Give me an E!

Today's shout out goes to my Big Brother. No, reality program or Orwell reference here -- just a holla to Mr. Eric Mirlis. Or as many call him "The Mirl." For some reason, it sounds odd coming out of my mouth. At times I call him E, but I rarely use his first name at all.

I mean as sole siblings, it's not hard to recognize each other on the phone.

So, my brother's famous. While I am the artsy fartsy one, my bro is all about SPORTS. I mean, this guy knows just about EVERYTHING there is to know about the subject and the cool thing is that he writes about it so stinkin' well. Talk about passion.

Most recently, he compiled a book called Being There. After finishing the last Harry Potter and a few plays for the class I teach in the fall, I FINALLY picked up the book and have been reading a few entries before bed each night. While I am not a sports fan, it's amazing the amount of detail that people remember about sporting events. It's an exciting read.

There are so many different events mentioned -- from the mid-50s through the present. My favorite is to read different accounts of the SAME event. I love to see how the various broadcasters, writers, and celebrities recount the events in very personal ways.

I mean, I am biased here, but I totally recommend it to all sports fans. And better yet, it makes a great gift.

For more information and to get additional writings on -- you guessed it -- sports, visit his website.