As seen on ESPN's Cold Pizza Fantasy football -- one of America's most popular, and profitable, virtual pastimes -- became a way of life for sports humorist and author Mark St. Amant. Utterly fed up with never having won his league championship, St. Amant abandoned a successful advertising career to make fantasy football his full-time job, embarking on a sprawling reconnaissance mission to discover what really makes this game, and its 20 million players, tick. Committed is the result of St. Amant's ranting, relentless, and strategic pursuit of his own obsession. In this wickedly funny and deeply informative work, St. Amant offers readers an all-access sideline pass to his wild, unprecedented fantasy football season, and to the hobby itself. From its humble beginnings in a New York hotel in 1962 to a multibillion-dollar business today, from local and online leagues to high-stakes, cutthroat Las Vegas competitions, St. Amant lays bare the facts, figures, and fanaticism of fantasy football in all its multidimensional glory.

    Thousands strong, this huge tribe of disaffected youths laid siege to town centrees and soccer grounds across the country and became a byword for violent disorder. Tony O'Neill was there from the beginning and became its most prominent face.Barely in his teens when he set out from the largest council estate in Europe to follow the Red Devils, his ferocity in street combat and his force of personality soon made him a leader. Running trips in his infamous War Wagon, he became so renowned that he was invited to a sit-down meeting with the Government to discuss the hooligan problem.After serving a jail term, O'Neill emerged to lead the 'casuals' of the 1980s against an even tougher generation of opponents: West Ham's ICF, the Chelsea Headhunters, the Leeds Service Crew and the scally armies of Merseyside. Police intelligence files labelled him a 'prime mover' and he became the target of a huge undercover investigation. Red Army General is the most authoritative account ever written of the wild years when terrace terror reached its peak."BRITAIN'S No.1 FOOTBALL THUG" Daily Mirror"BRITAIN'S WORST SOCCER YOB" The Sun

    Only three games into his rookie season in 2012, Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, sidelined by the side effects chemotherapy and months of recovery.Undeterred, Pagano didn’t let the confines of his hospital bed keep him from coaching: texts, calls, and emails kept him in constant contact with players, staff, and assistants. Motivated to be just as strong and determined as their ailing coach the team started winning game after game, compiling an impressive 11-5 record.The players weren’t the only ones touched by Pagano’s hope and strength of character. Inspired by the tenacity and toughness of their beloved coach, a newcomer to town, thousands of fans united to form Chuckstrong, a movement that soon raised millions to help beat cancer. Pagano, fueled by his faith, his family, and his love of football, returned to lead the Colts to another winning season and the divisional playoffs in 2013.With Pagano’s practical lessons on living, loving, and leading, Sidelined, which includes an 8-page color photo section, inspires us all to stay in the game and never accept defeat.

    Millions of fans have listened to Rose’s trademark calls over the years, and now, with his patented honesty and humor, he gives a firsthand account of the Amazins’—from the greatness of Tom Seaver to Johan Santana’s recent no-no. In addition to a personalized look at the rich history of the of the team, this work also features Rose’s thoughts and opinions on the current Mets team and roster and his thoughts on the future of the club.

    NFL Unplugged lets you see that world through the eyes of the pros who live and sweat in it. Here are the places the cameras don't go: the locker room where coaches' speeches can deflate or motivate, the huddle where fart jokes vie with playcalling, the training camp where locusts and heat conspire to break the strongest bodies and shake the most determined minds. Now you can experience it all up close and unplugged.Draws on firsthand accounts of more than thirty players and coaches from teams across the NFL, including Mark Schlereth, Bill Romanowski, Kevin Long, Kyle Turley, John Gruden, Hugh Douglas, Jon Runyan, and Michael StrahanAn unvarnished look at everything from training camp and broken dreams, conditioning and injuries, and camaraderie and hazing to the quest to gain a competitive edge and the exhilarating triumphs of the gameWritten by one of the top figures in sports radio, Anthony Gargano of Philadelphia's 610-WIPFrom the injuries that never heal and the money that never lasts to the memories and the glory that never fade, NFL Unplugged shows the unbridled brutality and sheer brilliance of the game.

    I’ve been lionized by the public and the press. The world is at my feet. I’ve spread my wings and here I am, soaring above everything and everyone. But in reality, the descent has already begun.” At age 20, Thomas Dekker was already earning €100,000 a year—as an amateur bike racer. The next year, he turned pro and his salary quadrupled then rose again to €900,000 as he established his position as a super-domestique among Europe’s wealthiest superteams. The sport marveled at Dekker’s rise as the young racer set his ambitions on capturing cycling’s biggest prizes for himself. Before long, though, Dekker found himself corrupted by money, dazzled by fame, and cracking under the relentless pressure to perform at a superhuman level. In his tell-all book DESCENT: My Epic Fall from Cycling Superstardom to Doping Dead End, Dekker reveals a sordid way of life full of blood bags, drugs, prostitutes, and money. DESCENT tells the story of a yearslong bender that exposes the brutal truth of his life as a professional cyclist. And Dekker is not alone; he names those who fell with him and those who aided in his downfall. In DESCENT, we take an unflinching look at the European peloton as it roars through its modern boom years—the height of the EPO era—and what we see is shocking. You won’t be able to turn away from this page-turning read about one man’s rise, fall, and redemption and what his story reveals about professional sports.

    The first of its kind, this book explores college football's current events, numbers, and tactics from a number of perspectives. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between the analytical side of the game and its real-life application. So many of us love this ridiculous sport; Study Hall gives us ways to love it even more. Table of Contents 1. It's Personal 2. An Ungovernable Mess 3. The Case for Computers 4. You, Me, and Stats 5. We Meet Again, Mr. Wizard 6. Coaches vs. Stats 7. The New Box Score 8. Advanced Stats 101 9. College Football's Curveball 10. QBs and the Passes They Throw 11. Sometimes Cliches Are Cliches for a Reason 12. The 'Spread Offense' Meme Dies 13. Beating, And Becoming, Goliath

    In his memoir, he tells us what it's like to be an import player in Russia, and the challenges he faced with the language, the culture, and the game.He tells stories about life at the "baza," a training base, and how they'd have to spend big parts of the season away from their families. (Unless they sneak out). His driver was also his buddy and a bodyguard. There's the travel, with hours upon hours on planes that are often antiquated, and there are the teammates, the doctors, the pills, the training camps, the saunas, and the money, oh, the money."What an awesome book. If you're a hockey fan, you will love it."—Thomas Vanek, New York Islanders"This is Russia... offers a fascinating first-person look at life in the KHL for a foreigner."—Chris Johnston, Sportsnet, Canada"It's been a long time since I have thoroughly enjoyed a book so much."—Michael Lorber, sports journalist, Kleine Zeitung, Austria

     This book does not do that. For many, playing professional sport is the Dream Job. Few manage it, very few make it to the top and for the rest, life is very different. This is their story. In Fringes, Ben Mercer invites you to witness life at the outer edges of professional rugby. This is a first hand account of what life is like as a journeyman professional athlete. You play, but to the wider public you don't exist. You earn but you don't drive a flash car. You sometimes pack out a stadium but sometimes, you play in a deserted park. This is the story for the majority of sports professionals. Only the minority taste the top, only one person gets to lift the cup or win the medal, only 15 get to play for England at any one time. For the rest, that’s not the case. Ben Mercer is a former professional rugby player who after becoming disillusioned and uninspired plying his trade in the English Second Division, accepted an offer out of the blue to go to France and do something different - help an amateur team turn professional. This is a first hand account of what life is like in the lower reaches of professional sport - where your employment status is as precarious as your health and barely anyone will know your name. It's about how it feels to live year to year, with teammates constantly on the move. It's about how professionalism irreversibly changes the French club Stade Rouennais as they move up the divisions, about the tension between progress and identity in a rugby team. It's also about how it feels to actually be out there on the field, how it feels to occasionally do something extraordinary and how it feels when this is no longer enough for you to make the sacrifices that you need to make to keep playing. There's no ghostwriting, it's an unmitigated meditation on how it feels and what it means to play rugby for a living, to dedicate yourself to an uncompromising but occasionally beautiful game. If you've wanted to know what life is really like as a professional athlete, on the Fringes, away from the glitz and glamour of the international game then look no further.

    Winning the 2008 national championship was certainly the highlight, but the most dominant era in school history also includes a national-best 300 wins, three Final Fours and nine Big 12 titles since 2001.The consistency was unmatched.As a sportswriter covering the Jayhawks, first for The Kansas City Star and then for Yahoo! Sports, Jason King was there to chronicle it all. From Roy Williams' stunning departure to Mario's Miracle against Memphis to Kansas' 69-game winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse, King witnessed all the highlights - and lowlights - from 2000 and beyond. In short, he was the ultimate insider.Now you will be, too.With "Beyond the Phog," King provides Kansas fans with an unprecedented glimpse into one of the most memorable eras in the program's rich history. Extensive interviews with nearly 40 players from the last decade, as well as both head coaches, reveal fascinating details about the inner-workings of a true college basketball dynasty.You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be riveted - and, at times, shocked. Whatever the case, even the most ardent Kansas supporters will be exposed to candid, behind the scenes stories and anecdotes that, until now, had been confined to the Jayhawks' locker room.Here's a sample of what's inside:• Did Drew Gooden's shoes cost Kansas the 2002 NCAA title?• Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich lament their final game against Syracuse• Roy Williams provides details about his final few weeks at Kansas and his relationship with Al Bohl• Why did Wayne Simien almost quit basketball?• Jeff Graves comes clean about violating a sacred locker room rule• Russell Robinson describes why he tried to fight his own coach• J.R. Giddens gives his version of the Moon Bar stabbing• Darrell Arthur explains why he's been hesitant to return to campus since winning the 2008 title• Mario Chalmers provides a step-by-step account of his heroic shot against Memphis• Tyshawn Taylor discusses the aftermath of the Jayhawks' 2011 loss to VCU• Josh Selby talks about his decision to enter the NBA draft• And hundreds of other stories from favorites such as Sherron Collins, Keith Langford, Jeff Boschee, Aaron Miles, Michael Lee, Eric Chenowith, Xavier Henry, Luke Axtell, Sasha Kaun, Tyrel Reed, Jeff Hawkins, Brady Morningstar, Darnell Jackson and others.Time has clearly loosened lips in Lawrence. "Beyond the Phog" is an honest, candid look at what really happened during a magical - and often controversial - period in Kansas basketball history.

    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.

    In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player ever selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton alongside Mark Messier. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn as a result of mental illness, substance abuse and the untreated head injuries he suffered as a player.Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would take him to poverty, addiction and illness. He was smart, dedicated and put his hockey life on hold to complete his education before joining the NHL. He once scored eighty-two points in a season and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious bodycheck during a game started him down a road to ruin. Murphy was clearly shaken by the hit, but he was never treated and he never missed a game. His entire life was about to change.Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team, and all along the way, other NHLers said they witnessed a change. Murphy was becoming more different by the day. He took to drugs and alcohol and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. He and his wife divorced. Murphy eventually became homeless and, in the spring of 2019, he made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself. The player who had once set the NHL aflame slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North.In the vein of Playing with Fire and Boy on Ice, Finding Murph tells the tragic story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.

    Many hardcore hockey followers are convinced the commissioner is out to ruin the game this country loves.Still, when Bettman took over in 1992, the gross revenue of the National Hockey League was US$400 million. This season, the figure will be closer to $3.3 billion—an eightfold increase. If that were the only criterion by which to judge Bettman’s tenure, he’d be a business success story. But on his watch, professional hockey has expanded beyond its traditional strongholds and shown it can prosper in unlikely places—even on American networks. And the best players in the world now all ply their trade in the league that Gary built.By taming the NHL’s famously fractious owners, all but busting its players’ union, and by enforcing lawyerly discipline on everything from trash talk to Jim Balsillie’s efforts to crash the party, Bettman has become a figure of almost unrivalled power in the business of sport. His influence shapes leagues in other countries, dictates the schedule of the Olympic Winter Games, and spills onto the ice itself with innovations such as the shootout and a second referee, and with crackdowns on obstruction and headshots.In The Instigator, Jonathon Gatehouse details the unlikely ascension of a lonely New York City kid from a single-parent family who never played hockey and can barely skate to the sport’s biggest job. It examines his motivations, peels back his often aloof demeanour, and explains how a true outsider manages to lead, confound, and keep order in the game Canadians love.

    They said Mick had a sixth sense for great accuracy in his playing days - he could find a party from any range. Quinn says he only put £50 on each horse race - but liked to stay in the bookies for twenty races a day!Sentenced in 1987 to three weeks in prison for twice driving whilst banned, Mick's been accused of punching Peter Schmeichel on the football pitch and John Fashanu off it. On retirement, though, Quinn switched to horse racing, the Sport of Kings, but controversy led the blue bloods of racing to hang the scouse oik out to dry and he was suspended from training for two and a half years.Who Ate All The Pies? is the funniest and most honest football book you'll read for a long, long time.

     "The VISION54 approach is far more than just pure golf technique, it allows an individual to unlock their true potential by opening their mind and believing anything is possible to achieve." - David Leadbetter, David Leadbetter Golf Academy Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott are Complete Game Coaches, leaders of a new kind of golf instruction that focuses on more than just the grip, the stance, and the swing. Their VISION54 method targets the complete golfer-the whole person-not just the technical aspects of the game. Their coaching philosophy focuses on possibilities, not limitations, with an end goal of MY54-the idea that any golfer can reach their own personalized version of peak performance, scoring nothing but birdies on a par-72 course. Building on the core concepts introduced in Every Shot Must Have a Purpose and the strategic thinking in The Game Within the Game, Play Your Best Golf Now takes the mystery out of the soft skills of golf and shows golfers how to add these skills to their game for peak performance. Players learn to master the 8 Essential Playing Skills: 1. LEAVE YOUR MIND BEHIND and enter the Play Box 2. DECIDE AND COMMIT to your shots 3. FIND YOUR BALANCE both physically and mentally 4. FEEL YOUR TEMPO on the course and dance to its rhythm 5. TAME TENSION to improve your swing 6. BUILD EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE 7. STORE MEMORIES and learn from the past to make a better present 8. DROWN SELF-TALK IN USEFUL THOUGHTS And the 2 Essential Practice Skills: 1. SIMULATE GOLF on the practice range to maximize your time and effort 2. INTEGRATE SKILLS and practice with a plan These Essentials complement the technical anchors of the game-the grip, the stance, the swing-and give players a foundation for achieving their peak performance. MY54 is the vision, and these are the building blocks for achieving a higher level of play.