4th and Fixed - Hardcover

Rivers, Reggie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402202199 ISBN 13: 9781402202193

Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc Landmark, 2004

Synopsis

4th and Fixed is a stunning novel about a pair of memorable wiseguys who against all odds fix a season's worth of NFL games. Written with an authentic voice that could only come from a former NFL player, Reggie Rivers bursts into fiction with a force and style reminiscent of Peter Gent's classic bestseller North Dallas Forty.

4th and Fixed goes inside the world of professional football like no other book, and does so with an unforgettable set of characters: Michael Gasca, the ultimate, clever fixer; his literally larger-than-life partner, Roscoe Evans, a 320-pound enforcer; Jonathan Kinneson, the devious new owner of the San Antonio Stallions willing to do the unthinkable to snag his team a Super Bowl victory; Trevor Deale, the star quarterback of the Stallions who can read a defense in the blink of the center's snap; Trevor's gorgeous, bitchy and untrustworthy girlfriend; and Steven Oquist, an NFL special agent charged with keeping illegal gambling and the mob on the sidelines.

4th and Fixed is as riveting as the last moments of a tied Super Bowl game.

About this title

About the Author

Reggie Rivers played six seasons (1991-96) as a fullback for the Denver Broncos. He currently writes a weekly editorial column for The Denver Post, cohosts Countdown to Kickoff on KCNK Channel 4 and writes once a month for Pro Football Weekly. He also serves as emcee, auctioneer, presenter and/or motivational speaker at more than 200 events each year. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Broncos Community Action Award and the Colorado Association of Black Journalists Radio Journalist of the Year. He supports many charitable organizations, from the Multiple Sclerosis Society to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews

An all-powerful bookie and his monstrous sidekick muscle through the shady underworld of professional football in this adrenaline-packed novel by an ex-NFL player. Hired to turn around the struggling San Antonio Stallions so that pompous owner Jonathan Kinneson can rake in money by securing a spot in the Super Bowl, mob-affiliated fixer Michael Gasca hatches an elaborate plan. First, he forces the firing of the team's head coach, then assigns Roscoe Evans, his walking skyscraper of a partner, to manipulate key players on opposing teams. A little blackmail here, a deceitful threat there, and the Stallions are quietly cruising toward their first playoff game. Yet none of this goes unnoticed by Steven Oquist, an NFL special agent with a burning desire to catch the duo in action. The key to his success is Trevor Deale, the Stallions' quarterback, who begins to question the team's accomplishments. Honest and perceptive, the all-star finds himself in the middle of a scam so big it could permanently tarnish the NFL's reputation. Rivers's patient development of his zany characters gives this book bite, and his fly-on-the-wall narration lets the average football fan sneak a peek at the exotic, often racy, underbelly of the NFL. With Elmore Leonard–style gumshoe bravado and wicked plot twists, Rivers's novel sprints into the end zone.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Michael Gasca is the fixer. His latest victim-partner lost a bundle when the tech bubble burst and needs more cash than his NFL franchise can generate. Enter Gasca. The plan includes some early-season losses to justify firing his overpaid coach, then a great finish and a victory in the Super Bowl. Other players in the Machiavellian plot include the team's star quarterback, his diamond-hungry wife, and Steven Oquist, a former FBI agent employed by NFL security. Oquist plays Ahab to Gasca's Great White. Hunting scammers is more than an obsession for him; it's a lifestyle. The novel unwinds in seriocomic, Elmore Leonard-like style; all the players are schemers or opportunists, and the high moral ground resides in a land far, far, away. Author Rivers, a former NFL player, has the strut, the patois, and the insider's knowledge to pull this caper off in fine style. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc Landmark
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402202199
• ISBN 13: 9781402202193
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 351