Showing titles in Sports Writing

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. Easy to learn, but impossible to master, it’s no wonder that nearly 5 million people nationwide have picked up their paddles and taken to the court. But people aren’t just dabbling in this up-and-coming activity, they are obsessed; some hit the court as many as five, six, even seven times a week. As Vanity Fair put it, pickleball has “won over everyone, from Leonardo DiCaprio to your grandparents.”

The best stories about one of baseball's most colorful teams - updated to include their recent glory years. Since 1883, the Philadelphia Phillies have been up, down, and all around. Most recently, thanks to Charlie Manuel, the Phillies have become a National League powerhouse, with four NL East titles, two pennants and the 2008 World Series championship to show for it. In Tales from the Philadelphia Phillies Dugout Rich Westcott takes listeners behind the scenes into the glorious, quirky, and victorious stories that make this team the legend it is.

Raven Kraft has changed the lives of thousands who have run with him - many of them hundreds of times. From all 50 states and dozens of countries, across all age groups and backgrounds, they come to run with Raven, and in the process find friendship, inspiration - and a nickname. Among them is author Laura Lee "White Lightning" Huttenbach, who has logged over 1,000 miles of Raven Runs. Here she explores the stories of dozens of others about why they started running with Raven - and why they keep coming back.

El nuevo libro de Martí Perarnau descifra el código genético del fútbol. Describe la evolución táctica del juego desde su reglamentación en 1863: la Pirámide de Cambridge, el mediocentro de ataque, el líbero uruguayo, la WM británica, el Método italiano, el 4-2-4 húngaro, el cerrojo suizo o el 3-2-5 argentino. El libro recorre los distintos desarrollos tácticos de la mano del falso 9, la figura más compleja y sutil que existe en el fútbol.

Most people associate storms and other big weather with death - with the kind of force that makes each of us wonder about life, time, and the nature of our surroundings. Some people go out looking for bad weather or go to places where they're likely to encounter it. Others have the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, the stories in Storm have more to say than that.

In Against Football Steve Almond details why, after 40 years as a fan, he can no longer watch the game he still loves. Using a synthesis of memoir, reportage, and cultural critique, Almond asks a series of provocative questions: Does our addiction to football foster a tolerance for violence, greed, racism, and homophobia? What does it mean that our society has transmuted the intuitive physical joys of childhood--run, leap, throw, tackle--into a billion-dollar industry?

Originally published in 1964, Fisherman's Fall brings a unique perspective to the world of fall fishing. In the preface, Robert L. Haig-Brown ruminates on the attempts to preserve the salmon and trout in the rivers of British Columbia. What we know could save them, yet what we do contradicts that knowledge. Gaining the knowledge in this book will help fishers learn the nature of the fish and might even inspire some to contribute to their preservation.

The Secrets of Sports Psychology Revealed by Rick Wolff, one of the pioneers in the field of sports psychology, is based upon his many years of clinical, hands-on work with top professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports. He provides real insight into what does - and doesn’t - work.

Roger Kahn's first major league hit was a grand slam: The Boys of Summer, his runaway best seller that immortalized the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers. Now Kahn does the same for players whose moment in the sun has not yet arrived. Good Enough to Dream is the story of his year as owner of the Class A, very minor league, Utica Blue Sox. Most of the Blue Sox will never make it to the majors, but they all share the dream that links the small child in the sandlot with the bonus baby who has just smacked one out of the stadium.

Meet John Richardson, a typical weekend golfer who enjoys the game but can’t break 100. But Richardson differs from the average 24-handicapper in one crucial way. He’s determined to break par within a year at the local golf course while working in a demanding full-time job and trying his best to remain a good husband and father. Famed Scottish golfer/commentator Sam Torrance advises John to “dream on” and PGA Tour pro Darren Clarke tells him that three years would be a more realistic time frame.

Trotter has been dangling from astonishingly high places for over 25 years, more than half his life. He’s been at the forefront of the sport for most of that time, specializing in first ascents on rock faces most people cannot imagine scaling. In Uplifted, Sonnie recounts the most memorable moments of his career but also the rich relationships, including with epic climbers such as Tommy Caldwell ("Dawn Wall") and Alex Honnold ("Free Solo"), that are the spine of the sport, as well as the psyche that draws one to and evolves as one grows into and through this unique and challenging endeavor.

Since the creation of the Minnesota Vikings in 1960, this football team has been more than just another franchise. To the fans who love them, and the haters who can’t help but admire them, the Minnesota Vikings are an unstoppable force in the NFL. In this heartwarming and inspirational book, Jim Bruton takes a look beyond the game and examines what the Minnesota Vikings have meant to fans and communities across the country.

Het jy al ooit gewonder hoe 50 000 ekstatiese ondersteuners op die paviljoen klink of wat dit beteken om ’n Springbokbaadjie in jou kas te hê? In die aanloop tot die Rugbywêreldbeker het die joernalis Hendrik Hancke die land deurkruis om met oud-Springbokke, provinsiale spelers, breiers en ’n rugbyskrywer te gesels oor hul liefde vir rugby. Hulle deel persoonlike oorwinnings en teleurstellings, die lesse wat rugby hulle al geleer het, spesiale kleedkamer-oomblikke en stories oor wat van die veld af gebeur.

Michael Tougias and Adam Gamble had good lives: married with two children each, nice homes in the suburbs, jobs that paid the bills, and frequent fishing trips out on the ocean. But those comfortable lives had cracks in them and soon they found themselves hit by a rogue wave of divorce, financial hardship, addiction, and career upheaval. What kept them going—and helped them navigate the rough waters of middle age—was fishing and friendship.

From junior high football games to the Sugar Bowl with a national championship up for grabs, Mike Liner has seen it all in football. President and CEO of a bank by day, Liner has been a Texas football official on Fridays and Saturdays for the past 35 years. It’s Not All Black and White offers a view of college football seen through a different set of eyes, the eyes of an official. Liner takes listeners through the story of his ascension up the officiating hierarchy and describes the bumps in the road he encountered along the way.

On June 10, 2006, four college friends stepped into a 29-foot rowboat as the only American competitors in the first North Atlantic Rowing Race. From the initial idea and chaotic race planning to heaving through cold ocean swells, author and lead rower Jordan Hansen takes us along as the crew heads out from New York Harbor, racing against three other teams; catches the elusive Gulf Stream current; and makes the final dramatic push for the finish line off the coast of England.

In Circling the Bases, leading sports economist Andrew Zimbalist continues his discussion and analysis of the major issues and challenges confronting the sports industry in the second decade of the 21st century. Presenting a general overview of the sports business at the college and professional levels, this volume places concerns such as the antitrust status of sports leagues, the stalled progress of gender equity in college sports, and the control of performance enhancing drugs in historical context.

In his late 30s, celebrated essayist, journalist, and author Bill McKibben - never much of an athlete - decided the time had come for him to really test his body. Cross-country skiing his challenge of choice, he lived the fantasy of many amateur athletes and trained - with the help of a coach/guru - nearly full-time, putting in hours and miles typical of an Olympic hopeful. For one vigorous year, which would culminate in a series of grueling, long-distance races, McKibben experienced his body's rhythms and possibilities as never before.

Subcampeón es una autobiografía desternillante y cruda, entre la comedia y la angustia. Se lee como un tobogán: rápido, divertido y con un poco de miedo. Con diecinueve años, Zuhaitz Gurrutxaga cumplió el sueño de su vida: debutar con la Real Sociedad en Primera División. La perla de la cantera guipuzcoana cautivó a los aficionados y a la prensa, pero empezó a sentir cada vez más presión: "Tenía mucho miedo a fallar en el campo. Llegué a odiar el fútbol por todo lo que me hacía sufrir". Una noche de verano se le voló la cabeza y creyó que se había vuelto loco para siempre.

With self-deprecation and surprising wit, Marla reveals what it's like to see the world through her eyes, how it feels to grow up "disabled" in a society where expectations are often based on perceived abilities, and what it means to compete at the world-class level despite the fact that - quite literally, for her - there is no finish line.