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Playing Games: An introduction to the philosophy of sport through dialogue
by Randolph FeezellWhat is sport? Why does sport matter? How can we use philosophy to understand what sport means today? This engaging and highly original introduction to the philosophy of sport uses dialogue – a form of philosophical investigation – to address the fundamental questions in sport studies and to explore key contemporary issues such as fair play, gender, drug use, cheating, entertainment and identity. Providing a clear, informative and accessible introduction to the philosophy of sport, every chapter includes current sporting examples as well as review questions and guides to further reading. The dialogue form enables students to engage in debate and raise questions, while encouraging them to think from the perspectives of athlete, coach, spectator and philosopher. The issues raised present real and complex ethical dilemmas that relate to a variety of sports from around the world such as soccer, athletics, baseball, basketball, hockey and tennis. No other book brings this rich subject to life through the use of dialogue, making this an indispensable companion to any course on the philosophy or ethics of sport.
Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball
by E. T. SmithPLAYING HARD BALL is a unique sports book, a cultural comparison of two national games - cricket, English in origin and American baseball - written from the viewpoint of a top-class practitioner of both codes. Ed Smith - the young Cambridge University and Kent batsman - has spent the winters since 1998 in Spring Training with the New York Mets baseball team. It has enabled Ed to contrast and compare arguably the two most iconic of sports from the inside. In fact, baseball had a thriving following in Britain until the Great War: Derby County's former stadium was called the Baseball Ground; Tottenham Hotspur was at first a baseball club. Apart from learning two very different techniques, Ed learned that the sports' ultimate heroes, the Babe and the Don - Babe Ruth and Don Bradman - might as well have come from different planets, whilst baseball's pristine Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a far cry from the ramshackle cricket museum at Lord's. Ed Smith's PLAYING HARD BALL draws on these intriguing comparisons to paint a two-sided portrait of sports most illustrous 'hitting games'.
Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball
by E.T. SmithPLAYING HARD BALL is a unique sports book, a cultural comparison of two national games - cricket, English in origin and American baseball - written from the viewpoint of a top-class practitioner of both codes. Ed Smith - the young Cambridge University and Kent batsman - has spent the winters since 1998 in Spring Training with the New York Mets baseball team. It has enabled Ed to contrast and compare arguably the two most iconic of sports from the inside. In fact, baseball had a thriving following in Britain until the Great War: Derby County's former stadium was called the Baseball Ground; Tottenham Hotspur was at first a baseball club. Apart from learning two very different techniques, Ed learned that the sports' ultimate heroes, the Babe and the Don - Babe Ruth and Don Bradman - might as well have come from different planets, whilst baseball's pristine Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is a far cry from the ramshackle cricket museum at Lord's. Ed Smith's PLAYING HARD BALL draws on these intriguing comparisons to paint a two-sided portrait of sports most illustrous 'hitting games'.
Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope
by Mitch Albom John U. Bacon John SaundersFor the first time ever, the popular late host of ESPN's The Sports Reporters and ABC's college football openly discusses a lifelong battle with depression.During his three decades on ESPN and ABC, John Saunders became one of the nation's most respected and beloved sportscasters. In this moving, jarring, and ultimately inspiring memoir, Saunders discusses his troubled childhood, the traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011, and the severe depression that nearly cost him his life. As Saunders writes, Playing Hurt is not an autobiography of a sports celebrity but a memoir of a man facing his own mental illness, and emerging better off for the effort. I will take you into the heart of my struggle with depression, including insights into some of its causes, its consequences, and its treatments.I invite you behind the facade of my apparently "perfect" life as a sportscaster, with a wonderful wife and two healthy, happy adult daughters. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I am truly grateful. But none of these things can protect me or anyone else from the disease of depression and its potentially lethal effects.Mine is a rare story: that of a black man in the sports industry openly grappling with depression. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly, including the lengths I've gone to to conceal my private life from the public.So why write a book? Because I want to end the pain and heartache that comes from leading a double life. I also want to reach out to the millions of people, especially men, who think they're alone and can't ask for help. John Saunders died suddenly on August 10 ,2016, from an enlarged heart, diabetes, and other complications. This book is his ultimate act of generosity to help those who suffer from mental illness, and those who love them.
Playing Hurt: An Aces Hockey Novel (Aces Hockey #7)
by Kelly JamiesonHe’s playing hurt. She’s laying low. And they’re both flirting with disaster. “Kelly Jamieson is my go-to author for hockey romance.”—Jami Davenport Chase: The last thing I’d ever want to do is let my team down. After overcoming my bad-boy reputation, I was dominating on the ice. But things aren’t going so well this season, and even my parents think I’m partying again. Now I’m really worried about my career. The only bright spot in my life is the Twitter flirtation I’ve struck up with pop princess Jordyn Banks. Turns out she’s a huge hockey fan—and she’s willing to wager a date on her favorite team. . . . Jordyn: Even though I’m an L.A. fan now, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Aces, since I grew up in Chicago. Then I lose a bet to Chase Hartman, and suddenly I’m up close and personal with a pro athlete who’s anything but soft. Not only is Chase the hottest guy I’ve ever met, he’s secretly super sweet. As if I had time for a relationship . . . yeah, right. But when I suddenly have nothing but time on my hands, he’s the only one who understands. Now, with both of our careers at stake, Chase is tempting me to put my heart on the line too. Kelly Jamieson’s USA Today bestselling Aces Hockey series can be read together or separately: MAJOR MISCONDUCT OFF LIMITS ICING TOP SHELF BACK CHECK SLAP SHOT PLAYING HURT“Playing Hurt is charming, adorable, funny, and sexy—I couldn’t put it down!”—USA Today bestselling author Serena Bell“I loved the characters and honestly did not want to let go of them at the end of this book. I found this to be a perfect fit for the series and a great hockey based-romance.”—Kitty’s Book Spot! Don’t miss any of Kelly’s alluring reads: The Bayard Hockey series: SHUT OUT | CROSS CHECK The Last Shot series: BODY SHOT | HOT SHOT | LONG SHOT The standalone novel: DANCING IN THE RAIN This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
Playing in Time: Essays, Profiles, and Other True Stories
by Carlo RotellaFrom jazz fantasy camp to running a movie studio; from a fight between an old guy and a fat guy to a fear of clowns--Carlo Rotella's Playing in Time delivers good stories full of vivid characters, all told with the unique voice and humor that have garnered Rotella many devoted readers in the New York Times Magazine, Boston Globe, and Washington Post Magazine, among others. The two dozen essays in Playing in Time, some of which have never before been published, revolve around the themes and obsessions that have characterized Rotella's writing from the start: boxing, music, writers, and cities. What holds them together is Rotella's unique focus on people, craft, and what floats outside the mainstream. "Playing in time" refers to how people make beauty and meaning while working within the constraints and limits forced on them by life, and in his writing Rotella transforms the craft and beauty he so admires in others into an art of his own. Rotella is best known for his writings on boxing, and his essays here do not disappoint. It's a topic that he turns to for its colorful characters, compelling settings, and formidable life lessons both in and out of the ring. He gives us tales of an older boxer who keeps unretiring and a welterweight who is "about as rich and famous as a 147-pound fighter can get these days," and a hilarious rumination on why Muhammad Ali's phrase "I am the greatest" began appearing (in the mouth of Epeus) in translations of The Iliad around 1987. His essays on blues, crime and science fiction writers, and urban spaces are equally and deftly engaging, combining an artist's eye for detail with a scholar's sense of research, whether taking us to visit detective writer George Pelecanos or to dance with the proprietress of the Baby Doll Polka Club next to Midway Airport in Chicago. Rotella's essays are always smart, frequently funny, and consistently surprising. This collection will be welcomed by his many fans and will bring his inimitable style and approach to an even wider audience.
Playing It Close
by Kat LathamBook two of the London LegendsWhere do you go to escape everything when you're one of the most famous rugby players in the world? For Liam Callaghan, that place is a remote lodge on Venezuela's Caribbean coast. Perfect, except he doesn't exactly want to be alone with his thoughts. Enter Tess Chambers, the ultimate distraction.Still reeling from a professional disaster that's made her all but unemployable, Tess understands the desire to move through life as somebody else. So when instantly recognizable Liam uses a fake name, she runs with it and creates a temporary new identity of her own.Their time spent together in paradise is idyllic but brief-after one passionate night, Liam wakes up to find Tess gone. Returning to London, he's shocked to learn she's taken a job with his team's new sponsor. As the Legends' captain, he'll have to not only figure out how to work with the one woman who ever left him wanting more, but also convince her that their feelings in the present mean more than any lies they've told in the past.90,000 words
Playing It My Way: My Autobiography
by Sachin Tendulkar'I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar.' -Shane WarneThis is cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar's life story in his own words - his journey from a small boy with dreams to becoming a cricket god. His amazing story has now been turned into a major film, A Billion Dreams, in which he stars. The greatest run-scorer in the history of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 after an astonishing 24 years at the top. The most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time, he received the Bharat Ratna Award - India's highest civilian honour - on the day of his retirement. Now Sachin Tendulkar tells his own remarkable story - from his first Test cap at the age of 16 to his 100th international century and the emotional final farewell that brought his country to a standstill. When a boisterous Mumbai youngster's excess energies were channelled into cricket, the result was record-breaking schoolboy batting exploits that launched the career of a cricketing phenomenon. Before long Sachin Tendulkar was the cornerstone of India's batting line-up, his every move watched by a cricket-mad nation's devoted followers. Never has a cricketer been burdened with so many expectations; never has a cricketer performed at such a high level for so long and with such style - scoring more runs and making more centuries than any other player, in both Tests and one-day games. And perhaps only one cricketer could have brought together a shocked nation by defiantly scoring a Test century shortly after terrorist attacks rocked Mumbai. His many achievements with India include winning the World Cup and topping the world Test rankings. Yet he has also known his fair share of frustration and failure - from injuries and early World Cup exits to stinging criticism from the press, especially during his unhappy tenure as captain. Despite his celebrity status, Sachin Tendulkar has always remained a very private man, devoted to his family and his country. Now, for the first time, he provides a fascinating insight into his personal life and gives a frank and revealing account of a sporting life like no other.
Playing It My Way: My Autobiography
by Sachin TendulkarThe greatest run-scorer in the history of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 after an astonishing 24 years at the top. The most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time, he received the Bharat Ratna Award - India's highest civilian honour - on the day of his retirement. Now Sachin Tendulkar tells his own remarkable story - from his first Test cap at the age of 16 to his 100th international century and the emotional final farewell that brought his country to a standstill. When a boisterous Mumbai youngster's excess energies were channelled into cricket, the result was record-breaking schoolboy batting exploits that launched the career of a cricketing phenomenon. Before long Sachin Tendulkar was the cornerstone of India's batting line-up, his every move watched by a cricket-mad nation's devoted followers. Never has a cricketer been burdened with so many expectations; never has a cricketer performed at such a high level for so long and with such style - scoring more runs and making more centuries than any other player, in both Tests and one-day games. And perhaps only one cricketer could have brought together a shocked nation by defiantly scoring a Test century shortly after terrorist attacks rocked Mumbai. His many achievements with India include winning the World Cup and topping the world Test rankings. Yet he has also known his fair share of frustration and failure - from injuries and early World Cup exits to stinging criticism from the press, especially during his unhappy tenure as captain. Despite his celebrity status, Sachin Tendulkar has always remained a very private man, devoted to his family and his country. Now, for the first time, he provides a fascinating insight into his personal life and gives a frank and revealing account of a sporting life like no other.
Playing It My Way: My Autobiography
by Sachin TendulkarThe greatest run-scorer in the history of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 after an astonishing 24 years at the top. The most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time, he received the Bharat Ratna Award - India's highest civilian honour - on the day of his retirement. Now Sachin Tendulkar tells his own remarkable story - from his first Test cap at the age of 16 to his 100th international century and the emotional final farewell that brought his country to a standstill. When a boisterous Mumbai youngster's excess energies were channelled into cricket, the result was record-breaking schoolboy batting exploits that launched the career of a cricketing phenomenon. Before long Sachin Tendulkar was the cornerstone of India's batting line-up, his every move watched by a cricket-mad nation's devoted followers. Never has a cricketer been burdened with so many expectations; never has a cricketer performed at such a high level for so long and with such style - scoring more runs and making more centuries than any other player, in both Tests and one-day games. And perhaps only one cricketer could have brought together a shocked nation by defiantly scoring a Test century shortly after terrorist attacks rocked Mumbai. His many achievements with India include winning the World Cup and topping the world Test rankings. Yet he has also known his fair share of frustration and failure - from injuries and early World Cup exits to stinging criticism from the press, especially during his unhappy tenure as captain. Despite his celebrity status, Sachin Tendulkar has always remained a very private man, devoted to his family and his country. Now, for the first time, he provides a fascinating insight into his personal life and gives a frank and revealing account of a sporting life like no other.(P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton
Playing Like a Girl: Transforming Our Lives Through Team Sports
by Marian BetancourtMore and more women and girls are discovering the joy and relishing the fierce competition of team sports. Their increasing participation in sports is influencing all aspects of women's--and men's--lives. Playing Like a Girl explores the ramifications of this sports revolution, such as the change in male-female relationships, the impact on women in the workplace, the long-term effects of Title IX, and the phenomenon of men coaching women. These ideas are explored through stories of women from grandmothers playing basketball in the Senior Olympics, to working women who get up before dawn to row on the Potomac River. Robert Lipsyte, writing in The New York Times, said, "For a wider look at the obstacles and opportunities facing the emergent female athlete, read, Playing Like a Girl." Jo A. Hannafin, MD, PhD, founder of the Women's Sports Medicine Center Hospital for Special Surgery and team physician, U.S. Rowing Team, called the book, "A wonderful compilation of personal stories and hard facts, which provide compelling evidence for the power of team sports in the development of strong and successful women.
Playing On
by Neil Sachse Michael SextonAt 24, Neil Sachse was an Aussie Rules star on the rise. The burly South Australian had torn through the ranks to become one of the most sought-after players in the country. Then, in only his second game in the top flight, playing for Footscray, a front-on collision left Neil a quadriplegic. It remains the most catastrophic injury to any player in the history of the VFL/AFL competition. However, it’s not the injury, but what Neil went on to achieve that has come to define him.
Playing on the Periphery: Sport, Identity and Memory (Sport in the Global Society)
by Tara BrabazonPart of the Sport in the Global Society series, this innovative and creative text explores collective history, memory, and sport culture, tracking the passage of sports away from England. The author investigates why ‘elite’ English sports – such as rugby and cricket – became national sports in New Zealand and Australia, and asks why ‘working class’ English sports – such as football – have travelled less well to these areas. Focusing on these sports, the author tracks narratives and myths, tracing the passage of colonial truths, behaviours and practices. Clearly defined sections in the book focus on: * sport and tourism* sport and history* sport and memory. Using a refreshingly broad range of sources to analyze differences between popular culture and sporting memory, this book offers new perspectives on sport and makes an interesting reference for masters and postgraduate readers in sport and cultural studies.
Playing Out of Bounds: “Belonging” and the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament (G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects)
by Yuka NakamuraPlaying Out of Bounds investigates the North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament (NACIVT), an annual event that began in the 1930s in the streets of Manhattan and now attracts 1200 competitors from the U.S. and Canada. Its two key features are the 9-man game, where there are nine instead of the usual six volleyball players on the court, and the fact that player eligibility is limited to "100% Chinese" and Asian players, as defined in the tournament rules. These rules that limit competitors to specific ethno-racial groups is justified by the discrimination that Chinese people faced when they were denied access to physical activity spaces, and instead played in the alleyways and streets of Chinatowns. Drawing on interviews, participant-observation, and analysis of websites and tournament documents, Playing Out of Bounds explores how participants understand and negotiate their sense of belonging within this community of volleyball players and how membership within and the boundaries of this community are continually being (re)defined. This identity/community building occurs within a context of anti-Asian racism, growing numbers of mixed race players, and fluidity of what it means to be Canadian, American, Chinese, and Asian.
Playing Outside: Activities, ideas and inspiration for the early years
by Helen BiltonMaking outdoor teaching and learning work in practice is now a key priority for all early years practitioners. Playing Outside provides clear and detailed guidance on all aspects of outdoor play illustrated with over 100 colour photographs. This bestselling book has been fully updated throughout to incorporate the Early Years Foundation Stage and includes completely new photographs, case studies and ideas for resources. To help promote physical activity, healty and well educated children this book provides: practical activities that cover all aspects of learning; photographs illustrating good practice and imaginative use of equipment; examples of work from a range of settings; help and advice on suppliers of equipment. Written for all practitioners working in schools, nurseries and pre-school settings, this book is essential reading for those who wish to provide inspiring outdoor play opportunities for the children in their care.
Playing Partners: A Father, a Son, and Their Shared Addiction to Golf
by George PeperIf there's one thing as mysterious and powerful as the bond between a father and son, it's the bond between the game of golf and those who fall in love with it. In this beautifully told memoir, George Peper, coauthor of the runaway bestseller Cinderella Story, tells a story of fathers, sons, and golf -- and how the three magically came together. A young father and hardworking editor in chief of Golf Magazine, George Peper desired nothing more than to hear his son someday say: "Want to go out and hit a few, Dad?" But when that day finally arrived, and Peper's young son Scott joined him on the links, Peper soon discovered that how he looked at and felt about golf would change forever.
Playing Sports
by Jennifer Schieber Cynthia SwainThis book is about children playing a variety of sports that they enjoy.
Playing the Cards You're Dealt
by Varian JohnsonThe author explores themes of toxic masculinity and family legacy in this heartfelt, hopeful story of one boy discovering what it really means to be a man. Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table. Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley, the new girl in his class, isn't exactly who he has in mind. She talks a whole lot of trash -- way more than his old partner. Plus, he's not sure that his father wants him playing with a girl. But she's smart and tough and pretty, and knows every card trick in the book. So Ant decides to join forces with Shirley -- and keep his plans a secret. Only it turns out secrets are another Joplin Man tradition. And his father is hiding one so big it may tear their family apart...
Playing the Cards You're Dealt
by Varian Johnson“With a deft hand, Johnson shows us there's no such thing as "too young" when it comes to questioning big ideas like manhood, or even family.” –Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of Look Both Ways and StampedLiterary powerhouse and Coretta Scott King Honor- and Boston Globe / Horn Book Honor-winning author of The Parker Inheritance Varian Johnson explores themes of toxic masculinity and family legacy in this heartfelt, hopeful story of one boy discovering what it really means to be a man.SECRETS ARE ALWAYS A GAMBLETen-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. So while Ant's friends are stressing about fifth grade homework and girls, Ant only has one thing on his mind: how he'll measure up to his father's expectations at the card table.Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley, the new girl in his class, isn't exactly who he has in mind. She talks a whole lot of trash -- way more than his old partner. Plus, he's not sure that his father wants him playing with a girl. But she's smart and tough and pretty, and knows every card trick in the book. So Ant decides to join forces with Shirley -- and keep his plans a secret.Only it turns out secrets are another Joplin Man tradition. And his father is hiding one so big it may tear their family apart...
Playing the Enemy
by John CarlinBeginning in a jail cell and ending in a rugby tournament- the true story of how the most inspiring charm offensive in history brought South Africa togetherAfter being released from prison and winning South Africa's first free election, Nelson Mandela presided over a country still deeply divided by fifty years of apartheid. His plan was ambitious if not far-fetched: use the national rugby team, the Springboks-long an embodiment of white-supremacist rule-to embody and engage a new South Africa as they prepared to host the 1995 World Cup. The string of wins that followed not only defied the odds, but capped Mandela's miraculous effort to bring South Africans together again in a hard-won, enduring bond.
Playing the Enemy
by John Carlin24 June 1995. Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks versus The All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final. Nelson Mandela steps onto the pitch wearing a Springboks shirt and, before a global audience of millions, a new country is born. This book tells the incredible story of Mandela's journey to that moment. As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced the All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared wearing a Springboks jersey and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa's new national anthem, he conquered white South Africa. Playing the Enemy tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible. It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences.
Playing the Field
by Ivy BaileyA football inspired YA rom-com, perfect for fans of Ted Lasso and Icebreaker ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND FOOTBALL... Durham University have the best women&’s football team in the League and their star striker Sadie McGrath hopes that winning this year might lead her to being picked up by one of the National Teams. The male team is much less impressive – they&’ve never won the league and are facing relegation unless they can improve by the end of the season. But now the unthinkable has been asked of Sadie; to train the cocky, new male striker who has just moved over from the US. Arlo Hudson is a know-it-all who refuses to follow direction, and argues with her every lesson. Sadie can&’t stand him, even if all the other girls do think he&’s dreamy. What will happen when the two spend so much time together alone… Will it improve their technique? Or will Sadie be out of his league?
Playing the Field: Why Sports Teams Move and Cities Fight to Keep Them
by Charles C. EuchnerCan a sports franchise "blackmail" a city into getting what it wants—a new stadium, say, or favorable leasing terms—by threatening to relocate? In 1982, the owners of the Chicago White Sox pledged to keep the team in Chicago if the city approved a $5-million tax-exempt bond to finance construction of luxury suites at Comiskey Park. The city council approved it. A few years later, when Comiskey Park was in need of renovation, the owners threatened to move the team to Florida unless a new stadium was built. A site was chosen near the old stadium, property condemned, residents evicted, and a new stadium built. "We had to make threats," the owners said. "If we didn't have the threat of moving, we wouldn't have gotten the deal." "Sports is not a dominant industry in any city," writes Charles Euchner, "yet it receives the kind of attention one might expect to be lavished on major producers and employers." In Playing the Field, Euchner looks at why sports attracts this kind of attention and what that says about the urban political process. Examining the relationships between Los Angeles and the Raiders, Baltimore and the Colts and the Orioles, and Chicago and the White Sox, Euchner argues that, in the absence of public standards for equitable arbitration between cities and teams, the sports industry has the ability to steer negotiations in a way that leaves cities vulnerable.According to Euchner, this greater leverage of sports franchises is due, at least in part, to their overall economic insignificance. Since the demands of a franchise do not directly affect many interest groups, opponents of stadium projects have difficulty developing coalitions to oppose them. The result is that civic leaders tend to succumb to the blackmail tactics of professional sports, rather than developing and supporting sound economic policies.
Playing the Field: Why Defense Is the Most Fascinating Art in Major League Baseball
by Jim KaplanCasual fans may concentrate on the duel between batter and pitcher, but for those who know the game of baseball, nothing is more fascinating, or more important, than the art of defense. In Playing the Field Jim Kaplan takes us onto the playing field and into major league dugouts and locker rooms for a definitive look at the great defensive players of the game, past and present. Position by position, and form an overall point of view as well, Kaplan examines the great glove men—their moments of glory, how they do it, how they work together, what makes a Golden Glove winner, the tricks and maneuvers and skills that can cancel out expert hitting and the best laid plans of rival managers. More than seventy photographs help make Playing the Field a book for real baseball fans. It's a book, too, aspiring young ballplayers can turn to in order to pick up tips that will help them play the game better.
Playing the Field
by Janette RallisonThirteen-year old McKay is a talented baseball player, but as equally untalented when it comes to algebra. If he doesn't bring his grade up, his parents threaten to make him quit the team. His best friend Tony thinks the natural solution is for McKay to befriend Serena, a pretty girl in class, who also happens to get straight A's in algebra. Not only will that get McKay the tutor he desperately needs, but it will give Tony the chance to flirt with Serena's two best friends. Unfortunately, if McKay follows Tony's advice on how to "play the game," he might find himself in an even worse spot than when he was merely failing algebra. With a keen sense of wit, and more self-confidence than he gives himself credit for, McKay will keep readers alternately laughing and groaning as he is dragged kicking and screaming into the subtle (and often not so subtle) world of teen dating.