More (not so desperate) Dad's day decisions that deliver

In addition to recommentations for Father's Day gifts in today's paper (linked here), consider these as well for dads who not only still read a newspaper, but like the feel of these former hardback books now out as paperback (sometimes updated and revised, often with a different cover):

== "Always by My Side" by Jim Nantz (Gotham, $16) (amazon.com link here)

== "All For A few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora" by David Rensin (who also did "Devil at my Heels" on Louis Zamperini; $15.99, Harper Collins) (amazon.com link here).

== "America Son" by Oscar de la Hoya with Steve Springer (Harper Collins, $14.99) (amazon.com link here).

== "The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Runious Sport" by Carl Hiassen (www.carlhiassen.com, Vintage Books, $14) (amazon.com link here)

== "Covert" by NBA referee Bob Delaney (Union Square Press, $14.95) (amazon.com link to hardcover version here)

== "The Final Four of Everything" by Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir (Simon & Schuster, $19.95) (amazon.com link here, more of a spin-off from their previous hardbound book, linked here)

== "We Would Have Played for Nothing" by Fay Vincent (Simon & Schuster, $15) (amazon.com link here)

== "The Great Book of Los Angeles Sports Lists" by Matt "Money" Smith and Steve Hartman (Running Press, $14.95), which we've publicized in the past, but is worth throwing out as another reminder.

And if we could throw one hardback entry into that mix:

== "What Were They Thinking? The Brainless Blunders That Changed Sports History" by Kyle Garlett ($24.99, Harper, 231 pages), by a freelancer for ESPN The Magazine and FoxSports.com who also wrote for "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" and lives in Marina del Rey. Among the blunder recreations that we enjoyed: The first story is from the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" (a story that's the starting point for the book we mentioned in today's column called "Miracle Ball" by Brian Biegel), examining why Dodger manager Charlie Dressen's grudge toward 24-year-old pitcher Clem Labine resulted in his decision to use Ralph Branca (who had already lost five games against the Giants in '51 and gave up 10 home runs) against Bobby Thomson. ... or why didn't Dressen walk Thomson with first base open and pitch to the rookie Willie Mays? Or does that all sound too much like the 1985 playoffs, when Tommy Lasorda brought Tom Niedenfuer in to pitch to Jack Clark, instead of walking him ... or is all that too painful to revisit? Not to give away the book's ending, but in writing about the Bartman game from 2003 at Wrigley Field, Garlett reminds us of a Homer Simpson quote that should be taken more seriously: "When you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get."

Find that book here (linked here)

Again, give Dad something to read while awaiting for ABC's new series, "Cougar Town."