Agent Palmer

John Feinstein’s The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball is a love letter to amateur athletics and the notion of the unironic “student” athlete. 

In the book, he chronicles the 1999-2000 Patriot League Basketball season. The Patriot League is something I guess I took for granted, as it is in my backyard. But for those who don’t know, it’s academically right up there with the Ivy League.

Five-Point Play is an uncommon book about leadership in that it doesn’t preach. It is written by Duke Blue Devils Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) with Donald T. Phillips, and it documents the 2000-01 season from the preseason to the 2001 National Championship.

The premier philosophy featured in this book is Coach K’s “The Fist.” The Fist has five points, thus the title of the book: Communication, Trust, Care, Collective Responsibility, and Pride.

I’ve reviewed business books before. Usually, they are boring, outdated, lacking in reality, “do as I say, not as I do” affairs which I am surprised I ever let sit on my personal library shelves.

Thankfully, Legacy of Winning finally breaks that tradition. Here is a book that is co-written by then University of Tennessee Volunteers Football Head Coach, Phillip Fulmer, and Tennessee Associates International Chairman and CEO, Gerald Sentell.

National Champions is an interesting, if not ill-timed, feature movie released in 2021 based on the play of the same name by Adam Mervis. It’s a well written brief that encompasses all of the arguments for and against paying collegiate athletes.

What makes this ill-timed is that the relief valve of the NCAA’s NIL deal was enabled the same year the film came out. In fact, the NIL rules went into effect in January of 2021, while this film was released almost 11 months later in December of that year.

Before the 2019 College Football Season kicks off, I’m joined by Matt (formerly of the Reasons Are Several Podcast) to preview the season with Conference Winners, Playoff Matchups and a National Champion!

Our only qualifications are that we enjoy watching, talking, and speculating about the College game!

And before you head off into our picks, you can hear Matt and I wax poetic on the Reasons Are Several Podcast about our picks for the 2016 Season, but we also tackle our Top College Football Rivalries.