July 23, 2004 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary Sells New York Post Columnist’s In-Depth Look at the 1996 New York Yankees World Series Champions to Rodale On July 23, 2004, Greg Dinkin and Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary, representing Joel Sherman, baseball columnist for the New York Post, sold World rights to Birth of a Dynasty to Zachary Schisgal at Rodale. In Birth of a Dynasty, Sherman details one of the most amazing seasons in Yankees history: the 1996 championship team that defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-2 after going down 2-0 on the road. Due out in spring 2006, the book will be a ten-year remembrance and celebration of this 1996 championship campaign, which was part opera and part Oprah, a mixture of hardball and cornball, and a blend of a season on the brink and a season in the sun. It also shows how the traits developed in 1996—late-game grace and selfless sacrifice—formed the DNA for four titles in five years, thus launching the Yankees most recent dynasty. Readers will relive Joe Torre’s navigation from Clueless Joe to Champagne Joe in a year when he lost one brother to a stroke and another brother received a heart transplant on the eve of a Yankee title; see Dwight Gooden—plucked off a drug scrap heap, along with Darryl Strawberry—improbably throw a no-hitter just hours before his father underwent heart bypass surgery; watch the homegrown talent of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera embody the poise and professionalism known as the "Yankee Way"; chronicle Tino Martinez’s daunting task of replacing Yankee great Don Mattingly; honor long-time GM Gene Michael for a string of astounding trades; and thrill to unexpected heroes, such as club-footed reliever Jim Mecir throwing the most important pitch of the season, Jim Leyritz taking the most important swing, and Jeffrey Maier, a twelve-year-old from New Jersey, making the biggest catch. It is an incredible story, and Joel Sherman is uniquely qualified to write it. Sherman has spent more time with the Yankees the past fifteen years than any other writer, first as a beat reporter for the New York Post, and since as a columnist. He also has been a weekly guest for seven years on New York One’s The Last Word, and is a regular contributor to MSG Network’s Angles and Sports Desk. To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com. To learn more about Rodale, visit: http://www.rodale.com/.