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Throwback: A Big League Catcher Tells How the Game Is Really Played
by Jason Kendall Lee JudgeThrowback offers an informative and irreverent look at the inner mechanics, strategies, secret signals, and customs of major league baseball.Ever Wonder What's Being Said at Home Plate?How a Team Silently Communicates?What Goes on in the Clubhouse Behind Closed Doors?America's pastime has always left fans and amateur players alike yearning for the answers to questions about how pros play the game.Jason Kendall is a former All-Star catcher who has seen just about everything during his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. A player's player, a guy with true grit--a throwback to another time with a unique view on the game that so many love.Jason Kendall and sportswriter Lee Judge team up to bring you the fan, player, coach, or curious statistician an insider's view of the game from a player's perspective. This is a book about pre-game rituals, what to look for when a pitcher warms up between innings, the signs a catcher uses to communicate with the pitcher, and so much more.Some of baseball wisdom you will find inside:* What to look for during batting practice.* The right way to hit a batter.* Who's a tough guy and who's just posing.* How to spot a dirty slide.* Why you don't look at the umpire while you're arguing.Based on Kendall's 15 years of professional MLB experience, Throwback is an informative, hilarious, and illuminating look into the world of professional baseball-and in a way that no one has ever seen before.
The Throwback Special: A Novel
by Chris BachelderHere is the absorbing story of twenty-two men who gather every fall to painstakingly reenact what ESPN called “the most shocking play in NFL history” and the Washington Redskins dubbed the “Throwback Special”: the November 1985 play in which the Redskins’ Joe Theismann had his leg horribly broken by Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants live on Monday Night Football. With wit and great empathy, Chris Bachelder introduces us to Charles, a psychologist whose expertise is in high demand; George, a garrulous public librarian; Fat Michael, envied and despised by the others for being exquisitely fit; Jeff, a recently divorced man who has become a theorist of marriage; and many more. Over the course of a weekend, the men reveal their secret hopes, fears, and passions as they choose roles, spend a long night of the soul preparing for the play, and finally enact their bizarre ritual for what may be the last time. Along the way, mishaps, misunderstandings, and grievances pile up, and the comforting traditions holding the group together threaten to give way. The Throwback Special is a moving and comic tale filled with pitch-perfect observations about manhood, marriage, middle age, and the rituals we all enact as part of being alive.
The Throwback Special: A Novel
by Chris Bachelder2016 National Book Award Finalist in Fiction Winner of the Paris Review's 2016 Terry Southern Prize for Humor A slyly profound and startlingly original novel about the psyche of the American male, The Throwback Special marks the return of one of the most acclaimed literary voices of his generation. Here is the absorbing story of twenty-two men who gather every fall to painstakingly reenact what ESPN called “the most shocking play in NFL history” and the Washington Redskins dubbed the “Throwback Special”: the November 1985 play in which the Redskins’ Joe Theismann had his leg horribly broken by Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants live on Monday Night Football. With wit and great empathy, Chris Bachelder introduces us to Charles, a psychologist whose expertise is in high demand; George, a garrulous public librarian; Fat Michael, envied and despised by the others for being exquisitely fit; Jeff, a recently divorced man who has become a theorist of marriage; and many more. Over the course of a weekend, the men reveal their secret hopes, fears, and passions as they choose roles, spend a long night of the soul preparing for the play, and finally enact their bizarre ritual for what may be the last time. Along the way, mishaps, misunderstandings, and grievances pile up, and the comforting traditions holding the group together threaten to give way. The Throwback Special is a moving and comic tale filled with pitch-perfect observations about manhood, marriage, middle age, and the rituals we all enact as part of being alive.
Throwing Heat
by Fred BowenJack has a sizzling fastball, but does he have what it takes to pitch his team to victory?
Throwing Heat (All-Star Sports Stories #19)
by Fred BowenJack throws the fastest pitches in the league, but lately his blazing fastballs haven't been enough to stay ahead of the batters. His coach wants him to slow down and learn new pitches to throw strikes.A former college player has offered to help, but Jack's eyes are still on the radar gun. Can Jack resist bringing the heat?
Throwing Heat: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel
by Jennifer SeasonsThe sexy baseball players of Jennifer Seasons' Diamonds and Dugouts series slide into home with a final fiery romance worthy of a World Series win. Nightclub manager Leslie Cutter has never been one to back down from a bet. So when Peter Kowalskin, pitcher for the Denver Rush baseball team, bets her that she can't keep her hands off of him, she's not about to let the arrogant, gorgeous playboy win. Especially when the prize could put her business on the map. She's got this in the bag, just so long as she can stay out of his arms … and his bed. Peter struck out once before with Leslie, but this bet is sure to be the second chance he's been waiting for. Determined to stoke the passion he knows is there, he'll do anything to win—even if it means playing a little dirty. But as things heat up, this combustible pair will have to decide just how much they're willing to wager on one another … and on a future that just might last forever.
Throwing Rocks at Houses
by Colleen Jones Perry LefkoCanada's greatest curling champion opens up about her extraordinary career and life In every sport there is one name that stands above all others. In curling, there can be none other than Colleen Jones. When the sport was still developing, Colleen was pioneering the kind of play and dedication that would propel the sport forward. She was only nineteen years old when she won her first provincial championship, and she became the youngest skip, at age twenty-two, ever to win the Canadian women's curling championship: the Tournament of Hearts. She went on to win it a total of six times, with an unprecedented four in a row in the early 2000s. With her two world championships in the same timeframe, no other competitor has matched her record. In Throwing Rocks at Houses, Colleen Jones discusses her start in curling and her remarkable career--from the pure joy of the game for a large family in Halifax to outworking her competition through will and resilience. But as a successful broadcaster with the CBC, and mother of two, Colleen has strived for success in all parts of life and has insight and stories to share on building a healthy work-life balance. And health is very important: after a serious illness that nearly brought about the worst, Colleen has a renewed love of life and a powerful message about achieving meaningful, personal success. Throwing Rocks at Houses is a candid, charming and thoughtful story about learning to value what matters most in life. Colleen Jones shares her unique perspective and reassures us that even the hardest working person can learn to breathe a little lighter.
Throwing Smoke
by Bruce BrooksWhen his teammates on the Breadhurst Newts baseball team continue their losing ways, Whiz uses an unusual printing press to create several star players in hopes of winning a game.
Throwing Strikes: My Quest for Truth and the Perfect Knuckleball
by Sue Corbett R. A. Dickey Wayne CoffeyThe inspiring story of the 2012 National League Cy Young Award WinnerAdapted for young readers from his New York Times bestselling memoir Wherever I Wind Up, this is the inspiring story of how knuckleballer R. A. Dickey became one of the game's best pitchers. He had humble beginnings, and as a child kept a terrible secret. But at a local prep school, coaches saw talent in him and fostered his skills as a player. Dickey went on to pitch in the Olympics while at the University of Tennessee, but his Major League hopes took a downturn when an X-ray revealed a major problem with his throwing arm. It would seem his future in baseball was over before it even began.But R.A. knew better. Through faith, hope, and determination, he achieved his dreams and made it into the major leagues. Now, he's one of the most respected pitchers in the game, a Cy Young Award winner, and he's changed the way people view the knuckleball - and himself. An inspiring true story about beating the odds, R.A. is proof that with hard work and devotion, anyone can overcome whatever life throws at them.
Throwing the Book
by Wayne Barnes Ben DirsWayne Barnes - one of the most-experienced international referees in history and criminal barrister to boot - uniquely lifts the lid on a lifetime of trying to keep the biggest names in the sport on best behaviour.There aren't many people who can say they've been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you're a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place.Candid, humble and warmly told, Throwing the Book is a definitive account of what it means to be a rugby referee and a love letter to the sport that has provided Wayne with so much. Covering his childhood days, family life, career highs and lows, side-step into law, as well as what's next in store for Wayne both on and off the pitch, this book reveals the man behind the referee for the very first time.Serious when it needs to be, but also rich in good humour and humanity, Throwing the Book is a memoir to remember.
Throwing the Book
by Wayne Barnes Ben DirsWayne Barnes - one of the most-experienced international referees in history and criminal barrister to boot - uniquely lifts the lid on a lifetime of trying to keep the biggest names in the sport on best behaviour.There aren't many people who can say they've been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you're a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place.Candid, humble and warmly told, Throwing the Book is a definitive account of what it means to be a rugby referee and a love letter to the sport that has provided Wayne with so much. Covering his childhood days, family life, career highs and lows, side-step into law, as well as what's next in store for Wayne both on and off the pitch, this book reveals the man behind the referee for the very first time.Serious when it needs to be, but also rich in good humour and humanity, Throwing the Book is a memoir to remember.
Throwing the Game (The Fixers Series)
by D. K. AkersLena's sister has a new crush--Grant High's big basketball star, Maleek Carson. But why does Maleek start missing easy shots and making mistakes? Who is that man talking to Maleek after a game?
Thrown
by Kerry Howley"Thrown is Kerry Howley's masterful debut. A work of rigorous nonfiction that's sure to be branded experimental, but that's as involving and page-turning as any book I've read in a while."--Gary Shteyngart"Who can explain what draws a young brilliant writer--and a woman no less--to be mesmerized by the sight of a young man being pummeled in the ring? But out of this passion--maybe obsession--comes a great American story about overlooked heroes, the nature of violence, hope, love and nearly everything else that matters."--Hanna Rosin, author of The End of Men"Out of the dank basements and glitzy arenas of a brutal sport, Kerry Howley has created a story that is virtuous, rapturous, and utterly consequential. In language that's as daring as it is astute, she tells the story of two young guys from the middle of America, and overachiever and an underachiever, whom the world, it turns out, has equally little use for. It's a story we've read about a thousand times, and one we've seen nothing else like. This is a gloriously heartbreaking debut."--John D'Agata, author of The Lifespan of a Fact"Lyrical and brutal in its subject matter, the poetic voice within offers humor, heart, and grace from the first page and kept me in awe until the end. This is a powerful book reminiscent of Hemingway's early work."--Frank Bill, author of Crimes in Southern Indiana and DonnybrookIn this darkly funny work of literary nonfiction, a bookish young woman insinuates herself into the lives of two cage fighters--one a young prodigy, the other an aging journeyman. Acclaimed essayist Kerry Howley follows these men for three years through the bloody world of mixed martial arts as they starve themselves, break bones, fail their families and form new ones in the quest to rise from remote Midwestern fairgrounds to packed Vegas arenas. With penetrating intelligence and wry humor, Howley exposes the profundities and absurdities of this American subculture.Kerry Howley's work has appeared in The Paris Review, New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, Slate, and frequently in Bookforum. She holds an MFA from the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program.
Thrown By A Curve: Play-By-Play Book 5 (Play-By-Play #5)
by Jaci BurtonThrown By A Curve is the fifth erotically charged book 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.This player has a few surprise moves... Alicia Riley's love for her job as a sports therapist for the St Louis Rivers baseball team is tested when she has to work with star pitcher Garrett Scott. Out of the line-up with an injury, he's short-tempered, hard to handle, and every solid inch, a man.At first the only demand he makes is that Alicia get him ready to pitch. That is, until the hot sparks fly and Garrett figures there's no better therapy than sex. Alicia's tempted to oblige Garrett just about anything, but with their careers at stake, one bad move and it's game over for them both.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.
Thruhikers: A Guide to Life on the Trail
by Renee Miller Tim BeissingerExplore the outdoors in a whole new way with this comprehensive guide to hiking, camping, and backpacking, from @thruhikers Renee and TimRenee Miller and Tim Beissinger, also known as @thruhikers, share their experiences exploring the outdoors—hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and camping—with millions of people. They break down every aspect of their adventures—trail routes, gear, recipes, and more—and share stories from their time out on the trail.Their first book is packed with advice, techniques, gear recommendations, and troubleshooting tips for beginner and experienced outdoorsy people alike. They take you through the entire experience: before the trail, on the trail, and after the trail. Plus, they include over 20 plant-based dehydrated recipes, like Curry Rice and Cold-Soaked Shepherd's Pie, to bring on your adventures. Learn how to plan your trip, pack your gear, deal with animals and leave no trace, eat and drink safely, avoid and care for injuries, pass the time, navigate all types of weather, get over the post-trail blues, and more. With this guide, you&’ll be prepared for anything.
Thumb on a Diamond
by Ken RobertsA Horn Book Fanfare Top Ten List selection and an SSLI Honor Book Thumb and Susan come up with an ingenious plan that will take all of the village's nine school-aged kids on the trip of a lifetime. They'll form a baseball team, win the regional title and qualify to be sent to the provincial championships in Vancouver, courtesy of the school board. Never mind that none of them has ever played baseball before. Never mind that there are no other teams to compete for the regional championship. Never mind that the village is not even wide enough to accommodate a baseball diamond. With a lot of ingenuity and a little grownup help, including the advice of a shipwrecked British children's writer-cum-cricket-expert named Mr. Entwhistle, the New Auckland Beavers go into training and start packing their bags. But what will happen when they get to Vancouver? Will they be humiliated by the toughest teams in the province?
Thunder Without Rain: A Memoir with Dangerous Game, God's Cattle, The African Buffalo
by Thomas McIntyre&“When you hear thunder without rain–it is the buffalo approaching.&” This line from a Yoruba hunting poem conveys the magnificent power of the African buffalo, also called &“God&’s cattle.&” Hunter and writer Thomas McIntyre has pursued this special animal for the last forty years, and he now shares his expertise in Thunder Without Rain. McIntyre's topics are wide-ranging, from the various species of the African buffalo and their territories to the cultural importance of buffalo and its place among wild bovids. Other material he covers includes:African, European, and American methods for hunting buffaloHistorical explorers as buffalo huntersGreat buffalo hunters, including Theodore Roosevelt, Robert Ruark, Craig Boddington, and Robert JonesErnest Hemingway&’s writing on buffaloCorrect cartridges for hunting African buffaloAnd finally, what makes buffalo so dangerous—and so sought after?After exploring all topics related to the African buffalo, including hunts of his own, McIntyre ends with the fate of modern buffalo hunting, now often guided and for a high price, and the sustainability of this practice. In Thunder Without Rain, McIntyre confronts his obsession with African buffalo and brings the reader along for a fascinating journey.
Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas
by Michael HurdThe segregated high schools in the Prairie View Interscholastic League created an exciting brand of football that produced hundreds of outstanding players, many of whom became college All-Americans, All-Pros, and Pro Football Hall of Famers, including NFL greats such as "Mean" Joe Green, Otis Taylor, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Ken Houston, and Bubba Smith. Thursday Night Lights tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of African American high school football in Texas. Drawing on interviews, newspaper stories, and memorabilia, Michael Hurd introduces the players, coaches, schools, and towns where African Americans built powerhouse football programs under the PVIL leadership.
Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas
by Michael HurdThe history of black high school football in segregated Texas: &“Though this book is long overdue, it is also right on time.&” ?Texas Observer At a time when &“Friday night lights&” shone only on white high school football games, African American teams across Texas burned up the gridiron on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Temple Dunbar, Austin Anderson, and other segregated high schools in the Prairie View Interscholastic League—the African American counterpart of the University Interscholastic League, which excluded black schools from membership until 1967—created an exciting brand of football that produced hundreds of outstanding players, many of whom became college All-Americans, All-Pros, and Pro Football Hall of Famers, including NFL greats such as &“Mean&” Joe Green, Otis Taylor, Dick &“Night Train&” Lane, Ken Houston, and Bubba Smith.Thursday Night Lights tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of African American high school football in Texas. Drawing on interviews, newspaper stories, and memorabilia, Michael Hurd introduces the players, coaches, schools, and towns where African Americans built powerhouse football programs under the PVIL leadership. He covers fifty years of history, including championship seasons and legendary rivalries such as the annual Turkey Day Classic game between Houston schools Jack Yates and Phillis Wheatley, which drew standing-room-only crowds of up to 40,000. In telling this story, Hurd explains why the PVIL was necessary, traces its development, and shows how football offered a potent source of pride and ambition in the black community, helping black kids succeed both athletically and educationally in a racist society. &“[A] groundbreaking book.&” —Houston Chronicle &“In America&’s current Colin Kaepernick-inspired moment, with sports once again taking on a conspicuous role in debates about black citizenship and the persistence of white racism, this book is especially timely and important.&” —Great Plains Quarterly
Thursday Night Lights: The Story of Black High School Football in Texas
by Michael HurdThe history of black high school football in segregated Texas: &“Though this book is long overdue, it is also right on time.&” —Texas Observer At a time when &“Friday night lights&” shone only on white high school football games, African American teams across Texas burned up the gridiron on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Temple Dunbar, Austin Anderson, and other segregated high schools in the Prairie View Interscholastic League—the African American counterpart of the University Interscholastic League, which excluded black schools from membership until 1967—created an exciting brand of football that produced hundreds of outstanding players, many of whom became college All-Americans, All-Pros, and Pro Football Hall of Famers, including NFL greats such as &“Mean&” Joe Green, Otis Taylor, Dick &“Night Train&” Lane, Ken Houston, and Bubba Smith.Thursday Night Lights tells the inspiring, largely unknown story of African American high school football in Texas. Drawing on interviews, newspaper stories, and memorabilia, Michael Hurd introduces the players, coaches, schools, and towns where African Americans built powerhouse football programs under the PVIL leadership. He covers fifty years of history, including championship seasons and legendary rivalries such as the annual Turkey Day Classic game between Houston schools Jack Yates and Phillis Wheatley, which drew standing-room-only crowds of up to 40,000. In telling this story, Hurd explains why the PVIL was necessary, traces its development, and shows how football offered a potent source of pride and ambition in the black community, helping black kids succeed both athletically and educationally in a racist society. &“[A] groundbreaking book.&” —Houston Chronicle &“In America&’s current Colin Kaepernick-inspired moment, with sports once again taking on a conspicuous role in debates about black citizenship and the persistence of white racism, this book is especially timely and important.&” —Great Plains Quarterly
Thursday-Night Poker
by Peter O. SteinerIntended for the serious biweekly or monthly player, this gaming guide devotes chapters to calculating probabilities, estimating odds, bluffing and being bluffed, reading your opponents' down cards, and more. Virtually everyone will learn from this clearly written, fully illustrated instructional book. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Tick Tock Terror (Orca Currents)
by Melanie JacksonConor loves to climb. So when the crusty old manager of a thrill ride based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" challenges Conor to scale the ride in the dark of night and hide a package at the top, he foolishly accepts. But it isn't long before he realizes that he is now involved in something far more dangerous. What is in the package, and what does it have to do with Edgar Allan Poe? And why is the town bully so terrified of the old man? The more Conor learns, the deeper in trouble he gets.
The Ticket Out: Darryl Strawberry and the Boys of Crenshaw
by Michael SokoloveThe year was 1979 and the fifteen teenagers on the Crenshaw High Cougars were the most talented team in the history of high school baseball. They were pure ballplayers, sluggers and sweet fielders who played with unbridled joy and breathtaking skill. The national press converged on Crenshaw. So many scouts gravitated to their games that they took up most of the seats in the bleachers. Even the Crenshaw ballfield was a sight to behold -- groomed by the players themselves, picked clean of every pebble, it was the finest diamond in all of inner-city Los Angeles. On the outfield fences, the gates to the outside stayed locked against the danger and distraction of the streets. Baseball, for these boys, was hope itself. They had grown up with the notion that it could somehow set things right -- a vague, unexpressed, but persistent hope that even if life was rigged, baseball might be fair. And for a while it seemed they were right. Incredibly, most of of this team -- even several of the boys who sat on the bench -- were drafted into professional baseball. Two of them, Darryl Strawberry and Chris Brown, would reunite as teammates on a National League All-Star roster. But Michael Sokolove's The Ticket Out is more a story of promise denied than of dreams fulfilled. Because in Sokolove's brilliantly reported poignant and powerful tale, the lives of these gifted athletes intersect with the realities of being poor, urban, and black in America. What happened to these young men is a harsh reminder of the ways inspiration turns to frustration when the bats and balls are stowed and the crowd's applause dies down. Just as Friday Night Lights portrayed the impact of high school sports on the life of a Texas community, and There Are No Children Here examined the viselike grip of poverty on minority youngsters, The Ticket Out presents an unforgettable tale of families grasping for opportunities, of athletes praying for one chance to make it big, of all of us hoping that the will to succeed can triumph over the demons haunting our city streets.
The Tidal Year: a memoir on grief, swimming and sisterhood
by Freya BromleyFreya is still searching. For four years, she's been looking for a way to fill the empty space her brother's death left behind. Ready for another distraction, Freya decides to swim every tidal pool in Britain in a year with her friend Miri. The adventure takes them from a pool hidden in the cliffs of fishing-village Polperro to the quarry lagoon of Abereiddi via Trinkie Wick where locals meet each year to give the pool wall a fresh lick of paint.As Freya travels further from London, she finds herself closer to memories of her brother. With every swim, and every stranger they meet in the water, the challenge becomes more than just a way to explore the coast, but a journey of self-discovery.The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of loss, love, female rage and sisterhood.(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
The Tidal Year: a memoir on grief, swimming and sisterhood
by Freya BromleyTake a plunge into this tender exploration of grief, rage, love, loss and sisterhood in the modern age.'Immersive and compelling. I read it in a single day! Everyone should take a plunge into this book.' CATHY RENTZENBRINK'Funny, sad and honest, but ultimately also hopeful, The Tidal Year is a wonderful and welcome addition to the growing canon of books exploring the restorative power of wild swimming.' SOPHIE PIERCE'Reads like a lusciously languid dream sequence... It's not just about how water can redeem us but how words can too. A powerful debut.' CHRISTOPHER BEANLAND'Funny and moving, brimming with bracingly refreshing uncertainty and a salty refusal of resolution, it is a book to float away in.' POLLY ATKIN 'A heart-rending depiction of a young woman growing through grief and the healing, restorative power of nature.' NICK BRADLEY 'Bright and tender-hearted... candid and vulnerable.' JESSICA J. LEE'A moving and memorable book... Her writing is contained, clear and as powerful as the changing tides she swims in. She is a talent to watch.' RAFFAELLA BARKER'Astonishing in its frankness, raw, poignant, bracing, funny; a very human story.' DEREK NIEMANN, Guardian country diaristFreya is still searching. For four years, she's been looking for a way to fill the empty space her brother's death left behind. Ready for another distraction, Freya decides to swim every tidal pool in Britain in a year with her friend Miri. The adventure takes them from a pool hidden in the cliffs of fishing-village Polperro to the quarry lagoon of Abereiddi via Trinkie Wick where locals meet each year to give the pool wall a fresh lick of paint. As Freya travels further from London, she finds herself closer to memories of her brother. With every swim, and every stranger they meet in the water, the challenge becomes more than just a way to explore the coast, but a journey of self-discovery.The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of loss, love, female rage and sisterhood.