Gaming the Game
The Story Behind the NBA Betting Scandal and the Gambler Who Made It Happen
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Gaming the Game
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
About this listen
In June 2007, the FBI informed the NBA that one of its referees, Tim Donaghy, was the subject of a probe into illegal gambling. Within months, the public knew the broad outlines of a scheme involving Donaghy betting on games he officiated with a coconspirator, longtime Donaghy acquaintance and professional gambler Jimmy "Baba" Battista. They were joined in the scandal by a mutual childhood friend, Tommy Martino. By November 2008, each man had pleaded guilty to charges relating to the conspiracy and was in federal prison.
Author Sean Patrick Griffin, PhD, a former Philadelphia police officer turned university professor and best-selling author, conducted dozens of interviews and obtained betting records, referee statistics, court documents, and unique access to witness statements and confidential law-enforcement files. Years of research are presented in Gaming the Game, which looks inside the FBI's investigation and beyond to provide the definitive account of the scandal. Jimmy Battista's remarkable decades-long bookmaking and betting career is examined, including and especially his role as architect of the widely publicized scandal. Battista, who - unlike his coconspirators - never spoke with federal authorities, reveals for the first time the intricate details of the scheme, most of which only he knows.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
In Being Oscar,one of America’s most celebrated criminal defense attorneys recounts the stories and cases of his epic life. The Mafia’s go-to defender, he has tried an estimated 300 criminal cases, and won most of them. His roster of clients reads like a history of organized crime: Meyer Lansky, Nicky Scarfo, and "Lefty" Rosenthal, as well as Mike Tyson and boxing promoter Don King, along with a midget, a dentist, and a federal judge. After 35 years as a defender, he ran for mayor of Las Vegas, and America’s greatest Mob lawyer became the mayor of its sexiest city.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not as good as I expected
- By Eric Schurr on 11-16-14
By: Oscar Goodman, and others
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The Last Gangster
- From Cop to Wiseguy to FBI Informant: Big Ron Previte and the Fall of the American Mob
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
As a cop, Ron Previte was corrupt. As a mobster, he was brutal. And in his final role, as a confidential informant to the FBI, Previte was deadly. The Last Gangster is his story—the story of the last days of the Philadelphia Mob, and of the clash of generations that brought it down once and for all. Convinced that the honor of the "business" was gone, he became the FBI's secret weapon in an intense and highly personalized war on the Philadelphia mob, operating with the same guile, wit, and stone-cold bravado that had made him a force in the underworld.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautifully done! Exceptional.
- By none on 12-15-23
By: George Anastasia
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Illegal Procedure
- A Sports Agent Comes Clean on the Dirty Business of College Football
- By: Josh Luchs, James Dale
- Narrated by: David Ledoux
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
For 15 years, sports agent Josh Luchs made illegal deals with numerous college athletes, from top-tier, nationally recognized phenoms to late-round draft picks. Then, in October 2010, Luchs wrote a confessional article in Sports Illustrated, telling the truth about what he did and didn't do. Since then, he has taken on a new role: whistle-blowing, truth-telling reformer. In telling his own story, Luchs here pulls back the curtain on the real economy - and the broken system - of college football.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very cool!
- By Phil on 01-24-13
By: Josh Luchs, and others
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Making Jack Falcone
- An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family
- By: Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, Michael Levin
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 335
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 215
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 213
At six-foot-four-inches and 375 pounds, Jack Garcia looked the part of a mobster, and he played his part so perfectly that his Mafia bosses never suspected he was an undercover agent for the FBI. "Big Jack Falcone," as he was known inside La Cosa Nostra, learned all the inside dirt about the Gambino organized crime syndicate and its illegal activities---from extortion and loan-sharking to assault and murder.
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4 out of 5 stars
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interesting story--offensive narration
- By Mark on 03-17-12
By: Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, and others
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Gotti's Rules
- The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 334
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 288
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 286
The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don", John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways, an image perpetuated in popular Mafia mythology. John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Garbage read
- By Ray on 09-02-15
By: George Anastasia
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Mob Rules
- What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman
- By: Louis Ferrante
- Narrated by: Louis Ferrante
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story5 out of 5 stars 89
As an associate of the Gambino family, Ferrante relied on his instincts to pull off some of the biggest heists in US history. By the age of 21, he had netted millions of dollars for his employers. His natural talent for management led Mafia bosses to rely on him. After being arrested and serving an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence, Ferrante went straight. He realized that the Mob's most valuable business lessons would allow him to survive and thrive in the real world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Business Without Order Is A Business Doomed To Fail
- By Fabrice76718 on 05-15-24
By: Louis Ferrante
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The Last Godfather
- The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino
- By: Simon Crittle
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Story4 out of 5 stars 99
As head of the Bonanno clan, Joey Massino was the last don, and ran his world with an iron hand - until he got hit with a murder rap, and turned on his own people. Here, for the first time, is his shocking true story - a glimpse inside the world of organized crime that we may never see again.
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1 out of 5 stars
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the 6th family
- By chris torkelson on 05-16-20
By: Simon Crittle
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The Vapors
- A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice
- By: David Hill
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Story4 out of 5 stars 179
Back in the days before Vegas was big, when the Mob was at its peak and neon lights were but a glimmer on the horizon, a little Southern town styled itself as a premier destination for the American leisure class. Hot Springs, Arkansas was home to healing waters, Art Deco splendor, and America's original national park - as well as horse racing, nearly a dozen illegal casinos, countless backrooms and brothels, and some of the country’s most bald-faced criminals.
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1 out of 5 stars
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If you don’t live in Arkansas…
- By JohnFern0813 on 08-14-20
By: David Hill
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Pesos
- The Rise and Fall of a Border Family
- By: Pietro La Greca Jr., Rebecca Paley - contributor
- Narrated by: Tony Dalton
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
Pietro La Greca Sr. was an intimidating Napolitano con man dubbed “Mexico’s real-life Don Corleone”. He ran Mexico’s biggest money-laundering scheme during the worst economic period in the country’s history. His was a world of fast cars, mansions on the water, and VIP treatment at Las Vegas casinos. His exploitation of Mexico’s financial free fall made him a wealthy man. But while he was running his criminal empire, his son, Pietro Jr., a.k.a. Picho, was learning his father’s tricks—if only to bring the man down.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Must Read Story
- By April Wells on 11-04-22
By: Pietro La Greca Jr., and others
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Straight Shooter
- A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes
- By: Stephen A. Smith
- Narrated by: Stephen A. Smith
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,640
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,473
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,466
Stephen A. Smith has never been handed anything, nor was he an overnight success. Growing up poor in Queens, the son of Caribbean immigrants and the youngest of six children, he was a sports-obsessed kid who faced struggles, from undiagnosed dyslexia to getting enough cereal to fill his bowl. As a basketball player at Winston-Salem State University, he got a glimmer of his true calling when he wrote a newspaper column arguing for the retirement of his own Hall of Fame coach, Clarence Gaines.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Trash🗑
- By Maurice Davis on 01-25-23
By: Stephen A. Smith
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Operation Family Secrets
- How a Mobster's Son and the FBI Brought Down Chicago's Murderous Crime Family
- By: Frank Calabrese Jr., Keith Zimmerman, Kent Zimmerman, and others
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 194
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 165
The Calabrese family of Chicago is a close-knit, middle-class, multi-generational Italian-Irish-American clan. They operate family businesses. They work day and night striving for the American Dream. All three sons forge a bond with their controlling father, Frank Sr., and their soft-spoken favorite uncle, Nick. As a boy, the oldest son, Frank Jr., realizes that his father and uncle are also "made" members of another close-knit family: the outfit.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Riveting Listen!
- By ahippieadventure on 02-06-13
By: Frank Calabrese Jr., and others
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Tulia
- Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town
- By: Nate Blakeslee
- Narrated by: James Boles
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 213
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Early one morning in the summer of 1999, authorities in the tiny West Texas town of Tulia began a roundup of suspected drug dealers. By the time the sweep was done, over 40 people had been arrested and one of every five black adults in town was behind bars, all accused of dealing cocaine to the same undercover officer, Tom Coleman.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Must Read
- By JOHN on 03-23-08
By: Nate Blakeslee
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Bad Paper
- Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld
- By: Jake Halpern
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
Jake Halpern introduces us to a former banking executive and a former armed robber who become partners and go in quest of "paper" - the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Halpern shows, the world of consumer debt collection is a wild and unregulated shadow land, where operators may misrepresent a debtor's situation, make illegal threats, and even lay claim to debts that are not theirs to collect in the first place.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Examination of Bad Debts; its Buyers & Sellers
- By Darwin8u on 08-22-16
By: Jake Halpern
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The Tangled Web
- The Life and Death of Richard Cain—Chicago Cop and Mafia Hitman
- By: Michael Cain
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 197
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 180
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
The Tangled Web tells the dramatic story of detective Richard Cain's criminal career as revealed by his half-brother, Michael. Cain led a double-life—one as a well-known cop who led raids that landed on the front pages, and the other as a "made man" in one of Chicago's most notorious mob families.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Reviews
- By G. D. Hoppe on 11-19-20
By: Michael Cain
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Love and Justice
- By: Jonathan Irons, Maya Moore Irons, Bryan Stevenson - foreword, and others
- Narrated by: Jonathan Irons, Maya Moore Irons
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story5 out of 5 stars 100
In the tradition of Just Mercy, an inspirational memoir by WNBA star Maya Moore Irons and her husband, Jonathan Irons, who she helped free from a wrongful conviction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Storytelling
- By Lydia Neto on 10-26-24
By: Jonathan Irons, and others
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Cullotta
- By: Dennis N. Griffin, Frank Cullotta
- Narrated by: Michael Taylor
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it - and in graphic detail. This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro's gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta's was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information - lots of it - about many of the FBI's most wanted.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great story, silly narrator
- By Tom Mainella II on 04-20-15
By: Dennis N. Griffin, and others
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BMF
- The Rise and Fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family
- By: Mara Shalhoup
- Narrated by: L. Steven Taylor
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,002
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 810
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 812
In the early 1990s, Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and his brother, Terry "Southwest T", rose up from the slums of Detroit to build one of the largest cocaine empires in American history: the Black Mafia Family. They socialized with music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, did business with New York's king of bling Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabo, and built allegiances with rap superstars Young Jeezy and Fabolous. Yet even as BMF was attracting celebrity attention, its crew members struck fear in a city.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good listen
- By Lamont on 04-20-20
By: Mara Shalhoup
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Got to Give the People What They Want
- True Stories and Flagrant Opinions from Center Court
- By: Jalen Rose
- Narrated by: Jalen Rose
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 567
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 505
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 504
Jalen Rose has never been quiet. Not as a kid growing up in Detroit in the '70s and '80s. Not as the brash, trash-talking leader of the legendary "Fab Five" at the University of Michigan. Not as the player under the stewardship of Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and others throughout his 13-year NBA career. And certainly not as a commentator and analyst on ABC/ESPN and Grantland.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing book - a MUST download / read
- By Terry on 10-08-15
By: Jalen Rose
What listeners say about Gaming the Game
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 09-20-22
True Crime meets Sports
An in depth look into the betting scandal that hit the NBA. Basketball Illuminati sent me
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 03-30-22
Enlightening
A very interesting book - well researched and well told. I learned quite a bit about sports gambling. The narrator did a great job.
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