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.

Of the many storylines to the Patriots' incredible 2016 season, the continuing domination of the team's star wide receiver Julian Edelman was one of the most memorable. Not only did he break his previous personal record for most yards in a season with 1,106, but he also he emerged--on the front page of sports sections across the country--as the Patriots' hero after making an against-all-odds catch when the Patriots were losing 28-20 in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Those two seconds in which Edelman seemed to defy gravity, diving forward to catch a football that had ricocheted off two opposing defenders before it reached the ground, will no doubt remain at the center of his legacy. And it should. Edelman had been preparing for that moment his whole life: over warm California winters when he would lead his brothers and sisters in a football scrimmage on not just Thanksgiving, but Christmas, too; at Woodside High School where he led his team to a 13-0 record as a senior; at Kent State University where as quarterback he led his team in passing and rushing as a senior, breaking his school's previous record for total offense; and on the legendary New England Patriots, where he worked with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to develop his game and become a two-time Super Bowl champion. Taking readers through Edelman's childhood, NFL career, and two incredible Super Bowl victories, this book is the first-hand account of the making of a champion and an indispensable text on what is perhaps the most memorable win in Super Bowl history.

Commercial aspects of college football and basketball during the mid- to late 20th century were dominated by a few "get rich quick" schools. Though the NCAA was responsible for controlling such facets of college sports, the organization was unwilling and unable to control the excesses of the few who opposed the majority opinion. The result was a period of corruption, rules violations, unnecessary injuries and overspending. These events led to the formation of larger conferences, richer bowl games and rules intended to preserve the "money-making" value of college football and basketball. This book explores gambling, academic fraud, illegal booster activity and the single-minded pursuit of television contracts in college sports, as well as the NCAA's involvement-or lack thereof-in such cases.

During the 1980s Black athletes and other athletes of color broadened the popularity and profitability of major-college televised sports by infusing games with a “Black style” of play. At a moment ripe for a revolution in men’s college basketball and football, clashes between “good guy” white protagonists and bombastic “bad boy” Black antagonists attracted new fans and spectators. And no two teams in the 1980s welcomed the enemy’s role more than Georgetown Hoya basketball and Miami Hurricane football. Georgetown and Miami taunted opponents. They celebrated scores and victories with in-your-face swagger. Coaches at both programs changed the tenor of postgame media appearances and the language journalists and broadcasters used to describe athletes. Athletes of color at both schools made sports apparel fashionable for younger fans, particularly young African American men. The Hoyas and the ’Canes were a sensation because they made the bad-boy image look good. Popular culture took notice. In the United States sports and race have always been tightly, if sometimes uncomfortably, entwined. Black athletes who dare to challenge the sporting status quo are often initially vilified but later accepted. The 1980s generation of barrier-busting college athletes took this process a step further. True to form, Georgetown’s and Miami’s aggressive style of play angered many fans and commentators. But in time their style was not only accepted but imitated by others, both Black and white. Love them or hate them, there was simply no way you could deny the Hoyas and the Hurricanes.  

Was Alabama's Crimson Tide in 2020 the greatest team of all time? The squad went 13-0 in a pandemic year, scored a combined 107 points against SEC powerhouses LSU and Florida, crushed Ohio State in a National Championship Game 52-24 in a contest that wasn't even that close, and followed it up with another top-rated signing class. Nick Saban called his boys the "ultimate team," but it wasn't just because they kicked the ever-living hell out of everyone on the football field. It was because the team leveraged a power and influence born of Southern pride to push back against a hateful legacy of racism that a populist president was exploiting to divide the nation. At a time when Americans needed real leaders in the face of so much hate, the sports world answered the call and fought back for the soul of the country. In the summer of 2020, the Tide players left their training facility and, led by their celebrated coach, marched to a campus doorway made infamous sixty years earlier by another political demagogue and showed what people can accomplish when they fight together for a just cause in the name of unity. The most powerful force in a state crazy for college football had chosen to make a stand and replace George Wallace's "Segregation forever!" with a different message, written by one of the players: "All lives can't matter until Black lives matter." ? There have been some great football teams through the years, and they all deserve respect. But here's what we know for sure: They all would have been appreciative of what this Alabama team represented, and proud of what it accomplished. The Crimson Tide in 2020 captured something special that moved it beyond the conversation of best ever, and into the place reserved for most important of all time.

The 50 Greatest Players in Cleveland Browns History examines the careers of the 50 men who made the greatest impact on one of the National Football League's oldest and most iconic and franchises. Using as measuring sticks the degree to which they impacted the fortunes of the team, the extent to which they added to the Browns legacy, and the levels of statistical compilation and overall dominance they attained while wearing a Browns uniform, The 50 Greatest Players in Cleveland Browns History ranks, from 1 to 50, the top 50 players in team history. Quotes from opposing players and former teammates are provided along the way, as are summaries of each player's greatest season, most memorable performances, and most notable achievements.

NIRSA supports leaders in collegiate recreation, with a membership serving over eight million students. The 20th edition of this classic guidebook from NIRSA provides the latest rule changes in flag and touch football. The 2021 & 2022 NIRSA Flag & Touch Football Rules Book & Officials' Manual highlights all the rules that have changed since the previous edition, making it easy to locate what is new or changed. Updated information for officials includes rules for Unified flag football and updated field diagrams that show a 30-yard line. The pocket size of the guide makes it easy to consult at games, whether you're a coach, instructor, official, player, or fan of flag and touch football. The manual also offers summaries of fouls and penalties, youth football rules, and 4 on 4 football rules, and it presents the 10 commandments for clinicians and observers. It contains detailed explanations of the following rules: Rule 1. The Game, Field, Players, and Equipment Rule 2. Definitions of Playing Terms Rule 3. Periods, Time Factors, and Substitutions Rule 4. Ball in Play, Dead Ball, and Out of Bounds Rule 5. Series of Downs, Number of Downs, and Team Possession After Penalty Rule 6. Kicking the Ball Rule 7. Snapping, Handing, and Passing the Ball Rule 8. Scoring Plays and Touchback Rule 9. Conduct of Players and Others Rule 10. Enforcement of Penalties The officials' portion is then presented in seven sections: Part I. Officiating Basics Part II. Game Administration Part III. Officiating Responsibilities Part IV. Communication Part V. 3-Person Mechanics Part VI. 4-Person Mechanics Part VII. NIRSA Official Flag Football Signals This easy-to-read rule book and officials' manual reflects NIRSA's continuing commitment to the development of flag and touch football and the organization's efforts to keep training and officials' manuals current and relevant. As such, this pocket guide is an essential resource for officials, coaches, and players connected to flag and touch football in various settings, from youth levels through collegiate levels.

We remember the 1966 birth of the New Orleans Saints as a shady quid pro quo between the NFL commissioner and a Louisiana congressman. Moving the Chains is the untold story of the athlete protest that necessitated this backroom deal, as New Orleans scrambled to respond to a very public repudiation of the racist policies that governed the city. In the decade that preceded the 1965 athlete walkout, a reactionary backlash had swept through Louisiana, bringing with it a host of new segregation laws and enough social strong-arming to quash any complaints, even from suffering sports promoters. Nationwide protests assailed the Tulane Green Wave, the Sugar Bowl, and the NFL's preseason stop-offs, and only legal loopholes and a lot of luck kept football alive in the city. Still, live it did, and in January 1965, locals believed they were just a week away from landing their own pro franchise. All they had to do was pack Tulane Stadium for the city's biggest audition yet, the AFL All-Star game. Ultimately, all fifty-eight Black and white teammates walked out of the game to protest the town's lingering segregation practices and public abuse of Black players. Following that, love of the gridiron prompted and excused something out of sync with the city's branding: change. In less than two years, the Big Easy made enough progress to pass a blitz inspection by Black and white NFL officials and receive the long-desired expansion team. The story of the athletes whose bravery led to change quickly fell by the wayside. Locals framed desegregation efforts as proof that the town had been progressive and tolerant all along. Furthermore, when a handshake between Pete Rozelle and Hale Boggs gave America its first Super Bowl and New Orleans its own club, the city proudly clung to that version of events, never admitting the cleanup even took place. As a result, Moving the Chains is the first book to reveal the ramifications of the All-Stars' civil resistance and to detail the Saints' true first win.

2016 Best Book Award, North American Society for the Sociology of Sport A human face on the realities of professional football, from the challenges players face after leaving the NFL to the factors that can enable them to continue to find success Is There Life After Football? draws upon the experiences of hundreds of former players as they describe their lives playing the sport and after their football days are over. The "bubble"-like conditions of privilege that NFL players experience while playing, often leave players unprepared for the real world once they retire and must manage their own lives. The book also reveals the difficulties affecting former NFL players in retirement: social isolation, financial concerns, inadequate career planning, psychological challenges, and physical injuries. From players who make reckless and unsustainable financial investments during their very few high-earning years, to players who struggle to form personal and professional relationships outside of football, the stories in the book put a very human face on the realities of professional football. George Koonce Jr., a former NFL player himself, weaves in his own story throughout, explaining the challenges he encountered and decisions that helped him succeed after leaving the sport. Ultimately, Is There Life After Football? concludes that, despite the challenges players face, it is possible for players to find success after leaving the NFL if they have the right support, education, and awareness of what might await them.

"A visually striking, enlightening picture-book biography." --Booklist (starred review) "An absolutely indispensable illustrated biography." --School Library Journal (starred review) "A well-sourced, stirringly told account of an artist." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "For sports fans and budding artists alike...a well-told, artfully illustrated story." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A 2019 Orbis Pictus Book Award Winner * An ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book * A SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Book Award * A Booklist Top 10 Biographies for Youth * A Booklist Top 10 Art Books for Youth * A New York Public Library (NYPL) Best Book for Kids * A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book Discover the remarkable true story of NFL star Ernie Barnes--a boy who followed his dreams and became one of the most influential artists of his generation--with this beautiful and fascinating nonfiction picture book illustrated by four-time Caldecott Honor recipient Bryan Collier. "An artist paints his own reality." --Ernie Barnes Ernie Barnes was an NFL football player who longed to make art. Finally his dream came true. When Ernie Barnes was growing up in North Carolina in the 1940s, he loved to draw. Even when he played as a boy with his friends he drew with a stick in the mud. And he never left home without a sketchbook. He would draw families walking home from church, or the old man on the sofa. He drew what he saw. But in the segregated south, Ernie didn't know how to make a living as an artist. Ernie grew tall and athletic and became a football star. Soon enough the colleges came calling. Still, in his heart Ernie longed to paint. Would that day ever come? Ernie Barnes was one of the most important artists of his time known for his style of elongation and movement. His work has influenced a generation of painters and illustrators and can be found in museums and collections, such as the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the California African American Museum. Between the Lines is a story of inspiration, spirit, and of an American original who pursued his dream. This enchanting picture book includes pieces of artwork created by this little known artist who captured the truth and beauty of the world he saw around him.

At last, the definitive account of the Redskins' championship decade Based on more than ninety original interviews, here is the rollicking chronicle of the famed Washington Redskins teams of the Joe Gibbs years--one of the most remarkable and unique runs in NFL history. From 1981 to 1992, Gibbs coached the franchise to three Super Bowl victories, making the team the toast of the nation's capital, from the political elite to the inner city, and helping to define one of the sport's legendary eras. Veteran sportswriter Adam Lazarus masterfully charts the Redskins' rise from mediocrity (the franchise had never won a Super Bowl and Gibbs's first year as head coach started with a five-game losing streak that almost cost him his job) to its stretch of four championship games in ten years. What makes their sustained success all the more remarkable, in retrospect, is that unlike the storied championship wins of Joe Montana's 49ers and Tom Brady's Patriots, the Redskins' Super Bowl victories each featured a different starting quarterback: Joe Theismann in 1983, the franchise's surprising first championship run; Doug Williams in 1988, a win full of meaning for a majority African American city during a tumultuous era; and Mark Rypien in 1992, capping one of the greatest seasons of all time, one that stands as Gibbs's masterpiece. Hail to the Redskins features an epic roster of saints and sinners: hard-drinking fullback John Riggins; the dominant, blue-collar offensive linemen known as "the Hogs," who became a cultural phenomenon; quarterbacks Williams, the first African American QB to win a Super Bowl, and Theisman, a model-handsome pitchman whose leg was brutally broken by Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football; gregarious defensive end Dexter Manley, who would be banned from the league for cocaine abuse; and others including the legendary speedster Darrell Green, record-breaking receiver Art Monk, rags-to-riches QB Rypien, expert general managers and talent evaluators Bobby Beathard and Charley Casserly, aristocratic owner Jack Kent Cooke, and, of course, Gibbs himself, a devout Christian who was also a ruthless competitor and one of the sport's most adaptable and creative coaching minds. A must-read for any fan, Hail to the Redskins builds on Lazarus's interviews with key inside sources to vividly re-create the plays, the players, the fans, and the opponents that shaped this unforgettable football dynasty.

In 1926, Harvard athletic director Bill Bingham chose former Crimson All-American Arnold Horween as coach of the university's moribund football team. The pair instilled a fresh culture, one based on merit rather than social status, and in the virtues of honor and courage over mere winning. Yet their success challenged entrenched ideas about who belonged at Harvard and, by extension, who deserved to lay claim to the American dream. Zev Eleff tells the story of two immigrants' sons shaped by a vision of an America that rewarded any person of virtue. As a player, the Chicago-born Horween had led Harvard to its 1920 Rose Bowl victory. As a coach, he faced intractable opposition from powerful East Coast alumni because of his values and Midwestern, Jewish background. Eleff traces Bingham and Horween's careers as student-athletes and their campaign to wrest control of the football program from alumni. He also looks at how Horween undermined stereotypes of Jewish masculinity and dealt with the resurgent antisemitism of the 1920s.

An all-access pass into the powerhouse teams and passionate fanbases of the legendary Southeastern Conference, from one of the most influential men in college football: ESPN's Paul Finebaum.Proud owner of 14 prestigious college football programs, producing seven consecutive national championships, twelve NFL first round draft choices, and a budget that crushes the GDP of Samoa, the Southeastern Conference collects the most coveted ratings, rankings, and revenue of any conference in college football. 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.

Author is a noted Chip Kelly expert, having written The Tao of Chip Kelly, an evergreen title for Diversion. Chip Kelly is one of the most written-about coaches in the NFL, and has received a great deal of press for his off-season acquisitions. Kelly has national appeal as an NFL coach, but also tremendous local appeal in the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast