"Those Guys Have All The Fun," Will Make Many "Fun" ESPN Employees Crap Their Pants

There's a creeping paranoia in Bristol thanks to the upcoming 2011 release of Jim Miller's and Tom Shales's massive oral history of ESPN. What filthy skeletons will reveal themselves? Even ESPN execs will have to wait.

Laura Keefe, part of the Little, Brown publishing team, said the book is officially embargoed. "We don't want anything getting out before the date. It's got a lot of things in there that will make a big impression." So no galleys, no review copies, no excerpts, and no leaks. They hope. Given the secrecy, it's a safe assumption that it's being embargoed because Miller/Shales did some quality excavating. (It's also probably being kept so secret so Norby's bomb squad can't defuse anything — or fire anyone — before it hits stores.)

Keefe has been contacted by others in the sports media clamoring for a peak — one even offered to send her flowers — but she's not budging. I offered her up a week of dinners at Per Se, but no dice on that, either.

Miller is also tight-lipped ( save the Richard Deitsch ) and his Twitter feed which is starting to slowly, subtly hint that the thousands of hours he's spent interviewing current and former employees (some of them disgruntled) of the Worldwide Leader will make a lively read. Take today's Tweet about the upcoming nuptials about happy Horndoggery couple, David Berson and Kate Lacey, who were both let go from ESPN soon after the news of their affair went public.

So expectations are high — and we're anticipating a very active 2011 over here once this thing hits the stands.