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Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City
by Liam T. A. FordSports fans nationwide know Soldier Field as the home of the Chicago Bears. For decades its signature columns provided an iconic backdrop for gridiron matches. But few realize that the stadium has been much more than that. Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City explores how this amphitheater evolved from a public war memorial into a majestic arena that helped define Chicago. Chicago Tribune staff writer Liam Ford led the reporting on the stadium's controversial 2003 renovation- and simultaneously found himself unearthing a dramatic history. As he tells it, the tale of Soldier Field truly is the story of Chicago, filled with political intrigue and civic pride. Designed by Holabird and Roche, Soldier Field arose through a serendipitous combination of local tax dollars, City Beautiful boosterism, and the machinations of Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson. The result was a stadium that stood at the center of Chicago's political, cultural, and sporting life for nearly sixty years before the arrival of Walter Payton and William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Ford describes it all in the voice of a seasoned reporter: the high school football games, track and field contests, rodeos, and even NASCAR races. Photographs, including many from the Chicago Park District's own collections, capture these remarkable scenes: the swelling crowds at ethnic festivals, Catholic masses, and political rallies. Few remember that Soldier Field hosted Billy Graham and Martin Luther King Jr., Judy Garland and Johnny Cash--as well as Grateful Dead's final show. Now part of the city's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, Chicago's stadium on the lake continues to make dramatic history. Soldier Field captures this history in the making and will captivate armchair historians and sports fans alike.
Soldiers First: Duty, Honor, Country, and Football at West Point
by Joe DrapeIn Soldiers First, bestselling author Joe Drape reveals the unique pressures and expectations that make a year of Army football so much more than just a tally of wins and losses.The football team at the U.S. Military Academy is not like other college football teams. At other schools, athletes are catered to and coddled at every turn. At West Point, they carry the same arduous load as their fellow cadets, shouldering an Ivy League–caliber education and year-round military training. After graduation they are not going to the NFL but to danger zones halfway around the world. These young men are not just football players, they are soldiers first.New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape takes us inside the world of Army football, as the Black Knights and their third-year coach, Rich Ellerson, seek to turn around a program that had recently fallen on hard times, with the goal to beat Navy and "sing last" at the Army-Navy game in December. The 2011 season would prove a true test of the players' mettle and perseverance.Drawing on his extensive and unfettered access to the players and the coaching staff, Drape introduces us to this special group of young men and their achievements on and off the field. Anchoring the narrative and the team are five key players: quarterback Trent Steelman, the most gifted athlete; linebacker Steve Erzinger, who once questioned his place at West Point but has become a true leader; Andrew Rodriguez, the son of a general and the top scholar-athlete; Max Jenkins, the backup quarterback and the second-in-command of the Corps of Cadets; and Larry Dixon, a talented first-year running back. Together with Coach Ellerson, his staff, and West Point's officers and instructors, they and their teammates embrace the demands made on them and learn crucial lessons that will resonate throughout their lives—and ours.
Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth
by Don Yaeger Dan WetzelExplosive and controversial, this exposé uncovers the exploitation of college, high school, and even junior high basketball players by the billion-dollar athletic shoe companies competing for national endorsements.
Solid Contact
by Jim HardyOne of the world's most sought-after golf instructors and a PGA Teacher of the Year makes it easy to be your own coach, customizing your golf swing for phenomenal accuracy. In his decades as a renowned golf coach and player on the PGA and Champions tours, Jim Hardy has attracted not only a clientele of impressive players, but top teachers from around the globe flock to his clinics as well. At the heart of his approach is a simple philosophy: There is no universally right or wrong way to swing a golf club. In fact, Hardy teaches that every person's golf swing is as unique as a strand of DNA. Of course, this creates a challenge for instructors. Now, in Solid Contact, Hardy distills his remarkable system for readers of all skill levels, teaching them how to self-diagnose their shots and correct their swings and misses on the very next shot.Packed with instructional drawings and anecdotes about lessons that spurred turnarounds for the best instructors and pro golfers in the game, Solid Contact addresses the unique aspects of each golfer's swing. Hardy's plus/ minus system draws on three actions: the swing, the swing's impact, and ball flight. Working through evidence in each of these three categories, readers can tailor their actions to address weak points for dramatically improved effectiveness. Putting the world's best instructional techniques in the hands of all readers, Solid Contact delivers lasting results in record time.
Solid Fool's Gold
by Bill JamesSince he first began publishing his Baseball Abstracts in the 1980s, Bill James has constantly challenged conventional wisdom by asking simple questions like, "Is that really true?" or "What if we looked at the question this way?" He has sparked a virtual revolution in the way the game of baseball is understood and played, from how players are evaluated or positioned to whether or not they should attempt to bunt or steal a base. In Solid Fool s Gold James continues his lifelong work with new analyses of: Hot pitchers, clutch pitching, and "late career" players The predictability of RBI A better way to organize the minor leagues The 33 best starting rotations and the worst teams of all time The best pitching matchups of the 1980s (and 2010) How the "Expansion Time Bomb" will affect the Hall of Fame But it is not just baseball that draws James inquisitive eye. He discusses the growing expectation for tips and decreasing effectiveness of advertising; his new method for measuring rainfall; the counterproductive use of physical stop lights and red-light cameras; and the statistical inefficiencies of the federal Transportion Security Administration. James wonders how Buck O Neil would have related to his ancestor s cousin (Supreme Court Justice James Clark McReynolds), proposes whimsical rules for Olympic NASCAR Racing, and poeticizes about Ricky Weeks and WikiLeaks. He compares the chances of a particular-size town producing a Justin Verlander or a William Shakespeare, imagines Roger Maris apologizing in heaven for having beaten Babe Ruth s single-season home run record, and explains how to "battle expertise with the power of ignorance." As a bonus, he includes one of his seminal articles from The Bill James Baseball Abstract 1983 titled "The Law of Competitive Advantage" and looks at how it has held up over the intervening years.
Solo
by Hope SoloHope Solo is the face of the modern female athlete. She is fearless, outspoken, and the best in the world at what she does: protecting the goal of the U.S. women's soccer team. Her outsized talent has led her to the pinnacle of her sport—the Olympics and the World Cup—and made her into an international celebrity who is just as likely to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars as she is on the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Vogue. But her journey—which began in Richland, Washington, where she was raised by her strong-willed mother on the scorched earth of defunct nuclear testing sites—is similarly haunted by the fallout of her family history. Her father, a philanderer and con man, was convicted of embezzlement when Solo was an infant. She lost touch with him as he drifted out of prison and into homelessness. By the time they reunited, years later, in the parking lot of a grocery store, she was an All-American goalkeeper at the University of Washington and already a budding prospect for the U.S. national team. He was living in the woods. Despite harboring serious doubts even about the provenance of her father's last name (and her own), Solo embraces him as fiercely as she pursues her dreams of being a world-class soccer player. When those dreams are threatened by her standing within the national team, as when she was famously benched in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup after four shutouts and spoke her piece publicly, we see a woman of uncompromising independence and hard-won perseverance navigate the petty backlash against her. For the first time, she tells her version of that controversial episode, and offers with it a full understanding of her hard-scrabble life. Moving, sometimes shocking, Solo is a portrait of an athlete finding redemption. This is the Hope Solo whom few have ever glimpsed.
Solo Faces: A Novel
by James SalterA novel about a lonely mountain climber from the author of All That Is: &“Beautifully composed . . . will remind readers of Camus and Saint-Exupéry&” (The Washington Post). Vernon Rand is a charismatic figure whose great love—whose life, in fact—is climbing. He lives alone in California, where he combats the drudgery of a roofing job with the thrill of climbing in the nearby mountain ranges. Sure of only his talent and nerve, Rand decides to test himself in the French Alps, with their true mountaineering and famed, fearsome peaks. He soon learns that the most perilous moments are, for him, the moments when he feels truly alive. One of the great novels of the outdoors, Solo Faces is as thrilling, beautiful, and immediate as the Alpine peaks that have enthralled climbers for centuries. This ebook features an illustrated biography of James Salter including rare photos from the author&’s personal collection.
Solo Training 2: The Martial Artist's Guide to Building the Core
by Loren W. ChristensenThe next evolution in fighting techniques and conceptsIn this follow-up to his phenomenally popular Solo Training, Loren W. Christensen digs down deep to come up with hundreds of more ways for you to rev up your training at home or in the gym. Solo Training 2 kicks off with a focus on building your body's core for stronger, faster, and more effective grappling, kicking, and punching. A strong core--chest, abs, hips, shoulders, and back--is the source of your body's power, speed, and coordinated movement. As a martial artist, having a strong core helps you to get more out of your training and to respond instantly and effectively to the fast-changing demands of competition or an explosive street encounter.You'll also get over 100 ways to work your combinations, cheat speed, improve accuracy, fight from unconventional stances, practice grappling when you can't find a partner, and get the most out of your mannequin bag.This book wraps up with eight workouts, each with a specific goal, like the free-hand power builder and the boxer workout.If you're looking to get more out of training, Solo Training 2 represents your next evolution in fighting techniques and concepts.
Solo Training 2: The Martial Artist's Guide to Building the Core for Stronger, Faster, and More Effective Grappling, Kicking, and Punching
by Loren W. ChristensenIn his follow up to the phenomenally popular Solo Training, Loren Christensen has dug down deep to come up with hundreds of more ways for you to rev up your training at home or in the gym. Solo Training 2 kicks off with a focus on building your body's core for stronger, faster and more effective grappling, kicking and punching. A strong core - your shoulders, chest, abs, hips, and back - is the source of your body's power, speed and coordinated movement. As a martial artist, a strong core helps you to get more out of your training and to respond instantly and effectively to the fast changing demands of competition or an explosive street encounter. You'll also get over 100 ways to work your combinations, cheat speed, improve accuracy, fight from unconventional stances, practice grappling when you can't find a partner and get the most out of your mannequin bag. If hundreds of new training drills sound overwhelming, not to worry. Solo Training 2 wraps up with 8 workouts, each with a specific goal like the Free Hand Power Builder and the Boxer Workout. If you've read your copy of Solo Training 2 to tatters, give it a little time off and dig into Solo Training 2, where Loren Christensen promises to take your fighting techniques and understanding of fighting concepts to a new level.
Solo Training: The Martial Artist's Guide to Training Alone
by Loren W. ChristensenLoren Christensen shows you over 300 ways you can add variety to your daily martial arts training routine. Whether you're a student looking for fun new solo drills to spice up your home training or an instructor in search of new ways to pump up your classes, you won't be disappointed. This incredible collection of drills, techniques and exercises will take your workouts to the next level. Learn to: *Organize your solo workouts to the get maximum results from even the shortest training session *Improve your speed and power with dozens of inside tips and tricks *Beat boredom and get excited about your solo training sessions *Become a well rounded fighter by adding essential skills that your instructor may not be teaching you *Safely experiment with new techniques to find your ideal personal style of training *Get an edge on your opponents with training methods that will make you unstoppable in the ring or on the street Not only will you learn enough new training strategies and methods to keep you busy for years, but Loren Cristensen's no-nonsense writing style will get you up and moving even on the days you rather skip your solo workout. Packed with solid advice and kick-butt motivation, this book will become your favorite training partner.
Solo Training: The Martial Artist's Home Training Guide
by Loren W. ChristensenTake your martial arts workout to the next levelLoren W. Christensen shows you over 300 ways you can add variety to your daily martial arts training routine. Whether you're a student looking for fun new solo drills to spice up your home training or an instructor in search of new ways to pump up your classes, this book has what you need. It is an incredible collection of drills, techniques, and exercises that will take your workouts to the next level.* Organize your solo workouts to get maximum results from even the shortest training sessions.* Improve your speed and power with dozens of inside tips and tricks.* Beat boredom and get excited about your solo training sessions.* Become a well-rounded fighter by adding essential skills your instructor may not be teaching you.* Safely experiment with new techniques to find your ideal personal style of training.* Get an edge on your opponents with training methods that will elevate your skills in the ring and on the street.Not only will you learn enough new training strategies and methods to keep you busy for years, but Loren W. Christensen's no-nonsense writing style will get you up and moving, even on the days you'd rather skip your solo workout. This book is packed with insight, technique, and motivation. It will become your favorite training partner.
Solo l'eroe della città (Flatiron Five Fitness - Italiano #4)
by Deborah CookeCassie ha tutto ciò che vuole… La vita di Cassie Wilson è praticamente perfetta, con un lavoro da sogno, soci fantastici e la libertà di fare ciò che desidera. L’ultima cosa che vuole è tornare a Montrose River, la cittadina che non vedeva l’ora di lasciare, e rivivere il passato. Ma quando la sua più vecchia amica Tori le chiede di fare da madrina alla figlia Emily, Cassie vede l’opportunità di fare la differenza nella vita della bimba. Forse insegnare a Emily a sognare in grande sarà la sua eredità. Inoltre, un fine settimana nel Midwest non può certo ucciderla. Tornerà a Manhattan così in fretta che al Flatiron Five Fitness non avranno il tempo di sentire la sua mancanza. Reid sa cosa vuole… Reid Jackson è convinto che la fortuna vada cercata. Tenere gli occhi aperti è stato il segreto del suo trionfo sul passato, insieme a un sacco di duro lavoro. Magari proviene dai bassifondi e ha la reputazione di essere un malfattore fino al midollo, ma ha costruito il suo marchio di successo. Quando Cassie Wilson torna a presentarsi in città, Reid è pronto a cercare di scoprire se è davvero diversa da tutte le altre. Lei stravolge le sue aspettative, realizzando i suoi sogni e scuotendo la sua routine. Ma quando Cassie decide di volere più di un’avventura, Reid sa di non essere l’uomo che lei vorrebbe: riuscirà a convincerlo a sperare in qualcosa di più?
Solo un'altra volta (Flatiron 5 Fitness - Italiano #2)
by Deborah CookeKyle vuole tutto... Kyle Stuyvesant non crede nell’amore e nelle storie romantiche. I suoi genitori gli hanno insegnato che niente è per sempre, e lui ha preso alla lettera la lezione. Dopo tutto, c’è solo una donna che lo abbia mai indotto a desiderare più di una sola notte rovente insieme. Date le sue convinzioni, per fortuna lei è sposata con un altro uomo. Problema risolto, fino a quando il marito di Lauren non la tradisce e Kyle non è solo chi le porta la cattiva notizia, ma l’uomo che lei chiama per avere conforto. Lauren esige tutto di lui... Dopo che il matrimonio di Lauren implode, lei vuole solo perdersi nel piacere. Chi conosce quel territorio meglio di Kyle, che già una volta in passato l’ha sedotta travolgendola? Lauren non ha mai dimenticato quella notte meravigliosa, e ora che è improvvisamente single la regola di Kyle di evitare l’amore e ogni coinvolgimento romantico assume una nuova attrattiva. Tutto ciò che lei desidera è la soddisfazione, ma ora che Kyle si rende conto di volere di più, riuscirà a convincerla a concedere un’altra possibilità all’amore per sempre, questa volta con lui?
Solution-Focused Practice in Outdoor Therapy: Co-Adventuring for Change
by Will W. Dobud Stephan NatynczukSolution-Focused Practice in Outdoor Therapy presents a comprehensive model for working therapeutically with clients outdoors, with adventure, and in any outdoor setting – from a typical one-hour session to multi-day expeditions. Chapters lay out a robust and pragmatic model for opening the counseling room door using solution-focused methods. Dobud and Natynczuk bring together research on best practice in psychotherapy, monitoring therapeutic outcomes, safe and inclusive leadership, supervision, and self-care to present a robust framework for working therapeutically outdoors. Case vignettes are presented throughout the book, and a field manual is available for free download with purchase of the book.
Solution: Marriage
by Barbara BenedictLUKE PARKER WAS BACK IN TOWN...The news ripped through Main Street like a midsummer tornado. But Callie Magruder didn’t need the local gossip mill to tell her so. She’d felt he was coming. After all, she’d always had a sixth sense when it came to Luke-or maybe it was no sense. Luke was the town’s Golden Boy, son of her family’s nemesis...and her forbidden first love. And now he was returning with a proposition: marriage! Only, Callie had a ten-year-old secret, one that shared his father’s devastating smile....
Some Are Called Clowns: A Season With The Last Of The Great Barnstorming Baseball Teams
by Dimitri Gat Bill HewardThis is the story of the Indianapolis Clowns - one of the last of the black barnstorming baseball teams - their 1973 season and their owner, the notorious and revolutionary Ed Hannum.
Some Kind of Pride
by Maria TestaNamed after the mighty Babe Ruth, Ruth DiMarco has some big shoes to fill. But she's already on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a major-league baseball player. Eleven-year-old Ruth is the star shortstop in her small Maine town, and now a reporter is coming to interview her for Sports Illustrated magazine. She's at the top of her game. Then she overhears her father in the crowd: "Real major-league talent. But I can't help thinking what a shame it is that it's all wasted on a girl." Suddenly Ruth is doubting herself, her dream, and the game she loves. In search of answers, she looks to those closest to her: her best friend, Ellie, a self-proclaimed feminist; her father, a famous sportswriter; and her mother, a firefighter hero, who died eight years ago. But Ruth knows the truth lies within herself. The real question is: Without Sports Illustrated and Little League and Babe Ruth, who is Ruth DiMarco?
Some Kind of Trouble
by Christy GissendanerTrouble with a capital "T" is about to send one ex-football player over the edge in Christy Gissendaner's new addition to the Out of Bounds series. Book 2, will make you laugh, cry, and shake your pom-poms as two exes try to control the sparks between them. Find out what happens when a sexy werebear end's up in Some Kind of Trouble!Hal and Macy just don't get along. Not since their break-up in college have the two of them spent more than five minutes in each other's company. All of that is about to change when Macy takes a job at Hal's bar, Out of Bounds.Hal is a werebear with a problem ... namely one sexy ex-cheerleader who gets under his skin. His hopes at a football career were dashed, but he's made a name for himself as a likable bar owner. When Macy appears, saying she needs money fast, he reluctantly agrees to let her waitress for him. But neither expects the sparks to flare to life again. Battling their own desires and demons, these two exes must learn to trust each other when a life and death situation threatens to tear them apart.Content Notes: Paranormal, Contemporary, Shifters, Other Weres, Sports, Athletes, Hot
Some You Win...: Book 1 (Total Football #2)
by Alan Gibbons'There's me with my mind full of the beautiful game . . . and what are we really, a bunch of deadbeats . . .'But Kev McGovern has a reputation to live up to and when he takes over as captain of the Rough Diamonds he pulls the team up from the bottom of the league, and makes them play to win . . . every match.
Someday Dancer
by Sarah RubinA ballerina tale with a thoroughly modern twist! Casey Quinn has got more grace in her pinkie toe than all those prissy ballet-school girls put together, even if you'd never guess it from the looks of her too-long legs and dirty high-top sneakers. It's 1959, and freckle-faced Casey lives in the red-dust countryside of South Carolina. She's a farm girl: Her family can't afford ballet lessons. But Casey's dream is to dance in New York City. And if anyone tries to stand in her way, she's going to pirouette and jeté right over them! Casey's got the grit, and Casey's got the grace: Is that enough to make it in Manhattan someday? Or might the Big Apple have something even better in mind? When she meets a visionary choreographer she calls "Miss Martha," Casey's ballerina dream takes a thoroughly, thrillingly modern twist!
Something Like the Gods: A Cultural History of the Athlete from Achilles to LeBron
by Stephen AmidonA lively, literary exploration of one of the West's most iconic cultural figures—the athlete Why is the athlete so important to us? Few public figures can dominate the public imagination with such power and authority. Even in our cynical times, when celebrities can be debunked at the speed of light, many still look to athletes as models for our moral and emotional lives. An aging fastballer goes for a few last wins in his final season, and he becomes an exemplar for our daily struggles against time. A top golfer cheats on his wife, and his behavior sparks a symposium on marital fidelity more wideranging than if the lapse had come from a politician or religious leader. Drawing from art, literature, politics, and history, Something Like the Gods explores the powerful grip the athlete has always held on the Western imagination. Amidon examines the archetype of the competitor as it evolved from antiquity to the present day, from athlete-warriors such as Achilles and Ulysses to global media icons like Ali, Jordan, and Tiger Woods. Above all, Something Like the Gods is a lyrical study that will appeal to anyone who has ever imagined themselves in the spikes, boots, or sneakers of our greatest athletes—or wondered why people do.
Something Random: A Novel Inspired By True Events
by Roger JonesA Novel Inspired by True EventsShattered BodiesBroken DreamsThe Race to Win Back HopeIn a novel that fuses the riveting action of The Boys in the Boat with the emotional heft of The Fault in Our Stars, twenty men and women with cancer-ridden bodies compete in a grueling race only to discover that real victory is achieved within. After he is diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, Tripp Avery feels like all is lost. He finds himself coaching a team of twelve men and eight women with cancer diagnoses of their own, hoping to qualify for the Mixed Masters Dragon Boat national championship and defy their prognoses. If they win, they will represent the United States at the International Dragon Boat races in Hong Kong. But things soon get complicated, as four of his teammates struggle against their physical limitations and the psychological weight of their conditions. In the summer heat of Chattanooga, their resolve grows thin—along with Tripp's patience. After a devastating loss to the defending national champions, Tripp can only see the finish line, and he pushes the team even harder. Soon, the team starts to fall apart. As members of the team collapse under the pressure and one is hospitalized, he must confront his own failings and find a way to move forward. He begins to question his motives, wondering if the win is worth the trauma and what that says about him. Despite the odds, he resolves to rally the team toward a comeback that seems impossible, if only for one final victory.
Something in the Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics
by Richard HofferIn the tradition of Seabiscuit and The Summer of ’49, a gripping sports narrative that brilliantly tells the amazing individual stories of the unforgettable athletes who gathered in Mexico City in a year of dramatic upheaval. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics reflected the spirit of their revolutionary times. Richard Hoffer’s Something in the Air captures the turbulence and offbeat heroism of that historic Olympiad, which was as rich in inspiring moments as it was drenched in political and racial tensions. Although the basketball star Lew Alcindor decided to boycott, heavyweight boxer George Foreman not only competed, but waved miniature American flags over his fallen opponents. The sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos became as famous for their raised-fist gestures of protest as their speed on the track. No one was prepared for Bob Beamon’s long jump, which broke the world’s record by a staggering twenty-two inches. And then there was Dick Fosbury, the goofball high jumper whose backwards, upside down approach to the bar (the "Fosbury Flop") baffled his coaches while breaking records. Though Fosbury was his own man, he was apolitical and easygoing. He didn’t defy authority; he defied gravity. Witty, insightful, and filled with human drama, Something in the Air mixes Shakespearean complexity with Hollywood sentimentality, sociopolitical significance, and the exhilarating spectacle of youthful, physical prowess. It is a powerful, unforgettable tale that will resonate with sports fans and readers of social history alike.
Something to Shout About: The History of Forest Green Rovers FC
by Heather Cook Tim BarnardForest Green Rovers have risen through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of non-League football. As founder members of the Mid-Gloucestershire League in 1894 – the first football league in Gloucestershire outside of Bristol – they have always been forward looking. Their rise has not always been smooth but the ambition of those involved with the club has seen them through and they are now the longest-serving members of the Conference National.This comprehensive history of Forest Green Rovers looks back at the highs and lows of their 125-year existence, right up to the start of the 2014/15 campaign. Taking in the glory of cup wins, promotion campaigns and the drama of several last-minute escapes from relegation– not to mention 1982’s FA Vase win – it will delight Rovers fans of all ages and prove just why the Rovers have something to shout about.
Something's Fishy: An Angler's Look at Our Distressed Gamefish and Their Waters - And How We Can Preserve Both
by Ted Williams Paul GuernseyWell-known nature and conservation writer Ted Williams is an avid fisherman who has devoted many years to writing about the sport and advocating the preservation of bodies of water and species of fish. Here, he brings together his love of angling with his profound sense of responsibility for the environment. Most of the work in this anthology is adapted from articles originally published in Audubon and Fly Rod & Reel (where Williams is conservation editor), and these lively, perceptive pieces take readers across the United States and around the world: trout fishing in Patagonia; bonefishing on South Andros Island in the Bahamas; and tuna fishing off the coast of Massachusetts. Williams' passion and commitment will inspire fishermen everywhere.