Gunslinger
"Over two decades, Brett Favre was as compelling a figure as any in the National Football League. He alone was 'Must-See TV.' In Gunslinger, Jeff Pearlman provides an extraordinary look at every facet of the life of a man who performed on sport's grandest stage and who had one helluva time along the way."--Al Michaels In Gunslinger, Jeff Pearlman tells Brett Favre's story for the first time, charting his unparalleled journey from a rough rural childhood and lackluster high school football career to landing the last scholarship at Southern Mississippi, to a car accident that nearly took his life, and eventually to the NFL and Green Bay, where he restored the Packers to greatness and inspired a fan base as passionate as any in the game. Yet he struggled with demons: addiction, infidelity, the loss of his father, and a fraught, painfully prolonged exit from the game he loved, a game he couldn't bear to leave. Gritty and revelatory, Gunslinger is a big sports biography of the highest order, a fascinating portrait of the man with the rocket arm whose life has been one of triumph, fame, tragedy, embarrassment, and--ultimately--redemption. "The compelling, complete story of his legend, and his faults."--Chicago Tribune
Against All Odds
For readers of The Boys in the Boat, the remarkable story of the unlikely Canadian hockey team that clinched Olympic gold in 1948The announcement was shocking--Canada, the birthplace of hockey, would not be sending a team to the 1948 Winter Olympics in Switzerland. Outraged, a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron leader, Sandy Watson, quickly assembled a team of air force hockey players who were "amateur enough" to complete under the Olympic guidelines.Sergeant Frank Boucher was recruited to coach the team and begin the cross-Canada search for players. Hubert Brooks, a decorated flying officer and serial escapist from POW camps, was another early recruit. Andy Gilpin joined from the RCAF base in Whitehorse, as did airmen from Quebec, the Maritimes and western Canada. And when their starting goalie, Dick Ball, didn't pass a medical exam, Murray Dowey was called up from his job as a TTC driver and occasional practice goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs.The ragtag team got off to a rough start, losing so many exhibition games that Canadian newspapers called them a disgrace to the country. But the RCAF Flyers battled back, and Boucher's defensive strategy paid off. They eliminated the American team, tied the Czech team and beat the Swiss as the hometown crowd pelted the Canadians with snowballs during the game. On the same ice where Barbara Ann Scott won a gold medal, the underdog RCAF Flyers also won Olympic gold, and their goalie, Murray Dowey, set an Olympic record that still stands.Against All Odds is the inspiring untold story of a group of determined men, fresh from the battlefields of WWII, who surprised a nation and the world.
Forever Faithful
Forever Faithful celebrates the history of Cornell hockey, focusing on twenty-four memorable games played by the men's and women's teams since the opening of Lynah Rink in 1957. The foreword was written by Ken Dryden (Cornell '69), who led the Big Red team to its first NCAA championship in 1967, won six Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The narrative begins with an early history of the program, when games were played outdoors on Beebe Lake, and moves on to chapters celebrating the rituals and traditions of the Lynah Faithful and the key rivalries of both the men's and women's teams. Game accounts follow, each one featuring insights from coaches and players who were involved and illustrated by many color and black-and-white photographs of the players and game action. The book concludes with an appendix that lists key statistics and accomplishments of the men's and women's programs.
The Boys of Dunbar
The inspiring true story of a remarkable coach whose superb undefeated high-school basketball team in 1980s Baltimore produced four NBA players and gave hope to a desperate neighborhood and city--"a feel-good story that is timely as well as true" (Glenn C. Altschuler, Florida Courier).As the crack epidemic swept across inner-city America in the early 1980s, the streets of Baltimore were crime ridden. For poor kids from the housing projects, the future looked bleak. But basketball could provide the quickest ticket out, an opportunity to earn a college scholarship and perhaps even play in the NBA. Dunbar High School had one of the most successful basketball programs in the country; in the early 1980s, the Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team of all time. Four starting players--Muggsy Bogues, Reggie Williams, David Wingate, and Reggie Lewis--would eventually play in the NBA, an unheard-of success rate. In The Boys of Dunbar, Alejandro Danois revisits the 1981-1982 season with the Poets as the team conquered all its opponents. But more than that, he takes us into the lives of these kids, and especially of Coach Bob Wade, a former NFL player from the same neighborhood who knew that the basketball court, and the lessons his players would learn there, held the key to the future. "[Danois'] tale of the basketball exploits of a handful of high school students in the 1980s shows young men motivated by their coach and other recreation leaders to dream beyond the hardship of their geography" (Bijan C. Bayne, The Washington Post). "Inspirational stories can be found everywhere in high-school sports, but Dunbar and its legendary coach, Bob Wade, stand out" (Booklist). The Boys of Dunbar will leave you cheering every victory.
So You Think You're a Philadelphia Eagles Fan?
Fly Eagles Fly! Test and expand your knowledge of The Birds. Rather than merely posing questions and providing answers, you'll get details behind each--stories that bring to life players and coaches, games and seasons. This book is divided into four parts, with progressively more difficult questions in each new section. The Rookie section contains the most basic questions. Next come the Starter and All-Pro sections, followed by the biggest challenge: the Hall of Fame. Also, you'll learn more about the great Eagles players and coaches of the past and present, including Norm Van Brocklin, Steve Van Buren, Chuck Bednarik, Pete Retzlaff, Harold Carmichael, Dick Vermeil, Mike Quick, Randall Cunningham, Reggie White, Andy Reid, and Carson Wentz.. Some of the many questions that this book answers include: Who scored the winning touchdown in the 1960 NFL Championship Game?When Donovan McNabb became the starting quarterback during the 1999 season, who did he replace?Who threw the longest touchdown pass in Eagles history?Who are the only three Eagles players to lead the league in scoring?This book makes the perfect gift for any fan of Philadelphia football!
The Perfect Pass
An "excellent sports history" (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL.Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their "Air Raid" offense, their teams--at Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentucky--played blazingly fast--faster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook. "A superb treat for all gridiron fans" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mumme's leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether you're a casual or ravenous football fan, this is "a rousing tale of innovation" (Booklist), and "Gwynne's book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it" (New York Journal of Books).
Dream Like a Champion
Since becoming the Nebraska women's volleyball coach in 2000, John Cook has led the team to four national championships, seven NCAA semifinal appearances, and the nation's top winning percentage in women's volleyball. In Dream Like a Champion Cook shares the coaching and leadership philosophy that has enabled him to become one of the game's winningest coaches. Growing up in San Diego, Cook acquired his coaching philosophy from his experiences first as a football coach, then as a student of the sport of volleyball on the beaches of Southern California. After a stint as an assistant volleyball coach at Nebraska, he returned to Nebraska as head coach in 2000 and won the national championship in his first season. Even with a bar set so high, Cook saw at Nebraska's tradition-rich program the potential for even greater growth and success. He decided to focus on higher expectations, training, motivation, goal setting, and other ways to build the strongest teams possible. In Dream Like a Champion Cook shares the philosophy behind Nebraska's culture of success and reveals how he's had to learn, evolve, and be coached himself, even in his fifth decade as a coach. With openness and candor he delivers insights about his methods and passes along lessons that can be used by leaders in any field. Cook also shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Nebraska volleyball moments and players--and how he coaches and teaches his players about life beyond the court.
Before the Stars
In the early twentieth century, before the National Hockey League had established a presence in the United States, a team from St. Paul played at the highest levels of hockey in the country. Sports historian Roger A. Godin resurrects the story of the St. Paul Athletic Club team--the AC's--and argues they were instrumental in turning Minnesota into one of the nation's first hockey hotbeds and gave birth to what is now known as the "State of Hockey." Godin also paints a fascinating history of the evolution of the sport from its amateur days to the arrival of the professional version we see today.In Before the Stars Godin traces the development of the AC's from their origins to their capture of the MacNaughton Cup in 1916 as winners of the American Amateur Hockey Association title and to their later battles in 1922 and 1923 at the national finals of the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association. Godin profiles players such as Tony Conroy, Ed Fitzgerald, Cy Weidenborner, Emmy Garrett, and Frank "Moose" Goheen, who led the AC's to national prominence and was the second American player elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto after the legendary Hobey Baker. Godin argues that Goheen was the greatest player that Minnesota ever produced and one of the best players of his era.Readers are taken back to a time when players fielded seven-man teams using rovers, angry skaters swung at opposing coaches and referees, goal umpires raised white flags to signal goals, and fans watched games in massive hippodromes and celebrated their teams in torchlight parades. Before the Stars is a captivating history of the sport's early years and a must read for any hockey fan.
When Basketball Was Jewish
When Basketball Was Jewish reveals, as no previous book has, the evolving role of Jews in basketball and illuminates their contributions to American Jewish history as well as basketball history. In the 2015-16 NBA season, the Jewish presence in the league was largely confined to Adam Silver, the commissioner; David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Omri Casspi, a player for the Sacramento Kings. Basketball, however, was once referred to as a Jewish sport. Shortly after the game was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, it spread throughout the country and became particularly popular among Jewish immigrant children in northeastern cities because it could easily be played in an urban setting. Many of basketball's early stars were Jewish, including Shikey Gotthoffer, Sonny Hertzberg, Nat Holman, Red Klotz, Dolph Schayes, Moe Spahn, and Max Zaslofsky. In this oral history collection, Douglas Stark chronicles Jewish basketball throughout the twentieth century, focusing on 1900 to 1960. As told by the prominent voices of twenty people who played, coached, and refereed it, these conversations shed light on what it means to be a Jew and on how the game evolved from its humble origins to the sport enjoyed worldwide by billions of fans today. The game's development, changes in style, rise in popularity, and national emergence after World War II are narrated by men reliving their youth, when basketball was a game they played for the love of it.
Irish Soccer Migrants
This book looks at the experiences and achievement levels of Irish-born post-war soccer migrants to Britain. It draws on interviews with thirty Irish-born soccer players, each of whom has played league soccer in England or Scotland, using two players each from the Republic and Northern Ireland per decade. This is the first book to use these migrants as a quantitative source, and to illustrate their experiences. It draws on extensive research conducted through a database of every Irish born player who played league soccer in England or Scotland between 1945 and 2010. An examination of the birthplaces of these players is offered along with the reasons for their geographical diversity. It discusses their childhood influences and assesses the recruitment process and identifies the clubs which have produced the most players. The impact of the Northern Ireland Troubles on the migration of Northern Ireland-born players is discussed while the attitudes of a number of players to this are assessed. An assessment of their working conditions and the culture of professional soccer is given while the book also examines the changing nature of the post-playing careers of these players. In locating the study of Irish soccer migrants within the study of Irish migration to Britain and comparing the experience of Irish-born soccer players with those from other nations, this book is the first of its kind.
The Art of Football
The Art of Football is a singular look at early college football art and illustrations. This collection contains more than two hundred images, many rare or previously unpublished, from a variety of sources, including artists Winslow Homer, Edward Penfield, J. C. Leyendecker, Frederic Remington, Charles Dana Gibson, George Bellows, and many others. Along with the rich art that captured the essence of football during its early period, Michael Oriard provides a historical context for the images and for football during this period, showing that from the beginning it was perceived more as a test of courage and training in manliness than simply an athletic endeavor. Oriard's analysis shows how these early artists had to work out for themselves--and for readers--what in the new game should be highlighted and how it should appear on the page or canvas. The Art of Football takes modern readers back to the day when players themselves were new to the sport, and illustrators had to show the public what the new game of football was. Oriard demonstrates how artists focused on football's dual nature as a grueling sport to be played and as a social event and spectacle to be watched. Through its illustrations and words The Art of Football gives readers an engaging look at the earliest depictions of the game and the origins of the United States as a football nation.
40 Love
Drawing on a wealth of archival material including photographs, posters and catalogs, this book celebrates 40 years of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the longest-running women's indoor tournament in Europe and since 2013 a premier tournament on the Women's Tennis Association Tour. With an emphasis on visual staging in its graphic design, 40: Love is no average jubilee book but a sleek, intricate scrapbook exploring the stories of the players who defined a new era of women's tennis--including Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber. This is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the history of the tournament, the characters of its champions both on and off the court, and the design development of its principal sponsor, Porsche, over the course of four decades.
In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle
Originally published in 1995 to huge critical acclaim and a finalist for the NBCC Award for Nonfiction, Madeleine Blais's In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle is a modern sports writing classic. Now expanded and updated with a new epilogue, Blais's book tells the story of a season in the life of the Amherst Lady Hurricanes, a powerhouse girls' high school basketball team from a small western Massachusetts college town. The Hurricanes were a talented team with a near-perfect record, but for five straight years, when it came to the crunch of the playoffs, they somehow lacked the scrappy, hard-driving desire to go all the way. Now, led by senior guards Jen Pariseau, a three-point specialist, and Jamila Wideman, an All-American phenom, this was the year to prove themselves. It was a season to test their passion for the sport and their loyalty to each other, and a chance to discover who they really were. As an off-season of summer jobs and basketball camps turns to fall, as students arrive and the games begin, Blais charts the ups and downs of the team and paints a portrait of the wider Amherst community, which comes to revel in the athletic exploits of their girls. Finally, a women's team was getting the attention they deserve. And the Hurricanes were richly deserving; these teenage girls are fierce and funny, smart and ambitious, and they are the heart of this gripping book. In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle is a classic sports book, a timeless look at girls' athletics.
The National Pastime 2017
The National Pastime is the annual review of baseball historical research and regional topics published by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Each year the publication focuses on the history of baseball in a different region or city, following the annual SABR convention from one major league territory to another.
The Periodic Table of Goaltending Elements
Across the globe, the number of kids and adults discovering a passion for hockey goaltending is on the rise. Grassroots training programs are also sprouting up in more regions and reaching more demographics than ever before. From Asia to Las Vegas, sticks are being taped and skates are getting laced for the very first time. As a result, the goaltending position has reached a point where it is more popular and prominent than ever before.The biggest downfall? Goaltending is expensive and may seem complicated, confusing, and sometimes even intimidating to newcomers. The gear, the training, and the terminology is arguably the most unique in all of sports, which shuts out a large percentage of the population that show an interest in stopping pucks. Therefore, it is our duty as educators, coaches, and parents to provide today's enthusiastic hockey fan with affordable and accessible learning tools to help raise more awareness and interest in the position. With this duty in mind, we're proud to present the Periodic Table of Goaltending Elements book project.Made in the image and likeness of the scientific periodic table of elements, we've identified and defined 131 of the most commonly-used terms for goaltending performance. From Angles to Weight Transfers, everything you need to speak the goaltending language and understand the techniques and tactics of the position is presented in an easy-to-read manner for people of all ages.But the book project doesn't stop there! The authors also designed a full-color poster and a set of flash cards for additional learning opportunities, making the book a multi-functional tool that has a wide variety of uses. Those can be purchased on The Goalie Guild website and can be combined with this book to create an enjoyable learning experience that can be shared with friends, other goalies, parents, and coaches.
Pride of the Lions
Derek Niven sets out to tell the history of the Lisbon Lions from a completely new slant. This book is not just about an immortalised game of football which took place on 25 May 1967 in the Est獺dio Nacionale in Lisbon. It seeks to tell the story of the unsung men and women who made the 16 players that are the Lisbon Lions through the extraordinary tales of their family histories.In this the 55th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions and the 135th anniversary of Brother Walfrid's first meeting at St Mary's Chapel in the Calton to form the Celtic Football & Athletic Association take a journey through the family and social history of a team of young Bhoys who made world history. The reader will find the legend of the "30 square miles" will stretch over 3,000 square miles.
Amazing Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout
Relive all the thrills of Red Sox baseball and Fenway Park--Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice to Jason Varitek and Big Papi! Calling all BoSox fans! In this one-of-a-kind compendium of anecdotes from players, managers, and beat writers, Jim Prime and Bill Nowlin capture all the magic and passion of Boston Red Sox baseball. Amazing Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout is a colorful journey through the history of the franchise. Included are the best memories and stories in the players' and managers' own words, as found in Prime and Nowlin's Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout and More Tales from the Boston Red Sox Dugout. Within these pages, fans will chafe at the rivalries, cheer the wins, and challenge the losses both on the road and at home. From the earliest days of a promising young pitcher named Babe Ruth, through the glory years of Foxx, Williams, and Yastrzemiski, to the championship era of superstars such as Martinez and Ortiz, the Red Sox epitomize all that is grand about the grand old game. Featured players and managers include Wade Boggs, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Carlton Fisk, Dustin Pedrioa, Jim Rice, Jason Varitek, and many other Red Sox legends. This massive collection captures the story and glory of Red Sox baseball both on the field and off. Without a doubt, this tantalizing offering from Prime and Nowlin will provide hours of entertainment for Red Sox and baseball fans alike.
Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom
Though Venezuela is sandwiched between two soccer-mad countries--Brazil and Colombia--baseball is its national pastime and passion. Yet until the late 1980s few professional teams actively scouted and developed players there. This book is about the man who changed all that and brought Venezuela into Major League Baseball in a major way. While other teams were looking to the Dominican Republic for new talent, Houston Astros' scout Andr矇s Reiner saw an untapped niche in Venezuela. Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom recounts how, over the next fifteen years, Reiner signed nearly one hundred players, nineteen of whom reached the majors. The stories of these players--among them Bobby Abreu, Joh獺n Santana, Melvin Mora, Carlos Guill矇n, and Freddy Garc穩a--are interwoven with Reiner's own, together creating a fascinating portrait of a curious character in the annals of sports and a richly textured picture of the opening of Venezuela as baseball's new frontier. Countless interviews broaden and deepen the story's insights into how the scouting system works, how Reiner worked within it, and how his efforts have affected the sport of baseball in Venezuela and the significance of Venezuela in the world of Major League Baseball.
From the Dugouts to the Trenches
2018 SABR Baseball Research Award Winner Baseball, like the rest of the country, changed dramatically when the United States entered World War I, and Jim Leeke brings these changes to life in From the Dugouts to the Trenches. He deftly describes how the war obliterated big league clubs and largely dismantled the Minor Leagues, as many prominent players joined the military and went overseas. By the war's end more than 1,250 ballplayers, team owners, and sportswriters would serve, demonstrating that while the war was "over there," it had a considerable impact on the national pastime. Leeke tells the stories of those who served, as well as organized baseball's response, including its generosity and patriotism. He weaves into his narrative the story of African American players who were barred from the Major Leagues but who nevertheless swapped their jerseys for fatigues, as well as the stories of those who were killed in action--and by diseases or accidents--and what their deaths meant to teammates, fans, and the sport in general. From the Dugouts to the Trenches illuminates this influential and fascinating period in baseball history, as nineteen months of upheaval and turmoil changed the sport--and the world--forever.
Lefty O'Doul
From San Francisco to the Ginza in Tokyo, Lefty O'Doul relates the untold story of one of baseball's greatest hitters, most colorful characters, and the unofficial father of professional baseball in Japan. Lefty O'Doul (1897-1969) began his career on the sandlots of San Francisco and was drafted by the Yankees as a pitcher. Although an arm injury and his refusal to give up the mound clouded his first four years, he converted into an outfielder. After four Minor League seasons he returned to the Major Leagues to become one of the game's most prolific power hitters, retiring with the fourth-highest lifetime batting average in Major League history. A self-taught "scientific" hitter, O'Doul then became the game's preeminent hitting instructor, counting Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams among his top disciples. In 1931 O'Doul traveled to Japan with an All-Star team and later convinced Babe Ruth to headline a 1934 tour. By helping to establish the professional game in Japan, he paved the way for Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideki Matsui to play in the American Major Leagues. O'Doul's finest moment came in 1949, when General Douglas MacArthur asked him to bring a baseball team to Japan, a tour that MacArthur later praised as one of the greatest diplomatic efforts in U.S. history. O'Doul became one the most successful managers in the Pacific Coast League and was instrumental in spreading baseball's growth and popularity in Japan. He is still beloved in Japan, where in 2002 he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
Smart Baseball
Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.For decades, statistics such as batting average, saves recorded, and pitching won-lost records have been used to measure individual players' and teams' potential and success. But in the past fifteen years, a revolutionary new standard of measurement--sabermetrics--has been embraced by front offices in Major League Baseball and among fantasy baseball enthusiasts. But while sabermetrics is recognized as being smarter and more accurate, traditionalists, including journalists, fans, and managers, stubbornly believe that the "old" way--a combination of outdated numbers and "gut" instinct--is still the best way. Baseball, they argue, should be run by people, not by numbers.In this informative and provocative book, the renowned ESPN analyst and senior baseball writer demolishes a century's worth of accepted wisdom, making the definitive case against the long-established view. Armed with concrete examples from different eras of baseball history, logic, a little math, and lively commentary, he shows how the allegiance to these numbers--dating back to the beginning of the professional game--is firmly rooted not in accuracy or success, but in baseball's irrational adherence to tradition. While Law gores sacred cows, from clutch performers to RBIs to the infamous save rule, he also demystifies sabermetrics, explaining what these "new" numbers really are and why they're vital. He also considers the game's future, examining how teams are using Data--from PhDs to sophisticated statistical databases--to build future rosters; changes that will transform baseball and all of professional sports.
American Huckster
The first inside account of the international soccer scandal that rocked the world and the American at its center--the incredible story of how a stay-at-home New York soccer dad illegally made millions off the world's most powerful and corrupt sports organization and became an unlikely FBI whistleblower.He was the middle-class Jewish kid from Queens who rose from local youth soccer leagues to the heights of FIFA, becoming a larger-than-life, jet-setting buccaneer--and the most notorious FBI informant in sports history. For years, Chuck Blazer skimmed over $20 million from FIFA, stashing his money in offshore accounts and real estate holdings that included a luxury apartment in Trump Tower, a South Beach condo, and a hideaway in the Bahamas. Instantly recognizable with his unruly mass of salt-and-pepper hair and matching beard--and a rotating crop of arm candy--Blazer was one of the most flamboyant figures in the glitzy social and political circles of international soccer. Over the course of thirty years, Blazer leveraged his friendships with the likes of Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton and Nelson Mandela, to increase his influence with the mandarins of global soccer--most notably Sepp Blatter, FIFA's long-time godfather.Once Blatter tapped Blazer to be the first American in almost fifty years to sit on FIFA's executive committee, the erstwhile accountant steadily accumulated money and power--until 2013 when the FBI and IRS nabbed Blazer and charged him with fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. In exchange for immunity, Blazer agreed to let the Feds install a microphone in his keychain to entrap his larcenous band of brothers--leading to the shocking arrest and indictment of eighteen FIFA officials for racketeering and bribery.In this taut and suspenseful tale of white-collar crime and betrayal at the highest levels of international business, investigative reporters Mary Papenfuss and Teri Thompson draw on sources in U.S. law enforcement as well as in Blazer's inner circle to tell the surreal tale of this astonishing character and the scandal that rocked the world.
Angela Rock’s Advanced Beach Volleyball Tactics
Angela Rock gets to the heart of advanced beach volleyball tactics. Because she was an Olympic indoor player first, she understands how to transition from indoor to beach. She explains how the games are different strategically and which highly honed indoor tactics served her well on the beach--and which did not. As both an amateur and professional player with decades of experience, Rock distills her hard-won knowledge of the game. She shares her "secrets" and those of other champion players, revealing information only the best would know. Although this is a book for anyone who wants to play beach volleyball, it is a goldmine for aspiring elite players. Her tactics are clearly explained and illustrated with real examples, including warming up outside the courts, serving to score, setting skills and responsibilities, offensive tactics, effective blocking, defensive variations, and strategic options. Beach volleyball has come a long way in the last 25 years, and Angela Rock offers an insider's view into the sport unlike any we've seen before.
How to Be Better At Basketball in 21 days
Want to learn the exact basketball skills, strategies, and techniques the pros use? Discover a 21-day fast-track program to break through your basketball barriers. Struggling to nail that winning shot? Can't seem to pull off the spectacular passes and incredible crossovers you see on TV? James Wilson is a 30-year veteran of basketball coaching with experience gained in 20 countries. Wilson's genius, laser-focused 21-day program is designed to improve your game no matter your current skill level. How to Be Better At Basketball in 21 Days: The Ultimate Guide to Drastically Improving Your Basketball Shooting, Passing and Dribbling Skills, teaches you precision drills and specific exercises to stack skill after skill. Using Wilson's special core philosophy, this thorough system will improve your form, develop new skills, and help you challenge even the most advanced players.In How to Be Better At Basketball in 21 Days, you'll discover: Expert techniques to dramatically increase your basketball shooting accuracyHow to crush your crossovers and handle the ball like a bossHow to toughen your mental state and play with courage, confidence, and controlHow to challenge those more advanced players and succeed while doing itHow to be that go-to player who takes the winning shot and much, much more! How to Be Better At Basketball in 21 Days is the definitive manual for any basketball player from amateur to pro. If you like learning practical, step-by-step, no-nonsense techniques straight from an expert, then you'll love Wilson's easy-to-follow guide. Buy How to Be Better At Basketball in 21 Days to slam dunk the competition today!
Return of the King
In this New York Times bestseller, get the inside scoop into LeBron James's return -- and ultimate triumph -- in Cleveland. What really happened when LeBron James stunned the NBA by leaving a potential dynasty in Miami to come home to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers? How did the Cavs use secret meetings to put together the deal to add star Kevin Love? Who really made the controversial decision to fire coach David Blatt when the team was in first place? Where did the greatest comeback in NBA history truly begin-and end? Return of the King takes you onto the private planes, inside the locker-room conversations, and into the middle of the intense huddles where one of the greatest stories in basketball history took place, resulting in the Cavs winning the 2016 NBA title after trailing the Golden State Warriors three games to one. You'll hear from all the characters involved: the players, the executives, the agents, and the owners as they reveal stories never before told. Get the background on all the controversies, the rivalries, and the bad blood from two reporters who were there for every day, plot twist, and social media snafu as they take you through the fascinating ride that culminated in a heart-stopping Game Seven.
A History of Badger Baseball
From 2001 to 2006, Richard L. Cates Jr. interviewed senior members of more than 30 families living in and around Arena township, a small community in southern Wisconsin. He asked them about growing up in rural America and their connection to a way of life that is vanishing in the twenty-first century.The result, Voices from the Heart of the Land, is a collection of reminiscences, observations, and opinions celebrating the stewardship of the land and the values of the stewards. Of course, as Cates points out, these are nothing less than our core human values integrity, commitment, responsibility, citizenship, self-determination, decency, kindness, love, and hope. "
Tennis
Are you tired of losing on the court? Does your blood boil each time you mis-hit the ball?Whether you want to (1) improve your playing technique, (2) get solid conditioning and training advice, or (3) just win more and have more fun, then this is the book for you.Is your tennis game less than a smashing success?Whether you're just beginning to play or you're doing competitions, you'll find practical help in this book for every aspect of your tennis game. Forehands, backhands, the serve, and the overhead smash: all are described in full detail so that you can easily start practicing the correct techniques. Discover what's holding you back and correct it. Tennis is so much more fun when you are playing the correct way.Get a grip on your success and see how easily you can play better and enjoy the game more!The foundation of successful tennis playing begins with getting a grasp on your racquet, quite literally. In this book you will find descriptions for each basic type of tennis grip, including strengths as well as weaknesses, and you will discover how to use each to your advantage. Straightforward instructions and practice exercises enable you to master the grips that will lay the foundation for effective playing. Master your grip and you will be well on the road to success.Consistently take the shot with confidence.Learn to use your stance, the pivot, full extension, and accurate timing to your advantage. Each aspect of both forehand and backhand hitting is described simply, so you can easily know how to hone you're playing technique. Perfect each of the six actions that take place when you serve. and gain a new edge on your opponents. Use easily-mastered practice exercises to strengthen you're playing, so you'll be able to shine when you play for real.Sharpen your playing strategies and boost your mental focus.Whether you're hitting the court with friends or work colleagues, playing at your local tennis club, or competing in tournaments, tennis becomes even more enjoyable when you have a reliable technique and strategies that help you control the game. Take advantage of highly effective recommended playing strategies. I have also provided a host of conditioning exercises that you can use to hone your physical strength and endurance. At the same time, you will discover more than 30 practical strategies from which you can glean the best mental fitness training out there.What will you learn about tennis? The secrets of the tennis grip and how it can dictate the type of shots you can make. The best foods and supplements to take for better game play. How to dominate your opponents with a powerful and reliable forehand shot. How to hit a fearsome backhand, just like the professionals. How top-spin can give you a competitive advantage. You Will Also Discover: How to develop a powerful serve. How to stay physically fit and at the top of your game. Strategies that give you the edge in doubles play. Psychological strategies that will allow you to dominate your opponents. Find out how far your game will take you. Play Better: Buy It Now!
Baseball Research Journal
The flagship publication of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), the Baseball Research Journal is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed publication presenting the best in SABR member research on baseball. History, biography, economics, physics, psychology, game theory, sociology and culture, records, and many other disciplines are represented to expand our knowledge of baseball as it is, was, and could be played.
Home Team
In 1957 Horace Stoneham took his Giants of New York baseball team and headed west, starting a gold rush with bats and balls rather than pans and mines. But San Francisco already had a team, the Seals of the Pacific Coast League, and West Coast fans did not immediately embrace the newcomers. Starting with the franchise's earliest days and following the team up to recent World Series glory, Home Team chronicles the story of the Giants and their often topsy-turvy relationship with the city of San Francisco. Robert F. Garratt shines light on those who worked behind the scenes in the story of West Coast baseball: the politicians, businessmen, and owners who were instrumental in the club's history. Home Team presents Stoneham, often left in the shadow of Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, as a true baseball pioneer in his willingness to sign black and Latino players and his recruitment of the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues, making the Giants one of the most integrated teams in baseball in the early 1960s. Garratt also records the turbulent times, poor results, declining attendance, two near-moves away from California, and the role of post-Stoneham owners Bob Lurie and Peter Magowan in the Giants' eventual reemergence as a baseball powerhouse. Garratt's superb history of this great ball club makes the Giants' story one of the most compelling of all Major League franchises.
Tennis
Are you tired of losing on the court? Does your blood boil each time you mis-hit the ball?Whether you want to (1) improve your playing technique, (2) get solid conditioning and training advice, or (3) just win more and have more fun, then this is the book for you.Is your tennis game less than a smashing success?Whether you're just beginning to play or you're doing competitions, you'll find practical help in this book for every aspect of your tennis game. Forehands, backhands, the serve, and the overhead smash: all are described in full detail so that you can easily start practicing the correct techniques. Discover what's holding you back and correct it. Tennis is so much more fun when you are playing the correct way.Get a grip on your success and see how easily you can play better and enjoy the game more!The foundation of successful tennis playing begins with getting a grasp on your racquet, quite literally. In this book you will find descriptions for each basic type of tennis grip, including strengths as well as weaknesses, and you will discover how to use each to your advantage. Straightforward instructions and practice exercises enable you to master the grips that will lay the foundation for effective playing. Master your grip and you will be well on the road to success.Consistently take the shot with confidence.Learn to use your stance, the pivot, full extension, and accurate timing to your advantage. Each aspect of both forehand and backhand hitting is described simply, so you can easily know how to hone you're playing technique. Perfect each of the six actions that take place when you serve. and gain a new edge on your opponents. Use easily-mastered practice exercises to strengthen you're playing, so you'll be able to shine when you play for real.Sharpen your playing strategies and boost your mental focus.Whether you're hitting the court with friends or work colleagues, playing at your local tennis club, or competing in tournaments, tennis becomes even more enjoyable when you have a reliable technique and strategies that help you control the game. Take advantage of highly effective recommended playing strategies. I have also provided a host of conditioning exercises that you can use to hone your physical strength and endurance. At the same time, you will discover more than 30 practical strategies from which you can glean the best mental fitness training out there.What will you learn about tennis? The secrets of the tennis grip and how it can dictate the type of shots you can make. The best foods and supplements to take for better game play. How to dominate your opponents with a powerful and reliable forehand shot. How to hit a fearsome backhand, just like the professionals. How top-spin can give you a competitive advantage. You Will Also Discover: How to develop a powerful serve. How to stay physically fit and at the top of your game. Strategies that give you the edge in doubles play. Psychological strategies that will allow you to dominate your opponents. Find out how far your game will take you. Play Better: Buy It Now!
The Sound of One Team Sucking
A hilarious self-help book for recovering Leafs fans everywhere. We've all heard it. The sound of one team sucking. Our team. The Leafs. It starts as an almost imperceptible hum, a month or so after the home opener, once the shine of the new season wears off, building in intensity with each defeat until the sound explodes like the noise a star might make if you ripped its heart out. Fact is, being a Maple Leafs fan is a kind of addiction: irrational, compulsive, dependent. You can't just quit cold turkey. You need help ... And that's where The Sound of One Team Sucking comes in. Think of it as your own portable support group, designed to accompany you through another disappointing season (plus draft day!), and guide your recovery as you strive to live a more emotionally and spiritually balanced life. Written by Leafs addicts, The Sound of One Team Sucking is a hilarious meditation on the futility of Leafs fandom.
Rise and Fire
Sportswriter Shawn Fury's Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of the Jump Shot presents an exploration of the play that revolutionized basketball and provided the greatest moments in the sport's history--from Michael Jordan's legacy-defining jumpers to Ray Allen's mastery and more.It's hard to believe that there was a time when the jump shot didn't exist in basketball. When the sport was invented in 1891, players would take set shots with both feet firmly planted on the ground. Defenders controlled the sport, the pace was slower, and games would frequently end with scores fit for a football field. It took almost forty years before players began shooting jump shots of any kind and sixty-five years before it became a common sight. When the first jump shooting pioneers left the ground, they rose not only above their defenders, but also above the sport's conventions. The jump shot created a soaring offense, infectious excitement, loyal fans, and legends. Basketball would never be the same. Rise and Fire celebrates this crucial shot while tracing the history of how it revolutionized the game, shedding light on all corners of the basketball world, from NBA arenas to the playgrounds of New York City and the barns of Indiana. Award-winning journalist Shawn Fury obsesses over the jump shot, explores its fundamentals, puzzles over its complexities, marvels at its simplicity, and honors those who created some of basketball's greatest moments. Part history, part travelogue, and part memoir, Rise and Fire bounces from the dirt courts of the 1930s to today's NBA courts and state-of-the-art shooting labs, examining everything from how nets and rims affect a shooter to rivalries between shooting coaches to how the three-pointer came to rule the game. Impeccably researched and engaging, the book features interviews and profiles of legendary figures like Jerry West, Bob McAdoo, Ray Allen, and Denise Long--the first woman ever drafted by the NBA, plus dozens more, revealing the evolution of the shot over time. Analyzing the techniques and reliving some of the most unforgettable plays from the greats, Fury creates a technical, personal, historical, and even spiritual examination of the shot. This is not a dry how-to textbook of basketball mechanics; it is a lively tour of basketball history and a love letter to the sport and the shot that changed it forever.
A Golf Swing You Can Trust
Most golfers never improve irrespective of what they try. You needn't be most golfers. A Golf Swing You Can Trust is an original work by John Hoskison, a deep-thinking PGA player and teacher. Inside, John reveals how, after years of slicing, he went from the worst player on tour to the National PGA Professional Champion by using these simple techniques. From the grip to the finish position, John coaches using humor and unique analogies to explain how the golf swing works, and how to build a swing you can trust.
Football
Do you wish there was something more you could do to help your team win? Tired of getting pushed around on the field?Whether (1) you are just starting out, (2) you want to discover some new tactics to give you the edge on your competition, or (3) if you want to hone your mind and body to boost your skills to the next level, this book will teach you everything you need to know.Remove those nagging doubts and take the field with confidence.In a sport like football, you need to do whatever it takes to be at the top of your game, otherwise you may find yourself on the sidelines with an injury, wishing things had gone differently. Stop trying to guess at what you think is the best course of action and start doing things in a way that really gets great results! This guide will explain to you in full detail some of the best strategies, techniques, and life-style choices that can easily help football players excel - both on and off the field - and win more often!Discover the best secrets and strategies to maximize your playing potential.Football is a popular sport for all ages, but its competitive nature requires focus and dedication in several key areas, including football knowledge, physical conditioning, and mental focus. How far you take your skills is up to you. Much depends on how willing you are to commit to the discipline of hard work in order to develop your physical and mental skills. An exceptionally talented and determined player may even hope to make it to the top - the NFL- if he works hard enough!This book is so effective that it can make a major difference in your playing.Football is a high-impact game with major repercussions if you are not fully prepared, both mentally and physically. Learn key tactics to develop your mental toughness, especially in the heat of a game. Bring the best nutrition and physical training into play to equip your body to endure the rigors of competing at your very best.Create a winning strategy!The best way to stay ahead and reach your goals is to create a winning strategy off the field that will give you the competitive advantage. This book will show you exactly what you need to do in terms of your health, diet, physical training, mental toughening, and goal-setting to get you where you need to be.What Will You Learn About Football? Football basics, for those new to the sport. How to stretch and warm up to reduce the chance of injury. The best offensive plays to have under your belt. Key strategies for a winning defense. Highly successful passing routes. You Will Also Discover: Professional nutritional tips designed for football players. How to properly set, pursue, and reach your goals. The best strength training routines for football players. Mental toughness tactics that give you the e. Become the key player who helps lead your team to victory! Start using winning strategies today: Buy It Now!
Basketball
Are you embarrassed by your basketball skills? Tired of missing those crucial shots? Wish you could steal the ball more often?Whether you want to (1) shoot more accurately, (2) play better defense, or (3) discover how to be a more powerful player, this book will get you there.Are you afraid you're too short to ever succeed at basketball?You can play a great game, even if you're not a giant. Superior speed and agility can overcome a lack of height. I've included plenty of drills and strategies that you can use to make the most of your ability to maneuver around your opponent quickly and easily!Ooze confidence on the court. If you adopt even a few of the strategies in this book, you can find yourself dribbling more smoothly, passing, the ball more accurately, and shooting baskets with far greater confidence and effectiveness.Know the game inside and out. From the basics to expert strategies, this book will fill in the gaps in your knowledge with detailed descriptions of each playing position and a variety of playing strategies. Sharpen your knowledge of the game with targeted drills and strength training exercise that have been proven to be powerfully effective.What Will You Learn About Basketball? How to boost your passing skills. How to increase your dribbling agility. How to shoot the ball with confidence and accuracy. Powerful defensive strategies that help win games. The best drills for improving your skills. You Will Also Discover: The key secret to skill development . The best stretches to do before workouts and games. How to master your position on the court. How to be highly motivated and totally prepared on game day. Effectively boost your most important skills through targeted practice. Learn how to design practice sessions that are tailored to your specific strengths and weaknesses. You will also discover practical ways to shore up your weaknesses without neglecting your strengths. Know exactly what to do in order to make the most of your practice time. See how easily you can smoke 'em! Start enjoying the sounds of the cheering crowd. Get in the zone and start dominating on the court: Buy It Now!
Baseball Beyond Our Borders
Baseball Beyond Our Borders celebrates the globalization of the game while highlighting the different histories and cultures of the nations in which the sport is played. This collection of essays tells the story of America's national pastime as it has spread across the world and undergone instructive, entertaining, and sometimes quirky changes in the process. Covering nineteen countries and a U.S. territory, the contributors show how each country imported baseball, how baseball took hold and developed, how it is organized, played, and followed, and what local and regional traits tell us about the sport's place in each culture. But what lies in store as baseball's passport fills up with far-flung stamps? Will the international migration of players homogenize baseball? What role will the World Baseball Classic play? These are just a few of the questions the authors pose.
The Mental Abcs of Pitching
Author H.A. Dorfman brings his years of expertise as instructor/counselor with the A's, Marlins, and Devil Rays to provide an easy-to-use, A-to-Z handbook which will give insight and instruction on how to pitch to peak performance at every level of the game. Perfect for pitchers who need that extra edge or hitters who want to better understand the mental moves on the mound.
The Mental Keys to Hitting
A must-have book by acclaimed author and expert H.A. Dorfman that highlights the crucial mental components involved in hitting a baseball and playing the game, components that are as important, if not more so, than the intense physical regimen of an athlete.
Macho Row
The [1993] Phillies were loud, irreverent, and politically incorrect. Macho Row vividly re-creates their rowdy, memorable season, warts and all.--Paul Hagen, former baseball writer for the Philadelphia Daily NewsColorful, shaggy, and unkempt, misfits and outlaws, the 1993 Phillies played hard and partied hard. Led by Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, and Mitch Williams, it was a team the fans loved and continue to love today. Focusing on six key members of the team, Macho Row follows the remarkable season with an up-close look at the players' lives, the team's triumphs and failures, and what made this group so unique and so successful. With a throwback mentality, the team adhered to baseball's Code. Designed to preserve the moral fabric of the game, the Code's unwritten rules formed the bedrock of this diehard team whose players paid homage and respect to the game at all times. Trusting one another and avoiding ideas of superstardom, they consistently rubbed the opposition the wrong way and didn't care. William C. Kashatus pulls back the covers on this old-school band of brothers, depicting the highs and lows and their brash style while also digging into the suspected steroid use of players on the team. Macho Row is a story of winning and losing, success and failure, and the emotional highs and lows that accompany them.
Baseball's Greatest Managers
During the more than one hundred years that baseball has been our national pastime, all types of individuals have been managers of teams. They have run the gamut from political appointees to tyrants, schemers, incompetents and geniuses. Legendary baseball stars have been managers such as Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, Mel Ott, George Sisler, and Honus Wagner. And Mediocre players, including Branch Rickey, Earl Weaver, Walter Alston have become managers. Antics galore have accentuated managerial behavior: the pratfalls of Charley Grimm in the third-base coaching box; the umbrella-carrying Frankie Frisch arguing with the umpires that a game should be called; the cap twisting, body-gyrating movements of Earl Weaver, puffing cigarettes in the dugout and attempting to use body language to will his players to perform better. Idiosyncrasies and special styles have characterized managers through the years. An entire collection of one-liners has developed over the years to characterize the managing profession. For trivia buffs, there's an entire world of statistical records about managers. This books attempts to capture the style and substance of some of the greatest managers of all time. An effort has been made to give representation to the different eras of baseball, the various managing styles, and all the nuances and nostalgia that shape this fascinating subject.
A Century of Philadelphia Cricket
This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.
Hope
The inspirational true story about the trials and victories of the Hope High School basketball team in inner-city Providence, Rhode Island.Hope High School in Providence, Rhode Island was once a model city school, graduating a wide range of students from different backgrounds. But the tumult of the 1960s and the drug wars of the 70s changed both Providence and Hope. Today, the aging school is primarily Hispanic and African-American, with kids traveling for miles by bus and foot each day. Hope was known for its state championship basketball teams in the 1960s, but its 2012 team is much different. Disobedient, distracted, and overwhelmed by family troubles, with mismatched sneakers and a penchant for profanity and anger, these boys represent Coach Dave Nyblom's dream of a championship, however unlikely that might seem. Nyblom's mostly black players, including several who emigrated to Providence from war-torn Liberia, face gang violence, domestic uncertainty, drug problems, and a host of other issues. But with the unfailing support and guidance of Nyblom and other Hope coaches, their ragtag team gradually pulls together, overcoming every obstacle to find the faith and trust in themselves that Nyblom never stops teaching. A look at a hidden world that just a few hundred yards from Brown University, Bill Reynolds's Hope is the inspiring true story of young men and their mentors pursuing one goal--a championship--but achieving so much more.
Basketball Tip Ins
Basketball, more than any other game, can be self-taught through effective practice. Basketball Tip-Ins is the ideal guide for youngsters and parents who want to learn more about playing the sport. The book features 100 tips and drills from basketball writer and high school coach Nick Sortal. All facets of basketball are covered, from ballhandling, passing, shooting, rebounding, and defensive play to positioning and proper conditioning. Basketball Tip-Ins is fully illustrated and includes an introduction by University of Miami coach Leonard Hamilton.
The Louisville Slugger Book of Game-Breaker Baseball
The first guide to help you get to the next level of baseball playTo continue advancing up the ladder of competition, you need to master the game's advanced skills and techniques, those exciting plays that surface at crucial moments in competition and bring victory--the game-breaker plays and skills. The Louisville Slugger(R) Book of Game-Breaker Baseball moves beyond the basics. It features step-by-step instructions supplemented by major-league players explaining their styles in making the same plays.This book: Teaches you 30 key skills illustrated with 150 high-quality photographsOffers you a complete blueprint if you want to play at the game's higher skill levelsProvides approximate ages to master the skills and how long it should take to learn them
