For your summer reading, I highly recommend A Few Seconds of Panic by Wall Street Journal writer Stefan Fatsis. The subtitle presents the book neatly: A 5-foot-8, 170-pound, 43-year-old sports writer plays in the NFL.

The 340-page book chronicles Fatsis' journey toward being an NFL kicker (at the age of 43 and he is not a Grammatica descendent!!!). With consent from the NFL and after asking most every NFL team, the Denver Broncos are the only team to accept him into their locker room with no question or field--off limits to him and his notebook.

I learned many new things about the kicking game in which I have never ever thought:
-In 2005, NFL field goal accuracy hit a record high, 81%
-Kickers account for nearly half of the points scored in the NFL these days, compared to just over a third in the 1970s

With that in mind, Fatsis is very respectful of the players and his role as a kicker (the kicker jokes are great!), therefore, they dish with him and drop a lot of "f-bombs." He is also very respectful of the game and takes time to get into NFL shape and works with a renowned kicking coach on his technique.

The Bronco's Jason Elam and the kicking crew take him under their wings like a little brother so there is boyhood banter, during the boredom of training camp for kickers. He also spares little details of the life of an NFL player filled with numerous physical ailments along with the tough love of the business side of the game. Reading about the players as they learned they were cut from the team was heart breaking but as they say "it is what it is."

If you liked Michael Lewis' Blind Side, you will love this one.

Mike Shanahan and crew took a big blind side leap on letting Fatsis inside of their world. I am still deliberating on whether or not this book will endear fans. I applaud the Broncos for their courage on green lighting the project.

Read it and let me know what you think.

**A Side Note: I could do without the barbs on the Bengals and their off-field behavior!