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The Genius: How Bill Walsh Reinvented Football and Created an NFL Dynasty
by David HarrisThe Genius is the gripping and definitive account of Bill Walsh's career and how he built a football dynasty from the rubble of a fallen franchise. David Harris gives a stellar account of the silver-haired sophisticate from humble working-class roots who was hired as head coach and general manager of the San Francisco Forty Niners in January 1979 and became the architect of what is arguably the greatest ten-year run in NFL history. With unmatched access to players, fellow coaches, executives, the reporters who covered the Niners' heyday, and Walsh himself, Harris recounts how Walsh, through tactical and organizational genius, created a football juggernaut. There were also the demons that pushed and haunted Walsh throughout his career: his clash with his former mentor, Paul Brown, who denied Walsh his first pro head-coaching job with the Cincinnati Bengals; Walsh's struggle with self-doubt and criticism; the toll his single-minded devotion to football exacted on his family; and his complex relationship with the Forty Niners' owner, Edward DeBartolo, Jr.Walsh's pre-Niners coaching odyssey was arduous-a longtime assistant coach, he developed his legendary and now-standard pass-oriented West Coast offense during stops at all levels of the game. Despite never having run a team's draft before, Walsh, along with his right-hand man John McVay, quickly built the foundation for a dynasty by drafting or trading for a durable core of stars, including Joe Montana, Fred Dean, Hacksaw Reynolds, Dwight Clark, and Ronnie Lott. (Walsh would later restock the team with such players as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Charles Haley.) The key to Walsh's genius perhaps lay in his keen understanding of his athletes' psyches-he knew what brought out the best in each of them. But the scope of Walsh's impact on the game extended well beyond the field and locker room. The Forty Niners' life-skills counseling program, which Walsh spearheaded with the sports sociologist and activist Dr. Harry Edwards, and the internship program Walsh devised to bring minority coaches into the game have since been adopted by the NFL for all league franchises.In the annals of sport, few individuals have had as great an impact on their game-or on its relevance to life outside the lines-as Bill Walsh. With knowledge, skill, passion, and a critical eye, David Harris reveals the brilliant man behind the coaching legend.The vision Bill Walsh brought to all his pioneering efforts was a function of his perception of himself as someone who was far more than a football coach. He cherished his standing and participation in the larger world outside the NFL and nurtured them at every opportunity."Knowing Bill Walsh was kind of like the blind man describing an elephant," one of the sportswriters who covered him observed. "We all knew just one little piece of him. But he had all these other areas we knew nothing about. He dealt with lots of people outside of football, outside of our scope entirely. He was able to deal with politicians, people who were intellects in other areas. They were impressed by him."-from The GeniusFrom the Hardcover edition.
Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
by Larry TyeHe is that rare American icon who has never been captured in a biography worthy of him. Now, at last, here is the superbly researched, spellbindingly told story of athlete, showman, philosopher, and boundary breaker Leroy "Satchel" Paige.Through dogged research and extensive interviews, award-winning author and journalist Larry Tye has tracked down the truth about this majestic and enigmatic pitcher. Here is the stirring account of the child born to a poor Alabama washerwoman, the boy who earned his nickname from his enterprising work as a railroad porter, and the young man who took up baseball on the streets and in reform school before becoming the superstar hurler of the Negro Leagues.In unprecedented detail, Tye reveals how Paige, hurt and angry when Jackie Robinson beat him in breaking the Majors' color barrier, emerged at the improbable age of forty-two to help propel the Cleveland Indians to the World Series. ("Age is a case of mind over matter," he said. "If you don't mind, it don't matter.")Rewriting our history of baseball's integration with Paige in the starring role and separating truth from legend, Satchel is a story as large as this larger-than-life man.
The First Star: Red Grange and the Barnstorming Tour that Launched the NFL
by Lars AndersonAcclaimed sportswriter Anderson recounts the thrilling story of Harold "Red" Grange, the Galloping Ghost of the gridiron, and the wild barnstorming tour that earns professional football a place in the American sporting firmament.
Broadcast Rites and Sites: I Saw it on the Radio with the Boston Red Sox
by Joe Castiglione Douglas LyonsVeteran broadcaster Joe Castiglione has seen his share of heartbreaking games, especially from his vantage point at Fenway Park where he has called the Red Sox games for the last 20 years. In his newest book, Castiglione not only recounts the drama from the booth in Boston, but also his travels and baseball adventures throughout the country in his previous stints with the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers over his 30-year career.
Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from America's National Parks
by Jim BurnettIn his thirty years with the National Park Service, Jim Burnett has seen it all: boat ramp mishaps that have sent cars into the water; skunks in the outhouse and bears at the dumpster; visitors looking for the bridge over the Grand Canyon.
Hey Ranger 2: More True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from the Great Outdoors
by Jim BurnettIn this sequel to the wildly successful "Hey Ranger: True Tales of Humor and Misadventure from America's National Parks," former ranger Jim Burnett casts his net globally in search of the most outrageous and humorous stories of man in his eternal quest to experience the natural world. Told in Burnett's classic, folksy, conversational style, Hey Ranger 2 will not disappoint as the follow-on to what has become a campground classic.
Sports Illustrated Lacrosse: Fundamentals for Winning
by David UrickEight-time national championship coach David Urick shows players and coaches the pathways to lacrosse success!
30 Life Lessons My Boys Learned from Baseball
by Andy NorwoodUsing America's favorite pastime as an analogy, this collection of essays teaches children how to apply the lessons learned in baseball to everyday situations. This guide, filled with invaluable advice, enables adolescents to grow into adults while providing perspective on the sport and the complexities of life. The essays are derived from common themes in baseball but relate to dilemmas experienced off the field. The chapter "Some Days You're the Bat, Some Days You're the Ball" is an allusion to good days versus bad and reminds children that some rules have reasons, although they will probably question them. The sage guidance offers ways to control your emotions by channeling them into better efforts and tips to summon courage whether you are standing at the bat, undergoing surgery, or delivering a speech. The importance of paying attention to detail and respect for authority, along with advice on how to deal with adversity, is included in this indispensable compilation. Andy Norwood underscores the significance of teamwork, self-sacrifice, and the humility experienced after a loss. Each lesson is preceded by a quote from such celebrities as Jay Leno, Maya Angelou, and Albert Einstein. The work incorporates anecdotes from Major League Baseball and significant moments in the sport's history, making this book an enjoyable read for adults and their children.
Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran, and the Last Great Era of Boxing
by George KimballRoberto Duran, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns all formed the pantheon of boxing greats during the late 1970s and early 1980s -- before the pay-per-view model, when prize fights were telecast on network television and still captured the nation's attention. Championship bouts during this era were replete with revenge and fury, often pitting one of these storied fighters against another. From training camps to locker rooms, author George Kimball was there to cover every body shot, uppercut, and TKO. Inside stories full of drama, sacrifice, fear, and pain make up this treasury of boxing tales brought to life by one of the sport's greatest writers.
Chess Story
by Joel Rotenberg Stefan ZweigChess Story, also known as The Royal Game, is the Austrian master Stefan Zweig's final achievement, completed in Brazilian exile and sent off to his American publisher only days before his suicide in 1942. It is the only story in which Zweig looks at Nazism, and he does so with characteristic emphasis on the psychological.Travelers by ship from New York to Buenos Aires find that on board with them is the world champion of chess, an arrogant and unfriendly man. They come together to try their skills against him and are soundly defeated. Then a mysterious passenger steps forward to advise them and their fortunes change. How he came to possess his extraordinary grasp of the game of chess and at what cost lie at the heart of Zweig's story.This new translation of Chess Story brings out the work's unusual mixture of high suspense and poignant reflection.
Fat City
by Leonard Gardner Denis JohnsonFat City is a vivid novel of allegiance and defeat, of the potent promise of the good life and the desperation and drink that waylay those whom it eludes. Stockton, California is the setting: the Lido Gym, the Hotel Coma, Main Street lunchrooms and dingy bars, days like long twilights in houses obscured by untrimmed shrubs and black walnut trees. When two men meet in the ring -- the retired boxer Billy Tully and the newcomer Ernie Munger - their brief bout sets into motion their hidden fates, initiating young Ernie into the company of men and luring Tully back into training. In a dispassionate and composed voice, Gardner narrates their swings of fortune, and the plodding optimism of their manager Ruben Luna, as he watches the most promising boys one by one succumb to some undefined weakness; still, "There was always someone who wanted to fight."
Bliss, Remembered: A Novel
by Frank DefordAn &“entertaining and thought provoking&” WWII-era novel of love, war, and sports, told with &“a superb sense of character and period&” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, American swimmer Sydney Stringfellow finds herself falling in love with Horst Gerhardt, a dashing young German. When the rising tide of global conflict tears them apart, Sydney returns to America, where she finds love again—in the arms of Jimmy Branch, an American man who takes her hand in marriage before shipping off to fight in World War II. And that is when Horst reappears in Sydney&’s life, drawing her into a dilemma of passion, betrayal, and espionage. With Bliss, Remembered, the celebrated Frank Deford has produced &“a work of enthralling historical fiction&” that ranks with the best of his novels, including Everybody&’s All American, which Sports Illustrated ranked as one of the twenty-five best sports books of all time (Library Journal, starred review).
Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner
by Robert Edelstein&“A superbly researched and engagingly written biography&” of NASCAR legend Curtis Turner, known as the Babe Ruth of stock car racing (Sports Illustrated). Curtis Turner&’s life embodied everything that makes NASCAR the biggest spectator sport in American history; the adrenaline rush of the races, the potential for danger at every turn, and the charismatic, outrageous personality of a winner. Turner created drama at the racetrack and in his personal life, living the American Dream several times over before he died a violent and mysterious death at the age of forty-six. In gripping prose, and with access to the files of Turner&’s widow, sports writer and author of NASCAR Generations Robert Edelstein offers the first complete chronicle of Turner&’s life. From his days as a teenage moonshine runner in Virginia, through millions earned in fearless finance deals, to his incredible comeback after four years of being banned from the NASCAR circuit, Full Throttle lets you ride shotgun with the legend.
The Man with Two Arms: A Novel
by Billy Lombardo&“Undoubtedly modern America&’s finest literary tribute to the baseball since Bernard Malamud&’s novel The Natural&” (Chicago Tribune). Henry Granville, a baseball fanatic and high school teacher, spends hours in the basement with his young son Danny, introducing him to balls of all shapes and sizes. He even turns the basement into an indoor stadium. Danny quickly distinguishes himself from his peers, most conspicuously by his ability to throw perfectly with either arm—a feat virtually unheard of in baseball. But he also possesses a visionary gift that not even he understands. Danny becomes a superior athlete, skyrocketing through the minor leagues and into the majors where he experiences immediate success, breaking records held for decades. When a journalist, a former student of Henry&’s and hungry for a national breakout story, exaggerates the teacher&’s obsession and exposes him to the world as a monster, all hell breaks loose and the pressures of media and celebrity threaten to disrupt the world that Henry and Danny have created. A baseball novel—and much more—The Man with Two Arms is a story of the ways in which we protect, betray, forgive, love, and shape each other as we attempt to find our way through life. &“Magical realism meets baseball in [this] debut novel . . . [A] Roy Hobbs-like narrative.&” —Chicago Magazine &“Sings with joy and tragedy . . . An amazing debut, as a lyrical paean to the national pastime and as a touching exploration of the life of a boy becoming a man both blessed and burdened with a unique and extraordinary talent.&” —Flagpole
Brilliant Orange The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer
by David WinnerBrilliant Orangeis a book about Dutch soccer that's not really about Dutch soccer. It's more about an enigmatic way of thinking peculiar to a people whose landscape is unrelentingly flat, mostly below sea level, and who owe their salvation to a boy who plugged a fractured dike with his little finger. If any one thing, Brilliant Orangeis about Dutch space, and a people whose unique conception of it has led to some of the most enduring art, the weirdest architecture, and a bizarrely cerebral form of soccer-Total Football-that led in 1974 to a World Cup finals match with arch-rival Germany, and continues with its intricacy and oddity to mystify and delight observers around the world. "In the hot summer of 1975 Wim van Hanegem was offered the chance to leave his beloved Feyenoord and join the French club Olympique Marseilles. . . He couldn't decide what to do. . . So he turned to his dog: 'We can't decide. It's up to you now. If you want to go to Marseilles, bark or show me. ' For several minutes the dog and Van Hanegem stared at each other. The dog didn't move. 'OK' said Wim, 'he doesn't want to go. We're staying. " The cast stretches from anarchists and church painters to rabbis and skinheads, and of course, to Holland's beloved soccer players, whose eccentricities are wryly detailed by David Winner through hilarious anecdotes that call to mind Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. As idiosyncratic as its subject, quirky and provocative, Brilliant Orangereaches out to the reader from an unsuspected place and never lets go. "Occasionally a book comes along that you fall in or out of love with on the basis of nothing more than the contents page . . . Brilliant Orangeis one of those strangely informative books that will even entertain those who have little interest in either soccer or the Netherlands. " (The Economist)
Papers in the Wind
by Eduardo SacheriFrom the best-selling author of The Secret in Their Eyes, an adventure about friendship, soccer, and good humor When Alejandro "Mono" dies of cancer, his brother and two closest friends, a tight-knit group since childhood, are left to figure out how to take care of his young daughter, Guadalupe. They want to give her all the love they felt for Mono and secure her future, but there isn't a single peso left in the bank. Mono invested all of his money in a promising soccer player whose talents haven't panned out, and the three hundred thousand dollars Mono spent on his transfer is soon to be lost for good. How do you sell a forward who can't score a goal? How do you negotiate in a world whose rules you don't know? How do you maintain relationships when repeated failures create fissures in lifelong loyalties? Fernando, Mauricio, and Ruso pool the few resources in their arsenal to come up with strategies--from harebrained to inspired--in their desperate attempt to recoup Mono's investment for Guadalupe. Following the lives of four distinct characters, who, despite their great differences, still manage to find solace and pride in one another, Papers in the Wind is a tribute to friendship and proof that love and humor can triumph over sadness.
Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August
by Jefferson Chase Oliver Hilmes<P>Berlin 1936 takes the reader through the sixteen days of the Olympiad, describing the events in the German capital through the eyes of a select cast of characters--Nazi leaders and foreign diplomats, sportsmen and journalists, writers and socialites, nightclub owners and jazz musicians. While the events in the Olympic stadium, such as when an American tourist breaks through the security and manages to kiss Hitler, provide the focus and much of the drama, it also considers the lives of ordinary Berliners--the woman with a dark secret who steps in front of a train, the transsexual waiting for the Gestapo's knock on the door, and the Jewish boy fearing for his future and hoping that Germany loses on the playing field. <P>During the games the Nazi dictatorship was in many ways put on hold, and Berlin 1936 offers a last glimpse of the vibrant and diverse life in the German capital in the 1920s and 30s that the Nazis wanted to destroy.
The Truth About Twelve
by Theresa Martin Golding[From the front dust jacket flap:] "If I could only get my family back to Philadelphia, I just know that everything would be like it used to be." Twelve-year-old Lindy Perkins desperately wants to get back to Philadelphia. She wants everything to be just like it used to be before the Awful Thing happened and her whole life changed. But she's stuck living in fancy Shelbourne, where all the kids are rich, and Lindy has to pretend that she is, too. For five months now, she's been hiding the location and condition of her broken-down house from everyone. She can't imagine what the kids at Mecong Middle School would say if they saw the hubcap tree, the mannequin-head flagpole, or the strange twisted metal sculptures that decorate her yard. What if her friends found out that the trash-picker guy who creeps them out is her dad? But the worst thing of all is the secret that she has been hiding even from her own family. It is the secret of what she did that day--the day that changed all their lives forever. Lindy's crazy sense of humor keeps the kids at Mecong laughing, and her talent for hitting home- runs helps the school Softball team make it to the finals. But as her lies start to catch up with her, the weight of her secret becomes too much to bear. Theresa Martin Golding has created a compelling--and heartening--story of a young girl fighting to survive her world, her life and her own lies. In the end, she finds that the truth can save them."
The Night Olympic Team: Fighting to Keep Drugs Out of the Games
by Caroline HattonThe true, inside story of the UCLA Olympic Laboratory--the drug-detection team that tests athletes for banned performance-enhancing drugs. The team worked long nights for two weeks to detect a new, never-before tested performance-enhancing drug called NESP (novel erythropoietic stimulating protein) during the 19th Winter Olympics (2002) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group's work exposed three NESP users among the winning cross-country skiers. The drug users were stripped of their medals, which were then given to the rightful winners.
Hippie Chick
by Joseph Monninger15-year-old Lolly (short for Lollipop) Emmerson is a free-spirit, what others call "the hippie child of a hippie woman". Her favorite thing to do is sail her Boston Whaler in the Florida Keys. One night she runs into an underwater obstacle and the boat flounders. After Lolly is knocked out and separated from the boat, she realizes that she's done for and accepts her own fate. That's when the manatees arrives.
Last December
by Matt BeamWritten in the form of a suicide note from a teenaged boy to his unborn sister, this tells the story of how a ninth-grader comes to accept his less than ideal life after witnessing the struggles of a friend with serious depression.
Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play like a Champion
by Pete Carroll Kristoffer A. Garin Yogi Roth"I know that I'll be evaluated in Seattle with wins and losses, as that is the nature of my profession for the last thirty-five years. But our record will not be what motivates me. Years ago I was asked, 'Pete, which is better: winning or competing?' My response was instantaneous: 'Competing ... because it lasts longer.'" Pete Carroll is one of the most successful coaches in football today. As the head coach at USC, he brought the Trojans back to national prominence, amassing a 97-19 record over nine seasons. Now he shares the championship-winning philosophy that led USC to seven straight Pac-10 titles. This same mindset and culture will shape his program as he returns to the NFL to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll developed his unique coaching style by trial and error over his career. He learned that you get better results by teaching instead of screaming, and by helping players grow as people, not just on the field. He learned that an upbeat, energetic atmosphere in the locker room can coexist with an unstoppable competitive drive. He learned why you should stop worrying about your opponents, why you should always act as if the whole world is watching, and many other contrarian insights. Carroll shows us how the Win Forever philosophy really works, both in NCAA Division I competition and in the NFL. He reveals how his recruiting strategies, training routines, and game-day rituals preserve a team's culture year after year, during championship seasons and disappointing seasons alike. Win Forever is about more than winning football games; it's about maximizing your potential in every aspect of your life. Carroll has taught business leaders facing tough challenges. He has helped troubled kids on the streets of Los Angeles through his foundation A Better LA. His words are true in any situation: "If you want to win forever, always compete."
The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance
by David EpsteinNow a "New York Times" Bestseller. "In high school, I wondered whether the Jamaican Americans who made our track team so successful might carry some special speed gene from their tiny island. In college, I ran against Kenyans, and wondered whether endurance genes might have traveled with them from East Africa. At the same time, I began to notice that a training group on my team could consist of five men who run next to one another, stride for stride, day after day, and nonetheless turn out five entirely different runners. How could this be?" We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. "Naturals. " Or were they? The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor's training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research. In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, "Sports Illustrated" senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle. He investigates the so-called 10,000-hour rule to uncover whether rigorous and consistent practice from a young age is the only route to athletic excellence. Along the way, Epstein dispels many of our perceptions about why top athletes excel. He shows why some skills that we assume are innate, like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball or cricket batter, are not, and why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like an athlete's will to train, might in fact have important genetic components. This subject necessarily involves digging deep into sensitive topics like race and gender. Epstein explores controversial questions such as: Are black athletes genetically predetermined to dominate both sprinting and distance running, and are their abilities influenced by Africa's geography? Are there genetic reasons to separate male and female athletes in competition? Should we test the genes of young children to determine if they are destined for stardom? Can genetic testing determine who is at risk of injury, brain damage, or even death on the field? Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.
Schooled (Bluford Series #15)
by Paul LanganLionel desperately wants to be on the high school basketball team, but he's not allowed to until he brings his grades up. With his mom far away on an army base and his dad working long hours as a truck driver, Lionel has difficulty dealing with his reading troubles on his own. Soon he is longing to drop out of school, but can he do that and still live his dreams?
Long Distance Love: A Passion for Football
by Grant FarredGrant Farred is a lifelong soccer fan. He has been rooting for one team -- Liverpool (England) Football Club -- since he was a child. <P><P>Long Distance Love explains how "football" opened up the world to a young boy growing up disenfranchised in apartheid South Africa. <P>For Farred, being a soccer fan enabled him to establish connections with events and people throughout history and from around the globe: from the Spanish Civil War to the atrocities of the Argentine dictatorship of the 1970s and '80s, and from the experience of racism under apartheid to the experience of watching his beloved Liverpool team play on English soil. <P>Farred shows that issues like race, politics, and war are critical to understanding a sport, especially soccer. <P>And he writes beautifully, with candor and lyricism. <P> Long Distance Love does for soccer what C. L. R. James's Beyond a Boundary did for cricket: it provides poetry and politics in equal measure, along with insights on every page.