{"product_id":"can-i-keep-my-jersey-11-teams-5-countries-and-4-years-in-my-life-as-a-basketball-vagabond-paperback","title":"Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePaul Shirley\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eChuck Klosterman\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe's been called a journeyman. Even Paul wouldn't dispute that classification. Regardless, Bill Simmons, ESPN's \"The Sports Guy,\" has said of Paul Shirley, \"We could finally have an answer to the question 'What would it be like if one of our friends was an NBA player?\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e There's no denying that Paul Shirley is the closest thing pro basketball's got to Odysseus. In Homeric fashion, he has logged time practically everywhere in the roundball universe, from six NBA cities to pro leagues in Spain and Greece to North America's pro ball Siberia, the minor leagues. Hell, he's even played in the real Siberia. And in \u003ci\u003eCan I Keep My Jersey?\u003c\/i\u003e, Shirley finally puts down roots long enough to deliver one of the great locker-room chronicles of the modern age. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e With sharp elbows and an even sharper wit, Shirley-whose writings have been described as \"wildly entertaining\" by \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e-drops hilarious commentary, revealing which teams have the best cheerleaders (he's spent many a time-out watching them ply their trade), why Christ is rapidly becoming every team's \"sixth man,\" and even the best ways to get bloodstains out of your game uniform, using only an ordinary bar of soap and a hotel bathroom sink. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From sharing the court with Kobe and Shaq to perusing the food court at some mall in a bush-league burg; from taking pregame layups to getting laid out by a stray knee from an NBA power forward; from hopping a limo to the team's charter jet to dashing to catch the van home from a B-league game in Tijuana, Shirley dishes on what it's like to try to make it as a professional athlete. \u003ci\u003eCan I Keep My Jersey?\u003c\/i\u003e is a rollicking, thoughtful, even thought-provoking insider's look at a pro baller's life on the fringe. Like Jim Bouton's \u003ci\u003eBall Four\u003c\/i\u003e or John Feinstein's \u003ci\u003eA Season on the Brink\u003c\/i\u003e, Shirley's odyssey deserves to find a home on every sports fan's bookshelf.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul Shirley has played for eleven professional basketball teams in the six years since he graduated from Iowa State University, where he was an engineering major and an academic All-American. While with the Phoenix Suns in 2005, he blogged about his experiences with the team on NBA's website. When not trying to catch on with yet another pro club, Shirley authors a column for ESPN called \"My So-Called Career,\" and he has even co-written and produced a television pilot based on his life in basketball.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.74 x 7.96 x 5.28 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 25, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47505911087282,"sku":"9780345495709","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/YSVoFja1O19780345495709.webp?v=1779542179","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/can-i-keep-my-jersey-11-teams-5-countries-and-4-years-in-my-life-as-a-basketball-vagabond-paperback","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}