Search Results for: life as sport

A moving, funny, inventive parenting memoir, written in a surprising form: an encyclopedia of failure in sports

What can a new father learn about parenthood from reading sports almanacs? For most dads, the answer to this question is: nothing. But to Josh Wilker, whose life and writing have been defined by sports fandom, all of the joy, helplessness, and absurdity of parenthood are present between the lines.

After all, what better way to think about losing control than Eugenio Velez’s forty-five consecutive at-bats without a hit? How better to understand ridiculous joy than the NFL career of Walter Achiu, whose nickname was “Sneeze”? In the stories of sports figures large and small, Wilker finds the pathos in success and the humor in losing.

As the terrified father of a one-day-old, Wilker recalls the 1986 World Series, when the moment was too big for the Red Sox. When he finds himself stealing away for an hour of alone time, Wilker thinks of boxer Roberto Duran, so beaten by Sugar Ray Leonard that he finally gave up. And yet, even as the frustrations and anxieties build, Wilker remembers Mets pitcher Anthony Young, who broke the baseball record for most consecutive losses — and never stopped showing up.

Finding the richness of life in obscure wrestling maneuvers and pop-ups lost in the sun, Benchwarmer is a book of unique humanity and surprising wisdom.

Soccer star and Olympic gold medalist Christie Pearce Rampone and sports neuropsychologist Dr. Kristine Keane share the best practices that athletes, parents, and coaches can use to turn the lessons learned through sports into lifelong skills.

Sports offer a vital path for children to get healthy, self-confident, and social. In Be All In, three-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup Champion, and US team captain Christie Pearce Rampone and sports neuropsychologist and brain health expert Dr. Kristine Keane offer practical, real world advice on how to handle the pressures felt by youth athletes, parents, and coaches today and provide kids with their best shot at reaching their dreams.

In contrast to outdated adages like “no pain, no gain,” the ethos of “be all in” is about being authentically present in everything you do, on and off the field. Through a unique blend of neuroscience, parenting strategies, and wisdom gleaned from the extraordinary experiences of a world-class athlete, this transformative book explains how to create realistic expectations for kids, help them succeed in all aspects of their life, improve game day performance, and reduce the stress of dealing with their coaches, ambitions,and losses.

With invaluable insight into parenting behaviors that may derail children’s performance despite best intentions, and concrete strategies for teaching accountability, confidence, self-efficacy, and resiliency, this fundamental guide has tips to support athletes of any age, sport, or level of competition.

Anyone who follows sports knows that Warner Wolf has revolutionized that world with his famous catch phrases and irrepressible spirit. Now, in “Let’s Go to the Videotape!” he shares over three decades worth of humorous and unusual anecdotes from a fascinating career, including: — opinions on sports rules — game strategies that make no sense — run-ins with the stars of sports and Hollywood — including Shaquille O’Neal, Joe DiMaggio, Robert Redford, and Robert Duvall — adventures and misadventures in the sports broadcasting game — and much more.

Provides a fact-filled biography of Greg Maddux, covering the baseball superstar’s life as a pitcher, his character as a player, and the special achievements of his career, such as winning four Cy Young Awards and six Gold Glove Awards.

The 24th title in this bestselling sports series reviews the life, history and stats of baseball superstar Alexander Rodriguez. 10 photos.

Packed with expert information and inspiring photography, The Camping Life is the perfect invitation to leave the noise and screens behind—if only for a single night—and reconnect with nature. From backpacking to bikepacking, camping while white-water rafting to big wall climbing, outdoor adventurers Brendan Leonard and Forest Woodward cover it all: how to pack a backpack, how to set up a tent in the snow, how to camp with your dog, how to build a campfire, how to judge a river’s difficulty. And, critically, how to leave no trace, while returning refreshed, recharged, and alive with new experience.

A new edition of a sports icon’s memoir, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Kathrine Switzer’s historic running of the Boston Marathon as the first woman to run.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run what was then the all-male Boston Marathon, infuriating one of the event’s directors who attempted to violently eject her. In one of the most iconic sports moments, Switzer escaped and finished the race. She made history-and is poised to do it again on the fiftieth anniversary of that initial race, when she will run the 2017 Boston Marathon at age 70. Now a spokesperson for Reebok, Switzer is also the founder of 261 Fearless, a foundation dedicated to creating opportunities for women on all fronts, as this groundbreaking sports hero has done throughout her life.

“Kathrine Switzer is the Susan B. Anthony of women’s marathoning.”-Joan Benoit Samuelson, first Olympic gold medalist in the women’s marathon

Larry Linkogle was a child-prodigy motocross racer who turned pro at age 15. A daredevil and rebel from the start, he quit the sport in spectacular fashion during a major national event and went home to create a new extreme sport — Freestyle Motocross (FMX) — marked by high-flying stunts and death-defying action. From there, the ride just got wilder.

On a lark, he and a friend created The Metal Mulisha — now a top brand in FMX — and he was on a fast track to the good life. But after a near-fatal accident, “Link “made a series of decisions that almost finished him off for good — getting involved in prescription drugs, drug and gun running, underground fistfighting, and other behavior that compromised his health, his relationships, and his career.

After hitting rock bottom and experiencing a moment of clarity, Link began to turn things around, salvaging and strengthening the things that mattered most. Now an icon to millions of extreme sports fans, Link is well on the road to a happy ending.

Proven solutions for a better night’s sleep, from the “sleep guru” to elite athletes–rest for success in work, sports, and life

One-third of our lives — that’s 3,000 hours a year–is spent trying to sleep. The time we spend in bed shapes our moods, motivation, alertness, decision-making skills, reaction time, creativity . . . in short, our ability to perform, whether at work, at home, or at play. But most of us have disturbed, restless nights, relying on over-stimulation from caffeine and sugar to drag us through the day. The old eight-hour rule just doesn’t work, and it’s time for a new approach.

Endorsed by leading professionals in sports and business, Sleep shares a new program to be your personal best. Nick Littlehales is the leading sport sleep coach to some of the biggest names in the sporting world, including record-breaking cyclists for British Cycling and Team Sky, international soccer teams, NBA and NFL players, and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Here, he shares his proven strategies for anyone to use. You’ll learn how to map your unique sleep cycle, optimize your environment for recovery, and cope with the demands of this fast-paced, tech-driven world. Read Sleep and rest your way to a more confident, successful, and happier you.

The OKC Thunder’s big man shares the unlikely story behind his indomitable sense of determination and his journey from Rotorua, New Zealand to stardom in the NBA.

Steven Adams overcame extreme odds to become a first-round prospect in the 2013 NBA draft. From there he signed a major contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder — making him New Zealand’s highest-paid athlete ever — and went on to forge a reputation for his intense, physical style of basketball.

Adams takes you inside the draft process from the fascinating whirlwind tour of pre-draft workouts with dozens of teams to the draft itself where dreams are made or dashed and the Gatorade bottles on every table are glued shut. He reveals what it’s like to be a rookie in the league, getting pushed around and elbowed — or worse. He takes the court alongside superstars like Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant; and matches up against legendary big men like Tim Duncan, DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, and Draymond Green. Adams recounts the Thunder’s rise through the victories and the heartbreaks and how the resilient team has a bright future ahead.

In this intimate account of his life story so far, the seven-foot center also reflects on his humble upbringing as one of fourteen children, the impact of his father’s death when he was just thirteen, the multiple challenges and setbacks he has faced, and what basketball means to him.

Told with warmth, humor, and humility, My Life, My Fight is a gripping account from an emerging superstar.

Get ready for the first day of school in this fourth book in the popular series featuring photographs of wild squirrels!

Mr. Peanuts’ teacher friend Rosie needs help preparing for the first day of school! The two squirrels go shopping for school supplies, set up the library and music corners, bring all the sports equipment out to the blacktop, and decorate the classroom. Mr. Peanuts even practices driving the school bus! But it’s not easy to be a teacher getting ready for a whole classroom of new faces. Will Mr. Peanuts and Rosie be able to pull together the room before the end of summer?

Nancy Rose brings this back-to-school story to life with her adorable photographs of real wild squirrels in handcrafted, homemade miniature settings.

For the first time ever, the popular late host of ESPN’s The Sports Reporters and ABC’s college football openly discusses a lifelong battle with depression.

During his three decades on ESPN and ABC, John Saunders became one of the nation’s most respected and beloved sportscasters. In this moving, jarring, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Saunders discusses his troubled childhood, the traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011, and the severe depression that nearly cost him his life. As Saunders writes,

Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity but a memoir of a man facing his own mental illness, and emerging better off for the effort. I will take you into the heart of my struggle with depression, including insights into some of its causes, its consequences, and its treatments.

I invite you behind the facade of my apparently “perfect” life as a sportscaster, with a wonderful wife and two healthy, happy adult daughters. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am truly grateful. But none of these things can protect me or anyone else from the disease of depression and its potentially lethal effects.

Mine is a rare story: that of a black man in the sports industry openly grappling with depression. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly, including the lengths I’ve gone to to conceal my private life from the public.

So why write a book? Because I want to end the pain and heartache that comes from leading a double life. I also want to reach out to the millions of people, especially men, who think they’re alone and can’t ask for help.

John Saunders died suddenly on August 10, 2016, from an enlarged heart, diabetes, and other complications. This book is his ultimate act of generosity to help those who suffer from mental illness, and those who love them.

When two childhood friends return home after their sports careers don't go as planned, a puppy just may give them a second chance at happiness together in this uplifting rom-com, perfect read for fans of Abby Jimenez and Jenny Hale.

When her Olympic downhill dreams were crushed by an injury, Kendall Walsh retreated back to Pine Hollow to help her parents run the local ski resort—and watched from a distance as her childhood best friend took the winter sports world by storm. Now nearly a decade later, Brody James has suddenly retired and returned to Pine Hollow for his sister’s wedding, but he isn’t the same carefree daredevil Kendall remembers (and had a secret crush on as a teen). 

Haunted by the recent death of his fiercest rival, and struggling to find his footing in a life after sports, Brody finds himself trailing after Kendall at the resort as eagerly as her golden retriever puppy. Kendall had promised herself she wasn’t going to bother with any romantic nonsense until she’d found her feet in her new role as the ski resort’s events coordinator, but Brody James has always been her kryptonite and maybe they both need to remember how to be a little more daring…

"Love, Zac is not just a vital contribution to the national conversation about traumatic brain injury in athletes, it’s so beautifully written it belongs on the shelf alongside classic works of literary journalism.” —Jeanne Marie Laskas, New York Times bestselling author of Concussion

In December 2015, Zac Easter, a twenty-four-year-old from small-town Iowa, decided to take his own life rather than continue his losing battle against traumatic brain injuries he had sustained as a high school football player and which led him to develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). For this deeply reported and powerfully moving true story, award-winning writer Reid Forgrave was given access to Zac’s own diaries and was able to speak with Zac’s family, friends, and coaches. He explores Zac’s tight-knit, football-obsessed Midwestern community; he interviews leading brain scientists, psychologists, and sports historians; he takes a deep dive into the triumphs and sins of the sports entertainment industry; and he shows us the fallout from the traditional notions of manhood that football instills. For parents wondering about whether to allow their kids to play football, for players, former players, and fans, for anyone concerned about concussions and sports, this eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and ultimately inspiring story may be one of the most important books they will read.