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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games > American football
THE NO.1 BESTSELLER! 'I read it in one sitting, it's a superb book'
Eamon Dunphy, The Stand 'An astonishing expose' Martin Ziegler, The
Times Over the course of fifteen years, John Delaney ran the
Football Association of Ireland as his own personal fiefdom. He had
his critics, but his power was never seriously challenged until
last year, when Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan published a sequence of
stories in the Sunday Times containing damaging revelations about
his personal compensation and the parlous financial situation of
the FAI. Delaney's reputation as a great financial manager was left
in tatters. He resigned under pressure, and the FAI was left hoping
for a massive bail-out from the Irish taxpayer. In Champagne
Football, Tighe and Rowan dig deep into the story of Delaney's
career and of the FAI's slide into ruin. They show how he
surrounded himself with people whose personal loyalty he could
count on, and a board that failed to notice that the association's
finances were shot. They detail Delaney's skilful cultivation of
opinion-formers outside the FAI. And they document the culture of
excess that Delaney presided over and benefited from, to the
detriment of the organization he led. Champagne Football is a
gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of
reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back
the curtain on the FAI's mismanagement. ____________ 'Excellent'
Irish Sun 'A jaw-dropping story ... brilliant' Irish Times
'Essential reading' Irish Daily Star 'Astonishing ...
Side-splittingly hilarious' Guardian 'A damning account' Sunday
Independent 'An instant classic, one of the all-time great Irish
sports books' Alan English 'Excellent ... includes staggering
detail' Daily Mail 'A cracking read ... [An] incredible amount of
jaw-dropping detail' Matt Cooper 'One of the most hotly-anticipated
sport books of the year' Brendan O'Connor 'A masterpiece' Tommy
Martin 'At last, the truth of his ruinous reign has been rigorously
and painstakingly exposed' Irish Daily Mail 'An absolutely
extraordinary book' Eoin McDevitt, Second Captains 'Remarkable. The
desperate story of Irish football but also a book about how Ireland
works. Outstanding' Dion Fanning
The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the NHL’s “Original Six,” have
been building their storied legacy for decades. Since their
founding in 1926, the Hawks have won six Stanley Cup championships
and produced dozens of standout stars, from Hall of Fame goaltender
Mike Karakas in the ’30s to Bobby “The Golden Jet” Hull in
the ’60s to current team captain Jonathan Toews. And the Chicago
Tribune, the team’s hometown newspaper, has been covering it all
from the very beginning. Published to coincide with the start of
the 2017–18 season, The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago
Blackhawks is a decade-by-decade look at the city’s 21st-century
sports dynasty. Curated by the Chicago Tribune sports department,
this book documents every era in the team’s history, from the
1920s to the present day, through the newspaper’s original
reporting, in-depth analysis, comprehensive timelines, and archival
photos. Each chapter includes profiles on key coaches and players,
highlighting the top players from each decade as well as every
Stanley Cup championship. Bonus “overtime” material—stats and
facts on championships, Hall of Famers, memorable trades, and
more—provides a blow-by-blow look at all 90 years of the
franchise’s history.
At the end of World War II, the top ten college football teams were
largely the same as they are today-with one exception: Oklahoma. In
1947, Bud Wilkinson was named OU's head football coach and became
the architect of Oklahoma's meteoric rise from mediocrity to its
present status as a perennial powerhouse. Based on interviews with
Wilkinson, former OU president George L. Cross, and numerous former
players, author John Scott gives us the behind-the-scenes story of
Wilkinson's years at the University of Oklahoma. Scott takes us
through the teams Wilkinson directed from 1947 to 1963, revealing
the philosophies and tactics Wilkinson used to turn OU into one of
college football's elite programs. A close-up view of games-from
strategy to execution-brings OU football and its cast of colorful
characters to life. Scott details the Sooners' 47-game winning
streak as well as thrilling games against Notre Dame, Army, USC,
and others. He also provides details of Wilkinson's breaking of the
color line in OU athletics and the infamous food-poisoning incident
in Chicago in 1959. Before his death in 1994, Wilkinson reviewed
the first draft of the book and wrote in a letter to the author,
"The explanations of football strategies are concise and clear.
They rank among the best I have ever read." Including vignettes of
Wilkinson's closest coaching friends (Royal, Bryant, Leahy,
Sanders, Blaik, Tatum), Bud Wilkinson and the Rise of Oklahoma
Football captures all the drama of Oklahoma's ascendance and serves
as an authoritative and entertaining history of the sport that will
appeal to all college football fans.
Most Colorado fans have taken in a game at Folsom Field, remember
the Buffaloes’ national championship victory over Notre Dame, and
can vividly recall Kordell Stewart’s Hail Mary heave to Michael
Westbrook. But only real fans know the amazing story of
“Whizzer” White, have read Sal Aunese’s letter to his
teammates just before his death, or are aware of how the rivalry
with Nebraska was born. Featuring traditions, records, and lore,
this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and
facts every University of Colorado fan should know. Whether
you’re a longtime fan from the days of Bill McCartney or a more
recent supporter, these are the 100 things all fans need to know
and do in their lifetime. CU beat reporter Brian Howell has
collected every essential piece of Buffaloes knowledge and trivia,
as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100,
providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you
progress on your way to fan superstardom.
In 1984 the University of Washington Huskies won every game but
one, ranking second in national polls. For most coaches, such a
season would be a career pinnacle. But for Don James second place
motivated him to set aside what he knew about football and rethink
the game. James made radical changes to his coaching philosophy,
from recruitment to becoming one of the first college teams willing
to blitz on any down and in any situation. His new approach
initially failed, yet it finally culminated in one of the most
explosive teams in college football history. In Fear No Man, Mike
Gastineau recounts the riveting story of Don James and the national
championship team he built. Undefeated, the 1991 Huskies outscored
opponents by an average of 31 points per game on their way to
winning the Rose Bowl and a national championship. The team
included twenty-five future NFL players, and in Gastineau’s
gripping account they come alive with all the swagger and joy they
brought to the game. A brilliant examination of one of college
football’s greatest coaches and teams, Fear No Man is the
inspirational story of an improbable journey that led to one
classic and unforgettable season.
Upton Bell grew up at the knee of the NFL's first great
commissioner, his father, the legendary Bert Bell, who not only
saved the game from financial ruin after World War II but was one
of its greatest innovators. Present at the Creation details Bell's
firsthand experiences, which started as he watched his father draw
up the league schedule each year at the kitchen table using
dominoes. There he learned the importance of parity, which is a
hallmark of the league's success, and also how to create it. Over
the past fifty-three years, Bell has been an owner, a general
manager, a personnel executive, a scouting director for two Super
Bowl teams, a television commentator and analyst, and a talk-radio
host. He has seen the NFL from the inside and has experienced many
of the most important moments in NFL history. Bell was player
personnel director for the Baltimore Colts when the team played in
three championship games and appeared in two Super Bowls. At
thirty-three he became the youngest general manager in NFL history
when he joined the Patriots in that role in 1971. He left the NFL
in 1974 to compete against it, joining the upstart World Football
League as owner of the Charlotte Hornets, which lasted just two
years. In 1976 Bell began his forty-year career as a radio and TV
talk-show host, yet he remains a football guy who was in the middle
of the game's most significant moments and knows that half the
story has never been told, until now. Watch a book trailer.
High Stakes, Deep Faith, and Unbreakable Brotherhood They were the
first No. 1 seed in NFL history to enter the playoffs as an
underdog. Their star quarterback was out with a season-ending knee
injury. Five-time Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots
towered over them. But public opinion didn't matter to the
Philadelphia Eagles. They believed in each other. The band of
Christian brothers on the team believed in the God of the
impossible, and they played for an audience of One. The most
extensive book to explore the Christian faith shared by many of the
team's players, Birds of Pray details the incredible inside story
behind the Eagles' capture of the biggest prize in professional
sports: the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Through exclusive interviews
with the players, never-before-seen photos, and insider accounts of
the miracle season's most memorable moments, Philly native and
Associated Press sportswriter Rob Maaddi reveals a side of the team
the world has yet to fully witness. From an impromptu baptism in
the team's cold tub to weekly Bible studies and pre-game prayers,
to the unique friendship between star quarterback Carson Wentz and
back-up-then-MVP Nick Foles - the Eagles excel in the unexpected.
Birds of Pray follows the deep faith shared among players, the high
stakes they faced together, and their relentless reliance on Christ
who gives all strength in moments of crisis and celebration alike.
The result is a boldly inspiring, entertaining read that will
challenge readers to go deeper in their faith, dream bigger, and
live with renewed courage for whatever odds life stacks against
them.
Tim Tebow, an American sports icon, shares in this innovative Bible
study guide how the only sure foundation for personal identity is a
vital, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. For both personal
and small group use. Tim Tebow--football champion, role model, and
media sensation--tells how a variety of experiences in recent years
have tested his faith and positive outlook. His professional
football career may not have gone as planned, but in days of
adversity and even self-questioning, Tim has learned that God is
always faithful. And it's only through a relationship with Christ
that you can maintain a steady, healthy self-identity in good times
and bad.
Although its participants are still in grade school, Pop Warner
football is serious business in Miami, where local teams routinely
advance to the national championships. Games draw thousands of
fans; recruiters vie for nascent talent; drug dealers and rap stars
bankroll teams; and the stakes are so high that games sometimes end
in gunshots. In America's poorest neighborhood, troubled parents
dream of NFL stardom for children who long only for a week in
Disney World at the Pop Warner Super Bowl. In 2001, journalist
Robert Andrew Powell spent a year following two teams through
roller-coaster seasons. The Liberty City Warriors, former national
champs, will suffer the team's first-ever losing season. The
Palmetto Raiders, undefeated for two straight years, will be
rewarded for good play with limo rides and steak dinners. But their
flamboyant coach (the "Darth Vader of youth football") will face
defeat in a down-to-the-wire playoff game. We Own This Game is an
inside-the-huddle look into a world of innocence and corruption,
where every kickoff bares political, social, and racial
implications; an unforgettable drama that shows us just what it is
to win and to lose in America.
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