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Torrents As Yet Unknown: Daring Whitewater Ventures into the World's Great River Gorges

by Wickliffe W. Walker

A dramatic narrative tour of 10 of the world&’s most incredible whitewater adventures—spanning 5 continents and 40 years—guided by a legendary whitewater trailblazerThis fascinating history of daring whitewater explorers stands alongside classic works on mountaineering, outdoor survival, and extreme sportsPerfect for fans of Jon Krakauer&’s Into Thin Air and Candice Millard&’s River of the GodsIn 10 thrilling real-life adventure stories, pioneering whitewater explorer Wick Walker examines what lured a generation of incredibly daring pioneers into some of Earth&’s most wondrous yet forbidding river canyons:below Victoria Falls on the Zambezi, the Great Bend of the Tsangpo in Tibet, Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze, the flanks of Mount Everest, and more Loaded with great moments and personal stories, Wick details what these adventurers found there, and within themselves. The extraordinary characters, driven by different motives and visions, but united by their compulsion to seek the unknown and the pulse of free-flowing water, are as remarkable as the daunting geography and conditions they confront.Whitewater sport today stands side-by-side with mountaineering in participation and public attention, yet it has lagged in generating its own literature. Torrents As Yet Unknown will help fill that gap for readers interested in human drama played out against great natural challenges.Mountaineering history is deep and its literature rich, but whitewater adventurers approach and experience the same forbidding terrain from a different vantage, between the steep walls of their canyons and atop powerful torrents of cascading water.

Not By a Long Shot: A Season at a Hard-Luck Horse Track

by T. D. Thornton

The great myth of horse racing is that the game is the regal and royal Sport of Kings. It isn't. Not by a long shot. Anyone who doubts this need look no further than Suffolk Downs, a once-proud racecourse graced in its glory years by boisterous throngs and champions such as Seabiscuit. Now the blue-collar East Boston track is one of many that have fallen on hard times. These days "Sufferin' Downs" is where grizzled Thoroughbreds come to end their careers, hopeful young jockeys aspire against daunting odds to begin them, and diehard fans cheer, curse and gamble on the entire fascinating spectacle. These bit players are not just cogs of a single, struggling horse track. They are the unseen supporting cast for a $15 billion betting industry. In fifteen years as a racing reporter and press box personality, T. D. Thornton gained access to remote corners of racetrack life off limits to the general public. He got to know the raucously Runyonesque characters and the quirky personalities of the horses; he learned the tricks of the trade from trainers, owners, and jockeys; he witnessed the tragedies and small triumphs of racing lives lived below the radar. One recent season, he finally decided to write it all down. "Not by a Long Shot" is a deeply textured portrait of an industry where even the best in the business lose 75 percent of the time.

Spalding's World Tour: The Epic Adventure that Took Baseball Around the Globe - And Made it America's Game

by Mark Lamster

In October of 1888, Albert Goodwill Spalding-baseball star, sporting-goods magnate, promotional genius, serial fabulist-departed Chicago on a trip that would take him and two baseball teams on a journey clear around the globe. Their mission, closely followed in the American and international press, had two (secret) goals: to fix the game in the American consciousness as the purest expression of the national spirit, and to seed markets for Spalding's products near and far. In the process, these first cultural ambassadors played before kings and queens, visited the Coliseumand the Eiffel Tower, and took pot shots with their baseballs at the great Sphinx in Egypt. This expedition to lands both exotic and familiar is chronicled with dash and wit in Mark Lamster's Spalding's World Tour, a book filled with larger-than-life characters often competing harder for love and money off the baseball diamond than for runs on it. Getting themselves into scrapes and narrowly escaping international incident all around the globe, these innocents abroad gave the world an early peek at the American century just around the corner. For anyone interested in the history of the game-or the history of brand marketing-Spalding's World Tour hits the sweet spot.

The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and Their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series-and America’s Heart-During the Great Depression

by John Heidenry

With The Gashouse Gang, John Heidenry delivers the definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey Stengel, Satchel Paige, Frankie Frisch, and-especially- the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul. The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great Depression, when the U. S. went off the gold standard, banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system that would acquire and "educate" young players in the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, who saw itself-scruffy, proud, and unbeatable-in the Gang. Based on original research and told in entertaining narrative style, The Gashouse Gang brings a bygone era and a cast full of vivid personalities to life and unearths a treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of the great American pastime.

98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!

by Cody Lundin

Cody stresses that a human can live without food for weeks and without water for about three days or so. But if the body's core temperature dips much below or above the 98.6 degree mark, a person can literally die within hours. It is a concept that many don't take seriously or even consider, but knowing what to do to maintain a safe core temperature when lost in a blizzard or in the desert could save your life.

The Awakening of a Surgeon

by David H Janda

Sports-related injuries have become a public health epidemic. Twelve million student athletes will suffer a sports-related injury this year. Nearly two million injuries will be in recreational softball games and baseball games. The majority of these injuries are preventable. The Awakening of a Surgeon outlines 20 strategies that can be implemented in every community to drastically reduce the possibility of injury and death.

The Awakening of a Surgeon

by David H Janda

Sports-related injuries have become a public health epidemic. Twelve million student athletes will suffer a sports-related injury this year. Nearly two million injuries will be in recreational softball games and baseball games. The majority of these injuries are preventable. The Awakening of a Surgeon outlines 20 strategies that can be implemented in every community to drastically reduce the possibility of injury and death.

They Played What?!: The Weird History of Sports and Recreation

by Richard Platt

Describes sports and recreational activities throughout history, some of which were and are dangerous or even deadly.

Blockade Billy

by Stephen King

Even the most diehard baseball fans don't know the true story of William "Blockade Billy" Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history. Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse. . . and only Stephen King, the most gifted storyteller of our age, can reveal the truth to the world, once and for all. This original, never-before-published novella represents Stephen King at his very best, and this Cemetery Dance hardcover edition brings it into print for the very first time

The Boater's Handbook: The Indispensable Look-It-Up Book

by Elbert S. Maloney

Elbert S. "Mack" Maloney, author of "Chapman Piloting & Seamanship," brings his lifetime of hands-on experience to this newly updated and highly portable guide. Think of it as a take-along mini-version of the Chapman "boating bible" that's perfect for on-board use. Whether it's dealing with emergencies, complying with safety regulations and government requirements, refreshing your knowledge of seamanship and piloting, reading charts, assessing weather conditions, or just figuring out what flag to fly, this facts-at-your fingertip reference has the answer.

The Boater's Handbook (4th revised edition)

by Elbert S. Maloney

Elbert S. "Mack" Maloney, author of Chapman Piloting & Seamanship, brings his lifetime of hands-on experience to this newly updated and highly portable guide. Think of it as a take-along mini-version of the Chapman "boating bible" that's perfect for onboard use. Whether it's dealing with emergencies, complying with safety regulations and government requirements, refreshing your knowledge of seamanship and piloting, reading charts, assessing weather conditions, or just figuring out what flag to fly, this facts-at-your fingertip reference has the answer. Tides and currents, electronics, life on board, maintenance: it's all here, handily arranged for easy look-up. Numerous charts, tables, and line drawings amplify the text; thumb tabs make finding everything a snap; and a wealth of Internet resources brings this up to the moment. Plus, the technology and communication sections have been thoroughly revised!

Game Worn: Baseball Treasures from the Game's Greatest Heroes and Moments

by Francesco Sapienza Stephen Wong Dave Grob

Game Worn: Baseball Treasures from the Game's Greatest Heroes and Moments is a richly illustrated exploration and first-of-its-kind compendium study of the world's most coveted and precious baseball uniforms worn by Major League ballplayers during the twentieth century. This coffee-table book features many of the most historically significant uniforms, jackets, hats, as well as other treasured baseball collectibles that tell us as much about the history and soul of America as they do about the game and the players.Some of the extraordinary highlights featured in this book include: Babe Ruth's road jersey from his first season with the New York Yankees (1920), the sole surviving uniform from the infamous 1919 World Series, Joe DiMaggio's rookie uniform from 1936, the Boston Red Sox road uniform Ted Williams wore during his epic 1941 season, Jackie Robinson's Brooklyn Dodgers home jersey from the 1952 season, Bill Mazeroski's Pittsburgh Pirates home uniform worn to hit the game-winning home run in game 7 of the 1960 World Series, and a visual feast of rare uniform styles.Each of the 71 entries includes sumptuous photography of the uniform and associated memorabilia, as well as a poignant and lively narrative highlighting its significance. The book also features a first-of-its-kind illustrated compendium with elaborate definitions of relevant terms that every baseball fan and collector needs to know, ranging from the All Star Game Uniform to the Zig-Zag Stitch. This book is an absolute must-have for anyone who has ever loved the game of baseball.

Enduring Patagonia

by Gregory Crouch

Patagonia is a strange and terrifying place, a vast tract of land shared by Argentina and Chile where the violent weather spawned over the southern Pacific charges through the Andes with gale-force winds, roaring clouds, and stinging snow. Squarely athwart the latitudes known to sailors as the roaring forties and furious fifties, Patagonia is a land trapped between angry torrents of sea and sky, a place that has fascinated explorers and writers for centuries. Magellan discovered the strait that bears his name during the first circumnavigation. Charles Darwin traveled Patagonia's windy steppes and explored the fjords of Tierra del Fuego during the voyage of the Beagle. From the novel perspective of the cockpit, Antoine de Saint-Exupry immortalized the Andes in Wind, Sand, and Stars, and a half century later, Bruce Chatwin's In Patagonia earned a permanent place among the great works of travel literature. Yet even today, the Patagonian Andes remain mysterious and remote, a place where horrible storms and ruthless landscapes discourage all but the most devoted pilgrims from paying tribute to the daunting and dangerous peaks. Gregory Crouch is one such pilgrim. In seven expeditions to this windswept edge of the Southern Hemisphere, he has braved weather, gravity, fear, and doubt to try himself in the alpine crucible of Patagonia. Crouch has had several notable successes, including the first winter ascent of the legendary Cerro Torre's West Face, to go along with his many spectacular failures. In language both stirring and lyrical, he evokes the perils of every handhold, perils that illustrate the crucial balance between physical danger and mental agility that allows for the most important part of any climb, which is not reaching the summit, but getting down alive. Crouch reveals the flip side of cutting-edge alpinism: the stunning variety of menial labor one must often perform to afford the next expedition. From building sewer systems during a bitter Colorado winter to washing the plastic balls in McDonalds' playgrounds, Crouch's dedication to the alpine craft has seen him through as many low moments as high summits. He recounts, too, the riotous celebrations of successful climbs, the numbing boredom of forced encampments, and the quiet pride that comes from knowing that one has performed well and bravely, even in failure. Included are more than two dozen color photographs that capture the many moods of this land, from the sublime beauty of the mountains at sunrise to the unrelenting fury of its storms. Enduring Patagonia is a breathtaking odyssey through one of the world's last wild places, a land that requires great sacrifice but offers great rewards to those who dare to challenge it.

Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II

by Robert Kurson

In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery–and make history themselves.<P> For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships. But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried under decades of accumulated sediment. No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location.<P> Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see its end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical sense of brotherhood with each other and with the drowned U-boat sailors–former enemies of their country. As the men’s marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew.<P> Author Robert Kurson’s account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex, and it is written with a vivid sense of what divers actually experience when they meet the dangers of the ocean’s underworld. The story of Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, two hundred thirty feet down, in the deep blue sea.

I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It

by Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley has never been shy about expressing his opinions. Michael Jordan once said that we all want to say the things that Barkley says, but we don’t dare. But even die-hard followers of the all-time NBA great, the star of TNT’sInside the NBAand CNN’sTalkBack Live, will be astonished by just how candid and provocative he is in this book—and just how big his ambitions are. Though he addresses weighty issues with a light touch and prefers to stir people to think by making them laugh, there’s nothing Charles Barkley shies away from here—not race, not class, not big money, not scandal, not politics, not personalities, nothing. “Early on,” saysWashington Postcolumnist and ESPN talk show host Michael Wilbon in his Introduction, “Barkley made his peace with mixing it up, and decided the consequences were very much worth it to him. And that makes him as radically different in these modern celebrity times as a 6-foot-4-inch power forward. ” If there’s one thing Charles Barkley knows, it’s the crying need for honest, open discussion in this country—the more uncomfortable the subject, the more necessary the dialogue. And if the discussion leader can be as wise, irreverent, (occasionally) profane and (consistently) funny as Charles Barkley, so much the better. Many people are going to be shocked and scandalized byI May Be Wrong but I Doubt It, but many more will stand up and cheer. Like Molly Ivins or Bill O’Reilly, Charles Barkley is utterly his own thinker, and everything he says comes from deep reflection. One way or another, if more blood hasn’t reached your brain by the time you’ve finished this book, maybe you’ve been embalmed. From the Hardcover edition.

The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games

by Tony Perrottet

What was it like to attend the ancient Olympic Games?With the summer Olympics' return to Athens, Tony Perrottet delves into the ancient world and lets the Greek Games begin again. The acclaimed author of Pagan Holiday brings attitude, erudition, and humor to the fascinating story of the original Olympic festival, tracking the event day by day to re-create the experience in all its compelling spectacle.Using firsthand reports and little-known sources--including an actual Handbook for a Sports Coach used by the Greeks--The Naked Olympics creates a vivid picture of an extravaganza performed before as many as forty thousand people, featuring contests as timeless as the javelin throw and as exotic as the chariot race.Peeling away the layers of myth, Perrottet lays bare the ancient sporting experience--including the round-the-clock bacchanal inside the tents of the Olympic Village, the all-male nude workouts under the statue of Eros, and history's first corruption scandals involving athletes. Featuring sometimes scandalous cameos by sports enthusiasts Plato, Socrates, and Herodotus, The Naked Olympics offers essential insight into today's Games and an unforgettable guide to the world's first and most influential athletic festival."Just in time for the modern Olympic games to return to Greece this summer for the first time in more than a century, Tony Perrottet offers up a diverting primer on the Olympics of the ancient kind....Well researched; his sources are as solid as sources come. It's also well writen....Perhaps no book of the season will show us so briefly and entertainingly just how complete is our inheritance from the Greeks, vulgarity and all."--The Washington PostFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Mountain Betty

by Hannah Mccouch

Who would have thought that the glamour of working the slopes as a ski instructor would turn out to be just another snow job' After finishing college, joining the labor force, and unceremoniously getting canned, Betty Winters does what any self-respecting postgrad with an expensive liberal arts education would do: she defies her wealthy Connecticut parents and goes west to ski-bum around the Tetons. But after a year of the rambler's life, Betty feels her enthusiasm beginning to wane. There's nothing she loves more than the Jackson Hole vistas, the soft murmur of fresh powder, and the sheer pleasure of conquering a killer bump run. Plus she's pretty partial to her hunky boyfriend, Jack. What she's coming to hate, though, is the wake-and-bake ritual of their pot-filled mornings, the measly wages from her double shifts instructing on the slopes and moonlighting as a cocktail waitress at the Mangy Moose, and the feeling that for Jack, ski-bumming isn't just a phase. And then there's Jack's wife, Muriel. . . . When tryouts are announced for a famous extreme-ski video series, Betty decides to enter: perhaps getting paid to ski the world is her calling. But all the training in the world can't prepare her for what follows. . . .

The Underdog: How I Survived the World's Most Outlandish Competitions

by Joshua Davis

Joshua Davis had a dream. He dreamt of being the best. It didn't really matter what he was the best at, he just wanted to be number one, the big enchilada, to say that he had made it. This is how it began: Josh was driving through the Mojave Desert one day when he saw a sign for the American arm-wrestling championship - all comers welcome. He decided to enter. He came fourth, out of four, but this was enough to secure him a place on Team USA and the chance of a show-down with the 'Russian Ripper' at the world championships in Poland (that didn't end very well either). But Josh had tasted the dizzy rush of competition and wanted more. And more turned out to be the most outlandish contests in the world - from bull fighting in Spain and backward running in Italy, to sumo wrestling and the World Sauna Championship in Finland. Joshua's quest is by turns hilarious, harrowing and a little insane, but it is also inspiring - because, after all, every underdog deserves his day.

The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball

by John Taylor

A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA'S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA. In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport's chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America's biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences.

The Winning Spirit: 16 Timeless Principles That Drive Performance Excellence

by Joe Montana Tom Mitchell

Widely considered the best NFL quarterback of all time, Joe Montana personifies performance excellence and personal integrity both on and off the field. Yet the word most closely associated with him is not "winner," it's "leader." Since his retirement a decade ago, he has become a popular motivational speaker sought out by corporations nationwide, speaking to capacity audiences as large as twenty thousand. Now making his message available to a broader audience, Montana teams up with performance coach Tom Mitchell to extend to all areas of life the truths of success on the field. The Winning Spirit shows that ultimately performance excellence is fueled by personal integrity. This is the key to winning the inner game, which is about accountability and attitude, as well as desire, enthusiasm, effort, and appreciation. For example: • Know What You Want: First, identify goals, then turn clarity into action. • Strive for Excellence: Surpass expectations and reach new heights • Fail Fast and Move On: Take chances, learn from mistakes, and keep pressing forward–don’t let fear or regret take you out of the game. • Remember the “I” in Team: Make yourself the priority, because intense preparation is the individual responsibility of each member of the team. • Welcome Pressure: Want to be the best? Work with or compete against the best! • Walk Like a Champ: Your life is not just about achieving success, but also about having a purpose and creating significance. With great stories and practical strategies, Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell give us hard-won advice based on years of success. This timely and timeless message is nothing less than a contemporary motivational classic.

Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun

by Bode Miller Jack Mcenany

"I don't master the mountain, I master speed. " Coming from Bode Miller, this isn't boasting, it's just the way he lives: fast, honest, and wide open. In this candid book, the two-time Olympic medalist and champion skier shares his story, the secret of his success, and his philosophy of life. Born and raised "off the grid"-without electricity or indoor plumbing-in the cabin built by his father in the woods near Franconia, New Hampshire (pop. 850), Bode is unconventional to the core. The strong values of his simple upbringing, where he and his family had to "invent, grow, or carry in" all the essentials have made Bode unique among today's top sports stars. Bode's approach to life is straightforward: "Get a plan, stick to it, and trust your instincts . . . and almost anything is possible. " And practically since birth, the iconoclastic Bode has been achieving the impossible and laying down tracks for others to follow. He revolutionized his sport by adopting new and crossover technologies, such as "shape" skis. He drives his tradition-bound European rivals to distraction, skiing and winning by instinct. His outsider status, killer smile, and outspoken yet laid-back persona have earned him a reputation as the Michael Jordan of skiing. Men's Journal named Bode the second greatest athlete in the world. And in the 2005 season, Bode may have moved up a notch by becoming the first American to win the Overall World Cup Alpine championship in twenty-two years. In short, he is the kind of person everybody wants to know and hang out with. In a book loaded with insight, good humor, and eye-opening stories about the world of competitive skiing, Bode, as always, holds nothing back.

Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad

by Mike Greenberg

Meet Mike Greenberg, the popular host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, the highest-rated drive-time sports talk show on the dial. To his three-million-plus listeners, Greeny is the guy who's equally as comfortable dissecting zone defenses as he is discussing cashmere sweaters. He's been to Super Bowls and World Series, All-Star Games and Final Fours. He's interviewed Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, and Wayne Gretzky. He gets paid to enthuse about sports, which means he's the envy of most men in America. This is the hilarious, sometimes touching, and endlessly entertaining debut of one of America's fastest-rising sportscasters, a wry and revealing look at one man's good-hearted but mistake-prone attempt to grow up before his children do. Marriage, fatherhood, manhood, fame, athletes, crazed aunts with gambling problems, the true significance of sports, the worst possible thing to say in a room full of pregnant women-no topic is beyond his reach. But don't take our word on it, read what Greeny has to say about: * Dating: "People who reminisce fondly about dating are blocking out all the disasters and focusing only on the few great nights. If that is all you choose to remember, fine. But be aware that no experience is without good moments. I'm sure during the sacking of Rome there were a few decent nights; maybe they put on a play." * Life on the road: "Wife + television = no sleep." "No wife + no television = no sleep." "Wife + no television = sleep." "No wife + television = porn." * Keeping things in perspective: "Never assume you know more than the guy in the camouflage tux." * And, of course, marriage: "All of us are married to women who think we're idiots." Whether he's talking trash on the radio or talking dirty diapers over a fancy dinner, Greeny's determined to reconcile two halves of a whole. So if your enthusiasm has ever been curbed, or you're feeling remote without the remote, or you're just wondering what exactly goes on in a guy's brain, Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot will be a source of comfort and unadulterated laughter.

Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond

by Chuck Klosterman Paul Shirley

He's been called a journeyman. Even Paul wouldn't dispute that classification. Regardless, Bill Simmons, ESPN.com's "The Sports Guy," has said of Paul Shirley, "We could finally have an answer to the question 'What would it be like if one of our friends was an NBA player?"There's no denying that Paul Shirley is the closest thing pro basketball's got to Odysseus. In Homeric fashion, he has logged time practically everywhere in the roundball universe, from six NBA cities to pro leagues in Spain and Greece to North America's pro ball Siberia, the minor leagues. Hell, he's even played in the real Siberia. And in Can I Keep My Jersey?, Shirley finally puts down roots long enough to deliver one of the great locker-room chronicles of the modern age. With sharp elbows and an even sharper wit, Shirley-whose writings have been described as "wildly entertaining" by The Wall Street Journal-drops hilarious commentary, revealing which teams have the best cheerleaders (he's spent many a time-out watching them ply their trade), why Christ is rapidly becoming every team's "sixth man," and even the best ways to get bloodstains out of your game uniform, using only an ordinary bar of soap and a hotel bathroom sink.From sharing the court with Kobe and Shaq to perusing the food court at some mall in a bush-league burg; from taking pregame layups to getting laid out by a stray knee from an NBA power forward; from hopping a limo to the team's charter jet to dashing to catch the van home from a B-league game in Tijuana, Shirley dishes on what it's like to try to make it as a professional athlete. Can I Keep My Jersey? is a rollicking, thoughtful, even thought-provoking insider's look at a pro baller's life on the fringe. Like Jim Bouton's Ball Four or John Feinstein's A Season on the Brink, Shirley's odyssey deserves to find a home on every sports fan's bookshelf.From the Hardcover edition.

Giants Among Men: How Robustelli, Huff, Gifford, and the Giants Made New York a Football Town and Changed the NFL

by Jack Cavanaugh

From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, when basketball's Boston Celtics were piecing together a run for the ages, when Montreal's Canadiens were in the midst of notching a record-setting five straight Stanley Cups, and when the New York Yankees were the once-and-future kings of the diamond, one team boosted the NFL to national prominence as none other: the New York Giants. In Giants Among Men, Jack Cavanaugh, the acclaimed author of Tunney, transports us to the NFL's golden age to introduce the close-knit and diverse group that won the heart of a city, helped spread the gospel of pro football across the nation, and recast the NFL as a media colossus. Central to Cavanaugh's narrative, and emblematic of the Giants' bond with their followers, was a hard-nosed future Hall of Fame defensive end named Andy Robustelli. A World War II combat vet, a graduate of Arnold College, undersized and nearing age thirty, Robustelli nevertheless anchored a Giants defensive unit so ferocious that they were the first team to inspire crowds to chant "Dee-fense!" But Robustelli and the Giants were a hit on the gridiron, playing in six NFL Championship Games in eight seasons between 1956 and 1963, the most remarkable aspect of this team was perhaps its relationship to the fans. These Giants were largely composed of ordinary joes who were equally at ease hobnobbing with Gleason and Sinatra at Toots Shor's as they were rubbing elbows with working-class rooters on the IRT en route to Sunday games in the Bronx-like many of their fans, nearly all Giants players worked second jobs off-season to make ends meet. But the Giants of this era didn't merely affect the fans' relationship to the game; they changed the game itself. The team launched the careers of future head-coaching geniuses Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi, as well as those of a galaxy of stars and future Hall-of-Famers including Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Emlen Tunnell, Roosevelt Brown, Y. A. Tittle, Charlie Conerly, Rosie Grier, and Pat Summerall. The Giants teams of this remarkable era were tagged with the soubriquet "Mara Tech" (for the Mara family, who had owned the franchise since its inception)--due to the number of players and coaches who later found success in the boardroom, the broadcast booth, and behind the bench. Filled with historical and cultural insight and vivid portraits of larger-than-life characters and indispensable everymen, Giants Among Men transcends nostalgia and sports trivia to faithfully depict a watershed era for both football and the American nation. Praise for Jack Cavanaugh's Tunney. "Impressively researched and richly detailed ... a long-overdue portrait of a fascinating fighter." -Sports Illustrated. "A winning tale ... Jack Cavanaugh bringsTunney, Dempsey and the fight scene of the Roaring Twenties back to life." -Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "[A] sprawling new biography ... The boxing scenes are spun gold." -The New York Times. "Filled with vivid characters from one of boxing's most glamorous eras, this tale goes fifteen rounds and delivers plenty of punch." -Kirkus Reviews(starred review). "One of the primary elements to the greatness of this biography is Cavanaugh's ability to plumb the confusing depths of celebrity in America." -The Denver Post.

Carlisle vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the Forgotten Story of Football's Greatest Battle

by Lars Anderson

A stunning work of narrative nonfiction, Carlisle vs. Army recounts the fateful 1912 gridiron clash that pitted one of America's finest athletes, Jim Thorpe, against the man who would become one of the nation's greatest heroes, Dwight D. Eisenhower. But beyond telling the tale of this momentous event, Lars Anderson also reveals the broader social and historical context of the match, lending it his unique perspectives on sports and culture at the dawn of the twentieth century. This story begins with the infamous massacre of the Sioux at Wounded Knee, in 1890, then moves to rural Pennsylvania and the Carlisle Indian School, an institution designed to "elevate" Indians by uprooting their youths and immersing them in the white man's ways. Foremost among those ways was the burgeoning sport of football. In 1903 came the man who would mold the Carlisle Indians into a juggernaut: Glenn "Pop" Warner, the son of a former Union Army captain. Guided by Warner, a tireless innovator and skilled manager, the Carlisle eleven barnstormed the country, using superior team speed, disciplined play, and tactical mastery to humiliate such traditional powerhouses as Harvard, Yale, Michigan, and Wisconsin-and to, along the way, lay waste American prejudices against Indians. When a troubled young Sac and Fox Indian from Oklahoma named Jim Thorpe arrived at Carlisle, Warner sensed that he was in the presence of greatness. While still in his teens, Thorpe dazzled his opponents and gained fans across the nation. In 1912 the coach and the Carlisle team could feel the national championship within their grasp. Among the obstacles in Carlisle's path to dominance were the Cadets of Army, led by a hardnosed Kansan back named Dwight Eisenhower. In Thorpe, Eisenhower saw a legitimate target; knocking the Carlisle great out of the game would bring glory both to the Cadets and to Eisenhower. The symbolism of this matchup was lost on neither Carlisle's footballers nor on Indians across the country who followed their exploits. Less than a quarter century after Wounded Knee, the Indians would confront, on the playing field, an emblem of the very institution that had slaughtered their ancestors on the field of battle and, in defeating them, possibly regain a measure of lost honor. Filled with colorful period detail and fascinating insights into American history and popular culture, Carlisle vs. Army gives a thrilling, authoritative account of the events of an epic afternoon whose reverberations would be felt for generations. "Carlisle vs. Army is about football the way that The Natural is about baseball." -Jeremy Schaap.

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