Camp Fire Site

Madden & Summerall.     Rich Podolsky. How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting. Sports broadcasting be it writing, radio or television, is a cottage industry within the wide world of sports in general.     Often the people and personalities that call the games can be as important or even more so than the sport itself.     Some fans may actually tune into a game knowing who is broadcasting simply because these media types are perceived as interesting or entertaining and occasionally even more so than the game.     A wide swath of football fans, even today, are very likely familiar with the broadcasting tandem of John Madden and Pat Summerall and that is the topic of veteran author Rich Podolsky’s latest book, Madden and Summerall .      The author is a long-time member of the media and worked with both subjects of this book and has put together a biography of both broadcasting legends along with some humorou...

     American Kings.   Seth Wickersham. A Biography of the Quarterback.    It is no secret that the most important, perhaps difficult position to play in all sports happens to be the most important position in the game of football as well.   We are talking about the quarterback.    With the responsibilities, and for those that can master the many challenges, comes a kind of “magic” that is nearly indescribable to those that have never played the position.  Magic was a key word used to articulate, for lack of better description, the ability to perform at a high level for some of the quarterbacks throughout this manuscript.    Recent travels in Europe noted beautiful castles ensconced high in the distance off of the Rein River.    Those structures had their caste system in place.    In America, we do not have the same history of venerable buildings.  However, on the gri...

  The Chuck Cooper Story.   David Finoli and Chuck Cooper III Breaking Barriers.   As a mostly lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh area and a sports fan for just about all of those years it is not hard to come across many athletic stars in a variety of sports from one generation to the next.      When it comes to college basketball the region features three division one schools with plenty of history and great players that traversed the hardwoods of those programs.  One such program was Duquesne University; a school located on the bluff just outside the downtown Pittsburgh area.     The school has produced many notable players over the past 80 years but one in particular was a bit off of the radar that recently came to my attention.     In the book, The Chuck Cooper Story, his unique and interesting story is explained via the quality writing style of long-time western Pennsylvania author David...

  Turf Wars.    DeMaurice Smith. The Fight for the Soul of America’s game.   The NFL has a rich history that goes back for decades.     In that time, the league only produced three commissioners that help the owners to grow the sport and make money for all stakeholders, namely the owners.     On the other side of the owners are the players or the labor.     Since they are unionized, they have an executive director to guide them.     There have only been a handful of NFLPA executive directors since the modern formation of the NFL was established.    Therefore, when former NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, author of Turf Wars, decided to write a tell all book about his fifteen years in office, it was an unprecedented moment in sports literature.    The subtitle for this book perhaps hints at another book about the game of football.     However, the author has go...

  Football Done Right.   Michael Lombardi.    Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL.    Michael Lombardi has lived, enjoyed and endured a bit of a peculiar football life.    He was a college football player and long-time front office wizard serving as general manager for several NFL franchises.   Now an author of two books, including Football Done Right, he brings his vast knowledge of the game and its history to print.  Make no mistake, this is a hard-core football book.    A lot of lists included, some history lessons imposed, and a touch of personal life experiences mixed throughout the odyssey.   The book comes across as disjointed at times.  It goes from one chapter to the next without a strong connection and then finally jumps into a list of 100 best football players, at least according to the author.       The...

  Legends and Soles. Sonny Vaccaro with Armen Keteyian. The Memoir of An American Original.      As a Pittsburgh native, resident and longtime admirer and attendee of the Pittsburgh roundball classics, I have known of John “Sonny” Vaccaro, also a western PA native, for many decades.      Upon reading his recently published memoir, I, along with any potential reader, know considerably more about his background, upbringing and philosophy of life.      Not only that, though, the cleverly titled book, “Legends and Soles” provides insight into his love for gambling and how he used those skills to succeed in his business endeavors but also his interactions with basketball luminaries such as Michael Jordan, John Thompon or Business moguls such as Phil Knight at Nike.     The book starts predictably with a summary and account of Vaccaro’s family and his upbringing in mid-20 th century suburban Pittsburgh.  ...

  The Football Game That Changed America.     Dennis Denninger. How the NFL created a national holiday.       Author Dennis Denninger asserts that one football game in particular changed the United States of America.     While there is likely truth to this notion, we could argue that America changed the importance, interest and popularity of the nation’s most sought-after sport and its coveted championship game.     In February of 2025, America finished watching the 59 th super bowl where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs among a record crowd of patrons and television viewers, advertisers, social media content and just about any other connection that helped glorify this event towards a near national holiday.    Of course it wasn’t always like that.     Denninger, a professor at Syracuse in the Falk School but also a former award-winning sports television produ...