scored 18 points and freshman DeMarcus Nelson added 16 for Duke who forced UNC into 23 turnovers to seal the victory.