Book picks similar to
Retired Numbers: A Celebration of NHL Excellence by Andrew Podnieks
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Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection
Gunnar Nordstrom - 2019
Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings as a 19-year-old defenseman out of his native Sweden, Lidstrom spent the next two decades manning the Motor City blueline. During those years he became a Hockeytown legend, amassing a mind-boggling collection of accomplishments and accolades: four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman, a Conn Smythe Trophy, 12 All-Star selections, and gold medals in both the Olympics and World Championships. Off the ice, life appears equally idyllic: Lidstrom is uniformly respected and admired by opponents, observers, and teammates alike, and he and his wife of more than 20 years have four boys who split their time between Sweden and their adopted homeland. Perhaps only one question remains unanswered about the man teammates referred to as the Perfect Human: exactly how did he do it? In Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection, the Hall of Fame defenseman and a who’s-who of hockey luminaries investigate and reveal precisely how he made dominating the game he loves appear so effortless. How did an unimposing prospect catch the eye of Red Wings scouts during an era when few Swedes made it to the NHL? What was the secret to his remarkable endurance and longevity, allowing him to miss just 44 games in 20 grueling NHL seasons? And what level of preparation and study was required to transform a man who was not the biggest or fastest at his position into one of the greatest defensemen in hockey history? You’ll find the answers to all of this and more in Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection
Craving Her Curves 4 (Craving Her Curves Series)
Nora Stone - 2015
To make matters worse, Joey finds himself caught in the middle of a career threatening scandal. Can Charlotte help Joey get out of this disaster before it's too late?Find out in part four of Craving Her Curves!
Brendon McCullum - Declared
Brendon McCullum - 2016
The holder of many records, ‘Baz’ is known for speaking his mind. He talks about growing up loving sport more than anything, getting better and better at cricket (although he was a good enough rugby player to keep Dan Carter out of the South Island Schoolboy rugby team) and his uncertain transition to international cricketer. In this explosive autobiography he opens up on the many controversies he has been involved in, including the Chris Cairns affair and the leadership change from Ross Taylor. He exposes behind-the scenes machinations as well as the private moments of exultation, tumult and despair. One of New Zealand’s and the worlds most admired cricketers, he is credited with changing the face of the game internationally.
At Your Best: A Rags to Riches Romance
Mycah Edwards - 2021
The Pounding Hearts Series: Volume One
Izzy Sweet - 2018
The Pounding Hearts Series is full of badass MMA fighters who will beat the crap out of anyone who tries to mess with their girls. Four full-length, standalone books, each features a dominant alpha hero and a young heroine trying to make her way in the world. Book One - Banging Reaper Two men. Only one can be the best in the ring. Only one can make her completely his. Yeah, they call me Reaper, because I make anyone who fights me wish he was dead. I'm large and in charge with a big house, two cars, and enough money to party for the rest of my days. Life is great—but meeting Avery changes everything. She's nothing like the ring girls I usually hook up with. There’s just something about her that brings out the protective beast inside me. She needs to be mine, but that cheating asshole Ethan is in the way. I'll do whatever it takes to claim her ... even if that means destroying her best friend. Book Two – Slamming Demon Second chances don't come easy. Sometimes, you have to fight like hell for what you want. I'm a demon in the ring ... but Mandy still owns my heart. That doesn't mean I'm ready to pick up where we left off, though. I don't know if I forgive her, but I'm not letting anyone else near her. She's mine to protect whether she knows it or not... Book Three – Bucking Bear Sometimes, the biggest fights of your life are the ones outside the ring. I’ve never known a woman like Grace before. As soon as I met her, I wanted to claim her, make her mine, and protect her from everything. And her little girl already feels like my own daughter. So if her jerk of an ex tries to mess with Grace -- or Hope -- he’s going to find out a grizzly would be easier to fight than me. No one hurts my girls. Book Four – Breaking Beast He’s determined to protect her, even if it breaks him. Life’s been pretty damn good to me. As the reigning middleweight champion, I’ve got money, power, and fame. Not to mention a surplus of women willing to jump into my bed. All in all, I’ve got few complaints. I’m just living the dream… then Christy falls into my lap. She’s young, vulnerable, and innocent. And she has enough on her that plate that she doesn’t need any grief from an old bastard like me. But she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can’t stop myself from wanting her, even though there’s more than a decade between us. I’m trying hard to keep my hands to myself, but she’s proving to be a temptation too great to resist…
A Golf Swing You Can Trust
John Hoskison - 2012
You needn't be most golfers.A Golf Swing You Can Trust is an original work by John Hoskison, a deep-thinking PGA tour player and teacher. Inside, John reveals how, after years of slicing, he went from the worst player on the European Tour to the National PGA Professional Champion by using these simple techniques.From the grip to the finish position, John coaches using humor, photos and unique analogies to explain how the golf swing works and how to build a swing you can trust. Whether a golfer wants to improve their driving off the tee, iron shots to the green or their chipping and pitching, the tips and drills in this book will make it easier to hit the shots consistently. If any golfer wants to build a swing that works, this is a must read. *Don't miss John's new biography about his days on the European Tour called - No Hiding in The Open.* Excerpt from A Golf Swing You Can Trust:The correct stance is vital if you want to build a simple swing that repeats. But most golfers switch off and skip these chapters of a golf instruction book. I understand that. The grip and aim are not as alluring as advice on the theoretical advantages of pronation or supination through impact. And hey! You've been told you have a nice practice swing--you can't be that far off. Aiming correctly is for beginners!So just to dispel any reservations you may have that this book is not for you, here's one last piece of motivational talk before we move on to check your stance. It's very often a golfer makes a great practice swing but when they come to hit the ball the swing's completely different. That's because the hands and body don't communicate on a practice swing--they let you get on with it on your own. They only bother to 'talk' to each other when you're about to hit a shot at a specific target.When the crunch comes and you're ready to swing back, if the aim of the club doesn't match up to your intended swing path, they hit the panic button, take control and stick the swing on autopilot. They program in what they have to do and you can't override it. You might try to take the club back in one piece but it you're not aiming correctly--they quickly take over. And if you think you can kid them you'd have done it by now.If you are aiming at a target 250 yards away and your club face is only 3 degrees to the right, it will be pointing 13 yards right of target. If you try to replicate your nice square practice swing, but your hands pick up where the club is aiming the two angles are so conflicting your orthodox swing becomes impossible.The only time you can override your natural alarm system is when you're standing in front of a pro and he's watching you like a hawk. Then the alarm system becomes dormant--it trusts the pro to watch over you. Soon as you walk out the teaching bay, it switches back on.REVIEWS:"John taught himself great technique and knows as much about the golf swing as anyone I've met. His explanation of the swing is fantastic." ~Nick Mitchell, Former European TourPGA Player"I went to John for the usual stuff; head in hands, not knowing what shot was coming next. John kept it simple... got me back enjoying my golf again.
Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else
Michel Roy - 2007
Thirty years later, he stands in a class by himself as the winningest goaltender of all time. His indomitable will to win and his focus on being the very best brought him four Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe trophies, three Vezina trophies, and many more honours. Patrick Roy is every bit the warrior: intensely competitive, full of confidence and pride, and passionate about his sport and his play, sometimes to a fault. Many things have been said and written about him. So many that we sometimes feel we know everything--and yet nothing--about him. Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else brings to life Patrick Roy's phenomenal career, holding nothing back. A proud father and an impassioned hockey fan, Michel Roy reveals what makes Patrick tick, taking us behind the scenes and into the family life of one of the greatest goaltenders of all time: his will to win; the art of protecting the goal; how he revolutionized goaltending by helping to develop and popularize the butterfly style; his role models and inspiration; his relationships with teachers, teammates, the media, hockey scouts and coaches, agents and players. But Roy holds nothing back as he also reveals the blunders, faults and difficulties of the famous goalie, including the heartbreaking move away from Montreal that nearly broke Patrick Roy's spirit. A dramatic, lively biography, and a very special testimony to Patrick Roy's brilliant career.
If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks: Stories from the Chicago Blackhawks' Ice, Locker Room, and Press Box
Mark Lazerus - 2017
In If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks, Mark Lazerus chronicles the team's rise from the dark ages of the 2000s to the golden age of the 2010s through never-before-told stories from inside the dressing room, aboard the team plane, at the players' homes, and — especially in the case of the rowdy 2009-2010 team that started it all — in countless Chicago bars. If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Blackhawks will bring readers closer to their favorite players than ever before. It's a book Hawks fans won't want to be without.
Killer: My Life in Hockey
Doug Gilmour - 2017
The Hockey Hall of Famer from Kingston, Ontario, played for seven teams over his twenty-year career, netting 450 goals and 964 assists during the regular season and another 188 points in the playoffs, making him one of the highest-scoring centres of all time. Gilmour played a big role in the 1989 Stanley Cup victory, scoring the winning goal for the Calgary Flames. Perhaps most famously, he led the Toronto Maple Leafs to multiple winning seasons and in 1993, took them to the brink of their first Stanley Cup final in decades, only to lose out on one of the most controversial calls in hockey history.In Killer, Doug Gilmour bares all about his on- and off-the-ice exploits and escapades. Gilmour has always been frank with the media, and his memoir is as revealing as it is hilarious. He played with the greatest players of his generation, and his love for the game and for life are legendary.
The Lost Art of Putting
Gary Nicol - 2018
To be childish is to expect a certain outcome will come your way, that you deserve to hole the putt or that you shouldn’t miss from a certain distance. The Lost Art of Putting will help you become more child-like on the greens and less childish. Leading tour coach Gary Nicol and performance coach Karl Morris have 60 years’ combined coaching experience. It is their belief that the game of golf is not about finding ‘the’ way to do it but more a case of discovering, or perhaps more importantly uncovering, ‘your’ way to do it. The perspective and concepts they share with you in this book have the potential to liberate you so that you can experience what you are truly capable of on the greens.
Gordie: A Hockey Legend: An Unauthorized Biography of Gordie Howe
Roy MacSkimming - 1994
Signed by the Detroit Red Wings at 16, Gordie became a six-time leading scorer, a six-time Hart Trophy winner as the most valuable player, and he surpassed Rocket Richard's NHL goals record to reach an amazing total of 801--unmatched for years until Gretzky finally caught up to his mentor and idol. Gordie also includes a new introduction.
Jean Beliveau, 2d Edition: My Life in Hockey
Jean Béliveau - 1994
Retiring from active play in 1971, he went on to a successful twenty-two-year career as the Canadien's senior vice-president of corporate affairs and to life-long service as a goodwill ambassador for the sport. For half a century, he has been universally acknowledged as a prince of our national game and unofficial royalty to four generations of Canadians.
Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way
Cal Ripken Jr. - 2006
Cal and Bill Ripken understand this like few others.From their father, Cal Sr., a legend in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 37 years, they learned to play the game the right way. Those lessons, paired with their combined 33 years of big league experience, helped develop the Ripken Way, a method of teaching the game through simple instruction, solid explanations, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere. In Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way, Cal and Bill share this approach to coaching and development.Whether you're teaching your children at home, managing the local travel team, or working with high school-level players, Coaching Youth Baseball the Ripken Way will help you make a difference both on and off the field, with these features:More than 50 drills covering defense, hitting, pitching, and baserunningAge-specific practice plans for players ranging from 4 to 15+Strategies for setting goals and reasonable expectations for your players and teamAdvice on communicating with parents, players, and staffMethods for creating a positive and fun environment in which kids can learn the skills and strategies of the gameBill Ripken was once voted by his peers as one of the big league players most likely to become a manager. Cal Ripken, Jr., known as baseball's Iron Man, is a member of the game's All-Century Team and a future Hall of Famer. Together, they are proof positive that the Ripken Way is the right way to teach the game of baseball.
The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and the Night That Saved Hockey
Todd Denault - 2010
Instead it was played for pride, both personal and national. It was a confrontation twenty years in the making and it marked a turning point in the history of hockey.On December 31, 1975, the Montreal Canadiens, the most successful franchise in the NHL, hosted the touring Central Red Army, the dominant team in the Soviet Union. For three hours millions of people in both Canada and the Soviet Union were glued to their television sets. What transpired that evening was a game that surpassed all the hype and was subsequently referred to as "the greatest game ever played." Held at the height of the Cold War, this remarkable contest transcended sports and took on serious cultural, sociological, and political overtones. And while the final result was a 3-3 tie, no one who saw the game was left disappointed. This exhibition of skill was hockey at its finest, and it set the bar for what was to follow as the sport began its global expansion.
The Good Body
Bill Gaston - 2000
He is also -- unbeknownst to almost anyone -- struggling with an insidious disease that promises to rob him of the one thing that never let him down: his body.Bobby's attempts to navigate the no-man's-land of his failed marriage, to fashion a bond with his son, and to draw upon the truths in his heart in place of the waning force of his body -- Gaston weaves all these threads into a surprisingly funny, never sentimental, but deeply moving story, full of discordant harmonies and unexpected resolutions.