Coaching Football Ain't Easy ignores the X's and O's of football in favor of a hilarious, irreverent, and occasionally grumpy memoir about the ups and downs of one man's career as a football coach.

In the first half of the twentieth century, Jack Trice, Ozzie Simmons, and Johnny Bright played college football for three Iowa institutions: Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and Drake University, respectively. At a time when the overwhelming majority of their opponents and teammates were white, the three men, all Black, sustained serious injuries on the gridiron due to foul play, either because of their talents, their race, or, most likely, an ugly combination of the two. Moments of Impact tells their stories and examines how the local communities of which they were once a part have forgotten and remembered those assaults over time. Of particular interest are the ways those memories have been expressed in a number of commemorations, including a stadium name, a trophy, and the dedication of a football field. Jaime Schultz focuses on the historical and racial circumstances of the careers of Trice, Simmons, and Bright as well as the processes and politics of cultural memory. Schultz develops the concept of "racialized memory"-a communal form of remembering imbued with racial significance-to suggest that the racial politics of contemporary America have generated a need to redress historical wrongs, congratulate Americans on the ostensible racial progress they have made, and divert attention from the unrelenting persistence of structural and ideological racism.

From the early sixties to the late seventies, defensive end Ron McDole experienced football's golden age from inside his old-school, two-bar helmet. During an eighteen-year pro career, McDole-nicknamed "The Dancing Bear"-played in over 250 games, including two AFL Championships with the Buffalo Bills and one NFL Championship with the Washington Redskins. A cagey and deceptively agile athlete, McDole wreaked havoc on football's best offenses as part of a Bills defensive line that held opponents without a rushing touchdown for seventeen straight games. His twelve interceptions remain a pro record for defensive ends. Traded by the Bills in 1970, he was given new life in Washington as one of the most famous members of George Allen's game-smart veterans known as "The Over-the-Hill Gang." Through it all, McDole was known and loved by teammates and foes alike for his knowledge and skill on the field and his ability to have fun off it. In The Dancing Bear McDole the storyteller traces his life from his humble beginnings in Toledo, Ohio, to his four years at the University of Nebraska, his marriage to high school sweetheart Paula, and his long, accomplished professional career. He recounts the days when a pro football player needed an off-season job to pay the bills and teams had to drive around in buses to find a city park in which to practice. The old AFL and NFL blitz back to life through McDole's straightforward stories of time when the game was played more for love and glory than for money.

A veteran Texas sports writer offers a lively, up-close look at football in Texas--the fullest portrait ever conceived--viewed through the interwoven stories of three teams, Plano Senior High School, Baylor University, and the Dallas Cowboys, during one season.In Texas, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mean one thing: football. Dallas Cowboys' writer Nick Eatman follows three teams in three leagues throughout the 2015 season blending their stories into a unique, eye-opening chronicle of Lone Star football. Eatman highlights the ups and downs and even the parallels that these teams experienced over the course of the year. Granted unique access to every level of the three teams, and drawing on his invaluable connections, he follows key players and coaches, including stars from Baylor and Plano, Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and head coaches Jason Garrett, Art Briles, and Jaydon McCullough.Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas reveals the inextricable connections between the three teams and the players as the season unfolds. As high school athletes strive to win a spot at colleges like Baylor, college players fight for the chance to go pro, while Cowboys teammates reflect on their rise to the NFL. Though their challenges may differ--prepping for the SATs or Homecoming, working to get noticed by NFL scouts, or trying to prove themselves for that next contract in the pros--when the lights come on and they hit the field, they share one goal: to win.Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas features sixteen pages of color photos that capture the highs and lows of the 2015 season. Combining the power of Friday Night Lights and the inspiring insight of Remember the Titans, it offers a fresh perspective on this beloved sport, and is a must for football fans.

On any given workday, any little thing might send Steve Smith's thoughts spinning back to Saturday-last Saturday, Saturday two weeks ago, Saturday two years ago, back into the thrilling minutiae of game day-until reality reminds him: this is not how well-adjusted adults act. Steve Smith is not a well-adjusted adult. He's a Nebraska football fan, and this is his rollicking account of what it's like to be one of those legendary enthusiasts whose passion for the Cornhuskers is at once irresistible and hilarious. A journey into an obsessed Nebraska fan's soul, Forever Red immerses readers in the mad, mad world of Husker football fandom-where wearing the scarlet-and-cream Husker gear has its own peculiar rules; where displaced followers act as the program's ambassadors, finding Husker subculture beyond the pale; and where the team's performance can barely keep pace with its followers' expectations but sometimes exceeds their wildest dreams. Revised, updated, and expanded from the 2005 edition, Smith's story of thirty-plus years following the team takes readers back to memorable game moments from 1980 up through the roller-coaster ride of recent years. Blending wit and insight, Smith offers to the uninitiated and the fellow fanatic alike a window on the world where fantasy and football meet, where dreams of glory and gritty gridiron realities forever join. This edition features a new afterword bringing it up to the dawn of the Scott Frost era.

Anne was one of five women who reported to police that they were either raped or assaulted -- in incidents from October 2009 to April 2012 -- by a single university football player, who was convicted on two counts of sexual assault in January 2014. Indeed, it was only the beginning of what would become the worst scandal in recent college sports history.This university's sexual assault crisis does not stand alone in what is becoming one of the biggest crises in American culture-rape and violence against women on college campuses. But not until now has a sexual assault scandal stripped a celebrated head coach and university president of their jobs. Through previously unpublished interviews with victims, assailants, attorneys, university officials, players, coaches, and nationally recognized experts on sexual assault and campus safety, CROSS TO BEAR is an eye-opening, blow-by-blow account of the genesis and fallout of the football scandal, and tells a story that will leave readers pondering what they really know about the culture of college football and what transpires after dark at college campuses across the country.

Talking Trash, Trading Studs, and Drafting Sleepers -- an Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Obsession

U.S. businesses lose $200 million in productivity each football season because employees are managing their fantasy squads instead of working.

In "Why Fantasy Football Matters (And Our Lives Do Not)," two grizzled veterans revel in the addiction that is fantasy football. From pre-draft hijinx to post-draft trash talk, from tumultuous trades to the perils of free agency, it celebrates the eccentric personalities, absurd rituals, and hilarious superstitions of one of the most fanatical fantasy leagues on earth.

With humor, insight, and a dash of advice, "Why Fantasy Football Matters" celebrates the thirty-two million Americans who prefer managing their fantasy squads to relaxing with loved ones. And it gives girlfriends, coworkers, and sports purists all the proof they need to accept that this is an obsession that really matters.

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.

The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago White Sox is a decade-by-decade look at one of the American League's original eight teams, starting with the franchise's Windy City beginnings in 1900 as the Chicago White Stockings (the former name of crosstown rivals the Cubs) and ending with the current team. For more than a century, the Chicago Tribune has documented every Sox season through original reporting, photography, and box scores. For the first time, this mountain of Sox history has been mined and curated by the paper's sports department into a single one-of-a-kind volume. Each era in Sox history includes its own timeline, profiles of key players and coaches, and feature stories that highlight it all, from the heavy hitters to the no-hitters to the one-hit wonders. To be a Sox fan means to know breathtaking highs and dramatic lows. The team's halcyon days—starting with the championship it won during the first official season of the newly formed American League in 1901—have always been punctuated with doldrums and stormy stretches, including a period of time in the '80s when it looked likely that the team would leave Chicago. But with the diehard support of their fans, the "Good Guys" have always made a comeback—including the team's landmark 2005 World Series win, the first by any Chicago major league team in 88 years. This book records it all. The award-winning journalists, photographers, and editors of the Chicago Tribune have produced a comprehensive collector's item that every Sox fan will love.

A celebration of the best moments in recent history for the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland is a blue-collar city with hardworking people that support their hardworking teams. No matter the previous seasons’ records, Cleveland’s loyal fan base always returns. And no matter the amount of losses, dysfunction, or controversy, the Cleveland Browns remain one of the most popular franchises in professional football. In First and Ten: A Fresh Look at the Cleveland Browns, Vince McKee covers the “new” history of the Browns after their return to the NFL in 1999, including several winning seasons and numerous runs toward the playoffs. McKee focuses on these positive moments and impactful players, but he doesn’t shy away from reflecting on the negatives when necessary, providing a fresh look at this storied franchise. First and Ten covers all the fun—and sometimes the chaos—of this beloved team. It’s a tale for every Browns fan who wears their orange and brown proudly, every week, no matter the team’s record.

"E""astern Illinois Panthers Football "chronicles the legend and lore of this storied program, from the early days under coach and university-auditor-of-accounting Otis Caldwell, to today's perennial Ohio Valley Conference powerhouse. Sports historian Dan Verdun sets down amazing details about EIU's 15 FCS playoff appearances, 7 OVC championships, 3 NFL head coaches, 2 Walter Payton Award winners, and the 1978 NCAA Division II national championship.
Panther fans will recognize the names of Mike Shanahan, Darrell Mudra, Jeff Gossett, Sean Payton, Bob Spoo and Tony Romo, and many others. Dan Verdun tells these men's stories from extensive research and personal interviews. Find out fascinating details about key players and coaches - how they arrived at EIU, what they accomplished in their time wearing the blue and gray, as well as the paths their lives took once they played their last game and graduation day arrived.
The greatest moments in EIU Panther football glory are recounted with fresh new insight. Read about the legendary days of quarterback Bill Glenn, who found success in the NFL of the 1940s. Relive the dominance and get the inside stories of the greatest teams in EIU football history. They're all here: the 1978 NCAA Division-II national champions, the 1980 runner-ups, the quarterfinalist 1982, 1986, 1989, and 2013 teams along with the 1995 and 2001 conference champions and playoff qualifiers.
With far-ranging appeal, "Eastern Illinois Panthers Football" will interest those who identify as Panthers as well as sports fans who want to discover the merits of this fine football program. Focused on team members and their coaches over the entire history of EIU football, this book will inform and entertain all age groups.

The National Football League has long reigned as America's favorite professional sports league. In its early days, however, it was anything but a dominant sports industry, barely surviving World War II. Its rise began after the war, and the 1950s was a pivotal decade for the league. "Run to Glory and Profits" tells the economic story of how in one decade the NFL transformed from having a modest following in the Northeast to surpassing baseball as this country's most popular sport.

To break from the margins of the sports landscape, pro football brought innovation, action, skill, and episodic suspense on "any given Sunday." These factors in turn drove attendance and rising revenues. Team owners were quick to embrace television as a new medium to put the league in front of a national audience. Based on primary documents, David George Surdam provides an economic analysis in telling the business story behind the NFL's rise to popularity. Did the league's vaunted competitive balance in the decade result from its more generous revenue sharing and its reverse-order draft? How did the league combat rival leagues, such as the All-America Football Conference and the American Football League? Although strife between owners and players developed quickly, pro-football fans stayed loyal because the product itself remained so good.

1951: Bob Heimerdinger leads Northern Illinois to a perfect record. 1963: Record-setting quarterback George Bork guides the Huskies to the 1963 National Championship. 1983: Bill Mallory coaches the Huskies to a MAC Championship and victory in the California Bowl. 1993: Running back LeShon Johnson finishes sixth in the Heisman Trophy race. 2003: Northern Illinois shocks national powerhouses Maryland and Alabama en-route to a 10-win season. 2011: Quarterback Chandler Harnish sparks the Huskies to a thrilling MAC Championship over Ohio. 2012: Heisman candidate Jordan Lynch and the Huskies win a second straight MAC title and earn a historic Orange Bowl berth. Larry English. Doug Free. Michael Turner. Garrett Wolfe. P.J. Fleck. There's nothing quite like being a Huskie, and only the chosen few can comprehend the feeling of pride, loyalty, and honor that defines the experience. Northern Illinois Huskies Football captures that feeling through revealing interviews with some of the greatest players to ever wear the Huskie uniform. Sports journalist and historian Dan Verdun chronicles the memories and stories of the countless young men who blocked and tackled their way to victory as a part of the great Huskies football tradition. Telling the fascinating story of Huskies football decade by decade, Verdun recalls all the important moments, unforgettable games, and lasting traditions that have been a part of football at Northern Illinois for over 113 years. From the school's very first team led by coach John L. Keith in 1899 to Dave Doeren's most recent squad and its unforgettable trip to the 2013 Orange Bowl, Northern Illinois Huskies Football will dazzle and delight fans of the subject with its irresistible mix of pride and nostalgia. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from throughout the program's storied history, and with a foreword by beloved former head coach Joe Novak, Verdun's book deserves a place in the collection of any football fan ever to sing: Forward together forward. There's victory in view. Come on you Huskies. Fight on you Huskies. And win for NIU.

Of all the great National Football League coaches, none have enjoyed the respect and reputation that Vince Lombardi earned during his tenure as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Both feared and beloved by players and peers, Lombardi coached the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls ever played. Over ten seasons, his Green Bay teams compiled a remarkable 98-30-4 record, although it was Lombardi's relentless, uncompromising tactics and values that defined him and his career more than the victories themselves. I Remember Vince Lombardi takes readers back to a bygone era when professional football was a game of guts, grit, and spit. Lombardi embodied greatness, and he demanded it from his staff and players. In this book, dozens of people who knew him recount their favorite memories of him in their own words, including former players, assistant coaches, opponents, and league officials. What they reveal is a man who was a genuine legend on and off the field. Included are his days as an assistant coach for the New York Giants with colleague Tom Landry, the "Ice Bowl" NFL title game of 1966, his two Super Bowl victories, his sudden departure from the Packers, and his short-lived position as coach of the Washington Redskins. Many aspects of his personal and professional lives are covered, offering a refreshing look at one of football's greatest icons.

Whether you are a parent, coach or teacher looking for a tool that can inspire and motivate, a fan interested in learning how players overcame obstacles to reach the NFL or just someone that enjoys reading poignant, inspiring stories, Insightful Player delivers.
Each Insightful Player(TM) story shows solid evidence of the immense power of the human spirit. We all need to be reminded of this, especially kids and especially now. Insightful Player(TM) brings to life how players that reached the NFL did so not only on their talent, but often because of the heroic acts they made to overcome life's obstacles.
A player's father was murdered when he was eight; he had to duck for cover in his home because bullets were flying on his street... Another player saw people shot as early as the age of five and often saw dead bodies on his street before his teens...A Hall of Fame player never had a winter coat or winter boots and didn't always have food to eat...A former player was put in classes for the mentally disabled, his father "beat the tar" out of him, his coaches wouldn't help him get into college because they said he had no talent....All of these players overcame these hardships to achieve a place in the NFL.
Each player's story provides a lesson in perseverance, values, courage and integrity. Insightful Player(TM) is a playbook for inspiring us all, especially our children. Use it to teach, inspire and learn.

Must adversity erase your purpose? The experience of Tim Hightower demonstrates that it is possible to recover when all that one has is pursued suddenly vanishes. Tim's story, on and off the football field, encourages everyone who faces crippling challenges. A Dream Worth Fighting For conveys determination and resilience. Anyone who has suffered injury or loss will find their experience illuminated. A Dream Worth Fighting For helps readers regain hope and the confidence to dream again. Tim's story is the building block to regaining strength physically and spiritually. In the midst of chaos, lasting purpose can be embraced.

Live by the sword, die by the sword. Pittsburgh was built on steel-and almost destroyed by it. Pittsburgh's vertically integrated steel industry was foundational in the growth of America, and it returned economic prosperity to the region for over a century. But when a myriad of domestic and global factors unsettled the local industry's competitiveness, the city suffered through economic turmoil. The city of Pittsburgh found unlikely heroes in their traditionally also-ran professional football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reflecting the city's tough, hard-nosed, working class citizens, the Steelers rose to prominence and galvanized the community to persevere against the challenges of its deindustrialization transformation. Built of steel, then crippled by steel, Pittsburgh was eventually saved by the Steelers. Immaculate: How the Steelers Saved Pittsburgh weaves together the historical stories of Pittsburgh and its beloved professional football team like the linear strands of DNA-antiparallel, twisting throughout, and irrevocably connected together. Beginning with the history of the region, Immaculate weaves together the area's early history with the Steelers' origins, tracing the rise of the Steelers against the contextual backdrop of the steel industry's collapse and the city's unfolding crisis. The Steelers provided the foundational inflection point for Pittsburgh's "New Economy" to emerge and prosper. Immaculate brings to life the colorful stories and people that shaped a city and a team over the rich tapestry of profoundly different eras.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics presents the Relative Performance Grading (RPG) system of statistical measures, which ends all arguments over how good college football teams are relative to one another. Using grammar school mathematics and a dash of ingenious reasoning, Mike Nemeth exposes the need for, and then invents, a new set of statistical measures to explain how and why one team wins and another loses a college football game. The new statistics assign a numerical grade to the playing performances of both winners and losers, just as a student receives a numerical grade on a school test. The grades in this RPG system replace won/lost records and differentiate well-played wins from ugly wins and well-played losses from ugly losses. RPG accurately ranks college football teams according to how well they've played the game, i.e. how good a team they are (and, NOT how good their record appears to be).

On November 18, 1901, the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee first locked horns on a football field. At the contest's end, the score was tied, nothing had been resolved, and about two thousand fans were on the field at Tuscaloosa, fighting.

Since that day the Tennessee-Alabama game has developed into one of the premier football rivalries in the nation. To many of the faithful, it is much more than a game -- it is a crusade. The intensity with which these games have been waged makes victory as satisfying as the warm crimson and orange leaves that dance in Knoxville's cool Smoky Mountain breezes. Defeat, however, is more bitter than the choking smoke of Birmingham's steel mills.

Beginning in 1928, the annual game has been played on the third Saturday in October, and the contest has produced enough heroes to fill several books. Third Saturday in October tells the story of each game. From Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, "Red" Drew, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, and Mike Dubose of Alabama, to Robert Neyland, Bowden Wyatt, Doug Dickey, Bill Battle, Johnny Majors, and Phil Fulmer of Tennessee, the game has been directed by legendary coaches and played by heroic young men who have risen to greatness on the third Saturday in October.

Third Saturday in October is filled with memories and reflections of players, coaches, reporters, sportscasters, and fans. The people who were there, who made or failed to make the key plays, tell what happened in their own words. More than two hundred historic photographs illustrate the lively text. This second edition contains reports of the games from 1987 through 2000.

Hey Teammate, We all face obstacles-physical, emotional, between the ears. The good news is that everything we have fought back against can empower us, IF WE KNOW HOW TO USE IT. My obstacles happen to be anxiety and depression. I call it living in the gray, and I've been mired in it my whole life. To be honest, it sucks. But I have also recently recognized that this same gray that has held me down has also empowered me to make my wildest dreams come true. You have probably overcome many of your own obstacles, but you;ve been too close to the conflict to clearly see what you've accomplished. We are all UNBREAKABLE, no matter what we do, who we are, or what traumas we may have experienced. We just need to admit that we can't walk this walk alone. --Jay Glazer After years of rejection but with constant hustle, Jay Glazer has built a career has one of the most iconic sports insiders, earning himself a spot on the Emmy award-winning Fox NFL Sunday, a role as the confidant of coaches and players across the league, and a role as himself alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on HBO series Ballers. His gym, Unbreakable Performance Center, attracts some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and is the headquarters to the powerful charity MVP (Merging Vets and Players) that Jay founded in 2015. MVP began as a weekly physical and mental health huddle with combat veterans and retired athletes has expanded to seven locations, helping soldiers and players transition to a new team. In Unbreakable, Jay Glazer talks directly to you, his teammates, and shares his truth. All of his success from his screeching-and-swerving joy ride through professional football, the media, the fighting world, Hollywood, the military-warrior community, comes with a side of relentless depression and anxiety. Living in the gray, as Jay calls it, is just a constant for him. And, in order to work through the gray and succeed, Jay has to maintain an Unbreakable Mindset. With this book, you can too. * Be of Service-help others and help yourself in the process * Build Your Team-give support, get support * Never Underestimate the Power of Laughter-never take yourself too seriously * Be Proud of Your Scars-our trauma makes us who we are Throughout Unbreakable, Jay will use his stories-featuring some of the biggest, baddest, and most fascinating characters in the public eye today-to show how he walks this walk, has learned that while the gray is very real, it doesn't have to define him. And it doesn't have to define you either.