Al Michael's Autobiography 'You Can't Make This Up' Hits Bookstores Today

This fall, the sports world will welcome one of its most eagerly anticipated autobiographies: YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television (William Morrow; November 18, 2014) by Al Michaels with L. Jon Wertheim. One of America's most respected sportscasters-and the play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday Night Football-Michaels gives us a behind-the-curtain look at some of the most thrilling games and fascinating figures in modern sports in a career spanning more than four decades.

The undisputed master of primetime play-by-play, Michaels is one of television's most respected and recognized journalists. He has an unmistakable voice. His style is clean, his manner affable. Michaels understands the story lines and the flow of the game like few others. He finds the perfect tone that incorporates authority, warmth, knowledge, and good humor, and invites his audience to share in sports history along the way.

Michaels has appeared on live primetime over-the-air network television far more than anyone in history, but he doesn't rest on his laurels. He's always anticipating that next story... another dramatic finish. In a career and industry where it's easy to take your eye off the ball, Al Michaels never has. He's never become complacent or jaded, nor taken a moment of this wild ride for granted.

From an early age-growing up in Brooklyn-Al Michaels was immersed in sports. While most kids dream of playing major league baseball, Michaels dreamed of announcing major league baseball. It's a job that he would have done for free. Today, Michaels' acclaimed broadcast career has set the new gold standard for the industry. He has called eight World Series, eight Olympic Games, two NBA Finals, and hosted three Stanley Cup Finals. He covered the gamut in the human drama of athletic competition in his years at Wide World of Sports and spent two decades as the face and voice of Monday Night Football. Now, he's in his ninth season of NBC's SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL and in February 2015, he'll be calling his ninth SUPER BOWL from Arizona. As sports television grew, so did his career trajectory and reputation.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP includes:

The stories behind his call of the 1980 U.S. Hockey gold medal run
Behind the scenes of the earthquake at the 1989 World Series
His seven-year broadcasting partnership with the great John Madden
The brief, but hysterical Dennis Miller era on Monday Night Football
The story behind his career false-start with the legendary basketball announcer Chick Hearn
Michaels' lifelong alter-ego, "The Rascal"
Michaels' best stories about the complex, confounding, and often cantankerous Howard Cosell
The birth of his major league broadcast career in Cincinnati calling games for The Big Red Machine
Insight into and revelations about Pete Rose and Johnny Bench
His years of working San Francisco Giants' games at the infamous Candlestick Park
Stories about Michaels' good buddy Bobby Murcer, aka "The Pig Farmer"
His relationship with O.J. Simpson prior to the horrific crimes and subsequent trial, and his role in the coverage of the events of June 1994
His disdain for misinformation and "you heard it here first" journalism
His wacky assignments for his first full-time network job at ABC in 1977
The effect of ESPN on network sports, and the early rivalry between ESPN and ABC Sports
How Michaels earned the title of "the King of the Redeye"
The awkward year for prime-time football telecasts that was 2005
Michaels' love of horse racing
Michaels' adventures in one of his least favorite nations: Hollywood
His "vegetable phobia" and claim that he's never eaten a vegetable... ever

Michaels describes his broadcasting philosophy and the nuances of the trade. He talks about his deep desire to "get it right" along with his insights on the partners and peers that he has shared the booth or production studio with over the years like Cris Collinsworth, Howard Cosell, Bob Uecker, Bob Costas, Jim McKay, Roone Arledge, Tim McCarver, Doc Rivers, Frank Gifford, Mark Lazarus, Dick Ebersol, Dennis Miller, and John Madden, among so many others.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP covers it all; the thrilling victories, the agonizing defeats, the chicanery and all of the fantastic inside stories including the surprising birth date information he received from Charlie Hustle; his near miss covering "Motorcycles on Ice" for The Wide World of Sports; bearing witness as Howard Cosell breaks up a nighttime street fight in Kansas City not with force or wisdom, but with fight analysis; and his memorable missed put on the 18th green playing in a competitive foursome with the Manning brothers. It's just as you would expect from the inimitable Al Michaels.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Al Michaels has logged more hours on live primetime over-the-air network television than anyone in history, including twenty years as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football. He won his first Sportscaster of the Year award in 1980, became the second sportscaster in history to receive a News Emmy nomination for his coverage of the San Francisco earthquake during the 1989 World Series, and was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 Sports Emmys. Michaels has covered eight Olympics, and is currently the play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday Night Football, TV's highest rated show. Michaels and his wife Linda, who met in the 10th grade and have been married for 48 years, live in Los Angeles. They have two children and four grandchildren.

L. Jon Wertheim, the executive editor of Sports Illustrated, is one of the most accomplished sports journalists in America. His work has been cited in The Best American Sports Writing anthology four times as well as The Best American Crime Writing. He is the author of seven highly praised books, including the New York Times bestseller Scorecasting. He is a regular contributor to CNN, National Public Radio, and a commentator for the Tennis Channel.

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