Jack O'Brien is a high school basketball coach extreme in both his demands and his devotion. With monastic discipline, he has built a powerhouse program that wins state championships year after year while helping propel players to college. He does this as a white suburban guy working exclusively with black city boys who make the daily trek across Boston to attend Charlestown High School, where the last battles of the city's school desegregation wars were fought a generation ago. The Assist is a gripping, surprising story about fathers, sons, and surrogates, all confronting the narrow margins of urban life. The book follows the players on their hunt for a state title. But it also stays with them, to see how young men who seldom get second chances survive without their coach hovering over them,and how he survives without them.

Humans have always used their hands to create the world around them. But now most of us have gone from being practitioners to theorists, from being producers to consumers. What happens to our society when we are so divorced from the act of making? What happens to us as individuals when we limit the uses to which we put our hands? These are questions that preoccupy Siri Helle when she inherits a cabin of 25 square metres, without electricity, inlet water, or a loo, and decides to build an outhouse herself. Without any previous experience of building anything, she has to learn on the job and what she learns is not just about how to lay a floor and construct walls, but about what she is capable of and about craft and about the satisfactions to be found in making things by hand. Written with humour and insight, Handmade is the inspiring story of someone who tried to do it herself - and did.

Boston University has been synonymous with college hockey excellence for more than eighty years. Since taking the ice for the first time in 1918, the Terriers have fashioned a storied history that has consistently placed the program among the nation's elite.

Boston University Hockey chronicles the many National Collegiate Athletic Association Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Hockey East, and Beanpot championship team moments; the myriad accomplishments of individual players and coaches, such as Rick Meagher, the "BU Four," Jack Kelley, and Jack Parker; and the overall legacy of achievement by the long line of skaters who have donned the scarlet-and-white sweaters. The illustrations in Boston University Hockey (including many that have never been published elsewhere) offer a compelling view of a team that has won more national titles than any other eastern college hockey school.

Early in 2004, two writers and Red Sox fans, Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King, decided to chronicle the upcoming season, one of the most hotly anticipated in baseball history. They would sit together at Fenway. They would exchange emails. They would write about the games. And, as it happened, they would witness the greatest comeback ever in sports, and the first Red Sox championship in eighty-six years. What began as a Sox-filled summer like any other is now a fan's notes for the ages.

Cricket is a very old game in Scotland - far older than football, a sport which sometimes exercises a baleful, obsessive and deleterious effect on the national psyche. Cricket goes back at least as far as the Jacobite rebellions and their sometimes vicious aftermaths. It is often felt that Scottish cricket underplays itself. It has been portrayed as in some ways an English sport, a "softies" sport, and a sport that has a very limited interest among the general population of Scotland. This is emphatically not true, and this book is in part an attempt to prove that this is a misconception. Sixty-one games (it was going to be just 60, but one turned up at the last minute!) have been chosen from the past 250 years to show that cricket does indeed influence a substantial part of the nation. The matches have been selected at all levels, from Scotland against visiting Australian teams all the way down to a Fife school fixture. These naturally reflect the life, experience and geographical whereabouts of the author. The games are quirky sometimes, (and quirkily chosen) with an emphasis on important events in the broader history of this country, notably the imminence of wars and resumptions at the end of these conflicts. But the important thing is that every single cricket contest does mean an awful lot to some people.

Do you wish you could make the outdoors a bigger part of your life? Liv Bolton, host of the chart-topping podcast The Outdoors Fix, presents an inspiring collection of stories about ordinary people who have done just that. By making time for their passions - from walking, running, climbing, swimming and paddleboarding to photography, filmmaking, cooking and conservation - they have found their daily lives transformed through immersion in nature and the countryside. The chapters include the stories of outdoor instructor Rehna Yaseen, mental-health campaigner Alex Staniforth, Black Girls Hike regional leader Oge Ejizu and coastal runner Elise Downing. Time outdoors can be hugely beneficial, and even small changes can make a big difference: improving happiness, enhancing work-life balance, introducing new friendships and boosting physical and mental health. Packed with stunning photographs and practical tips encompassing everything from after-work local adventures to spending a night out on the hills, The Outdoors Fix might just provide the inspiration you need to embrace the great outdoors and live more adventurously.

Veloscenic is one of France's most popular long-distance cycle routes. It links Paris via Versailles, Chartres and Alencon, to the incredible Mont St-Michel. It also takes in some of northern France's finest scenery, passing through the Chevreuse Valley, the Perche, Normandy Maine and the Bocage Normand. Following numerous traffic-free trails and many miles of quiet, rural roads it let's you enjoy four UNESCO World Heritage sites and three regional nature parks. This guide includes all you need to enjoy the route to the full; maps, directions, alternative route options, what to see, accommodation and much more.

This unique book examines how sports betting markets function. Charting recent international developments, expert contributors consider how both bookmakers and stakeholders view these changes, their prime areas of concern and the potential methods for addressing them. Providing a rigorous economic analysis throughout, this book examines the informational efficiency of betting markets and the prevalence of corruption and illegal betting in sports. Against this background, chapters explore pertinent questions such as: should gambling markets be privatized? Is the `hot hand' hypothesis real or a myth? Are the `many' smarter than the `few' in estimating betting odds? How are prices set in fixed odds betting markets? Chapters also review important policy concerns such as the health implications posed by the potential link between the accelerating popularity of sports betting and the decline in sports participation. Academics and students studying economics, sports economics and, more specifically, sports betting will find this book an engaging companion. Contemporary and up to date, it will also appeal to stakeholders looking to widen their professional insight. Contributors include: B. Buraimo, X. Che, S. Dobson, A. Feddersen, D. Forrest, J. Garcia, J. Goddard, K. Grote, B. Humphreys, V. Matheson, R. Paul, D. Peel, L. Perez, P. Rodriguez, J. Ruseski, R. Simmons, P. Westmoreland, A. Weinbach, R. Wheeler, J. Yang

A direct rail link from east to west across London was a vision for over 35 years, and with the arrival of the Elizabeth Line it finally became a reality. The opening of this line, with its improved connectivity and shorter journeys, is great news for walkers - never before has it been so easy to get out and explore new places and see new sights. This book covers the entirety of the line's sweep, from Shenfield in the east to Reading in the west. There are 23 walks, all starting at an Elizabeth Line station. Along the way you'll explore the very best that London and the south-east has to offer, from fascinating urban landscapes and must-see historic sites to serene countryside and meandering waterways. Highlights include: * Hidden alleyways & dreamy squares in central London * Panoramic views of the London skyline at Abbey Wood * History & architectural splendour at the likes of Greenwich & Whitechapel * Wide-open spaces & waterways of the Loddon Valley, Richmond & Reading * London's iconic green spaces including Green Park, Hyde Park & more * Peaceful countryside around Brentwood, Ealing & Romford * Classic routes along the River Thames at Maidenhead & Taplow * The impressive modern architecture & waterways of Olympic Park

When Vince Lombardi took the job of coaching the Green Bay Packers in 1959, he inherited a team that had gone from legendary to laughing stock. They hadn't fielded a winning team in over a decade and had gone 1-10-1 in the 1958 season despite having seven future Hall of Famers on the team. They were a team accustomed to losing and in desperate need of a turnaround. """That First Season" chronicles that turnaround at the hands of Lombardi, himself serving as a head coach for the first time. The Packers were a team of talented underachievers more used to lax coaching and late nights than grueling practices and curfews. Lombardi's no-bull coaching style helped hammer them into winners who operated with machine-like precision. Every football fan knows that the Packers under Lombardi were champions, but "That First Season" shows how he did it, bringing readers the inside story of a sports dynasty.

The first book in Marsali Taylor's thrilling Shetland Sailing Mysteries series. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Val McDermid, Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, LJ Ross and Ann Cleeves! '... a well written, enjoyable story with a proper murder-mystery plot... Highly recommended.' Puzzle Doctor, Classic Mysteries Cass Lynch's big break has finally arrived - she feels like she has struck gold after being asked to skipper a Viking longship for a film. However this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teen. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she can run from the past no longer: Cass and her family come under intense scrutiny by the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Even if Cass's local knowledge and sailing wisdom help to clear the Lynch family of suspicion, they may not be enough to stay ahead of the murderer's game. . . and avoid becoming the next victim. Previously published as Death on a Longship. _____________________________ Praise for the chillingly addictive, nail-biting series: 'A fascinating book and a fascinating series so far. And there are more in the series! Yaaay!!' 5* Reader review 'Excellent first volume of detective stories set in Shetland... Good story line with notable twists to the conclusion. Would recommend' 5* Reader review 'Very believable characters and delightful descriptions of Shetland that really make you feel you are there' 5* Reader review 'Lovely series of crime books set in beautiful Shetland... Complex and fascinating' 5* Reader review