Consistently ranked among the top ten college football rivalries by fans and pundits alike-and often ranked among the top five-the annual Army-Navy game is the one rivalry that, as one commentator has noted, "stops the most powerful men and women in the world in their tracks for one day a year." It is also quite possible that it is the only rivalry to raise over $58 million in war bonds (1944 game), have an outcome so contentious that the game had to be suspended for six years by the President (1893), or be played in the Rose Bowl (1983), requiring a military "airlift" of nine thousand cadets and midshipmen to California. But Army-Navy is first and foremost about football, and as Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport relate in this engaging history, it may be college football in its purest form-and not just as a "training ground for the NFL." Though struggling for national ranking, the service academies have done surprisingly well over the years given their recruiting handicap, producing five Heisman Trophy winners and a number of national champions. The rivalry's most successful player may have been Roger Staubach, Heisman winner and Hall of Fame quarterback, who led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls in the 1970s following his four-year mandatory service in the U.S. Navy. The Army-Navy rivalry is also about traditions, and in a concluding chapter on the 2004 game, the authors take us through the pageantry: the march into the stadium by the student bodies of both schools; freshman push-ups after each score; and the final, moving show of sportsmanship following the game as thousands of cadets and midshipmen stand at attention while the alma mater of each school is played by their respective bands. A rivalry like no other, Army versus Navy receives due recognition in this colorful, thorough history.

Crazyball is a look at the wild, unusual, unimaginable, funny, and downright strange occurrences in sports. Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport take us from the worst teams in history to sports' craziest superstitions, wackiest pranks, and ultimate blown calls. This book is filled with moments that will make you laugh, shake your head in wonderment, lose your breath, or simply ask: "Really?!"

When Harvard came back from a 16-point deficit with less than a minute to go to tie Yale in their now-famous 1968 gridiron tilt, the headline in the Harvard Crimson the following Monda proudly boasted, "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29." This and nineteen other improbable comebacks are the subjects of Wilner and Rappoport's latest volume of extraordinary achievements from the world of sports, and include the 1914 "miracle" Braves, Billy Casper's incredible rally to beat Arnold Palmer in the 1966 U.S. Open, the New York Giants' magical playoff run in 1951, and others. Also included are sidebars on individual athletes whose "combacks" included overcoming disease (i.e. Lance Armstrong) and reviving a career (i.e. Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali).

The NFL draft features no action on the field. No passing, running, tackling, or kicking. Hey, there isn't even a field. Yet the draft has become more popular than many other sporting events, including the NBA and NHL playoff games, against which it goes head-to-head for viewers. In fact, the draft has spawned its own cottage industry in which names such as Gil Brandt, Mel Kiper Jr., and Mike Mayock have become as well known as any of the first-round selections. In On the Clock, Barry Wilner and Ken Rappoport chronicle the history of the proceedings. The veteran sportswriters take you from the first grab bag in 1936, when Philadelphia chose Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago only for him to decline to play in the NFL, to the 2014 draft-considered one of the deepest in talent ever. Along the 78-year journey, learn about the competitions for the top overall spot (Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf), the unhappy No. 1s (John Elway and Tom Cousineau), the big flops (JaMarcus Russell), and the late-rounders-turned-superstars (Tom Brady). Meet the draft wizards, from Paul Brown to Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson, and read about the draft whiffs that cost personnel executives their jobs. On the Clock takes you behind the scenes at one of pro football's most suspenseful annual events.