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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Ball games
"In the best John Feinstein tradition" ("Booklist") the greatest
college basketball story in decades--the Butler Bulldogs and their
improbable run to two straight NCAA National Championship
games--now updated in paperback.
Butler University in Indianapolis became the smallest school in
forty years to reach the NCAA championship game. Calculated as a
200-to-1 shot to win, Butler came "this close" to beating the
heavily favored, perennial leaders of college basketball: the Duke
Blue Devils in 2010. And in 2011, Butler advanced again to the
finals, ultimately losing to UConn--but accomplishing so much.
"Underdawgs" tells the incredible and uplifting story.
Butler's coach, thirty-three-year-old Brad Stevens, looked so young
he was often mistaken for one of the players, but he had quickly
become one of the best coaches in the nation by employing the
Butler Way. This philosophy of basketball and life, adopted by the
program, is based on five principles: humility, passion, unity,
servanthood, and thankfulness. Even the most casual observer could
see this in every player, on the court and off, from 2010 NBA
first-round draft pick Gordon Hayward to the last guy on the bench.
Much more than a sports story, "Underdawgs" is the consummate David
vs. Goliath tale--the Bulldogs proved they belonged in the
spotlight and, in the process, won the hearts of sports fans
everywhere.
Sultan is the official biography of Wasim Akram, the "sultan of
swing", one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket.
For twenty years, Wasim Akram let his cricket do the talking - his
electrifying left-arm pace, his explosive left-handed striking, his
leadership and his inspiration. For another twenty years he kept
his own counsel about those days, full of drama, controversy and
even mystery, in a country, Pakistan, that to outsiders is a
constant enigma. Until now. Sultan tells the story of cricket's
greatest left-arm bowler, and one of its greatest survivors, who
was chosen from the streets of Lahore and groomed by Imran Khan to
become champion of the world - man of the match in the final of the
1992 World Cup. Along the way were unforgettable rivalries with the
greatest of his time, from Viv Richards and Ian Botham to Sachin
Tendulkar and Shane Warne. Along the way, too, a backdrop of
conspiracy and intrigue over ball tampering and match fixing about
which Wasim finally sets the story straight. But there's more:
Sultan goes frankly into the crumbling and rebuilding of Wasim's
private life, marred by the tragedy of his first wife's death and
the torment of addiction. The result is an unprecedented insight
into the life of a cricketer who revolutionised the game with his
speed and swing, and a patriot buoyed and burdened by the
expectation of one of the game's most fanatical publics.
In 1958 Frank Gifford was the golden boy on the glamour team in
the most celebrated city in the NFL. When his New York Giants
played the Baltimore Colts for the league championship that year,
it became the single most memorable contest in the history of
professional football. Its drama, excitement, and controversy
riveted the nation and helped propel football to the forefront of
the American sports landscape. Now Hall of Famer and longtime
television analyst Frank Gifford provides an inside-the-helmet
account that will take its place in the annals of sports
literature.
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