Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

ESPN is a juggernaut, no doubt about that. According to analysis from Barron's magazine in 2008, ESPN "is probably worth more than 40% of Disney's entire value." That's a lot... And it's flagship show, SportsCenter, has made celebrities out of its on-air personalities.

Coming in May, we get to pull back the veil and read about some of the things ESPN would rather you not know about. Here's the book's summary from Amazon:

ESPN began as an outrageous gamble with a lineup that included Australian Rules Football, rodeo, and a rinky-dink clip show called Sports Center. Today the empire stretches far beyond television into radio, magazines, mobile phones, the internet, video games and more, while ESPN's personalities have become global superstars to rival the sports icons they cover. Chris Berman, Robin Roberts, Keith Olbermann, Hannah Storm, Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Stuart Scott, Erin Andrews, Mike Ditka, Bob Knight, and scores of others speak openly about the games, shows, scandals, gambling addictions, bitter rivalries, and sudden suspensions that make up the network's soaring and stormy history. The result is a wild, smart, effervescent story of triumph, genius, ego, and the rise of an empire unlike any television had ever seen.

Apparently the authors, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales, have interviewed over 400 current and former ESPN insiders, some who would rather remain anonymous, and have dug up some sweet dirt. They have also done another book like this about SNL, so I'm looking for big things out of this one. This is one of the few times I've actually looked forward to a book.

The book is due to come out on May 24th, pre-order on Amazon.com.