Author writes on right subject at right time
Author Rob Miech is riding an amazing wave of perfect timing.
First it was the definitive book on locally grown baseball sensation Bryce Harper, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. Miech’s “The Last Natural” came out as Harper hit the big leagues in early 2012 as a 19-year-old.
A year later, the updated paperback version of “The Last Natural” was released: “Phenom: The Making of Bryce Harper” came out about the time Harper won National League rookie of the year.
Now Miech has completed another hot-topic book project.
“Eleventh Heaven” coincides with the 20th anniversary season of UCLA’s 11th national basketball championship. But then Miech hit another jackpot when Ed O’Bannon, the star of that UCLA team, won his epic lawsuit against the NCAA in August.
“Talk about getting lucky,” Miech said Tuesday by phone.
O’Bannon, who moved to Las Vegas about 12 years ago, has been characterized as “the Curt Flood of College Sports” since filing his lawsuit against the NCAA in the summer of 2009. Flood, an outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals, sued Major League Baseball and won a case that led to an era of free agency.
A federal judge ruled in favor of a group of plaintiffs led by O’Bannon in a groundbreaking antitrust suit against the NCAA.
“Basically,” Miech said, “it allows future elite college basketball and football players to be compensated for the use of their images. They will be getting a piece of the television pie.”
It wasn’t all luck. In fact, there was a crushing bad break that doomed what was supposed to be Miech’s book about UCLA’s 1995 title team.
Miech had covered the Bruins that season for the Pasadena Star-News.
“My first story for the paper was on Ed committing to UCLA, out of Lakewood Artesia High School, after he had committed to UNLV in May 1990,” he said.
Miech was there on Oct. 9, 1990, six days before the official start of practice, when O’Bannon tore his left knee apart in a pickup game. He did not appear in a game for the Bruins until January 1992.
Three years later, after UCLA won the Final Four under Jim Harrick, Miech attended a student celebration at jammed Pauley Pavilion.
Disaster struck when Miech, who left the media table momentarily to grab a quote from O’Bannon, returned to find his computer bag missing. In it was his computer with game stories, features and tons of notes, plus 15 notebooks and tape recordings, everything he needed for the book.
It turned out to be a blessing, Miech said.
“Having written the book on Bryce Harper’s magical 2010 season at CSN, knowing exactly the incredible demands of writing a book, I know I did not have it in me, then, to do that season justice. No way.”
His second-chance book comes out on Amazon and Barnes &Noble.com.
His first book signing is from 1-3 p.m. Oct. 4 at Barnes and Noble on Stephanie Street in Henderson.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
About 30 dealertainers at The Linq, formerly The Quad, were laid off on Monday. They were part of the Imperial Palace starting about 12 years ago and remained through the transition into The Quad, which recently was renamed The Linq. …
Ray Rice has learned the hard way: What happens in casinos, doesn’t stay in casinos. The former Baltimore Ravens running back was cut by the NFL club on Monday and suspended indefinitely by the league after surveillance video surfaced that showed him knocking out his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer. It happened Feb. 15 in an elevator at Revel in Atlantic City. Rice celebrated the Ravens’ 2013 Super Bowl win at The Venetian’s Tao nightclub a couple weeks after the big game. …
Magic legends Siegfried &Roy will again be the honorary keg tappers for the kickoff Saturday of Oktoberfest at the Hofbrahaus Las Vegas. The German illusionists are serving as burgermeisters for the ninth year. Celebrities will tap a keg every Friday and Saturday night, from Saturday until Oct. 31. …
The Rio is the host site of “Vampire Diaries” official convention this weekend. Most of the CW’s hit TV series will attend the event, including Ian Somerhalder, who is in the headlines for a new romance with “Twilight” star Nikki Reed. He’s at the convention on Saturday. Cast member Micah Parker will be hosting a karaoke party on Friday night.
THE PUNCH LINE
“Reportedly the identity of Jack the Ripper, who killed five people in London, finally has been revealed. After hearing about it, the commissioner of the NFL suspended him for two games.” — Conan O’Brien
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or email him at norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke. “Norm Clarke’s Vegas,” airs Thursdays on the “Morning Blend” on KTNV-TV, Channel 13.
