Delaware County District Library

Playing for pizza, John Grisham

eng

no index present

880, Lexile

fiction

Playing for pizza

154309113234237048

John Grisham

Accelerated Reader AR, UG, 5.7, 11.0, 119110.Reading Counts RC, High School, 5.7, 17, Quiz: 43707.

Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams. But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds, Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick--for which team? The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy. Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player--any former NFL player--at their helm. So Rick, who has never been to Europe and doesn't speak or understand a word of Italian, reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers--at least until something better comes along--and heads off to Italy

adult