You knew it when you married him. Maybe you thought he’d grow, mature, or even evolve. He didn’t. The young sports fan you dated is now the old sports fan you married. YOU bought the cow. Sunday brunch? Forget about it! Apple picking on a crisp fall day? Never! Monday night movie night? Not with this guy! You’re a sports widow.
The good news is, you’re definitely not alone.
Ernestine Sclafani Bayless—wife of nationally acclaimed sports personality Skip Bayless— is the definitive expert on dealing with a sports-obsessed partner. When she met Skip in 2005, Ernestine could count on one hand the number of games she had watched on her own. Meanwhile, her husband-to-be spent upwards of twelve hours a day watching and discussing sports for his hit ESPN show, Cold Pizza. After fourteen years together, their marriage is a testament to compromising for the person you love and keeping a relationship together when your interests are dramatically different.
In BALLS: How to Keep Your Relationship Alive When You Live with a Sports-Obsessed Guy (Sourced Media Books, September 10, 2019), Ernestine shares her pro tips on keeping your love alive when it feels like you and your partner come from different worlds, and lets readers inside the whirlwind romance that seems meant to be.
As an Italian Jewish Long Islander with a passion for theatre, rock music, and art, Ernestine never could’ve imagined she’d fall in love with a man from Oklahoma City whose life revolves around a constant roster of NBA, NFL, and MLB games. Despite their vast differences and disagreements, they’re still happily married and credit their ability to learn about each other’s interests, especially when it comes to sports, as the secret to their relationship’s success.
Now for the first time, Ernestine and Skip are letting readers into their lives and sharing their tips and tools for keeping your relationship together when your interests are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Part love story, part how-to, BALLS provides an inside look at Skip and Ernestine’s marriage and the fail-safe tricks that have gotten them through many tumultuous sports seasons. Their advice covers everything from;
BALLS features valuable tips and tricks which will help keep your relationship on track from Ernestine, Skip, and their celebrity friends, including; rapper Lil Wayne, actor Billy Bob Thorton, NFL Hall of Famer/ TV personality Shannon Sharpe, and comedian/ actor Michael Rapaport. A happy home and relationship are both possible, even when one of you occasionally swears at the TV!
For nearly three decades, Ernestine Sclafani Bayless has built a reputation in the world of public relations by using chutzpah and charm to help other people and brands share their stories. Now it’s her turn. BALLS is her literary debut. Her husband Skip is the most polarizing voice in sports television. Having starred on ESPN’s “First Take”, and now on FS1’s “Undisputed”, he has also written three books on The Dallas Cowboys.