The OTHER Sports Guy

As Our Boy Bill Simmons' book continues to sell like crazy — currently No. 19 on the hardcover nonfiction bestseller list — we turn our amused eye on a man named Brent Weber, author of The Sports Guy: Scorecard Scribblings from an Ordinary Journalist. The book was published in June 2002 by a company called Booklocker.com, a small press that also publishes books like, Is He Cheating on You? - 829 Telltale Signs and How To Build a Better Sand Castle. Weber — a TV talking head who "has worked in the smallest and largest markets (sic) television and radio" — tells stories of his career in his book, and helps younger wannabe sports journalists how to "make it" in the big time world of sports.

Weber's book would have been long forgotten, of course, if it hadn't have been for Simmons' tome, which, because of the titles, has pushed Weber's Amazon ranking from 203,608 to 71,276 in just the last day. (Weber's book was in the seven-digits pre-Simmons publication.) We feel terrible for the young Bostonians whose clueless parents heard about this "Sports Guy" writer and bought the wrong book. "Look, son, it's that Internet writer you like so much." "Awwww, Mom!"

The Sports Guy: Scorecard Scribblings from an Ordinary Journalist

(We find it very sad, by the way, that this phenomenon has not transferred over to excellent Esquire writer Charles P. Pierce, whose book Sports Guy languishes in the 800,000s of Amazon's netherregions.)

Deadspin Party Crash: Bill Simmons' Book Signing [Deadspin] Nonfiction Hardcover Bestsellers [NY Times]