Showing titles in Sports Writing

Swim is a celebration of swimming and the effect it has on our lives. It's an inquiry into why we swim - the lure, the hold, the timeless magic of being in the water. It's a look at how swimming has changed over the millennia, how this ancient activity is becoming more social than solitary today. It's about our relationship with the water, with our fishy forebearers, and with the costumes that we wear. You'll even find a few songs to sing when you push out those next laps.

Every sports fan recalls with amazing accuracy a pivotal winning moment involving a favorite team or player - Henry Aaron hitting his 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth, Christian Laettner's famous buzzer-beating shot in the NCAA tournament for Duke. Yet lost are the stories on the other side of these history-making moments, the athletes who experienced not transcendent glory but crushing disappointment: the cornerback who missed the tackle on the big touchdown, the relief pitcher who lost the series, the world-record holding Olympian who fell on the ice.

When runners aren't running, they are talking about running, planning their next run, shopping for running. This book contains stories from runners, telling their stories to other runners about. running - how it has changed their lives, their bodies, and their spirits. Runners will love these inspirational stories of fellow runners challenging themselves, recovering from injuries, and staying motivated.

Augusta National is golf’s Holy Grail. Navigating the azaleas to play the exclusive course that hosts The Masters is a pipe dream for every golfer. Imagine being afforded the opportunity not only to play the course, but to be able to bring your father along for the ride. To complete the priceless fantasy, Jack Nicklaus - “The Golden Bear” - hosts the round. Through fate, coincidence and good fortune, Joe Wessel managed to find a way to make that happen. In White Fang and The Golden Bear, Wessel recounts that special round, how it came about, and what happened....

In Surviving the Shark, Jonathan Kathrein describes his incredible shark attack experience. The book covers all aspects of Kathrein’s survival, beginning with the eerie moments just before the attack, when something smashes into Kathrein’s hand as he paddles on his board, waiting for a wave off Stinson Beach in northern California. Realizing it is probably shark, and possibly a great white, Kathrein tries to paddle away, furiously trying to make it toward shore, where he sees some of his friends on the beach.

Rescue offers riveting stories about what happens when things go terribly wrong in some of the world's most perilous places: Himalayan peaks, African plains, vast oceans, remote Arctic wilderness. The result is a collection of first-rate prose read by masterful narrators that makes for compulsive listening.

In State of Play, 12-year Major League veteran, Emmy Award-winning MLB Network analyst, and best-selling author Bill Ripken breaks down these modern statistical methods to explain which ones make sense in the game's historical context, bringing them together with proven old-school strategies. He simplifies those sabermetric terms hastily added to the baseball lexicon without being fully realized, taking new-school confusion out of old-school baseball's tried-and-true common sense.

In Mad Ducks and Bears, George Plimpton's engaging companion to Paper Lion, Plimpton focuses on two of the most entertaining and roguish linemen and former teammates: Alex Karras ("Mad Ducks") and John Gordy ("Bears"), both of whom went on to achieve brilliant post-football success. A more reflective, less madcap audiobook than Plimpton's other work, Mad Ducks and Bears is no less truthful and searching.

A continuing and ongoing drama, LSU football has been marked by a string of improbable victories and sometimes valiant defeas. Game Of My Life LSU Tigers is the chronicle of over 30 of the greatest players as they tell the story of the game that meant it all. Marty Mul has compiled the vivid and poignant single-game stories from three dozen of the most remembered Tiger games of the last eight decades. Readers will relive the fingertip catches, the bone-crunching hits, and epic touchdowns through the eyes - and from the memories - of the LSU players themselves.

No single element has the power to absolutely define the lasting enchantment of Oklahoma football. Decades of great successes and occasional heartbreak have spawned generations of faithful disciples, who treat fall Saturdays like sacred holidays dedicated to their heroes donning the crimson and cream. Tales from the Oklahoma Sooner Sideline provides a glimpse, with a behind-the-scenes perspective, into the traditions surrounding Oklahoma football.

Many regard Muhammad Ali simply as 'The Greatest' heavyweight of all time. Others admire his battles against racial injustice and religious intolerance. A few just call him 'Dad'. They are all here in this book - 50 men and women of note coming together to celebrate the man Sports Illustrated crowned 'Sportsman of the Century': Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer; Billy Crystal, actor; Sir Henry Cooper, former British and European heavyweight champion; Bert Sugar, journalist and boxing historian; and more.

We love them. We cheer for them like we know them personally. We name roads, buildings, and even towns after them. These are the sports heroes and heroines whose athletic accomplishments amaze and inspire us. Many are remarkable not only for their accomplishments in sports, but also for the courageous ways they approached life.

Pat Williams has drawn on his basketball industry connections to compile great stories from on and off the court. Fans will be inspired, surprised, and even amused, by inside stories from well-known coaches and players, fascinating looks behind the scenes, and anecdotes from the people who make it all possible - the fans. Includes first person stories from 21 basketball celebrities, plus Pat Williams.

Catching up with the greatest Aggies players - newly updated! Since the beginning of A & M football, in 1894, the Aggies have produced some of the greatest athletes to ever come out of Texas. Legendary players have plowed their way to greatness while carving their names into the heart of Texas fans under the Aggies banner. But what happened to these juggernauts after the final score was tallied and the game was over? The answer can only be found in this newly updated edition of Texas A & M Where Have You Gone?

Writing with the same mastery that has won him praise for his fiction, Richards takes us - even those unfamiliar with days spent in chilly waters - on an unforgettable journey to the famed Miramichi River. Casting new light on the mysterious and elegant world of fly fishing, it teems with lore and wisdom, humor, and most of all, passion.

For 14 years during the golden age of sports, Paul Gallico was one of America's ace sportswriters. He saw them all - the stars and the hams, the immortals and the phonies in boxing, wrestling, baseball, football, golf, tennis, and every other field of muscular endeavor in which men and women try to break hearts and necks for cash or glory. Then in 1937, at the height of his game (and the height of the payroll), Gallico suddenly and famously called it quits and left the New York Daily News.

The Cold War was fought in every corner of society, including in the sport and entertainment industries. Recognizing the importance of culture in the battle for hearts and minds, the United States, like the Soviet Union, attempted to win the favor of citizens in nonaligned states through the soft power of sport. Athletes became de facto ambassadors of US interests, their wins and losses serving as emblems of broader efforts to shield American culture - both at home and abroad - against communism.

Golfing With Dad is a heartwarming collection of golf's best players' favorite memories with their fathers and how those memories shaped them not only as players but as the men and women they are today. Many professional golfers have been greatly influenced by their fathers, and some of the very best have contributed interviews to this special book, edited by longtime Golf magazine editor David Barrett.

Hangin’ Tough is a collection of essays and short stories that celebrate boxing. Jawed Akrim, a lifelong scholar and fan of the noble sport, answers an individual question with each essay or story, such as: Were people scared to fight Muhammad Ali? Filled with colorful personalities, the audiobook also highlights trainers and other sports figures with a connection to the ring. Prepare to be shocked, amazed, and even horrified as you take a walk on the wilder side of boxing history.

In the 1970s, Joe DeLamielleure led a Buffalo Bills offensive line affectionately called the Electric Company, because they turned the power up. A starter from the first game of his rookie season in 1973, DeLamielleure led the way to the first 2,000-yard season in NFL history.