Author Jeff Pearlman joins the show to talk about his new book, Boys Will Be Boys. The book is a look at the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s both on the field...and off.

Jeff has done somewhere in the area of 80 interviews for this book, so we try to do something different. We talk about those 80 interviews. Every. Single. One.  No, we talk about the process of being interviewed so much, and telling the same stories over and over. We also talk about what it’s like being the interviewee when it’s your job to be an interviewer.

We briefly cover his career and talk about the sheer number of stories he has penned, including his latest piece for ESPN.com on Lyman Bostock.

And yes, we talk about the book. Is Emmitt Smith as pompous as he seems on TV? Should Michael Irvin be in jail? Should Charles Haley be in a mental institution?

He plays the book straight, telling all sides of every character, but there has to be some backlash. I ask him if this book has led to any more hatred than his previous works.

We also talk about the role of athletes. His job is to humanize – and in some cases dehumanize – athletes. Can sports be both a commodity and still focus so much on personalities?