- Table View
- List View
Got 'Em, Got 'Em, Need 'Em: A Fan's Guide to Collecting the Top 100 Sports Cards of All Time
by Stephen Laroche Jon WaldmanFor over a hundred years, kids of all ages have enjoyed the thrill of collecting sports cards. Whether it was souvenirs from their parents&’ cigarette packs, pieces that came in bubble gum packages, or the modern dazzlers, the simple formula of pictures and text on cardboard have been a part of North American society for over a century.Now, take a look back at one of the most popular hobbies in history with Got &’Em, Got &’Em, Need &’Em. Covering baseball, basketball, football, hockey, boxing, and golf, this unique book offers a look at the greatest sports cards ever produced, including the players and personalities involved. Relive the days gone by with some of the industry&’s most well-known experts as we count down the best from the business.Plus, as a special bonus, take a look at the best innovations, the worst blunders, and a special tribute to the hobby&’s boom era in the 1990s.
Sack Exchange: The Definitive Oral History of the 1980s New York Jets
by Greg Prato&“If you&’re one of those fans who stepped on the Jets bandwagon for the Rex Ryan-Mark Sanchez years, here&’s the story of an earlier, wild and woolly era.&” —New York Post (&“Required Reading&” selection) Comprised of all-new, exclusive interviews with Jets players, head coaches, and those closest to the organization, Sack Exchange is not only an eye-opening account of the Jets from this time, but also of the National Football League as a whole. The New York Sack Exchange was the nickname given to the New York Jets defensive line of the early 1980s, consisting of Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam. Examined are such topics as the beginning of the Jets-Dolphins rivalry, the controversial firing of head coach Walt Michaels and hiring of Joe Walton, the team&’s relationships behind the scenes, the emergence of Joe Klecko, the rise and fall of Mark Gastineau, steroid use among the Jets and in the NFL, the legendary Shea Stadium as well as never-before-heard stories and insight into the legacy of Joe Namath. &“Greg paints a picture where you feel like you&’re right in the locker room with these guys . . . or hanging out with them back in the day in the NYC clubs during the Koch era. There is not a single true Jets fan on the planet that shouldn't own this book.&” —Keith Roth, The Electric Ballroom Radio Show &“A great read and info from those days and it sure was interesting to see what all everyone had to say . . . Your book really brought back some great and wonderful memories.&” —Chuck Ramsey, Former New York Jets Punter
One More Day Everywhere: Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding
by Glen HeggstadThe motorcycle adventurer and author of Two Wheels Through Terror delivers a &“spectacular and gripping read&” of his solo journey around the world (Friction Zone). In November of 2001, on a motorcycle trip to the tip of South America, Glen Heggstad was kidnapped at gunpoint by Colombian rebels and held captive for five weeks. Yet even after his traumatic incarceration, Glen did what few others would—finished his trip. Three years later, frustrated by the climate of fear in a media-saturated world and the resulting stranglehold of self-imposed security in the United States, Glen decided to look for truth on his own terms—on the back of his motorcycle. Starting in Japan, Glen wound his way through Siberia, Mongolia, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, stopping in over thirty countries. This was not a tourist&’s bus tour—Glen battled extreme temperatures, knee-deep mud, bureaucratic roadblocks, health problems, and loneliness, but these problems faded to insignificance with the thrill of the open road and the smiling receptions he received from locals and fellow bikers at every turn. With One More Day Everywhere, readers can share Glen Heggstad&’s vision of a world ungoverned by fear and, like Glen, embrace each experience, with one eye always on the horizon. &“If anyone knows determination, perseverance, agony and terror it is Glen Heggstad. And that motorcycles are fun!&” —Jimmy Lewis, editor, Cycle World Magazine &“This is a story of extreme travel at its finest.&” —RoadRunner &“Heggstad manages to illustrate the joys and hardships and benefits and drawbacks of two-wheeled global travel to some of the most difficult places on the planet.&” —Friction Zone
Heart of a Tiger: Growing up with My Grandfather, Ty Cobb
by Herschel CobbThe grandson of the legendary baseball player reveals another side of “a fascinating, severely flawed sports icon” (Booklist). Ty Cobb’s grandson Herschel saw a side of him that very few others did. While baseball fans were familiar with Cobb’s infamously cold, competitive nature—and his relationship with his own children was deeply difficult—Cobb, in his later years, embraced the opportunity to form a loving bond with his grandchildren during their summertime visits. In this moving memoir, Herschel Cobb reveals how his grandfather, after the devastating loss of two sons, shared his gentler side with Herschel and his siblings. Herschel’s own parents, a cruel, abusive father and an adulterous, alcoholic mother, filled his childhood with turmoil. But “Granddaddy” offered the stability, love, and guidance that Herschel desperately needed. “Elegantly written and genuinely moving,” this story of their relationship presents a unique perspective on this larger-than-life man (Publishers Weekly). “An unforgettable story . . . that will alter how you feel about baseball’s most demonized star.” —Tom Stanton, author of Ty and the Babe w, wholly different legacy, in turn he would finally come to peace with himself.
Hockey Card Stories: True Tales! From 59 of Your Favourite Players (Hockey Card Stories)
by Ken Reid&“Nobody enjoys the full kaleidoscope of the game quite like Kenny, from banana blades and &’70s staches to air-brushed, mistake-laden hockey cards.&” —Jeff Marek, Sportsnet Hockey host and Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast co-host Hockey Card Stories reveals what was really going on in your favorite old hockey cards through the eyes of the players depicted on them. Some of the cards are definitely worth a few bucks, some a few cents—but every story told here is priceless. Sportsnet&’s Ken Reid presents the cards you loved and the airbrushed monstrosities that made you howl, the cards that have been packed away in boxes forever, and others you can&’t believe ever existed. Whether it&’s a case of mistaken identity or simply a great old photo, a fantastic 1970s haircut and &’stache, a wicked awesome goalie mask or a future Hall of Famer&’s off-season fashion sense, a wide variety of players—from superstars like Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Phil Esposito to the likes of Bill Armstrong who played only one game in the NHL—chime in on one of their most famous cards. &“Hockey Card Stories is a sports fan&’s dream—humorous, detailed and nostalgic. I hope there&’s more where this came from.&” —Terry Ryan, author of Tales of a First-Round Nothing &“Bright, funny and filled with a real love of the sport and a genuine affection for its great characters.&” —Stephen Brunt, author of Searching for Bobby Orr and Prime Time Sports cohost &“When Ken is passionate about a topic, he&’s the most knowledgeable individual in the room . . . in this book, you&’ll quickly appreciate his passion for hockey cards . . . What a nerd.&” —Evanka Osmak, Sportsnet Connected co-anchor
Fun and Games: My 40 Years Writing Sports
by Dave Perkins&“Covering many of the biggest names and greatest events in sports, it&’s a wonderful collection of yarns and reminiscences, told in Perk&’s inimitable style&” (Postmedia News). Dave Perkins was once told by a bluntly helpful university admissions officer: &“You don&’t have the looks for TV or the voice for radio. You should go into print.&” Which he did, first at the Globe and Mail, and then for thirty-six well-traveled years at the Toronto Star. In Fun and Games, Perkins recounts hysterical, revealing, and sometimes embarrassing personal stories from almost every sport and many major championships. After forty years of encountering a myriad of athletes, fans, team managers, and owners, Perkins offers unique observations on the Blue Jays and Raptors, fifty-eight major championships&’ worth of golf, ten Olympic Games, football, hockey, boxing, horse racing, and more. Learn why Tiger Woods asked Perkins if he was nuts, why he detected Forrest Gump in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and why Super Bowl week is the worst week of the year. Perkins exposes the mistakes he made in both thought and word—once, when intending to type &“the shot ran down the goalie&’s leg,&” he used an &“i&” instead of an &“o&”—and to this day, he has never found a sacred cow that didn&’t deserve a barbecue. &“Few can spin a yarn with the wit and clever turns of phrase that Perky can.&” —Shi Davidi, Sportsnet &“Anyone who has ever spoken to Dave Perkins, or read Dave Perkins, remembers his voice. This book is a delightful way to experience it all again, through the wise, funny man&’s eyes.&” —Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star sports columnist
Rick: The Rick Hansen Story
by Dennis FoonFifteen-year-old Rick Hansen is confident, outgoing, and the star of his high-school basketball team. He has his whole life planned out, until a tragic accident severs his spinal cord, leaving him in a wheelchair. Rick's accident forces him to adapt his positivity to deal with his new life, while helping to strengthen the relationship with his guilt-stricken best friend. Refusing to be put at a disadvantage, Rick conquers the challenges presented to him with a smile and changes the definition of what it means to be disabled. Based on the true story of the man who inspired millions with his Man In Motion World Tour, Rick is a triumphant play that showcases the importance of optimism and perseverance, encouraging audiences to make their own paths to change the world.
109 Walks in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, 7th edition
by John Halliday David Macaree Alice Purdey Mary MacareeFrom trails to spectacular waterfalls near Squamish and historic urban forests in South Surrey, coastal headlands in Howe Sound and ridgetop meadows in the Fraser Valley,109 Walks offers a route for everyone who likes to be outdoors.In this revised seventh edition are 109 of the region's best walks of four hours or less to suit every taste, whether you're a visitor to the city or life-long resident, occasional recreationalist or avid walker. The trails have been reorganized from north to south, west to east, and the book includes fourteen all-new walks along with another twelve that have been substantially modified or revived from previous volumes. Most of the classics remain and their trail directions and maps have been completely updated with GPS coordinates to make route-finding easier.Unchanged are the comprehensive indexes that help ensure a trail that's right for the season, the time frame and the fitness level of the group; the photographs and notes about points of natural or historical interest plus estimated hiking times and distances; and the clearly written, carefully detailed route descriptions. Accurate, authoritative and highly affordable, 109 Walks is an indispensable guide for exploring British Columbia's Lower Mainland in all seasons.
Between the Pipes: A Revealing Look at Hockey's Legendary Goalies
by Roy Macgregor Randi DruzinSome NHL goalies are great and others are intriguing, but a dozen of them are legends because they're both. In Between the Pipes, Randi Druzin profiles these athletes, revealing the traits that make each one unique.Gump Worsley defied the laws of biomechanics by being nimble despite having a cabbage-shaped body. He was also one of the funniest men ever to start in goal. Glenn Hall used to wrestle with a trainer in the dressing room before games and Jacques Plante refused to stay at a particular Toronto hotel. Despite their quirks, these 12 goalies are among the best the game has ever seen. With wit and verve, Druzin paints unforgettable portraits of these masked mavericks.
Fishing the River of Time
by Tony TaylorAt age eighty, Tony Taylor journeys from Sydney, Australia, to British Columbia to fish the Cowichan River with his eight-year-old grandson, Ned. The trip is an opportunity for Tony to return to a landscape that has had a profound effect on his life and his way of thinking, and to share this place with his grandson. As Tony teaches Ned the patient art of fly-fishing, a lifetime of memories, thoughts, and stories unspool in peaceful reflections by the water's edge. Fishing the River of Time is an elegant meditation on nature, life, and family, written with warmth and wisdom. It inspires self-reflection and an appreciation of the natural world and the fundamentals of our human experience. It is destined to become a classic work of simple living in the mold of Henry David Thoreau's Walden.
Cold War
by Roy MacskimmingIn 1972, after enduring years of embarrassing defeat at the hands of Soviet "amateurs," Canadian officials convinced their Moscow counterparts to allow a pre-season, eight-game series between the best hockey players from both nations. For Team Canada, this meant a chance to assemble a "dream team" of NHL professionals and show the world that they still owned ice hockey.Cold War takes you to the back rooms of the diplomats and apparatchiks who sanctioned this unlikely confrontation -- and then puts you on the ice for the rest. The first four games were played in four different Canadian cities; the final four in Moscow. Despite the absences of Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull, Team Canada's lineup was memorable: the Brothers Esposito, Phil and Tony; Paul Henderson; Serge Savard; Ken Dryden; and Frank Mahovlich. Canadians across the continent were confident of a blowout. "Eight-game sweep!" the leading sports columnists predicted.But the Red Machine came prepared. The Soviets' fast-paced game of precision passing and surgical attack caught the Canadians off guard. By the time the series headed to Moscow, the Soviets had jolted Canada and insured that the remaining games would be remembered as perhaps the most fiercely fought hockey of all time.
Gordie: A Hockey Legend
by Roy MacskimmingBefore Gretzky, before Russians played in the National Hockey League, before multimillion-dollar salaries, there was Gordie Howe: the greatest star ever to play hockey. This richly illustrated, thoroughly researched and completely unauthorized biography-the only full-length biography to cover Howe's entire playing career-takes readers behind the sports icon to reveal a man who remains immensely popular with young and old.The Howe legend begins on the frozen sloughs of Saskatchewan, where a painfully shy boy from a poverty-ridden family discovered his one advantage in life: major athletic talent. Signed by the Detroit Red Wings at 16, Howe joined celebrated teammates Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay, Terry Sawchuk and Red Kelly to forge a team that dominated the NHL as only the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers have since. Six-time leading scorer, six-time Hart Trophy winner as the most valuable player, Howe surpassed Rocket Richard's NHL goals record to reach an amazing total of 801, unmatched for years until finally Gretzky caught up to his mentor and idol.
Feet Don't Fail Me Now
by Ben KaplanIn Feet Don't Fail Me Now, running and music columnist Ben Kaplan describes how to train for a marathon in one year, even if you have never run before. Based on his own experience transforming himself from an "average guy" into a dedicated runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon, the book provides a week-by-week training program, split into four three-month sections -- each concluding with a race from 5 kilometres to the Boston Marathon -- along with critical information about such topics as nutrition and hydration, how to select shoes, race strategy, pacing, proper form, and whether or not it is important to stretch, with input from experts from around the world.Kaplan also draws from his music writing and connections and includes recommendations for songs to run to by musicians such as Jack White, Paul Simon, Norah Jones, Feist, and Pearl Jam. He presents serious information, but his humor and infectious enthusiasm make it a hell of a lot of fun. Feet Don't Fail Me Now will inspire the most recalcitrant runners to lace up their shoes and hit the pavement.
The Lonely End of the Rink
by Grant LawrenceDeeply personal yet incredibly witty, this memoir about Grant Lawrence's relationship with hockey passes back and forth between tales of his life and a fascinating history of hockey, complete with lively anecdotes about the many colorful characters of the NHL. <P><P>Through Lawrence's early life, he struggled with the idea of hockey. An undersized child who wore thick glasses and knee-braces, he understood what it was like to be in the attack zone of the hockey-obsessed jocks at his school. For Lawrence, bullying and the violent game of hockey seemed to go hand-in-hand. Yet he was also enamored with the sport and eventually learned that playing goalie on a hockey team isn't all that different from playing in a band, and that artistically-minded wimps can find just as much joy in the game as their meathead counterparts.
The Stone Thrower: A Daughter's Lessons, a Father's Life
by Jael Ealey RichardsonA daughter discovers herself while uncovering her father’s legendary past in football. At the age of thirty, Jael Ealey Richardson travelled with her father – former CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey – for the first time to a small town in southern Ohio for his fortieth high school reunion. Knowing very little about her father’s past, Richardson was searching for the story behind her father’s move from the projects of Portsmouth, Ohio to Canada’s professional football league in the early 1970s. At the railroad tracks where her father first learned to throw with stones, Jael begins an unexpected journey into her family’s past. In this engaging father-daughter memoir, Richardson records some of her father’s never-before told stories: his relationship with his absentee father, memories of his high school and college football victories – including a winning record that remains unbroken to this day – and his up-and-down relationship with the woman he would one day marry. As Richardson begins unravelling the story of her father’s life, she begins to compare her own childhood growing up in Canada, with her father’s US civil rights era upbringing. Along the way, she also discovers the real reason – despite his athletic accomplishments – her father was never drafted into the National Football League. The Stone Thrower is a moving story about race and destiny written by a daughter looking for answers about her own black history. Using insightful interviews, archival records and her personal reflections, Richardson’s journey to learn about her father’s past leads her to her own important discoveries about herself, and what it really means to be black in Canada.
No Girls Allowed: Inspired By The True Story Of A Girl Who Fought For Her Right To Play
by Natalie Corbett Sampson&“A compelling novel based on the true story of 10-year-old Tina Forbes, who in 1977, fought for her right to play on an all-boys hockey team.&” —The Globe and Mail It&’s 1977, and 10-year-old Tina couldn&’t be happier about her life. Not because she just moved to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but because she&’s finally old enough to make her dream come true: she can play on a real hockey team. But when she tries to join the league, she learns that girls aren&’t allowed to play on the boys&’ team—and there&’s no team for girls. Despite jeers from classmates and cruelty from some of the town&’s adults, Tina is determined to play. She wants it more than anything. With the help of her family, Tina takes her fight to the Human Rights Commission. She&’s allowed to play on a team while her case goes through court, but though she&’s the best skater on the ice, even some of her teammates think she shouldn&’t be there. From facing down angry coaches to testifying on the stand, Tina does everything for one big goal: to play real hockey. Based on an inspiring true story, No Girls Allowed is a journey of passion, determination, and sheer love of the game. &“This book tells an empowering story for young women, athletes or otherwise. It is a story about fighting for one&’s rights, a message of enduring importance as women continue to strive for equality.&” —Atlantic Books Today &“Emotional and tense, this is a classic underdog story for any sports fan, but especially empowering to young women, whether they&’re aspiring athletes or not.&” —Our Children Magazine
Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics, Second Edition
by Gabriel KuhnSoccer has turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Professionalism and commercialization dominate its global image. Yet the game retains a rebellious side, maybe more so than any other sport co-opted by money makers and corrupt politicians. From its roots in working-class England to political protests by players and fans, and a current radical soccer underground, the notion of football as the “people’s game” has been kept alive by numerous individuals, teams, and communities. This book not only traces this history, but also reflects on common criticisms: soccer ferments nationalism, serves right-wing powers, and fosters competitiveness. Acknowledging these concerns, alternative perspectives on the game are explored, down to practical examples of egalitarian DIY soccer! Soccer vs. the State serves both as an orientation for the politically conscious football supporter and as an inspiration for those who try to pursue the love of the game away from televisions and big stadiums, bringing it to back alleys and muddy pastures. This second edition has been expanded to cover events of recent years, including the involvement of soccer fans in the Middle Eastern uprisings of 2011–2013, the FIFA scandal of 2015, and the 2017 strike by the Danish women’s team.
Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems - 10th Anniversary Edition
by Randall MaggsA new edition of a hockey saga, wrapping the game's story in the "intense, moody, contradictory" character of Terry Sawchuk, one of its greatest goalies. Denied the leap and dash up the ice, what goalies know is side to side, an inwardness of monk and cell. They scrape. They sweep. Their eyes are elsewhere as they contemplate their narrow place. Like saints, they pray for nothing, which brings grace. Off-days, what they want is space. They sit apart in bars. They know the length of streets in twenty cities. But it's their saving sense of irony that further isolates them as it saves. - from "One of You" In compact, conversational poems, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems follows the tragic trajectory of the life and work of Terry Sawchuk, dark driven genius of a goalie who survived twenty tough seasons in an era of inadequate upper-body equipment and no player representation. But no summary touches the searching intensity of Maggs's poems. They range from meditations on ancient/modern heroism to dramatic capsules of actual games, in which the mystery of character meets the mystery of transcendent physical performance. Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems is illustrated with photographs mirroring the text, depicting key moments in the career of Terry Sawchuk, his exploits and his agony. This 10th anniversary edition of the book marks both the 50th anniversary of the last time the Leafs won the Stanley Cup and the 100th anniversary of the Leafs as a team. With rich reflections on the book by novelist Angie Abdou and Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean, as well as excerpts from scores of reviews by the likes of Gord Downie and Dave Bidini, this new edition of Night Work is a must-have for lovers of hockey and poetry alike.
Of Myths and Sticks
by Kevin GibsonAs engaging as the great game itself, the stories behind the National Hockey League are entertaining, fascinating and, at times, unbelievable. Faux facts emerge from urban legends, conspiracy theories and coincidences, leaving sports fans to debate truth and fiction in the world of hockey trivia. Few are better qualified to both debunk falsehoods and nail down amazing facts than TSN stats archaeologist Kevin Gibson, whose book Of Myths and Sticks blows the whistle on all hockey matters from the mainstream to the obscure.What was the date of the first NHL game? Who scored the first goal and which team won? Did Gordie Howe ever actually have a Gordie Howe hat trick? Gibson offers definitive answers to these fundamental questions, but also contributes fascinating background nobody else thought to ask about, such as game-time weather, contract disputes and the flu epidemic that claimed the lives of two players and cancelled the 1919 Stanley Cup Final. Gibson scores laughs with true facts from between the posts, noting that legendary Canadiens goalie Georges Vezina sired 24 children ("he was known for saves on the ice and scoring off"), and that the Quebec Bulldogs' shameful record of 4-20 may have been due, in part, to the worst nickname ever for a goaltender ("Holes"). The myth of the Original Six is down-sized to the Original One, as Gibson points out that the Montreal Canadiens is the only team to have been around at the start of the NHL and to have retained their original team name.Other highlights include hall-of-famers, hall-of-shamers and an extensive "On This Date" chapter that highlights 366 trivia-worthy moments from 95 years of hockey history. Combining extensive research, humor and keen curiosity, Of Myths and Sticks is hockey's version of MythBusters-what's true, what's not, and how can we make finding out almost as entertaining as watching the game.
Casting Quiet Waters
by Jake MacdonaldIn Casting Quiet Waters, some of North America's most respected literary writers take us on a fishing trip and use that as an opportunity to explore issues of the human condition. A little more than five centuries ago an odd English nun named Dame Juliana Berners ("The Prioress of St. Albans") wrote the first book about fishing. Her obscure but legendary tome, a Treatysse of Fyshynge wyth an Angle, is as much a work of philosophy as a how-to manual, and in it she prescribes fishing as "a cure for domestic calamatie." This anthology responds to her advice. A dozen of North America's top writers embark on individual fishing trips and see if limpid water and the silence of wild places will help them reflect on their own lives and calamities. The exploratory process of writing is not so different from the process of trawling the unknown invisible world beneath the surface of a river or lake. The angler and writer both toss lines, chase shadows, and spend countless hours pondering what might have been if they'd handled that last opportunity with more gentleness and skill.
Paddlenorth
by Jennifer KingsleyIn an adventure of a lifetime, Jennifer Kingsley and her five companions canoe through one of the planet's most rugged settings. They battle raging winds, impenetrable sea ice, treacherous rapids, and agonizing sores and blisters while contending with rising tensions among the group. But they also experience the lasting joy of grizzly sightings, icy swims, and the caribou's summer migration. Woven through this spellbinding narrative are often-harrowing accounts of the journeys of earlier explorers, some of whom never made it back home. Paddlenorth paints an indelible portrait of the spectacular Arctic landscape, rendered with a naturalist's eye and an artist's sensibility, and offers an eloquent exploration of how wilderness changes us.
Puckstruck
by Stephen SmithLike many a Canadian kid, Stephen Smith was up on skates first thing as a boy, out in the weather chasing a puck and the promise of an NHL career. Back indoors after that didn't quite work out, he turned to the bookshelf. That's where, without entirely meaning to, he ended up reading all the hockey books. There was Crunch and Boom Boom, Slashing! and High Stick; there was Max Bentley: Hockey's Dipsy-Doodle Dandy, Blue Line Murder, and Nagano, a Czech hockey opera. There was Blood on the Ice, Cracked Ice, Fire On Ice, Power On Ice, Cowboy On Ice, and Steel On Ice.In Puckstruck, Smith chronicles his wide-eyed and sometimes wincing wander through hockey's literature, language, and culture, weighing its excitement and unbridled joy against its costs and vexing brutality. In exploring his own lifelong love of the game, hoping to surprise some sense out of it, he sifts hockey's narratives in search of hockey's heart, what it means and why it should distress us even as we celebrate its glories. On a journey to discover what the game might have to say about who we are as Canadians, he seeks to answer some of its essential riddles.
Ice Storm
by Bruce DowbigginIn 2008, the Vancouver Canucks were Team Modern, revolutionizing the NHL under their new GM, former player agent Mike Gillis. Cool, calculating, and unsparing with the media, the onetime number one draft pick of the old Colorado Rockies swept away the tangled psychological past of the Canucks with bold innovation, remodeling Vancouver as a destination city for NHL star players. To do so, he built the Canucks from a non-playoff team in 2008 to the best in hockey from 2010-2012. He modernized the players' diets and psychological approach, he rebuilt the dressing room, and he sought sleep consultants to help with the Canucks' punishing travel schedule. More than that, his winning team lifted Vancouver from eighth overall in NHL revenues to second by 2013. When the team took to the ice for Game 7 of the 2011 Cup Final, it seemed there was nothing the Canucks couldn't overcome with their "Canucktivity" approach. The hockey world was at their feet.But things changed in Game 7. Physically exhausted and bullied by the Bruins, the Canucks succumbed 4-0. To cap the greatest season in team history, Vancouver rioted. Gillis tried a number of aggressive moves to get back to the Final, from switching Luongo for Schneider to trading players, but nothing worked. From there, the dominoes fell: Alain Vigneault was dismissed, John Tortorella hired; Tortorella raged, fans bayed for Gillis' head; and finally, Gillis and Tortorella were both fired. In spring 2014, tried-and-true Canuck hero Trevor Linden was installed as president, with former teammate Jim Benning by his side as GM. No one was quite sure if this was an improvement, but at least the hysterical screaming had stopped.How did it happen? Ice Storm follows the journey that led the Canucks from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the abyss in six short years.
The Riverton Rifle
by Reggie Leach Bobby Clarke"It all comes down to making the right life choices," says the NHL's legendary Reggie Leach, and this intimate biography lays bare the decisions that led him to become one of the best snipers in hockey history. Nicknamed the Riverton Rifle for his thrilling speed and deadly shooting skills, Leach overcame a childhood marked by poverty and racism to rise through the NHL, playing for the Stanley Cup-winning 1975 Philadelphia Flyers. Through Leach's own recollections, The Riverton Rifle traces his trajectory from humble beginnings to NHL stardom, and follows the dramatic fall caused by his drinking problem and his subsequent rebirth as a successful businessman, family man, and pillar of the Aboriginal community.
Sea Kayaking
by John Dowd Freya HoffmeisterStill regarded as "the bible" for both new and experienced kayakers after more than thirty years in print, Sea Kayaking covers the basics of equipment and technique, including types of paddles and strokes, as well as such essential skills as how to read the weather and the water, how to navigate with and without GPS and how to travel with a group. Drawing on his many years of experience paddling in all climates, John Dowd presents practical advice on dealing with potential hazards (from surf to sea ice to sharks), carrying out rescues and planning for long-distance expeditions.New for this edition are hints about digital technologies for planning and navigating while kayak touring as well as lots of tips for outfitting boats, adapting equipment and finessing fishing technique while kayak angling-whether casting and jigging for fun on a day trip or trolling for dinner on a longer expedition. Also fully updated are the sections on managing risk and the inspiring stories of adventure, including Freya Hoffmeister's record-breaking circumnavigation of Australia and Japanese paddlers' increasingly challenging trips around the islands and beyond.As a sport, sea kayaking continues to evolve. Once the sport of a very few long-distance paddlers embarking on international expeditions, then the recreational pursuit of many weekend tourers, sea kayaking is now popular with many day trippers as well. As more and more paddlers take to the water-for the day, the weekend or many months, this classic guide continues to be required reading for those seeking adventure on the open ocean.