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Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World
by Clive EvertonThroughout its chequered history, snooker has had more than its fair share of heroes and villains, champions and chumps, rascals and rip-off artists. In the last 20 years, every sleazy scandal imaginable has attached itself to this raffish sport: corruption, match fixing, bribery, sex, recreational drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, ballot rigging, fraud, theft, domestic violence, common-or-garden violence, paranoid politicking, dirty tricks - all against a background of inept petty tsars fixated on the pursuit, retention and abuse of power. In Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards, Clive Everton recounts the glory and despair, the dreams and disillusion, and the treachery and greed that have characterised the game since it was invented as an innocent diversion by British Army officers in India in the nineteenth century. He tells the true and unexpurgated tale of snooker's transformation into a television success story second only to football and exposes how its potential has been shamefully squandered.
Black Gods of the Asphalt: Religion, Hip-Hop, and Street Basketball
by Onaje X. WoodbineJ-Rod moves like a small tank on the court, his face mean, staring down his opponents. "I play just like my father," he says. "Before my father died, he was a problem on the court. I'm a problem." Playing basketball for him fuses past and present, conjuring his father's memory into a force that opponents can feel in each bone-snapping drive to the basket. On the street, every ballplayer has a story. Onaje X. O. Woodbine, a former streetball player who became an all-star Ivy Leaguer, brings the sights and sounds, hopes and dreams of street basketball to life. He shows that big games have a trickster figure and a master of black talk whose commentary interprets the game for audiences. The beats of hip-hop and reggae make up the soundtrack, and the ballplayers are half-men, half-heroes, defying the ghetto's limitations with their flights to the basket.Basketball is popular among young black American men but not because, as many claim, they are "pushed by poverty" or "pulled" by white institutions to play it. Black men choose to participate in basketball because of the transcendent experience of the game. Through interviews with and observations of urban basketball players, Onaje X. O. Woodbine composes a rare portrait of a passionate, committed, and resilient group of athletes who use the court to mine what urban life cannot corrupt. If people turn to religion to reimagine their place in the world, then black streetball players are indeed the hierophants of the asphalt.
Black Gold: Benjamin West And His Cat Grimalkin; Black Gold; Born To Trot; Brighty; Brown Sunshine; Cinnabar; Gaudenzia; Justin Morgan; King Of The Wind; Misty Of Chincoteague; Misty's Twilight; Mustang; Sea Star; Stormy; San Domingo; White Stallion Of Lipizza (Marguerite Henry Horseshoe Library)
by Marguerite HenryNo one thinks much of Black Gold because he is so small. But Jaydee sees something special in his eyes. He knows Black Gold would be great if he was his rider! Finally, Jaydee gets his wish. And Black Gold grows strong and fast under his careful hands. Soon it will be time for the most important race in America. Do they really have what it takes to win? Black Gold’s inspirational story proves that the power of love and dedication can make any dream come true. Set against the thrilling and colorful world of Thoroughbred horses, Black Gold is the true story of a legendary horse and his determined young jockey.
Black Hoops: The History of African Americans in Basketball
by Fredrick L. MckissackThis exciting, well-researched book explores the evolution of basketball with a focus on the black athletes and history-making teams that have shaped the game every step of the way -- from its humble beginnings in 1891 to the superstar sport it is today.
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson
by Charles R. Smith Jr.Born as Arthur John Johnson in the southern state of Texas, Jack Johnson was one of the most renowned boxers of the twentieth century. Through hard work and persistence, he climbed the ranks, taking a swing and a jab and eventually busting the color barrier. As the first black man to win the Heavyweight Championship, there was more than a title on the line. Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this history-making bout (July 4, 1910). This is an extraordinary marriage of poetry, fabulous collage artwork, and a splendid achievement in its own right.
Black Maestro
by Joe DrapeIn Black Maestro, Joe Drape meticulously brings to life the drama, adventures, romances, and heartbreaks of an unlikely participant in the greatest historical events of the twentieth century. It is a breathtaking narrative that takes you from pastoral Kentucky to Mob-controlled Chicago, from the horse country of Poland to the chaos of Red Square, and from freewheeling Paris to the hard-luck American South of the Depression. It is also a story that returns Jimmy Winkfield to his rightful place as an original American hero. In 1919, at the age of thirty-seven, as Bolshevik cannon fire thundered above, the already epic life of Jimmy Winkfield turned into an odyssey. With a ragtag band of Russian nobility and Polish soldiers, the son of a black sharecropper from Chilesburg, Kentucky, was entrusted with saving more than 250 of the most royal but fragile thoroughbreds left in crumbling Csarist Russia. They trekked 1,100 miles from Odessa to Warsaw for nearly three months amid the bloodiest part of the Russian Revolution, surviving gunfire and starvation....
Black Market: An Insider's Journey into the High-Stakes World of College Basketball
by Merl CodeFrom a former college basketball player and shoe rep for Nike, this explosive insider's account into the dark underworld of college basketball exposes the corrupt and racist systems that exploit young athletes and offers a new way forwardFor Merl Code, basketball was life. In college he played point guard for Clemson before turning pro. Later, with a keen eye for talent and vested interest in the basketball community, he pivoted to marketing, where he was eager to build relationships with young athletes who might one day become ambassadors for Nike and Adidas. But as his network expanded and his responsibilities as a shoe rep grew, he found himself thrust into the dark underbelly of profit-driven college basketball programs, and the storied coaches who led them. He realized that the NCAA's amateurism rules, which prohibit athletes from receiving compensation until they go pro, were exploiting young athletes, and athletes of color in particular. Colleges and universities, he observed, were using corporate sponsors to circumvent the NCAA's bylaws, and employees like Code were stuck in the middle. Now, for the first time, Code will share his side of the explosive story of college basketball's dark reality. Code has engaged with the sport at every level—from the AAU circuit, to college recruiting battles, to wooing NBA stars to sign sneaker deals. He&’s been responsible for recruiting athletes like Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, and Giannis Antetokounmpo to endorse the shoes of his employers. But Code has also seen the darker side of college basketball. He recounts how he became the fall guy for a bribery scandal involving payments to college and high school athletes, while the storied coaches implicated by the FBI were not charged and still walk the sidelines. Highlighting stories of real athletes and their families and what&’s at stake for them, Code pulls back the curtain on the systemic problem of using players for financial gain in college athletics. Propulsive, urgent, and eye-opening, Black Market exposes the truth to offer a more just way forward for both colleges and athletes.
Black Men Can't Shoot
by Scott N. BrooksThe myth of the natural black athlete is widespread, though it's usually only talked about when a sports commentator or celebrity embarrasses himself by bringing it up in public. Those gaffes are swiftly decried as racist, but apart from their link to the long history of ugly racial stereotypes about black people--especially men--they are also harmful because they obscure very real, hard-fought accomplishments. As Black Men Can't Shoot demonstrates, such successes on the basketball court don't just happen because of natural gifts--instead, they grow out of the long, tough, and unpredictable process of becoming a known player. Scott N. Brooks spent four years coaching summer league basketball in Philadelphia. And what he saw, heard, and felt working with the young black men on his team tells us much about how some kids are able to make the extraordinary journey from the ghetto to the NCAA. To show how good players make the transition to greatness, Brooks tells the story of two young men, Jermaine and Ray, following them through their high school years and chronicling their breakthroughs and frustrations on the court as well as their troubles at home. We witness them negotiating the pitfalls of forging a career and a path out of poverty, we see their triumphs and setbacks, and we hear from the network of people--their families, the neighborhood elders, and Coach Brooks himself--invested in their fates. Black Men Can't Shoot has all the hallmarks of a classic sports book, with a climactic championship game and a suspenseful ending as we wait to find out if Jermaine and Ray will be recruited. Brooks's moving coming-of-age story counters the belief that basketball only exploits kids and lures them into following empty dreams--and shows us that by playing ball, some of these young black men have already begun their education even before they get to college.
Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season
by David ShieldsThe NBA is a place where, without ever acknowledging it white fans and black players enact and quietly explode virtually every racial issue and tension in the culture at large. In "Black Planet" the author/cultural narrator David Shields lays himself open as a representative of American fandom in order to scrutinize how white people think and talk about black heroes, black scapegoats and black masculinity. As a fan among fans, as a voice among other voices, as participant and observer, David Shields places himself in the middle of a complex social ambiguity. As a white fan of a predominately black, sport, he sets out to chronicle a season of the Seattle Supersonics by immersing himself in games, radio shows, the internet, charity events and print media- to explore the ways in which the game is talked about, presented and understood by the player and the fan. Sometimes funny and sometimes painfully on target, Shields reveals a telling commentary on the culture at large through a national obsession.
Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season
by David ShieldsFirst published in 1994, Black Planet is at first glance a reporting of David Shields&’s journey following his hometown Seattle Supersonics through the 1994-95 NBA season. He went to the team's' home games; watched their away games on TV; listened to interviews and call-in shows; talked, or tried to talk, to players, coaches, and agents; attended charity events; corresponded with members of the Sonics newsgroup on the early internet. He kept a daily journal which then transformed into an intensely personal diary about that season and the team, and notions about race and sport in America. He started to see a barely concealed views about black men in the NBA, and how, in a predominately black sport, white fans—including especially himself—think about and talk about black athletes and black bodies. And Shields was writing more like a twenty-first century sportswriter and critiquing local sports media in an era when it was rarely, if ever, questioned. Critically acclaimed and highly controversial, Black Planet was finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and PEN USA Award, and it was named on the Top Ten Nonfiction Books of 1999 by Esquire, Newsday, and LA Weekly.
Black Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season
by Gerald Graff David ShieldsThe National Basketball Association is a place where white fans and black players enact virtually every racial issue and tension in U.S. culture. Following the Seattle SuperSonics for an entire season, David Shields explores how, in a predominantly black sport, white fans—including especially himself—think about and talk about black heroes, black scapegoats, and black bodies. Critically acclaimed and highly controversial, Black Planet was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN USA Award, and was named one of the Top Ten Nonfiction Books of 1999 by Esquire, Newsday, Los Angeles Weekly, and Amazon.com.
Black Powder Hunting Secrets
by John E. PhillipsBlack-Powder Hunting Secrets will show you how to find and take more game during and after the season with your black-powder weapons. If you've just bought a black-powder rifle or shotgun, you will learn how to get the most hunting throughout the year with the weapon you've chosen. If you've been hunting big game, small game and/or birds for years, this book will teach you better tactics to take game with your black-powder gun.
Black Queen
by Michael MorpurgoThe "Black Queen" is what Billy calls his shadowy next-door neighbor. She always wears a black cloak and a wide-brimmed hat, and lurks about her garden, alone except for her black cat. Scarily for Billy, the Black Queen befriends him and asks him to look after her car while she is away.
Black Raven's Pride
by Aimée ThurloHe Had Given Her the One Thing She Treasured Most...and He Didn't Even Know ItEden Maes came back to the Native American pueblo to clear her family's name for the sake of her baby boy. What she found was danger…land only one strong helping hand.She knew that as a tribal cop, it was Nick Black Raven's duty to protect her. And as a man who'd once loved her, it was his debt of honor. But as the father of their child.... Would he remain a slave to his badge or could the call of family claim his heart forever?
Black Sheep: A Story of Rural Racism, Identity and Hope
by Sabrina Pace-Humphreys'Honest and authentic - I could not put it down' Michelle Griffith Robinson OLY'Black Sheep is powerful testimony for anyone seeking to deepen their own anti-racist journey. This is passionate, raw writing, with moments of reflection that we can all learn from. It's a story that had to be told, and must be heard' Jeffrey BoakyeSabrina Pace-Humphreys is a 44-year-old mother of four and grandmother of three, an award-winning businesswoman, an ultrarunner, a social justice activist and a recovering alcoholic. She is a mixed-raced woman, the daughter of a white Scottish Roman Catholic woman and a Black man. When she was two, her parents separated and Sabrina, her mother and her white-presenting younger sister moved to a small market town where no-one looked like her. From as young as she can remember, she was the subject of verbal and physical racist abuse.In Black Sheep, Sabrina reveals how she got from there to here: about growing up in a home, a school and a town where no-one looked like her and her subsequent struggle to understand and find her identity; about her lived experience of rural racism; about becoming a teenage mother and her determination to break that stereotype; about her battle with alcoholism and her mental health; about how running saved her life; and ultimately about how someone can not only survive but thrive in spite of their past. Sabrina's experience will chime with anyone who has felt like an outsider. Poignant and eye-opening, and exploring themes of trauma, identity, mental health and addiction, Black Sheep is a tale of triumph: of grit and determination, of hope over despair.
Black Sheep: A Story of Rural Racism, Identity and Hope
by Sabrina Pace-Humphreys'Honest and authentic - I could not put it down' Michelle Griffith Robinson OLY'Black Sheep is powerful testimony for anyone seeking to deepen their own anti-racist journey. This is passionate, raw writing, with moments of reflection that we can all learn from. It's a story that had to be told, and must be heard' Jeffrey BoakyeSabrina Pace-Humphreys is a 44-year-old mother of four and grandmother of three, an award-winning businesswoman, an ultrarunner, a social justice activist and a recovering alcoholic. She is a mixed-raced woman, the daughter of a white Scottish Roman Catholic woman and a Black man. When she was two, her parents separated and Sabrina, her mother and her white-presenting younger sister moved to a small market town where no-one looked like her. From as young as she can remember, she was the subject of verbal and physical racist abuse.In Black Sheep, Sabrina reveals how she got from there to here: about growing up in a home, a school and a town where no-one looked like her and her subsequent struggle to understand and find her identity; about her lived experience of rural racism; about becoming a teenage mother and her determination to break that stereotype; about her battle with alcoholism and her mental health; about how running saved her life; and ultimately about how someone can not only survive but thrive in spite of their past. Sabrina's experience will chime with anyone who has felt like an outsider. Poignant and eye-opening, and exploring themes of trauma, identity, mental health and addiction, Black Sheep is a tale of triumph: of grit and determination, of hope over despair.
Black Sheep: A Story of Rural Racism, Identity and Hope
by Sabrina Pace-HumphreysSabrina Pace-Humphreys is a 43-year-old mother of four and grandmother of two, an award-winning businesswoman, an ultrarunner, a social justice activist and a recovering alcoholic. She is a mixed-raced woman, the daughter of a white Scottish Roman Catholic woman and a Black Church of England man. When she was two, her parents separated and Sabrina, her mother and her white-presenting younger sister moved to a small market town where no-one looked like her. From as young as she can remember, she was the subject of verbal and physical racist abuse.In Black Sheep, Sabrina reveals how she got from there to here: about growing up in a home, a school and a town where no-one looked like her and her subsequent struggle to understand and find her identity; about her lived experience of rural racism; about becoming a teenage mother and her determination to break that stereotype; about her battle with alcoholism and her mental health; about how running saved her life; and ultimately about how someone can not only survive but thrive in spite of their past. Sabrina's experience will chime with anyone who has felt like an outsider. Poignant and eye-opening, and exploring themes of trauma, identity, mental health and addiction, Black Sheep is a tale of triumph: of grit and determination, of hope over despair.(P) 2022 Quercus Editions Limited
Black Sporting Resistance: Diaspora, Transnationalism, and Internationalism (Critical Issues in Sport and Society)
by Joseph N. CooperIn recent years, there has been increased attention towards activism in sporting spaces. A vast majority of these contributions have focused on intra-nation tensions and impact. Yet, there is a dearth of scholarship that has engaged in a theoretically grounded analysis of how Black sportspersons have exhibited resistance in and through sport across national borders across time, space, and context. In this text, Joseph N. Cooper introduces the Black Sporting Resistance Framework (BSRF) as an analytic lens to examine how resistance actions in and through sport have contributed to the advancement of local and global racial justice efforts. Key concepts such as African (Black) diaspora, transnationalism, internationalism, sporting resistance typology, and sport activism typology are incorporated throughout the book. Black sporting resistance is also analyzed alongside broader social movements such as the Black Liberation Struggle, Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and Black Radicalism. Insights on the ways in which sport can be used to advance social justice in the future are presented.
Black Stallion's Shadow (Black Stallion)
by Steven FarleyIt has all the makings of a glorious day--the Black has just won the America's Cup! But the fruits of victory quickly sour when it is learned that the Black's challenger, shying at a shadow on the track, has suffered a fatal fall. Now, the Black himself is hobbled by a fear of shadows, a problem that could end his brilliant racing career. Will the Black become the next victim if he is not cured of his fright?From the Trade Paperback edition.
Black Star (The Door of No Return series #2)
by Kwame AlexanderA Coretta Scott King Honor BookThe thrilling second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Door of No Return trilogy stars Kofi&’s granddaughter, Charley, who&’s set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball but who soon has to contend with the tensions about to boil over in her segregated town.You can&’t protect her from knowing. The truth is all we have. 12-year old Charley Cuffey is many things: a granddaughter, a best friend, and probably the best pitcher in all of Lee&’s Mill. Set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball, Charley doesn't need reminders from her best friend Cool Willie Green to know that she has lofty dreams for a Black girl in the American South. Even so, Nana Kofi's thrilling stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys make it impossible not to dream big. She knows he has so many more to tell, but according to her parents, she isn't old enough to know about certain things like what happened to Booker Preston that one night in Great Bridge and why she can never play on the brand-new real deal baseball field on the other side of town. When Charley challenges a neighborhood bully to a game at the church picnic, she knows she can win, even with her ragtag team. But when the picnic spills over onto their ball field, she makes a fateful decision. A child cannot protect herself if she does not know her history, and Charley's choice brings consequences she never could have imagined. In this riveting second book of the Door of No Return trilogy, set during the turbulent segregation era, and the beginning of The Great Migration, Kwame Alexander weaves a spellbinding story of struggle, determination, and the unflappable faith of an American family.
Black and Blue: How Racism, Drugs and Cancer Almost Destroyed Me
by Paul CanovillePaul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Canoville fell out with the Chelsea board and moved to Reading in 1986, where injury suddenly ended his career at the age of 24. This started a downward spiral including the death of his baby in his arms, two bouts of life-threatening lymph cancer, drug abuse and homelessness. But Canoville fought back. In this explosive and shocking story, Paul finally explains why, despite everything, he is more positive than ever and has remained a fervent Chelsea fan all his life. This is a story of hope - eventually - overcoming adversity.
Black and Blue: How Racism, Drugs and Cancer Almost Destroyed Me
by Paul CanovillePaul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Canoville fell out with the Chelsea board and moved to Reading in 1986, where injury suddenly ended his career at the age of 24. This started a downward spiral including the death of his baby in his arms, two bouts of life-threatening lymph cancer, drug abuse and homelessness. But Canoville fought back. In this explosive and shocking story, Paul finally explains why, despite everything, he is more positive than ever and has remained a fervent Chelsea fan all his life. This is a story of hope - eventually - overcoming adversity.
Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America
by Tom Adelman"Richly layered ... An entertaining and informative portrait of two underappreciated teams in an unforgettable time."--Boston Sunday Globe. Which is the most surprising World Series ever? Many baseball fans would agree that it was the epic 1966 clash between the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the perennial underdog Baltimore Orioles. The godlike Sandy Koufax had led the Dodgers to victory in two previous World Series, and had finished the season with twenty-seven wins, a personal best. Few outside Baltimore gave the Orioles - slugger Frank Robinson leading a young team of no-name kids and promising prospects - more than a fighting chance against such series veterans as Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills, and the rest. Experts were betting that Los Angeles would sweep it in four. What transpired instead astonished the nation, as the greatest pitching performance in World Series history capped a redemption beyond imagining. "Guaranteed to score a home run." Essence. "Astonishing ... Adelman goes way past the box scores to get information that makes the players more human and the games more dramatic." San Diego Union Tribune. "Black and Blue delivers good baseball action, ownerly perfidy, and social context." Boston Globe.
Black and White
by Richard WilliamsThe fascinating, revealing, and in-depth memoir of Richard Williams, a self-made businessman, tennis coach, and father to two of the greatest athletes of all time--Venus and Serena Williams.Richard Williams had a grand plan for his daughters long before either of them was born, and he went so far as to write a plan for his family's future. His mind was set on raising two of the greatest women champions in professional tennis. Arguably, he executed his plan with laser-like precision. But the source of his vision and the method behind it have remained relatively unknown--until now. In this inspiring memoir, he reveals the full story of his stubborn determination to beat the odds and fulfill his dreams for his family.Born into poverty in Shreveport, Louisiana in the 1940s, Richard was blessed by a strong, caring mother who remained his lifelong hero, just as he became hero to Venus and Serena later on. From the beginning of his life, Richard's mother taught him to live by the principles of courage, confidence, commitment, faith, and love. He passed the same qualities on to his daughters, who grew to love their father and value the lessons he taught them, contrary to public rumors. "I still feel really close to my father," says Serena. "We have a great relationship. There is an appreciation. There is a closeness because of what we've been through together, and a respect."A self-made man, Richard has walked a long, hard, exciting, and ultimately rewarding road for seventy years, surmounting the many challenges to raise a loving family and two of the greatest tennis players who ever lived. Black and White is the extraordinary story of that journey and the indomitable spirit that made it all possible.
Black and White: The Way I See It
by Richard WilliamsThe fascinating, &“upfront and unapologetic&” (Kirkus Reviews) memoir of Richard Williams, a businessman, tennis coach, subject of the major motion picture King Richard, and father to two of the greatest athletes and professional tennis champions of all time—Venus and Serena Williams.Born into poverty in Shreveport, Louisiana in the 1940s, Richard Williams was blessed by a strong, caring mother who remained his lifelong hero, just as he became a hero to Venus and Serena. From the beginning of his life, Richard&’s mother taught him to live by the principles of courage, confidence, commitment, faith, and love. He passed the same qualities on to his daughters, who grew up loving their father and valuing the lessons he taught them. &“I still feel really close to my father,&” says Serena. &“We have a great relationship. There is an appreciation. There is a closeness because of what we&’ve been through together, and a respect.&” A self-made man, Williams has walked a long, hard, exciting, and ultimately rewarding road during his life, surmounting many challenges to raise a loving family and two of the greatest tennis players who ever lived. Black and White is the extraordinary story of that journey and the indomitable spirit that made it all possible.