Paul Shirley

¿Me puedo quedar la camiseta? te invita a conocer las grandezas y las miserias del deporte profesional, una actividad especialmente ingrata para los llamados jugadores de clase media, desde el punto de vista de un observador privilegiado. Un testigo que se caracteriza por su estilo mordaz, acido (especialmente con el mismo) y lleno de humor.

Hes been called a journeyman. Even Paul wouldnt dispute that classification. Regardless, Bill Simmons, ESPNs The Sports Guy, has said of Paul Shirley, We could finally have an answer to the question What would it be like if one of our friends was an NBA player? Theres no denying that Paul Shirley is the closest thing pro basketballs got to Odysseus. In Homeric fashion, he has logged time practically everywhere in the roundball universe, from six NBA cities to pro leagues in Spain and Greece to North Americas pro ball Siberia, the minor leagues. Hell, hes even played in the real Siberia. And in Can I Keep My Jersey?, Shirley finally puts down roots long enough to deliver one of the great locker-room chronicles of the modern age. With sharp elbows and an even sharper wit, Shirleywhose writings have been described as wildly entertaining by The Wall Street Journaldrops hilarious commentary, revealing which teams have the best cheerleaders (hes spent many a time-out watching them ply their trade), why Christ is rapidly becoming every teams sixth man, and even the best ways to get bloodstains out of your game uniform, using only an ordinary bar of soap and a hotel bathroom sink. From sharing the court with Kobe and Shaq to perusing the food court at some mall in a bush-league burg; from taking pregame layups to getting laid out by a stray knee from an NBA power forward; from hopping a limo to the teams charter jet to dashing to catch the van home from a B-league game in Tijuana, Shirley dishes on what its like to try to make it as a professional athlete. Can I Keep My Jersey? is a rollicking, thoughtful, even thought-provoking insiders look at a pro ballers life on the fringe. Like Jim Boutons Ball Four or John Feinsteins A Season on the Brink, Shirleys odyssey deserves to find a home on every sports fans bookshelf.