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Revealing Urban's Way

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By BOB D'ANGELO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

When done properly, "fly on the wall" sports books can be very effective. The model is John Feinstein's "Season On The Brink," an absorbing look at the Indiana basketball program under Coach Bob Knight.

While longtime Florida-based journalist Buddy Martin did not deal with a subject as difficult as the mercurial Knight, he still faced a challenge: put out an authorized biography of University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer after a year of behind-the-scenes access.

In "Urban's Way: Urban Meyer, the Florida Gators, and His Plan to Win" (Thomas Dunne Books, $24.95), Martin puts the pieces together to define who Meyer is and how he achieved his meteoric rise in the college coaching ranks.

Martin, a longtime chronicler of the UF program, does fine research and interviews plenty of people about Meyer. He reveals the coach's "Plan to Win" (play great defense, turnovers, score in the red zone, win the kicking game) and how Meyer brought diverse groups together, particularly at Utah.

There are detailed chapters about the people who influenced Meyer, and a fine character sketch about his wife, Shelley.

While Martin does a good job on the biographical side of the coin, the access part - he was imbedded with the Gators during the 2007 season - was told in less than 100 pages. It doesn't detract from Martin's overall effort, but it leaves the reader wishing for more.

DAWG DELIGHTS: The University of Georgia football program has had many colorful and exciting moments, and Patrick Garbin has culled together 50 that are sure to spark some debate. "The 50 Greatest Plays in Georgia Bulldogs Football History" (Triumph Books, $24.95) is packed with photos, history and diagrammed plays. The greats are represented - Herschel Walker, Fran Tarkenton, Charley Trippi, Jake Scott, Lindsay Scott and even announcer Larry Munson ("We just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot and broke their nose."). Six of the 50 games were against Florida, and the bulk of them were against Southeastern Conference teams. What was the No. 1 play? We're not telling, but you should remember why Munson predicted, "Man, is there going to be some property destroyed tonight!"

PRESSURE AND PERSPECTIVE: Thirty-five years have passed since the ballyhooed "Battle of the Sexes," when Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.

King never shrank from pressure during her career, and in her new book, she speaks to the lessons she has learned in life. The major theme in "Pressure Is A Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes" (LifeTime Media, $19.95) is how she approached her match with Riggs. But the undercurrent is about being a success in life.

Written with USA Today columnist Christine Brennan - who cut her teeth covering tennis for The Miami Herald in the 1980s - "Pressure Is A Privilege" is less than 200 pages. But it is chock full of wisdom that transcends athletics.

"No matter how we approach life," King writes, "completely committing ourselves to whatever we do is essential."

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