Behind Bradley Wiggins, there was Sean Yates. One of only five Britons to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, Sean Yates burst onto the cycling scene as the rawest pure talent this country has ever seen. After turning professional at the age of 22, he soon became known as a die-hard domestique, putting his body on the line for his teammates. Devastatingly fast, powerful, and a fearless competitor, Yates won a stage of the Tour, as well as the Vuelta a España, in 1988, and went on to don the coveted maillot jaune six years later. Having put British cycling on the map as a rider, Yates was soon in demand as a directeur sportif, using his tactical knowledge to inspire a new generation of cyclists to success. And after Team Sky came calling, Yates was the man to design the brilliant plan that saw Sky demolish the opposition in 2012, and for Bradley Wiggins to become the first cyclist from these shores to win the Tour. Straight-talking, entertaining, and revelatory, It's All About the Bike is the story of a remarkable career told from the unique perspective of a man who is immersed in the history of the sport he loves.

    He quickly learns that Hawaii is not the carefree paradise advertised in brochures and finds himself feeling like a foreigner in his own country. On the mat, he experiences Hawaiian fight culture from the inside, goes head to head with BJ Penn, and struggles to overcome injuries. Off the mat, he explores the Hawaiian Independence movement and the effects of colonization, battles with giant cockroaches and centipedes, meets a myriad of colorful locals, and travels the island in the bed of the Red Baron—a rusted 1986 Mazda pick-up truck.At times sad, shocking, and laugh out-loud funny, The Cauliflower Chronicles is a must-read for both sports fans and travel buffs, showing a side of mixed martial arts and Hawaii not available anywhere else.

    But what Adrian Hanauer, Paul Allen, Drew Carey, and Joe Roth did when they started the Seattle Sounders FC was no joke. They meticulously planned the launch of the Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise with an eye toward some lofty goals. Then they stood back in amazement as they rocketed far beyond those goals buoyed by a team that ignored its “expansion” label and a fan base that wildly embraced them. Through interviews with key executives, athletes and fans, author Mike Gastineau tells the story leading up to the launch of Sounders FC, the MLS expansion franchise whose seemingly overnight success has captured the attention of the Seattle sports community, sports and entertainment executives, soccer followers across the country and the national news media. In Sounders FC Authentic Masterpiece, readers will learn: * How a money-losing soccer club rocketed from the ranks of the minor leagues to Major League Soccer drawing sell-outs and regularly topping 50,000 fans per match. * The unique relationships between the eclectic group of seasoned sports executives, Hollywood celebrities and bar room soccer fans who came together to build a sports culture that validated Major League Soccer in Seattle and across the country. * The personalities of the players and coaches who took different paths to the team and turned their diversity into a winning team starting on opening night. Gastineau communicates to readers the entire history of events that led to the Sounders FC launch beginning with the role soccer fans played in securing a professional football stadium for the Seattle Seahawks. Also emphasized in the book are the soccer fans, bar owners and soccer subculture that existed in Seattle and was waiting to be acknowledge by mainstream professional sports leaders and media. The book also details how that soccer subculture directly impacted one of the biggest deals in MLS history, the signing of superstar Clint Dempsey in 2013. This is a story of sports, business, culture, timing, and luck. It demonstrates how powerful business people were able to check their egos and embrace their customers all for the sake of the fans, the city, and a soccer culture desperate to embrace a sports team that treated them with respect.

    On the cusp of turning thirty, overweight, and saddled with a 14 handicap, Coyne embarked on a yearlong quest to do everything he could to lift his game—and find out if he could make it through the PGA Tour Qualifying School. Paper Tiger takes you on a rollicking ride into the beer-gutted underbelly of semipro golf, into a world of crash diets, punishing workout regimens, high-flying sports shrinks, cutting-edge club technology, and obscure tournaments. With his girlfriend as caddy, Coyne traverses from Miami to Chicago to Toronto to see how he stacks up against the competition. Ultimately he takes his game to a new level—or at least a new continent—on the links of Australian Q-School, where amidst forty-mile-an-hour winds he must choose between the love of a fickle game and the love of the long-suffering woman who has stood by him throughout all the shanks, hooks, yips, and chili dips. Brimming with humor and insight about the world’s most beautiful and maddening game, Paper Tiger will delight golfers and the sane people who love them.

    Rich with wisdom, anecdotes, and even the ultimate fantasy golf course, this new book by the author of "The Road Less Traveled" poses golf as a springboard for personal and spiritual growth.

    Richard Bedard was a journalist in his mid-40s, living abroad, when he was diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome, or chondromalacia patella. His burning joints made his life so miserable that he fantasized about hacking off his kneecaps. Four doctors failed to help; one said he would never get better. His physical therapist finally gave up too.Unable to sit normally, he quit his job. Unemployed and desperate, he launched a year-long, round-the-clock experiment to save his knees. He read from scores of clinical studies, medical textbooks, health newsletters. What he discovered left him stunned. There was a familiar story about what patellofemoral pain syndrome was and how to treat it: The advice to focus on strengthening the quads. To stretch. To take glucosamine. To forget about cartilage healing, because that never happened.And that story was completely wrong.Armed with this knowledge, he fashioned a plan to get better. Within two years, he fully recovered. This compelling story chronicles a long journey of healing and discovery. It shows that a patient’s true ally isn’t simply hope, but informed hope.

    From revelations about the meanest, softest, and smelliest players in the league, to Williams’s early days as a “young man with a lot of money and not a lot of sense,” to his strong and powerful views on race, privilege, and giving back, Loose Balls is a basketball book unlike any other.No inspirational pieties or chest-thumping boasting here—instead, Jayson Williams gives us the real insider tales of refs, groupies, coaches, entourages, and all the superstars, bench warmers, journeymen, clowns, and other performers in the rarefied circus that is professional basketball.From the Trade Paperback edition.

    After four previous defeats in Grand Slam finals, Murray had finally achieved what no British man had managed since the 1930s. But the story of how he got there was just as compelling as the final itself, with as many twists and turns along the way. Writer Mark Hodgkinson has been covering that story since the start - he was actually the first person to interview Murray for a national newspaper back in 2004, and has worked closely with Judy Murray in the past. In Andy Murray: Champion, Hodgkinson explains how Murray first emerged as a tennis player of true quality, and how his rivalry with his brother Jamie spurred him on. He looks at the close relationship Murray has with his mother, and the various coaches who haved worked with him to assess their influence on his game. In a hugely competitive era of tennis, with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all counted to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, Murray has earned the right to be ranked alongside them all - and this book explains how and why he has done so, becoming a true national sporting icon in the process.