Cosell's "I Never Played the Game" is not a biography as much as it is a series of stories and essays by the famed sportscaster. Howard Cosell WAS sports in the 70s. In an era before cable and sports shows on every channel, Howard was a one-man network. He is best known as the face and voice of ABCs Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports and Sportsbeat. Cosell was loved and hated during his career, gathering hate mail as well as a deep respect from fans, broadcasters, newspapers and sports figures alike. The praise and respect, unfortunately, came in the form of private conversations and compliments on his skills. The public criticisms of Howard were plentiful, more so than he deserved.

Cosell was a brilliant man, and he's quick to remind us that he has a law background. The first segments of this book reveal Howard's insightful thoughts regarding the NFL and its policies when it comes to allowing teams to move from city to city. Cosell's problem is the fact that the fans shouldn't have to suffer their team to move by an arbitrary decision by the owner or the city. Cosell proceeds to talk out of both sides of his mouth, and comes out on the side of governmental intervention.

Also included in this excellent book of essays is an outstanding look back at Sugar Ray Leonard and Cosell's relationship with him. Cosell uses this opportunity to talk about boxing in general, and his reasons for walking away from professional boxing. Again, Cosell loves big government solutions; he advocates a boxing commission in order to keep fighters "safe" and prevent the underhanded dealings of the promoters. Since there already ARE boxing commissions, why not let those with a gripe take them to court instead of making all sorts of new commissions and wasting tax dollars.