Sports book roundup

“Golden Days” by Jack McCallum, Ballantine, 336 pages, $28

Jack McCallum no longer covers the NBA on a regular basis for Sports Illustrated, but thankfully he still writes books about the game. His latest effort, “Golden Days,” shows why he was the 2005 winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. McCallum connects today’s glory team, the Golden State Warriors, to one of the most iconic teams: the early 1970s Los Angeles Lakers. The link for both is Jerry West.

As a player, West was a regal superstar who endured constant heartbreak in losing seven straight NBA Finals. He is appropriately nicknamed “The Logo,” because that is him on the NBA’s familiar trademark. As a storied NBA executive nearing age 80, he served as a consultant and part-owner of the Warriors during their recent run to two NBA titles.

McCallum artfully tells the stories of both the teams in alternating chapters. He documents how the ’71-’72 Lakers, also featuring the great and mercurial Wilt Chamberlain, ran off a record 33game winning streak en route to finally landing West that elusive first NBA title. He also charts the rise of the Warriors, built around an unlikely superstar in Steph Curry, who initially detested the notion of playing for Golden State. McCallum shows how the Golden State guard has revolutionized the game with his threepoint shooting prowess. Mostly, though, this book is a fascinating look at West, a complex man who cuts a huge swath of NBA history.

“The Best American Sports Writing,” edited by Howard Bryant, Mariner, 416 pages, $15.99

This annual sports anthology series always is a pure joy. The writing is brilliant, and the reporting and storytelling are supreme. This book isn’t a recap of stories documenting the big sporting events, such as the World Series and Super Bowl. Rather, it is a somewhat eclectic mix of pieces that dig deep into the soul of sports.

This year’s edition, selected by guest editor Howard Bryant, a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, features entries by heavyweights such as David Remnick, Roger Angell and Pat Jordan. You will be hard-pressed to find a better account on the downfall of Tiger Woods than Wright Thompson’s story for ESPN The Magazine. Of local interest, there is a compelling piece by Rick Telander for Sports Illustrated on the sad postfootball life of former Bear William Perry. The beauty of this book is that if you have only 15 minutes, you can pick out a story or two and be thoroughly entertained and enlightened.

“Game Change” by Ken Dryden, Signal, 368 pages, $27.95

Chicago fans will forever remember Ken Dryden as the young Montreal Canadiens goalie whose stellar play broke the hearts of Blackhawks fans in the 1971 Stanley Cup Final. Dryden went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Now he has emerged as an important critic of hockey, arguing that safety measures need to be put into place to reduce head injuries.

In “Game Change,” Dryden bases his case on the story of journeyman player Steve Montador. He played defense for several teams, eventually finishing his NHL career with the Blackhawks in 2011-12. After Montador died in 2015 at age 35 of a drug overdose, it was found he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative brain disorder linked to repeated concussions. Dryden says he chose Montador as his subject because he was just “an everyday player.”

Dryden maintains the increased speed of the game has produced higherimpact collisions, resulting in more devastating blows to the head. Dryden calls on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and team executives to come up with solutions that will eliminate hits to the head. He doesn’t want to see more Steve Montadors.