Beating the Odds: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Sports Handicapper - Hardcover

Lang, Brandon; Cohen, Stanley

  • 3.69 out of 5 stars
    16 ratings by Goodreads
 
9781602396807: Beating the Odds: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Sports Handicapper
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 1602396809 ISBN 13: 9781602396807
Publisher: Skyhorse, 2009

Synopsis

The incredible rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches true life story of acclaimed sports tout Brandon Lang, subject of the motion picture Two for the Money (Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey). Beating the Odds describes in vivid, colorful detail Lang’s rise from small time sports-phone tout to big time national exposure, his dramatic fall, and his subsequent rebirth in the internet age. Also describes the series of improbable events, while working as a golf caddie in Los Angeles, that eventually led Lang to the optioning of his story to Hollywood and the making of Two for the Money.

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About the Author

Stanley Cohen is a veteran award-winning newspaper and magazine journalist. He has worked as an editor, writer, and reporter for newspapers, magazines, and an international news service for more than fifty years and has also taught writing, journalism, and philosophy at Hunter College. He is the author of ten books, including the acclaimed The Game They Played. He lives in Tomkins Cove, New York.

Reviews

Two for the Money, the 2005 movie starring Matthew McConaughey, chronicled the rise, fall, and rise again of sports handicapper Brandon Lang and his tumultuous relationship with his mentor and friend, Walter Abrams (played in the movie by Al Pacino). Here, Lang tells the same story, but in his own words. It’s a story of a young man from a wildly dysfunctional family—Lang’s father went to prison for the attempted murder of Lang’s mother—who found inspiration in religion, discipline in the U.S. Navy, and his own talents in the world of sports betting. Often it feels like the movie, fast paced and suspenseful, but there’s also an element of introspection that is missing from the big-screen story of Lang’s life. In addition to talking about himself, Lang also talks about the nature and future of sports handicapping and the way the Internet has nearly killed the industry. An excellent companion to the popular movie and a very good autobiography in its own right. --David Pitt

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Publisher
Skyhorse
Publication date
2009
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1602396809
ISBN 13 
9781602396807
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
272
Rating
  • 3.69 out of 5 stars
    16 ratings by Goodreads