Tommy Martin: Do we want our sports books to glorify or tell all?

When you think of the scandals that have befallen rugby in recent years, it would seem to be ripe for a book like Ball Four

Ageing baseball pitcher Jim Bouton released Ball Four - a tell-all diary of life inside the dressing room - at the end of the 1969 season. It's time we had a modern version says Tommy Martin. 

If you are reading these pages then chances are someone is thinking of buying you a sports book for Christmas.

It might be the autobiography of a celebrated rugby or GAA player, or the authorised account of a title won by your favourite soccer team, in which case they think you are the type who wants to be swept away by heroic tales of sporting glory.