"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.

Sports and numbers go hand-in-hand—the Dolphins 17–0 season, Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Tiger Woods shooting -18 at his first Masters—and this book gives fans a golden opportunity to relive the magic moments that have generated the most talked about numbers in sports. Whether it’s an obscure entry like Row 8, Aisle 4, Seat 113 (Steve Bartman’s seat location for the Chicago Cubs 2003 NLCS Game 6) or a more well-known number like 72–10 (the unprecedented NBA season by Michael Jordan and the Bulls), each number has a compelling story tied to that this book explores with fantastic photos, juicy details, and candid insight from the athletes themselves.

In Havin' a Ball one of basketball's most colorful characters and storytellers chronicles his life in the game, from high school coach in New Jersey to head coach in both the NBA and the WNBA. Richie Adubato isn't a Hall of Fame name, but he's one of basketball's most beloved coaches, with a lifetime of stories that are humorous and heartfelt, poignant and personal. Adubato's career has crossed paths with many of basketball's most memorable people and events. Starting in the 1960s, he was part of the Jersey Guys, a group of young junior high and high school coaches-including Hubie Brown, Dick Vitale, and Mike Fratello-who all later went on to coach in the NBA. He was hired as Vitale's assistant coach with the Pistons in 1979. Then, three years later, he was hired by Hubie Brown as the Knicks' assistant coach. He would stay in pro basketball for the next twenty-five years, with stints as head coach for the Dallas Mavericks and Orlando Magic and the WNBA's New York Liberty and Washington Mystics. In fact, he is the first coach to have led teams in both leagues to the playoffs. Adubato grew up as an Irish Italian Jersey kid with modest aspirations who went on to experience a fascinating ride in pro basketball. He tells readers how a young Magic team led by Shaquille O'Neal came undone, about his years coaching the Mavericks at a time when the NBA was never more popular, what it was like to coach in the WNBA when the Liberty were outdrawing the Knicks in attendance, and what it was like to coach with, and against, other Hall of Famers. Havin' a Ball takes readers into locker rooms, planes, practices, games, and off court to the inner world of pro basketball with an insider's unique perspective.

NEW MATERIAL FROM THE 2005-2006 SEASON "It's not about me versus Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever."
---Mike Krzyzewski
For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred---and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title---it's about bragging rights and raw pride.
"Blue Blood" is a thrilling chronicle of the Duke-Carolina rivalry as it has evolved over the last fifty years. With unparalleled insider access, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry---for the first time ever.
The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals---garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. "Blue Blood" celebrates the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly---spectacular basketball. "You can see the beads of sweat on coaches' and players' faces as the tale by this former sports editor for the "Durham Morning Herald" unfolds."
---"News & Record" (Greensboro, NC)
"A book on this rivalry was long overdue, and Chansky does it justice. This is sure to become a staple of every Tar Heel or Blue Devil fan's library."
---"InsideCarolina.com"
"A holy text for both sides of the rivalry. . . . This book is a coffee table necessity for anyone that claims to have a background incollege basketball . . . you need to read this book cover to cover as many times as possible until you can recite from it."---"The East Carolinian"
"I'm biased, but I think this is the greatest rivalry, not just in college basketball, but in all of sports."
---Dick Vitale, ESPN
"Art Chansky has more than learned what Duke-Carolina is all about; he's "lived" it for more than thirty years. His columns, commentaries, and characterizations have long been on the money, and "Blue Blood" puts them all together in an anticipated and entertaining work that reads more like a novel. But truth "is" stranger than fiction, and Chansky tells it just like it is."
---Curry Kirkpatrick, who has covered Duke-Carolina for "Sports Illustrated,""" ESPN, and "ESPN the Magazine"