'A genuine presence on the field, Owen refereed with the perfect balance of respect and authority' Keith Wood 'Highly respected with vast experience and knowledge, Owen Doyle contributed hugely to the world of rugby refereeing, both on and off the field' Nigel Owens 'Owen Doyle was a highly respected referee who officiated matches with passion, commitment, knowledge and, occasionally, some great humour' Will Carling With a foreword by Donal Lenihan. Owen Doyle is an Irish Times columnist and former Irish rugby Test match referee. Here in his frank, revealing and often humorous memoir, The Ref's Call, he gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the high-pressured world of international rugby. From the processes involved in becoming a referee, to officiating in the Five Nations, touring Internationals and a World Cup, Doyle takes us through the most memorable matches of his career and how, following his retirement, he became instrumental in coaching the most successful generation of referees in the IRFU's history. Covering over forty years of rugby, and written in his own inimitable style, Doyle looks at the challenges facing modern rugby, particularly the issues of concussion and dementia, to give a fascinating insight into the great game, told from a unique perspective.

Hoop Dreams on Wheels is a life-history study of wheelchair athletes associated with a premier collegiate wheelchair basketball program. The book, which grapples with the intersection of biography and history in society, situates the study in broader context with background on the history and sociology of disability and disability sports. It documents the development and evolution of the basketball program and tells the individual life stories of the athletes, highlighting the formative interpersonal and institutional experiences that influenced their agentive actions and that helped them achieve success in wheelchair sports. It also examines divisions within the disability community that reveal both empowering and disempowering aspects of competitive wheelchair athletics, and it explores some of the complexities and dilemmas of disability identity in contemporary society. The book is intended to be read by a general audience as well as by students in college courses on disability, sports, social problems, deviance, medical sociology and anthropology, and introductory sociology. It also will be of interest to scholars in the sociology of disability, sociology of sports, and medical humanities, as well as life-history researchers and professionals in the fields of physical education, therapeutic recreation, and rehabilitative counseling.

This volume investigates the way in which football supporters around the world express themselves as followers of teams, whether they be professional, amateur or national. The diverse geographical and cultural array of contributions to this volume highlights not only the variety of how fans express themselves, but their commonalities as well. The collection brings together scholars of North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa to present a global picture of fan culture.

The collection shows that while every group of fans around the world has its own characteristics, the role of a football fan is laced with commonalities, irrespective of geography or culture.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Soccer and Society.

The author combines his care and concern for street children and his fondness for the game of golf, to bring out yet another in his series of "We Care" stories. Based loosely on real life characters and situations, his books have given us an insight into the plight of kids with nowhere to live, but on the streets; and no one to turn to, except each other.

His published work, The Saga of Alex and His Friends showed us what could happen to these street kids when there is no one around that cares. However, it also opened our eyes to the possibilities, when there are people who do care, and are willing to do something about it. "We Care" came about when these caring people got together and pooled their resources to provide shelter and care for homeless kids.

In this novel, which is a sequel to The Saga of Alex and His Friends, Mr. Warner brings in a number of real life characters who become involved in the "We Care" program.

This is where the game of golf gets worked into the story when a talented young pianist, who is also a championship golfer, becomes involved with the "We Care" home, and school for former homeless boys.

Readers will find a wealth of interesting information about golf, as well as an engrossing story in We Care About Golf.

Cliffhangers, tears, and heart-warming moments abound in Tom Warner's second published novel; We Care About Golf.

In this lucid update of his best-selling book on football's offensive ga,e. legendary coach Bud Wilkinson discusses the fundamaentals of sound offensive football and indispensable advice that will help the individual player and coach- as well as the team- improve performance. Included in this lavishly illustrated book are: Special exercises and drills for developing your strength, agility and skill 16 different techniques for beoming a better lineman 14 running patterns every wide receiver should know The keys to becoming a better running back, quarterback, kicker or punter 10 offensive formations The 2 things ever coach should remember in building an offensive game plan.

Defense is what wins football games, and this brilliant update of a sports instructional classic is perfectly suited to today's player, coach and fan. Here Bud Wilkinson , University of Oklahoma's famed former coach, analyzes the basic patterns and strategies employed in defensive football today. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Wilkinson's text includes: How to read an offense, tackle and create fumbles 6 techniques for becoming a better pass rusher 3 stunt charges that every defense lineman should know The keys to becoming a better linebacker and secondary man 15 important defensive formations and when to use them 4 ways to build a successful defensive game plan

The ultimate instruction for young pitchers. In addition to covering all the basic pitches, it also includes sections on proper motion, strength development, and pitching control.

Sports Illustrated Baseball is a complete and sate-of-the-art teaching guide by one of the nation's foremost college coaches. Former Major Leaguer Jerry Kindall shows you: The keys to improving you hitting, running, fielding, and throwing How to pitch, catch, and play the infield and outfield Eight unique batting drills and how to make them work for you Six plays any serious infielder should know 22 defensive stituations and how your team should handle them

This fascinating book reveals the secrets of fast bowling and explains how it is possible to simultaneously bowl fast, straight and accurately. The Fast Bowler's Bible is a very practical, easily accessible bowling manual that any seam or swing bowler playing at any level can understand. It contains explosive new information being used by the world's best cricketers. Written by one of the world's best fast-bowling coaches. Well illustrated with sixty photographs and thirty-four diagrams and drawings. Explains what part of your body generates pace and why holding onto the ball longer is far more effective. Unravels the mysteries of advanced biomechanics as they apply to bowling. Reveals how to bowl crushingly effective bouncers and yorkers every time. Discusses what to do in practice and what to avoid. Analyses how to train and exercise in order to produce the best results. Illustrates all the correct grips for each delivery so that you get it right every time. Describes how to increase pace effortlessly, how to adopt the correct mental approach, how to deal with pressure, how to apply it to the opposition, and much more.

With more than 12,000 entries, this is the most comprehensive bibliography yet published on the literature of college football. Organized into five major sections, the work covers American-style football from 1869 through January 1993. Among the types of materials represented are books and monographs, documents, team yearbooks, media guides, bowl game magazines, annuals, dissertations and theses, and periodical and journal articles. Within the text, each section and many subsections begin with brief introductions and conclude with notes designed to guide the user to related references in other parts of the volume. Entries are numbered, and separate author and subject indexes keyed to those numbers provide additional access points.

Smith provides annotations for many entries either as title enhancement or clarification. As a reference tool, it will enable the user to determine quickly much of what is available and help to establish a basis for further research. This bibliography will be invaluable for sports historians, indeed, all who follow the game, its development, and its players.

Lawrence"Yogi" Berra was never supposed to become a major league ballplayer. That's what his immigrant father told him. That's what Branch Rickey told him, too-right to Berra's face, in fact. Even the lowly St. Louis Browns of his youth said he'd never make it in the big leagues. Yet baseball was his lifeblood. It was the only thing he ever cared about. Heck, it was the only thing he ever thought about. Berra couldn't allow a constant stream of ridicule about his appearance, taunts about his speech, and scorn about his perceived lack of intelligence to keep him from becoming one of the best to ever play the game-at a position requiring the very skills he was told he did not have. Drawing on more than one hundred interviews and four years of reporting, Jon Pessah delivers a transformational portrait of how Berra handled his hard-earned success-on and off the playing field-as well as his failures; how the man who insisted "I really didn't say everything I said!" nonetheless shaped decades of America's culture; and how Berra's humility and grace redefined what it truly means to be a star. Overshadowed on the field by Joe DiMaggio early in his career and later by a youthful Mickey Mantle, Berra emerges as not only the best loved Yankee but one of the most appealingly simple, innately complex, and universally admired men in all of America.

Lost Histories of Indian Cricket studies the personalities and controversies that have shaped Indian cricket over the years and brings to life the intensity surrounding India's national game.
It may be true that that cricket today arouses more passions in India than in any other cricket playing country in the world. Yet, when it comes to writing on the history of the game, Indians have been reticent and much of the past has been obscured and lost. Majumdar here recovers this history and restores it to its rightful place in India's rich sporting heritage.

Major sporting events hosted by Germany have historically been highly charged and culturally significant occasions. 2006 sees the Football World Cup return to Germany, where much has changed since the previous Finals there in 1974. This collection, edited by an internationally regarded sports sociologist and German Studies scholar, examines the history and significance of football in German culture and society. Includes discussion of: The cultural history of football since its popular German origins during WWI The effects of Unification, European integration and immigration in contemporary Germany The German football economy Women in German football and society Germany's role in the politics of global sports institutions Media coverage and perceptions of German identity and Germany's relationship with traditional 'enemies' Media representations of football and changing fan cultures Pyta Wolfram University of Stuttgart, Germany Pfister Gertrud University of Copenhagen, Denmark Merkel Udo University of Brighton, UK Gebauer Gunter Free University, Berlin, Germany Br

NOMINATED FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR, SPORTS BOOK AWARDS Michael Carrick was the heartbeat of Manchester United. For more than a decade he was the player that made them tick. In his book, he reveals how to win relentlessly while playing under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, invites us to experience the camaraderie and clashes inside the United dressing room, and lets us feels what it's like to walk out on the Old Trafford pitch alongside some of the biggest names in the game - from Ronaldo to Scholes to Giggs, Rooney and the rest. In his seventeen-year professional career, Michael has won twelve major trophies at United, winning the Premier League five times, as well as three League Cups, the FA Cup, the Europa League, the Club World Cup and the Champions League. In Between the Lines, Michael honestly reveals for the first time his battles with mental health, growing up in the north-east, his struggles with the national side, as well as the redemption he has found with his family and his team. *All of Michael Carrick's proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Michael Carrick Foundation, dedicated to providing financial support to community services that will give underprivileged children living in the North and North East better opportunities so that they feel safe, valued and inspired.*

Great pro golfers, says the adage, "drive for show and putt for dough." Though you may not be able to drive like a pro, you can lower your golf score by sharpening your game around the pin. In this book, noted pro golfer, John Garrity provides lucid, practical instruction for any golfer seeking to improve his or her short game. With this book you'll learn: What factors to consider when choosing a putter Three critical keys to a neutral grip Ten special drills that can shave strokes off your game How to use the long putter When to chip, when to pitch or when to putt

Putting has often been described as an art, but the author of this book, by trade a physicist, has analyzed it as never before, using scientific principles. Pelz has come up with a system to perfect your putting stroke -- or at least to come as close to perfect as humanly possible.

As France's oldest team sport, rugby football has throughout its 125-year history reflected major changes in French society. This book analyzes for the first time the complex variety of motives that have led the French to adopt and remake this rather unlikely British sport in their own image. A major site for the construction of masculine, class-based regional and national identities, France's tradition of 'Champagne rugby' continues to be as subject to dramatic upheavals as the society that produced it. The game's precocious professionalism and endemic violence have not infrequently caused the French to be cast as international pariahs. Such isolation, exacerbated by internal politics, has led the French not only to encourage the extension of the sport beyond its British imperial base (into Italy and Romania, for instance), but also to engage in some uncomfortable tactical alliances, most obviously with apartheid South Africa.Taking his analysis both on and off the field, the author tackles these issues and much more: the relationship of sport and the state (including particularly the Vichy period and the period under de Gaulle); professionalization; the persistence of colonial and postcolonial structures (including the role of ethnic minorities); and gender issues - especially masculine identities. At the same time he links the evolution of the sport to the broader context of French socio-economic, political and cultural history.This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural analysis of sport or French popular culture.

Learn the value of football to American society No sport reflects the American value system like football. Visitors to the United States need only watch a game or two to learn all they need to know about the American way of life and the beliefs, attitudes, and concerns of American society. Football and American Identity examines the social conditions and cultural implications found in the football subculture, represented by core values such as competition, conflict, diversity, power, economic success, fair play, liberty, and patriotism. This unique book goes beyond the standard fare on football strategy and history, or the biographies of famous players and coaches, to analyze the reasons why the game is the essence of the American spirit. Author Gerhard Falk, Professor of Sociology at the State University College of New York at Buffalo, examines football as a game, as a business, and as a reflection of the diversity in American life. Football and American Identity also addresses the relationship between football and the media, with much of the game's income generated by advertising and endorsements, and examines the presence of crime in football culture. The book discusses the development of the gameand those involved in itat the Pop Warner, college, and professional levels, examining the social origin of players, coaches, cheerleaders, and owners. In addition, Football and American Identity analyzes the game's fans and their devotion to their teams, examines why Pennsylvania is considered the mother of American football, and looks at the National Football League and its commissioners. Football and American Identity examines: how individualism and achievement can lead to mythological status why a person's occupation is the most important indicator of prestige in the United States what the consequences are of earning more in a year than most Americans make in a lifetime why equality is vital to the ethnic make-up of American football teams why teamwork is important-in football and in industry how freedom is essential for taking the risks necessary for success and much more! Football and American Identity is an inside look at football as an American cultural phenomenon. Devoted and casual fans of the game, as well as academics working in sociology, will find this unique book interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking.