Book's Biggest Bad Guy? Bascially 'Boomer'

Before the ESPN book -- "Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN" (2011, Little, Brown and Company) -- hit shelves a week ago, much of the preliminary chatter about the 745-page oral history was that it would provide an inside look at the all-sports network in Bristol, Conn.

According to some, chauvinism, partying and sex were common. Some called it a fraternity culture.

The book reveals some of those things, just as it hits most of the highs and lows of the growth of the fledgling cable channel to the "worldwide leader," but it's reading between the lines that provided two of the more striking insights.

First, and least important, were references to Brad Nessler's failed stint as ESPN's lead NBA play-by-play announcer, including the admission from executives that having him in that role was a mistake. That cannot be good news for the NFL Network, which plans (if the season happens this fall) to use Nessler as its lead play-by-play man.

Sure, NFL viewers might flock to games and be less turned off by an announcer than their NBA counterparts (and Nessler certainly has more strength with football than basketball), but his failed stint has to be a cautionary tale.

Most striking, and least surprising, from the ESPN book was the fact that ESPN original Chris "Boomer" Berman, would be portrayed so universally poorly. In the words of others -- and the book is all an oral history, which makes it at times fabulous and at times laborious -- Berman comes off as self-centered, uncooperative and vain.

Those might be requirements for a talented, on-air TV type, but he's not also referred to as talented, which would seem to be a requirement. Instead, Berman is portrayed as a shill -- especially in regard to the NFL.

While he rates as an top-tier star for the ESPN, a network that for a long time tried to prevent its anchors from being stars, you get a sense that others in the business (everyone except Tom Jackson) endure rather than enjoy him and his work.

While time has proven that ESPN and TV need stars, they draw viewers, especially in a loyal niche market, Berman in many ways has "jumped the shark." And the fact that he was consistently referred to in that manner in the book might be the most striking element of the big tome.