Best of
Sports-And-Games

2004

When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback


Michael Leahy - 2004
    But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan set out to reclaim the court that had been his dominion. When Nothing Else Matters is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Washington Post writer Michael Leahy reveals the striking contrast between the public Jordan and the man whose personal style alienated teammates and the Washington owner who ousted him.

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America


Sharon Robinson - 2004
    Jackie Robinson was an outstanding athlete, a devoted family man and a dedicated civil rights activist. The author explores the fascinating circumstances surrounding Jackie Robinson's breakthrough. She also tells the off-the-field story of Robinson's hard-won victories and the inspiring effect he had on his family, his community. . . his country! Includes never-before-published letters by Jackie Robinson, as well as photos from the Robinson family archives.

Backgammon Boot Camp


Walter Trice - 2004
    In a series of articles first appearing online at GammonVillage.com, Trice covers every aspect of the game - from the most fundamental to the most advanced. No other book covers this range of essential material. Regardless of your level of play, Backgammon Boot Camp will transform you into a lean, mean, point-winning machine.

Just Enough Liebling: Classic Work by the Legendary New Yorker Writer


A.J. Liebling - 2004
    Just Enough Liebling gathers in one volume the vividest and most enjoyable of his pieces. Charles McGrath (in The New York Times Book Review) praised it as a judicious sampling-a useful window on Liebling's vast body of writing and a reminder, to those lucky enough to have read him the first time around, of why he was so beloved. Today Liebling is best known as a celebrant of the sweet science of boxing, and as a feeder who ravishes the reader with his descriptions of food and wine. But as David Remnick observes in his fond and insightful introduction, Liebling is boundlessly curious, a listener, a boulevardier, a man of appetites and sympathy-and a writer who, with his great friend and colleague Joseph Mitchell, deftly traversed the boundaries between reporting and storytelling, between news and art.

Red Sox vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry


Harvey Frommer - 2004
    Yankees: The Great Rivalry covers nearly a century's worth of epic battles on and off the baseball field between these age-old rivals. Featuring exclusive interviews with former governors Mario Cuomo of New York and Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, former press secretary Ari Fleischer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, congressmen, reporters, broadcasters, and especially players, coaches, managers and front-office execs from the Red Sox and Yankees including Don Zimmer, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Lou Meroni, Dwight Evans, and Theo Epstein. Two unique features of the book are a Rivalry Timeline and a Talkin' Rivalry section, a free-for-all in print among fans, journalists, and players who all have something to say. Other chapters include Marker Moments, in-depth profiles of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. More than two years in the making, this coffee-table book will have nearly 256 pages of text and more than 125 photos, some in color, some archival. A perfect book for Yankee fans, Red Sox fans, and all baseball fans.

Believe it! World Series Champion Boston Red Sox & Their Remarkable 2004 Season


The Boston Globe - 2004
    They did it for the baby boomers in North Conway, NH, and Groton, MA. They did it for the kids in Central Falls, RI, and Putnam, CT. True. New England and a sprawling Nation of Sox fans can finally exhale. The Red Sox are World Champs. No more Curse of the Bambino. No more taunts of "1918." The suffering souls of Bill Buckner, Grady Little, Mike Torrez, Johnny Pesky, and Danny Galehouse are released from Boston Baseball's Hall of Pain. The 2004 Red Sox are champions because they engineered the greatest comeback in baseball history when they won four straight games against the hated Yankees in the American League Championship Series. It was baseball epic, an event for the ages putting the Sox into a World Series that was profoundly anticlimactic. En route to eight consecutive postseason wins, the Sons of Tito Francona simply destroyed a St. Louis Cardinals team that won a major league-high 105 games in 2004. Celebrate this historic win with two books partnered with

Karate


Harry Cook - 2004
    But what are the differences between karate, tae kwon do, judo, and kick-boxing? Filled with photos of young martial-arts achievers in action and clear text written by recognized experts, this series introduces young readers to the basic techniques and training methods of four popular martial arts. Each book helps give readers the insights and information they need to study a martial art for themselves.