The Race is On: Which Blog Will Review Will Leitch’s “God Save The Fan” First?

Did you know Will Leitch, Mr. Head Sportsblogger, King of Blogfrica, Mattoon’s Native Son, and general bon vivant has a book coming out next week?

It’s called God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back). Quite a mouthful.

Did you know he also has a fancy book tour heading to a bookstore near you right after the Super Bowl?

Next week? Next month? But that seems so far away! This is blogging in a 24/7 ESPN sports culture and I demand reactions now! If I don’t have the snap judgments of what other bloggers think, how am I going to know what I am supposed to think? Where will all the other book readers express their opinions on “God Save the Fan” on January 22?

Who will have a review up first?

Let’s lay some odds on where the party is going to be.

1-1 Rumor has it that some – maybe all – of the KSK guys are thanked in the acknowledgments. Big Daddy Drew writes an entire review in “YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!!!!!!“s, while Punter sits quietly in the corner eating crayons waiting for coloring book edition to be released.

7-2 At least one of the 700 bloggers who contribute to the Fanhouse must either work at HarperCollins or work the late-shift at Borders waiting for book deliveries. Might alienate AOL audience by posting a review for something not written in ALL CAPS.

8-5 Approximately 267 comments will be posted calling Will a sellout for reviewing his own book before anyone notices that the byline on the article says “Rick.”

2-1 Home of the Will Leitch Sucks tag. Has notepad, pencil, highlighter and extra Luna bars ready for the all-nighter he’s about to pull.

50-1 From a Ladies… email thread:

Andrea – I’d lay 2/1 odds that With Leather finds a smarmy way to bash it.

Holly – Awww, that’s all right, then Deadspin can just slam Ufford’s book…..oh.

5-1 Chris and Jamie Mottram contact all the “God Save the Fan” reviewers they can find and form Tumblr Sports, leaving Yahoo and The Sporting News behind in a cliffhanger episode of the Blog Show.

1-5 Lion in Oil, responsible for approximately half the links on Deadspin, already have their review queued up for 12:01 AM, January 22.

12:06 AM is a story about a girl who lost her arm surfing, caught a marlin on her way to shore, and was named on page 2 of the Grimsley Affidavit as the fan who doused herself in beer at Dodger Stadium, a sure-fire BallHype hit.

5-1 Robert Weintraub gets his last laugh at the pissy 20 or so Deadspin commenters who bitch endlessly about his “Sean Salisbury Wisdom” column that no one is forcing them to read. (Ed. note: You know that part of Howard Stern’s Private Parts where Paul Giamatti as Pig Vomit is talking to the ratings guy? “But… if they hate him, why do they listen?” “Most common answer? ‘I want to see what he’ll say next.'” No one wants to be Pig Vomit.)

8-1 Always good for a scoop, TBL holds off on posting an early review out of fear that Colin Cowherd might actually show up at their door bringing with him the worst of the ten plagues; lice, locusts, and the Herd.

7-1 Legit sports reporter. No longer works at an ESPN Radio affiliate.

30-1 Juggs and Red it make home safely from the Darks Mall Waldenbooks just in time to take their third hiatus.

5-2 Matt Sussman, Futon Report. Productivity (and sex) have declined in the weeks since blogging about his new puritanical couch. < > tags everywhere breathe a sigh of relief.

9-1 Like the Fanhouse, but with fewer writers readers. Difficult to review a book in “Who would you do?” format.

3-1 ESPN Ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber, exhausted from her first year on the job, posts entire book as a PDF on January 23. Later found to be the source of all memos leaked out of Bristol.

25-1 Waiting at Juggs and Red’s place.

15-1 Dan Shanoff Agreed to review the book early, but accidentally linked it among the 14 entries in his “Navel Gazing” blogroll about himself where it was never seen again. (Ed. Note-Bolded because he didn’t see his name on the list the first time through and emailed about it.)

Scratched – J.E. Skeets, part time Deadspin editor. Will be the first to review the “God Save the Fan” podcast.

85-1 Ladies… . Holding out for “God Save Jacoby Ellsbury.”