WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: The Inside Story of the Jim Rome Show; The First-Ever Biography of the Pimp in the Box Published as an e-Book at www.JimRomeBook.com

Business Wire, Sept 17, 2003

Sports Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2003

Is Jim Rome too powerful? A new biography, the first-ever about the world's most intriguing and most feared sports broadcaster, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: The Inside Story of the Jim Rome Show by bestselling author Michael Levin, celebrates this very question. In the spirit of Rome's revolutionary use of media, the biography is published exclusively as an e-book and is available immediately to the Jungle's legion of fans at www.JimRomeBook.com.

Levin considers Rome's claim that "Jungle Karma" attaches to those players and teams who cooperate with the show. There have been newspaper accounts of players and coaches appearing on Rome's show in advance of a big game in order to get some jungle Karma. What other media outlet has that kind of power?

Besides the sheer size of his audience (2.5 million listeners daily tune into 200 affiliates across North America), Rome and his followers ("the clones") have invented their own language of sports (called "the Gloss") which contains more than 500 words.

Biographer Levin, an acknowledged clone, says some athletes hate the Jungle because Rome is a smart ass and he will instigate his clones against certain players, which makes life a nightmare for them. Some athletes simply refuse to talk to him. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is a fun read from beginning to end, analyzing who are the best and worst Jungle guests, revealing how the Slam Man got his nickname, and considering how Jeff from Richmond stacks up against Jim from Fall River.

Jim's critics believe he has hurt sports broadcasting, turning it into a Howard Stern-type world. And it's true that Rome himself has become as much the story as the games he covers. That's why Levin, the well-known comic novelist, was compelled to write about him.

Levin took a break from novel writing to create WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. "I'm mad for sports. I have kept a Yankee Stadium chair in my bedroom since I bought it with my Dad in 1973. I still have my (filled in) New York Mets scorecards from their championship season in 1969. I also have two autographed baseballs with all the autographs from 1969 and 1970 New York Mets. I've written 28 books but when I'm stuck in Los Angeles traffic I just want to be entertained. That's why I listen to Jim Rome."

The New Yorker has said "Levin's verbal humor glistens." People Magazine raved: "Levin satirizes as effectively as Calvin Trillin and Kingsley Amis." The New York Times called him "outrageous, passionate, funny and entertaining." WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is 40,000 words, easily downloadable to a laptop or PDA, perfect reading for business travelers and commuters. Visit www.JimRomeBook.com for a free excerpt.

For a great show about one of the greatest (most contentious) shows, interview Michael Levin about Jim Rome. Please call LeadingThinkers PR at (323) 931-4333.