Full disclosure: I went to high school with the author, and also dated some of his family members (Missoula, MT was a small town, ok? jeez). This is a great look at underground sports with some really funny writing. I'm still not in love with roller derby and never will be, but there was some great writing on the background and I guess I respect it more than I did previously. Should I have been so surprised that most of these sports involve heavy drinking? The chapter on the creation of a croquet league in Portland was my favorite. ( )

I am not big on conventional sports. Living in Pittsburgh, that makes me an exception. I know enough to tell you my two favorite football teams are the Steelers and whoever is playing Cleveland, but hockey escapes me entirely and baseball bores me, regardless of who the Pirates are playing. But I do love hiking and bicycling around the area and kayak whenever I can.

Maybe that’s why I found such a connection to Zach Dundas’ The Renegade Sportsman. Many of the sports highlighted as not necessarily out of the ordinary, but the adaptation or venues certainly are. OK, maybe the chapter on professional darts was a revelation to me. To me, darts is something you do in a bar to make your beer last longer. I had no idea there was such a professional level to the sport. Hunting with hawks? Yeah, I’d heard of it and once saw a falcon at an exhibit, but I had no idea that the requirements to participate in the sport were so rigid.

I had heard of Hash House Harriers, but I had no idea there was so much history behind it. I’ve never been a runner, but I think I could get interested in a group the runs to build a thirst that gets quenched along the way. Alley Cat Bicycle racing is still a little too extreme for me, I am not grabbing on the side of a bus while on a bicycle, but maybe I can convince the promoters of some of the fund raisers I ride for to set up beer tables next to food tables. Maybe if I tell them that will get increased participation. I am not at the level of the Trans Iowa riders, but it sounds like my idea of insane fun. Being totally self-contained for 300 miles or so will certainly separate the real bicyclists from the rest of the pack. Even the Tour de France or Race Across America riders have entire teams helping them along the entire route.

As Dundas admits in the book, there are a lot of Extreme Sports that were not showcased. No mention of various Celtic sports, like tossing the caber, or Dog Brothers style Martial Arts contests. There is just so much that can be covered in one book. Hopefully there will be another. Dundas is a journalist and the writing style reflects this. Some of the interviews were pretty deep, yet the material was never dry. Lot of out loud laughs and real insider anecdotes are the hallmarks of his style. All of this made for a presentation that left me wanting to maybe try some of these outlandish events.

Not for couch potatoes or rabid fans of the usual national sports teams. If on the other hand, you enjoy your sports with a twist and a libation or two, this is just your thing. One final warning: kids, don’t try these sports at home or without proper supervision! ( )