A vagabond fisherman extraordinaire, the self-indulgent Slacker has just two goals in life. The first is to spend every conscious hour doing only what he loves – hooking and battling big game fish on the ocean by day and hooking up with bar stool sirens at night. The second goal is to avoid any responsibilities that might get in the way of achieving the first. His persistent search for the ultimate angling experience takes him from one ocean paradise to another, where he inevitably becomes entangled in a mystery adventure. His story begins in Key West, Florida, where the 37-year-old Slacker believed he had finally found the ideal life and a lasting home. With his mounted trophies covering the walls of the famous Rusty Hook tavern, he was acclaimed as the best saltwater angler around and never had to pay for a beer. Because every Friday night at the tavern was celebrated with a complimentary banquet of his catch, he also was recognized as a benevolent hero. Through wandering eyes of vacationing ladies, he was typically viewed as "The Catch of the Night." Slacker’s dream lifestyle was attributable to the influence of his best friend and benefactor Jerry Porter, who had landed in Key West aboard his yacht five years earlier. Due to a unique talent for engaging people to talk about themselves while revealing nothing about himself, Jerry quickly bonded with everyone around him. Using those bonds as foundations, he tried to build what he viewed as better and more successful people ... and Slacker was his pet project. The transformation of the Rusty Hook from a local fishermen’s haunt to a Key West landmark was Jerry's crowning achievement. No one had inquired or even speculated much about Jerry Porter’s personal history prior to his arrival in Key West; all were content to revel in his presence. However, when Porter is the victim of a violent death, the traditionally peaceful community is shocked by revelations that there may be a killer in their midst and that perhaps not all of Porter's deeds were worthy of celebration. The charter fishing industry had been losing major clients and perhaps Jerry was the reason for it. A criminal investigation turns up information that damages dozens of families, fractures friendships, and leads to unwelcome national publicity for a town that relies on tourism to fuel the local economy. The police also single out Slacker as the prime suspect, destroying his treasured image among most Islanders, even his closest friends. Exactly who was the mysterious Jerry Porter? How and why did he meet such a violent end? Slacker Mills discovers the answers, and begins to discover himself, in Free Fish Friday.

    But by the late Seventies, a new youth fashion had appeared in Britain. Its adherents were often linked to violent football gangs, wore designer sportswear and made the bootboys of previous years look like the dinosaurs they were. They were known as scallies, Perry Booys, trendies and dressers. But the name that stuck was Casuals. And this grassroots phenomenon, largely ignored by the media, was to change the face of both British fashion and international style. Casuals recounts how the working-class fascination with sharp dressing and sartorial one-upmanship crystallized the often bitter rivalries of the hooligan crews and how their culture spread across the terraces, clubs and beyond. It is the definitive book for football, music and fashion obsessives alike.

    He brings the meetings, practice sessions, recruiting calls and game day experience to light like never before. Fans who want to know what goes on behind the scenes will find out in this book.”–RON ZOOK, head football coach, the University of FloridaIn Every Week a Season, acclaimed sports reporter and author Brian Curtis takes readers on an unprecedented whirlwind tour of NCAA Division I football. It’s a world that breeds great drama, a world that millions watch but few understand. It is a multibillion-dollar business. It is an obsession.To get to the beating heart of college football, Curtis embarked on a breakneck itinerary that took him where all red-blooded college football fans long to be: behind the scenes at nine big-time programs. In nine weeks, Curtis visited Colorado State University, the University of Georgia, Boston College, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, the University of Wisconsin, Louisiana State University, Florida State University, and Arizona State University. He braved the rain to watch Wisconsin pull off the upset of the year; he was at Neyland Stadium to see Tennessee manage a thrilling overtime victory; he was in Tallahassee to witness Florida State’s dramatic double overtime battle for the ACC title. As added bonuses, he was with Georgia when the team fought for the SEC Championship, and on the LSU sideline when the boys from Baton Rouge defeated Oklahoma to capture the BCS National Championship. At each stop, he brings us inside the game’s inner sanctum: in team meetings and scouting sessions; on the field and on the sidelines, during scrimmages, practices, and games; at pre-game traditions, meals, and religious services; in the locker room before the game and at half-time. Virtually nothing and no one was off-limits. Along with the players, Curtis got to know the coaches–from the young guns to the legends–spending time with them in their offices and on the road. We see firsthand the challenges of running a major college football program–when called on, coaches must serve as CEOs, PR gurus, lawyers, politicians, and policemen. We also learn of the sacrifices made by wives and children that enable coaches to keep the numerous young athletes under their supervision focused, secure, and happy. Brian Curtis gives a no-holds-barred insider’s account that will rank as one of the most honest and accurate books on big-time sports in America. Short of strapping on a helmet, you’ll never get closer to the game.From the Hardcover edition.

    Yet, while working for the New York Giants in the mid-1950s under head coach Jim Lee Howell, the pair formed what still stands as the greatest set of coordinators on one team. Given their personalities, one might have likened Howell’s job to that of Dwight Eisenhower’s as the general struggled to control the egos and politics of his allied subordinates during WWII. But for some reason, Lombardi and Landry worked almost seamlessly, leading the Giants to the top of the NFL. In the five seasons the two men coached together between 1956 and 1959, the Giants appeared in three championship games, winning the NFL title in ‘56.Both coaches would go on to NFL stardom, Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers and Landry with the Dallas Cowboys. But it was during their years as Giants coordinators that they developed the coaching philosophies they would employ later in their careers. For Lombardi, it was the reliance on the running game that started with Frank Gifford and would continue in the “Packers Sweep” days of Paul Hornung. For Landry, it was his own invention of the 4-3 defense that led to the “Flex” defense of his Super Bowl winners in Dallas. How they developed their ideas, and how they were allowed to implement them, was a testament not only to their genius, but Howell’s willingness to let them handle the strategic matters while he looked after the big picture.In Lombardi and Landry, veteran sportswriter Ernie Palladino takes an in-depth look at these two legends’ formative years in New York, offering up a vivid, revealing portrait of two brilliant coaches just coming into an understanding of their formidable powers.

    Why did she get acquitted? Why did the jurors see George as a suspect? Why did they think she was a good mother? And how on God's green earth did they miss the suffocation search? There are surprisingly good answers for all of these questions. I argue in this book that not only did the prosecution hide evidence from the jury, but that the evidence points to Casey being factually innocent as well. Regardless of whether you agree with my viewpoint, I guarantee you'll learn something you didn't know before about this infamous case.

    Despite complete paralysis of the body, Navin Gulia continued to have aspirations and made every effort to accomplish them. With a single-minded focus and determination, he turned his disability into a life-affirming force. He mastered chess, studied computer science, flew hang gliders and microlight aircraft, and went on to become the first Indian to drive non-stop to the highest motorable mountain pass in the world, the forbidding Marsimik La in Ladakh. This is a captivating tale of grit and determination that will inspire and motivate people of all ages. ContentsForeword by Milkha SinghForeword by Vijaya GhoshPreface Coming into Existence Training in the Army An Appointment with Destiny Arduous Journey Back to Life Aiming for the Impossible Conquering the Death Trap Life Thereafter

    Louis Cardinals for seven years when he quit at the height of his career to tell about the dehumanizing side of the game—about the fraud and the payoffs, the racism, drug abuse, and incredible violence. The original publication of Out of Their League shocked readers and provoked the outraged response that rocked the sports world in the 1970s. But his memoir is also a moving description of a man who struggled for social justice and personal liberation. Meggyesy has continued this journey and remains an active champion for players’ rights through his work with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). He provides a preface for this Bison Books edition.

    unsparing, honest' GQ magazineKieron Dyer's memoir, Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late, is the first intimate and unsparing portrait of the failures and excesses of the generation of English footballers made rich beyond their wildest dreams by the post-1990 World Cup boom in the game and the explosion of the Premier League. It shares the same brutal honesty and self-awareness of the bestselling No Nonsense by Joey Barton and GoodFella by Craig Bellamy.In the public mind, Kieron Dyer came to symbolise so much of what was self-destructive about a group of football players known collectively as the 'Baby Bentley generation'. Nicknamed 'The King of Bling' by the tabloid press, Dyer was caught up in many of the scandals that characterised the history of a talented crop of players who promised so much and delivered so little, a generation whose wages and lavish lifestyles began to alienate them from the fans who once worshipped them.The brash young man is gone now, and in his place is the quiet, caring, wise man who was such a favourite on I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! in 2015. Dyer narrates, in uncompromising detail, how a generation of talented English footballers, taken out of working class childhoods and presented with a world of glitz, glamour, wealth and temptation, failed to cope with the riches that were presented to them and often fell apart.Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late is about a moment in time, a social and historical record of English football at the start of its gold rush. For Dyer, the end of the book brings a measure of personal redemption and peace but for the English game, there is only a lingering sense of waste and regret for an opportunity lost.

     Throughout that journey, the Spanish journalists Lu Martín and Pol Ballús have been embedded with the club, reporting this inside account of how a phenomenal team was constructed: from the recruitment of Guardiola himself, to the backroom staff that provide the platform for his team and the superstar players that have set a new standard in British football. No other sportswriter has had this kind of access to Guardiola and his team during their three seasons in Manchester. The result is exclusive, in-depth interviews and profiles of every key figure at City, and the inside stories on the decisions that have shaped the team, including the defensive transformation that saw Guardiola change his goalkeeper and full-backs ahead of his record-breaking 100-point season of 2017-18; the dinner date with Sergio Agüero that changed the course of the City striker's career; and close-ups on every big game in the thrilling finale to the 2018-19 title race.

     From the practical aspects on the training ground to the collective strength of the coaching community, some of the smartest minds in the game take you closer to understanding the human aspects required to nurture young professionals. Germany’s model is not perfect and constantly evolving so there’s also a look at what should be the next step for Germany’s coaching after a disastrous 2018 World Cup. As English players look to Germany to further their own careers, Mensch looks at what the wider football world can learn from a country and a coaching culture so clearly in love with the beautiful game.

    

     Luke has watched Felicity - and felt guilty about it - for as long as he's played on the NFL team her husband manages. Not that he'd ever touch the wife of another man, no sir. But when his manager cuts Felicity adrift, Luke is ready to catch her. Not that she wants to be caught. She's not ready for love. But Luke is a determined man who doesn't give up easily. Slowly, gently he's going to charm her and show her all that he has to offer. A tender, touching love story from the author of The Virgin's Auction.

    In early March 2020 Liverpool were two wins away from an extraordinary achievement, on course for their first league title win in 30 years - since the heads days of Kenny Dalglish - and likely to seal it in the Merseyside derby against their great rivals Everton. And all this an incredible two months before the season was due to end. Then, as we all know, the season was postponed.The architect of the club's great resurgence - including their 2019 UEFA Champions League win - has been J�rgen Klopp. In his personal love-letter to the man, Anthony Quinn, journalist, novelist and life-long Liverpool fan, has written an inspiring and affectionate portrait of the incredible German manager, who came to Liverpool in late 2015, with a growing reputation from his successes at Borussia Dortmund.Closely following the three month break, as well as the club's title-clinching return, Quinn offers a uniquely revealing and personal take on this long-awaited triumph.

    Now meet Colt McCoy up-close and personal! Growing Up Colt—A Father, a Son, a Life in Football is a unique biography by both the Cleveland Browns quarterback and his father, Brad, a highly-respected football coach in his native Texas. Get a behind-the-scenes view of the formative events of Colt’s football experience and the foundational principles of his family and faith life. Growing Up Colt promises an inspiring read for football fans of all ages—and don’t miss the exciting full-color photo section!

    She's the newest reporter for the LA Chronicle.Paige O'Malley has worked her ass off for her career, and now she's just landed her dream job with the biggest paper on the west coast. They broke each other's hearts nine years ago. Now fate is giving them another chance to get it right.When Paige gets assigned to write an exposé on Jack, she must decide where her loyalties lie: with the career of a lifetime or the love of her life. In the Grasp is the first contemporary sports romance in the LA Wolves series. Jack and Paige's story begins in Intentional Grounding.