The easiest way to spark a debate amongst sports fans? Come up with a list about something – Top 10 athletes, moments, boneheads, whatever – and then tell everybody about it while declaring your list the definitive, infallible authority on the subject.

A simple premise, and one that gets repeated time and time again, including in The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists, part of a series from Running Press that look at the greatest sports moments in cities across the country.

Assembled by Seattle P-I columnist Art Thiel, KJR-AM’s Mike Gastineau and former Seattle P-I editor and columnist Steve Rudman, the book is an insightful, educational and entertaining look back at Seattle sports history by way of lists. From the best of the best or the worst of the worst, odds are pretty good it’s been covered – especially when it comes to the oddest of the odd.

What makes this book shine is its combination of humor, history and insight from not only the three co-authors but several guest contributors: Sue Bird of the Storm shares the worst pick-up lines she’s ever heard, while Kevin Calabro pens a piece entitled “Five Barrys, Three Coaches, One Great Party” that recalls some of his memories with the Sonics. Both will make you laugh, and should likely give you an appreciation for not just the great stories that come from between the lines on the fields of play, but those stories that come once the final buzzer has sounded.

Former Husky football coach Don James lists the toughest coaches he’s faced, while Jamie Moyer pens a chapter on what made the 2001 Mariners such a great team. The roster of guest contributors is impressive – Ichiro, Lofa Tatupu, Drew Carey, Sonny Sixkiller, Mike Holmgren and even Sir Mix-A-Lot share their lists of different parts of the Seattle sports scene.

Of course, there is the requisite Husky and Cougar banter, with KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler and sportswriter Jim Moore writing on behalf of their respective universities. There is also a rather thorough chapter on the definition of ‘Couging It,’ authored by the man who coined the phrase, John Blanchette of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. A phrase that has become commonplace in the vocabulary of northwest sports fans, the term gains a new level of definition and appreciation through Blanchette’s recaps of some of the low lights of Cougar athletics.

While reading The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists, I found myself taking the bait and doing exactly what a book like this is designed to do – start a discussion. Having gone to a high school known for its success on the athletic fields, I couldn’t believe that some of the coaches or teams who achieved so much didn’t get a mention in the book.

Regardless of what I think were some glaring omissions, the book ends up painting a much more colorful picture of the Seattle sports scene than I think many fans often appreciate. Given the departure of the Sonics, the struggles of the Mariners and Seahawks in recent years, and prior to the arrival of the Sounders, it was easy to see Seattle as a rather bleak sports town. However, professional sports have been a part of the northwest since before the start of the 20^th century, and while Seattle’s trophy case might not be as well stocked as other cities’, there are still plenty of teams, moments and personalities to discuss and argue about.

Thiel, Gastineau and Rudman do a commendable job with this book, and manage to keep a balance between the good and the bad, as well as what could have been and what actually was. The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists is worth taking a look at, if for no other reason than to get a fun lesson in Seattle sports history.