We've ranked the best football books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.
The young man at the center of this extraordinary and moving story will one day be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or any of the things a child might learn in school such as, say, how to read or write. Nor has he ever touched a football.
What changes? He takes up football, and school, after a rich, Evangelical, Republican family plucks him from the mean streets. Their love is the first great force that alters the world's perception of the boy, whom they adopt. The second force is the evolution of professional football itself into a game where the quarterback must be protected at any cost. Our protagonist turns out to be the priceless combination of size, speed, and agility necessary to guard the quarterback's greatest vulnerability: his blind side.
Lewis is the finest storyteller of our generation, and this is his best book. Supposedly about football (the title refers to the side of the field a quarterback is blind to), it’s actually an extraordinary story about love and redemption. [source]
Scott Keyes
Other than How To Win Friends And Influence People and Daily Rituals (for the reasons outlined above), I would recommend reading both Malcolm Gladwell’s collection, everything from Tipping Point to David & Goliath, and Michael Lewis’ as well, from Moneyball to The Blind Side. Irrespective of content, both are wonderful writers who use stories in effortless, compelling ways to make larger points. It’s something that can and should be emulated by everyone, not just writers. [source]
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Inverting The Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics
Jonathan Wilson
4.9
"An outstanding work ... the [soccer] book of the decade." -Sunday Business Post
Inverting the Pyramid is a pioneering soccer book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe.
Through Jonathan Wilson's brilliant historical detective work we learn how the South Americans shrugged off the British colonial order to add their own finesse to the game; how the Europeans harnessed individual technique and built it into a team structure; how the game once featured five forwards up front, while now a lone striker is not uncommon.
Inverting the Pyramid provides a definitive understanding of the tactical genius of modern-day Barcelona, for the first time showing how their style of play developed from Dutch "Total Football," which itself was an evolution of the Scottish passing game invented by Queens Park in the 1870s and taken on by Tottenham Hotspur in the 1930s. Inverting the Pyramid has been called the "Big Daddy" (Zonal Marking) of soccer tactics books; it is essential for any coach, fan, player, or fantasy manager of the beautiful game
Return once again to the enduring account of life in the Mojo lane, to the Permian Panthers of Odessa -- the winningest high school football team in Texas history. Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business.In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. With frankness and compassion, Bissinger chronicles one of the Panthers' dramatic seasons and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires-and sometimes shatters-the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms. Includes Reader's Group Guide inside. Now a major motion picture starring Billy Bob Thorton.
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Recommended by Brian Grazer.
Brian Grazer
About the fragility of what it’s like to grow up as a young boy – 15, 16, 17 years old. [source]
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Fever Pitch
Nick Hornby
4.8
The Twentieth Anniversary Edition
*WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR*
Fever Pitch is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic
'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent
For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself.
But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal.
'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish Times
Brimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doing so, what it means to be a man. It sits side by side with the very finest football classics of the last twenty five years, from The Damned United by David Peace to A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng, but it is ultimately a book that defies categorization and can be enjoyed by all.
In about 1990 there was this sea change in the way people expressed themselves about football – more emotionally. Nick’s book sets the stall out for that. [source]
David Papineau
Sporting fandom is very interesting philosophically: it’s a case of partiality, partisanship, valuing something when you can see that what you value isn’t going to be valued by other people. [source]
Nick Hornby doesn’t revel in, ‘Oh I’m such a football geek, isn’t that funny?’ He treats it as something suspect. [source]
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Soccernomics: Why England Loses; Why Germany, Spain, and France Win; and Why One Day Japan, Iraq, and the United States Will Become Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport
Simon Kuper, Stefan Szymanski
4.7
The 2018 World Cup edition of the international bestseller and "the most intelligent book ever written about soccer" (San Francisco Chronicle) is updated throughout and features new chapters on the FIFA scandal, why Iceland wins, and women's soccer.
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Guardian, Slate, Financial Times, Independent (UK), and Bloomberg News
Why doesn't the United States dominate soccer internationally? And how can it? Which is the best soccer nation on Earth? Who has the most passionate fans? What impact does soccer have on suicide rates? Which sport will dominate the Earth? NFL or the English Premier League? Why are the people who run soccer clubs so dumb?
These are some of the questions every soccer fanatic has asked. Soccernomics answers them all. Written with an economist's brain and a soccer writer's skill, it applies high-powered analytical tools to everyday soccer topics, looking at data and revealing counterintuitive truths about the world's most loved game. It all adds up to a revolutionary new way of looking at soccer that could change the way the game is played.
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Recommended by Andrei Markovits.
Andrei Markovits
Contrary to the common view in Britain and Europe that this term comprises prima facie evidence of yet another American bastardisation of a European cultural icon, the term is not an American invention at all… [source]
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The Wall of Winnipeg and Me
Mariana Zapat
4.6
Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.
But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.
For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.
What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?
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Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer
David Winner
4.5
If any one thing, Brilliant Orange is about Dutch space and a people whose unique conception of it has led to the most enduring arts, the weirdest architecture, and a bizarrely cerebral form of soccer—Total Football—that led in 1974 to a World Cup finals match with arch-rival Germany, and more recently to a devastating loss against Spain in 2010. With its intricacy and oddity, it continues to mystify and delight observers around the world. As David Winner wryly observes, it is an expression of the Dutch psyche that has a shared ancestry with Mondrian's Broadway Boogie Woogie, Rembrandt's The Night Watch, and maybe even with Gouda cheese.
This is about Holland and Dutch football and what makes it special. I grew up in Holland, so I have a particular tie to this book. Actually I was in Amsterdam the winter that David Winner was there writing his book. We were both writing books and we’d occasionally meet for dinner. And I got to know David and I really liked him, but I thought ‘Poor old David, he’s going to write a book about Dutch football, and nobody’s going to read it.’ Also I grew up in Holland, and I thought, there’s nothing he can tell me about Dutch football, it’s all going to be old hat or he won’t get it right. But he gave the book to me in manuscript and I read it, and when I finished it, I just wanted to break out into applause. He did it beautifully. It’s completely original. David is a film buff so it has all these film references and it’s just very surprising. He interviews architects and rabbis about what makes Dutch football special. It’s not like other football books – he approaches football through architecture and space and landscape and painting, and it’s absurd, but it works. [source]
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The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer
David Goldblatt
4.5
The definitive book about soccer. With a new foreword for the American edition.
There may be no cultural practice more global than soccer. Rites of birth and marriage are infinitely diverse, but the rules of soccer are universal. No world religion can match its geographical scope. The single greatest simultaneous human collective experience is the World Cup final.
In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport-now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself.
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Recommended by John Turnbull and Steve Bloomfield.
John Turnbull
It’s more a work of history and sociology: the game, the matches that are played, are just a way of illustrating the social forces at work. [source]
Welcome to Planet Zlatan. This is the story of how a Swedish outsider rose from poverty to become a football genius.
In his own inimitable style, Zlatan Ibrahimović recalls every struggle, every goal and every training-ground bust-up on his journey to dominate the world's top clubs, including Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
Full of wicked one-liners and amazing stories, Zlatan lifts the lid on some of the biggest names in football, including Guardiola, Mouinho and Messi.
Moving, funny and totally frank, I am Zlatan Ibrahimović is a remarkable story of genuine hardship and unimaginable success. It is unlike any autobiography you have ever read.
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Recommended by Juliet Jacques.
Juliet Jacques
Lagercrantz said he met Ibrahimovic and wasn’t really that taken with the material he got. So he just made it up. [source]
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Football Against the Enemy
Simon Kuper
4.4
occer is much more than just the most popular game in the world. It is a matter of life and death for millions around the world, an international lingua franca.
Simon Kuper traveled to twenty-two countries to discover the sometimes bizarre effect soccer can have on politics and culture. At the same time he tried to discover what makes different countries play a simple game so differently.
Kuper meets a remarkable variety of fans along the way, from the East Berliner persecuted by the Stasi for supporting his local team, to the Argentine general with his own views on tactics. He also illuminates the frightening intersection between soccer and politics, particularly in the wake of the attacks of 9-11, where soccer is obsessed over by the likes of Osama bin Laden. The result is one of the world's most acclaimed books on the game, and an astonishing study of soccer and its place in the world.
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Recommended by John Turnbull and Steve Bloomfield.
John Turnbull
This book was published in the United Kingdom in 1994 and, to me, it’s the most important book on soccer in English. [source]
Steve Bloomfield
For me that was the first book that really tried to look at football through the political lens. It was just ahead of the 1994 World Cup in the US and it tells you just as much today as it did then. It set the template for a whole genre of using football to explain a whole country. [source]
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The Hook Up (Game On, #1)
Kristen Calliha
4.4
The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone, and above all… No falling in love
Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy, right?
Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule…
Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships, and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humor and blatant disregard for his fame turns him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she's shut him down. Completely.
That is until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It's a good thing Drew knows all about winning.
All’s fair in love and football…Game on
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The Baller
Vi Keelan
4.4
From New York Times & USA Today Bestseller, Vi Keeland, comes a sexy new standalone novel.
The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men's locker room. It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster. The famed quarterback decided to bare all. And by all, I don't mean he told me any of his secrets. No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera. The Super Bowl MVP quickly adopted a new hobby--screwing with me. When I pushed back, he shifted from wanting to screw with me, to wanting to screw me. But I don't date players. And it's not because I'm one of the few women working in the world of professional football. I'd date an athlete. It's the other kind of player I don't date. You know the type. Good looking, strong, cocky, always looking to get laid.
Brody Easton was the ultimate player. Every woman wanted to be the one to change him. But the truth was, all he needed was a girl worth changing for. Turned out, I was that girl. Simple right? Let's face it. It never is. There's a story between once upon a time and happily ever after... And this one is ours.
Author's note - The Baller is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
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Soccer in Sun and Shadow
Eduardo Galeano, Mark Fried
4.4
Discussing everything from the leveling of the Twin Towers to the death of the sole survivor of that extraordinary match between British and German soldiers in 1915, one of South America’s greatest commentators issues forth on robotic soccer in Japan, the mass-production of the game as a sign of the decline of civilization, the amazing success of Senegal and Turkey, and how Nike beat Adidas.
Recommended by John Turnbull.
John Turnbull
I haven’t read all books on soccer, but I think it would certainly be up there. Lyrical is true, though of course I’ve only read it in translation by Mark Fried. Interestingly, the title works well both in Spanish and in English: in Spanish it’s El fútbol a sol y sombra and in English it’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow. The metaphor refers to the football stadium, where you can buy seats on one side or the other. Some are in the sun and they are cheaper, or you can buy seats in the shady part which is preferable but more pricey. And the very first sentence of the book is: ‘The history of football is a sad voyage from beauty to duty.’ What Galeano means is that sport as play has been lost as an idea in Western capitalist culture. Sport is now competition and sport is consumable. The World Cup in South Africa will be a spectacle, something for consumption. The television rights will have been sold, the areas around the stadium in South Africa will be zones of exclusion, limited to sales by the sponsors – Coca-Cola etc. It won’t be the local sellers who make their own beer. So that’s an example of the kind of thing that Galeano is talking about. In South African culture football has been very important, a place of everyday interaction, but that element will be lost. The tournament could really be held anywhere; you wouldn’t especially know that it’s in South Africa. [source]
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The Damned Utd
David Peace
4.4
Overachieving and eccentric football manager Brian Clough was on his way to take over at the country's most successful, and most reviled football club: Leeds United, home to a generation of fiercely competitive but ageing players. The battle he'd face there would make or break the club - or him.
David Peace's extraordinarily inventive novel tells the story of a world characterised by fear of failure and hunger for success set in the bleak heart of the 1970s.
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Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography
Alex Ferguson
4.4
The celebratory, revealing, inspiring, and entertaining autobiography of the greatest manager in the history of British soccer.
Over the past four years, Alex Ferguson has been reflecting on and jotting down the highlights of his extraordinary career, and here he reveals his amazing story as it unfolded, from his very early days in the tough shipyard areas of Govan. Sir Alex announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United after 27 years in the role.
He has gone out in a blaze of glory, with United winning the Premier League for the 13th time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest manager in the history of British soccer. Over the last quarter of a century there have been seismic changes at Manchester United, with the only constant element the quality of the manager's league-winning squad and United's run of success, which included winning the Champions League for a second time in 2008. Sir Alex created a purposeful, but welcoming, and much envied culture at the club which has lasted the test of time.
He discusses managing these seismic changes, and the growth of Man U as a global sports power. He shares the farewells to Roy Keane and David Beckham, describes the process of building a new Champions League side around Ronaldo and Rooney, and ruminates upon the great rivalries with Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and City. He also shares his thoughts on the psychology of management, and his passions and interests outside the game.
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The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines
Michael Co
4.4
An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.
Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.
And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.
The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson’s directness to Keegan’s relentlessly attacking Newcastle outfit, to Mourinho’s cagey, reactive Chelsea, all the way to Ranieri’s counter-attacking champions, The Mixer is one of the most entertaining, rich and knowledgeable football books ever written.
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When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
David Maraniss
4.3
"When Pride Still Mattered" is the quintessential story of the American family: how Vince Lombardi, the son of an immigrant Italian butcher, rose to the top, and how his character and will to prevail transformed him, his wife, his children, his players, his sport, and ultimately the entire country. It is also a vibrant football story, abundant with accounts of Lombardi's thrilling life in that world, from his playing days with the Seven Blocks of Granite at Fordham in the 1930s to the glory of coaching the Green Bay Packers of Starr, Hornung, Taylor, McGee, Davis, and Wood in the 1960s. It is also a study of national myths, tracing what Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Maraniss calls the fallacy of the innocent past, and an absorbing account of the mythmakers from Grantland Rice to Howard Cosell who shaped Lombardi's image.Vincent Thomas Lombardi was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, on June 11, 1913. His early life was shaped by the trinity of family, religion, and sports; they seemed intertwined, as inseparable to him as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He was deeply influenced by the Jesuits, who taught him the philosophy he later used with his players, subordinating individual desires to a larger cause. The geography of his rise was the opposite of the small-town boy who makes it in the big city. This son of New York did not achieve fame until he took a job in remote Green Bay, Wisconsin. Before that, he had toiled anonymously for twenty years, first as a high school coach in New Jersey, then as an assistant at Fordham, at West Point (under the influential Colonel "Red" Blaik), and finally with the New York Giants. He was already forty-six when he was finally hired to coachthe hapless Packers in 1959, leading them in the most storied period in NFL history, winning five world championships in nine seasons.
By the time he died of cancer in 1970, after one season in Washington during which he transformed the Redskins into winners, Lombardi had become a mythic character who transcended sport, and his legend has only grown in the decades since. Many now turn to Lombardi in search of characteristics that they fear have been irretrievably lost, the old-fashioned virtues of discipline, obedience, loyalty, character, and teamwork. To others he symbolizes something less romantic: modern society's obsession with winning and superficial success. In "When Pride Still Mattered," Maraniss renders Lombardi as flawed and driven yet ultimately misunderstood, a heroic figure who was more complex and authentic than the stereotypical images of him propounded by admirers and critics.
Using the same meticulous reporting and sweeping narrative style that he employed in "First in His Class," his classic biography of Bill Clinton, Maraniss separates myth from reality and wondrously recaptures Vince Lombardi's life and times.
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Recommended by Norman Ornstein.
Norman Ornstein
@davidmaraniss When Pride Still Mattered , his biography of Vince Lombardi, a great book. https://t.co/n3CkewBHNV [source]
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Sweet Home (Sweet Home, #1)
Konami Kanata
4.3
At age twenty, Molly Shakespeare knows a lot.
She knows Descartes and Kant.
She knows academia and Oxford.
She knows that the people who love you leave you.
She knows how to be alone.
But when Molly leaves England's grey skies behind to start a new life at the University of Alabama, she finds that she has a lot to learn — she didn't know a summer could be so hot, she didn't know students could be so intimidating, and she certainly didn't know just how much the folks of Alabama love their football.
When a chance encounter with notorious star quarterback, Romeo Prince, leaves her unable to think of anything but his chocolate-brown eyes, dirty-blond hair and perfect physique, Molly soon realises that her quiet, solitary life is about to dramatically change forever...
Mature New Adult novel — contains adult content, highly sexual situations and mature topics. Suited for ages 18 and up*
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The Friend Zone (Game On, #2)
Kristen Calliha
4.3
Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.
Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.
Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to get himself out of the friend zone and into Ivy’s heart. Game on
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Playing for Pizza
John Grisham
4.3
Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.
But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback–for the mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.
Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player–any former NFL player–at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers–at least until a better offer comes along–and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma, has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian. To say that Italy holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement.
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Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable
Darrin Donnelly
4.3
Discover the five inner beliefs shared by the world's greatest achievers.
If you want to take control of your life and achieve your biggest dreams, you must develop a "warrior mindset." This book will show you how to stop thinking like a victim and start thinking like a warrior.
In this inspirational fable, Chris McNeely is a college football coach who is at the end of his rope after a hard-and-fast fall from the top of his profession. Now bankrupt and on the verge of losing his job, he has no idea what he's doing wrong or how to get back on track.
Angry, worried, and desperate for help, Chris receives mysterious visits from five of history's greatest coaches: John Wooden, Buck O'Neil, Herb Brooks, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Vince Lombardi.
Together, these five legendary leaders teach Chris how to "think like a warrior" and take control of his life. The "warrior mindset" he develops changes his life forever-and it will change yours as well.
Discover the life-changing lessons of John Wooden, Buck O'Neil, Herb Brooks, Bear Bryant, and Vince Lombardi in this inspirational tale of what it takes to achieve your dreams-whatever those dreams may be.
This book will show you how to... - Build your self-confidence - Develop mental toughness - Attack every day with joy and enthusiasm - Use a positive mental attitude to achieve more - Harness the power of positive self-talk - Be a positive leader for your family and your team - Become the person you were born to be - And much more...
The five inner beliefs revealed in this book will empower you to take control of your life and overcome any obstacle that stands in your way.
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Calcio: A History of Italian Football
John Foot
4.3
The first history of Italian football to be written in English, 'Calcio' is a mix of serious analysis and comic storytelling, with vivid descriptions of games, goals, dives, missed penalties, riots and scandals in the richest and toughest league in the world. 'Calcio' tells the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890's to the present day. It takes us through a history of great players and teams, of style, passion and success, but also of violence, cynicism, catenaccio tactics and corruption. We meet the personalities that have shaped this history -- from the Italian heroes to the foreigners that failed, the model professionals to the mavericks. 'Calcio' evokes the triumphs (the 1982 World Cup victory) and the tragedies (Meroni, the 'Italian George Best', killed by his number one fan), set against a backdrop of paranoia and intrigue, in a country where the referee is seen as corrupt until proven otherwise. Calcio is no longer a game. It is sometimes difficult to define it as a sport. It is certainly big business and a fanatical civic religion. There is no moral code here. Winners are always right, losers always wrong. This history of Italian football reveals all about the richest and toughest league in the world.
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Sacked (Gridiron, #1)
Jen Frederic
4.3
What he wants he gets...
Knox Masters is a quarterback's worst nightmare. Warrior. Champion. And...virgin. Knox knows what he wants--and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he's set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she's the sister of his fellow teammate, but that's not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one.
...but he's never met her before.
But Ellie isn't as sure. She's trying to start a new life and she's not interested in a relationship...with anyone. Beside it's not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother's teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.
Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.
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Behind the Curtain
Jonathan Wilson
4.3
Alternate-Cover Edition for this ISBN can be found here
From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo, where turning up for training involved dodging snipers' bullets, to the crumbling splendor of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium, where the likes of Puskas and Kocsis masterminded the fall of England, the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism. Jonathan Wilson has traveled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain, viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of soccer. Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency—a sort of communist version of total soccer—to considerable success on the European and international stages, today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market, and throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades. The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds. Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungary's Golden Squad of the early 1950s; charts the disintegration of the soccer superpower that was the former Yugoslavia; follows a sorry tale of corruption, mismanagement, and Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses; reopens the case of Russia's greatest soccer player, Eduard Streltsov; and talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973.
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The Game Plan (Game On, #3)
Kristen Calliha
4.3
A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.
NFL center Ethan Dexter’s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she’s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law’s best friend. That ends now.
Fi doesn’t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he’s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she’s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.
Dex is looking for a forever girl, but they live vastly different lives in separate cities. Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he's her forever man.
Game On
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26
The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro
Joe McGinniss
4.3
When Joe McGinniss sets out for the remote Italian village of Castel di Sangro in the summer of 1996, he merely wants to spend a season with the village's soccer team, which only weeks before had, miraculously, reached the second-highest-ranking professional league in the land. But soon he Ends himself embroiled with an absurd yet irresistible cast of characters, including the team's owner, described by the New York Times as "straight out of a Mario Puzo novel, smoking huge cigars and trailed by bodyguards", and coach Osvaldo Jaconi, whose only English word is the one he uses to describe himself: "bulldozer".As the riotous, edge-of-your-seat season unfolds, so, too, does McGinniss's transformation into a true Italian soccer fan, complete with the irrational and blinding passions for which such fans are known. Moreover, his fervor for soccer intertwines and grows with his love for the courageous team, their village and its people, and their country. As McGinniss travels with the miracle team on the season-long tour that takes him from the isolated mountain region where Castel di Sangro is located to such gritty towns as Foggia and Cosenza, as well as to obscure nooks of such grand cities as Genoa, Venice, and Verona, he introduces us to an Italy that no tourist guidebook has ever described. The Miracle of Castel di Sangro is a spellbinding, true story of an Italy to savor.
The Brazilian football team is one of the modern wonders of the world. Travelling extensively from the coastal cities of Rio de Janiero and Sao Paolo to the Amazon jungle, Bellos shows how Brazil changed football and how football shaped Brazil."
Recommended by Steve Bloomfield.
Steve Bloomfield
It’s a magical, magical book. I didn’t have much interest in Brazil as a country. [source]
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28
The Perfect Play (Play by Play, #1)
Jaci Burton
4.3
Football pro Mick Riley is an all-star, both on the field and in the bedroom. But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him off his game...
For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.
As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.
But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.
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29
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong
Chris Anderson, David Sally
4.3
Moneyball meets Freakonomics in this myth-busting guide to understanding—and winning—the most popular sport on the planet - now with a new afterword on the 2014 World Cup!
Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the center of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favor of how things actually are. In The Numbers Game, Chris Anderson, a former professional goalkeeper turned soccer statistics guru, teams up with behavioral analyst David Sally to uncover the numbers that really matter when it comes to predicting a winner. Investigating basic but profound questions—How valuable are corners? Which goal matters most? Is possession really nine-tenths of the law? How should a player’s value be judged?—they deliver an incisive, revolutionary new way of watching and understanding soccer.
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Recommended by Rulani Mokwena.
Rulani Mokwena
Don’t know why I didn’t finish reading this book... very interesting 🧐 https://t.co/mVFTrI1zLX [source]
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30
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Franklin Foer
4.3
Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a perfect window into the cross-currents of today's world, with all its joys and its sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide-ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.
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31
Bleachers
John Grisha
4.3
High school All-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.
As Coach Rake's 'boys' sit in the bleachers waiting for the dimming field lights to signal his passing, they replay the old glories, and try to decide once and for all whether they love Eddie Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, still struggling to come to terms with his explosive relationship with the Coach, his dreams of a great career in the NFL, and the choices he made as a young man, the stakes could not be higher.
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32
The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge
Tony Dungy
4.2
Retailers Choice Award winner, 2012 Strengthen the core of your life and faith on a year-long journey with beloved Super Bowl-winning former head coach Tony Dungy! The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge contains 365 reflections from the #1 New York Times bestselling author on living an "uncommon life" of integrity, honoring your family and friends, creating a life of real significance and impact, and walking with the Lord. This year, step up to the challenge--and dare to be uncommon every day.
I start my day with a daily devotional from this book, and it doesn’t take a lot of time, but I do it every day. [source]
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33
It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars, #1)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
4.2
The Windy City isn’t quite ready for Phoebe Somerville -- the outrageous, curvaceous New York knockout who has just inherited the Chicago Stars football team. And Phoebe is definitely not prepared for the Stars’ head coach Dan Celebow, a sexist jock taskmaster with a one-track mind. Celebow is everything Phoebe abhors. And the sexy new boss is everything Dan despises -- a meddling bimbo who doesn’t know a pigskin from a pitcher’s mound.
So why is he drawn to the shameless sexpot like a heat-seeking missile? And why does the coach’s good ol’ boy charm leave cosmopolitan Phoebe feeling awkward, tongue-tied....and ready to fight?
The sexy, heartwarming, and hilarious "prequel" to New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ This Heart of Mine -- her sensational bestsellng blockbuster -- It Had To Be You is an enchanting story of two stubborn people who believe in playing for keeps.
Not particularly. I’ve never gone to a professional football game, and I don’t see myself going to one in the near future. But I will follow a great writer anywhere – into sports, outer space, even the Bronx. [source]
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34
Never Settle: Sports, Family, and the American Soul
Marty Smith
4.2
The amazing and blessed life of popular ESPN reporter and correspondent for College GameDay, Marty Smith, whose mission in this thoughtful and funny memoir is to return fans to the true soul of sports in this country. You know Marty right? The guy during College GameDay hanging off the back of a pickup truck while zooming around the Clemson athletic facilities. The guy who visits Nick Saban's lake house and somehow gets Coach to jump in the lake. The guy who sits down with Dale Jr. at Daytona to talk through tears about his miraculous return to racing. The guy who interviews Tiger Woods, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning and Jimmie Johnson -- the guy who gets paid to live the fantasy of every sports fan in America.
Never Settle is the funny but oh, it's true story of how Marty got here, and a revealing look at his journey. Never Settle includes all the best stories and behind-the-scenes moments from Marty's wild life, covering topics including: college football, racing, fathers and sons, how sports can bring us together, and how it all goes back to growing up on a farm and playing high school ball in Pearisburg, Virginia.
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Recommended by Brian Fanzo Isocialfanz, Greg Sankey, Mike Davis, and 1 others.
Brian Fanzo Isocialfanz
@MartySmithESPN @laurabturk @radfordu @ru_athletics RU memories are the best! Congrats @MartySmithESPN on the book launch... Going to get my hands on #NeverSettle! #Classof2003 [source]
Summer Reading Book #19—NEVER SETTLE: Sports, Family, and the American Soul by @MartySmithESPN. @ericchurch wrote the BEST book foreword I’ve read in years (just fish at the boat launch)! Honored Marty gave me an early copy & made it personal. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED NEVER SETTLE! https://t.co/m2rWVYohAg [source]
Mike Davis
“You know what was amazing, and hilarious? When you chugged that beer with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after his last NASCAR race. One of the best things I’ve seen on ESPN.” — Tiger Woods to @MartySmithESPN, as told by Marty in his new book #NeverSettle, available everywhere. https://t.co/d2DwGyH6QZ [source]
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35
Touchdown Kid
Tim Green
4.2
From New York Times bestselling author and former NFL defensive end Tim Green comes a football story about a boy who is given a chance to prove that wealth and privilege don’t matter on the football field, as long as he has the skills to compete. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica!
Cory has always been passionate about football. But life for him and his single mom has been hard, making it difficult for Cory to play. And though Cory is a good kid, he’s constantly surrounded by negative influences. But when the coach from an elite private school with one of the best football programs in the country recognizes his talents on the field, Cory is presented with an unbelievable opportunity.
Cory knows that football could be his ticket out. But leaving to attend private school also means struggling to fit into a world where most people look at him and just see a scholarship kid from the wrong side of town. Cory knows that if he can fight hard enough—both on and off the field—he may be able to secure a bright future that looks different from his unpromising past.
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36
I Am The Secret Footballer: Lifting the Lid on the Beautiful Game
Anonymus
4.2
Who is the Secret Footballer? Only a few people know the true identity of the man inside the game. But whoever he is - and whoever he plays for - he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated.
Now, for the first time, he reveals everything you need to know about the hidden world of professional football - the extraordinary highs, the desperate lows....and what it's really like to do a job most of us can only dream of.
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37
Unstoppable
Tim Green
4.1
New York Times bestselling author Tim Green has written an unforgettable story—inspired by interviews with real-life cancer survivors and insider sports experience—showing a brave boy who learns what it truly means to be unstoppable.
"Absolutely heroic, and something every guy should read." (National Ambassador for Young People's Literature emeritus Jon Scieszka)
If anyone understands the phrase "tough luck," it's Harrison. As a foster kid in a cruel home, he knows his dream of one day playing in the NFL is a long shot.
Then Harrison is brought into a new home with kind, loving parents—his new dad is even a football coach. Harrison's big build and his incredible determination quickly make him a star running back on the junior high school team.
On the field, he's practically unstoppable. But Harrison's good luck can't last forever. When a routine sports injury leads to a devastating diagnosis, it will take every ounce of Harrison's determination not to give up for good.
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38
The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire
John Eisenberg
4.1
The epic tale of the five owners who shepherded the NFL through its tumultuous early decades and built the most popular sport in America
The National Football League is a towering, distinctly American colossus spewing out $14 billion in annual revenue. But it was not always a success. In The League, John Eisenberg focuses on the pioneering sportsmen who kept the league alive in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s,when its challenges were many and its survival was not guaranteed. At the time, college football, baseball, boxing, and horseracing dominated America's sports scene. Art Rooney, George Halas, Tim Mara, George Preston Marshall, and Bert Bell believed in pro football when few others did and ultimately succeeded only because at critical junctures each sacrificed the short-term success of his team for the longer-term good of the league.
At once a history of a sport and a remarkable story of business ingenuity, The League is an essential read for any fan of our true national pastime.
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39
The Perilous Fight
Colin Kaepernick
4.1
A defining and uncompromising memoir from Super Bowl quarterback and renowned civil rights activist, Colin Kaepernick.“A candid, observant, generous chronicle of his development as an elite, suddenly dispensable NFL quarterback and also of the relentless, high-profile civil rights warrior he's become.”―Booklist Starred ReviewOn September 1, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during “The Star Spangled Banner,” but the world never fully understood the whole story. Not the “why” or the cost of his courage. That story begins in Turlock, California, where Kaepernick, a Black kid adopted into a white family, navigated constant resistance to His Blackness and sense of self. Sports became his refuge and his proving ground, where his talent could not be questioned. The extraordinary result? A quarterback whose arm and instincts would carry him to the Super Bowl and into history books. But with success came an education he hadn’t anticipated.In the fraught world of sports politics, he saw the hidden powerhouses pulling the strings. Steeled with the readings of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Huey P. Newton, and Angela Davis, he saw in the NFL, in Turlock, in the repeated, unpunished police killings of Black and Brown Americans, an undeniable truth revealed: this was not someone else’s fight. It was his. It is ours.When Kaepernick knelt, the NFL blackballed him. But in the ten years since, the questions his protest raise have not gone away. In The Perilous Fight, Kaepernick delivers his story with the same unflinching conviction that defined his most-watched moment, a single act of protest that changed American sports and culture forever. And ultimately, it is a story about the future we are all still fighting to build.
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40
Penso quindi gioco
Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Alciato
4.1
"Per me il gruppo conta tantissimo, ma se mi dimenticassi di me stesso toglierei forza proprio ai miei compagni: tanti singoli fanno una squadra, tanti sogni fanno un trionfo." Un fuoriclasse. Un super campione iper titolato. I complimenti iperbolici non sono mai sprecati se riferiti ad Andrea Pirlo, fantasista della Juventus e della Nazionale, ex Milan - con cui ha vinto e rivinto tutto il possibile - ed ex Inter. Ciò che colpisce di lui, oltre al geniale estro, è la formidabile logica fuori e dentro il campo. Creatività e raziocinio abitano in egual misura il suo corpo mettendo splendidamente in connessione testa e piedi. Penso quindi gioco è la conferma della perfetta efficienza della macchina Pirlo. Il regista bianconero usa i piedi per calciare, la testa per pensare e la lingua per dire ciò che sente, senza tatticismo o giri di parole. Fra le tante prese di posizione scomode contenute in questo libro, Pirlo è categorico sui colleghi calciatori coinvolti nelle scommesse, suggerisce provvedimenti drastici per combattere la violenza negli stadi e il crescente razzismo che colpisce gli atleti di pelle nera. Non è certo tenero nei confronti dei dirigenti che hanno provato a rottamarlo, mentre ha qualche rimpianto verso quegli addetti ai lavori (Barcellona, Real Madrid, Chelsea) che gli hanno fatto una corte spietata, ma mai nel momento giusto. Pirlo racconta anche il suo lato spiritoso che si esprime negli scherzi da spogliatoio. Negli anni rossoneri il suo bersaglio migliore è stato Rino Ringhio Gattuso, oggi la voglia di divertirsi gli fa trovare continuamente nuove prede, nella Juve e in Nazionale. Per la prima volta Pirlo, "il calciatore di tutti" - come lo definisce il mister Cesare Prandelli - svela qual è l'intelligenza che guida i piedi più raffinati del calcio europeo.
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41
A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke
Ronald Reng
4.1
Here, award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his lost friend's life. On November 10, 2009, the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was 32 years old. Viewed from the outside, Enke had it all. He was a professional goalkeeper who had played for a string of Europe's top clubs, including Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Louis Van Gaal's Barcelona, and was destined to be his country's first choice for years to come. But beneath the bright veneer of success lay a darker story. Reng brings into sharp relief the specific demands and fears faced by those who play top-level sport. Heartfelt, but never sentimental, he tells the universal tragedy of a talented man's struggles against his own demons.
…
Recommended by Ned Boulting.
Ned Boulting
@amylawrence71 @honigstein It’s a brilliant book [source]
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42
Gridiron Genius: A Master Class in Winning Championships and Building Dynasties in the NFL
Michael Lombardi
4.1
Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi reveals what makes football organizations tick at the championship level. From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.
Why do some NFL franchises dominate year after year while others can never crack the code of success? For 30 years Michael Lombardi had a front-row seat and full access as three titans--Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick--reinvented the game, turning it into a national obsession while piling up Super Bowl trophies. Now, in Gridiron Genius, Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win--and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again.
In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other professional minds, football and otherwise, won't even contemplate. How do you know when to trade a player? How do you create a positive atmosphere when everyone is out to maximize his own paycheck? And why is the tight end like the knight on a chessboard?
To some, game planning consists only of designing an attack for the next opponent. But Lombardi explains how the smartest leaders script everything: from an afternoon's special-teams practice to a season's playoff run to a decade-long organizational blueprint. Readers will delight in the Lombardi tour of an NFL weekend, including what really goes on during the game on and off the field and inside the headset. First stop: Belichick's Saturday night staff meeting, where he announces how the game will go the next day. Spoiler alert: He always nails it.
Football dynasties are built through massive attention to detail and unwavering commitment. From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday.
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Recommended by Eric Musselman.
Eric Musselman
Reading an awesome book Gridiron Genius written by @mlombardiNFL ! A must read for all coaches and leaders! https://t.co/CTlF2sVamr [source]
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43
No Excuses: The Making of a Head Coach
Bob Stoops, Gene Wojciechowski
4.1
From the legendary Oklahoma coach, a candid and inspiring memoir.When Bob Stoops took over as football coach in 1999, the Oklahoma Sooners were in disarray with back-to-back losing seasons. But in just two years' time, Stoops achieved the seemingly impossible: winning a national championship and returning the struggling Sooners to their powerhouse status, churning out NFL talent, Heisman Trophy winners and conference championships, bowl wins and national title runs on a regular basis.During his 18 seasons at OU, his record was a remarkable 190-48. At only age 56, at the peak of his career, he stunned the college football world by walking away.For the first time, Bob opens up about his career alongside the evolution of the game itself. From his unlikely emergence as a star player at the University of Iowa, to his coaching apprenticeships under giants like Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder, and Steve Spurrier, Stoops recounts how the game he fell in love with as a boy has evolved into a billion-dollar business often compromised by recruiting wars, aggressive agents, overzealous boosters and alumni, and the emergence of the CEO head coach rather than mentor and teacher. Bob holds nothing back while explaining why it was time to step away from the game--and players--he still loves.Told with a rare combination of sincerity, vulnerability, and pure heart, No Excuses is both an engaging and eye-opening football memoir and an unprecedented portrait of a coach of one of the greatest legacy programs in the history of the college game.
…
Recommended by Fran Fraschilla and Ivan Maisel.
Fran Fraschilla
Coaches: Great book on winning culture. Only time I’ve I met Bob Stoops was a Friday at OU Golf Grill before huge game with Texas A&M. Couldn’t believe he wasn’t watching tape or how relaxed he was eating his hamburger. He knew his preparation was done. They won 77-0 next day. https://t.co/u73DrS2pC9 [source]
Ivan Maisel
This book is Bob Stoops: straightforward, honest, without airs. You’ll enjoy spending time with him. https://t.co/Oxobw4V5f9 [source]
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44
Catching Jordan
Miranda Kenneally
4.1
ONE OF THE BOYS
What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.
But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?
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45
NFL: 100 Years
National Football League
4.1
An authorized visual history of America’s most popular sport
Timed to coincide with the National Football League’s 100th anniversary, NFL: 100 Years celebrates the history of America’s most popular and highly watched sport. From its humble beginnings in Canton, Ohio, to its emergence as a sport cherished by millions, all the key moments and famous athletes are honored within the pages of this handsomely produced book. In addition to the lively text, and action and portrait photography, the story of the game and the context in which it grew are animated by original lists, charts, creative statistics, and infographics, along with beautiful photos of the evolving equipment and artifacts essential to the story of the sport. A perfect gift, NFL: 100 Years will be cherished by every football fan, new or old.
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46
Football Genius
Tim Green
4.1
New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green scores a touchdown with this exhilarating and action-packed story about an ordinary boy who becomes a hero you can really root for. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica.
Twelve-year-old Troy White has a phenomenal gift: He can predict football plays before they even happen. Any position. Any player. Any team.
When Troy's single mom gets a job working for the Atlanta Falcons, Troy sees this as an opportunity to show what he can do. But first he has to get to the Falcons—and with tight security and a notoriously mean coach, even his mom's field passes aren't much help.
Then Troy and his best friends devise a plan to get the attention of star linebacker Seth Halloway. With Seth's playing and Troy's genius, the Falcons could be unstoppable if they'll only listen. But if he can’t convince Seth he’s telling the truth, the Falcons’ championship and his mom’s job are at risk.
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47
Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
Dent
4.1
Jim Dent, author of the New York Times bestselling The Junction Boys, returns with his most powerful story of human courage and determination.
More than a century ago, a school was constructed in Fort Worth, Texas, for the purpose of housing and educating the orphans of Texas Freemasons. It was a humble project that for years existed quietly on a hillside east of town. Life at the Masonic Home was about to change, though, with the arrival of a lean, bespectacled coach by the name of Rusty Russell. Here was a man who could bring rain in the midst of a drought. Here was a man who, in virtually no time at all, brought the orphans' story into the homes of millions of Americans. In the 1930s and 1940s, there was nothing bigger in Texas high school football than the Masonic Home Mighty Mites--a group of orphans bound together by hardship and death. These youngsters, in spite of being outweighed by at least thirty pounds per man, were the toughest football team around. They began with nothing--not even a football--yet in a few years were playing for the state championship on the highest level of Texas football. This is a winning tribute to a courageous band of underdogs from a time when America desperately needed fresh hope and big dreams. The Mighty Mites remain a notable moment in the long history of American sports. Just as significant is the depth of the inspirational message. This is a profound lesson in fighting back and clinging to faith. The real winners in Texas high school football were not the kids from the biggest schools, or the ones wearing the most expensive uniforms. They were the scrawny kids from a tiny orphanage who wore scarred helmets and faded jerseys that did not match, kids coached by a devoted man who lived on peanuts and drove them around in a smoke-belching old truck. In writing a story of unforgettable characters and great football, Jim Dent has come forward to reclaim his place as one of the top sports authors in America today. A remarkable and inspirational story of an orphanage and the man who created one of the greatest football teams Texas has ever known . . . this is their story--the original Friday Night Lights.
"This just might be the best sports book ever written. Jim Dent has crafted a story that will go down as one of the most artistic, one of the most unforgettable, and one of the most inspirational ever. Twelve Mighty Orphans will challenge Hoosiers as the feel-good sports story of our lifetime. Naturally, being from Texas, I am biased. Hooray for the Mighty Mites.'' --Verne Lundquist, CBS Sports
"Coach Rusty Russell and the Mighty Mites will steal your heart as they overcome every obstacle imaginable to become a respected football team. Take an orphanage, the Depression, and mix it with Texas high school football, and Jim Dent has authored another winner, this one about the ultimate underdog.'' --Brent Musburger, ABC Sports/ESPN
"No state has a roll call of legendary high school football stories like we do in Texas, and, admittedly, some of those stories have been 'expanded' over the years when it comes to the truth. But let Jim Dent tell you about the Mighty Mites of Masonic Home, the pride of Fort Worth in the dark days of the Depression. Read this book. You will think it's fiction. You will think it's a Hollywood script. But Twelve Mighty Orphans is the truth, and nothing but. It is powerful stuff. Some eighty years later, the Mighty Mites' story remains so sacred, not even a Texan would dare tamper with these facts. And Jim Dent tells it like it was." -- Randy Galloway, columnist, Fort-Worth Star Telegram
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48
Scholastic Year in Sports 2020
James Buckley Jr.
4.1
The must-have guidebook for young sports fans is back with the latest news and features on the top athletes and sports moments from the past year. Scholastic's annual Year in Sports returns with brand-new, exciting coverage of the past year's sporting events. This 2020 edition features colorful photographs from right in the action, completely updated facts and stats, plus special features on the X Games and other major sports events. Read about all of the top athletes, championships, and legends. Featuring all your favorite stars in baseball, basketball, football, and more, this book is perfect for sports newbies, as well as the most devoted fans.
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49
Every Moment Matters: How the World's Best Coaches Inspire Their Athletes and Build Championship Teams
John O'Sullivan
4.1
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50
Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence
Gary Mack
4.1
Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the "head edge" over the competition.
One of the books I often give away is Mind Gym by Gary Mack. It’s a very mechanical, easy, lots-of-white-space-on-the-page book. And it’s one of my favourites, a very applied synopsis of mental skills from a sport and performance psychology standpoint. [source]
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51
The Dynasty
Jeff Benedict
4.1
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52
Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and the World's Greatest Sports Rivalry
Sid Lowe
4.1
It's Messi vs Ronaldo, it's Catalonia vs Castilla. It's the nation against the state, freedom fighters vs Franco's fascists. It's majestic goals and mesmerising skills, red cards and bench brawls. It's the best two teams on the planet going face to face and toe to toe. It's more than a game. It's a war. It's Barcelona vs Real Madrid.
...Only, it's not that simple. From the wounds left by the civil war to the teams' recent global domination, historian and expert on Spanish football, Sid Lowe lifts the lid on sport's greatest rivalry. Lowe has spoken to the biggest names and the forgotten heroes who defined their clubs. Men like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff as well as the only survivor of the most politically charged game in history, the Barcelona striker who knocked Madrid out of the European Cup for the first time ever, and the president who celebrated his club's defining moment by taking a midnight dip in the Thames.
By exploring the history, politics, culture, economics and language, while never forgetting the drama on the pitch, Lowe demonstrates the symbiotic nature of the relationship between these two football giants. In doing so he reveals the human story behind this explosive rivalry.
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53
Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms
Tim Tebow
4.1
First, he was a beloved college football champion, Heisman trophy winner, media sensation, and best-selling author drafted in the first round of the 2010 Draft. Then he had a miracle playoff run with the Denver Broncos before being traded to the New York Jets. After one season he was cut by New York. Next he was signed by the New England Patriots then let go after training camp—a scenario that repeated itself the following summer with the Philadelphia Eagles. Tim Tebow has achieved big victories and plunged the depths of failure, all while never letting go of his faith, even in the face of doubt and disappointment. In Shaken he explains why neither the highs nor the lows of his life can define him—and he reveals how you, too, can find confidence in your identity and know who you are. In revealing passages, Tebow pulls back the curtain on his life, sharing the vulnerable moments of his career that have shaken him to his core—while also teaching the biblical principles that will enable you to keep the faith, no matter what comes your way.
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Overtime: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football
John U. Bacon
4.1
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER
"One of the best insider-football books ever written.” —Douglas Brinkley
A riveting chronicle of Michigan's Jim Harbaugh era, and "an unprecedented look at the inner workings" (Sporting News) of a big-time college football program
For the past year, John U. Bacon has received rare access to Jim Harbaugh’s University of Michigan football team: coaches, players, and staffers, in closed-door meetings, locker rooms, meals, and classes. Overtime captures this storied program at the crossroads, as the sport’s winningest team battles to reclaim its former glory. But what if the price of success today comes at the cost of your soul? Do you pay it, or compete without compromising?
In the spirit of HBO’s Hardknocks, Overtime delivers a deeply reported human portrait that follows the Wolverine coaches, players, and staffers through the 2018 season, including Harbaugh, offensive stars Shea Patterson and Karan Higdon, NFL-ready defensive standouts Rashan Gary, Devin Bush Jr., and Chase Winovich, second-stringers striving to find their place on the team, and their parents’ reactions to it all. Bacon met with them every week during a season that saw the Wolverines ride a ten-game winning streak to #4 in the nation, then take a beating at the hands of arch-rival Ohio State, led by controversial coach Urban Meyer, Harbaugh’s foil. Overtime also previews the crucial 2019 campaign ahead.
Above all, thisis a human story. In Overtime we not only discover what these public figures are like behind the scenes, we learn what the experience means to them as they go through it – the trials, the triumphs, and the unexpected answers to a central question: Is it worth it?
From the “poet laureate of Michigan football” (according to New York Times’s Joe Drape), and one of the keenest observers of college football, Overtime offers a window into a legendary program and the sport itself that only John U. Bacon could deliver.
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Recommended by The Sklar Brothers.
The Sklar Brothers
This book, like all of @Johnubacon’s books, is fantastic. It’s hilarious that people are running with one quote and misquoting that one quote. But if that sells this book, we’re good with that. https://t.co/qnTOqINY3E [source]
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Football: Great Records, Weird Happenings, Odd Facts, Amazing Moments & Other Cool Stuff
Ron Martirano
4.1
Jam-packed with cool trivia, history-making records, unforgettable moments, and wacky true tales of your favorite games, players and events, these stories from the gridiron will set fans abuzz.
An engaging presentation for football's toughest fans. Find out all about the culture of superstition and the crazy events that surround the game, about the hazing that's an integral part of the sport, and about how a team's captain gets his fellow players all fired up. Fascinating stories recanted include the Eagles beating the Giants just before time ran out, New York's fumble that led to Philadelphia's miracle at the Meadowlands, how Dallas Cowboys' coach Jimmy Johnson managed to catch a glimpse of the Buffalo Bills' new formation when a television station accidentally broadcast it, and how San Francisco Forty Niners' Ronnie Lott gave 110% and his pinky all for the love of the sport.
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56
Fear Is a Choice: Tackling Life's Challenges with Dignity, Faith, and Determination
James Conner
4.0
ACC Player of the Year and star Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner recounts his devastating struggle with cancer, revealing the lessons he drew from his miraculous recovery and his extraordinary comeback.
During his first two years at the University of Pittsburgh, running back James Conner became one of the Panthers’ biggest stars, breaking records and winning the adoration of fans. Then, in the first game of his junior year, the then twenty-year-old athlete was sidelined when he tore ligaments in his knee. But that was only the beginning of the challenges he would face. During rehab, his health deteriorated until an X-ray revealed several suspicious masses in his chest and a biopsy confirmed he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Suddenly, it wasn’t just the dream of an NFL career that was in jeopardy; it was James’s life. Yet when he shared the news of his diagnosis publicly, James rallied family, friends, and fans, with his message of hope and courage: “Fear is a choice. I choose not to fear cancer.” In just ten words, James defined his own journey on his own terms and refused to back down from one of the most dreaded diagnoses known to man.
Drawing strength from his faith in God and the support of his community and loved ones, James underwent treatment but continued to practice with his team despite the intense physical toll of chemotherapy. He was declared cancer free within a year. Returning to the field in 2016, he finished his college career with a record-breaking 3,733 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns. Entering the NFL draft early, his success continued. Selected in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he quickly became one of the most beloved rookies in the league.
In Fear Is a Choice, James candidly shares his experiences during his battle with cancer and beyond, encouraging readers and illustrating the spiritual truths and personal principles that got him through his darkest days and into the NFL. Focusing on personal growth, the meaning of true significance, and the faith that guided him through his most trying moments, Conner’s warm, deeply personal, and inspiring story offers wisdom and advice for anyone who has faced adversity or the loss their dreams—and everyone who wants to learn how to tackle life’s problems with dignity, grit, and confidence.
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57
Shaken: Young Reader's Edition: Fighting to Stand Strong No Matter What Comes Your Way
Tim Tebow and A. J. Gregory
4.0
The New York Times best-selling author and Heisman Trophy winner shares a vision for young Christians still forming their identity and finding their God-given purpose--even when life doesn't go as planned.
Beloved sports icon Tim Tebow was a college football champion and a first-round draft pick--but then he was traded and eventually cut. In Shaken Young Reader's Edition, he reveals how he navigated both triumph and disappointment and explains how neither the highs nor the lows of his life define him. Ultimately, only God can do that.
The same is true for every one of us. God has given us a unique set of talents and experiences in order to fulfill our divine purpose. Whether He intends for us to influence those close to us, like our friends and our family, or even the entire world, there are no limits to the great things God can accomplish through us when we let Him determine who we are. But we may miss God's incredible plan for our lives if we're so busy trying to be just like everyone else--by blending in with the crowd or refusing to stand up for what is right.
Jesus was anything but normal!
Nothing is more empowering, more life-giving, and more exciting than having a strong identity. Jesus knows this, and He wants you to know it as well. When we are willing to let God define who we are, He will take what we have to offer and multiply it in ways and for purposes that we cannot imagine!
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58
It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life
Trevor Moawad
4.0
Foreword by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson From a top mental conditioning coach—”the world’s best brain trainer” (Sports Illustrated)—who has transformed the lives and careers of elite athletes, business leaders, and military personnel, battle-tested strategies that will give you tools to manage and overcome negativity and achieve any goal.
Trevor Moawad is a mental conditioning coach who has helped professionals from all walks of life, from Ft. Bragg to Harvard Business School, the NFL to Fortune 500 companies. Moawad’s mission is clear: motivate the motivated.
Now, for the first time ever, Moawad shares the formula he has exclusively used to help these elites with everyone. It Takes What It Takes shows you how to deal with even the most challenging circumstances—and thrive. Moawad reveals how top performers hone their competitive edge by effectively managing both negativity and failure as well as positivity and success: Neutral thinking is the key.
Neutral thinking is a high-performance strategy that emphasizes judgment-free thinking, especially in pressure situations. It acknowledges that the past happened. However, the past isn’t predictive. If you can absorb and embrace that belief, everything can change.
Down-shifting your brain into neutral takes practice. But once you get the hang of it, you can go to the truth on a dime. You can deal with the facts at hand. You’ll feel calmer, more aware of the situation as it unfolds, moment to moment. And the athlete—or employee, or spouse, or parent—who’s calmer and more aware succeeds.
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59
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
Jon Krakauer
4.0
This edition has been updated to reflect new developments and includes new material obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Pat Tillman walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army and became an icon of post-9/11 patriotism. When he was killed in Afghanistan two years later, a legend was born. But the real Pat Tillman was much more remarkable, and considerably more complicated than the public knew...
A stunning account of a remarkable young man's heroic life and death, from the bestselling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Jon Krakauer’s biography of Pat Tillman, Where Men Win Glory, was the most inspiring and moving book I read this year. [source]
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Football Outsiders Almanac 2019: The Essential Guide to the 2019 NFL and College Football Seasons
Aaron Schatz, Thomas Bassinger, et al.
4.0
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61
The People's Team: An Illustrated History of the Green Bay Packers
Mark Beech
4.0
The definitive, lavishly illustrated history of the Green Bay Packers, commemorating the team's 100-year anniversaryNot only are the Packers the only fan-owned team in any of North America’s major pro sports leagues, but Green Bay — population 104,057 — is also the smallest city with a big-time franchise. The Packers are, in other words, unlikely candidates to be pro football's preeminent team. And yet nobody in the NFL has won more championships. The story of Titletown, USA, is the greatest story in sports.
Through extensive archival research and unmatched insider access to players and team officials, past and present, Mark Beech tells the first complete rags-to-riches history of the Green Bay Packers, a full chronicle of the most illustrious team in NFL history. The People’s Team paints compelling pictures of a franchise, a town, and a fan base. No other team in pro sports is so bound to the place that gave birth to it. Here is the story of the Packers and of Green Bay — from the days of the French fur traders who settled on the shores of La Baie in the seventeenth century, to the team’s pursuit of its fourteenth NFL championship.
Featuring essays by Peter King, Chuck Mercein, Austin Murphy, and David S. Neft, The People’s Team is a must-have for fans, old and new, and the definitive illustrated history of the most important team in the NFL.
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62
The Hot Shot (Game On, #4)
Kristen Calliha
4.0
First we were friends. Then we were roommates. Now I want more…
What can I say about Chess Copper? The woman is capable of bringing me to my knees. I know this about five minutes after getting naked for her.
No one is more surprised than me. The prickly photographer my team hired to shoot our annual charity calendar isn’t my usual type. She’s defense to my offense, a challenge at every turn. But when I’m with her, all the regrets and darkness goes away. She makes life fun.
I want to know Chess, be close to her. Which is a bad idea.
Chess is looking for a relationship. I’ve never given a woman more than one night. But when fate leaves Chess without a home, I step up and offer her mine. We’re roommates now. Friends without benefits. But it’s getting harder to keep our hands off each other. And the longer we live together the more I realize she’s becoming my everything.
Trick is… Now that I’ve made her believe I’m a bad bet, how do I convince her to give this player a true shot at forever?
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63
Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure, and Overcoming the Odds
Nick Foles
4.0
*New York Times Bestseller* Get ready to defy the odds when everyone's counting you out. When the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback went down with a torn ACL in week 14 of the 2017 NFL season, many fans--and commentators--assumed the Eagles' season was over.
Instead, Nick Foles came off the bench and, against all odds, led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory in history.
How did Nick get it done--winning MVP honors, silencing the critics, and shocking the world? How did the man who was on the verge of retiring just two seasons earlier stay optimistic and rally the team to an astounding win? How did he stay ready despite numerous trades and discouraging injuries, able to step up in the moment and perform at the top of his game?
Believe It offers a behind-the-scenes look at Nick's unlikely path to the Super Bowl, the obstacles that threatened to hold him back, his rediscovery of his love for the game, and the faith that grounded him through it all. Learn from the way Nick handled the trials and tribulations that made him into the man he is today--and discover a path to your own success.
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64
Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football
Phil Ball
4.0
English writer Phil Ball has put the history of Spanish football into the context of the epomymous Morbo. Hard to pin down in translation (though the author manfully spends a chapter trying to explain the term in its fullest sense), "morbo" encapsulates the fierce rivalry across a club scene fragmented by history, language and politics. The bitter feeling between Barcelona and Real Madrid has, of course, been well-documented elsewhere. Here that famous rivalry is only one component of a landscape of antagonism. In particular, the Basque country in the north-west and Seville in the south both provide breeding grounds for a healthy portion of "morbo", and receive Ball's attention accordingly. The narrative captures the essence of that feeling perfectly, without failing to inform on a historical basis. A splendid chapter traces the ancestry of football in Spain back to the labourers in the English-owned copper mines in Huelva, Andalucia. While Spanish club football has always had its stars, from Di Stefano to Cruyff and Butragueno through to Raul and Luis Figo today, Ball shows that there is a greater force running in its lifeblood. Yet still there remains a paradox; he analyses the historical under-achievement of the Spanish national side in major international tournaments.
The new millennium has seen excellent books focusing on football culture in Holland and France--namely Brilliant Orange and Le Foot. At a time when the stock of Spanish club football has perhaps not been higher since the heyday of Real Madrid in the late 50s and early 60s, Morbo, a triumph in the same vein, thankfully allows us to add Spain to the list. --Trevor Crowe
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I Got You: A Grumpy Sunshine Sports Romance (The Abandoned Brothers Book 1)
Stacy Williams
4.0
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66
Quarterback Rush
Carl Bowen and Eduardo Garcia
4.0
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67
The Art of Smart Football
Chris B. Brown
4.0
Masterfully blending thought provoking analysis with engrossing storytelling, The Art of Smart Football examines football's most innovative and enduring strategies and ideas, through the lens of the sport's best coaches and players. The Art of Smart Football is an eye-opening, fascinating and accessible contribution to our understanding of America's favorite sport. The Art of Smart Football features analysis of football's top strategists and schemes, including:
Pete Carroll's aggressive defense Chip Kelly's spread offense and new-school methods The roots of Bill Belichick's defensive genius Gus Malzahn's up-tempo offense The strategies Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers use to shred defenses Art Briles and Baylor's wide open attack Nick Saban's defensive evolution The book also includes explorations of the newest trends in football, including "packaged plays" that combine runs and passes into one play, "pattern match" defenses that blend man-to-man and zone pass coverages, how defenses are responding to the spread offense, and much more.
Praise for The Art of Smart Football
"The Art of Smart Football made me a smarter football writer . . . Football, as presented by these coaches and by Brown, is such an imaginative game. It's a great read: Go buy it." -- Peter King, The MMQB/Sports Illustrated
"A must read if you are a football junkie." -- Trent Dilfer, ESPN/13-year NFL Veteran Quarterback
"The best analysis in the game today." -- Rolling Stone
"Awesome stuff. I recommend The Art of Smart Football to any coach or fan." -- Matt Bowen, ESPN Columnist/NFL Veteran
"When Chris B. Brown releases a book, you should buy it." -- Bill Barnwell, Grantland/ESPN
"A deep dive into football. Highly recommended." -- Field Yates, ESPN
"The Art of Smart Football is a perfect read for anyone looking to take their knowledge of the game up a notch." -- ElevenWarriors.com
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Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity
Drew Brees
4.0
When a potentially career-ending shoulder injury left quarterback Drew Brees without a team--and facing the daunting task of having to learn to throw a football all over again--coaches around the NFL wondered, Will he ever come back? After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, leaving more than 80 percent of the city underwater, many wondered, Will the city ever come back? And with their stadium transformed into a makeshift refugee camp, forcing the Saints to play their entire 2005 season on the road, people questioned, Will the Saints ever come back? It takes a special person to turn adversity into success and despair into hope--yet that is exactly what Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees has done--and with the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. Coming Back Stronger is the ultimate comeback story, not only of one of the NFL's top quarterbacks, but also of a city and a team that many had all but given up on. Brees's inspiring message of hope and encouragement proves that with enough faith, determination, and heart, you can overcome any obstacle life throws your way and not only come back, but come back stronger.
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69
Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood
Jeffrey Marx
4.0
The bestselling inspirational book in which the author reunites with a childhood football hero, now a minister and coach, and witnesses a revelatory demonstration of the true meaning of manhood.
Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman high school football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann.
Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard.
Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he’d ever seen, where players say “I love you” to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father.
Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents—anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.
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The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently
Tony Dungy
4.0
"Your only job is to help your players be better." That single idea had a huge impact on Tony Dungy when he heard it from one of his earliest mentors, and it led him to develop the successful leadership style so admired by players and coaches throughout the NFL. Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In The Mentor Leader, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life. In the process, you'll learn the seven keys of mentoring leadership--and why they're so effective; why mentor leadership brings out the best in people; how a mentor leader recovers from mistakes and handles team discipline; and the secret to getting people to follow you and do their best for you without intimidation tactics. As a son, a football player, and a winning coach, Tony has always learned from others on his path to success. Now you can learn to succeed for your team, family, or organization while living out your values--by becoming a mentor leader.
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71
I Dare You
Ilsa Madden-Mill
4.0
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills kicks off a brand-new, sexy, heartfelt contemporary romance series with I DARE YOU!
Badass Athlete: I dare you to… Delaney Shaw: Who is this?
The late night text is random, but "Badass Athlete" sure seems to know who she is…
Delaney Shaw. Good girl. Lover of fluffy kitties and Star Wars. Curious.
His dare? Spend one night in his bed—a night he promises will be unforgettable—and she can solve the mystery of who he is.
She knows she shouldn't, but what else is she going to do with her boring Valentine's Day?
One sexy hook-up later, her mind is blown and the secret's out.
Maverick Monroe. Bad boy. The most talented football player in the country. Just ask him.
Too bad for him Delaney's sworn off dating athletes forever after her last heartbreak.
But Maverick wants more than one night and refuses to give up on winning Delaney’s heart. She isn’t one to be fazed by a set of broad shoulders.
Will the bad boy land the nerd girl or will the secrets they keep from each other separate them forever?
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72
I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to The Blind Side, and Beyond
Michael Oher
4.0
The football star made famous in the hit film (and book) The Blind Side reflects on how far he has come from the circumstances of his youth. Michael Oher shares his personal account of his story, in this inspirational New York Times bestseller.Looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL, Michael talks about the goals he had to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family. Eventually he grasped onto football as his ticket out and worked hard to make his dream into a reality. With his adoptive family, the Touhys, and other influential people in mind, he describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams. Sharing untold stories of heartache, determination, courage, and love, I Beat the Odds is an incredibly rousing tale of one young man's quest to achieve the American dream.
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Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars
Gregory Zuckerman, Elijah Zuckerman, et al.
4.0
Discover the inspirational real-life stories of superstar athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Tim Howard, and more!
"Packs a powerful message--perseverance and passion pay off. Even non-sports fans will cheer for superstars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry."--Scholastic Teacher
Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in 6th grade. He went on to become a national treasure after single-handedly keeping America competitive in the 2014 World Cup. Stephen Curry was told he was too small, too weak, and too slow to even receive a scholarship to play college basketball. He outworked everyone and went on to become MVP of the National Basketball Association. Jim Abbott was born without his right hand, yet he refused to be defined by what he lacked. He went on to pitch a no-hitter in the Major Leagues.
Athlete after athlete in this book found discipline, hope, and inspiration on the playing field, rising above their circumstances. Filled with first-hand accounts from stars who exemplify the idea of enduring at all costs, Rising Above will serve as a must-read source of inspiration for kids and sports fans of all ages.
A Scholastic Teacher magazine Summer Reading List selection A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Summer Reading List selection
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74
Zone: A rivals to lovers, surprise baby, football romance (The New Bradfords)
Tia Louise
4.0
Their rivalry turns into undeniable chemistry, and a secret relationship neither can afford.As the youngest son in the Bradford football dynasty, I’ve spent my whole life being compared to someone else. The last thing I need is an influencer building her platform on my mistakes.So naturally, I confront her.Then I kiss her.Again.And Again.Now we’re hiding a secret relationship that could destroy both our careers, and I’m falling for the one woman who refuses to go easy on me.When a baby shows up on my doorstep, she stays to help, and we find ourselves wrangling poopy diapers, unexplained crying, and a little girl who makes us feel things we’re not ready to admit.Naturally, the paps catch us, a photo is leaked, and our whole relationship goes viral. Everything is put on the line, and we’re forced to choose: walk away or risk it all to stay in the Zone.(ZONE is a rivals-to-lovers football romance with a sweet but cocky Hero and a smarty but sassy FMC, who develop a secret relationship, until a surprise baby softens their edges, tests their bravery, and forces them to face the truth. Hilarious found family, spicy times, no cheating, no cliffhanger, no third-act breakup, and a guaranteed HEA.)
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75
Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football’s Agent of Chaos
John Talty
4.0
The first book on the most polarizing coach in college sports, Louisiana State University football coach Lane Kiffin, charts his inexorable rise and his impact on the game, as he left a trail of winning teams, bad feelings, and controversy in his wake.In his fifty-plus years, Lane Kiffin has had a rarified perch, operating among football’s biggest players, coaches, and brands. And during that time, he’s managed to annoy just about all of them.Legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, who made Kiffin the youngest NFL head coach at age thirty-one, so hated working with Kiffin that he publicly branded him a liar. Kiffin’s abrupt departure from Tennessee led to protests and burning mattresses on campus. While at the University of Southern California, Kiffin was famously fired on a Los Angeles airport tarmac in the middle of the night. Hall of Fame Alabama coach Nick Saban, sick of three years of Kiffin’s antics, fired him right before a national championship game. Most recently, Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss for LSU, before the College Football Playoff, led to more scenes of chaos on a tarmac—and promises years to come of bitter contests between the two SEC rivals. Led by a hands-on Louisiana governor, LSU is paying Kiffin $13 million annually and giving him the keys to what could be the sport’s most expensive roster in 2026.No one embodies the absurdity and the circus-like feel of college football better than Lane Kiffin. In this deeply sourced work, veteran journalist John Talty charts the coach’s repeated rises and falls, from the brilliance of the USC dynasty teams to the struggles of the intense daily pressures of trying to win at the highest level in a world where the old rules don’t apply. Lane Being Lane is a revelatory look at college football’s most fascinating figure, a man who epitomizes an era where a well-crafted trolling tweet seems to get just as much attention and even reward as a touchdown-scoring call.
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76
Barça: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World
Graham Hunter
4.0
FC Barcelona are the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation and possibly the greatest of all time. This is the inside story of how the team came to redefine how the game is played, told by the journalist closer to it than any other. This edition contains a new epilogue reflecting on the departure of Pep Guardiola and Spain s victory at Euro 2012. It is of huge interest to anyone who loves the way this team plays football which is anyone who loves the game.
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77
Defensive Coordinator's Football Handbook
Leo Hand
4.0
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78
The Eagles Encyclopedia: Champions Edition: Champions Edition
Ray Didinger
4.0
Ray Didinger, like every die-hard Eagles fan, has been waiting since the 1960 NFL Title for the Birds to win the Super Bowl. In this “Champions Edition” of The Eagles Encyclopedia, beloved Eagles commentator Didinger celebrates his team and their remarkable, against-all-odds season that ended at Super Bowl LII, where they claimed victory over the Patriots in Minnesota.
Didinger updates his best-selling book TheEagles Encyclopedia with the departure of Coach Chip Kelly and the dawn of the Doug Pederson era. He provides a new chapter on the 2017–18 season and postseason. And he includes dozens of new player, coach, and front-office profiles as well as Hall of Fame updates on 2018 inductees Brian Dawkins and Terrell Owens.
But wait, there’s more!
An all-new 16-page color insert highlights key moments on the road to the Super Bowl Iconic photos old and new, from Concrete Charlie Bednarik’s tackle of Frank Gifford to Nick Foles and the Philly Special More than 100 new photos from the recent season as well as from earlier periods in the Eagles’ storied history
TheEagles Encyclopedia: Champions Edition is more than a keepsake of a championship season. It is a book about a city and a team and the emotion that binds them.
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79
Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World
Raphael Honigstei
4.0
July 13th 2014, World Cup Final, the last ten minutes of extra time: Germany forward Mario Götze, receiving a floated pass from his international teammate André Schürrle, jumps slightly to meet the ball and cushion it with his chest. Landing on his left foot, he takes a step with his right, swivels, and in one fluid motion, without the ball touching the ground, volleys it past the onrushing Argentine goalkeeper into the far corner of the net. The goal wins Germany the World Cup for the first time in almost thirty years. In the aftermath, Götze looks dazed, unable to comprehend what he has done.
In Das Reboot, Guardian journalist and television pundit Raphael Honigstein charts the return of German soccer from the international wilderness of the late nineteen-nineties to Götze’s moment of genius and asks, how did this come about? How did German soccer reinvent itself away from its efficient but unappealing and defensively-minded past to the free-flowing, attack-minded soccer that was on display in 2014? The answer takes him from California to Stuttgart, from Munich to the Maracaná, via Dortmund and Amsterdam. Packed with exclusive interviews with the key protagonists, Honigstein’s book lifts the lid on the secrets of German soccer’s success.
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80
Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look
Pat Kirwan
4.0
Renowned NFL analysts’ tips to make football more accessible, colorful, and compelling than ever before
More and more football fans are watching the NFL each week, but many of them don’t know exactly what they should be watching. What does the offense’s formation tell you about the play that’s about to be run? When a quarterback throws a pass toward the sideline and the wide receiver cuts inside, which player is to blame? Why does a defensive end look like a Hall of Famer one week and a candidate for the practice squad the next? These questions and more are addressed in Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0, a book that takes readers deep inside the perpetual chess match between offense and defense. This book provides clear and simple explanations to the intricacies and nuances that affect the outcomes of every NFL game. This updated edition contains recent innovations from the 2015 NFL season.
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Football Hero
Tim Green
4.0
Success comes with risk and a high price in this thrilling standalone football novel from New York Times bestselling author and former NFL player Tim Green. Perfect for fans of Mike Lupica.
Ever since Ty Lewis was orphaned and forced to stay with his legal guardian, Uncle Gus, he’s always wanted to prove how fast he is on a football field and be like his older brother, Thane "Tiger" Lewis, who's about to graduate from college—and is being courted by the NFL.
But instead of playing football, he’s scrubbing bathrooms after school for his uncle’s cleaning service. Thane is the only bright spot in Ty’s life. And now Uncle Gus wants to use Ty to get to him and obtain valuable insider information for a local mob boss called “Lucy” and his gambling ring.
Can Ty break free to save not only Thane’s football career, but his life?
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82
The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football
S. C. Gwynne
4.0
An “excellent sports history” (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL.
Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their “Air Raid” offense, their teams—at Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentucky—played blazingly fast—faster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook.
“A superb treat for all gridiron fans” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mumme’s leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether you’re a casual or ravenous football fan, this is “a rousing tale of innovation” (Booklist), and “Gwynne’s book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it” (New York Journal of Books).
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83
Relentless: A Memoir
Julian Edelman
4.0
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Bill Belichick: "Julian is the epitome of competitiveness, toughness, and the great things that are possible when someone is determined to achieve their goals."
Tom Brady: "It's a privilege for me to play with someone as special as Julian."
The Super Bowl champion wide receiver for the New England Patriots shares his inspiring story of an underdog kid who was always doubted to becoming one of the most reliable and inspiring players in the NFL.
When the Patriots were down 28-3 in Super Bowl LI, there was at least one player who refused to believe they would lose: Julian Edelman. And he said so. It wasn't only because of his belief in his teammates, led by the master of the comeback, his friend and quarterback Tom Brady-or the coaching staff run by the legendary Bill Belichick. It was also because he had been counted out in most of his life and career, and he had proved them all wrong.
Whether it was in Pop Warner football, where his Redwood City, California, team won a national championship; in high school where he went from a 4'10", 95-pound freshman running back to quarterback for an undefeated Woodside High team; or college, where he rewrote records at Kent State as a dual-threat quarterback, Edelman far exceeded everyone's expectations. Everyone's expectations, that is, except his own and those of his father, who took extreme and unorthodox measures to drive Edelman to quiet the doubters with ferocious competitiveness.
When he was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round, the 5'10" college quarterback was asked to field punts and play wide receiver, though he'd never done either. But gradually, under the tutelage of a demanding coaching staff and countless hours of off-season training with Tom Brady, he became one of the NFL's most dynamic punt returners and top receivers who can deliver in the biggest games.
Relentless is the story of Edelman's rise, and the continuing dominance of the Patriot dynasty, filled with memories of growing up with a father who was as demanding as any NFL coach, his near-constant fight to keep his intensity and competitiveness in check in high school and college, and his celebrated nine seasons with the Patriots. Julian shares insights into his relationships and rivalries, and his friendships with teammates such as Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Matt Slater, and Randy Moss. Finally, he reveals the story behind "the catch" and life on the inside of a team for the ages.
Inspiring, honest, and unapologetic, Relentless proves that the heart of a champion can never be measured.
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84
MVP #3: The Football Fumble
David A. Kelly and Scott Brundage
4.0
From the author of the Ballpark Mysteries comes the coolest sports club around—the Most Valuable Players!
The MVP kids can’t wait to play in the big football game. That is, until they catch a glimpse of their opponents! The team from Hamilton Elementary School seems bigger and—even worse—just plain mean. Taking on a tough opponent is never easy. Will this bully blitz keep the MVPs off their game? Or can they find a way to huddle together and win the day?
Perfect for kids who love to compete in all kinds of contests and have fun with great friends, David A. Kelly’s series teaches readers that when you’re a most valuable player, you love sports, always show spirit, and never give up! And don’t miss sports facts in every book.
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85
The Truth About Aaron
Jonathan Hernandez
4.0
The unvarnished true story of the tragic life and death of Aaron Hernandez, the college All-American and New England Patriots star convicted of murder, told by one of the few people who knew him best, his brother.
To football fans, Aaron Hernandez was a superstar in the making. A standout at the University of Florida, he helped the Gators win the national title in 2008. Drafted by the New England Patriots, in his second full season with the team he and fellow Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski set records for touchdowns and yardage, and with Tom Brady, led New England to Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. But Aaron’s NFL career ended as quickly as it began. On June 26, 2013, he was arrested at his North Attleboro home, charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd, and released by the Patriots. Convicted of first-degree murder, Aaron was sentenced to life in prison without parole. On May 15, 2014, while on trial for Lloyd's murder, Aaron was indicted for two more murders. Five days after being acquitted for those double murders, he committed suicide in his jail cell. Aaron Hernandez was twenty-seven years old.
In this clear-eyed, emotionally devastating biography—a family memoir combining football and true crime—Jonathan (formerly known by his nickname DJ) Hernandez speaks out fully for the first time about the brother he knew. Jonathan draws on his own recollections as well as thousands of pages of prison letters and other sources to give us a full portrait of a star athlete and troubled young man who would become a murderer, and the darkness that consumed him. Jonathan does not portray Aaron as a victim; he does not lay the blame for his crimes on his illness. He speaks openly about Aaron’s talent, his sexuality, his crimes and incarceration, and the CTE that ravaged him—scientists found that upon his death, Aaron had the brain of a sixty-seven-year old suffering from the same condition. Filled with headline-making revelations, The Truth About Aaron is a shocking and moving account of promise, tragedy, and loss—of one man’s descent into rage and violence, as told by the person who knew him more closely than anyone else.
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86
The Club: How the English Premier League Became the Wildest, Richest, Most Disruptive Force in Sports
Joshua Robinson
4.0
The Club is the previously untold inside story of how English soccer’s Premier League became the wildest, richest, most popular sports product on the planet.
This is a sports and business tale of how money, ambition, and twenty-five years of drama remade an ancient institution into a twenty-first-century entertainment empire. No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold.
Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly two hundred countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.
Deeply researched and drawing on one hundred exclusive interviews, including the key decision makers at every major English team, The Club is the definitive and wildly entertaining narrative of how the Premier League took over the world.
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87
Find A Way: What I Wish I'd Known When I Became A Head Football Coach
Kenny Simpson
4.0
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88
Jockblocked (Gridiron, #2)
Jen Frederic
4.0
She’s always played it safe…
College junior Lucy Washington abides by one rule—avoid risk at all costs. She’s cautious in every aspect of her life, from her health, to her mock trial team, to the boring guys she dates. When a brash, gorgeous jock walks into the campus coffee shop and turns his flirt on, Lucy is stunned by the force of attraction. For the first time ever, she’s willing to step out of her comfort zone, but can she really trust the guy who’s determined to sweep her off her feet?
He’s always played around…
Entering his last year of college eligibility, linebacker Matthew "Matty" Iverson has the team captaincy in his sights. And it’s his for the taking, if he can convince his quarterback Ace Anderson to give up the starting position. Luckily, Matty already has an edge—the hottie he’s lusting over just happens to be Ace’s childhood best friend. Getting Lucy on his side and in his bed? Hell yeah. Matty is more than confident he can have both, but when he falls hard for Lucy, it’s time for a new game plan: convince the woman of his dreams that she’s not sleeping with the enemy.
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89
Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life
Mike Leach
4.0
SWING YOUR SWORD is the first ever book by one of the most fascinating and successful coaches in sports today. A maverick who took an unlikely path to coaching through law school, Mike Leach talks about his unorthodox approach to coaching and the choices that have brought him success throughout his career. A lover of the game who started creating formations and drawing his own plays as a kid, Leach took his Texas Tech Red Raiders to numerous bowl games, achieving the #2 slot in national rankings and being voted 2008 Coach of the Year before being unceremoniously fired at the end of the 2009 season. The scandalous nature of his dismissal created a media frenzy and began a personal battle between Leach and his accusers that remains unresolved.
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90
Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time
Ian O'Connor
4.0
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The definitive biography of the NFL’s most enigmatic, controversial, and yet successful coach
Bill Belichick is perhaps the most fascinating figure in the NFL—the infamously dour face of one of the winningest franchises in sports. As head coach of the New England Patriots, he’s led the team to five Super Bowl championship trophies. In this revelatory and robust biography, readers will come to understand and see Belichick’s full life in football, from watching college games as a kid with his father, a Naval Academy scout, to orchestrating two Super Bowl–winning game plans as defensive coordinator for the Giants, to his dramatic leap to New England, where he has made history.
Award-winning columnist and New York Times best-selling author Ian O’Connor delves into the mind of the man who has earned a place among coaching legends like Lombardi, Halas, and Paul Brown, presenting sides of Belichick that have been previously unexplored. O’Connor discovers how this legendary coach shaped the people he met and worked with in ways perhaps even Belichick himself doesn’t know. Those who follow and love pro football know Bill Belichick only as the hooded genius of the Patriots. But there is so much more—from the hidden tensions and deep layers to his relationship with Tom Brady to his sometimes frosty dealings with owner Robert Kraft to his ability to earn the unmitigated respect of his players—if not their affection. This is a man who has many facets and, ultimately, has created a notorious football dynasty. Based on exhaustive research and countless interviews, this book circles around Belichick to tell his full story for the first time, and presents an incisive portrait of a mastermind at work.
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91
Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance
Tony Dungy
4.0
The New York Times bestseller is now in softcover with a bonus chapter on how the "Dare to Be Uncommon" movement is reaching schools, teams, and families across the country and an update on Tony's life since retiring as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. What does it take to live a life of significance? When Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy took home the trophy in Super Bowl XLI, fans around the world looked to him as the epitome of success. Athletic victory, professional excellence, fame and celebrity, awards and honors--he had it all. But even in that moment, he knew those achievements had little to do with his ultimate significance as a man. Coach Dungy still passionately believes that there is a different path to significance--a path characterized by attitudes, ambitions, and allegiances that are all too rare but uncommonly rewarding. In the New York Times best seller Uncommon, Dungy reveals secrets to achieving significance that he has learned from his remarkable parents, his athletic and coaching career, his mentors, and his walk with God.
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92
Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL
Jeff Pearlman
4.0
From a multiple New York Times bestselling author, the rollicking, outrageous, you-can’t-make-this-up story of the USFL
The United States Football League—known fondly to millions of sports fans as the USFL—was the last football league to not merely challenge the NFL, but cause its owners and executives to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, 1983-85. It secured multiple television deals. It drew millions of fans and launched the careers of legends. But then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner—a New York businessman named Donald J. Trump. The league featured as many as 18 teams, and included such superstars as Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker, Reggie White, Doug Flutie and Mike Rozier.
In Football for a Buck, the dogged reporter and biographer Jeff Pearlman draws on more than four hundred interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America. From 1980s drug excess to airplane brawls and player-coach punch outs, to backroom business deals, to some of the most enthralling and revolutionary football ever seen, Pearlman transports readers back in time to this crazy, boozy, audacious, unforgettable era of the game. He shows how fortunes were made and lost on the backs of professional athletes and also how, thirty years ago, Trump was a scoundrel and a spoiler.
For fans of Terry Pluto’s Loose Balls or Jim Bouton’s Ball Four and of course Pearlman’s own stranger-than-fiction narratives, Football for a Buck is sports as high entertainment—and a cautionary tale of the dangers of ego and excess.
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93
Chasing the Bear: How Bear Bryant and Nick Saban Made Alabama the Greatest College Football Program of All Time
Lars Anderson
4.0
A dual biography of two coaching legends -- Bear Bryant and Nick Saban -- who built the Alabama Crimson Tide into a true football dynasty. Both Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are undeniable kings of college football, two coaches at Alabama who have each won more national championships-six apiece-than anyone else in the history of the game. Chasing the Bear examines how they did it, revealing along the way their similarities in style, background, football philosophy, and recruiting methods, while providing readers a rare inside look at two of the greatest leaders in the history of sports.
Bear Bryant and Nick Saban never met, but they have more in common than either of them realize. Both grew up in small towns-Bryant in Moro Bottom, Arkansas, a dot on the map, and Saban from Monongah, West Virginia, population five hundred. As a child, Saban pumped gas at his father's service station, washing and waxing cars and doing anything he could to help the business. Bryant's father suffered from multiple physical ailments, which forced Bryant to work to keep the family farm going. Both men knew the value of hard work from the time they were young boys, and both understood that there were no shortcuts to success. But both dreamed of escaping their hometowns, and both used football as the means to do so.
Separated by two generations, Bear Bryant and Nick Saban are mythic figures linked by a school, a town, and a barroom debate centering on one question: Which is the greatest college coach of all time?
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94
Weird But True Sports: 300 Wacky Facts about Awesome Athletics
National Geographic Kids
4.0
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95
The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football
Jeff Benedict
4.0
AN EXPLOSIVE AND REVELATORY PORTRAIT REPORTED FROM DEEP BEHIND THE SCENES OF BIG-TIME NCAA COLLEGE FOOTBALL: THE PASSION, THE THRILLING ACTION—AND THE SHOCKING REALITIES THAT LIE BENEATH THIS COLOSSAL, MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL has never been more popular—or more chaotic. Millions fill 100,000-seat stadiums every Saturday; tens of millions more watch on television every weekend. The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship game between Notre Dame and Alabama had a viewership of 26.4 million people, second only to the Super Bowl. Billions of dollars from television deals now flow into the game; the average budget for a top-ten team is $80 million; top coaches make more than $3 million a year; the highest paid, more than $5 million. But behind this glittering success are darker truths: “athlete-students” working essentially full-time jobs with no share in the oceans of money; players who often don’t graduate and end their careers with broken bodies; “janitors” who clean up player misconduct; football “hostesses” willing to do whatever it takes to land a top recruit; seven-figure black box recruiting slush funds. And this: Despite the millions of dollars pouring into the game, 90 percent of major athletic departments still lose money. Yet schools remain caught up in an ever-escalating “arms race”—at the expense of academic scholarships, facilities and faculty. Celebrated investigative journalists Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian were granted unprecedented access during the 2012 season to programs at the highest levels across the country at a time of convulsive change in college football. Through dogged reporting, they explored every nook and cranny of this high-powered machine, and reveal how it operates from the inside out. The result: the system through the eyes of athletic directors and coaches, high-flying boosters and high-profile TV stars, five-star recruits and tireless NCAA investigators and the kids on whom the whole vast enterprise depends. Both a celebration of the power and pageantry of NCAA football and a groundbreaking, thought-provoking critique of its excesses, The System is the definitive book on the college game.
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96
QB: My Life Behind the Spiral
Steve Young
4.0
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97
Through My Eyes
Tim Tebow
4.0
Former University of Florida star quarterback, 2010 first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos, and devout Christian Tim Tebow tells the story of his faith, his life, and his career in football in Through My Eyes. Written with Nathan Whitaker, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Quiet Strength, with Tony Dungy, Through My Eyes gives fans a first look into the heart of an athlete whose talent and devotion have made him one of the most provocative figures in football.
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98
Where You Belong: An Enemies to Lovers Vibes Sports Romance (The Abandoned Brothers Book 2)
Stacy Williams
4.0
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99
Green Bay Packers Trivia Quiz Book: 500 Questions on the Legends of Lambeau
Chris Bradshaw
4.0
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100
The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business
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