{"product_id":"9780345495709","title":"Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eShirley, Paul; Klosterman, Chuck\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVillard\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3\/25\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\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?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.","brand":"Villard","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44213941731583,"sku":"9780345495709","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780345495709_s600x595.jpg?v=1775594429","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/de\/products\/9780345495709","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}