To
The Brink: Stockton Malone And The Utah Jazzs Climb To The Edge Of Glory
by Michael Lewis
Hardcover from Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0684856867
"To the Brink" is a no-holds-barred look behind the scenes at the sports
world's favorite oxymoron--the Utah Jazz--as they make one final fight
for that elusive championship ring in the 1997-98 season. 8-page photo
insert.
What separates To the Brink from most annals of a team's season
is the ending: the Jazz ultimately failed. All the tumult, anxiety, and
excitement that led to this failure make Brink a far more textured
tale than the one that would have been written had they prevailed over
the Bulls in the 1998 NBA championships. Lewis naturally centers on the
often brilliant play and moody personalities of future Hall of Famers John
Stockton and Karl Malone, but he works all sides of the court here, and
good stories emerge, from Coach Jerry Sloan's metamorphosis in the face
of his wife's cancer to the tense bickering over Greg Ostertag's inflated
salary and deflated performance. Regularly counted out and always underestimated,
the Jazz surprised the NBA by doing what they do best: playing solid ball
and prevailing in the West on what often seemed like a triumvirate of heart,
perseverance, and Malone's charismatically gargantuan will. They shocked
the talented Lakers, sweeping them in the conference finals 4-0 to earn
a return trip to face the Bulls in the title round, where they succumbed,
a game too soon, to one of Michael Jordan's more sublime moments. That
the loss is preordained riffs; like a bad date with destiny, you keep hoping
for the best, but a sad air of resignation prevails. --Jeff Silverman |
Sports Posters
