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You Can't Make This Up
by Al Michaels L. Jon WertheimOne of America's most respected sportscasters--and the play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday Night Football--gives us a behind-the-curtain look at some of the most thrilling games and fascinating figures in modern sports.No sportscaster has covered more major sporting events than Al Michaels. During the course of his forty-plus-year career, he has logged more hours on live primetime network television than anyone in history, having covered all four major sports championships--the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA finals, and the Stanley Cup final--as well as the Olympic Games, the Triple Crown, and many more. He has witnessed firsthand some of the most memorable events in sports, and in this highly personal and entertaining account, he brings them all vividly to life.Michaels's stories cover unforgettable chapters over the past half century--from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics' "Miracle on Ice" to the earthquake that rocked the 1989 World Series to the drama of what many consider the most exciting Super Bowl ever--Super Bowl XLIII between the Steelers and the Cardinals. Some of the biggest personalities on and off the field are here--Pete Rose, John Wooden, Brett Favre, Tommy Lasorda, O. J. Simpson, John Madden, Cris Collinsworth, Roone Arledge, Bill Parcells, Tiger Woods, Doc Rivers, Dennis Miller, and many, many more. Complementing access with insight, Michaels adds to the stories you thought you knew: Michael Jordan's eyesight; Howard Cosell's prickly, bombastic personality; even Peyton and Eli Manning's sibling rivalry. From start to finish, Al Michaels gives us an up-close portrait of an industry that is--today more than ever--a vital part of our national culture.
You Can't Stop The Sun From Shining
by Sonny Bill Williams__________Available for pre-order: the extraordinary and revealing autobiography of one of rugby's most entertaining and complicated figures'I lived for winter Saturdays and played footy at lunchtime and after school, while at home I passed, kicked, tackled and discussed the game endlessly with my big bro. I ignored bad weather; I just wanted to play. When there weren't enough numbers to make up teams, a few of us kids would still get together and practice. That's where my offloads were born.'__________As a shy part-Samoan boy growing up in the suburbs of Auckland, Sonny Bill Williams thought about footy constantly. For him, the dream of playing professional NRL was so big that nothing else ever came close.Fast forward to 2004, and eighteen-year-old Sonny Bill's dream was coming true. Making his first-grade debut for the Canterbury Bulldogs, he would become an integral part of their premiership-winning team and be named Rookie of the Year.The league culture was train hard, play hard and then party hard. Alcohol, drugs, women - it was a slippery slope for a naïve teen looking to find his place. Too soon, the joy of winning a premiership gave way to an emptiness that not even footy could fix. Struggling, Sonny made a decision that for many was unforgivable. He walked out on the Bulldogs and flew to France. Scathing headlines, subpoenas and threatened lawsuits followed. But so too would come the realisation that he couldn't run from the man in the mirror.In this powerful, open and honest memoir, Sonny Bill shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today.__________Sonny Bill Williams is a once in a generation athlete - a player with immense sporting talent in rugby league, rugby union and boxing. In his remarkable career, he has won World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015 and helped the Kiwis reach the 2013 final of the rugby league equivalent.Compelling and searingly honest, You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining is essential reading for any sports fan.
You Can't Stop The Sun From Shining
by Sonny Bill WilliamsThe extraordinary and revealing autobiography of one of rugby's most entertaining and complicated figures'I lived for winter Saturdays and played footy at lunchtime and after school, while at home I passed, kicked, tackled and discussed the game endlessly with my big bro. I ignored bad weather; I just wanted to play. When there weren't enough numbers to make up teams, a few of us kids would still get together and practice. That's where my offloads were born.'__________As a shy part-Samoan boy growing up in the suburbs of Auckland, Sonny Bill Williams thought about footy constantly. For him, the dream of playing professional NRL was so big that nothing else ever came close.Fast forward to 2004, and eighteen-year-old Sonny Bill's dream was coming true. Making his first-grade debut for the Canterbury Bulldogs, he would become an integral part of their premiership-winning team and be named Rookie of the Year.The league culture was train hard, play hard and then party hard. Alcohol, drugs, women - it was a slippery slope for a naïve teen looking to find his place. Too soon, the joy of winning a premiership gave way to an emptiness that not even footy could fix. Struggling, Sonny made a decision that for many was unforgivable. He walked out on the Bulldogs and flew to France. Scathing headlines, subpoenas and threatened lawsuits followed. But so too would come the realisation that he couldn't run from the man in the mirror.In this powerful, open and honest memoir, Sonny Bill shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today.__________Sonny Bill Williams is a once in a generation athlete - a player with immense sporting talent in rugby league, rugby union and boxing. In his remarkable career, he has won World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015 and helped the Kiwis reach the 2013 final of the rugby league equivalent.Compelling and searingly honest, You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining is essential listening for any sports fan.(P) 2021 Hachette Australia
You Don't Have a Shot
by Racquel MarieA queer YA romance about rival soccer players from author Racquel Marie, perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy.Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance—and any hope of playing college soccer—will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.Sharp, romantic, and deeply emotional, You Don’t Have a Shot is a rivals-to-lovers romance about rediscovering your love of the game and yourself, from the author of Ophelia After All."You Don't Have a Shot has every ingredient that makes rivals-to-lovers such a great trope, but it's also so much more. It's a story of grief and loss, of legacy, of culture, of holding the things and people that bring us joy close. I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say that Racquel Marie has done it again: this is truly young adult contemporary at its best." —Jonny Garza Villa, author of the Pura Belpré Honor Book Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun
You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond
by Robert WhitingFrom the author of Tokyo Junkie, &“the definitive book on Japanese baseball and one of the best-written sports books ever&” (San Francisco Chronicle). One might expect the sport of baseball in Japan to be a culture clash—a collision of American individualism with the Japanese focus on wa, or harmony. Instead, it has turned into a winning symbiosis. Imported American sluggers—some past their primes—have found new life in the East and have given credibility to the Japanese game. A succession of Japanese stars like Hideo Nomo left their teams to find success in the US major leagues, enabling MLB International to make hundreds of millions of dollars selling TV and licensing rights to its games in Japan. While philosophical differences remain, You Gotta Have Wa guides you through the strange and fascinating world of besuboru, or baseball. With a history of the game in Japan and an overview of the Japanese leagues and their rules, this book follows the careers of players and managers who influenced the game in the East and vice versa—including Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, Bobby Valentine, and Sadaharu Oh, the Japanese homerun king. Whether you are a Yankees or a Red Sox fan, a sports or an enthusiast of Japanese culture, &“simply sit back and enjoy the wonderful stories in You Gotta Have Wa, one of the most unusual baseball books of the season&” (The New York Times). &“A wonderfully entertaining look at baseball and wa.&” —Time &“A terrific, fast-paced account of Japanese baseball.&” —Chicago Tribune &“A funny look at baseball in Japan that is as much a work of cultural anthropology as a sports book.&” —Playboy
You Gotta Play Hurt
by Dan JenkinsJim Pinch has a job as a globe-trotting columnist for a magazine. From the Swiss Alps to the Cotton Bowl, Jim is in the process of writing his own fictional account of a year in the life of a sportswriter, while perpetuating a love life that involves Will Woodruff and Jeannie Slay.
You Had Me at Hockey (Bears Hockey)
by Kelly JamiesonCan a spirited, down-to-earth influencer get an uptight hockey player out of his shell?JoshI am a warrior. That&’s been my motto since I recovered from a near-death accident when I was younger. Now I enjoy my nice, settled life in Dallas playing pro hockey—a boring life is better than being dead. I&’m not a party guy or an adventurer; I like my routine and peace and quiet. So being traded to New York is the worst possible change that could happen. And meeting unfiltered and fascinating Sara Carrington throws my life into even more chaos.SaraI&’ve been considered weird my whole life, which is why I&’m still a virgin, but I&’ve turned it into a career with my YouTube videos. Who knew people would love watching me talk about my zits, taste-test meatless burgers, and try to learn TikTok dances! Now I&’m launching a podcast. Getting hockey star Josh Heller as a guest will help gain listeners for sure. I expect a bearded jock with no teeth and nothing to say, but I get a hot as H-E-double-hockey-sticks grouch with a surprisingly dirty mind. My mission to make him laugh is successful, but I want to know why he&’s so uptight underneath that panty-dropping smile. Maybe I can teach Josh to have some fun . . . and maybe he can teach me a thing or two along the way. . . . USA Today bestselling author Kelly Jamieson&’s epic Bears Hockey series can be read together or separately:MUST LOVE DOGS . . . AND HOCKEYYOU HAD ME AT HOCKEYDon&’t miss any of Kelly&’s captivating reads:The Wynn Hockey series: PLAY TO WIN • IN IT TO WIN IT • WIN BIG • FOR THE WINThe Aces Hockey series: MAJOR MISCONDUCT • OFF LIMITS • ICING • TOP SHELF • BACK CHECK • SLAP SHOT • PLAYING HURT • BIG STICK • GAME ONThe Bayard Hockey series: SHUT OUT • CROSS CHECKThe Last Shot series: BODY SHOT • HOT SHOT • LONG SHOTThe standalone novel: DANCING IN THE RAIN
You Herd Me!: I'll Say It If Nobody Else Will
by Colin CowherdThere are really two games, the one you see and the one you don't. The way I see it, the best way to use access to both worlds is to illuminate and reveal, not idolize and adore. It's better to be wrong than to be played for a fool. - Colin Cowherd In this age of billion dollar athletic marketing campaigns, "feel good" philosophy with no connection to reality, and a Sports Media echo chamber that's all too eager swallow whatever idiotic notion happens to be in vogue at the moment, it's tough to find people who aren't afraid to say what they're really thinking. But that's where Colin Cowherd comes in. As his millions of fans on ESPN Radio and ESPNU already know, Colin is the rare sports analyst who's brave (or crazy) enough to speak his mind--even if it pisses some people off. Of course, it helps that a lot of what Colin has to say is simply hilarious. Lots of writers can tell you about Boston's storied sports history. But how many can tell you why the city of Boston is America's five year old? Lots of writers will brag about the stuff they got right, but how many will happily list all the calls they got completely and utterly wrong? Whether he's pointing out the stupidity of conspiracy theories, explaining why media bias isn't nearly as big a deal as many assume, or calling out those who prize short term wins over sustainability, Colin is smart, thought-provoking, and laugh-out-loud funny. Some of the questions he's not afraid to ask in You Herd Me! include: Is Tiger Woods really a sex addict--or does he just have good PR?Is "work-life balance" really the ideal we should all strive for--or is that just a way for people feel better about mediocrity?Is talent really all it's cracked up to be--or can too much talent actually be counterproductive?Is the X games really a sport--or would we all be better off if we admitted it's something else entirely?Is Hell really a supernatural place of fire and brimstone--or is it actually just another word for living in Tampa? Unapologetically entertaining and packed with behind-the-scenes insights you won't get anywhere else, You Herd Me! is unlike any other sports book ever written.
You Know Me Al: A Busher's Letters (classic Reprint) (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)
by Ring LardnerIn the early decades of the twentieth century, newspaperman and humorist Ring Lardner (1885–1933) made America laugh with his hilarious depictions of odd characters in the sporting world, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood. His first great success was You Know Me Al, a fictional series of letters from a popular baseball hero to his friend, slyly revealing the letter writer as a crude, conceited, semiliterate, self-deceiving boob.The letters, created while Lardner was writing a sports column for The Chicago Tribune, first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post and were later published in book form in 1918. You Know Me Al reveals Lardner as a satirical master at the peak of his form: a fine albeit misanthropic storyteller with a superb feel for the niceties of characters and speech and a sure instinct for provoking laughter.
You Know Me Al: A Busher's Letters (Barnes And Noble Library Of Essential Reading)
by John Thorn Ring LardnerOne of the classic baseball stories, You Know Me Al, first published in 1914, tells the story of the fictional Jack Keefe, a bush league baseball player who earns a trip to the majors to pitch for the Chicago White Sox. Set in pre-World War I, the book is comprised of letters that Keefe sends to his "old pal" Al. Through the letters, the self-centered Keefe reveals his regular struggles to maintain his position in the big leagues as well as his personal life and juggle his financial difficulties. Nevertheless, the tales from on and off the field as he travels with the team are full of wit, insight, and entertainment. They include Keefe's encounters with baseball legends such as Ty Cobb, Charles Comiskey, Walter Johnson, and Eddie Cicotte.In this edition of the book, which includes a foreword by acclaimed writer John Thorn, readers can relive all of the glory of this historic era of baseball through the eyes of one of Ring Lardner's most comical characters, a century after his creation!
You Know You're a Football Fanatic When... (You Know You're ... Ser.)
by Ben FraserYou know you're a football fanatic when... ... your mobile ringtone sounds suspiciously like the theme tune for Match of the Day. ... you have your house carpeted in AstroTurf. If this sounds all too familiar, read on to discover whether you're truly obsessed with the beautiful game or just another armchair supporter.
You Know You're a Football Fanatic When... (You Know You're ... Ser.)
by Ben FraserYou know you're a football fanatic when... ... your mobile ringtone sounds suspiciously like the theme tune for Match of the Day. ... you have your house carpeted in AstroTurf. If this sounds all too familiar, read on to discover whether you're truly obsessed with the beautiful game or just another armchair supporter.
You Know You're a Rugby Fanatic When... (You Know You're ... Ser.)
by Steven GaugeYou know you're a rugby fanatic when... ... your Facebook profile photo is a close-up of your latest injury. ... you own more replica shirts than work ones. If this sounds all too familiar, read one to discover whether you're truly obsessed with the odd-shaped ball or just one player short of a scrum!
You Know You're a Rugby Fanatic When... (You Know You're ... Ser.)
by Steven GaugeYou know you're a rugby fanatic when... ... your Facebook profile photo is a close-up of your latest injury. ... you own more replica shirts than work ones. If this sounds all too familiar, read one to discover whether you're truly obsessed with the odd-shaped ball or just one player short of a scrum!
You Let Some Girl Beat You?
by Julius Erving Ann Meyers Drysdale Joni Ravenna"Annie was one of the best players ever. I didn't say male or female; I said ever."--Bill Russell, former Boston Celtics player Ann Meyers Drysdale is one of the greatest stars in the history of basketball. But her rise wasn't without controversy. Her 1979 NBA bid to play with the Indiana Pacers brought a barrage of criticism. But Ann simply wanted to play among the best. She had always competed with the guys, and she never let anyone keep her down. In You Let Some Girl Beat You? she shares her inspirational story for the first time. A female first in many categories, Meyers Drysdale was the first woman ever signed to a four-year athletic scholarship to UCLA, where she remains the only four-time Bruin basketball All American, male or female. Ann was also the only woman ever asked to compete in ABC Sports' Superstars, pitting her against elite athletes like Mark Spitz, Joe Frazier, O.J. Simpson, and Mark Gastineau. After her athletic career Ann Meyers Drysdale went on to do color commentary on all the national stations. She also married Don Drysdale, legendary pitcher and announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, making them the first ever married couple enshrined in their respective sport's Hall of Fame. Today Ann continues to break through barriers. She is the only female vice president in the NBA (she is vice president of the Phoenix Suns), and is also the general manager of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, which has won two WNBA championships since she took over four years ago. The New York Times featured her prominently in a piece in August 2011 called "Pioneers Continue to Shepherd Women's Basketball." Time magazine recently named her one of the ten greatest female athletes of all time.
You Must Like Cricket?: Memoirs of an Indian Cricket Fan
by Soumya BhattacharyaThe great C L R James once asked: 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?' For some of us answering that can keep you awake at night.Soumya Bhattacharya knows this: he has a steady job, a loving wife, a daughter he dotes on. But most of all he has cricket. Or perhaps more accurately: cricket has him. Ever since he can remember, he's loved the game. From his first knockabouts on the living-room carpet - with his mother's paper bats and balls - he progressed to Test Match Special on short-wave, then to the whole panoply of obsession: one-dayers, Test matches, TV highlights, re-runs of TV highlights, always following one team - India. When you come from a country where the game is more than a religion, you must like cricket, right?In this sparkling memoir of a lifetime spent in the company of eleven men, a green field and a billion other worshippers, Soumya Bhattacharya gives us a guided tour of the soul of a cricket obsessive. Part reportage, part travelogue, part cultural politics, You Must Like Cricket? takes us from his home in Kolkata to Lord's and back again as Bhattacharya explores the joys and the lows (mostly the lows) of a thirty-year love affair, how one game has become so closely tied to a nation's identity, and the troubling hold cricket has over him. But if your home ground was called Eden Gardens, where else would you rather be?
You Never Heard of Casey Stengel?!
by Jonah WinterLegendary baseball manager Casey Stengel worked with such greats as Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle; he led the New York Yankees to a record-breaking TEN pennants and SEVEN World Series in twelve years; he invented "platooning," a way to use players that revolutionized the game; he was a prankster who became famous for sayings like "Everybody line up alphabetically according to your height." The brains behind any baseball team is its manager . . . and here's a picture-book biography about the best, most beloved and entertaining manager in history!
You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!
by Jonah WinterIn this striking picture book biography, an old-timer tells us what made Sandy Koufax so amazing. We learn that the beginning of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers was rocky, that he was shy with his teammates, and experienced discrimination as one of the only Jews in the game. We hear that he actually quit, only to return the next season-- different-- firing one rocket after another over the plate. We watch him refuse to play in the 1965 World Series because it is a Jewish high holy day. And we see him in pain because of an overused left arm, eventually retiring at the peak of his career. Finally, we are told that people are still "scratchin' their heads over Sandy," who remains a modest hero and a mystery to this day. Accompanied by sidebars filled with statistics, here's a book sure to delight budding baseball fans.
You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!
by Jonah Winter Terry WidenerHe hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." Many believe him to be the best baseball player that ever lived. His name is Willie Mays. <P><P> In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, and a cool lenticular cover, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old.
You Ought to Do a Story About Me: Addiction, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Endless Quest for Redemption
by Ted Jackson“This masterpiece of dogged and loving reporting will astonish you and touch your heart. The struggles and quest for redemption of football star Jackie Wallace make for a fall-from-grace tale that’s both unsettling and uplifting.”—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Leonardo da VinciThe heartbreaking, timeless, and redemptive story of the transformative friendship binding a fallen-from-grace NFL player and a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who meet on the streets of New Orleans, offering a rare glimpse into the precarious world of homelessness and the lingering impact of systemic racism and poverty on the lives of NOLA’s citizens. In 1990, while covering a story about homelessness for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Ted Jackson encountered a drug addict sleeping under a bridge. After snapping a photo, Jackson woke the man. Pointing to the daily newspaper by his feet, the homeless stranger looked the photojournalist in the eye and said, “You ought to do a story about me.” When Ted asked why, he was stunned by the answer. “Because, I’ve played in three Super Bowls.”That chance meeting was the start of Ted’s thirty-year relationship with Jackie Wallace, a former NFL star who rose to the pinnacle of fame and fortune, only to crash and lose it all. Getting to know Jackie, Ted learned the details of his life, and how he spiraled into the “vortex of darkness” that left him addicted and living on the streets of New Orleans. Ted chronicles Jackie's life from his teenage years in New Orleans through college and the NFL to the end of his pro career and the untimely death of his mother—devastating events that led him into addiction and homelessness. Throughout, Ted pays tribute to the enduring friendship he shares with this man he has come to know and also look at as an inspiration. But Ted is not naïve; he speaks frankly about the vulnerability of such a relationship: Can a man like Jackie recover, or is he destined to roam the streets until his end? Tragic and triumphant, inspiring and unexpected, You Ought to Do a Story About Me offers a rare glimpse into the precarious world of homelessness and the lingering impact of systemic racism and poverty on the lives of NOLA’s citizens. Lyrical and evocative, Ted's account is pure, singular, and ambitious—a timeless tale about loss, redemption, and hope in their multifarious forms.“This book will melt your heart. The story of Jackie Wallace is an unforgettable tale of hope, grace, and the miracle of the human spirit. Ted Jackson writes with searing honesty and deep love for a troubled man who started as his subject and became his lifelong friend.”—Jonathan Eig, bestselling author of Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
You Should Be So Lucky: A Novel
by Cat SebastianAn emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers. Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.
You Throw Like a Girl (mix)
by Rachele AlpineMiss Congeniality meets She’s the Man in this hilarious M!X novel about a girl torn between competing in a beauty pageant and playing on the boy’s baseball team.Gabby’s summer vacation isn’t shaping up to be that great. Her dad was just deployed overseas, and Gabby is staying at her grandmother’s house with her mom and baby sister until he returns. The one bright spot is that Gaby plans to sign up for the local softball league—her greatest love and a passion she shares with her Dad who was a pitcher in college. But when Gabby goes to sign up for the summer league, she discovers that there wasn’t enough interest to justify a girl’s team this year. And to top it off, a horrible miscommunication ends with Gabby signed up to participate in the Miss Popcorn Festival—the annual pageant that Gabby’s mom dominated when she was younger. Besides not having any interest in the pageant life, Gabby made a promise to her dad that she would play softball for the summer. Since her pitching skills rival any boy her age, Gabby creates a master plan: disguise herself as a boy and sign up for the boy’s baseball team instead—and try to win the pageant to make Mom happy. Can Gabby juggle perfecting her pageant walk and perfecting her fastball? Or will this plan strike out?
You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity
by Don McPhersonFormer NFL quarterback McPherson examines the roots of masculinity gone awry and how it promotes violence against women."An essential exploration of what’s holding men and sports back--and how to overcome it."--Washington Post"A crucial read for anyone interested in learning more about how sports culture informs limited definitions of masculinity, and how such definitions are destructive for boys and men, and dangerous to girls and women. Don McPherson, a former NFL and college quarterback, urges readers to think critically about the unfair expectations society sets based on gender, and how to upend them."--The Undefeated, one of The Undefeated's Can't Miss Books of 2019"You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity by former NFL quarterback Don McPherson is an examination of society's traditional definition of masculinity and how this narrow focus creates blind spots that hinder the healthy development of men. Using examples from his own life, McPherson dissects the strict beliefs and unspoken rules that define our views of manhood, the behaviors of masculinity we instill in growing boys, and how the resulting lack of emotional wholeness can lead to violence against women. He passionately advocates against the dangers of viewing such violence as strictly a 'women's issue.' Instead, he argues that the toxicity of the traditional views of masculinity are ultimately culpable."--The Advocate"McPherson does not malign masculinity. Moreover, he does not seed guilt and shame unto boys. Thankfully, there is no blind hagiography of women and wanton vilification of men. Masculinity is natural, healthy, and undeniable...Soundly and clearly articulated, McPherson has emerged as a measured voice in an oftentimes kinetic and unsettling narrative...Highly recommended."--Jamaica Gleaner"The Central New York community knows Don McPherson as the Hall-Of-Fame quarterback who led the 1987 SU football team to an undefeated season. But for the past 27 years, he's also been working on publishing a book that tackles the tough issue of how boys are traditionally raised with macho stereotypes that impacts sexual and domestic violence."--Bridge Street (WYSR 9, Syracuse, NY)"Former SU Quarterback Don McPherson isn't fighting for yards or touchdowns, he's in the fight to reduce violence against women. He just published a book, You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity."--WAER (Syracuse University 88.3 FM, Syracuse, NY)"[McPherson] is also out with a new book entitled You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity. In it, McPherson examines his own life experiences and how they impacted his perception of what it was to be a man."--CNY Central (NBC3 Syracuse, NY)In You Throw Like a Girl, former Syracuse University quarterback and NFL veteran Don McPherson examines how the narrow definition of masculinity adversely impacts women and creates many "blind spots" that hinder the healthy development of men. Dissecting the strict set of beliefs and behaviors that underpin our understanding of masculinity, he contends that we don't raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women.Using examples from his own life, including his storied football career, McPherson passionately argues that viewing violence against women as a "women's issue" not just ignores men's culpability but conflates the toxicity of men's violence with being male. In You Throw Like a Girl, McPherson leads us beyond the blind spots and toward solutions, analyzing how we can engage men in a sustained dialogue, with a new set of terms that are aspirational and more accurately representative of the emotional wholeness of men.
You Vs the World: The Bear Grylls Guide to Never Giving Up
by Bear GryllsGive the young person in your life the mindset they need to thrive.Kids today are presented with new challenges all the time. They face an uncertain future and are under constant pressure to thrive in an overwhelming and fast-paced world. You vs the World: The Bear Grylls Guide to Never Giving Up retells Bear Grylls&’ most extreme adventures in a kid-friendly way. He shares the life lessons he&’s learned along the way, and how the skills needed to survive in the wild can be used in everyday life. From finding confidence to bouncing back from failure, Bear gives children the tools they need to survive and thrive in their own lives.
You'll Win Nothing With Kids: Fathers, Sons and Football
by Jim WhiteOn Sunday mornings Jim White has the following choice: visit the supermarket, buy trellising at B'n'Q, or stand on the sidelines of a muddy municipal football pitch, his trouser cuffs wetter than a weekend in Llandudno, shoulder-to-shoulder with a motley crew of mums, dads, step-parents and same-sex life partners all screaming at their beleaguered offspring. You'll find Jim in the same place every week, failing to organise a bunch of lads into something resembling a team while on the far side of the park his opposite number, a wannabe Mourinho in brashly monogrammed tracksuit, struts the sidelines, shouting - always shouting. This is the hilarious story of Jim White's time as manager of his son's football team: the highs, the lows, and the dog turd in the centre circle. At this level, winning spirit is not so much about passion, pride and belief as praying that your star centre forward has remembered his boots. Most importantly, it's about the enduring relationship between fathers, sons and football. This is the story no one who has ever watched his or her child play sport will want to miss.