Search Results for: life as sport

Following a season with incredible highs and heartbreaking lows, the Philadelphia Eagles went on to do what fans had all but written off as impossible: for the first time in the franchise’s history, Philly won a Super Bowl.

Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Zach Berman takes fans on a journey through the action-packed season — from the preseason and midseason player pickups that shaped a championship team to the gut-wrenching injury of star quarterback Carson Wentz through to the bold play calling and nail-biting moments in Super Bowl LII, in which the Eagles bested the favored-to-win New England Patriots.

A book unique in its scope and insight thanks to Berman’s on-the-ground reporting, Underdogs will detail the unlikely story that captured national attention; explain how the team resonated among a desperate fan base that waited 57 years for a championship; and even delve into the players’ social activism during a particularly political NFL season. With a foreword by beloved Philadelphia radio announcer Merrill Reese and an 8-page full-color photo insert, it’s the perfect keepsake item for anyone who bleeds green.

During his six years covering the Birds, Berman has developed relationships with some of the most notable characters that led the team to Super Bowl victory. In Underdogs, he’ll explain why Nick Foles contemplated retirement on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP. He’ll detail Howie Roseman’s journey to NFL executive of the year after being cast aside by former coach Chip Kelly. He’ll show Malcolm Jenkins’ journey to team captain, how Chris Long’s life changed in a Tanzania hotel bar, why Eagles kicker Jake Elliott didn’t consider football until he was chosen at random at a high school pep rally, and where Carson Wentz ate dinner the night before he left for the NFL Draft. These more obscure stories offer incredible context and depth to an already fascinating story of success against the odds.

The first memoir for young readers by sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

At one time, Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, pleasing a strict father, and overcoming shyness that made him feel socially awkward. But with a talent for basketball, and an unmatched team of supporters, Lew Alcindor was able to transform and to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

From a childhood made difficult by racism and prejudice to a record-smashing career on the basketball court as an adult, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life was packed with ""coaches"" who taught him right from wrong and led him on the path to greatness. His parents, coaches Jack Donahue and John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and many others played important roles in Abdul-Jabbar's life and sparked him to become an activist for social change and advancement. The inspiration from those around him, and his drive to find his own path in life, are highlighted in this personal and awe-inspiring journey.

Written especially for young readers, Becoming Kareem chronicles how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar become the icon and legend he is today, both on and off the court.

Discover the amazing achievements of beloved basketball superstar Kevin Durant in this exciting and comprehensive new biography!

From his days as the skinny kid on youth teams to his MVP season with the Oklahoma City Thunder to his first NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant has been an electrifying presence on the basketball court. With two Olympic gold medals, four NBA scoring titles, and an NBA MVP Award, Kevin shows no sign of slowing down. Through every triumph, Kevin has lived his life by the motto “hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard,” dedicating himself to becoming the best player on the court and known for remaining humble and kind through it all.

This action-packed and comprehensive biography brings readers onto the court to experience the biggest moments of Kevin Durant’s remarkable career, relays details of his life, and shows his dedication to giving back to his community. Complete with stats and photographs, this book makes the perfect gift for any young sports fan.

Don’t miss this action-packed and comprehensive look at the life and achievements of an NFL legend!

With more Super Bowl appearances than any other player in NFL history, Tom Brady is a sports icon. From his college days as a backup quarterback at University of Michigan to his record-breaking number of winning seasons with the New England Patriots, this new and comprehensive biography gives fans a firsthand look at the highs and lows of the superstar’s life and career, complete with stats and photographs.

For readers of Cabin Porn and Your Cabin in the Woods, this illustrated collection of odes to the outdoors is the perfect escape into nature.
Forest Life collects George Washington Sears’ timeless writing about the joys of exploring the wilderness, edited for a modern audience. In text both practical and inspirational, Sears’ provides enduring wisdom about trips into the woods and lakes, including equipment, campfires, fishing, camp cooking, traveling light, and canoes.

The original “forest bather,” Sears wanted others to enjoy the woods as he did. He published Woodcraft in 1884 to help prepare skillful, self-reliant woodsman and to extol the restorative power of nature. In addition to Woodcraft, Forest Life contains many of his articles from Forest and Stream, as well as his nature poetry.

Sears is especially eloquent about canoeing, which he helped popularize with published tales of his adventures. In 1883, when he was 61 years old and suffering from tuberculosis, he used a 9-foot, 10-1/2 pound canoe to travel 266 miles through the Adirondacks, writing, “The easy, gentle rocking of the canoe was the best incentive to drowsiness I ever found, and by night or day was nearly certain to send me into dreamland.”

This edition features period etchings of scenes, people, flora, and fauna of the Adirondacks, and is the ideal gift book for the outdoor enthusiast.

This uplifting story of a boys’ football team shines light on the under-appreciated virtues that can bloom in impoverished neighborhoods, even as nearby communities exclude them from economic progress.

Never Ran, Never Will tells the story of the working-class, mostly black neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn; its proud youth football team, the Mo Better Jaguars; and the young boys who are often at the center of both. Oomz, Gio, Hart, and their charismatic, vulnerable friends, come together on a dusty football field. All around them their community is threatened by violence, poverty, and the specter of losing their homes to gentrification. Their passionate, unpaid coaches teach hard lessons about surviving American life with little help from the outside world, cultivating in their players the perseverance and courage to make it.

Football isn’t everybody’s ideal way to find the American dream, but for some kids it’s the surest road there is. The Mo Better Jaguars team offers a refuge from the gang feuding that consumes much of the streets and a ticket to a better future in a country where football talent remains an exceptionally valuable commodity. If the team can make the regional championships, prestigious high schools and colleges might open their doors to the players.

Never Ran, Never Will is a complex, humane story that reveals the changing world of an American inner city and a group of unforgettable boys in the middle of it all.

What is an elite NFL QB and what separates that player from the others? One answer is the coach they share. In the recent history of the biggest game on earth, one man is the common thread that connects several of the very best in the sport: Peyton Manning; Ben Roethlisberger; Andrew Luck; and the resurgent Carson Palmer. That coach is Bruce Arians.

A larger than life visionary who trained under the tutelage of Bear Bryant, Arians has had a major impact on the development and success of each of these players. For proof beyond the stats, go to the sources.

“Bruce is gonna love you when you need some loving, but he’s gonna jump on you when you’re not doing right.” — Peyton Manning

“He coaches the way players want to be coached.” — Ben Roethlisberger

“He made players comfortable around him and let everybody have their own personality. He didn’t force anybody to be someone they weren’t. It may sound a little corny or cheesy, but there’s merit to that. I felt comfortable being myself and I felt he had my back.” — Andrew Luck

“We’re a resilient group. It trickles down from the head coach. I think good teams, really good teams, and hopefully great teams take on their coach’s mentality. I think that’s what B.A. brings . . . ” — Carson Palmer

Known around the game as the ‘quarterback whisperer’, Arians has an uncanny ability to both personally connect with his quarterbacks and to locate what the individual triggers are for that player to succeed. No two quarterbacks are the same. And yet with Arians they always share success. In this book Arians will explain how he does it.

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.

Packed with “compelling inside stories” (Chicago Tribune), Teammate is the inspiring memoir from “Grandpa Rossy,” the veteran catcher who became the heart and soul of the 2016 Chicago Cubs championship team and was named manager in 2019.

In 2016 the Cubs snapped a 108-year curse, winning the World Series in a history-making, seven-game series against the Cleveland Indians. Of the many storylines to Chicago’s fairytale season, one stood out: the late-career renaissance of David Ross, the 39-year-old catcher who had played back-up for 13 of his 15 pro seasons.

Beyond Ross’s remarkably strong play, he became the ultimate positive force in the Cubs locker room, mentoring and motivating his fellow players, some of them nearly twenty years his junior. Thanks to Cubs Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, “Grandpa Rossy” became a social media sensation. No one, however, could have predicted that Ross’s home run in his final career at bat would help seal the Cubs championship.

Now, in Teammate, Ross shares the inspiring story of his life in baseball, framed by the events of that unforgettable November night.

Former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner ventures inside America’s secret illegal underground fight world – and meets its modern-day gladiators.

Just when you think you’ve heard all the grizzled-fighter-taking-one-last-swing-at-redemption stories, along comes Bobby Gunn – the first bare-knuckle boxing champion in the U.S. in more than 120 years. Undefeated through 71 fights, Gunn, 42, rules the circuit, an underground network of pro boxers, mixed martial arts fighters and street brawlers who enter the ring without gloves in empty warehouses and mobster McMansions for as much as $50,000 a night. It’s dangerous and bloody and illegal almost everywhere – a secret world run by organized crime. And for Gunn, a devout Christian journeyman boxer using the prize money to put his seven-year-old daughter through private school, it’s his only shot at a better life. “Everybody wants to take me down, brother, and make a name for himself,” he says. “I’ve gotta watch my back.”

Bare Knuckle is a fast-paced portrait of today’s illegal underground bare-knuckle world – a Rocky story, only more bizarre, populated by street brawlers, mobsters, and a modern-day gladiator bent on upending America’s first sport.

Former NBA star and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores his 50-year friendship with Coach John Wooden, one of the most enduring and meaningful relationships in sports history.

When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an 18-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden’s reputation as a winner. It turned out to be the right choice, as Alcindor and his teammates won an unprecedented three NCAA championship titles. But it also marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary and enduring friendships in the history of sports. In Coach Wooden and Me, Abdul-Jabbar reveals the inspirational story of how his bond with John Wooden evolved from a history-making coach-player mentorship into a deep and genuine friendship that transcended sports, shaped the course of both men’s lives, and lasted for half a century.

Coach Wooden and Me is a stirring tribute to the subtle but profound influence that Wooden had on Kareem as a player, and then as a person, as they began to share their cultural, religious, and family values while facing some of life’s biggest obstacles. From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly; to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden’s now famous “Pyramid of Success”; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden’s fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment.

Full of intimate, never-before-published details and delivered with the warmth and erudition of a grateful student who has learned his lessons well, Coach Wooden and Me is at once a celebration of the unique philosophical outlook of college basketball’s most storied coach and a moving testament to the all-conquering power of friendship.

Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
President Barack Obama’s Favorite Book of 2017
A Boston Globe and Huffington Post Best Book of 2017 Pick

In the bestselling tradition ofthe The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the propulsive, inspiring Cinderella story of Stymie, an unwanted Thoroughbred, and Hirsch Jacobs, the once dirt-poor trainer who bought the colt on the cheap and molded him into the most popular horse of his time and the richest racehorse the world had ever seen.

In the wake of World War II, as turmoil and chaos were giving way to a spirit of optimism, Americans were looking for inspiration and role models showing that it was possible to start from the bottom and work your way up to the top-and they found it in Stymie, the failed racehorse plucked from the discard heap by trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Like Stymie, Jacobs was a commoner in “The Sport of Kings,” a dirt-poor Brooklyn city slicker who forged an unlikely career as racing’s winningest trainer by buying cheap, unsound nags and magically transforming them into winners. The $1,500 pittance Jacobs paid to claim Stymie became history’s biggest bargain as the ultimate iron horse went on to run a whopping 131 races and win 25 stakes, becoming the first Thoroughbred ever to earn more than $900,000. The Cinderella champion nicknamed “The People’s Horse” captivated the masses with his rousing charge-from-behind stretch runs, his gritty blue-collar work ethic, and his rags-to-riches success story. In a golden age when horse racing rivaled baseball and boxing as America’s most popular pastime, he was every bit as inspiring a sports hero as Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis.

Taking readers on a crowd-pleasing ride with Stymie and Jacobs, Out of the Clouds — the winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award — unwinds a real-life Horatio Alger tale of a dauntless team and its working-class fans who lived vicariously through the stouthearted little colt they embraced as their own.

“I CONSIDER MYSELF THE LUCKIEST MAN ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.”

On July 4, 1939, baseball great Lou Gehrig delivered what has been called “baseball’s Gettysburg Address” at Yankee Stadium and gave a speech that included the phrase that would become legendary. He died two years later and his fiery widow, Eleanor, wanted nothing more than to keep his memory alive. With her forceful will, she and the irascible producer Samuel Goldwyn quickly agreed to make a film based on Gehrig’s life, The Pride of the Yankees. Goldwyn didn’t understand — or care about — baseball. For him this film was the emotional story of a quiet, modest hero who married a spirited woman who was the love of his life, and, after a storied career, gave a short speech that transformed his legacy. With the world at war and soldiers dying on foreign soil, it was the kind of movie America needed.

Using original scrips, letters, memos, and other rare documents, Richard Sandomir tells the behind-the-scenes story of how a classic was born. There was the so-called Scarlett O’Hara-like search to find the actor to play Gehrig; the stunning revelations Elanor made to the scriptwriter Paul Gallico about her life with Lou; the intensive training Cooper underwent to learn how to catch, throw, and hit a baseball for the first time; and the story of two now-legendary Hollywood actors in Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright whose nuanced performances endowed the Gehrigs with upstanding dignity and cemented the baseball icon’s legend.

Sandomir writes with great insight and aplomb, painting a fascinating portrait of a bygone Hollywood era, a mourning widow with a dream, and the shadow a legend cast on one of the greatest sports films of all time.

Chrissie Wellington, the world’s number one female Ironman athlete and four-time World Ironman Champion, presents her struggles, wisdom, and experiences gained from her hard-won career as a triathlete.

With close to 2 million core participants, triathlons of various distances and challenges are attracting more participants than ever before. In TO THE FINISH LINE, one of the sports’ greatest legends brings triathlon to life, with guidance for newbies or experienced athletes, to achieve their best triathlons-no matter their ability. Filled with training tips, practical advice and inside information from a champion, triathletes of all levels can benefit from Wellington’s experience and insight. Her book will guide readers on their own journey, whether that be a sprint or an Ironman, and encourage them to rise to every new challenge.

The autobiography of Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff, whose remarkable life and impeccable style have influenced star players and clubs for decades

Johan Cruyff embodied a footballing philosophy that now dominates coaching and playing styles in all the leading club sides around the world. You can dispute whether Cruyff was the greatest player ever — he was certainly one of the top three — but he is undoubtedly the player who single-handedly changed the nature of the game.

My Turn tells the story of Cruyff’s remarkable career, built on the techniques he learned playing in the streets of postwar Amsterdam while hoping to be noticed by the city’s famous club, Ajax. He would eventually inspire that team to eight league championships and three European cups. He won his first of three Ballons d’Or at twenty-four in 1971. In 1973, Cruyff was sold to Barcelona for a world-record transfer fee. He led the Catalans to victory in La Liga for the first time since 1960, and went on to leave a lasting mark on Spanish soccer. In the 1974 World Cup, Cruyff propelled the Dutch team to the final for the first time.

Cruyff’s lasting influence, however, is not in the medals he won, but in the style of play he epitomized and then applied to the Barcelona and Ajax teams he coached. His vision of “Total Football” transformed the way soccer was played, and its dazzling fluidity became the basis of the most admired sides around the world. He was the sport’s uncompromising genius on and off the field of play.

Rick Ankiel had the talent to be one of the best pitchers ever. Then, one day, he lost it.

The Phenomenon is the story of how St. Louis Cardinals prodigy Rick Ankiel lost his once-in-a-generation ability to pitch — not due to an injury or a bolt of lightning, but a mysterious anxiety condition widely known as “the Yips.” It came without warning, in the middle of a playoff game, with millions of people watching. And it has never gone away.

Yet the true test of Ankiel’s character came not on the mound, but in the long days and nights that followed as he searched for a way to get back in the game. For four and a half years, he fought the Yips with every arrow in his quiver: psychotherapy, medication, deep-breathing exercises, self-help books, and, eventually, vodka. And then, after reconsidering his whole life at the age of twenty-five, Ankiel made an amazing turnaround: returning to the Major Leagues as a hitter and playing seven successful seasons.

This book is an incredible story about a universal experience — pressure — and what happened when a person on the brink had to make a choice about who he was going to be.

In Run Forever, Boston Marathon winner and former Runner’s World editor-in-chief Amby Burfoot shares practical advice and wisdom on how to run with greater joy and health for an entire lifetime.

Everyone learns how to run at an early age. It’s naturally wired into your body. Yet in recent years, running has become complicated by trendy gadgets and doctrine. With a Boston Marathon win and over 100,000 miles run on his resume, Amby Burfoot steers the sport back to its simple roots in Run Forever. From a warm and welcoming perspective, Burfoot provides clear, actionable guidance to runners of every age and ability level.

Whether you are a beginner runner or experienced marathoner, Run Forever will show you how to motivate yourself, avoid injuries, increase speed and endurance, and reach your goals. Best of all, you’ll enjoy optimal health throughout your life.

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.

Tracing the careers of hip-hop’s three most dynamic stars, this deeply reported history brilliantly examines the entrepreneurial genius of the first musician tycoons: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z.

Being successful musicians was simply never enough for the three kings of hip-hop. Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z lifted themselves from childhood adversity into tycoon territory, amassing levels of fame and wealth that not only outshone all other contemporary hip-hop artists, but with a combined net worth of well over $2 billion made them the three richest American musicians, period.

Yet their fortunes have little to do with selling their own albums: between Diddy’s Ciroc vodka, Dre’s $3 billion sale of his Beats headphones to Apple, and Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service and other assets, these artists have transcended pop music fame to become lifestyle icons and moguls.

Hip-hop is no longer just a musical genre; it’s become a way of life that encompasses fashion, film, food, drink, sports, electronics and more — one that has opened new paths to profit and to critical and commercial acclaim. Thanks in large part to the Three Kings — who all started their own record labels and released classic albums before moving on to become multifaceted businessmen — hip-hop has been transformed from a genre spawned in poverty into a truly global multibillion-dollar industry.

These men are the modern embodiment of the American Dream, but their stories as great thinkers and entrepreneurs have yet to be told in full. Based on a decade of reporting, and interviews with more than 100 sources including hip-hop pioneers Russell Simmons and Fab 5 Freddy; new-breed executives like former Def Jam chief Kevin Liles and venture capitalist Troy Carter; and stars from Swizz Beatz to Shaquille O’Neal, 3 Kings tells the fascinating story of the rise and rise of the three most influential musicians in America.