Episode 33: An Interview with Renowned Sports Writer and All-Around Cool Guy, Jeff Pearlman

 

Show Notes and Links to Jeff Pearlman’s Work

On Episode 33,Pete is honored to speak with sportswriter Jeff Pearlman. Jeff is the New York Times best-selling author of nine books, including 2020s Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaw, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty. He has written for Sports Illustrated as a senior writer, ESPN.com as a columnist and  for Newsday as a staff writer. He contributes to Bleacher Report and CNN.com, and blogs regularly at www.jeffpearlman.com. He hosts the informative podcast "Two Writers Slingin' Yang."

Pete and Jeff talk about a range of subjects from Jeff's early days of reading sports page-turners, chill-inducing texts and inspiring writers, his days at Sports Illustrated, some incredible anecdotes from Jeff's writing days, Bo Jackson, Kobe, Magic, Barry Bonds, Shaq, J.R. Rider and many more standout athletes, Tupac, Donald Trump and the USFL, and much more.

 

Buy Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

Jeff Pearlman’s Amazon Page

Two Writers Slinging Yang

Excerpt from Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL. 

Excerpt from Three-Ring Circus, via ESPN.com

Authors/Books Mentioned and Allusions Referenced During the Episode:

 

Jeff Pearlman talks about his early days of being a bibliophile and an avid reader of the newspaper and how this early reading was an antidote for parochialism-at around 2:30

 

Jeff talks about the importance of Zander Hollander’s annual sport journals and their outsized impact on Jeff’s writing dreams-at around 7:15

 

Jeff talks about writers who have given him “chills at will,” including University of Delaware's Mike Freeman and his “conversational style of writing” and Pat Jordan and his great masterpiece, A False Spring, one of Jeff’s all-time favorites -at around 9:35

 

Pete embarasses himself by mixing up mascots for University of Delawarwe -at around 12:10

 

Jeff talks about the transformative power of The Autobiography of Malcolm X-at around 12:30

 

Jeff talks about the distinction between books that are “good”/”great”/and “important”-at around 13:50 

 

Jeff talks about how his Jets’ fandom began-at around 15:00

 

A nice shout out to Sacramento’s own Ken O’Brien-at around 17:00

 

The discussion moves to Jeff’s impressive nine books, starting with his book about the New York Mets, after Jeff gives some background on his earliest writing jobs, including writing for The Nashville Tennessean-at around 18:10

 

Jeff gives his Sports Illustrated origin story, including his unsuccessful bid at becoming an NBA draftee-at around 20:00

 

Jeff talks about the personal turning point that was the 2001 World Series-at around 22:55

 

Jeff and Pete talk about the importance and gravitas of Sports Illustrated, with Jeff telling a story about how overwhelmed he was at being a part of such a legendary writing staff -at around 24:00

 

Pete and Jeff discuss the singular thrill of the SÍ cover, and Jeff talks about his own work gracing the cover with his story on Ichiro Suzuki-at around 27:10

 

Jeff discusses Donald Trump’s involvement in the USFL, as so skillfully chronicled in Jeff’s book, Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL, excerpted here-at around 28:30

 

Pete and Jeff discuss his Barry Bonds book and Jeff’s impressions of Bonds, Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the making of an Antihero-at around 35:25

 

Pete and Jeff discusses Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s, Jeff’s incredible book on the late 70s and 80s Lakers juggernaut and the behind-the-scenes imbroglios-at around 38:40 and intermittently throughout

 

Jeff talks about the idea of a sports writer as a “fan”-at around 38:45

 

Jeff discusses his detailed research regimen for his writing and the importance of details and description-at around 40:45

 

Jeff talks about the sometimes complementary players who often make for great storylines and character sketches in his books-at around 42:45

 

Pete shouts out his high school crush, Vanessa Marcil, mentioned in passing by Jeff in his most recent book-at around 44:30

 

Jeff discusses his latest book, Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty-an incredible read!-and his interesting and successful choice to start the book with Magic Johnson’s 1996 comeback that may have set the Lakers back a bit in their development-at around 45:30

 

Jeff discusses his Author’s Note regarding Kobe Bryant’s death that begins Three Ring Circus...-at around 46:25

 

Jeff discusses why he started book with the Epigraph that he did and its connection to young Kobe Bryant-at around 48:10

 

Jeff and Pete discuss an interesting anecdote from the book, relayed by Jon Finkel, regarding Kobe’s being “coached” into social norms-at around 49:10

 

Jeff discusses how his initial fears about his latest book (he calls it the “hardest book [he’s] ever written) not being received favorably have been completely put to rest, still a bit to his surprise-at around 49:50

 

Jeff talks about the seeming disconnect between the trudging work and not-so-glitzy parts of writing a book and the reviews that come later-at around 50:55

 

Jeff and Pete hone in on Kobe’s personality/history as described in the book and beyond-at around 51:15

 

Pete asks Jeff what he would have asked Kobe about had Kobe been interviewed for the book and Jeff talks about the human condition of “youth [being] wasted on the young”-at around 51:45

 

Jeff talks about the reporting regarding Kobe’s sexual assault case from 2003-at around 54:00

 

Jeff and Pete shout out Isaac Fontaine, local hero of Pete’s, who makes a cameo in Jeff’s recent book-at around 55:30

 

Jeff shares his mid-1990s NBA Scouting Report-at around 57:30

 

Jeff shares the incredible story behind interviewing J.R. Rider for the book-at around 58:00

 

Jeff quotes the great Jack McCallum in talking about writing’s great payoff being in the great stories that come with the writing life-at around 1:00:14

 

Jeff talks about his podcast, “Two Writers Slingin’ Yang,” and his belief that writers should not be treated like royalty for being “generous with their appearances” and that he does podcasts and talks writing simply because he loves writing and good conversation -at around 1:10:10

 

Jeff explains the genesis of the podcast’s name-at around 1:03:50

 

Jeff talks about Bo Jackson and his upcoming book about Bo Jackson-at about 1:06:10

 

Jeff talks about his desire to write a Tupac biography-at about 1:08:10

 

Jeff Pearlman’s bio, from his website: “I’m the New York Times best-selling author of nine books. My latest release, Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaw, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty, came out in hardcover in September 2020 and is available now in myriad places. I am a former Sports Illustrated senior writer, a former ESPN.com columnist and a former staff writer for Newsday and The (Nashville) Tennessean. I wrote a weekly column for The Athletic, and contributed to a whole bunch of places, ranging from Bleacher Report to the Wall Street Journal to Sports Illustrated to CNN.com. I also co-host the “Two Writers Slinging Yang Podcast” as a solo artist. I’m a habitual blogger, an addicted Tweeter and a guy who knows how lucky and fortunate he is to make his career as a writer/author/Tom Cruise lookalike. There are plenty of people in this world who hate their jobs; hate starting the day; hate what they do and dream of retirement. That’s not me. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I do what I love.”

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