Collision Course
The Basketball Lives of Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson and the Fall of the Cincinnati Royals
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Collision Course
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Narrated by:
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John Guccion
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By:
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William Cook
About this listen
Following the 1956-57 NBA season, the Fort Wayne Pistons relocated to Detroit, and the Rochester Royals were moved to Cincinnati. The relocations of the Fort Wayne and Rochester franchises left Syracuse as the last small market team in the NBA.
As the 1960s began, the NBA entered the crossroads of its existence featuring such mega stars as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Hal Greer, the Boston Celtics became the most dominating team in the league. Led by Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, and John Havlicek, the Celtics would win 11 NBA championships between 1957 and 1969. But during the 1960s, the Cincinnati Royals were a team also loaded with all-stars and former Olympic players like Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Wayne Embry, and Adrian Smith. But the Royals would never win a championship in Cincinnati, and relocated to Kansas City in 1973. Today, the franchise is called the Sacramento Kings.
So what went wrong in Cincy? While the Royals received only marginal support from their fans and absentee owner Louie Jacobs, the Buffalo concessionaire king and Godfather of sports, the answer to the downfall of the Royals seems to lie somewhere in the basketball stories of Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson, whose brilliant careers collided in an unharmonious relationship when the retired Cousy became coach of the Royals.
While Bob Cousy had been credited for saving professional basketball in Boston as a player, he is also credited with destroying professional basketball in Cincinnati as a coach. The uneasy relationship in Cincinnati between Cousy the coach and Robertson the player fueled by leftover competitive conflict from their days as players on the hardwood would become a collision of will between them, and render the Royals franchise dysfunctional.
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 183
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 154
When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So were ratings. The Sixers had an aging coach, an antiquated front office, and a group of players that could best be described as mediocre. Enter Sam Hinkie - a man with a plan straight out of the PE playbook, one that violated professional sports' Golden Rule: You play to win the game.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great history of tanking by Sixers
- By Alan Bernstein on 03-11-23
By: Yaron Weitzman
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Raise a Fist, Take a Knee
- Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports
- By: John Feinstein, Doug Williams
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story5 out of 5 stars 80
Based on dozens of shocking interviews with some of the most influential names in sports, this is the urgent and revelatory examination of racial inequality in professional athletics America has been waiting for. With an encyclopedic knowledge of professional sports, and shrewd cultural criticism, John Feinstein uncovers not just why, but how, pro sports continue to perpetuate racial inequality.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another Feinstein triumph
- By Glenn Canning on 12-06-21
By: John Feinstein, and others
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The League
- How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 291
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 265
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 265
The National Football League's current dominance has obscured how professional football got its start. In The League, John Eisenberg reveals that Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell took an immense risk by investing in the professional game. At that time, the sport barely registered on the national scene. The five owners succeeded only because at critical junctures in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the League.
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5 out of 5 stars
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what a great book. loved it completely.
- By Daniel Mosca on 11-08-18
By: John Eisenberg
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From Darkness to Dynasty
- The First 40 Years of the New England Patriots
- By: Jerry Thornton
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
From Darkness to Dynasty tells the unlikely history of the New England Patriots as it has never been told before. From their humble beginnings as a team bought with rainy-day money by a man who had no idea what he was doing, to the fateful season that saw them win their first Super Bowl, Jerry Thornton shares the wild, humiliating, unbelievable, and wonderful stories that comprised the first 40 years of what would ultimately become the most dominant franchise in NFL history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great narration, great book
- By BenRias on 01-25-18
By: Jerry Thornton
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Got Your Number
- The Greatest Sports Legends and the Numbers They Own
- By: Mike Greenberg, Paul Hembekides
- Narrated by: Mike Greenberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story5 out of 5 stars 46
ESPN personality ( Get Up and #Greeny) and New York Times bestselling author Mike Greenberg partners with mega-producer Hembo to settle once and for all which legends flat-out own which numbers. In short essays certain to provoke debate between and amongst all generations, Greeny uses his lifetime of sports knowledge to spin yarns of the legends among the legends and tell you why some have claimed their spot in the top 100 of all time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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love it
- By Burnie P. Gaeta on 11-15-24
By: Mike Greenberg, and others
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Glory Days
- The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever
- By: L. Jon Wertheim
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
The summer of 1984 was a watershed moment in the birth of modern sports when the nation watched Michael Jordan grow from college basketball player to professional athlete and star. That summer also saw ESPN’s rise to media dominance as the country’s premier sports network and the first modern, commercialized, profitable Olympics. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s rivalry raged, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe reigned in tennis, and Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon made pro wrestling a business, while Donald Trump pierced the national consciousness as a pro football team owner.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great sports summer
- By Hebern on 07-06-21
By: L. Jon Wertheim
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The Yucks
- Two Years in Tampa with the Losingest Team in NFL History
- By: Jason Vuic
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Long before their first Super Bowl victory in 2003, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did something no NFL team had ever done before and that none will ever likely do again: They lost 26 games in a row. It started in 1976, in their first season as an expansion team, and it lasted until the penultimate game of the 1977 season, when they defeated Archie Manning and the New Orleans Saints on the road. It was the beginning of a new streak for a team that had come to be called "The Yucks".
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun Listen
- By Dan Junevicus on 08-10-24
By: Jason Vuic
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Three Ring Circus
- Kobe, Shaq, Phil and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 898
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 795
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 792
In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ok I've finished it and have more thoughts
- By Bobby S on 09-24-20
By: Jeff Pearlman
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It's Better to Be Feared
- The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
- By: Seth Wickersham
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 606
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 511
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 508
Over two unbelievable decades, the New England Patriots were not only the NFL's most dominant team, but also - and by far - the most secretive. How did they achieve and sustain greatness - and what were the costs? In It's Better to Be Feared, Seth Wickersham, one of the country's finest long form and investigative sportswriters, tells the full, behind-the-scenes story of the Patriots, capturing the brilliance, ambition, and vanity that powered and ultimately unraveled them.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don’t bother if you’ve read other patriots books
- By Brandon O. on 10-14-21
By: Seth Wickersham
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Scribe
- My Life in Sports
- By: Bob Ryan
- Narrated by: Bob Ryan
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4 out of 5 stars 75
Ever since he joined the sports department of the Boston Globe in 1968, sports enthusiasts have been blessed with the writing and reporting of Bob Ryan. Tony Kornheiser calls him the "quintessential American sportswriter". For the past 25 years, he has also been a regular on various ESPN shows, especially The Sports Reporters, spreading his knowledge and enthusiasm for sports of all kinds.
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2 out of 5 stars
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No my idea of a memoir
- By Michael Friedman on 12-19-14
By: Bob Ryan
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A Season in the Sun
- The Inside Story of Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Making of a Champion
- By: Lars Anderson
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
The extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of how Coach Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came together to deliver one of the most improbable Super Bowl victories in NFL history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Forever Tom Brady
- By Michael G. Salardino on 12-26-21
By: Lars Anderson
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America's Quarterback
- Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story5 out of 5 stars 32
No one can touch Bart Starr's record setting 5 NFL Championships including 3 straight. America's Quarterback tells the story of the man who helped create the legend of Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers. This biography traces Starr’s life from childhood in Alabama to stardom in Green Bay and beyond. Not a simple sports story, Dunnavant traces the story of one man reaching for the American dream while professional football emerged from the shadows to capture the nation’s imagination.
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5 out of 5 stars
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awesome
- By Anthony nyman on 03-30-15
By: Keith Dunnavant
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Ten-Gallon War
- The NFL's Cowboys, The AFL's Texans, and The Feud for Dallas' Pro Football Future
- By: John Eisenberg
- Narrated by: Jim Vann
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
In the 1960s, on the heels of the “Greatest Game Ever Played”, professional football began to flourish across the country - except in Texas, where college football was still the only game in town. But in an unlikely series of events, two young oil tycoons started their own professional football franchises in Dallas the very same year: the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, and, as part of a new upstart league designed to thwart the NFL’s hold on the game, the Dallas Texans of the AFL. Almost overnight, a bitter feud was born.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Magnamonious?
- By steve finkelstein on 03-01-21
By: John Eisenberg
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Tall Men, Short Shorts
- The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter
- By: Leigh Montville
- Narrated by: Leigh Montville
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
They don’t set up any better than this. The greatest basketball player of all time–Bill Russell–and his juggernaut Boston Celtics, winners of ten (ten!) of the previous twelve NBA championships, squeak through one more playoff run and land in the Finals again. Russell’s opponent? The fearsome 7’1” next-generation superstar, Wilt Chamberlain, recently traded to the LA Lakers to form the league’s first dream team. Bill Russell and John Havlicek versus Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very good book with a caveat
- By Hebern on 12-06-21
By: Leigh Montville
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Barkley
- A Biography
- By: Timothy Bella
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
He's one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella's Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked about icons in the world of sports.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great insight to the big man’s life.
- By marci rodee on 07-03-23
By: Timothy Bella
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A Giant Win
- Inside the New York Giants' Historic Upset over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII
- By: Tom Coughlin, Greg Hanlon - contributor, Eli Manning - foreword
- Narrated by: Donald Corren, Tom Coughlin
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story5 out of 5 stars 30
In A Giant Win, Coach Tom Coughlin reveals the intricacies of football, sharing details only a coach would know. He also details relationships with some of the most iconic players from the Giants, including Eli Manning and Michael Strahan. A Giant Win provides a frame for Coach Coughlin to discuss his life in football—including his years with the Giants as an assistant coach in the late 1980s and 1990, when he helped win a Super Bowl working under Hall of Fame Head Coach Bill Parcells and alongside the coach he’d oppose in Super Bowl XLII: Bill Belichick.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love Coach Coughlin Story
- By Alison on 02-29-24
By: Tom Coughlin, and others
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The "Down Goes Brown" History of the NHL
- The World's Most Beautiful Sport, the World's Most Ridiculous League
- By: Sean McIndoe
- Narrated by: Sean McIndoe
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 239
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 228
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Story5 out of 5 stars 227
Sean McIndoe of Down Goes Brown, one of hockey's favorite and funniest writers, takes aim at the game's most memorable moments - especially if they're memorable for the wrong reasons - in this warts-and-all history of the NHL.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun, fascinating education in hockey history
- By D. Trull on 03-27-19
By: Sean McIndoe
What listeners say about Collision Course
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- Rick
- 01-19-24
Title is deceiving
The title is deceiving. It’s mostly about the early NBA. Less about pro basketball in Cincy.
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