Bob Probert (1965–2010)

This book was a HUGE disappointment! I had been thinking about getting it for a couple of years and I had been looking forward to reading it for some time because I have fond memories of seeing Bob Probert on the ice pummeling the hell out of other players. He was the greatest hockey enforcer of all time. But, God, was he a scum of a human being! This book is a disaster. I didn't even finish it. I got through the first eight chapters and gave up. He died an early death in 2010 and had been working on this book, which was apparently finished by his widow and co-author. But it reads like a huge party book. That's it. That's all. I had expected details on his career in hockey, on his times growing up in Windsor, in the minor leagues, his times in Detroit and Chicago, his coaches, his teammates, his rivals, the various aspects of fighting on ice, etc. What I got was the fact that he became an alcoholic at age 14, starting using coke shortly thereafter, probably never passed a high school class and became a high school dropout, some details on minor league play, some details on Detroit, but much more on run ins with the police, on his womanizing, on his drinking 24 beers at a time every night, on his love for coke, on his disobeying his coaches, his general managers, the police, every authority figure there was, his lying to everyone, his pathetic stints in rehab, and this was in every damn chapter. Hell, if I wanted to read endless chapters about someone getting ripped repeatedly over and over again and going out partying endlessly, I'd just look back on my college days. I didn't want or expect this out of a major hockey star. What a loser. What a creep. What an immature, spoiled brat who never grew up, who never took anyone or anything seriously, who was a pathetic excuse for a human being. And he remained an alcoholic drug abuser til he died. I'm sorry I bought this book and I'll never think of him the same way again. Definitely not recommended.… (més)