More Kenny Mayne:
May 20, 2008
The most fascinating part of Kenny Mayne's new book relates to his own self-made story. Most broadcasters and entertainers reach the pinnacles of their careers via a combination of contacts and luck. Mayne certainly was well placed to grow with the rise of ESPN (he was in the sports broadcasting business as cable sports news exploded), but his struggle to become employed permanently by the network after growing up in the relative obscurity of Kent, Washington, is a chronicle of a never-say-die attitude.
Mayne quit a television job in Tacoma and spent 5 years sending tapes to ESPN producers while spending some of his time building garbage cans in the Kent Valley. Even after several of his interviews and vignettes were used the network did not offer employment and Mayne was sometimes considered an irritant. One boss even told his subordinates to stop returning Mayne's calls. He persevered and finally wrote a funny letter to the ESPN editorial director in (page 63). He was hired a month later.
Mayne's unique brand of humor is also on display. For evidence let's turn to long time Orlando Sentinel contributor Jerry Greene, who writes a popular column, "From the Cheap Seats."
"It's a 227-page book divided into 59 chapters that include drawings by Mayne's two young daughters. It is an easy book to read and, yes, perfect for the throne room. Other quick impressions:
A chapter on jai-alai! When told that I, too, loved the dying sport, Mayne said: ‘We're a small group, but the athleticism is unbelievable. (He meant the players' athleticism, not ours.'
Dale Earnhardt Sr. once walked up to Mayne and said: Are you still dating Jeff Gordon?"Apparently Mayne didn't totally deny it.
Mayne defends 'Carnival Games' as a legitimate sport, stating: ‘It takes just as much skill to land a dime on a greasy plate as it does to land a four-foot putt, yet no one is questioning whether Tiger is an athlete.'
My tip to you is to buy this one."
We agree.
Kenny Mayne's "An Incomplete & Inaccurate History of Sport" is published by Crown and is available for $24.95.
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