This was fun ...

Somehow, through an old friend and PR colleague, Jack Gallagher, my name made its way to Ed Odeven, an editor at The Japan Times.  Today, Ed posted this:

The Definitive interview!

http://edodevenreporting.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/thedefinitiveinterviewwithterrylyons/

Last minute Christmas Gifts ...

As sure as a Rick Barry underhanded free throw, you are all consulting the Terry Lyons blog-o-sphere to make the toughest of decisions; what to get that certain someone for Christmas.

We all have a person or persons that are 'tough' to buy for. Either someone who seems to have everything or someone with impeccaable taste, endless resources and mood swings that would only be topped by the Moody Blues themselves.

So, just what should you buy that certain someone?

Sirius or XM Radio? Try the portable version, the Inno by Pioneer, and toss in a year long subscription.

Tivo? Tivo HD and a nice subscription.

A traveler in your midst? Get the ultimate PC connected, TV loving "Sling Box."

Blue Ray player? Nice. Or save the price and go for the Play Station 3, which is about the same price at retail.

Canon Digital Elph is really nice. Any model, depending on your budget.

New in town? Give a Garmin or Tom Tom. (Hint, hint for those who know I am Boston bound).

Too pricey? Need a gift more along the lines of the discount pricing aisle?

A 1GB ipod at about $79.00 at Best Buy is pretty sweet.

DVDs? Clapton's Crossroads for any classic rocker.

The MLB Premium pass for Mosiac on MLB.com?

A nice suggestion that everyone loves is a gift subscription to Consumer Reports, magazine and on-line edition.

Books?

Anything and everything by Leigh Montville. (Search it via Amazon).

See's Candy is always a big hit at my apartment, situated on the East Coast and miles and miles away from the West Coast based See's.

You Heard it Here First...

A blog posting by a 'friend of ours' named Joe Fav, the IFL PR Senior VP and industry guru, recently described Leigh Montville's great book on Ted Williams. I've heard that Leigh's book on Babe Ruth is just as good. But, that is not what this post is about.

With my newfound and ever-growing number of Boston connections, I learned of Leigh's new project - The Mysterious Montague: A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery. It can be pre-ordered now.

(click on "you heard it here first above for a link).

Leigh and Shelby Strother were the most gifted writers I met while working at the NBA from 1980-2007. As so many of you know, Shelby was taken from us far too soon (1991). Leigh was writing for the Boston Globe when I first met him, and he has gone on to other writing projects, mostly for Sports Illustrated.

While researching his book on Babe Ruth, Leigh learned and delved into the life of the Mysterious Montague. Here is the book description. Remember to order it, and grab Ted and Babe Ruth books while you're at it...

John Montague had a bagful of golf tricks. He could chip balls into a hammock hung on a balcony and pick a bird off a wire at 170 yards. When he arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930s, he quickly became a celebrity among celebrities. He lived for a time with Oliver Hardy and played golf with everyone from Howard Hughes to W.C. Fields to Bing Crosby, his close friend, whom he famously beat while playing with only a rake, a shovel, and a bat. Yet strangely, Montague never entered a professional golf tournament—and in a town that thrived on publicity, he remained conspicuously silent about his lavish lifestyle and absolutely refused to be photographed.

The reasons became clear when Time magazine published his picture...and police in upstate New York instantly recognized him as a fugitive wanted for armed robbery—and his name was not John Montague. The trial of the “Mysterious Montague” was held in a tiny upstate New York town, attracted hordes of national media, and became the most talked-about trial of its day.

From the glamour of 1930s Hollywood to Montague’s tricks and triumphs on the golf course, to the shady world of Adirondack bootleggers and rumrunners, Leigh Montville captures a man and his era with the verve and energy that have made his books major national bestsellers.