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Sep
01
2014

A Book Review of David Teel’s Press Pass

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Good evening, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) sports fans.  I know you are all glad that college football is here (Jeff and I were dying those first three weeks of August lol).  We are very thankful that college football is back.

Over the summer, I needed something to occupy the time before college football starts.  As such, purchased Press Pass:  Thirty Years of Bylines, Headlines, and Deadlines with David Teel.  It is an outstanding book (I am very late at getting around to this book review) – I highly recommend that you purchase it.  More specifics follow below (and I thank Michael Rogner at @TN_Hoops for the format that I am using in reviewing this book).

Who is David Teel?

David Teel is an award-winning sports columnist for the Daily Press in Newport News, VA.  Teel was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in April 2014.  Teel has spent 30 years covering sports personalities in the Hampton Roads/Tidewater area (some of us locally call this the “757”).  Some of the major personalities include Michael Vick, Allen Iverson, and Mike Tomlin.  Teel probably has seen more change in the ACC than anyone on the earth.  I call him the Dean of the ACC reporters – that doesn’t mean that you are old 😉  Teel has also covered several college football bowl games, Super Bowl XVIII, the U.S. Open golf tournament, the 1996 Summer Olympic games – and more sporting events than I can dream to imagine.  Teel is also recently married within the last few years (to wife, Laura) and has a young child at home.  You can follow David Teel on Twitter at @DavidTeelatDP.

Who is the Book Publisher?

The publisher is the Daily Press Media Group.

What is the ISBN?

  • ISBN-10: 0984712119

  • ISBN-13: 978-09847121

What is the cost?

  • Paperback book (200 pages):  $13.12

  • Amazon Kindle Version:  $9.99

What do you get?

Teel’s book is a collection of great columns (and also includes some new media blog posts) on memorable sporting events, personalities, The ACC, and “Teel Time” (which is Teel’s new media sports blog at the Daily Press).  The first section of the book covers memorable sporting events, such as Christian Laettner’s big shot vs. Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Final Four and Michael Vick’s (who was with the Atlanta Falcons) big game in January 2003 vs. the Green Bay Packers.  The second section of the book has columns on a selected group of personalities that Teel has covered during his 30 years at the Daily Press.  For example, Teel covers the sensational Ronald Curry – one of the most exciting athletes ever to come out of “the 757” who dazzled the country (and this is not an exaggeration) in high school football and basketball.  The third section of the book covers the ACC (which @TalkinACCSports and I blog about extensively here at All Sports Discussion). As I said earlier, Teel has seen more change than anyone in the ACC during his time at the Daily Press.  If you are an alumnus of Virginia Tech or Virginia (and even Duke), you will find substantial of your interested in this section of the book.  For example, Virginia and ACC fans (and even Old Dominion fans) will like Teel’s column on the hire of Bryant Stith as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Old Dominion University.  Teel also wrote a column on Virginia Tech’s hire of Frank Beamer – which still seems like the right decision 29 years later.  One of my favorite columns in this section was an interview with fake questions from readers – and the snarky responses from Teel (loved this – I can imagine how many times Teel gets asked, “Why are you such a Hokie homer?”  Or, “Why are you bias against the UVA football team?”).  The fourth and final section of the book covered some memorable blog posts from Teel’s “Teel Time” Daily Press blog.  We got to learn about Teel, the person, as he shared with his readers the joys of being married with a young child (and it’s nice when you can see that side of a person).

What was missing?

Now, you always have a wish list as a Virginia Tech alumni and fan – and I wish I could have see the column on Michael Vick’s memorable 1999 march down the field at West Virginia University – one of the biggest wins in Virginia Tech’s football history.  Or Virginia Tech’s national championship game vs. Florida State.  That’s being picky, I know – but you do not want to show your entire repertoire if you want to write a second book (I know Teel will do this – and I will buy it lol) – get this in the next book, David 😉

Verdict – should you buy it?

In a word – YES – this should be the easiest decision you make – especially if you are a alumnus of an ACC school.  Thank you for reading my book review – now go out and Teel’s book.

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