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10 new sports books for fans

Here are some fascinating sports titles for you or your favorite sports fan.

7. ‘Unscripted,’ by Ernie Johnson Jr.

  • By Ross Atkin

To millions of viewers, Ernie Johnson Jr. is familiar as the studio host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” and as the easygoing sportscaster who likes to wear bow ties. “Unscripted” reveals a lot more about the versatile three-time Sports Emmy Award winner, including his off-camera life as the father of six, four of whom are adopted, and as a cancer survivor. 

Here’s an excerpt from Unscripted:

“Back when I was anchoring the weekend sports at WSB-TV in Atlanta, it was not uncommon for me to get a phone call or have a face-to-face conversation with [my mother] that went something like this.

“ ‘Ernie, we watched your 6:00 report on Saturday night, and it was so good.’

“ ‘Thanks, Mom. That’s exactly what I expect to hear from my mom’

“ ‘But your dad and I agree that you looked like you hadn’t put on any makeup or hadn’t shaved, and you really need to pay attention to that.’

“ ‘Thanks, Mom.’

“The thing is she was right. I was so busy on those Saturday and Sunday nights, and WSB wasn’t providing a makeup artist in those days, so yeah, there were nights that I went on the air with a visible five-o’clock shadow. But from that point on, I made sure I looked my best.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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