The Mizzou Store received a surprising visitor on Monday as ESPN personality Tim Cowlishaw dropped in to promote his new book, [“Drunk on Sports.”](http://www.amazon.com/Drunk-on-Sports-ebook/dp/B00BWAIWQQ)
Cowlishaw, an “Around the Horn” panelist and nationally renowned sports writer, is no stranger to Columbia. His daughter, Rachel, graduated from MU in May with a degree in merchandising.
While Cowlishaw could have done a book signing in a bigger market, he decided to do it at MU after being in Kansas City last weekend for the Chiefs game.
“It was the Cowboys schedule,” he said. “I usually cover the Cowboys road games and they played the Chiefs yesterday, so I figured why not swing by Columbia. I’ve been here six or seven times to visit my daughter, and I love coming back.”
In the book, his first, Cowlishaw explores his alcoholism and how it tied in with his success in sports writing, along with the advantages drinking gave him with high-profile sports figures. Cowlishaw’s inspiration for the book came back in 2009 when he had just beaten his habit.
“I wrote a column for The (Dallas) Morning News in 2009 when I had just stopped drinking, and Josh Hamilton had his first incident, and just the reaction I got from people made me want to continue with the process,” Cowlishaw said. “I figured maybe if I tell the whole story, maybe if I put it all out there, it could benefit others.”
While the book has already received positive reviews in its first few weeks on the shelves, Cowlishaw admits that the writing process as well as the subject matter made writing the book a bit stressful at times.
“I was back and forth a lot with it,” he said. “A lot of it came easily, finishing it was difficult. It was hard knowing what to put in and what not to. Plus the subject, I mean it’s easy to write about myself, but its tough to write about some of the things I was writing about. It was a very difficult, but rewarding experience.”
As Cowlishaw left Columbia, he said he was undecided about grabbing a Booches burger or Shakespeare’s slice before leaving, but one thing he said was certain.
“There’s a life out there that doesn’t involve getting drunk all the time”