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Play It Forward: How Women Changed Sports to Change the World
by TOGETHXREveryone Watches Women’s Sports New from TOGETHXR—the sports media company that coined the defining statement setting the sports world on fire—this inspiring collection of stories shines a light on the grit, smarts, and determination of record-setting and boundary-breaking female athletes around the world and across sports.Play It Forward features twenty‑five inspirational stories of badass women from all corners of the sports universe, curated by TOGETHXR, a sports media company founded by legends Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel, and Chloe Kim. From profiles of professional athletes and Olympians at the top of their game to everyday women putting in the work without a crowd, these are true tales of fierce competitors, dedicated teammates, and passionate advocates who are all too accustomed to hearing the word “no.” Each story highlights an inspiring athlete or team who is defying expectations and rebelling against inequality in big and small ways, including: Indigenous women forming a softball team in Mexico Older women finding friendship and purpose through competitive swimming A woman mountain-climbing her way out of oppression in Afghanistan WNBA players developing a voice for social justice and influencing a pivotal election Incarcerated women playing soccer to prepare for life after release For sports fans of all ages, Play it Forward celebrates and elevates the gutsy true stories of activists and dreamers who are changing the game, and the world of sports, for the better.WORLD’S GREATEST ATHLETES: A foreword and afterword by world-class athletes and Olympians Alex Morgan and Sue Bird set the stage and offer key context for this inspirational collection of stories of women who are defying the odds and breaking the rules. STORIES FROM ACROSS WOMEN'S SPORTS: TOGETHXR created the viral sensation "Everyone Watches Women Sports" that caught fire during the record-breaking NCAA 2024 Women's Basketball Tournament. Their ongoing mission is to elevate women's sports coverage in a space where culture, activism, lifestyle, and sports converge. In this powerhouse book, TOGETHXR gathers celebrity and everyday stories to create a breadth of inspiration from powerful women across a range of sports, from basketball, soccer, and hockey to swimming, gymnastics, rowing, and professional bowling. CELEBRATION OF ATHLETES AT ALL AGES: These stories will appeal to generations of sports fans—from those who fought the early battles of Title IX to young women just lacing up their sneakers, ready to take on the world. ENGAGING JOURNALISM: The stories are contemporary and underreported features covering athletes and teams that will be new to many readers. The essays are all written by acclaimed female and nonbinary journalists from around the world. ULTIMATE GIFT FOR WOMEN: This is a perfect present for women to give women: mom to daughter, daughter to mom, grandmother to granddaughter, friend to friend, and many more.Perfect for: Athletes and sports enthusiasts Parents, coaches, teachers, mentors Viewers of college and pro sports, the Women's World Cup, and the Olympics Fans of books about current events, feminism, or strong women Readers of Strong is the New Pretty and the Rebel Girls series Birthday, Mother’s Day, holiday, or graduation gifts for teens and adults Resource for celebrating
Play Like a Girl: Life Lessons from the Soccer Field
by Kate T. ParkerLife lessons from the soccer field, from the bestselling author of Strong is the New Pretty. A bruised shin, a bloody nose. Racing across the field into the arms of your teammates. Leaping high to save a goal. Getting up at dawn to kick ball after ball into the net. Making friends for life. Teaching your younger sister how to dribble. Sharing cupcakes at practice on your birthday. Going to sleep in your jersey. That&’s what it means to be fearless, dedicated, confident, resilient, proud, persistent. It doesn&’t matter whether you&’re 3 or 63––that&’s what it means to play like a girl. &“Kate T. Parker is my hero. She moves me. The whole world she has created moves me.&”––Drew Barrymore
Play Like a Girl: How a Soccer School in Kenya's Slums Started a Revolution
by Ellie RoscherGrowing up and living in Kibera, Kenya, Abdul Kassim was well aware of the disproportionate number of challenges faced by women due to the extreme gender inequalities that persist in the slums. After being raised by his aunts, mother, and grandmother and having a daughter himself, he felt that he needed to make a difference. In 2002, Abdul started a soccer team for girls called Girls Soccer in Kibera (GSK), with the hope of fostering a supportive community and providing emotional and mental support for the young women in the town. The soccer program was a success, but the looming dangers of slum life persisted, and the young women continued to fall victim to the worst kinds of human atrocities. Indeed, it was the unyielding injustice of these conditions that led Abdul to the conclusion that soccer alone was not enough to create the necessary systemic change. In 2006, after much work, the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) was established with their first class of 11 girls and 2 volunteer teachers. Today, KGSA is composed of 20 full-time staff, provides a host of artistic and athletic programs for more than 130 students annually, and continues to expand. By providing academics inside and outside of the classroom along with artistic and athletic opportunities, KGSA inspires the young women of Kibera to become advocates for change within their own communities and for Kenya as a whole. Play Like a Girl tells the KGSA story through Abdul’s voice and vision and the stories of key staff and students. It is written by Ellie Roscher who spent 2 summers doing research at KGSA and several years writing this book.
Play Like a Girl
by Misty WilsonDebut author Misty Wilson chronicles her seventh-grade experience as the only girl on her town’s football team in this empowering graphic memoir about teamwork, friendship, crushes, and touchdowns.Misty never shies away from a challenge, on or off the field. So when the boys tell her she can’t play football, there’s only one thing to do: join their team and show them what she’s got.But the training is rougher than she thought—and so are the other guys, who aren’t thrilled about having a girl on their team.Middle school isn’t so easy, either. Misty wants to fit in with the popular kids, but they think a girl playing football is “weird.” Even her best friend doesn’t get it.Can Misty find a way to score points with her teammates, make new friends, and show everyone—including herself—what it means to play like a girl?“I am a huge fan of Misty and her courageous journey of staying true to herself. Readers will love her!” —Terri Libenson, New York Times bestselling author of the Emmie & Friends series“This is the book I wish I’d had as a kid. Misty’s passion for football and her fight to play in a male-dominated sport while balancing friendship and crushes makes for a winning read!” —Dr. Jen Welter, first female NFL coach, first female running back in men’s pro football, and founder of Grrridiron Girls
Play like You Mean It: Passion, Laughs, and Leadership in the World's Most Beautiful Game
by Rex RyanNo football fan will want to be without the book that delivers pure, unfiltered Rex Ryan--head coach of the New York Jets and one of the most popular, outspoken, well-liked, and widely respected personalities in the National Football League. Rex Ryan is known for his exuberance . . . and Play Like You Mean It explores every aspect of Ryan's amazing passion for the game of football, plus the lessons he has learned in leadership and motivation during his years in and around the game. In his own words, Ryan takes readers behind the scenes of the NFL as he shares colorful football stories from his experiences with the Jets and the Ravens as well as his years recruiting players, coaching college football, and growing up as a child of legendary NFL coach Buddy Ryan. Rex's unique brand of enthusiasm and motivation comes through on every page. Most of all, fans will get insider access to Ryan's headline-grabbing, brutally honest, and undeniably entertaining views on the NFL . . . and the very human side of the larger-than-life athletes who devote their lives to the game of football. From Ryan's acceptance of the Jets head coaching job to his success in turning around a team that has long been number two in New York, from his drafting and believing in Mark Sanchez to kicking off the 2010 season with massive expectations (and a target on his back)--this book goes deep, and entertains on every level.
Play-off (Angel Park All-Stars #13)
by Dean HughesBecause Lian Jie is so small, no one on the Dodgers takes him seriously, until they realize he's a baseball expert.
Play On: The New Science of Elite Performance at Any Age
by Jeff BercoviciA lively, deeply reported tour of the science and strategies helping athletes like Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Carli Lloyd, and LeBron James redefine the notion of &“peak age.&” Season after season, today&’s sports superstars seem to defy the limits of physical aging that inevitably sideline their competitors. How much of the difference is genetic destiny and how much can be attributed to better training, medicine, and technology? Is athletic longevity a skill that can be taught or a mental discipline that can be mastered? Can career-ending injuries be predicted and avoided? Journalist Jeff Bercovici spent extensive time with professional and Olympic athletes, coaches, and doctors to find the answers to these questions. His quest led him to training camps, tournaments, hospitals, antiaging clinics, and Silicon Valley startups, where he tried cutting-edge treatments and technologies firsthand and investigated the realities behind health fads like alkaline diets, high-intensity interval training, and cryotherapy. Through fascinating profiles and first-person anecdotes, Bercovici illuminates the science and strategies extending the careers of elite older athletes, uncovers the latest advances in fields from nutrition to brain science to virtual reality, and offers empowering insights about how the rest of us can find peak performance at any age.
Play On
by Sandra DierschFast-paced sports action novels that get kids reading. Alecia is about to be adopted by a new stepfather, her soccer team, the Burrards, is preparing for the championship game, and a cute new boy has arrived on the scene. But there are even more changes on the horizon. The team's game is suffering as the players get distracted by other interests. If the Burrards are to make it to the finals, they must renew their commitment to their sport and to each other. Play On is the satisfying conclusion to the acclaimed series that also includes Offside! and Alecia's Challenge.
Play, Philosophy and Performance
by Malcolm MacLean Wendy Russell Emily RyallPlay, Philosophy and Performance is a cutting-edge collection of essays exploring the philosophy of play. It showcases the most innovative, interdisciplinary work in the rapidly developing field of Play Studies. How we play, and the relation of play to the human condition, is becoming increasingly recognised as a field of scholarly inquiry as well as a significant element of social practice, public policy and socio-cultural understanding. Drawing on approaches ranging through morality and ethics, language and the nature of reality, aesthetics, digital culture and gaming, and written by an international group of emerging and established scholars, this book examines how our performance at play describes, shapes and influences our performance as human beings. This is essential reading for anybody with an interest in leisure, education, childhood, gaming, the arts, playwork or many branches of philosophical enquiry.
Play, Physical Activity and Public Health: The Reframing of Children's Leisure Lives (Routledge Studies in Physical Education and Youth Sport)
by Stephanie A. Alexander Katherine L. Frohlich Caroline FuscoAre children playing less than they used to? Are rising obesity rates linked to a decline in children’s time to play freely? These and other related questions have filled the pages of newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals for the past decade. Researchers and journalists have attributed these issues to societal changes around children’s lives and leisure, the growth of structured and organised activities and increasing perceptions of risk in children’s play. Play, Physical Activity and Public Health presents a discussion of the way modern notions of play are rendering children’s leisure activities less free and less engaged in simply for fun. Based on original qualitative research, and analysis of contemporary media from Canada and elsewhere, this book argues that the growing health concerns around childhood play entail a paradox: by advocating, promoting, discussing, and re-directing children’s play, a new form of children’s leisure is emerging - one that is purpose-driven, instrumentalised for health, and ultimately, less free. We explore how play has become goal-oriented, a means to health ends, and how the management of pleasure in play as well as diverse risk discourses around play continue to limit and constrain possibilities for children and families to play and engage in leisure freely. Incorporating past critiques of this trend in play, we argue for research and practice to create new possibilities and ways of thinking about children's play, leisure, fun and childhood, that are less constrained and managed, and importantly less geared towards health goals. This is a valuable resource for students of the sociology of sport, kinesiology, sports and health psychology, education, public health, and childhood studies. It is also an important read for school teachers, public health practitioners, psychologists, physical education teachers, academics and parents interested in how children’s leisure lives are being shaped by the growing and diverse discussions around play.
Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine
by George DohrmannEight years of unfettered access, a keen sense of a story's deepest truths, and a genuine compassion for his subject allow Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America's basketball stars. Hoop dreams aren't just for players. The fever that grips college basketball prospects hoping to strike big-time NBA gold afflicts coaches, parents, and sneaker executives as well. Every one of them has a stake in keeping America's wildly dysfunctional, incredibly lucrative youth basketball machine up and running--no matter the consequences. In Play Their Hearts Out, George Dohrmann offers an up-close and unforgettable look inside the maw of that machine. He shares what he learned from his years spent embedded with a group of talented young recruits from Southern California as they traveled the country playing in elite Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) events. It's a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. Coaches vie to have them on their teams. Sneaker companies ply them with free shoes and gear. "All-star camps" are glorified cattle auctions, providing make-or-break opportunities to secure the promise of an elusive college scholarship. At the book's heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious AAU coach with a master plan to find and promote "the next LeBron"--thereby paving his own path to power and riches; and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller's sway and struggles to live up to the unrealistic expectations his supposed benefactor has set for him. As their fortunes take shape and the pressure mounts--Demetrius finds himself profiled in Sports Illustrated at age fourteen, while Keller cultivates his business empire--Dohrmann weaves in the stories of numerous other parents, coaches, and players. Some of them see their prospects evaporate as a result of poor decisions and worse luck. Others learn how to thrive in a corrupt system by playing the right angles. Written with incomparable detail and insight, Play Their Hearts Out is a thoroughly unique narrative that reveals the inner workings of an American game, exposing the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory.From the Hardcover edition.
Play to Win: A Wynn Hockey Novel (Wynn Hockey #1)
by Kelly JamiesonMeet the Wynns—a hockey dynasty built on family, money, and drama. From USA Today bestselling author Kelly Jamieson, the first novel in a new series is a total win-win. “Kelly Jamieson is an auto-buy for me.”—Carly Phillips After an injury forced Théo Wynn to give up professional hockey, he turned to his second love: numbers. Now, as the general manager of his grandfather’s NHL team, the Los Angeles Condors, Théo is dying to prove to the rest of his family—especially the brother who betrayed him—that he’s just as successful as the rest of them. If only Théo had a gorgeous woman on his arm to complete the picture. . . . Lacey Olson needs to get out of Las Vegas right now, thanks to her no-good, crooked brother. When a handsome stranger who’s out partying with friends comes to her rescue in the cocktail lounge where she works, they strike up a conversation that leads to a crazy plan: her leaving with Théo for L.A. tomorrow. A few drinks later, the idea gets even crazier: a quickie marriage that works for both of them. But back in California, Lacey immediately turns Théo’s precise, well-ordered life into one big beach party. And before long, she’s tempting him with her smart mouth, sexy body, and sunny charm. The last thing Théo needs is a real relationship to distract him. Because he only plays to win. . . . 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 BIG STICK GAME ON 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.Advance praise for Play to Win “Play to Win gave me all the feels! Theo and Lacey are a couple you’ll root for!”—USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy
Play Winning Chess (Winning Chess)
by Yasser SeirawanAn introduction to the moves, strategies, and philosophy of chess, with clear explanations of the games fundamentals, instructive examples, question-and-answer sections, sample games, and psychological hints. Seirawan begins by explaining piece movement, chess notation, the rules of play and basic tactics. His examples, question-and-answer sections, psychological hints, and lively sample games help you learn strategies and play aggressively while having fun. Discovering how to engage in clever attacks and subtle defenses will take you beyond the thrill of competition into the realm of creative art. Play Winning Chess is exuberant and conversational, enlivened by personal anecdotes and fascinating historical details.
Play With Me (Playing for Keeps #2)
by Becka MackIn the sizzling hockey romance that has taken TikTok by storm, a dedicated player struggles with the number one team rule: don&’t go near the captain&’s sister. &“Funny, vulnerable, and relatable. Mack writes hot, steamy stories interweaved with real, raw emotions perfectly. Play With Me is a 10 out of 10.&” —Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author of Wildfire and Icebreaker The second book in the globally popular Playing for Keeps series.He&’s found the perfect person—but she&’s the only one he can&’t be with… Garrett Andersen knows that playing professional hockey requires absolute dedication to the rules. There&’s just one rule he&’s finding difficult to follow: stay away from his captain&’s younger sister. As a professional dancer, Jennie Beckett knows what it takes to excel. She prides herself on being every bit as confident and bold as her brother, sassy as hell, and the only person in charge of her pleasure. No wonder Garrett can&’t stay away from her—even if he forgets how to form sentences whenever she&’s around. Jennie would rather avoid her brother&’s teammate, especially after several embarrassing run-ins, but suddenly they&’re neighbors. And as the connection between them grows, Garrett and Jennie decide to have some fun, no strings attached. Between their busy schedules and her brother&’s disapproval, they know keeping things casual and low-key is the smartest play. But what if their feelings get in the way? After all, they&’re only supposed to be playing with each other…
Play with Me (Playing for Keeps #2)
by Becka MackIn the ice-hockey romance that has taken TikTok by storm, a dedicated player struggles with the number one team rule: don&’t go near the captain&’s sister. Garrett Andersen knows that playing professional hockey requires absolute dedication to the rules. There&’s just one rule he&’s finding very difficult to follow: stay away from the captain&’s younger sister. As a professional dancer, Jennie Beckett knows what it takes to excel. She prides herself on being every bit as confident and bold as her brother, sassy as hell, and the only person in charge of her pleasure. No wonder Garrett can&’t stay away from her – even if he forgets how to form sentences whenever she&’s around. When they become neighbours, Jennie and Garrett resolve to keep their distance from each other. But after several embarrassing run-ins, the connection between them only grows, so they decide to have some fun, no strings attached. But what if their feelings get in the way? After all, they&’re only supposed to be playing with each other ... &‘Funny, vulnerable, and relatable. Mack writes hot, steamy stories interweaved with real, raw emotions perfectly. Play with Me is a 10/10.&’ Hannah Grace, bestselling author of Icebreaker
Play Your Best Golf Now
by Pia Nilsson Lynn MarriottTwo of golf's most revolutionary teachers share a personalized approach to accessing your peak performance. "The VISION54 approach is far more than just pure golf technique, it allows an individual to unlock their true potential by opening their mind and believing anything is possible to achieve. " - David Leadbetter, David Leadbetter Golf Academy Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott are Complete Game Coaches, leaders of a new kind of golf instruction that focuses on more than just the grip, the stance, and the swing. Their VISION54 method targets the complete golfer-the whole person-not just the technical aspects of the game. Their coaching philosophy focuses on possibilities, not limitations, with an end goal of MY54-the idea that any golfer can reach their own personalized version of peak performance, scoring nothing but birdies on a par-72 course. Building on the core concepts introduced in Every Shot Must Have a Purpose and the strategic thinking in The Game Within the Game, Play Your Best Golf Now takes the mystery out of the soft skills of golf and shows golfers how to add these skills to their game for peak performance. Players learn to master the 8 Essential Playing Skills: 1. LEAVE YOUR MIND BEHIND and enter the Play Box 2. DECIDE AND COMMIT to your shots 3. FIND YOUR BALANCE both physically and mentally 4. FEEL YOUR TEMPO on the course and dance to its rhythm 5. TAME TENSION to improve your swing 6. BUILD EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE 7. STORE MEMORIES and learn from the past to make a better present 8. DROWN SELF-TALK IN USEFUL THOUGHTS And the 2 Essential Practice Skills: 1. SIMULATE GOLF on the practice range to maximize your time and effort 2. INTEGRATE SKILLS and practice with a plan These Essentials complement the technical anchors of the game-the grip, the stance, the swing-and give players a foundation for achieving their peak performance. MY54 is the vision, and these are the building blocks for achieving a higher level of play.
The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life
by Kwame Alexander Mr Thai Neave<P>You gotta know the rules to play the game. <br> Ball is life. <br>Take it to the hoop. <br>Soar. <P>What can we imagine for our lives?<br> What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? <br>What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? <P>Illustrated with photographs by Thai Neave, The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry and Michelle Obama. <P>Kwame Alexander also provides his own poetic and uplifting words, as he shares stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games in this motivational and inspirational book just right for graduates of any age and anyone needing a little encouragement. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Playbook for Dads: Parenting Your Kids In the Game of Life
by Jim Kelly Dan Marino Ted KluckOn the football field NFL great Jim Kelly was a strong-armed passer, leading his team to victory after victory. In THE PLAYBOOK FOR DADS he passes principles instead of footballs, still using his talent to lead men, but now he leads them to greatness as fathers, in his view the world's most important job. With an emphasis on preparation, hard work and perseverance, Kelly tackles such essential issues as respect, character, accountability and spiritual discipline. From commitment and courage to honesty and humility, Kelly's lessons-learned on and off the field- guide men striving to be the fathers God designed them to be - so their children can grow to be everything they are meant to be. Conversational and refreshingly honest, Jim challenges fathers to work hard, pray for their children often, love their wives and implement these principles. Both practical and inspirational this is Jim Kelly coaching every dad how to be the star quarterback for the home team-his family.
Playbooks and Checkbooks: An Introduction to the Economics of Modern Sports
by Stefan SzymanskiWhat economic rules govern sports? How does the sports business differ from other businesses? Playbooks and Checkbooks takes a fascinating step-by-step look at the fundamental economic relationships shaping modern sports. Focusing on the ways that the sports business does and does not overlap with economics, the book uncovers the core paradox at the heart of the sports industry. Unlike other businesses, the sports industry would not survive if competitors obliterated each other to extinction, financially or otherwise--without rivals there is nothing to sell. Playbooks and Checkbooks examines how this unique economic truth plays out in the sports world, both on and off the field. Noted economist Stefan Szymanski explains how modern sporting contests have evolved; how sports competitions are organized; and how economics has guided antitrust, monopoly, and cartel issues in the sporting world. Szymanski considers the motivation provided by prize money, uncovers discrepancies in players' salaries, and shows why the incentive structure for professional athletes encourages them to cheat through performance-enhancing drugs and match fixing. He also explores how changes in media broadcasting allow owners and athletes to play to a global audience, and why governments continue to publicly fund sporting events such as the Olympics, despite almost certain financial loss. Using economic tools to reveal the complex arrangements of an industry, Playbooks and Checkbooks illuminates the world of sports through economics, and the world of economics through sports.
The Player (Lorimer SideStreets)
by Paul CocciaSet in the traditionally homophobic world of amateur hockey, this book follows gay goalie Cooper in his struggle with his feelings for a teammate and coming out to his team. Cooper has been hooking up with teammate Pesh in secret, and has to play along when Pesh dates a girl and even tolerate locker-room homophobic talk. When Pesh outs Cooper online, trying to better his own chances at playing pro, Cooper chooses self-esteem and honesty over sex. With a strong and relatable main character, this book is a realistic, positive look at teen relationships — gay or straight. Distributed in the U.S by Lerner Publishing Group
Player Development: The Holistic Method
by John Cone Gareth SmithPlayer Development: The Holistic Method provides the first holistic, evidence-based performance development method in sport. Focusing on the world’s largest sport, soccer, this book weaves together the interconnected layers driving player performance development to define a novel training method. In performance sport, narratives defining success or failure are steeped with stories of chance. The reality is that player performance and athlete development leading to career success is the byproduct of optimizing interconnected experiences toward maximizing the likelihood of individual success. It is the application of a holistic method that reduces the influence of luck and increases the likelihood of individual and team success. This book is the pathway to understanding and facilitating individual player development leading to elite performance success. This book reveals not only a holistic method, but also a universal method breaking down perceived and real barriers to provide a method transcending domains and specializations – a unified approach. The book introduces an evidence-based method toward performance development in soccer. It is key reading for students of coaching, talent development, sport performance and ancillary specializations, and practicing professionals in the field of player and performance development and coaching.
The Players
by Gary BrandnerPrestige. Fame. Romance. Glamour. Sex. Money. In the tumultuous, cut-throat world of the tennis superstar, these are the goals that drive men to desperate lengths-that squeeze the last ounce of competitive spirit from them-that propel them into a high-pressure existence where the only release is on the court-or in the white heat of passion. The Players reveals the behind-the-scenes lives of the sports heroes and their women...and the torrents of human emotion and raw physical urgings which sustain them. Their stories unfold with unparalleled power and sensuality in this taut, scorching novel of love and sport, of jealousy and greed, of winners and losers in the great game of life!
The Players
by Gary BrandnerPrestige. Fame. Romance. Glamour. Sex. Money.In the tumultuous, cut-throat world of the tennis superstar, these are the goals that drive men to desperate lengths-that squeeze the last ounce of competitive spirit from them-that propel them into a high-pressure existence where the only release is on the court-or in the white heat of passion.The Players reveals the behind-the-scenes lives of the sports heroes and their women...and the torrents of human emotion and raw physical urgings which sustain them. Their stories unfold with unparalleled power and sensuality in this taut, scorching novel of love and sport, of jealousy and greed, of winners and losers in the great game of life!
The Players
by Gary BrandnerWimbledon -- scene of the world's supreme tennis championship. Here the seeded superstars meet in a contest that pushes them to the limits of endurance. In this high-pressure existence their only release is on the court, their only aim is to win. The Players plumbs the hearts and minds of the men who play international tennis for money, fame, and love. . . and the women who follow them, and the others, like Mike Wilder. Cynical star reporter for a prestigious American sports magazine, Mike Wilder has come to Wimbledon to renew an old female acquaintance and cover the matches -- and finds himself the target of a woman in love. . . and a murderer on the prowl.
Players: The Story of Sports and Money, and the Visionaries Who Fought to Create a Revolution
by Matthew Futterman"The business of sports has been completely transformed over the course of my lifetime, and Players is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the beginnings of that revolution. I couldn't put it down." --Billy Beane The astonishing untold story of the people who transformed sports, in the span of a single generation, from a job that required top athletes to work in the off-season to make ends meet into a massive global business.In the cash-soaked world of contemporary sports, where every season brings news of higher salaries, endorsement deals, and television contracts, it is mind-boggling to remember that as recently as the 1970s elite athletes earned so little money that many were forced to work second jobs in the off-season. Roger Staubach, for example, made only $25,000 in his first season as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and wound up selling commercial real estate during the summer. Today, when Fortune reports that every athlete on its Top 50 list makes more than twenty million dollar per year, it's clear that a complete reversal of power has occurred right before our eyes. Players is the first book to tell the astonishing narrative behind the creation of the modern sports business--a true revolution that moved athletes from the bottom of the financial pyramid to the top. It started in 1960, when a young Cleveland lawyer named Mark McCormack convinced a young golfer named Arnold Palmer to sign with him. McCormack simply believed that the best athletes had more commercial value than they realized--and he was right. Before long, he raised Palmer's annual off-the-course income from $5,000 to $500,000 and forever changed the landscape of the sports world. In Players, veteran Wall Street Journal sports reporter Matthew Futterman introduces a wide-ranging cast of characters to tell the story of the athletes, agents, TV executives, and league officials who together created the dominating and multifaceted sports industry we know today. Beginning with Palmer and McCormack's historic partnership, Players features details of the landmark moments of sports that have never been revealed before, including how legendary Wide World of Sports producer Roone Arledge realized that the way to win viewers was to blend sports and human drama; the 1973 Wimbledon boycott, when eighty-one of the top tennis players in the world protested the suspension of Nikola Pilic; and baseball pitcher Catfish Hunter's battle to become MLB's first free agent. Players is a gripping, fly-on-the-wall account of the creation and rise of the modern sports world and the people who fought to make it happen. From the professionalization of the Olympics to the outsize influence of companies like IMG, Nike, and ESPN, this fascinating book details the wild evolution of sports into the extravaganza we experience today, and the inevitable trade-offs those changes have wrought.