Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime, and Complicity
The adjectives associated with the University of Washington’s 2000 football season—mystical, magical, miraculous—changed when Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry’s four-part exposé of the 2000 Huskies hit the newspaper stands: “explosive . . . chilling” (Sports Illustrated), “blistering” (Baltimore Sun), “shocking . . . appalling” (Tacoma News Tribune), “astounding” (ESPN), “jaw-dropping” (Orlando Sentinel). Now, in Scoreboard, Baby, Armstrong and Perry go behind the scenes of the Huskies’...
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The adjectives associated with the University of Washington’s 2000 football season—mystical, magical, miraculous—changed when Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry’s four-part exposé of the 2000 Huskies hit the newspaper stands: “explosive . . . chilling” (Sports Illustrated), “blistering” (Baltimore Sun), “shocking . . . appalling” (Tacoma News Tribune), “astounding” (ESPN), “jaw-dropping” (Orlando Sentinel). Now, in Scoreboard, Baby, Armstrong and Perry go behind the scenes of the Huskies’ Cinderella story to reveal a timeless morality tale about the price of obsession, the creep of fanaticism, and the ways in which a community can lose even when its team wins. The authors unearth the true story from firsthand interviews and thousands of pages of documents: the forensic report on a bloody fingerprint; the notes of a detective investigating allegations of rape; confidential memoranda of prosecutors; and the criminal records of the dozen-plus players arrested that year with scant mention in the newspapers and minimal consequences in the courts. The statement of a judge, sentencing one player to thirty days in jail, says it all: “to be served after football season.” Read additional praise. The New York Times - Marc Tracy What the investigative reporter Ken Armstrong and the higher-education correspondent Nick Perry have done, first in an award-winning Seattle Times series and now in Scoreboard, Baby, is lay out—in hard-boiled style and with the verve only real story telling can supply—exactly whose lives were mangled in the course of the University of Washington's historic 2000 season. Their idiosyncratic characters and plots ultimately indict a vast, impersonal system that has produced dozens of such teams. The Huskies didn't break new ground here, but in so comprehensively detailing them, the authors did.
List of IllustrationsCast of CharactersAcknowledgmentsPrologue: Hush-Hush 11 Freeze 72 Marie 173 Fragments 204 Stirrings 295 Louisville Slugger 416 Nothing but Ashes 587 Face-off 648 Taking the Field 779 Happily Ever After 8310 The Twelfth Man 10211 In Hiding 10912 Taking a Pass 11213 Narrowly Honest 12214 Scoreboard, Baby 14015 Carving Their Names 15116 Body and Soul 16517 Up, Down, In, Out 17218 Taking a Shot 18519 A Week in the Life 18720 Love, Love, Love 19621 I Can't Breathe 20722 Story Lines 21723 California Fun 22824 A Mystical, Magical Day 24525 Climbing the Hill 26026 Always Hated, Never Faded 27227 Ripples 28728 When the Game's Over 293Epilogue: All about the Wins 311Notes 323Index 367
\ Chronicle of Higher Education"However familiar the underlying conflict might seem, there's an added layer of tension and tragedy to the narrative that makes Scoreboard, Baby a particularly distressing tale—and one that should be required reading for anyone linked to university life."—Libby Sander, Chronicle of Higher Education\ — Libby Sander\ \ \ \ \ \ Kirkus"Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some of America's top universities still perpetuate the myth of the "student-athlete." Armstrong and Perry sound the death knell of that hoary fable by exposing the win-at-all-costs deprivation that thrived at UW under golden-boy coach Rick Neuheisel."—Kirkus\ \ \ \ Buzz Bissinger"The most harrowing book I have ever read about college sports."\ -Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights\ \ \ \ \ \ \ David Maraniss"A terrific work of investigative reporting and a vital public service. I finished it at once infuriated and enlightened."\ -David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Richard Ben Cramer"This is a world-class job of reporting. . . . Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry have made a page-turning story of what happens off the field while we are celebrating in the stands."\ -Richard Ben Cramer, author of Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Frank DeFord"The great fraud of 'student-athletes,' higher education, and big-time football has never been detailed better than in Scoreboard, Baby. . . . Theirs is a vivid, cautionary tale that, sadly, plays out in so many college athletic departments."\ -Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated senior contributing writer and author of Everybody's All-American\ \ \ \ \ \ \ Arete"Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry have written a classic. . . . Through extensive review of public records and interviews, the authors detail the complicity of Seattle community members, law enforcement officials, coaches, players, members of the legal profession, local media, and the university in this tale of "twisted values.""—Dick Stull, Arete\ — Dick Stull\ \ \ \ \ \ Booklist Online"While the focus is specifically on the University of Washington program, this story carries importance and relevance to fans far beyond Seattle. Investigative journalism at its most revealing."—Alan Moores, Booklist Online\ — Alan Moores\ \ \ \ \ \ Buzz Bissinger“The most harrowing book I have ever read about college sports.”—Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights\ \ \ \ \ \ David Maraniss“A terrific work of investigative reporting and a vital public service. I finished it at once infuriated and enlightened.”—David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi\ \ \ \ \ \ Seattle Times"A remarkable book."—Steve Weinberg, Seattle Times\ — Steve Weinberg\ \ \ \ \ \ Chronicle of Higher Education"However familiar the underlying conflict might seem, there's an added layer of tension and tragedy to the narrative that makes Scoreboard, Baby a particularly distressing tale—and one that should be required reading for anyone linked to university life."—Libby Sander, Chronicle of Higher Education\ \ \ \ \ Booklist Online"While the focus is specifically on the University of Washington program, this story carries importance and relevance to fans far beyond Seattle. Investigative journalism at its most revealing."—Alan Moores, Booklist Online\ \ \ \ \ Seattle Times"A remarkable book."—Steve Weinberg, Seattle Times\ \ \ \ \ Arete"Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry have written a classic. . . . Through extensive review of public records and interviews, the authors detail the complicity of Seattle community members, law enforcement officials, coaches, players, members of the legal profession, local media, and the university in this tale of "twisted values.""—Dick Stull, Arete\ \ \ \ \ Booklist Online"While the focus is specifically on the University of Washington program, this story carries importance and relevance to fans far beyond Seattle. Investigative journalism at its most revealing."\ —Alan Moores, Booklist Online\ \ \ \ \ \ Arete"Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry have written a classic. . . . Through extensive review of public records and interviews, the authors detail the complicity of Seattle community members, law enforcement officials, coaches, players, members of the legal profession, local media, and the university in this tale of "twisted values.""\ —Dick Stull, Arete\ \ \ \ \ \ Marc TracyWhat the investigative reporter Ken Armstrong and the higher-education correspondent Nick Perry have done, first in an award-winning Seattle Times series and now in Scoreboard, Baby, is lay out—in hard-boiled style and with the verve only real storytelling can supply—exactly whose lives were mangled in the course of the University of Washington's historic 2000 season. Their idiosyncratic characters and plots ultimately indict a vast, impersonal system that has produced dozens of such teams. The Huskies didn't break new ground here, but in so comprehensively detailing them, the authors did.\ —The New York Times\ \
