Ed Sherman looks at Chet Coppock's new book


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Posted by Da Butcha Da Betta on November 04, 2009 at 13:00:25:

Your dime, his dance floor: Coppock writes a book

Posted by Ed S.
at 11/4/2009 2:24 AM CST on Chicago Business

If ever there was a book screaming for an audio version read by the author, it would be the latest from Chet Coppock.

The best way to approach Mr. Coppock's "Fat Guys Shouldn't be Dancin' at Halftime" is to imagine that he is reading it to you.

You need to hear his center ring announcer personna, talking to you in classic Chetspeak.

He writes: "(Mike Ditka) is so damned big in this town that if he were booked on six counts of arson, Richie Daley would personally hand deliver bail money."

Published by Chicago-based Triumph Books, "Fat Guys" is all Chet, all the time. It is his opinions on everything sports in Chicago. In typical Chet style, the stream of consciousness entries often start here, and end over there. A passage on George Halas veers into a rant about him getting fired by Ch. 5, a painful subject he revisits several times.

True to himself, Mr. Coppock remains in character in assessing the book.

"Writing this book is the most satisfying moment in my career, along with getting hired by Ch. 5 and doing a national Wheaties commercial with Walter Payton," Mr. Coppock said. "It was my grad school. Talk radio and television are drive by. When you're writing, you're bleeding from all pores. I wanted to see if I could do what the big boys do. It was a thrill for me to write every day."

The book served as a form of therapy for Mr. Coppock last spring. Like everyone else who was involved, he was devastated to be a victim of David Hernandez's ill-fated Chicagosportswebio.com. I still can remember Mr. Coppock calling me on a Friday afternoon.

"Hey Eddie," Mr. Coppock said. "Checks are bouncing around here."

Soon, it became apparent that the enterprise was built on a fraud, and Mr. Coppock, at the age of 61, was out of a job.

Now he said, "I'm still bothered by what happened with Hernandez. I'll never get over it. I feel bad for the young people who got clobbered by that SOB.

"I had a smoother road than most people. The book was a great panecea. It kept me active. It keep me looking forward to something."

Besides promoting the book, Mr. Coppock currently is handling studio work for Notre Dame broadcasts on WLS-AM 890. He also does regular podcasts on chetcoppock.com.

"I have seen the future, and it is podcasting," Mr. Coppock said.

Toward that end, Mr. Coppock and partner Alan Weintraub have formed a company to produce and develop podcasting vehicles. They hope to have 25 in place by the end of 2010.

Mr. Coppock also has the bug to do another book.

"I'm going to write about my 100 most important interviews," Mr. Coppock said. "No. 1 would be Ali. No. 2, George S. Halas. No. 3. Peter Edward Rose..."

Ah yes, I could hear it already.


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