In The Great Book of Washington, D.C., Sports Lists D.C. sports-media personalities Len Shapiro and Andy Pollin tackle the phenomenon that is D.C. sports with a compilation sure to stir up dialogue within the already buzzing D.C. sports community and beyond. Consumed by more than just politics, D.C. fans generally consider themselves among the most passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated sports enthusiasts in the country. With teams representing nearly every major professional sport, including the Redskins, Wizards, Nationals, Capitals, Mystics, United, and the Georgetown Hoyas and Maryland Terrapins, the D.C. area is home to a striking array of teams and talents that keep that local sports scene cooking throughout the year. D.C., like any sports town, is home to more arguments and opinions than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at: best player, best team, most wretched excuse for a sports franchise. The possibilities are, for all intents and purposes, endless.

But what Shapiro and Pollin have tried, in all good humor, to accomplish is sure to tweak the old memory banks and pluck the rusty heartstrings of anyone who's ever seriously considered themselves any kind of true D.C. sports fan.

Their compendium of lists, nearly 150 of them in all, is a redolent smorgasbord of area athletics, touching on every conceivable aspect of the D.C. sports scene, from Walter Johnson's still awe-inspiring numbers to the area's best sports blogs.

Sports Lists has everything in it you could ever want from a hometown sports tome: treasured memories that still make you smile, tantalizing tidbits you can't believe you never knew, enough "Well, d'uh!" moments to make you feel at home, and more than enough head-scratchers to get your own list-making juices flowing.

No list in the book should take you more than a couple minutes to read, and you can set it down and start back into it hours, or even days, later without missing a beat. You can read the lists in order, but the beauty of them all being sports lists is there really is no order. Pick it up, set it down, throw it in your briefcase, your backpack, your lunchbox, whatever, they'll be there whenever you next come back to them.

Shapiro does have one slight confession to make.

"The book wasn't quite our idea," he volunteers. "The publisher, Running Press, had originally done a book of sports lists in Philadelphia a couple years back, and it did pretty well. The authors up there were a couple of local sports guys with radio and newspaper backgrounds, and Running Press liked that mix. Running Press contacted me about doing a D.C. version, I contacted Andy, and we were off."

Sports Lists includes the obvious must-haves that any book on D.C. sports, well, must have: Ten Reasons to Hate the Dallas Cowboys; The Greatest Nicknames in Washington Sports; Greatest Moments in Redskins History. But it's also got some real local treats: Steve Spurrier's Top 10 Quotes as Redskins Coach; Gary Williams' Greatest Giant Killings; The Five Best Naval Academy Pro Athletes; Why We Hate FedEx Field; and Why We Love FedEx Field.

Interspersed throughout are roughly 40 local-celebrity lists from the usual suspects: John Thompson, Tom Boswell, Kevin Blackistone, Al Galdi, Sam Huff, and many, many more. "It was a real pleasure to put the book together," says Shapiro. "What makes a book like this so enjoyable are the conversations it starts, the arguments, the opportunities for local sports fans to get thinking about their most important moments and their favorite teams."

When asked about his favorite sports moment of the last 40 years, Shapiro doesn't hesitate.

"There was a Fauquier County resident, a local guy, went to The Hill School right there in Middleburg. In all my years watching sports, nothing brought me greater pleasure than watching that kid play football."

That kid? Shapiro's son.

The Great Book of Washington, D.C., Sports Lists is available at all local area bookstores and online. I can think of lots of people who'd be perfectly happy to find that Santa had left a copy in their stocking.