Getting Your July Dose

Because I'll support what I know, check out this radio show tomorrow (TUE) evening from 7:00 to 8:00.

It is a local Richmond sports talk station (910 AM if you're in Richmond) and they run a promotion every year in which you can buy an hour of programming and be your own host.

Some random CAA fan has chosen to do this, and he has lined up CAA honcho Ron Bertovich to be on as a guest. If the guy is putting up his own money and goes as far as to call the conference office to line up a guest--in July--a link to the Internet broadcast is the least I can do.

***

About a month ago, I received a call from a friend who was flipping through Basketball Times and he came across an ad for a book called "1 Chance 2 Dance" by Ray Mernagh. My friend's immediate reaction was that it seemed nearly identical to "Cinderella," except for the Final Four run.

By the power vested in the Internet, I was quickly able to track down Mernagh's book, blog, and background. Indeed he is a Pittsburgh-based pro who chose to follow the MAC for one year and write a book about it, the same year I chose to follow the CAA and write a book. Mernagh's obvious brilliance and vision aside, it was clear 1 Chance 2 Dance was going to make it onto my summer reading list.

So I sent Mr. Mernagh a blind email and offered up a book trade, baseball-card style. My copy came in the mail either Thursday or Friday. (Side note: his was supposed to hit the mail Friday, but I got hung up with Blue Ribbon prep. It will go out today.)

Me and Stella sat by the pool on Sunday and I got through about 125 pages and I'll tell you it brought back a pile of memories for me. Mernagh wrangled the same access I was fortunate enough to obtain. You will shake your head in many parts, understanding the issues he writes about.

The main difference (other than being the MAC and the CAA) is that Mernagh was closer to the players and he talks about recruiting more than I chose to in my book. Still, the premise is the same.

I haven't finished it but I will--you should buy the book as well. I'm a rising tide lifts all boats kinda guy.

You may also want to check out his blog. He's detailing some, uh, issues at Ball State. Good stuff.