Yet many regard him as a shy and introverted personality.

    With the previous season's failed playoff bid still as fresh as the paint job on the new Yankee Stadium, a 27th championship flag represented both the floor and the ceiling in the eyes of a squad. It was the last title for the "Core Four"—Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte—who would each retire over the course of the next five years. It would be the lone title for Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett, and Nick Swisher, each of whom saw memorable peaks and valleys during their time in the Bronx. For CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner, it was their first championship, though the veterans were still in pinstripes as the latest generation of Yankees arrived for what they hope will be the next dynasty. Mission 27 is a thoroughly reported examination of an unforgettable season, packed with interviews with the full cast of key players, team executives, broadcasters, and more.

    There was some sort of bike race on and I half watched while lighting another cigarette off the butt of my last one for a minute before switching channels again. Just as I hit the button on the remote the commentator mentioned something about the athletes swimming before and running afterwards as well as racing the bike. I thought he said something about the run being a marathon but that couldn't be right. This sparked my interest and I switched back, but he was talking about something else so I waited for him to get around to describing exactly what this race was. I didn't have long to wait as he said they first did a 2.5 mile swim, then 112 miles on the bike all topped of with running a marathon. I was stunned. I didn't think that would be physicially possible and as I lit another cigarette I wondered how many days did they have to do it. I guessed it would have to be three days. Swim the first day, bike the second and run the third but it still sounded like a crazy thing to do. Then he said that they did it all in the one day, one after another without stopping. I was completely incredulous. And hooked. I remained glued to the TV and learned that these bronzed, muscular Greek God looking athletes weren't all professionals either. There was an amateur or "age group" race as well Although I could hardly tell the difference between the pros and amateurs. They all looked unbelievably fit. As I sat there mesmerised I swore to myself that I'd race there someday. I'd stop smoking and drinking and somehow do "The Ironman" At the time I had no idea what that meant or how I would do it and after a while as things have a way of doing I got busy with life and I forgot all about The Ironman and Hawaii. I forgot until several years later when I had actually given up smoking and had taken up triathlon. It had taken me two years and sixteen races of swimming breast stroke before I learned to swim properly. I never once looked even remotely like Kona material but I wanted to have a go at doing an Ironman. It took another three years before I plucked up the courage and lined up for my first one in Nice, France. I finished in the last quarter of the field, hours behind the athletes racing for those precious Kona slots. Nothing I had done up to then had given any indication that I should have had a reason to believe I had a chance at qualifying, but three years later when I asked Aisling, my wife if she thought it was possible she immediately said yes and then she added let's do it. Aisling's belief in me started us on a journey that led to me treading water on the most iconic start line in triathlon, waiting for the cannon to fire at the start of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. This is how we overcame all of the odds and discovered what it would take to get to the Ironman World Championships. This is our Kona story.

    But behind the cult image and fearsome pace bowling is an unforgettable story of perseverance and persistence.The story of how a shy 17-year-old champion tennis player was plucked from obscurity and anointed by Dennis Lillee is the stuff of sporting fairytales. Fast tracked into the Australian Under 19 side he made his Test debut in 2007. Within 12 months he had become the world's most feared bowler. But by 2011 the promise of greatness was unravelling. With form fading and confidence waning, he was jeered out of the game by the Barmy Army and a hostile press pack, his body and spirit giving way in South Africa in 2011.Left questioning his ability and his future, Mitchell was ready to quit cricket, but resolved to give it one more shot. With the support of family and help from his old mentor and a war hero, he took his fitness to a whole new level and channelled his strength and renewed confidence back into his bowling.Over two blistering seasons, at the age of 32, finally the world was able to see what Lillee had seen all those years ago. Mitchell Johnson's comeback has become one of cricket's most inspiring stories of the power of resilience.

    Aged just 42, he was found hanged in the garage of his home. As a long-standing legend of the game and manager of Wales, he appeared to have everything to live for. Now, as he would have approached his 50th birthday, family and friends come together to speak honestly and emotionally about the man they knew and loved. Wife Louise opens her heart for the first time and talks in depth about her life with Gary and her own personal journey since his death. Mum Carol and dad Roger recall their beloved son. And a multitude of famous names from the game remember their friend and speak emotionally about how the tragedy has touched their own lives. Author John Richardson was a close friend of the man he knew as ‘Speedo’ and was entrusted to write his autobiography. Gary completed two chapters of his life story before putting the project on hold because he thought he had not achieved enough in the game to merit a book. For the first time, these revealing chapters are published in the original form they were written, with insights from Richardson on the personal story that would remain so sadly untold. Gary Speed: Unspoken is a unique celebration of one of the football heroes of our generation. A tribute to a role model, leader and a much-loved husband, father and son gone too soon.

    

    His faith experience several years later--which literally turned his life around--is chronicled. 8-page photograph insert.

    With the insight that helped him bring the best out of personalities as different as Freddie Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Steve Harmison, the winner of a record 26 Tests as England captain shares his views on the state of cricket today and gives a frank assessment of fellow players, coaches and administrators. He concludes with praise for the achievements of the 2009 Ashes-winning England team. Entertaining, forthright and surprisingly candid, Time to Declare is essential reading for all cricket lovers -- the definitive account of the career of one of the modern game's most influential characters.

    'You're going to have to be stronger than we are,' they told him, 'and we know you will be.'The boy from Carcoar was raised to believe he could do anything. At fifteen, he won his first medal. Then he conquered the world, winning three Paralympic gold medals, seven world championships and more than 35 marathons. A world-beater in and out of his wheelchair, Kurt is a true Australian champion.Inspiring, exhilarating and highly entertaining, Pushing the Limits takes us inside the mind of a kid with a disability growing up in a tiny town, a teenager finding his place in the world, and an elite sportsman who refuses to give up, no matter how extreme the challenge.

    With a growing media profile, thanks to his appearances on Question Time and an acclaimed documentary on racism in football, there were plenty of other opportunities, but he was determined to give it another go. Initially signing for York City before moving to Northampton Town, Carlisle was soon back in the thick of the action. As the events of the year unfolded, Carlisle looked back at his career, from his early days playing for England Under-21s, through career-threatening injuries and a battle with alcohol problems, to a late arrival at the top level with Burnley. As chairman of the PFA, Carlisle is a much-respected figure in the game; his raw honesty and penetrating insights will make readers view the game, and those who play it, in a whole new light.

    A devout Catholic, and a ruthless on-field sledger. A brutal enforcer, and a soft-hearted family man. The Australian record-holder for highest score in Tests and One Day Internationals, who was plagued by insecurities. In STANDING MY GROUND Hayden confronts these contradictions head-on. He talks frankly about the forces that shaped his journey from fringe international to a giant of the game. He dissects Australia's tactic of verbal warfare and his own role as a key aggressor, taking us on a privileged tour inside the sporting machine that dominated all comers in a golden age of Australian cricket. This isn't a predictable ball-by-ball account of a stellar career. Instead, Hayden delivers a characteristically direct assessment of the matches and the people that mattered most. He pays homage to great role models like Allan Border and explains his deep connection to controversial Andrew Symonds, but also reveals colourful clashes along the way. He opens up on umpires, the media, superstitions, teammates and opponents with disarming honesty and humour. The country boy from Kingaroy rose to greatness in the cricket world. Here is the superstar batsman, the surfer, fisherman and chef in a book as bold and powerful as the man himself.

    The contrast could not have been greater - as Lance Armstrong, a fraudster backed by many corporate sponsors and feted by presidents, was about to deliver a stage-managed confession to Oprah, so a young woman from a small village in Wales took aim.      She too had been a cyclist, the only rider ever to have become World and Olympic champion in the same year, and the first British cyclist to have been ranked World No.1, but as a woman in a man's sport, her exploits gained little recognition and brought no riches. She too had ridden through this dark period for the sport when drug-taking was everywhere. Nicole Cooke spoke up for those who had taken a very different path to Lance and his team-mates.      In her frank and outspoken autobiography, Cooke reveals the real story behind British cycling's rise to global dominance. With a child's dreams of success, she left home at 18 to pursue her goals in Italy. Broken contracts, unpaid wages, a horrendous injury and drugs cheats were just some of the challenges she faced, even before she lined up to take on her opponents. The Breakaway is a book that will not only inspire all those who read it, but which also asks some serious questions about the way society regards women's sport.

    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.

    He tells of his life and the game he loves: from his childhood in Lahore, to his student days at Oxford (where he led the University team), his time at Worcester and thence to Sussex, culminating in his captaincy of Pakistan. A self portrait emerges of a man who has spent fifteen years at the top: years which have wrought changes - political, commercial and tactical - in the way cricket is played and promoted; changes too, in the man himself, as he reconciled his Muslim upbringing with the professional and personal pressures of being an international sportsman.

     He has played in World Cups and FA Cup finals; shared a dressing room with football greats like Roy Keane, Alan Shearer and Robbie Keane and worked under celebrated managers like Kenny Dalglish, Bobby Robson and Martin O’Neill. But Shay has had to show courage and strength of mind to get where he wanted in life. At four years old, he cruelly lost his mother to cancer at the age of just 41. Mum Agnes’s dying wish was that Dad Seamus would keep the family together. Seamus kept his word and the Given clan watched with pride as Shay forged a record-breaking career in the sport he loved. From Donegal to Saipan, Glasgow to Wembley and Tyneside to Paris, it’s been some journey. Shay has seen it all. Glorious highs and desperate lows. Dressing room wind-ups and team-bonding punch-ups. Brutal injuries and crippling self-doubt. Along the way, he has made so many friends. When one of his closest pals, Gary Speed, died suddenly in 2011, he was devastated. He played on, doing the only thing he knew to get him through the pain – pulling on a shirt and a pair of gloves. Shay loves football – for him, nothing can beat the buzz of a Saturday afternoon or the thrill of a big match night under lights. But he has never lost touch with the fans who make the game what it is. Entertaining, opinionated and inspirational, his long-awaited autobiography ANY GIVEN SATURDAY features a stellar cast of famous football names from the past 25 years. It tugs at the heart strings, bubbles with banter and lets slip secrets behind the big stories. This is a rare journey behind the scenes as told by one of our own.