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The Bald Truth
by David FalkThe man who called the shots for some of the greatest heroes in the history of basketball reveals the innovative business secrets that catapulted him to the top of his game.Basketball Digest called superagent David Falk one of basketball's most influential people, second only to NBA commissioner David Stern. Falk has represented more NBA first-round draft selections, lottery picks, Rookies-of-the-Year, and All-Stars than anyone else in the business. Now, he shares the fascinating insider details of how he negotiated lucrative contracts for superstars like Michael Jordan and Alonzo Mourning (changing the NBA's entire salary structure in the process), learned from his mistakes, and branded and marketed some of the greatest basketball players in history as the fledgling team sport grew into a multibilliondollar business.hout the industry as an innovator, candidly unveils the business secrets that have fueled his extraordinary success. For the first time, he shares the fascinating insider details of how he negotiated lucrative contracts, learned from his mistakes, and branded and marketed not only the greatest basketball stars in history but also other elite athletes and coaches. Falk is blunt, he's fair, and he looks at the long run rather than the short-term gains. To make a great deal, he believes, both sides have to win. He adheres to steadfast principles, some of which he learned from the celebrated champion athletes and revered coaching legends -- like Georgetown's John Thompson and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski -- who have been long-standing clients and lifelong friends. Since Falk began representing athletes more than thirty-five years ago, basketball has grown from a fledgling team sport to a multibilliondollar business with celebrity players, powerful endorsement deals, salary caps, and ever-evolving free agency rules. He has made millions of dollars for himself and his clients, but today he remains in the business for one reason: love of the game -- on and off the court.
The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game
by John FoxAnthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to thefarthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancientpast to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?"From Mexican jungles to the small-town gridirons of Ohio, frommedieval villages and royal courts to modern soccer pitches andbaseball parks, The Ball explores the little-known origins ofour favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simpleinvention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on ourpassions, our money, and our lives. Equal parts history and travelogue,The Ball removes us from the scandals and commercialism of today'ssports world to uncover the true reasons we play ball, helping us reclaimour universal connection to the games we love.
Ball and Mallet
by Christy LenziTaribu and Riheti are an unlikely pair— Taribu is a slave while Riheti is a noble. Determined to prove themselves, they attend the New Year Festival to play a game of Ball and Mallet. Will Taribu be able to face his fears and help Riheti win the game?
Ball Buster (The Playbook #1)
by Kara SheridanIn Kara Sheridan's sexy new series, these hard-hitting pro footballers don't play by the book. Playbook Rule #1: Never ever give upIt's official. The Alabama Warriors have the worst reputation in pro football. As the team's captain, Carson Savage has his ass on the line and - thanks to a leaked photo - his ass is also online. Now the team is getting an image makeover from Sadie Reynolds, the hottest redhead in the South and Carson's high school sweetheart. Maybe making a play for his sexy ex is a risky move... but Carson didn't make it this far by playing it safe.Alabama is the last place in the world Sadie wants to be. Going home again only reminds her of what - and who - she gave up. Seeing the insanely hot ex she never quite forgot is dangerous. Carson's too sexy. Too tempting. And Sadie can't afford to go out of bounds. So she'll do whatever it takes to finish this job and leave town with her heart still intact. The only problem? Carson's decided it's not about winning the game... it's about winning the girl.The Playbook series: Ball BusterTight EndBig Jock
Ball Don't Lie
by Matt de la PeñaNewbery Award-winning author Matt de la Pena's Ball Don't Lie about basketball "is a must-read." [The Bulletin] <P> <P> Sticky is a beat-around-the-head foster kid with nowhere to call home but the street, and an outer shell so tough that no one will take him in. He started out life so far behind the pack that the finish line seems nearly unreachable. He's a white boy living and playing in a world where he doesn't seem to belong. But Sticky can ball. And basketball might just be his ticket out . . . if he can only realize that he doesn't have to be the person everyone else expects him to be. Matt de la Peña's breakout urban masterpiece, Ball Don't Lie takes place where the street and the court meet and where a boy can be anything if he puts his mind to it.
Ball Four: The Final Pitch
by Jim BoutonWhen Ball Four was first published in 1970, it hit the sports world like a lightning bolt. Commissioners, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and ""social leper."" Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And serious critics called it an important social document. Today, Jim Bouton is still not invited to Oldtimer's Days at Yankee Stadium. But his landmark book is still being read by people who don't ordinarily follow baseball. For the updated edition of this historic book, Bouton has written a new epilogue, detailing his perspective on how baseball has changed since the last edition was released.
Ball Four
by Jim BoutonInsider's takes on baseball In 1963, Jim Bouton won 21 games for the Yankees. In 1964 he won 18 games for them, and two more in the World Series. Then Bouton lost his fast ball, and came to the gut-twisting decision to try to make it with the knuckleball -the most erratic and difficult pitch there is. Bouton got sent to the minors, fought his way back to the majors. Almost wrecked himself working on his knuckleball. Incited people. Made enemies. Made friends. Never gave up. And wrote a book. The biggest bestseller about the game of baseball, and the men who play it, ever published. "Here is Bouton as a day-to-day observer, hard thinker, marvellous listener, comical critic, angry victim and unabashed lover of a sport. What he has given us is a rare view of a complex public profession seen from the innermost side, along with an even more rewarding view of an ironic and courageous mind. And, very likely, the funniest book of the year."
Ball Four: The Final Pitch (RosettaBooks Sports Classics #1)
by Jim BoutonThe 50th Anniversary edition of &“the book that changed baseball&” (NPR), chosen by Time magazine as one of the &“100 Greatest Non-Fiction&” books. When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold, and a &“social leper&” for having violated the &“sanctity of the clubhouse.&” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn&’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn&’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four. Fans liked discovering that athletes were real people—often wildly funny people. David Halberstam, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on Vietnam, wrote a piece in Harper&’s that said of Bouton: &“He has written . . . a book deep in the American vein, so deep in fact that it is by no means a sports book.&” Today Ball Four has taken on another role—as a time capsule of life in the sixties. &“It is not just a diary of Bouton&’s 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros,&” says sportswriter Jim Caple. &“It&’s a vibrant, funny, telling history of an era that seems even further away than four decades. To call it simply a &‘tell all book&’ is like describing The Grapes of Wrath as a book about harvesting peaches in California.&” Includes a new foreword by Jim Bouton's wife, Paula Kurman &“An irreverent, best-selling book that angered baseball&’s hierarchy and changed the way journalists and fans viewed the sports world.&” —The Washington Post
Ball Games (Fountas & Pinnell Classroom, Guided Reading)
by Amy TichbourneNIMAC-sourced textbook. Bounce! What can you do with a ball?
The Ball in the Air: A Golfing Adventure
by Michael BambergerAfter a lifetime of writing about the professional sport, Michael Bamberger, &“the poet laureate of golf&” (GOLF magazine), delivers an exhilarating love letter to the amateur game as it&’s played—and lived—by the rest of us.Over Michael Bamberger&’s celebrated writing career, he has written a handful of books and hundreds of Sports Illustrated stories about professional golf and those who play it—that is, the .001 percent. Now, Bamberger trains his eye on the rest of us. In his most personal book yet, Bamberger takes the lid off a game that is both quasi-religious and a nonstop party, posing an age-old question that is answered over its pages: Why does the game cast such a spell on us? Here is the story of modern golf that is not on TV. This is our story, we who pay to play, who can&’t wait to get another crack at the game, even when golf doesn&’t love us back. And just as every round is an adventure, every life in golf is, too. The golfers Michael Bamberger introduces will leave you inspired and moved. You&’ll meet Sam Reeves, a golf-loving US Army soldier who becomes captivated by a fellow soldier, Cliff Harrington, a gifted Black golfer who&’s cruelly robbed of the chance to show the world all he can do. You&’ll meet Ryan French, who plays on a college golf team out of Animal House. You&’ll get to know Pratima Sherpa, who grew up in a maintenance shed at the Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu and took up the game with a stick whittled by her father. The Ball in the Air is reported with Bamberger&’s you-are-there intimacy and captures the sweep of time. Pratima finds her way from Nepal to a university golf team in Southern California. Ryan and his father caddie in minor-league events while sleeping in tents, a preamble to Ryan&’s becoming the godfather of the popular Monday Qualifier Twitter feed. Sam Reeves, born in rural Georgia during the Depression, becomes a cotton king, the oldest amateur to make the cut at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and the ultimate man for all seasons. And there are Bamberger sightings, too, as he finds his own path in the game. You&’ll make joyful side trips with the author, who&’s spent more than forty years exploring golfers and golf, a way of life that captivates him down to his bones. You&’ll visit the golf course at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and compete with Bamberger and other purists at the National Hickory Championship in rural Pennsylvania. At St. Andrews, you&’ll get up close and personal with Lee Trevino, one of the few professionals in these pages, because Trevino, when you really get to the core of the man, is one of us. He can&’t get enough of it. The Ball in the Air is Bamberger&’s valentine to golf. The modern world, obsessed with fame and fortune, has infiltrated professional golf—but it hasn&’t infiltrated golf. Bamberger is here to highlight the distinction and to celebrate the game and all who play it.
The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Soccer
by David GoldblattAt nearly 1000 pages, this global history of the sport of soccer is determined to be as comprehensive as possible. Goldblatt, an English writer who has previously published "World Football Yearbook", traces the history of soccer from its ritualistic past into its current incarnation as an international phenomenon. Combining statistics and development of this sport with dozens of witty anecdotes, this book should interest anyone who has ever kicked a black-and-white ball into a net.
The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer
by David GoldblattThe definitive book about soccer. With a new foreword for the American edition. <P><P>There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. <P><P>In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. <P>Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
The Ball is Round
by David GoldblattThe definitive book about soccer. With a new foreword for the American edition. There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final. In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
by Julian RubinsteinWhat do you get when you add together a bottle of whiskey, a bad gambler, a flea-market wig, a plastic gun and a Hungarian bank? $5,900. And what do you get twenty-nine of these robberies later? The legend of the Whiskey Robber. When the Eastern bloc thawed, some extraordinary stories were revealed. But none is as entertaining as this. Attila Ambrus escaped late-eighties Romania for Hungary - but soon found that living on his wits wasn't getting him very far. Becoming goalie for a third-division ice hockey team brought no fortune and little glory, and his procession of moneymaking ruses fared little better - until he discovered robbery. With a supporting cast of car-wash owners, exotic dancers, drunk army generals and cocaine-snorting Hungarian rappers, Julian Rubinstein's tale is a spectacular debut, immortalizing the most charming outlaw since the Sundance Kid.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
by Julian RubinsteinWhat do you get when you add together a bottle of whiskey, a bad gambler, a flea-market wig, a plastic gun and a Hungarian bank? $5,900. And what do you get twenty-nine of these robberies later? The legend of the Whiskey Robber. When the Eastern bloc thawed, some extraordinary stories were revealed. But none is as entertaining as this. Attila Ambrus escaped late-eighties Romania for Hungary - but soon found that living on his wits wasn't getting him very far. Becoming goalie for a third-division ice hockey team brought no fortune and little glory, and his procession of moneymaking ruses fared little better - until he discovered robbery. With a supporting cast of car-wash owners, exotic dancers, drunk army generals and cocaine-snorting Hungarian rappers, Julian Rubinstein's tale is a spectacular debut, immortalizing the most charming outlaw since the Sundance Kid.
Baller Ina
by Liz CasalSwish! Sure to be a slam-dunk at storytime, this rhyming picture book introduces readers to Ina, a graceful ballerina...who also loves to get competitive on the basketball court!Doesn&’t matter what you call her.Ballerina, basketballer. On the court or at the barre,Ina is a superstar! Ina loves to dance ballet: tendu, passé, and grand jeté. But there&’s more she can do in her pink tutu! Cheer from the sidelines as Ina--with her signature ballet moves--helps lead her basketball team to victory in this picture book that celebrates the marvelously multifaceted nature of kids.
Balletball
by Erin DionneNini loves everything about ballet--the sparkles, the costumes, the twirling! But in the spring there's only baseball practice. Baseball is nothing like ballet. Or is it?Nini hates baseball. She hates that baseball is not ballet. She especially hates that Mom signed her up to play, but now she's stuck with the sport. Nini just can't bring herself to try. Her team starts to lose, but not even her teammates' disappointment will change her feelings. A pep talk from her coach and sparkly shoelaces help--a little. When Nini makes a game-winning catch using her ballet moves, she realizes that change might not be so bad after all, and ballet and baseball have more in common than she thought.
Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance
by Henry AbbottA Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Injuries are not destiny. This revolutionary new account of the science of injury prevention shows how “ballistic” movement can help you get strong, stay healthy, and be elite. The biggest victories of medical science—over polio, smallpox, heart attacks, and the like—are stories of prevention. Then there’s sports, where we just run around until something breaks, leading to pain, frustration, and sometimes even expensive surgery. Injuries are a major cause of society’s growing mobility crisis. What if we could predict and prevent them? Blending cutting-edge science with gripping storytelling, award-winning data journalist and competitive amateur athlete Henry Abbott reveals that we are on the cusp of a new era in sports medicine, built around the science of ballistic movements—leaping and landing—and the unique fingerprint of your body’s physics. Abbott’s inspiring narrative tells the story of sports scientist Dr. Marcus Elliott and the Peak Performance Project (P3), who use technology to study how athletes move and why they get hurt. Applying machine learning and lessons from biomechanics, medicine, and physiology, doctors at P3 can now detect elevated risk of an ACL tear or a pulled hamstring like an echocardiogram can see warning signs of a heart attack. Their data-driven findings are full of surprises. Your body’s most important defense against knee and ankle injuries are the little-known muscles in the lower leg and hip area, which typical workouts rarely target. Similarly, the glutes—not the core—do the most to prevent back pain. Transformative benefits flow from training underappreciated kinds of athleticism like rotation, deceleration, and relaxation. Most of all, science shows that the best athletes don’t avoid ballistics—they master them. Through riveting stories of elite athletes overcoming injuries and pushing themselves to the limit, Abbott presents an evidence-based case for intervening early to protect our bodies. And he suggests that we can all harness the science of ballistic movement not just to run fast or jump high but to move with joy and lead fulfilling athletic lives.
Ballists, Dead Beats, and Muffins: Inside Early Baseball in Illinois
by Robert D. SampsonBaseball’s spread across Illinois paralleled the sport’s explosive growth in other parts of the country. Robert D. Sampson taps a wealth of archival research to transport readers to an era when an epidemic of “base ball on the brain” raged from Alton to Woodstock. Focusing on the years 1865 to 1869, Sampson offers a vivid portrait of a game where local teams and civic ambition went hand in hand and teams of paid professionals displaced gentlemen’s clubs devoted to sporting fair play. This preoccupation with competition sparked rules disputes and controversies over imported players while the game itself mirrored society by excluding Black Americans and women. The new era nonetheless brought out paying crowds to watch the Rock Island Lively Turtles, Fairfield Snails, and other teams take the field up and down the state. A first-ever history of early baseball in Illinois, Ballists, Dead Beats, and Muffins adds the Prairie State game’s unique shadings and colorful stories to the history of the national pastime.
Balloons and Airships: A Tale of Lighter Than Air Aviation
by Anthony Burton&“Looks at the brave (and sometimes foolish) men and women who were responsible for . . . the development of manned flight&” (History of War). This book tells the often dramatic and always fascinating story of flight in lighter than air machines. For centuries man had dreamed of flying, but all attempts failed, until in 1782 the Montgolfier brothers constructed the world&’s first hot air balloon. The following year saw the first ascent with aeronauts—not human beings but a sheep, a duck and a cockerel. But it was not long before men and women too took to the air and became ever more adventurous. In the 19th century, balloons found a new role in the military. But their use was always limited by the fact that they were at the mercy of the wind. There were numerous attempts at steering balloons, and various attempts were made to power them but it was the arrival of the internal combustion engine that saw the balloon transformed into the airship. The most famous developer of airships was Graf von Zeppelin, and the book tells the story of the use of his airships in both peacetime and at war. There were epic adventures including flights over the poles and for a time, commercial airships flourished—then came the disaster of the Hindenburg. Airships still fly today and ballooning has become a hugely popular pastime. &“Entertaining and informative . . . a series of interesting snapshots, giving a flavor of these challenging and daring exploits.&” —Flying in Ireland &“Absolutely enthralling.&” —Books Monthly
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
by Paul Goldberger<p>An exhilarating, splendidly illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic. <p>From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations--bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game--the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands--shaped our most beloved ballparks. <p>A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities--where dreams are as limitless as the outfields. <p>This is a fixed-format ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book.</p>
Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-up
by David A. KellyNow leading off the line-up-book #1 in a brand-new early chapter book mystery series where each book is set in a different American ballpark! Thanks to Kate's mom, a sports reporter, cousins Mike Walsh and Kate Hopkins have tickets to the Red Sox game and All Access passes to Fenway Park. But as they're watching batting practice before the game, the lucky bat of Red Sox star slugger Big D is stolen . . . right in front of dozens of people. Without the bat, Big D can't seem to hit a thing. Can Kate and Mike figure out who pinched the bat before Big D and the Sox chalk up a loss? The Fenway Foul-Up includes a fun fact page about Boston's Fenway Park. Cross Ron Roy's mystery series with Matt Christopher's sports books and you get the Ballpark Mysteries: fun, puzzling whodunnits aimed right at beginning readers. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Ballpark Mysteries #10: The Rookie Blue Jay
by Mark Meyers David A. KellyBatter up! Ballpark Mysteries combine baseball action with exciting whodunits for early chapter book readers! Mike and Kate can't wait to watch their rookie hero Dusty Martin in action. But something is throwing the Blue Jays' star off his game. Then, when no one else is looking, Mike sees mysterious ghost lights flying across the field. Is the ballpark haunted? And could Dusty have seen the lights, too? Ballpark Mysteries are the all-star matchup of fun sleuthing and baseball action, perfect for readers of Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries and Matt Christopher's sports books, and younger siblings of Mike Lupica fans. Each Ballpark Mystery also features "Dugout Notes," with more amazing baseball facts.
Ballpark Mysteries #11: The Tiger Troubles
by David A. Kelly Mark MeyersBatter up! Ballpark Mysteries® combine baseball action with exciting whodunits for early-chapter book readers! Someone is blackmailing the Detroit Tigers' famous slugger, Tony! They've stolen his favorite trophy, and unless he fills a tiger-shaped bag with signed baseballs, he'll never see the trophy again. Luckily, all-star sleuths Mike and Kate are ready to pounce on the case. Can they track down the thief in time to save Tony's treasure? Ballpark Mysteries are the all-star matchup of fun sleuthing and baseball action, perfect for readers of Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries and Matt Christopher's sports books, and younger siblings of Mike Lupica fans. Each Ballpark Mystery also features "Dugout Notes," with more amazing baseball facts.
Ballpark Mysteries #12: The Rangers Rustlers
by Mark Meyers David A. KellyBatter up! Ballpark Mysteries® combine baseball action with exciting whodunits for early chapter book readers! Let's play ball, y'all! Mike and Kate are very excited to watch a Texas Rangers game. Mike even bought an official shirt. But little did he know--it's a fake! A sneaky crook is tricking Rangers fans into buying the wrong shirts. Can the cousins help a real-life police ranger round up the culprit? Ballpark Mysteries are the all-star matchup of fun sleuthing and baseball action, perfect for readers of Ron Roy's A to Z Mysteries and Matt Christopher's sports books, and younger siblings of Mike Lupica fans. Each Ballpark Mystery also features Dugout Notes, with more amazing baseball facts.