Authors: Michael Rosenberg.
Hardcover, 384 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 2008-09-10


Reviews :

    For many, the late 1960s/early 1970s meant a country in turmoil. Sit-ins. Vietnam War protests. Don't trust anyone over 30. Nixon was 'not a crook' - or so he claimed. At the other end of the spectrum was the intense rivalry between Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State football coach, and his nemesis, Bo Schembechler from Michigan. To them, the American heartland was still 'pure and sacred', and they were totally in command of their troops. Hayes idolized General Patton, the great war hero. Schembechler idolized President Ford, a former All-American football player. Rosenberg sets the stage brilliantly for this coming clash of cultural differences, as Hayes and Schembechler try desperately to win a national football championship while coping with a shifting political landscape. It all leads to a climatic, and in part tragic, downfall of an important era gone by....

Authors: Tony Dungy. Nathan Whitaker.
Paperback, 352 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: 2008-05-07


Reviews :

    2008 Retailer's Choice Award winner!
Tony Dungy's words and example have intrigued millions of people, particularly following his victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first for an African American coach. How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, and the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, now updated with a new chapter, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family--and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed.

The softcover edition of this #1 New York Times best-seller includes a new chapter! In it, Coach reflects on the 2007 football season and last year's successful hardcover release of Quiet Strength. Also features a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color-photo insert. Over 1 million in print!...

Authors: Warrick Dunn. Don Yaeger.
Hardcover, 288 pages
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Publication Date: 2008-11-01


Reviews :

   

NFL running back Warrick Dunn is truly one of the good guys in the world of sports. And in this revealing autobiography, written with New York Times bestselling author Don Yaeger, Dunn tells his incredibly moving, inspirational story of courage and determination in the face of devastating loss, a story that makes his achievements on the football field that much more amazing.

Warrick Dunn and his five brothers and sisters all idolized their mother, Baton Rouge police officer Betty Smothers. As the oldest, Dunn was the closest to her, and the man of the house. On January 7, 1993, while the single mother worked a second job as a supermarket security guard, Betty Smothers was ambushed, shot, and killed while making a bank deposit. Dunn—then a high school senior just weeks away from choosing among his college football scholarship offers—was devastated.

Dunn was only eighteen when circumstances changed and he had to look after his five siblings, but somehow he managed to enroll at Florida State and, in only his freshman year, help their team quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and roommate Charlie Ward, win the National Championship for the 1993–94 season. And this was just the beginning of Dunn's successful career as a student athlete, which resulted in his selection to the FSU Hall of Fame.

Despite his modest size, Dunn's athleticism, incomparable drive, and personality convinced Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy to select Dunn in the first round of the 1997 draft with the twelth overall pick. During his career with the Bucs and, subsequently, the Atlanta Falcons, Dunn amassed five 1,000-yard rushing seasons, was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl three times, and became one of only twenty-three running backs to exceed the 10,000-yard career rushing mark. In 2008, he returned to the Bucs seeking to continue his success. But perhaps his greatest achievement during his time as an NFL player came off the field when he started a foundation called Homes for the Holidays, a charity that helps single parents become homeowners. To date, he has placed 74 single parents and their 192 dependents in fully furnished and outfitted homes in Tampa, Tallahassee, Baton Rouge, and Atlanta.

But there was one person Dunn neglected in his drive to help others—himself. He spent all of his emotional energy on his siblings and their pain, and never focused on his own. His only solace was the football field, where he truly was running for his life. It wasn't until a Falcons teammate suggested psychological counseling that Dunn began to battle the demons still haunting him from his mother's death.

Uplifting and thought-provoking, Running for My Life is the story of an athlete's drive to help his family and ensure that his mother's legacy and values continue—the story of what it really takes to be a man.

...

Authors: Carl Hiaasen.
Hardcover, 224 pages
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: 2008-05-06
Edition: 1

Reviews :

   

Ever wonder how to retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? Or which club in your bag is best suited for combat against a horde of rats? If these and other sporting questions are gnawing at you, The Downhill Lie, Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious confessional about returning to the fairways after a thirty-two-year absence, is definitely the book for you.

Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl wisely quit golfing in 1973, when “Richard Nixon was hunkered down like a meth-crazed badger in the White House, Hank Aaron was one dinger shy of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and The Who had just released Quadrophenia.” But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years—and memories of shanked 7-irons—faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son—and also as a grandfather.

“What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.”

And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately—and foolishly—agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.”

Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem—culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament—will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who has written an extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.

...

Authors: Bob Smiley.
Hardcover, 304 pages
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: 2008-11-01


Reviews :

    With his career at a standstill and his golf game a shadow of its former mediocrity, TV writer and ESPN.com contributor Bob Smiley decided the time had come to turn to the one person who might be able to help: Tiger Woods. So, in January of 2008, Smiley set out to follow the game's greatest player from the gallery for every hole of an entire season and to absorb all that he could.

Smiley traveled from the seaside cliffs of San Diego to the deserts of Dubai, through the hallowed gates of Augusta National, and on to arguably the greatest U.S. Open of all time back at Torrey Pines, where, in a legendary duel with charismatic journeyman Rocco Mediate, Woods won his fourteenth major -- on one leg.

Smiley chronicles every dramatic and often hysterical moment of his journey with Tiger, including his off-course run-ins with Arabian sandstorms, ex-con ticket scalpers, and the motley assortment of strangers who became friends along the way.

Told from the perspective of a true golf fan, Follow the Roar is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through the most spectacular and inspiring season in Tiger Woods's celebrated career. In addition to the thrill of witnessing all 604 holes Woods played in '08, Smiley found in Tiger both inspiration and the gutsy embodiment of what it really means to be an athlete -- and a man....

    Book Description

With his career at a standstill and his golf game a shadow of its former mediocrity, TV writer and ESPN.com contributor Bob Smiley decided the time had come to turn to the one person who might be able to help: Tiger Woods. So, in January of 2008, Smiley set out to follow the game's greatest player from the gallery for every hole of an entire season and to absorb all that he could.

Smiley traveled from the seaside cliffs of San Diego to the deserts of Dubai, through the hallowed gates of Augusta National, and on to arguably the greatest U.S. Open of all time back at Torrey Pines, where, in a legendary duel with charismatic journeyman Rocco Mediate, Woods won his fourteenth major—on one leg.

Smiley chronicles every dramatic and often hysterical moment of his journey with Tiger, including his off-course run-ins with Arabian sandstorms, ex-con ticket scalpers, and the motley assortment of strangers who became friends along the way.

Told from the perspective of a true golf fan, Follow the Roar is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through the most spectacular and inspiring season in Tiger Woods's celebrated career. In addition to the thrill of witnessing all 604 holes Woods played in '08, Smiley found in Tiger both inspiration and the gutsy embodiment of what it really means to be an athlete--and a man.

Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Bob Smiley

At the risk of receiving hate mail from every PGA Tour sponsor, I need to be honest with you: attending a professional golf tournament is pretty risky. After all, it is the only sport where you can buy a ticket, walk through the gates and, in all likelihood, miss every noteworthy moment. While you're proudly perched above the 18th green, the most electrifying shots of the week are just as likely to be taking place on any one of 17 other holes. But as I learned in 2008, there is one way to hedge your bets: follow Tiger Woods.

Of course even this isn't so easy. You'll find yourself walking for miles and miles under oppressive heat, pressing up against strangers whom you might not want to press up against, and losing your voice for weeks at a time. Now that I think about it, you're really better off just buying my book instead of attempting any of this madness yourself.

Follow the Roar is the definitive account of Tiger's dominating 2008 season. From the are-you-kidding-me highlights everyone saw on TV to the off-camera moments that no other writer witnessed, the book brings the year to life and unravels the mystery of who Tiger Woods really is and how he makes the most frustrating sport in the world look terrifyingly simple.

It's the perfect way to make golf's long off-season just a little bit shorter. If you have any questions, you know where to find me. I'll be on my couch, soaking my feet.

--Bob Smiley

...

Authors: Tiger Woods.
Hardcover, 320 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 2001-10-09


Reviews :

    'How I Play Golf' offers a lavishly illustrated instructional book with four-colour photography, original artwork, unique sequential shots of Tiger in action, and easy-to-follow diagrams for golfers of all abilities. Only in his mid-20s, Tiger Woods is already a golfing legend worldwide. Fans everywhere have marvelled at his explosive drives, his accurate approach shots, his steady putter, and most important, how his devastating mental game transcends all the ups and downs of the game of golf. The insights Tiger reveals in HOW I PLAY GOLF are a combination of the physical and psychological practices that Tiger uses daily to keep his game at the top. For fans and followers of Tiger, these secrets will become the gospel of how to improve one's own game....

    No athlete has changed his sport the way Tiger Woods has transformed the world of golf. The Tiger phenomenon has created a new legion of golfers, seduced by Woods's almost effortless mastery of this most difficult game. In How I Play Golf Woods reveals the many facets of his game and offers a plethora of tips and advice aimed at all levels of play. Unlike most golf guides, and perhaps somewhat surprising from a player best known for his long game, How I Play Golf begins with the short game--putting, chipping, and pitching--before moving onto swing mechanics and hitting off the tee. Produced in conjunction with the editors of Golf Digest, the book is lavishly photographed and illustrated and offers a gold mine of useful ideas and mental images Tiger has collected over the years. Throughout, Tiger recounts memorable shots from his relatively brief career; for example, his only "perfect" shot (a 3-wood on No. 14 at St. Andrews) and his first putt at the 1995 Masters (a 20-footer for birdie on No. 1 that missed and rolled off the green). How I Play Golf is not only a first-rate instructional guide, it also communicates a passion and respect for the game that beginners, hackers, and low handicappers should find inspiring. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards...

Authors: David Hanson. Ross Bernstein. Foreword by Bob Costas. Foreword by Gordie Howe.
Hardcover, 256 pages
Publisher: Triumph Books
Publication Date: 2008-10-15


Reviews :

    Thirty years after its cinematic debut, "Slap Shot" remains one of the most popular sports movies of all time - in 2007 "GQ Magazine" named it 'the best sports movie of the past 50 years.'Starring the legendary Paul Newman, the movie was based on the hilarious and outrageous antics of the fictitious Charlestown Chiefs, as tough-as-nails minor league hockey team in the early 1970s. In financial trouble and due to fold at the end of the season, they bring in The Hanson Brothers - three of the toughest hockey players around - in a desperate bid to sell tickets. What ensues is pure comic genius.Now for the first time, Dave Hanson - who played ringleader Jack Hanson in the film - not only opens the vault and dishes the dirt on the making of the movie, from bench-clearing brawls, to practical jokes on set, to the legendary partying that went on after the director yelled 'Cut!,' but also how the movie changed his, and many of the cast and crews lives forever....

Authors: Tom Coughlin. Brian Curtis.
Hardcover, 224 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: 2008-09-02


Reviews :

    After a tough 2006 season, the New York Giants appeared to be heading for more disappointment–and potential shake-ups–in the coming season. Instead, they fought their way to an unforgettable Super Bowl finish against the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

In A Team to Believe In, head coach Tom Coughlin gives the ultimate insider’s account of the Giants’ 2007 campaign and reflects on the resilience and selflessness that allowed the team to succeed. Behind the saga of persistence and on-the-field triumphs, however, is the story of how Coughlin, a proud and intensely private man, often mischaracterized by the press as a strict disciplinarian, has continually made subtle adjustments to his approach to the game and to the new players. Whether giving the right speech for the right occasion, drawing media criticism away from his players, or fostering team unity with offbeat events and smartly timed relaxed curfews, Coughlin approached the season willing to make the necessary changes to his management style–and the team followed.

In gripping detail, Coughlin takes us on the Giants improbable 2007 journey: the tough staffing and free-agency decisions; the early-season setbacks that again placed the team in the media’s crosshairs; late-season near misses, comeback victories, and goal-line stands; the play-off march through Tampa Bay and Dallas and the overtime victory against Green Bay in the subzero cold of Lambeau Field; and the amazing two weeks that ended with Super Bowl XLII. Along the way, Coughlin explains what life experiences prepared him for the season’s challenges and what lessons helped his team achieve a string of improbable victories.

The 2007 New York Giants are an inspiring example of team and trust, hope and perseverance, and A Team to Believe In is the thrilling story of their astounding underdog season....

Authors: Bo Ryan. Mike Lucas.
Hardcover, 230 pages
Publisher: KCI Sports Publishing
Publication Date: 2008-09-15
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    Bo knows hoops. As a member of the exclusive 500-win club, University of Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan has the second highest winning percentage among active coaches (with at least 500 victories) in college basketball, second only to North Carolina's Roy Williams. Ryan's formula for success can be traced back to UW-Platteville, where he won four national championships during a memorable 15-year run punctuated by two undefeated seasons. But there was still another hill to climb for Ryan, the all-time winningest coach in Division III history. After a short layover at UW-Milwaukee, where he coached the Panthers to their first back-to-back winning seasons in eight years, Ryan welcomed the challenge of proving himself all over again at the Big Ten level. And it didn't take long for Ryan to make his mark with the University of Wisconsin basketball program. In his first season, he guided the Badgers to their first share of the conference title in 55 years. Since then, Ryan has raised the bar to unprecedented heights, leading the Badgers to the four winningest seasons in school history. Ryan's first six teams averaged 23.7 wins per season, capped by the program's first ever No. 1 national ranking and a school record 30 victories in 2006-07. The victory record was broken the next year as the 2007-08 team finished 31-5. Ryan's competitive fire, attention to detail and commitment to executing the fundamentals has been at the core of his success, along with his signature Swing offense. And it all serves as a valuable road map for young coaches. In his autobiography Another Hill To Climb Ryan talks about the many people who have influenced his journey, beginning with his formative years in Chester, PA., where the 'street-smart'' Ryan nurtured his point guard mentality. Known as a fascinating storyteller, Ryan also talks about the hurdles and the highlights that accompanied each step, and the importance of developing a plan that will transcend any level of competition....

Authors: David Harris.
Hardcover, 400 pages
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 2008-09-02
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    The 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 Genius...