Playing Ball with the Boys

Book excerpt: Female sideline reporters are the fastest-growing trend in broadcasts of professional and college football: names like Suzy Kolber, Erin Andrews, and Andrea Kremer are now as well known as any of the men in the booth. But even more has been going on. In recent years women have garnered spots as sports columnists and reporters, talk-show hosts, and even coaches and team administrators. Yet there has never been a book about this phenomenon. Former ESPN news anchor Betsy Ross fills this gap with Playing Ball with the Boys, a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the emerging role that women play in sports broadcasting and reporting, as well as in the business of sports. The book features interviews with the legendary women’s sports activist Billie Jean King, as well as Women’s Professional Soccer League leader Tonya Antonucci and ESPN College Basketball Analyst Rebecca Lobo. Prominent women working in the media are also featured in the book, including WFAN’s Ann Ligouri, CBS’ Lesley Visser, ESPN’s Pam Ward, USA Today’s Christine Brennan and Sports Illustrated’s Selena Roberts. Playing Ball with the Boys delivers firsthand accounts of the struggles and triumphs of women succeeding in what has long been a man's game.