The Game Behind the Game: High Pressure, High Stakes in Television Sports

Provides access to the worlds of Howard Cosell and John Madden and the many sports personalities they cover, from the man responsible for making a winner out of the ailing CBS sports

O'Neil, veteran of TV sports, begins his behind-the-scenes memoir with a vivid recollection of the tragic Munich Olympics. He then moves on to his experiences with Monday Night Football , and particularly with Howard Cosell, whom he depicts as a sort of monster. He also discusses his tenure at CBS Sports, where he put together the team of Pat Summerall and John Madden and introduced the so-called "chalkboard" to analyze plays--before corporate maneuvering, the game behind the game, brought about his ouster from the network. O'Neil concludes with a warning to TV executives not to let on-camera figures become so powerful that they control the industry. An insider's account, the book, covering both network politics and sports, lacks focus for a specific audience and as such is unlikely to find its reader ship. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

O'Neil joined ABC Sports right out of college and rapidly rose within the ranks to become a producer; in 1981 he switched to CBS and was instrumental in revamping their sports programming. This crisply written account roughly tracks his career, but the chapters are a curious mix of discussion of players, coaches, and personalities, including lengthy portraits of Howard Cosell and John Madden, and a look at the cutthroat world of network office politics. O'Neil has an obvious ax to grind--he was fired from CBS in 1986--and loudly toots his own horn throughout, while deploring TV's abdication of control to on-air anchors and commentators. By and large, however, this is compelling material, and is recommended for TV sports fans and media observers.
- Jack Ray, Loyola/Notre Dame Lib., Baltimore
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.