"You've got a long way to go to be as good as your dad. You better keep that in mind," recently fired Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight told Jeremy Schaap in 2001.

In 2005, Schaap finds himself near the top of the sports commentating world as an Emmy award-winning reporter and host of ESPN's acclaimed Outside the Lines and Sports Century.

Having conquered television, Schaap recently published his first book, Cinderella Man: James Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History (Houghton Mifflin). The book chronicles the life of Braddock, an Irish-American heavyweight who defeated Baer as a 10-1 underdog. The Russell Crowe movie was released this summer, but unlike the film, Schaap's book breaks down each round of the fight with uncanny attention to detail.

More than just an inspirational story about the impossible becoming possible, the book depicts Depression-era life both in and outside of the sport. Schaap will expand on his and his late father Dick Schaap's love of boxing and the sports community as a whole. More importantly, his appearance gives Philly sports fans a chance to get the opinions of a nationally recognized commentator other than the Inky's egomaniacal Steven A. Smith.

Jeremy Schaap, Wed., Nov. 16, 7 p.m., $15 includes Independence Brew Pub beer tasting, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-446-3021.