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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.
Playing the Field: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel
by Jennifer SeasonsThe sexy baseball players of Jennifer Seasons Diamonds and Dugouts series are back with the story of a single mom, a hot rookie, and a second chance at love. Single mother Sonny Miller has spent years avoiding love. A rotten childhood and an even rottener ex-boyfriend left her determined to protect her son--and herself--against the risks of romance. That is, until hotshot ballplayer JP Trudeau swaggers into her carefully constructed life, all sin-with-me eyes and irresistible grin. Sonny cant help but feel drawn to the sexy, confident man, even as every fiber of her being tells her to keep running the bases . . . JP is known for being fast on his feet, not fast with his heart. But meeting Sonny and her boy sparks something in him--something hes never felt before, not from all the cleat-chasers in the major leagues. Sonny may be hell-bent on keeping him at arms length no matter what, but this rookie has a plan. To get the girl, he must step up to the plate and convince her to take another chance on love . . . before this game gets rained out.
Playing the Game
by Jay Fiedler Chris LincolnPlaying The Game offers readers the first detailed, inside look at exactly how theathletic recruiting game is played by coaches, prospective students, parents,administrators, admission officers, and even college presidents in the Ivy Leagueand its Division III counterpart, the NESCAC. Here is the inside story on why thisspecialized process has caused so much controversy on campus and off.
Playing the Long Game: A Memoir
by Christine SinclairFor the first time in depth and in public, Olympic soccer gold-medalist Christine Sinclair, the top international goal scorer of all time and one of Canada's greatest athletes, reflects on both her exhilarating successes and her heartbreaking failures. Playing the Long Game is a book of earned wisdom on the value of determination and team spirit, and on leadership that changed the landscape of women's sport.Christine Sinclair is one of the world's most respected and admired athletes. Not only is she the player who has scored the most goals on the international soccer stage, male or female, but more than two decades into her career, she is the heart of any team she plays on, the captain of both Canada's national team and the top-ranked Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League. Working with the brilliant and bestselling sportswriter Stephen Brunt, who has followed her career for decades, the intensely private Sinclair will share her reflections on the significant moments and turning points in her life and career, the big wins and losses survived, not only on the pitch. Her extraordinary journey, combined with her candour, commitment and decency, will inspire and empower her fans and admirers, and girls and women everywhere.
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis
by Tony HawksIt doesn't take much - "£100 is usually sufficient" - to persuade Tony Hawks to take off on notoriously bizarre and hilarious adventures in response to a bet. And so it is, a pointless argument with a friend concludes in a bet - that Tony can't beat all eleven members of the Moldovan soccer team at tennis. And with the loser of the bet agreeing to strip naked on Balham High Road and sing the Moldovan national anthem, this one was just too good to resist.The ensuing unpredictable and often hilarious adventure sees him being taken in by Moldovan gypsies and narrowly avoid kidnap in Transnistria. It sees him smuggle his way on to the Moldovan National Team coach in Coleraine and witness (almost) divine intervention in the Holy Land. In this inspiring and exceptionally funny book, Tony Hawks has done it again, proving against all odds that there is no reason in the world why you can't do something a bit stupid and prove all of your doubters wrong. Or at least that was the idea....
Playing Through: A Year of Life and Links Along the Scottish Coast
by Curtis GillespieIn the tradition of Peter Mayle and James Dodson's Final Rounds, Curtis Gillespie gives us a delightful and heartwarming story of people, place, and golf. In this funny, wise, and moving book, Curtis Gillespie chronicles the year he spent with his family among the gorse and heather of Gullane, Scotland, site of this year's Open. Gillespie had hoped to golf at Gullane with his father, who died several years before, and the memory of his father provides the catalyst for both Gillespie's trip and the book. He writes affectionately about place, family, life, the obsessive nature of golf, and the personalities who are drawn to the sport. Along the way Curtis Gillespie discovers how much he owes his father -- and finds a rich sense of belonging among the local courses and the people who play them. Playing Through is a warm and wonderfully told memoir that transcends the boundaries of travel and sports writing.
Playing Through: Modern Golf's Most Iconic Players and Moments
by Jim MoriartyThe game of golf has been witness to dramatic change since the early 1980s. Technology has relegated polished wooden drivers and wound balls covered with balata to the dustbin of history. The world’s great courses have been stretched unfathomable lengths to counter the game’s modern champions and the distances they hit the ball. In the end, though, it still comes down to the players. Jim Moriarty has focused his attention on the glory, sacrifice, success, and despair of these champions. In Playing Through, he captures the essence of this most recent, most transformative chapter in golf’s long history. He writes of the last great rivalry: Jack Nicklaus versus Tom Watson; the rise of the European juggernaut with Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo; the Ryder Cup spectacles of 1999 and 2012 and the romance of team golf; the tragic loss of Payne Stewart and Ballesteros, both gone too soon; the emergence of the Australians, South Africans, South Americans, and Pacific Rim players in the Presidents Cup; and the man who ruled golf, Tiger Woods. Golf may have changed in the last thirty-five years, but Moriarty’s words show that no matter how far the ball flies, it still pits players against themselves, the elements, and their opponents to remain the game we all know and love.
Playing Through
by Peter PostThere's a social aspect to golf that's unique to the sport. It's the only sport where you're building relationships at the same time that you're trying to play your best and win-and maybe close a business deal. While the rules of golf are clearly defined, the etiquette of golf is less codified. Making the wrong move can cause annoyance, errors in play, or even injury-all things your fellow golfers won't forget. Now bestselling etiquette authority and passionate golfer Peter Post explains what seasoned golfers and newcomers need to know to handle every situation with total confidence. Based on Emily Post Institute surveys on golfers' most annoying incidents on the course, Peter addresses: How to deal with the biggest frustration in golf-slow play. What to do if you break the cardinal rule of never being late. When is a "gimme" acceptable? The difference between friendly play and tournament play. Dealing with sandbaggers and other cheats. Do's and don'ts when playing for "a little something." Peter Post's useful tips on the subtleties of the game-such as how and when to offer advice, strategies for speeding up play, and "piniquette"-will help longtime golfers be better companions on the course. New golfers unsure of the unwritten social rules of golf will find all the information they need to avoid embarrassment. Packed with true stories from golfers about best moments and worst behavioral blunders on the course-ranging from the sandbagger who cheated himself out of an eagle to a wardrobe malfunction that gave new meaning to the term "You're out"-this book is for anyone who appreciates the spirit of the game.
Playing Through the Whistle: Steel, Football, and an American Town
by S. L. PriceFrom a Sports Illustrated senior writer, “a richly detailed history of Aliquippa football . . . A remarkable story of urban struggle and athletic prowess” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). In the early twentieth century, down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company built one of the largest mills in the world and a town to go with it. Aliquippa was a beacon and a melting pot, pulling in thousands of families from Europe and the Jim Crow South. The J&L mill, though dirty and dangerous, offered a chance at a better life. It produced the steel that built American cities and won World War II and even became something of a workers’ paradise. But then, in the 1980s, the steel industry cratered. The mill closed. Crime rose and crack hit big. But another industry grew in Aliquippa. The town didn’t just make steel; it made elite football players, from Mike Ditka to Ty Law to Darrelle Revis. Few places churned out talent like Aliquippa, a town not far from the birthplace of professional football in western Pennsylvania. Despite its troubles—maybe even because of them—Aliquippa became legendary for producing football greatness. A masterpiece of narrative journalism, Playing Through the Whistle tells the remarkable story of Aliquippa and through it, the larger history of American industry, sports, and life. Like football, it will make you marvel, wince, cry, and cheer. “Looks at the struggling steel town of Aliquippa, Pa., through the prism of its high school football team. The author understands the Rust Belt particulars of the region better than most political professionals.” —The Wall Street Journal
Playing To Win
by Laurel AmesSera Had Always Loved a Challenge, but Tony Was Proving to be Difficult Even For Her Considerable Skills!Despite her bookish exterior, Sera Barclay was an imp with outrageous charm and depths undreamed of by London's stuffy ton. A woman who would risk anything for the sake of the husband who gave her his heart, and denied her everything else....A man of particular honor and pride, Tony Cainbrooke's inherited debt kept him estranged from his wife. But his distance was getting harder and harder to maintain...for Sera's antics to bring them together grew more outrageous by the day!
Playing to Win: Sports, Video Games, and the Culture of Play (Digital Game Studies)
by Robert Alan Brookey David J. GunkelIn this era of big media franchises, sports branding has crossed platforms, so that the sport, its television broadcast, and its replication in an electronic game are packaged and promoted as part of the same fan experience. Editors Robert Alan Brookey and Thomas P. Oates trace this development back to the unexpected success of Atari's Pong in the 1970s, which provoked a flood of sport simulation games that have had an impact on every sector of the electronic game market. From golf to football, basketball to step aerobics, electronic sports games are as familiar in the American household as the televised sporting events they simulate. This book explores the points of convergence at which gaming and sports culture merge.
Playing To Win: Play-By-Play Book 4 (Play-By-Play #4)
by Jaci BurtonPlaying To Win is the fourth seductive thrill ride in the Play-By-Play series from New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton. Perfect for fans of Lori Foster, Maya Banks and Jill Shalvis.Someone's going to have to let down their guard... Football star Cole Riley is notorious for doing as he pleases - on the field and off. But if he doesn't clean up his act, his career is over - so Cole reluctantly agrees to work with image makeover consultant Savannah Brooks. He's not used to being told what to do, especially by some (admittedly hot) southern belle. As for Savannah, she's not convinced she can transform this cocky (and aggressively sexy) force of nature. But she's determined to give it her best shot. When the sparks start to fly, Savannah lays down the ground rules: no personal complications. But for two people determined to have it all, a hands-off policy can only last so long before one of them yields.Want more sexy sporting romance? Don't miss the rest of this steamy series which began with The Perfect Play. And check out Jaci's gorgeously romantic Hope series beginning with Hope Flames.
Playing Up: Kaboom Kid #2
by David WarnerMeet Little Davey Warner. He lives in Sandhill Flats with his mum and dad and his brother Steve - and his stinky dog Max. Davey and his schoolmates -even Max - are MAD for cricket. All they want to do is play ... but there's always something getting in their way. In this second book in the series, Davey wishes he could be as good a cricketer as his older brother Steve, who's always telling him to practise more. And there's nothing else that Davey and his mates like to do more - the classroom is as good as the playground, right? Mr Mudge, the Year 6 teacher and absolute grump, doesn't think so, especially after being donked on the head by the ball, and confiscates Davey's precious bat, 'Kaboom'. What's Davey going to do without his precious bat? It's like a part of his body. And of course a selector has turned up at club training, and Davey's HOPELESS without his bat. He's really happy for his mate, Sunil, though, who the selector taps on the shoulder. Davey's feeling pretty down - that is, until Steve asks him to play up and fill in on his team for a big match. Davey's ecstatic, but then realises that without Kaboom, he'll let his brother down. He's GOT to get Kaboom back ... but how? And why does Mo Clouter think he can find it? In the meantime, Davey will keep practising, but will he be good enough to be play with his brother?
Playing with Desire (Pleasure Cove)
by Reese RyanSummer Loving Next in line as CEO of his family's international luxury-resort empire, Liam Westbrook didn't make his way to the top playing it safe. So when the fast-living British bachelor spies an exotic beauty under a smoldering North Carolina moon, he makes a scandalous proposal. The night culminates in an all-consuming passion that leaves them both burning for more. Liam knows he can't just walk away. But after a devastating past betrayal, can he trust where his heart is leading him? Maya Alvarez's two young daughters are her entire world. But when she ends up alone-on her birthday-the divorced single mother does something totally out of character. She accepts an invitation that leads to a hot summer fling with a seductive stranger who makes her feel bold and desirable again. When Maya must return to the real world, will Liam and their pleasure-fueled fantasy end up as only an affair to remember?
Playing With Fire
by Nasser HussainNasser Hussain was acclaimed as England's best cricket captain since Mike Brearley. Under his leadership, a side more famous for its batting collapses and ability to seize defeat from the jaws of victory discovered its backbone. With coach Duncan Fletcher he put some steel into the side; they became a difficult team to beat.Hussain wore his heart on his sleeve: railing against complacency, defying critics of his place in the batting line-up and making a principled stand at the last World Cup when the ECB seemed incapable of it.Expect passion, integrity, insight and candour in his eagerly awaited autobiography.
Playing with Fire: Embracing Risk and Danger in Schools
by Mike FaircloughThere is a misconception, within the teaching profession and the general public, that Ofsted, the Health and Safety Executive and the establishment are against children being exposed to danger and that schools are prevented from giving children experiences which involve risk. Mike Fairclough, headmaster at West Rise Junior School, has blown that theory out of the water. In the superb Playing With Fire, Mike urges all schools to follow his lead, empowering other Heads and their schools to provide activities for their pupils which include an element of risk and danger. With entertaining and visual examples of his work at West Rise, including bee keeping, water buffalo breeding, shooting, archery, Forest School, paddle boarding, and skinning rabbits, Mike breezily demonstrates how teething problems and mistakes are part and parcel of risk-taking and should be embraced. The result is an empowering book that urges educators to cultivate their own resilience, courage and trust in the same way that we are hoping to foster those qualities within our students.
Playing with Fire: Embracing Risk and Danger in Schools
by Mike FaircloughThere is a misconception, within the teaching profession and the general public, that Ofsted, the Health and Safety Executive and the establishment are against children being exposed to danger and that schools are prevented from giving children experiences which involve risk. Mike Fairclough, headmaster at West Rise Junior School, has blown that theory out of the water. In the superb Playing With Fire, Mike urges all schools to follow his lead, empowering other Heads and their schools to provide activities for their pupils which include an element of risk and danger. With entertaining and visual examples of his work at West Rise, including bee keeping, water buffalo breeding, shooting, archery, Forest School, paddle boarding, and skinning rabbits, Mike breezily demonstrates how teething problems and mistakes are part and parcel of risk-taking and should be embraced. The result is an empowering book that urges educators to cultivate their own resilience, courage and trust in the same way that we are hoping to foster those qualities within our students.
Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport
by William J. BakerThe spectacle of modern sport displays all the latest commercial and technological innovations, yet age-old religious concerns still thrive at the stadium. Coaches lead pre-game and post-game prayers, athletes give God the credit for home runs and touchdowns, and fans wave signs with biblical quotations and allusions. Like no other nation on earth, Americans eagerly blend their religion and sports. Playing with God traces this dynamic relationship from the Puritan condemnation of games as sinful in the seventeenth century to the near deification of athletic contests in our own day. <P><P>Early religious opposition to competitive sport focused on the immoderate enthusiasm of players and spectators, the betting on scores, and the preference for playing field over church on Sunday. Disapproval gradually gave way to acceptance when "wholesome recreation" for young men in crowded cities and soldiers in faraway fields became a national priority. Protestants led in the readjustment of attitudes toward sport; Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims followed. The Irish at Notre Dame, outstanding Jews in baseball, Black Muslims in the boxing ring, and born-again athletes at Liberty University represent the numerous negotiations and compromises producing the unique American mixture of religion and sport.
Playing with God: Religion and Modern Sport
by William J. BakerThe spectacle of modern sport displays all the latest commercial and technological innovations, yet age-old religious concerns still thrive at the stadium. Coaches lead pre-game and post-game prayers, athletes give God the credit for home runs and touchdowns, and fans wave signs with biblical quotations and allusions. Like no other nation on earth, Americans eagerly blend their religion and sports. Playing with God traces this dynamic relationship from the Puritan condemnation of games as sinful in the seventeenth century to the near deification of athletic contests in our own day. Early religious opposition to competitive sport focused on the immoderate enthusiasm of players and spectators, the betting on scores, and the preference for playing field over church on Sunday. Disapproval gradually gave way to acceptance when "wholesome recreation" for young men in crowded cities and soldiers in faraway fields became a national priority. Protestants led in the readjustment of attitudes toward sport; Catholics, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims followed. The Irish at Notre Dame, outstanding Jews in baseball, Black Muslims in the boxing ring, and born-again athletes at Liberty University represent the numerous negotiations and compromises producing the unique American mixture of religion and sport.
Playing with Temptation (Pleasure Cove)
by Reese RyanA love for all timeNorth Carolina pro footballer Nate Johnston built his reputation on talent, drive and good sportsmanship. But a devastating recent loss derails his team’s shot at winning the championship…and Nate’s career when a compromising video goes viral. In need of a miracle, the star wide receiver feels ambushed when his brother enlists media consultant Kendra Williams to do damage control. The reignited desire for the woman he once wanted to spend forever with can only cause Nate deeper heartache.Walking away from the man she loved seven years ago is the biggest regret of Kendra’s life. Now her son needs a closer relationship with his father…and Kendra needs to win back Nate’s trust. After breaking his heart, repairing his career is the least she can do to help save his dream. Powerful passion still smolders between them, tempting the former lovers to move beyond their painful past. Will the emergence of a jealous ex with a vicious revenge scheme sabotage their second chance at a future and a family that’s almost within reach?
Playing with the Big Boys: Basketball, American Imperialism, and Subaltern Discourse in the Philippines
by Lou AntolihaoBasketball has a lock on the Filipino soul. From big arenas in Manila to makeshift hoops in small villages, basketball is played by Filipinos of all walks of life and is used to mark everything from summer breaks for students to religious festivals and many other occasions. Playing with the Big Boys traces the social history of basketball in the Philippines from an educational and “civilizing” tool in the early twentieth century to its status as national pastime since the country gained independence after World War II. While the phrase “playing with the big boys” describes the challenge of playing basketball against outsized opponents, it also describes the struggle for recognition that the Philippines, as a subaltern society, has had to contend with in its larger transnational relationships as a former U.S. colony. Lou Antolihao goes beyond the empire-colony dichotomy by covering Filipino basketball in a wider range of comparisons, such as that involving the growing influence of Asia in its region, particularly China and Japan. In this context, Antolihao shows how Philippines basketball has moved from a vehicle for Americanization to a force for globalization in which the United States, while still a key player, is challenged by other basketball-playing countries.