Professional Athletes

"Hard pass." That's what the last girl I slept with said when she got her first sober glimpse of me. She laughed, walked out of my penthouse - and I never saw her again. It doesn't matter that I'm a rich, professional athlete; what mattered was my face. Beauty might only be skin deep for some - but I know better. "Pay up." That's what the last girl I spoke to said over the phone when I made her an offer she couldn't refuse.

Never have the best sportspeople seemed so far removed from the rest of us. So how are these extraordinary athletes made, and what do their achievements tell us about success? The Best reveals how the most incredible sportspeople in the world got that way. It is a unique look at the path to sporting greatness. This is a story of origins, training, luck, and serendipity, as well as of sports science and cutting-edge technology.

Despite the howling protests from his peers, no one's ever been more willing to spill the beans on what it's really like inside the pro cycling peloton than the sarcastic scribe Phil Gaimon. Building on the outrageous success of his hilarious 2014 debut, Pro Cycling on $10 a Day: From Fat Kid to Euro Pro, Gaimon gathers the absolute gems from his monthly Q & A feature column in VeloNews magazine into his new book, Ask a Pro.

Unlock the Hidden Wealth of Your Connections! True success is not solely rooted in skills or expertise. It hinges on the authentic connections you cultivate. Prepare for a paradigm shift in your networking approach—transforming it into a holistic strategy centered around meaningful, genuine relationships. Did you know that the best-kept secret to success lies not in your talent or hustle, but in the depth of your connections? In The Invisible Currency, seasoned author Dexter Godfrey explores the dynamic intersection of sports relationships, effective communication, and business ...

Athletic success comes from a strong mindset more than strong muscle power. You don’t have to be born mentally tough–you can develop this vital trait with hard work and consistency. Loaded with simple, actionable strategies, this guidebook will help you build mental strength, become resilient, and achieve the top spot in your game.

Liam Carlton is a professional baseball player. My best friend’s twin brother. And an arrogant playboy I can’t stand. A weeklong vacation at the Hamptons with my best friend was supposed to be a good time. I can assure you playing Liam’s fake girlfriend sure wasn’t. Sharing the same bedroom wouldn’t be that bad if the arguing and chemistry wasn’t so real. But after an awful turn of events involving my ex, Liam rescued me to my surprise. I’m seeing a softer side to him I never knew existed… and my feelings are starting to change. I can’t keep him out of my mind, and we ...

Making Sound Money Moves is a must-consume playbook on money and behavioral psychology that will turn financially illiterate jocks into money-managing rockstars. Every topic was meticulously curated for the aspirational millionaire. You don't have to be a professional athlete to score sound money management tips from this book.

Whatever your fitness goals are, the most important thing to do is set them before you start. If you don't know where you're going, how will you get there? There's no point in getting frustrated when a year down the line and all that time at the gym has yielded no results. Quit worrying about what other people's goals are. Worrying about other people's goals is a waste of time and energy! We're constantly bombarded with messages from advertisers, magazines, and social media telling us that their idea of beauty is the only one that matters—but it isn't true!

From the New York Times best-selling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James' incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul.

They are motivators, key strategists, tough bosses, and choreographers. They can be branded as heroes, ousted as scapegoats, quietly valued as friends, and everything in between. It's all in the job description for an NHL head coach. In Behind the Bench, Craig Custance sits down for film sessions and candid conversations with some of the game's most notable modern luminaries - names like Mike Babcock, Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma, Ken Hitchcock, and Claude Julien - all of whom share their singular views on topics ranging from leadership secrets to on-ice game plans.

No Bathroom Breaks in the NFL: What it Takes to Play in the National Football League, is an All Pro’s perspective of what goes on behind the scenes in the NFL. Today’s football league–and its players are entirely different than when the game originated. Authors Jason Babin and Matthew Cooper lift the curtain on the minutiae you may have often wondered...but did not know who to ask. Together they expose everything from how players are picked and how many Superbowl tickets players in the NFL receive, to how much players pay to wear their favorite jersey number and the definition of ...

In Brave Enough, Jessie Diggins reveals the true story of her journey from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of the Olympics. Going far beyond stories of races and ribbons, she describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete.

Pro athletes are in a unique situation. They have a shot clock ticking down the time until retirement more quickly than nonathletes do. The Money Playbook offers athletes a way to enjoy their post-career days just as much as their playing days.

In Playing Through the Pain, writer Dan Good seeks to make sense of MLB MVP Ken Caminiti's fascinating, troubled life. The story of Caminiti, the player who opened the lid on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, has never been properly told. Caminiti voluntarily admitted in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that he used steroids during his career, including his 1996 season, and guessed that half of the players were using performance-enhancing drugs. Good's on-the-record sources include Caminiti's steroids supplier, people who attended rehab with him, and more.

When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So were ratings. The Sixers had an aging coach, an antiquated front office, and a group of players that could best be described as mediocre. Enter Sam Hinkie - a man with a plan straight out of the PE playbook, one that violated professional sports' Golden Rule: You play to win the game.

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes who ever lived. He played professional football, major league baseball, and won Olympic gold medals in track and field. But his life wasn't an easy one. Born on the Sac and Fox Reservation in 1887, he encountered much family tragedy, and was sent as a young boy to various Indian boarding schools: strict, cold institutions that didn't allow their students to hold on to their Native American languages and traditions.

An intense and philosophical book, Tiger Tennis: Man of Mastery and the Competitive Mind sets itself apart from other sport psychology books through its unique perspective. The text is focused and studded with useful bits of wisdom that are sure to sharpen your mind in sport and in life. The book is comprised of many short chapters. Each one brings a unique concept to sports psychology, and yet, all explore what it takes to achieve a champion’s mind. No issue is ignored, no matter how controversial. Tiger Tennis will make an impact on your thought process and bring clarity to any ...

The Alphahole billionaire you despise makes an incredible offer to buy out your pro NFL team with one condition: You are part of the deal. Ashleigh My dad warned me about guys like Grayson Donahue. Pro quarterbacks at the height of their career have their pick of hot girls. He would only use me and leave me broken. Dad was right: that's exactly what happened. Now, he waltzes back into my life with an offer I can't refuse. And I have to take it to save my late dad's legacy and save my team. Even though I hate his guts, I've always had a powerful attraction to bad boys like Grayson. So when ...

Relive the best moments from the greatest players of the 2023-24 NFL season. Includes our in-depth and unique Year in Review covering the regular season, postseason, and Super Bowl LVIII. From the Detroit Lions season-opening win over the Chiefs in Week 1 all the way through to Patrick Mahomes leading Kansas City to the first back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 19 years, we recap it all, along with colorful player profiles of 15 of the brightest stars from the past season. This year's profiles include Super Bowl MVP Mahomes, regular season MVP Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, ...

Are you settling for less than your full potential? Ryback, also known as "The Big Guy", may seem like he has it all - success as a professional athlete, health, money, and a physique to envy. But in Wake Up! It's Feeding Time he reveals that he hasn't always been so successful; he had to earn it. The key to his success - and yours too, if you heed his advice - is to "believe in yourself, even when nobody else does", set smart goals, and work toward achieving them.