My Conference Can Beat Your Conference: Why the SEC Still Rules College Football


Paul Finebaum - 2014
    With its pantheon of illustrious alumni like Bear Bryant, Herschel Walker, Peyton Manning, and Nick Saban, the SEC is the altar at which millions of Americans worship every Saturday, from Texas to Kentucky to Florida.If the SEC is a religion, its deity is radio talk-show host Paul Finebaum. In My Conference Can Beat Your Conference, Finebaum, chronicles the rise of the SEC and his own unlikely path to college football fame. Finebaum offers his blunt wisdom on everything from Joe Paterno and the Penn State scandal to the relevancy of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron’s girlfriend, and chronicles the best of his beloved callers, and the worst of his haters.My Conference Can Beat Your Conference is illustrated with 8 pages of color photos.

Sidetracks: 40 True Stories of Hunting and Fishing on Paths Less Traveled (The Sidetracks Series)


Gary Oberg - 2018
    His book "Sidetracks" reveals locations where the finest game and the feistiest fish live including: ▪ Minnesota Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness▪ Lake Wenasaga, Ontario, Canada▪ Arctic Lodges, Reindeer Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada▪ Rice Lake, Ontario, Canada▪Skyline Guest Ranch, Cooke City, Montana▪ Fishing Charters in Seward, Alaska▪ Eagle's Nest Resort, Alaska▪ Sawtooth Mountain, Craig, Colorado▪ Sioux Lake, Meeker County, Minnesota▪ Spirit Lake, Iowa▪ Rochester, Minnesota▪ Lake of the Woods, Minnesota & Canada▪ Rowleys Bay, Door County, Wisconsin▪ Bear Lake Lodge, Alaska▪ Floating Lodges of Sioux Narrows, Ontario, Canada ABOUT THE AUTHOR-Gary Oberg, BME, PE, has spent his life on the edge. As an engineer and entrepreneur, he's taken a lot of chances, but he really learned about risk mitigation over a lifetime of pushing the limits outdoors. He grew up on a farm in Minnesota, where he learned to appreciate nature and her ways, and spent much of his life fishing and hunting throughout North America. These are the stories he's accumulated over decades, and the lessons they've taught him. Gary says, "If you're not living on the edge, you're takin' up too much room."

Kick the Balls: An Offensive Suburban Odyssey


Alan Black - 2008
    His experience was not the little league, boys-of-summer stuff of modern America. For him, it was life and death. Now middleaged and living in California, Alan finds himself coaching a team of eight-year-olds in his beloved sport—and nothing is going right. For a start, the kids are no good at soccer. Secondly, they’re pampered. Born and bred on the sport, Black’s hardscrabble Scottish upbringing consisted of playing tough and victory at all costs. Needless to say, his coaching methods are a far cry from the “winning isn’t everything” mentality his little leaguers have been reared with; and players and parents alike are shocked as Black attempts to transform the losing team through drills and bombast. Alone at night, watching evangelicals on TV, Black finds himself searching for some truth in the culture he finds so bizarre. And it’s with the Tigers that he feels most out of sync—faced with a mix of soft suburban children, a raft of overprotective parents, and an Iranian co-coach called Ali. Told with Black’s uproarious Scottish sensibility, Kick the Balls follows the abrasive, irreverent, and hilarious coach as he contends with a team that winds up with a zero-win record. Both a celebration of his own tough childhood and an account of one man’s navigation of an alien culture, Kick the Balls will delight fans of well-told, laugh-out-loud memoirs.

Go Long!: My Journey Beyond the Game and the Fame


Jerry Rice - 2007
    In spite of Rice’s legendary gridiron skills, or even his ability to transform himself into an instant ballroom-dance prodigy on ABC’s hit TV series Dancing with the Stars, the surprising fact is, a guy like Jerry Rice is made and not just born. In Go Long! Rice shares the inspirational lessons and empowering practices that have helped him attain success, both on the football field and off. Through the ups and downs of Rice’s life and incomparable career, we discover how self-motivation, determination, and humility are the keys to achievement and true fulfillment. It’s been a long journey for Jerry Rice, from his childhood in Starkville, Mississippi, to a certain berth in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a kid, he was always working toward something, even if he wasn’t sure what it was. Rice honed his hand-eye coordination by catching airborne bricks tossed by his siblings while on the job with their bricklayer father, and he ran–everywhere. From these humble beginnings, Rice blazed a path to greatness in college and the NFL–a trip that was fueled by tireless effort and belief in a few simple principles, among them that achievement is a voyage, not a destination; that modesty and perseverance, not talent, are what determine how far you will go; and that everyone should strive to be a role model. Rice even demonstrates these rules in action, breaking down the greatest games from his stellar career. Go Long! is an inspiring book by a living sports legend. More than that, however, it is the story of how Jerry Rice awakened the champion within, illustration how we can unlock the greatness within ourselves.From the Hardcover edition.

Der Traumhüter. Die unglaubliche Geschichte eines Torwarts


Ronald Reng - 2002
    A controversial story about life in the English Premier soccer league -- a mixture of anecdote and intimate biography -- the tabloid truth about professional soccer.

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.

Money and Soccer: A Soccernomics Guide


Stefan Szymanski - 2015
    From the ill-received takeover of Manchester United by the Glazer family to Paris Saint Germain's current shopping spree for the best footballers on the planet, soccer finance has become an increasingly important part of the game. Barely a summer goes by now without a cherished club going into administration or a wealthy businessman funding a mid table team's ascension to Champions League competitor. Meanwhile, the twice-annual multi-million dollar merry-go-round of transfer season sees players (and now managers) signed for sums thought impossible just a decade ago. Understanding soccer finance has become essential for comprehending the beautiful game. But for many fans, soccer finance remains, frustratingly, a world that is opaque and difficult to grasp. Stefan Szymanski, co-author of the bestselling Soccernomics, tackles every soccer fan's burning questions in Money and Soccer: A Soccernomics Guide. From the abolition of the maximum wage in the 1960s, through to the impact of TV money both at home and abroad in the 1990s and 2000s, Szymanski explains how money, or lack of, affects your favorite club. Drawing on extensive research into financial records dating back to the 1970s, Szymanski provides clear analysis of the way that clubs have transformed in the modern era. This book isn't limited to European clubs. Szymanski, a renowned expert on sports management and economics, looks at what we can learn from comparing the ascension of Europe's biggest clubs to their lofty perches and with new financial models across the world. Through careful research and informative stories drawn from around the globe, Szymanski provides an accessible guide to the world of soccer finance.

The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story


Paul McGuigan - 1997
    He never did. Robin Friday was a brilliant player who could have played in the top flight. He never did. Why? Because Robin Friday was a man who would not bow down to anyone, who refused to take life seriously and who lived every moment as if it were his last. For anyone lucky enough to have seen him play, Robin Friday was up there with the greats. Take it from one who knows: 'There is no doubt in my mind that if someone had taken a chance on him he would have set the top division alight,' says the legendary Stan Bowles. 'He could have gone right to the top, but he just went off the rails a bit.' Loved and admired by everyone who saw him, Friday also had a dark side: troubled, strong-minded, reckless, he would end up destroying himself. Tragically, after years of alcohol and drug abuse, he died at the age of 38 without ever having fulfilled his potential. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw provides the first full appreciation of a man too long forgotten by the world of football, and, along with a forthcoming film based on Friday's life, with a screenplay by co-author Paolo Hewitt, this book will surely give him the cult status he deserves.

Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff


Frits Barend - 1997
    He also talks about the philosophy behind total football, the driving force behind the great Dutch side of the 1970s, and a style of football many top teams attempt to emulate today. Then there was the eight years of success as manager of Barcelona, one of the most stressful jobs in the game, and back to Ajax, where, with his emphasis on youth and home-grown talent, he put together another team of superb ability.

Believe: What Life and Cricket Taught Me


Suresh Raina - 2021
    

The Artist: Being Iniesta


Andrés Iniesta - 2016
    This is the thinking fan's footballer with a thinking fan's football book. Andrés Iniesta was twelve years old when scouts invited him into Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. Shortly after he joined the club, Barca legend Pep Guardiola remarked of him, 'This lad is going to retire us all.'Iniesta rapidly became a permanent fixture in the Barca midfield, propelling the club to a raft of trophies, including eight La Liga championships and four Champions League titles. With his country he has won the European Championship twice, and scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final.Behind the wonderfully graceful passing and movement, and the accolades and trophies he has garnered, there exists an intelligent and thoughtful man who, until now, has let his beautifully skilful feet do the talking. In The Artist: Being Iniesta, the Spanish maestro paints a vivid self-portrait, in his own words but also in those of his coaches, team-mates, opponents, friends and family. The result is intriguing.

Giggs: The Autobiography


Ryan Giggs - 2005
    He took possession of United's left wing and never loosened his grip. Over a fourteen year career so far, he's seen them all come and go: Cantona, Schmeichel, Beckham and the rest. Sir Alex Ferguson said of Giggs 'I knew we had an outstanding talent when we gave him his debut.' That was back in 1991, but it remains as true in 2005 as it ever was. Giggs has been a pivotal figure in United's dominance of the Premiership. There have been rivals but no other team can match their sustained record of success over recent years. And Giggs is the only player to have played in all eight of those title winning campaigns. Off the pitch, Ryan Giggs has always closely guarded his private life. But here he opens up for the first time, sharing details of the sometimes turbulent childhood that shaped him and the relationships that have mattered to him to reveal the man behind the famous number 11 red shirt. One thing seems clear: the Old Trafford crowd will be singing 'Giggs will tear you apart again!' for a few years yet.

Playing for More: Trust Beyond What You Can See


Case Keenum - 2018
    Recruited by just one college, undrafted, and released three times, Case has overcome every obstacle to become a successful starting quarterback. In 2017, Keenum captured America’s imagination by leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 13-3 record and an NFC North title. His game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of their divisional playoff game against the Saints, the "Minneapolis Miracle," made Case part of NFL history. Keenum shares stories from every stage of his life, starting out as a ball boy for his father’s college team in West Texas, going on to win a state title in high school, and rewriting the NCAA record book at the University of Houston. A devastating knee injury almost derailed his football career, but helped him get closer to the woman who would soon become his wife. Throughout his story, Case will explain how being a Christian helped him navigate the winding path to success. No matter what obstacle has been placed in front of him, Case believes God has a plan for him. That’s why he plays football and that’s why he’s writing this book: To glorify God and to help others who face adversity in their everyday life. “Am I a football player who happens to be a Christian?” Case writes, "No, I’m a Christian who happens to be a football player. That’s my calling. That’s my defining characteristic. Once I realized that, everything else fell into place. I became a better football player and, more importantly, a better person.”

The Soccer Book


David Goldblatt - 2009
    Whether you want to bend it like Beckham or dribble like Ronaldinho, The Soccer Book is the ultimate visual guide to soccer skills, rules, tactics, and coaching, illustrating every aspect of every variant of the sport more clearly, and in more detail, than any other book has done before.

A Beautiful Game: My Love Affair with Cricket


Mark Nicholas - 2016
    As both a former player and now a professional observer and commentator on the game he knows all the key figures of the sport and has witnessed first-hand some of cricket's greatest moments. His book is a personal account of the game as he's seen and experienced it across the globe. From epic test matches to titans of the game like Lara, Warne and Tendulkar, to his own childhood love for the sport, Mark gives us his informed, personal and fascinating views on cricket - the world's other beautiful game.