The $500 Round of Golf
Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product.By the author of The $100 Hamburger!TAKE OFF, TOUCH DOWN, TEE OFF!If you're a pilot who loves to golf, too, here's a book that lets you combine your passions - and make the most of your time. The $500 Round of Golf lists the best places to land your plane for a quick round of golf, with every airstrip and golf course recommended by pilots for pilots.Written by a long-time aviator and golf enthusiast, The $500 Round of Golf amuses, informs, and: * Includes runway information: service, location, etc.* Provides golf-course details: quality, style, price, transportation options, and operations* Covers the best places to land and golf in all 50 states* Reveals how flying to a round of golf offers a bigger, better tax write-off than lunch alone* Delivers 50 sure-fire tips to winning weekend golf* And much, much moreSo the next time you want to fly out and hit the links, hit this book first - The $500 Round of Golf!
Home and Away
In 2008, Dave Bidini accompanies Homeless Team Canada to the Homeless World Cup--an annual street soccer tournament with goals unlike any other: the most important of which is to create life-changing opportunities for the millions of homeless people worldwide. In Melbourne, Australia, Bidini watches team members play and shares the disappointments, frustrations, joys, and triumphs of forty-five-year-old Billy, who is a former addict; the quick-footed twenty-four-year-old Moroccan immigrant Juventus, who refuses to talk about his past; and most of all, the endearing teenaged Krystal, who carries a photograph of her long-dead mother and dreams of a better life. Bidini begins to understand what this tournament means to all those involved. He sees firsthand the power of sport to transform the lives of those on the edge--how the decision to play this game can mean the difference between survival and heading down a road of addiction, poverty, or crime. Home and Away offers a powerful look at the poor and dispossessed, from the barrios of Mexico City and the shanties of West Africa to the streets of North America and Europe, illuminating the renewed meaning that these players find in such an inspiring game.
Overtime Kids
Originally published: Paducah, Ky: Turner Pub. Co., c2001.
Tales from the Dallas Mavericks Locker Room
In this newly updated edition of Tales from the Dallas Mavericks Locker Room, Jaime Aron brings all the power and passion of the Dallas Mavericks recent glory years to life. Readers will relive all the adrenaline of the Mavericks-Spurs rivalry, get the inside scoop on life under head coach Rick Carlisle, and of course, revel in the glory of the Mavericks redemption from 2006 as they finally overtook the Heat and won their first NBA title! This treasure trove of team history includes stories about some of the best Mavs players to grace the court including: Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Aguirre, Jason Kidd, Rolando Blackman, and more. Tales from the Dallas Mavericks Locker Room is more than just a team history--it's a chance to get to know the legendary players, coaches, and executives of the Dallas Mavericks like never before.
Martin O’neill
Martin O'Neill is one of British football's true greats. Plucked from Irish club Distillery by Nottingham Forest in 1971, the young Irishman went on an incredible football journey that saw him clash against some of the game's biggest characters. He twice won the European cup with Forest under the enigmatic Brian Clough - though the two never saw eye-to-eye. A talented midfielder, O'Neill played for Manchester City in between spells at Norwich before ending his playing career in 1985. As the first Roman Catholic captain of his country, O'Neill marshalled Northern Ireland's golden generation, who battled through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1982, picking up a famous win against hosts Spain on the way. But football was by no means the only path O'Neill could have taken. His has been a life of choice. Opting for football over Gaelic football as a youth, O'Neill was then forced to curtail a law degree at Queens University Belfast to make the switch to England, although his interest in criminology hasn't diminished. O'Neill cut his football management teeth at Grantham Town and Shepshed Dynamo, and his stock grew as he took Wycombe Wanderers from the GM Vauxhall Conference to the old Second Division in a matter of years. Under his tutelage, Leicester City went from under-achieving first division outfit to League Cup winners. However it was at Celtic that O'Neill would enjoy his most trophy-laden years, winning an unprecedented treble in his first year before narrowly missing out on UEFA Cup glory a year later. O'Neill would leave Celtic, his 'spiritual home', to care for his wife Geraldine as she was battling cancer. Returning to football in 2006, O'Neill undertook his first Premier League job, guiding Aston Villa to an impressive 6th place finish in only his second season in charge, and scoring a massive 71 goals in the process - a feat only bettered by Aston Villa's title winning side of 1981. His time at the club came to an adrupt end, however, as O'Neill severed ties with Aston Villa at the start of the 2010-11 season, three months after guiding the club to it's first final in over 10 years.
Coach
In 1969, after one year of retirement, Vince Lombardi could stand it no longer. He returned and became head coach of the moribund Washington Redskins. They were the Redskins who had Sonny Jurgensen--the paunch with a golden arm--and a lot of other good guys who seldom won. It was a typical Lombardi frontal assault on an impressive challenge. He was the man who had won more games, more championships, and more awe than any other man in football. The stories held that he was a brutal, ego-busting, driving disciplinarian--and in part he was. He was no paper lion; he was the real thingTom Dowling joined Lombardi at training camp and lived with him and his players throughout the long, painful, dramatic season. It is doubtful that anyone has ever so completely got under the hide o f professional athletes or written so fascinatingly about them. Lombardi emerges as everything everyone had been saying of him--and something much more. Coach is a superb portrait, exciting read, and an inside view of the most popular spectator sport in the country.
Baseball Dynasties
It's a debate nearly as old as the sport itself. Sure, there have been plenty of great baseball teams--but which was the best ever? While it seems like an unwinnable argument, the authors of Baseball Dynasties have risen to the challenge. They took the top fifteen teams of the twentieth century, ran them through rigorous statistical analysis, and threw in some good old-fashioned opinion in their quest to determine, definitively, who was the greatest team in the history of baseball. Looking at continued brilliance over time (no one-season wonders allowed), Hall of Famers on the roster, offensive and defensive production, performance in the postseason, and numerous other tangibles and intangibles, Eddie Epstein and Rob Neyer put each team under the microscope--and picked a winner. Who will come out on top? Was it the 1927 Yankees, the legendary squad blessed with both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? Or how about Earl Weaver's 1970 Orioles, who over a three-year span dominated their opponents at a higher level than any other team this century? Full of anecdotes, intriguing facts, and scores of statistics, Baseball Dynasties is a fascinating look at baseball history certain to provoke, entertain, and edify baseball fans of all ages.
Moment of Glory
After winning 6 of the 12 Majors from 2000 to 2002, Tiger Woods struggled in 2003. Four unknown golf players -- Mike Weir, Jim Furyk, Ben Curtis, and Shaun Micheel -- would seize the day, rising to become champions in his wake. Mike Weir -- considered a good golfer but not a great one -- triumphed in The Masters, becoming the first Canadian to win a Major. Jim Furyk emerged victorious in the U.S. Open. In the British Open, Ben Curtis became the only player since Francis Ouimet in 1913 to prevail on his first time out, and Shaun Micheel came from nowhere to prevail at the PGA Championship. How does one moment of glory affect the unsung underdog for years to follow? In Moment of Glory, John Feinstein returns to the unlikely year of 2003 and chronicles the personal and professional struggles of these four players. With great affection for the underdog and extraordinary access to the players, he then looked to the 2008 season, giving readers an insider's look into how winning (and losing) major championships changes players' lives.
On a European Journey
Taking you through Ipswich Town FC's exploits in European competition and the fans' journeys to see them play. From Alf Ramsey's Champions playing in the European Cup, through the Bobby Robson era and the UEFA Cup triumph in Amsterdam, to the George Burley Premiership team, and the 'bonus' season in Europe ending under Joe Royle. The inside story of how the trips were organized as planes, boats and a train were chartered, and the memories of traveling fans, club officials and sports commentators. Every European game is summarized, and most are illustrated, while Coach Bobby Ferguson gives his appraisal of Town's tactics and the leading players of the glorious 1980-81 team.
Fairways of Life
"Focus not on the commotion around you, but on the opportunity ahead of you." -- Arnold Palmer Most people live their lives chained to the oars of a life of their own choosing, whether defined by one's job, relationships, self-image or even their golf game. More often than not, the biggest obstacles one faces in life are those that we ourselves have placed in our own path. In the words of golf's great champions, there is undeniable wisdom, focus, passion and depth of purpose that goes well beyond the confines of the golf course. "Golf Wisdom of the Legends" celebrates these universal truths and messages of empowerment that will appeal to golfers and non-golfers alike.
The Game from Where I Stand
Doug Glanville, a former major league outfielder and Ivy League graduate, draws on his nine seasons in the big leagues to reveal the human side of baseball and of the men who play it. "Filled with sharp insights, keen observations, and great stories, his book is championship caliber." --The Philadelphia Inquirer In The Game from Where I Stand, Glanville shows us how players prepare for games, deal with race and family issues, cope with streaks and slumps, respond to trades and injuries, and learn the joyful and painful lessons the game imparts. He also tells us with insight and humor what he learned from Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, and other legendary and controversial stars. In his professional career, Glanville experienced every aspect of being a player--the first-round pick, the prospect, the disappointment, the can't-miss, the cornerstone, the veteran, the traded, the injured, the comeback kid. His eye-opening book gives fans a new level of understanding of day-to-day life in the big leagues.
The Extra 2%
What happens when three financial industry whiz kids and certified baseball nuts take over an ailing major league franchise and implement the same strategies that fueled their success on Wall Street? In the case of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, an American League championship happens--the culmination of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story of one team's Cinderella journey from divisional doormat to World Series contender. When former Goldman Sachs colleagues Stuart Sternberg and Matthew Silverman assumed control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005, it looked as if they were buying the baseball equivalent of a penny stock. But the incoming regime came armed with a master plan: to leverage their skill at trading, valuation, and management to build a model twenty-first-century franchise that could compete with their bigger, stronger, richer rivals--and prevail. Together with "boy genius" general manager Andrew Friedman, the new Rays owners jettisoned the old ways of doing things, substituting their own innovative ideas about employee development, marketing and public relations, and personnel management. They exorcized the "devil" from the team's nickname, developed metrics that let them take advantage of undervalued aspects of the game, like defense, and hired a forward-thinking field manager as dedicated to unconventional strategy as they were. By quantifying the game's intangibles--that extra 2% that separates a winning organization from a losing one--they were able to deliver to Tampa Bay something that Billy Beane's "Moneyball" had never brought to Oakland: an American League pennant. A book about what happens when you apply your business skills to your life's passion, The Extra 2% is an informative and entertaining case study for any organization that wants to go from worst to first.
Beyond DiMaggio
Berra, Rizzuto, Lasorda, Torre, Conigliaro, Santo, Piazza. Casual baseball fans--in fact, even many nonfans--know these names, not as Italian Americans, but as some of the most colorful figures in Major League Baseball. Ever since future Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri became a key part of the Yankees' Murderers' Row lineup of 1926, Italian Americans have been among the most prominent and intriguing players in the game. The first comprehensive study of the topic, Beyond DiMaggio is also a social history of baseball, tracing the evolution of American perceptions toward those of Italian descent as it chronicles the baseball exploits that influenced those perceptions. Lawrence Baldassaro tells the stories of Italian Americans' contributions to the game, from Joe DiMaggio, who transcended his ethnic identity to become an American icon, to A. Bartlett Giamatti, who served as commissioner of baseball, to Mike Piazza, considered the greatest hitting catcher ever. Baldassaro conducted more than fifty interviews with players, coaches, managers, and executives--some with careers dating back to the thirties--in order to put all these figures and their stories into the historical context of baseball, Italian Americans, and, finally, the culture of American sports.
162-0
Imagining a year in which the Phillies never lose a single game, this idealistic resource identifies the most memorable victory in the team's history on every single day of the baseball calendar season, from late March to late October. Ranging from games with incredible historical significance and individual achievement to those with high drama and high stakes, the book envisions the impossible: a blemish-free Phillies season. Evocative photos, original quotes, thorough research, and engaging prose and analysis add another dimension.
The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central
In the spring of 1968, the Omaha Central High School basketball team made history with its first all-black starting lineup. Their nickname, the Rhythm Boys, captured who they were and what they did on the court. Led by star center Dwaine Dillard, the Rhythm Boys were a shoo-in to win the state championship. But something happened on their way to glory. In early March, segregationist George Wallace, in a third-party presidential bid, made a campaign stop in Omaha. By the time he left town, Dillard was in jail, his coach was caught between angry political factions, and the city teetered on the edge of racial violence. So began the Nebraska state high school basketball tournament the next day, caught in the vise of history. The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central tells a true story about high school basketball, black awakening and rebellion, and innocence lost in a watershed year. The drama of civil rights in 1968 plays out in this riveting social history of sports, politics, race, and popular culture in the American heartland.
Fifty-Nine in '84
"First-class narrative history that can stand with everything Steven Ambrose wrote. . . . Achorn's description of the utter insanity that was barehanded baseball is vivid and alive." --Boston Globe"A beautifully written, meticulously researched story about a bygone baseball era that even die-hard fans will find foreign, and about a pitcher who might have been the greatest of all time." -- Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer prize-winning historianIn 1884 Providence Grays pitcher Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn won an astounding fifty-nine games--more than anyone in major-league history ever had before, or has since. He then went on to win all three games of baseball's first World Series. Fifty-nine in '84 tells the dramatic story not only of that amazing feat of grit but also of big-league baseball two decades after the Civil War--a brutal, bloody sport played barehanded, the profession of uneducated, hard-drinking men who thought little of cheating outrageously or maiming an opponent to win. Wonderfully entertaining, Fifty-nine in '84 is an indelible portrait of a legendary player and a fascinating, little-known era of the national pastime.
Tales from the Green Bay Packers Sideline
The victory and legend of the Super Bowl XLV winning Green Bay Packers continues in Chuck Carlson's Tales from the Green Bay Packers Sideline. In this behind-the-scenes look at the NFL's second oldest franchise, Carlson captures the determination, aggression, and vision that have constantly spurred the Packers to greatness. Through interviews and extensive research, Carlson brings to life stories from Packers legends such as Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Brett Favre, and the stars of today's Packers like Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews, Jr. Tales from the Green Bay Packers Sideline opens a window into the greatest Packers moments both on and off the field. Why was Vince Lombardi against the idea of rededicating the Packers stadium and naming it Lambeau Field? How was Monday Night Football changed forever during a Packers game on October 17, 1983? How did Aaron Rodgers deal with the pressure of the Super Bowl? Updated to include coverage of Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011. Readers will relive the greatest moments and quirkiest anecdotes from throughout Packers history. This collection is a must-have for any Green Bay fan.
T.o.
In this remarkably candid book, the NFL's most colorful and controversial athlete tells his own Philadelphia story. Terrell Owens joined the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2004 season hoping to help the Eagles win the Super Bowl. The Eagles almost did it, losing a close game to the New England Patriots. TO expected to have a long and productive career in Philadelphia. But less than halfway through the 2005 season it all fell apart. TO was suspended, first for a game, then for the season, as the Eagles blamed him for a variety of infractions. Now TO speaks out about what really happened in Philadelphia. He takes readers behind the scenes -- and into the huddle -- to show how he was unfairly blamed for conduct detrimental to his team. After setting an Eagles record for touchdown receptions, TO was badly injured late in the 2004 season. Most observers thought his season was over. But TO put himself through a grueling rehab, which he describes here, to recover in time to join his teammates in the Super Bowl, turning in a remarkable performance. Convinced that the Eagles could win it all in 2005, TO became only the sixth receiver in NFL history with 100 touchdown receptions. He explains in T.O. how and why his relationship with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb deteriorated. The situation worsened when TO agreed with Michael Irvin that the Eagles would be better off with Brett Favre as their quarterback. A fight in the team locker room, where an injured TO had to defend himself, caused further friction. Before long he was suspended from the team for the entire season. TO contested his suspension and took his case before an arbitrator. In this book TO brings readers into the hearing room and shows how unfair the arbitrator's precedent-setting decision really was. The decision was so wrong that even the NFL agreed to pass a rule specifically reversing it. But T.O. is a story of triumph and dedication. TO never lost his commitment to the game, and whenever he had the chance, he performed like the sensational athlete he is. He knew he would play again, and his faith was rewarded when he signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys prior to the 2006 season. Throughout his ordeal, TO remained true to himself, the same outsized personality who has rocked the NFL and become a football superstar.
The Book of Basketball
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The wildly opinionated, thoroughly entertaining, and arguably definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA--from the founder of The Ringer and host of The Bill Simmons Podcast "Enough provocative arguments to fuel barstool arguments far into the future."--The Wall Street Journal In The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons opens--and then closes, once and for all--every major NBA debate, from the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons's one-of-a-kind five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball. Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game's finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.
100 Gaa Greats
In this text, John Scally celebrates the most significant players Gaelic games have brought us in their 125-year history. He selects those footballers, hurlers, managers and camogie players who have lit up Irish sport, becoming national treasures in the process, and highlights their remarkable skills.
Rangers Cult Heroes
Rangers Cult Heroes tells the story of the club through the careers of its 20 greatest icons--the men who made the blue half of Glasgow's pulses race. During Paul Smith's journey through a pantheon of Rangers greats, he discovers that there is much more to being a Gers Cult Hero. Each player's career is analyzed to discover what made him tick, why he was so idolized by the fans and what his legacy to Rangers was. Discover what it is about 20 mere mortals that has brought them mythical status in Glasgow. Paul Smith explores the diverse and intriguing reasons why each one has engendered passion, excitement, and devotion among some of the most obsessive football supporters on planet earth.
Butler’s Big Dance
The Butler Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA National Championship basketball game against Duke University upon defeating Michigan State on April 3, 2010. With only 4,500 students, Butler was the smallest school to play for a national championship since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Coached by Brad Stevens--just three years into his position as head basketball coach--the undefeated Bulldogs were a hometown team, playing before a hometown crowd on the national stage. Two days later, Butler lost narrowly to Duke, 61-59, but their run for the championship had become a national phenomenon. From her vantage point as a Butler professor, acclaimed writer Susan Neville observed (and participated in) Hoosier Hysteria firsthand. In Butler's Big Dance, she intertwines her recollections of the events with interviews, anecdotes, and photographs to bring readers a taste of the on-campus and courtside excitement of the Bulldogs' David-and-Goliath bid for the national title.
Things I’ve Learned from Watching the Browns
Here's a question for any Browns fan: Why? Why, more than four long decades after your team's last championship . . . despite a relentless pattern of heartbreak, teasing, and more heartbreak . . . capped with a decade of utter futility . . . do you still stick with the Cleveland Browns? Veteran sportswriter Terry Pluto gets a daily barrage of email from fans letting their hearts bleed out orange and brown. So he decided to ask his readers: Just what is it about this team that makes you love them, hate them, and still keep coming back for more? A thousand fans responded--in detail. Their stories--along with interviews with former players and Pluto's own expert analysis--deliver the answer. Answers, actually. Because like any intense relationship, it's a little complicated . . . Covering the Browns from 1964 through present day, this book does for Cleveland football what Pluto's classic about the Indians, The Curse of Rocky Colavito, did for Cleveland baseball: It won't make the pain go away, but it might help you remember why it's worth enduring.
Power Golf
Now available in trade paperback--the best golf instruction book ever written from one of golf's all time greatest players--featuring more than 120 self-teaching tips and illustrations to show readers how to lower their golf score."There is no such individual as a born golfer. Some have more natural ability than others, but they've all been made."--Ben Hogan Considered one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game, Ben Hogan is still noted for the phenomenal power of his swing and his unbeatable ability as a ball striker. He is also known for his dedication to practice and his belief that any golfer can, with training, determination, and a little guidance, improve his or her game significantly. With the help of his classic book, Power Golf, you too can achieve a higher level of play than you ever thought possible. Profusely illustrated with detailed line drawings, Power Golf walks you through every step of the skills that Ben Hogan painstakingly acquired over his years as a champion player. Here, you will find: - How to master the celebrated Hogan grip that made his swing so powerful - Why a balanced stance is important, and how to achieve it - The details of a winning backswing and downswing - How to achieve greater distance from your wood shots - Why iron shots are so important and how to accomplish greater accuracy - Minimizing your number of putts - How to conquer bunker, uphill, and downhill shots - Playing in rain and wind - And featuring Ben Hogan's "Eight Hints on How to Lower Your Score" No matter how experienced a golfer you are--whether a beginner or more advanced--Power Golf will help you play through to your best game ever. WITH OVER 120 SELF-TEACHING ILLUSTRATIONS!
Hurricane Season
"There's always a point in the season when you're faced with a challenge and you see what you're capable of. And you grow up." -- J.T. Curtis, head coach, John Curtis Christian School Patriots On Saturday, August 27, 2005, the John Curtis Patriots met for a grueling practice in the late summer New Orleans sun, the air a visible fog of humidity. They had pulled off a 19-0 shutout in their pre-season game the night before, but it was a game full of dumb mistakes. Head coach J.T. Curtis was determined to drill those mistakes out of them before their highly anticipated next game, which sportswriters had dubbed "the Battle of the Bayou" against a big team coming in all the way from Utah. As fate played out, that afternoon was the last time the Patriots would see one another for weeks; some teammates they'd never see again. Hurricane Katrina was about to tear their lives apart. The Patriots are a most unlikely football dynasty. There is a small, nondescript, family-run school, the buildings constructed by hand by the school's founding patriarch, John Curtis Sr. In this era of high school football as big business with 20,000 seat stadiums, John Curtis has no stadium of its own. The team plays an old-school offense, and Coach Curtis insists on a no-cut policy, giving every kid who wants to play a chance. As of 2005, they'd won nineteen state championships in Curtis's thirty-five years of coaching, making him the second most winning high school coach ever. Curtis has honed to a fine art the skill of teaching players how to transcend their natural talents. No screamer, he strives to teach kids about playing with purpose, the power of respect, dignity, poise, patience, trust in teamwork, and the payoff of perseverance, showing them how to be winners not only on the gridiron, but in life, and making boys into men. Hurricane Katrina would put those lessons to the test of a lifetime. Hurricane Season is the story of a great coach, his team, his family, and their school -- and a remarkable fight back from shocking tragedy. It is a story of football and faith, and of the transformative power of a team that rises above adversity, and above its own abilities, to come together again and prove what they're made of. It is the gripping story of how, as one player put it, "football became my place of peace."
Longy
Here, the flamboyant Hull and St Helens superstar tells his hilarious, shocking and explosive life story. Longy - the only player to win the Lance Todd Trophy three times - tells the inside story of THAT bet against his own team and exposes secrets that will shock the rugby league establishment to its core. In his own words, he describes with startling honesty the hell-raising experiences of his rags-to-riches journey. But it isn't all about his wild reputation - Long has also had an incredible rugby league career, winning every major honour in the game at club level as well as notching up 15 caps for Great Britain and another five for the England side. He has twice set the Super League record for the most points scored in a season, with 284 in 1999 and a staggering 352 in 2000.
Tiptoeing Through Hell
Veteran golf writer John Strege gives you the history and takes you behind the scenes of the US Open, considered the most difficult tournament in golf. The US Open Golf tournament, one of the four 'Majors' together with The Masters, The British Open, and the PGA, is widely considered the most difficult of the four tournaments. Each year the tournament is played on a different course. Fifty years ago the US Golf Association, whose tournament this is, decided the condition of the courses had to be toughened. The fairways on the designated course narrowed, the rough was allowed to grow tall and the greens were mowed close and rolled frequently, producing surfaces whose slickness the pros have compared to billiard tables. In Tiptoeing Through Hell, John Strege has chronicled the last 50 years of the tournament when these punitive conditions have held sway.
Light Blue Reign
Light Blue Reign tells inside story of how one of the most successful college basketball programs in the nation was builtThe 2009-10 NCAA college basketball season marked the 100th anniversary of North Carolina basketball. The UNC Tar Heels have won two NCAA championships since 2005, and own more victories over the last half-century than any other college team. But it wasn't always that way. For most of the first 50 years the team existed at UNC, the sport was an afterthought. That all changed in 1952 with the arrival of Frank McGuire. When Roy Williams and the Tar Heels won the 2005 and 2009 national championships, they could thank Frank McGuire and his prot矇g矇, Dean Smith, for starting the tradition of triumph. Art Chansky, who has covered UNC basketball for more than 30 years, constructs an intimate narrative of how three dramatically different coaches built the longest-lasting dynasty in college basketball. The banners of those teams hang in the rafters today, warming the hearts of all those who have worshipped UNC's Light Blue Reign over the last fifty years--and counting. Part history, part centennial celebration, Light Blue Reign is not simply about one team's victories--it's about the dedication, passion, and love for a sport that players and fans of any loyalty will understand.
The Man Watching
The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Dynasty is the authorized biography of a fascinating head coach and the more than 200 young women he inspired to believe that anything is possible. Updated to include the story of the Tar Heels's 2008 and 2009 NCAA championships. As coach of the UNC's women's soccer team, Anson Dorrance has won more than 90 percent of his games, groomed far more All-Americans, and captured more NCAA championships than any other coach in the sport ten times over. Author Tim Crothers spent four years interviewing Dorrance and Tar Heels players from every era, along with players and coaches from rival college programs, to create the most comprehensive, intimate, and unfiltered look ever inside the most prolific dynasty in college athletics.
Miracle at Merion
Legendary sportswriter Red Smith characterized Ben Hogan's comeback from a near-fatal automobile crash in February 1949 as "the most remarkable feat in the history of sports." Nearly sixty years later, that statement still rings true. The crowning moment of Hogan's comeback was his dramatic victory in the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia, where his battered legs could barely carry him on the 36-hole final day. Miracle at Merion tells the stirring story of Hogan's triumph over adversity--the rarely-performed surgery that saved his life, the months of rehabilitation when he couldn't even hit a golf ball, his stunning return to competition at the Los Angeles Open, and, finally, the U.S. Open triumph that returned him to the pinnacle of the game. While Hogan was severely injured in the accident, fracturing his pelvis, collarbone, rib, and ankle, his life wasn't in danger until two weeks later when blood clots developed in his leg, necessitating emergency surgery. Hogan didn't leave the hospital until April and didn't even touch a golf club until August. It wasn't until November, more than nine months after the accident, that he was able to go to the range to hit balls. Hogan's performance at the Los Angeles Open in early January convinced Hollywood to make a movie out of his life and comeback (Follow the Sun, starring Glenn Ford). Five months later, Hogan completed his miraculous comeback by winning the U.S. Open in a riveting 36-hole playoff against Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio, permanently cementing his legacy as one of the sport's true legends.
NFL Unplugged
Blood, guts, and glory-veteran players reveal the NFL you never see on TVBehind every glittering NFL game on television is a world of happy pain for a hundred men. NFL Unplugged lets you see that world through the eyes of the pros who live and sweat in it. Here are the places the cameras don't go: the locker room where coaches' speeches can deflate or motivate, the huddle where fart jokes vie with playcalling, the training camp where locusts and heat conspire to break the strongest bodies and shake the most determined minds. Now you can experience it all up close and unplugged.Draws on firsthand accounts of more than thirty players and coaches from teams across the NFL, including Mark Schlereth, Bill Romanowski, Kevin Long, Kyle Turley, John Gruden, Hugh Douglas, Jon Runyan, and Michael StrahanAn unvarnished look at everything from training camp and broken dreams, conditioning and injuries, and camaraderie and hazing to the quest to gain a competitive edge and the exhilarating triumphs of the gameWritten by one of the top figures in sports radio, Anthony Gargano of Philadelphia's 610-WIPFrom the injuries that never heal and the money that never lasts to the memories and the glory that never fade, NFL Unplugged shows the unbridled brutality and sheer brilliance of the game.
Catcher
Today's baseball catcher stolidly goes about his duty without attracting much attention. But it wasn't always that way, as Peter Morris shows in this lively and original study. In baseball's early days, catchers stood a safe distance back of the batter without protective gear. Then the introduction of the curveball in the 1870s led them to move up directly behind home plate, even though they still wore no gloves or other protection. Extraordinary courage became the catcher's most notable requirement, but the new positioning also demanded that the catcher have lightning-fast reflexes, great hands, and a throwing arm with the power of a cannon. With so great a range of required skills, a special mystique came to surround the position, and it began to seem that a good catcher could single-handedly make the difference between a winning and losing team.
Becoming Champions For Life
- Get in the zone - Join our team - Grow your dream - Fuel your need - Heed the Creed - Dare to become a Champion! Have you ever wondered how people become champions? Is it talent? Is it brains? Is it luck? Is it passion? Motivation? Hard work? Or is it something else? Something that perhaps you too could have or possess but just not know it? Geoff Colvin, author of Talent Is Overrated: What really separates world-class performance believes the answer lies inside two questions: what do you really want? And what do you really believe? He says, "Great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone." Listen! Every champion sooner or later discovers this. Along the way their belief turns into a vow, the vow into a pledge, and the pledge into a mission-to live as a champion. And it's all guided by a creed-a set of beliefs they follow, embody, and put in play. Living your life as a champion is a worthy goal, a challenging odyssey worthy of every ounce of effort you can put into it. Our goal is to help you do it; help you become the champion you were meant to be. What it takes is a dream, a plan, a will, a finish, and a creed. This is the purpose of Becoming Champions for Life. Champions do out of what they are inside. And we can't wait for you to come inside to take the ride of your life. We can't wait to see you make a difference, be a difference, become the difference. So what are you waiting for? Get in the zone. Join our team. Grow your dream. Feed your need on The Champion's Creed. And become a champion for life! Your time is now! Ron & Jeff Hostetler
Golf Solved
As a professional educator, Bill found it natural to collect the pearls of wisdom of his golf mates from scenic Granite Pointe Golf Course in Nelson, British Columbia. Advice was and is freely given every Thursday night. The advice will resonate with golfers everywhere as it speaks to the very obvious problems which every striker of the ball faces when looking down at the ball and then to the hole in the ground which the ball should seek to find. Should is the operative word. Bill is the author of 101 Nifty Ideas for High Schools, A Baby Boomers Guide to I Remember When and Golf Solved: Simply Doing the Obviously Simple to Improve Your Golf Game.
Scoreboard, Baby
The adjectives associated with the University of Washington's 2000 football season--mystical, magical, miraculous--changed when Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry's four-part expos矇 of the 2000 Huskies hit the newspaper stands: "explosive . . . chilling" (Sports Illustrated), "blistering" (Baltimore Sun), "shocking . . . appalling" (Tacoma News Tribune), "astounding" (ESPN), "jaw-dropping" (Orlando Sentinel). Now, in Scoreboard, Baby, Armstrong and Perry go behind the scenes of the Huskies' Cinderella story to reveal a timeless morality tale about the price of obsession, the creep of fanaticism, and the ways in which a community can lose even when its team wins. The authors unearth the true story from firsthand interviews and thousands of pages of documents: the forensic report on a bloody fingerprint; the notes of a detective investigating allegations of rape; confidential memoranda of prosecutors; and the criminal records of the dozen-plus players arrested that year with scant mention in the newspapers and minimal consequences in the courts. The statement of a judge, sentencing one player to thirty days in jail, says it all: "to be served after football season."
Football's Last Iron Men
In November 1934, the Princeton football team--unbeaten in its last fifteen games--faced the 3-3 Yale Bulldogs, who gave new meaning to the term "underdogs." As much a thrilling play-by-play account of college football at its finest as it is a fascinating work of sports history, this book chronicles the season that brought Princeton and Yale together in a game like no other since. Football's Last Iron Men follows the teams from the hiring of future Hall of Fame coaches Fritz Crisler and Greasy Neale through spring practice to their annual clash on November 17. The Yale Elis, it seemed, had no chance. How those eleven players--who never left the game--stunned Princeton 7-0 is a chapter in football history. It was an era of 165-pound linemen, quarterbacks who called their own plays, and student athletes who earned no special treatment. But the story of Yale's Iron Men is also part of a larger history, for it took place during the Great Depression, when millions of struggling Americans found hope in the courage and grit of the team who wouldn't quit.
Resurrection
Jim Dent, author of the New York Times bestselling The Junction Boys returns with Resurrection, about the remarkable and inspiring story of one of the biggest comebacks in college football history.In the 1960's, Notre Dame's football program was in shambles. Little did anyone know, help was on its way in the form of Ara Parseghian, a controversial choice for head coach--the first one outside of the Notre Dame "family." It was now his responsibility to rebuild the once-proud program and teach the Fighting Irish how to win again. But it was no small task. The men of Notre Dame football were a bunch of unlikelies and oddballs, but Parseghian transformed them into a team: a senior quarterback who would win the Heisman Trophy; a five-foot-eight walk-on who would make first team All-American; an exceptionally rare black player, who would overcome much more than his quiet demeanor to rise to All-American, All-Pro, Hall of Famer, and to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Parseghian would change everything, from the uniforms and pads to the offensive strategy. It would be a huge gamble against great obstacles. But Ara Parseghian had that look in his eye.... New York Times bestselling author Jim Dent chronicles one of the greatest comeback seasons in the history of college football. Once again confirming his position as one of the top sports writers in the country, Dent brings the legends of Notre Dame football to life in an unforgettable story of second chances, determination, and unwavering spirit.
The Best Show in Football
For ten years the Cleveland Browns compiled a better record and won more championships than any team in pro football history. They dominated an upstart league and then silenced their detractors by doing the same to the NFL. The Browns were led by Paul Brown, a football visionary who changed pro football-most important among his innovations was the leading role the franchise played in the integration of pro sports.
Personal Foul
Uncover the true story behind the Netflix documentary Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul. "The book the NBA doesn't want you to read." --Deadspin.com Tim Donaghy loved basketball. In many ways, his zest for the game came from his father, who officiated high school and college games for over 30 years. After graduating from Villanova, Donaghy was unsatisfied with his career until he followed his heart and became a basketball referee, first in the CBA and then the NBA, where he officiated for 13 seasons: 772 regular-season games and 20 playoff games. He loved his job, his family, his life. He felt like he had everything. And then, suddenly, he had nothing. He succumbed to a gambling addiction and to intimidation from well-connected criminals--and began using inside information to win bets for them. Following an FBI investigation, Donaghy pled guilty to two federal charges, and on August 15, 2007, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was released on November 4, 2009, after serving his sentence. This is his story, which provides a stunningly candid admission of his mistakes, as well as his insider's account of the world of professional basketball. With a foreword by Phil Scala, the FBI special agent who worked the Gambino case, Personal Foul reveals how the fast life of professional sports can tempt and trap the unwary and unwise. Donaghy has written an unforgettable page-turner, one of the most controversial sports books ever published. It will confirm your suspicions about the influence of the front offices of major league sports, while examining the corrosive power of money and fame. From the Introduction: I'm guilty. For 13 years I was a referee in the National Basketball Association, living a glamorous life on and off the court, rubbing elbows with superstar players and celebrity A-listers. I suppose many would say that I had it all--a great job, money, a wonderful family--but it was all an illusion. You see, during my last four years in the NBA, I led a secret life that would ultimately cost me everything: my integrity, my reputation, my career, my livelihood, my marriage, my family, and my freedom.
However Tall the Mountain
A ball can start a revolution. Born in Kabul, Awista Ayub escaped with her family to Connecticut in 1981, when she was two years old, but her connection to her heritage remained strong. An athlete her whole life, she was inspired to start the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange after September 11, 2001, as a way of uniting girls of Afghanistan and giving them hope for their future. She chose soccer because little more than a ball and a field is needed to play; however, the courage it would take for girls in Afghanistan to do this would have to be tremendous--and the social change it could bring about by making a loud and clear statement for Afghan women was enough to convince Awista that it was possible, and even necessary. Under Taliban rule, girls in Afghanistan couldn't play outside of their homes, let alone participate in a sport on a team. So, Awista brought eight girls from Afghanistan to the United States for a soccer clinic, in the hope of not only teaching them the sport, but also instilling confidence and a belief in their self-worth. They returned to Afghanistan and spread their interest in playing soccer; when Awista traveled there to host another clinic, hundreds of girls turned out to participate -- and the numbers of players and teams keep growing. What began with eight young women has now exploded into something of a phenomenon. Fifteen teams now compete in the Afghanistan Football Federation, with hundreds of girls participating. Against all odds and fear, these girls decided to come together and play a sport that has reintroduced the very traits that decades of war had cruelly stripped away from them -- confidence and self-worth. In However Tall the Mountain, Awista tells both her own story and the deeply moving stories of the eight original girls, describing their daily lives back in Afghanistan, and how they found strength in each other, in teamwork, and in themselves -- taking impossible risks to obtain freedoms we take for granted. This is a story about hope, about what home is, and in the end, about determination. As the Afghan proverb says, However tall the mountain, there's always a road.
Are You Kidding Me?
June 2008's US Open produced one of the most unexpected and dramatic showdowns in golf history. Day after day the invincible Tiger Woods was challenged by Rocco Mediate, a respected journeyman. On Sunday, both ended play tied at par, forcing a playoff. Defying expectations, Mediate played Woods to yet another tie, losing only after forcing a sudden-death showdown. Through it all, Rocco Mediate emerged as one of the most likable, open, and fascinating golfers. In Are You Kidding Me?, he tells the full story of these five life-changing days. With John Feinstein, whose insider knowledge of the golf world is unparalleled, Mediate relives one of sport's greatest feats, how one man overcame every obstacle to challenge the game's finest.
The Unbroken Line
The Unbroken Line is the riveting story of how truly heartless the business of professional football was and is - from the poor pension plans and inadequate medical benefits to the greed of union leadership which the authors argue takes advantage of and turns its back on the very individuals who make the game great. At no time in the annals of sports has the timing of a book been more important. This unique story provides a fascinating inside look at how a group of players and one attorney strategically outwitted the NFL and the Players' Union leadership to score an historic and crucial victory for players' rights. The year was 1982, a few courageous men stood up to their powerful administrative adversaries when no one else would during the most turbulent time in the history of professional football. What was at stake then and now again in 2010 is the players' ability to earn salaries and benefits that are in line with their contributions to their teams. The authors, former Pro Bowl tight end Billy Joe DuPree and highly respected attorney Spencer Kopf, not only reveal the successful plan that began the end of player exploitation, but they also skillfully compare the peril players faced in 1982 to the heart wrenching situations of present-day, retired union members.
How Soccer Explains the World
"An eccentric, fascinating expos矇 of a world most of us know nothing about. . . . Bristles with anecdotes that are almost impossible to believe." --New York Times Book Review"Terrific. . . . A travelogue full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence. . . . Foer's soccer odyssey lends weight to the argument that a humane world order is possible." -- Washington Post Book WorldA groundbreaking work--named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by Sports Illustrated--How Soccer Explains the World is a unique and brilliantly illuminating work of political journalism that looks at soccer, the world's most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy.From Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye-opening chronicle of how soccer culture and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it's terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam--issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.In this unlikely theory of globalization, you'll discover: Globalization's Fault Lines: How the world's most popular sport reveals the surprising ways ancient hatreds and local identities resist the march of a global economy.Sports and Politics: From the gangster-run clubs of Serbia to the bourgeois nationalism of Barcelona, see how soccer becomes a vehicle for political identity, revolution, and corruption.Cultural Commentary: A journalistic tour that explores why hooligans in England embrace a Jewish identity, what makes Brazilian soccer clubs so corrupt, and how the game offers hope in Iran.A Unique Worldview: Through a blend of travelogue, history, and economics, Foer provides an entirely new way to understand the forces shaping our world.
Game Six
Boston, Tuesday, October 21, 1975. The Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds have endured an excruciating three-day rain delay. Tonight, at last, they will play Game Six of the World Series. Leading three games to two, Cincinnati hopes to win it all; Boston is desperate to stay alive. But for all the anticipation, nobody could have predicted what a classic it would turn out to be: an extra-innings thriller, created by one of the Big Red Machine's patented comebacks and the Red Sox's improbable late-inning rally; clutch hitting, heart-stopping defensive plays, and more twists and turns than a Grand Prix circuit, climaxed by one of the most famous home runs in baseball history that ended it in the twelfth. Here are all the inside stories of some of that era's biggest names in sports: Johnny Bench, Luis Tiant, Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski--eight Hall of Famers in all--as well as sportscasters and network execs, cameramen, umpires, groundskeepers, politicians, and fans who gathered in Fenway that extraordinary night. Game Six is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at what is considered by many to be the greatest baseball game ever played--remarkable also because it was about so much more than just balls and strikes. This World Series marked the end of an era; baseball's reserve clause was about to be struck down, giving way to the birth of free agency, a watershed moment that changed American sports forever. In bestselling author Mark Frost's talented hands, the historical significance of Game Six becomes every bit as engrossing as its compelling human drama.
