Book picks similar to
4th and Goal Every Day: Alabama's Relentless Pursuit of Perfection by Phil Savage
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football
non-fiction
nonfiction
How They Stole the Game
David A. Yallop - 1998
Despite attempts to halt the vote amidst allegations and accusations of corruption, the show went on. As How They Stole The Game, David Yallop's classic expose of the dark heart behind the beautiful game showed when it was first published, Football was rotten from the top down. In the book Yallop reveals the story of Jo?o Havelenge, Fifa President from 1974 to 1998, the Godfather of football, and how he turned a religion to millions of fans into a multi-billion dollar business, riven with suspicious deals and unexpected payments.
Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Winning Championships and Building Dynasties in the NFL
Michael Lombardi - 2018
From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.Why do some NFL franchises dominate year after year while others can never crack the code of success? For 30 years Michael Lombardi had a front-row seat and full access as three titans--Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick--reinvented the game, turning it into a national obsession while piling up Super Bowl trophies. Now, in Gridiron Genius, Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win--and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again. In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other professional minds, football and otherwise, won't even contemplate. How do you know when to trade a player? How do you create a positive atmosphere when everyone is out to maximize his own paycheck? And why is the tight end like the knight on a chessboard? To some, game planning consists only of designing an attack for the next opponent. But Lombardi explains how the smartest leaders script everything: from an afternoon's special-teams practice to a season's playoff run to a decade-long organizational blueprint. Readers will delight in the Lombardi tour of an NFL weekend, including what really goes on during the game on and off the field and inside the headset. First stop: Belichick's Saturday night staff meeting, where he announces how the game will go the next day. Spoiler alert: He always nails it.Football dynasties are built through massive attention to detail and unwavering commitment. From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday.
Running Your First Marathon: The Complete 20-Week Marathon Training Plan
Andrew Kastor - 2017
Just as Andrew has helped me on my journey, he is sure to help you on yours.”—Ryan Hall, US Olympic Marathoner, holder of the US record in the half marathon, and marathon training expertAs a marathon training coach for world-class runners and Olympic medalists, Andrew Kastor knows what it takes to get to the finish line. Whether you are planning to run a full or half marathon, Coach Kastor’s marathon training program conditions you to set achievable goals, get in shape, and stay motivated. With an easy-to-follow 20-week marathon training schedule for building strength and endurance, plus expert advice from record-holding runners on what to expect, Running Your First Marathon is the only coaching you’ll need to go the distance.Running Your First Marathon lays out a goal-oriented marathon training program with:
A 20-Week Marathon Training Program—detailed day-by-day marathon training schedules and space to track your progress
Marathon Training 101—advice and tips from world-class marathoners on marathon training, fueling your body, avoiding injury, and race-day preparation
Motivational Marathon Training Boosts—from Coach Kastor and other famous runners to help you stay on track during marathon training
"Running Your First Marathon will not only inspire you but also help train your mind and body to unlock hidden potential."—Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Silver Medalist, NYC Marathon champion, American record holder, and marathon training pro
The Special One: The Dark Side of Jose Mourinho
Diego Torres - 2014
As one of the most charismatic figures in the game, his reappearance could surely only be a good thing…But is there a darker side to the Mourinho? A mischievous, scheming, even tyrannical quality to the man beneath the veneer of charm?As part of El Pais, Diego Torres is one of the premier investigative journalists in Spanish football, and in this explosive biography of 'the special one' he uncovers secrets and lies that will change the way we see Mourinho.From dodgy dealings to assassinations of players both outside and within his own team, and other shocking revelations, Prepare To Lose reveals Mourinho as a man far removed from the hero so many people consider him to be.
Do You Love Football?!: Winning with Heart, Passion, and Not Much Sleep
Jon Gruden - 2003
It's not about the money or the fame; it's about their passion for what they do.And passion is something that has fueled Gruden's entire career. From his college playing days and his climb through the coaching ranks -- from college to assistant coaching jobs with the NFL's elite teams, to his first head coach job with the Oakland Raiders, and finally, with the Tampa Bay Bucs -- his meteoric rise is unparalleled. Underneath it all, though, he's just a humble, hardworking, no-nonsense guy who has no hobbies: "I'm not a scratch golfer. I don't know how to bowl. I can't read the stock market. Hell, I have a hard time remembering my wife's cell phone number. But I can call 'Flip Right Double X Jet 36 Counter Naked Waggle at 7 X Quarter' in my sleep."Now, in this motivational memoir, Gruden provides insight into what makes him tick. Do You Love Football?! is an intimate look at his life as a player, coach, and head coach, as well as the principles that have made him the hottest coach in the NFL.
Ten Innings at Wrigley: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink
Kevin Cook - 2019
Nobody expected an afternoon game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs on May 17, 1979, to be much more than a lazy early-season contest matching two teams heading in opposite directions--the first-place Phillies and the Cubs, those lovable losers--until they combined for thirteen runs in the first inning. "The craziest game ever," one player called it. "And then the second inning started."Ten Innings at Wrigley is Kevin Cook's vivid account of a game that could only have happened at this ballpark, in this era, with this colorful cast of heroes and heels: Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Bruce Sutter, surly slugger Dave Kingman, hustler Pete Rose, unlucky Bill Buckner, scarred Vietnam vet Garry Maddox, troubled relief pitcher Donnie Moore, clubhouse jester Tug McGraw, and two managers pulling out what was left of their hair.It was the highest-scoring ballgame in a century, and much more than that. Bringing to life the run-up and aftermath of a contest The New York Times called "the wildest in modern history," Cook reveals the human stories behind the game--and how money, muscles and modern statistics were about to change baseball forever.
Urban's Way: Urban Meyer, the Florida Gators, and His Plan to Win
Buddy Martin - 2008
Martin takes the reader where no other journalist has gone before as he reports the most intimate details about one of the nation’s top college football programs and its coach.During the show-and-tell story of the 2007 Gator season, Martin listened on the headsets in the coaching booth, monitored Meyer’s locker room speeches, conducted in-depth interviews with assistant coaches and support personnel, ran on Florida Field with the team prior to the Gators game against Tennessee, and gave Tim Tebow his first Heisman Trophy quiz while having dinner together just weeks before he was named as the winner.Urban’s Way, however, is much more than a look at the 2007 season. Martin dug deep into Meyer’s background, from his growing-up days in Ashtabula, Ohio, under the strict guidance of his father; to his tumultuous days as a young assistant when he almost quit the profession; to the dynamics of his close relationship with mentors Earle Bruce and Lou Holtz; to the ultimate prize as coach of the 2006 national champion Florida Gators. Readers learn how Meyer was encouraged by his father and his wife, Shelley, to keep going; how his career took off at Notre Dame and then as a head coach at Bowling Green and Utah; how the Falcons came together after their historic “Black Wednesday”; and the impressive manner in which he championed diversity among players in Salt Lake City. Florida fans will be surprised to discover how close Meyer came to choosing the Notre Dame job over the one in Gainesville, despite his yearnings as a small boy to someday coach the Fighting Irish. Through his intense research---and talks with Urban himself---Buddy Martin provides an amazingly detailed look into how a football coach is made.This is not simply the authorized biography of one of college football’s top coaches; Buddy Martin also gives fans the inside scoop on the 2006 National Championship. In the chapter “The Joy of Winning It All,” players and coaches share their stories of that championship season that produced the middle leg of the “Gator Slam,” leading to the good life on the so-called Cul de Sac of Champions, which Urban shares with Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan.It is rare that fans get inside the head of a top coach, but here full disclosure is offered about Urban’s personal faith, his Plan to Win, and the inner workings of the Spread offense. Readers are also treated to Meyer’s own breakdown of the national championship tape, including his Six Key Plays of the game.Buddy Martin shines a bright light on Urban Meyer, the Florida Gators, and one of the top programs in the country. This is a must-have for Florida Gator football fans and one of the most insightful books ever written on college football.
Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs
Guillem Balagué - 2018
In the process, he has marked himself out as one of the best young managers in the world, more than holding his own against the Premier League's established heavyweights. He has done so by promoting an attacking, pressing style of football and by nurturing home-grown talent, fully endearing himself to the Spurs faithful along the way.Guillem Balagué was granted unprecedented access to Pochettino and his backroom staff for the duration of the 2016-17 season, and he has therefore been able to draw on extensive interview material with Pochettino, his family, his closest assistants, players such as Dele Alli and Harry Kane, and even a very rare conversation with Daniel Levy to tell the manager's story in his own words. From Pochettino's early years as a player and coach to his transformation of Tottenham into one of the best teams in England, the book uniquely reveals the inner workings of the man and of his footballing philosophy. It also lays bare what it takes to run a modern-day football team competing at the highest level over the course of a single campaign. The result is the most comprehensive and compelling portrait of a manager and of a club in the Premier League era.
Can't Knock the Hustle: Inside Brooklyn's Season of Hope: How Basketball Helped Us Survive Power, Politics, and a Global Pandemic
Matt Sullivan - 2021
. . all of whom just so happened to play professional basketball. The 2019-20 Nets were the team of tomorrow—a player-first franchise, in a star-first city, at a nation-first moment—and anything was possible. As soon as the mega-stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving arrived, the Nets were destined to become a dynasty for the ages.Then came the wildest year in modern NBA—and world—history.Can't Knock the Hustle is the definitive chronicle of the season when basketball's status as a force for progress in society was put to the ultimate test, and Matt Sullivan had a courtside seat: Deal-making with Kyrie and Jay-Z. Rehabbing with KD at the Nets' world-class health facility. International intrigue between LeBron James and the Chinese government. The final days of Kobe Bryant, front-row at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first days of Covid-19, when the Nets found themselves at the epicenter of a virus—and integral to a comeback of the very culture they had come to define.Hundreds of interviews—with NBA Hall-of-Famers, All-Stars, coaches, owners and power-brokers from across the globe—provide a lasting portrait of an unforgettable time, as sports brought people back together again, like never before.
Guts and Genius: The Story of Three Unlikely Coaches Who Came to Dominate the NFL in the '80s
Bob Glauber - 2018
They resurrected the careers of players like John Riggins, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, Everson Walls and Hacksaw Reynolds. They did so with a combination of guts and genius, built championship teams in their own likeness, and revolutionized pro football like few others. Their influence is still evident in today's game, with coaches who either worked directly for them or are part of their coaching trees now winning Super Bowls and using strategy the three men devised and perfected.In interviews with more than 150 players, coaches, family members and friends, GUTS AND GENIUS digs into the careers of three men who overcame their own insecurities and doubts to build Hall of Fame legacies that transformed their generation and continue to impact today's NFL.
Built to Lose: How the NBA’s Tanking Era Changed the League Forever
Jake Fischer - 2021
The Giants of The Polo Grounds: The Glorious Times of Baseball's New York Giants (Revised Expanded Edition)
Noel Hynd - 1988
The Giants of The Polo Grounds is the definitive work on baseball’s New York Giants and their tenure in New York City. An “Editor’s Choice” of The New York Times when it was first published more than 20 years ago, the book was also a Spitball Magazine nominee for the Best Baseball Book of the year. Author Noel Hynd, a former contributor to Sports Illustrated, has now created a new edition that maintains all the previous text, but expands the work to more than 600 pages from the original 375. Included this time are more stories about McGraw, Ott, Durocher and Mays and their opponents, plus more on the men and women from other sports and various fields of entertainment who also were ‘giants’ of the Polo Grounds: from boxers Jack Dempsey and Sugar Ray Robinson to entertainers Annie Oakley and Tallulah Bankhead to football’s Red Grange and soccer’s Béla Guttmann. The Giants of The Polo Grounds is the story of a famous team, a renowned ball park, an invincible spirit and America’s most vibrant city from the 1880’s to the 1950’s. The new edition is packed with remarkable anecdotes about Broadway, New York politics, good guys and bad guys who made the Giants' era in New York unique and memorable. The new edition, practically the equivalent of two volumes, also features more than 100 photos and illustrations, most of them new, some rarely seen. Critical Praise for The Giants of The Polo Grounds “A compelling and comprehensive history of an extraordinary ball club.” -New York Times “Grandly digressive! The owners, stars like Mathewson and Mays, various eccentric players are all here in this vivid history by Sports Illustrated contributor Hynd.” - Publishers’ Weekly “Fans of all ages will treasure the crazy quilt text for its stylish recall of the game’s summer roots.” -Kirkus Library Journal “Just plain enjoyable as baseball is supposed to be.” - The Pennsylvania Gazette Think of it as a grand slam into the center field bleachers in the bottom of the 9th!
Floyd Patterson: The Fighting Life of Boxing's Invisible Champion
W.K. Stratton - 2012
Like one of Patterson's reliable left hooks, Stratton sharply recounts the life of an important, but often forgotten, two-time world heavyweight champion." — Gary Andrew Poole, author of PacMan: Behind the Scenes with Manny PacquiaoIn 1956, Floyd Patterson became, at age twenty-one, the youngest boxer to claim the title of world heavyweight champion. Later, he was the first ever to lose and regain that honor.Here, the acclaimed author W. K. Stratton chronicles the life of "the Gentle Gladiator" — an athlete overshadowed by Ali's theatrics and Liston's fearsome reputation, and a civil rights activist overlooked in the Who's Who of race politics. From the Gramercy Gym and wildcard manager Cus D’Amato to the final rematch against Ali in 1972, Patterson's career spanned boxing's golden age. He won an Olympic gold medal, had bouts with Moore and Johansson, and was interviewed by James Baldwin, Gay Talese, and Budd Schulberg. A complex, misunderstood figure — he once kissed an opponent at the end of a match — he was known for his peekaboo stance and soft-spoken nature.Floyd Patterson was boxing’s invisible champion, but in this deeply researched and beautifully written biography he comes vividly to life and is finally given his due — as one of the most artful boxers of his time and as one of our great sportsmen, a man who shaped the world in and out of the ring.
Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life
Tony Dungy - 2007
How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family--and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed. Includes a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color photo insert.