Author: Tim Donaghy
Publisher: Clerisy Press
ISBN: 0615379095
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
Uncover the true story behind the Netflix documentary Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul. “The book the NBA doesn’t want you to read.” —Deadspin.com Tim Donaghy loved basketball. In many ways, his zest for the game came from his father, who officiated high school and college games for over 30 years. After graduating from Villanova, Donaghy was unsatisfied with his career until he followed his heart and became a basketball referee, first in the CBA and then the NBA, where he officiated for 13 seasons: 772 regular-season games and 20 playoff games. He loved his job, his family, his life. He felt like he had everything. And then, suddenly, he had nothing. He succumbed to a gambling addiction and to intimidation from well-connected criminals—and began using inside information to win bets for them. Following an FBI investigation, Donaghy pled guilty to two federal charges, and on August 15, 2007, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was released on November 4, 2009, after serving his sentence. This is his story, which provides a stunningly candid admission of his mistakes, as well as his insider’s account of the world of professional basketball. With a foreword by Phil Scala, the FBI special agent who worked the Gambino case, Personal Foul reveals how the fast life of professional sports can tempt and trap the unwary and unwise. Donaghy has written an unforgettable page-turner, one of the most controversial sports books ever published. It will confirm your suspicions about the influence of the front offices of major league sports, while examining the corrosive power of money and fame. From the Introduction: I’m guilty. For 13 years I was a referee in the National Basketball Association, living a glamorous life on and off the court, rubbing elbows with superstar players and celebrity A-listers. I suppose many would say that I had it all—a great job, money, a wonderful family—but it was all an illusion. You see, during my last four years in the NBA, I led a secret life that would ultimately cost me everything: my integrity, my reputation, my career, my livelihood, my marriage, my family, and my freedom.
Author: Dirk Hayhurst
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 0806534877
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
"The best writer in a baseball uniform." --Tyler Kepner, The New York Times After nearly a decade in the minors, Dirk Hayhurst defied the odds to climb onto the pitcher's mound for the Toronto Blue Jays. Newly married, with a big league paycheck and a brand new house, Hayhurst was ready for a great season in the Bigs. Then fate delivered a crushing hit. Hayhurst blew out his pitching shoulder in an insane off-season workout program. After surgery, rehab, and more rehab, his major-league dreams seemed more distant than ever. From there things got worse, weirder, and funnier. In a crazy world of injured athletes, autograph-seeking nuns, angry wrestlers, and trainers with a taste for torture, Hayhurst learned lessons about the game--and himself--that were not in any rulebook. Honest, soul'searching, insightful, hilarious, and moving, Dirk Hayhurst's latest memoir is an indisputable baseball classic. Praise for The Bullpen Gospels and Out of My League "Dirk Hayhurst writes about baseball in a unique way. Observant, insightful, human, and hilarious." --Bob Costas "A fun read. . .This book shows why baseball is so often used as a metaphor for life." --Keith Olbermann "Entertaining and engaging. . .reminiscent of Jim Bouton's Ball Four." --Booklist "A rare gem of a baseball book." --Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated "A humorous, candid, and insightful memoir of Hayhurst's rookie season in the majors. . .Grade: Home Run." --Cleveland Plain Dealer
Author: Ryan Hunter
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0452298253
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 65
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Book Description
The one that started it all, Coloring for Grown-Ups is the first in this famed internet duos hilarious series of coloring books that combines the mindless fun of coloring with the mind-numbing realities of modern adulting. The perfect gift for anyone looking to escape the stress of adulthood. With over 150 videos and 65 million Youtube views to their credit, Ryan Hunter and Taige Jensen know how to make people laugh. Their YouTube video, “Hipster Olympics” racked up nearly four million views, and their hit “The Walken Dead” has been viewed over 1.3 million times. In the first in a series of hilarious coloring books for adults, the duo put their prolific creative talents to work in Coloring for Grown-Ups. The artwork may resemble that of a children’s activity book, but look closer. Offering an ironic look at the stereotypes, habits, and challenges of modern adulthood, Coloring for Grown-Ups is darkly humorous and fun for any occasion—the perfect stocking stuffer for reluctant adults of any age. Perfect for: • White elephant gifts • Funny gifts • Coloring gifts • Gag gifts • Christmas gifts
Author: Mike Katz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493035622
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
When the singing is over and the talking starts, that’s when the true, unvarnished wisdom of rock ‘n’ roll comes out. Built on first-hand experience, the gorgeous, illustrated Little Book of Rock ‘n’ Roll Wisdom offers the wise words of stars past and present on a variety of topics like love, breakups, rebellion, success, feeling good, being down-and-out, and even death to offer the big-picture view of rock ‘n’ roll. Rock stars can be outrageous, funny, in your face, and sometimes even oddly humanitarian. This collection includes wisdom from such icons as Elvis, Bowie, Jimi, Dylan, Bruce, Mick, Keith, Prince, Lennon, Ozzy, Clapton, Bono, Janis, and more.
Author: George Karl
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062367811
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 201
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Book Description
The most outspoken and combative coach in NBA history—and one of the most successful, amassing more than 1,175 victories, the sixth best winning record ever—reflects on his life, his career, and his battles on and off the basketball court in this no-holds-barred memoir A man of deep passion and intensity, George Karl earned his bad boy reputation while playing at the University of North Carolina, a rap that continued through the five years he spent with the San Antonio Spurs—and long after he stopped playing. Karl’s beery nights, fistfights, and barking followed him into a thirty-five-year coaching career. In a game defined by big stakes and bigger egos, rabid fans and an unforgiving media, Karl was hired and fired a dozen times. After leading a team beset by injuries and with no superstar to its best season of all time—an achievement that earned Karl the title NBA Coach of the Year—he was dumped by the Denver Nuggets in 2013. Less than a year and a half later, Karl was at the helm of the Sacramento Kings, snarling and bellowing on the sidelines before being cut loose in May 2016. Intense, obstinate, and loud, Karl has never backed down from a confrontation, whether with management, officials, or star players, as NBA legends from Allan Iverson to Gary Payton to Carmelo Anthony to Demarcus Cousins can attest. Telling his story, Karl holds nothing back as he speaks out about the game that has defined his life, including the greed, selfishness, and ass-covering he believes are characteristic of the modern NBA player, and the rampant corruption that leads all the way to the office of the NBA commissioner, David Stern. Karl also reveals how he’s learned to deal with the personalities, the pressure, and the setbacks with a resilience he acquired from his three bouts with cancer. Raw, hard-hitting, and brutally honest, Furious George is as thrilling, unpredictable, and entertaining as the game that has defined Karl’s life.
Author: Jake Fischer
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1641256079
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 295
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Book Description
"From front offices to college campuses, Jake Fischer takes you on an engrossing tour of the NBA in its latest golden age, when some of the most captivating teams won by losing." —Lee Jenkins, former Sports Illustrated NBA writer An insider account of modern NBA team-building, based on hundreds of exclusive interviews A single transcendent talent?can change the fortunes of an NBA franchise. One only has to recall the frenzy surrounding recent top pick Zion Williamson to recognize teams' willingness to lose games now for the sake of winning championships later. It's a story that weaves its way behind closed doors to reveal intricate machinations normally hidden from public view. Backed by extensive reporting and hundreds of interviews with top players, coaches, and executives, Jake Fischer chronicles secret pre-draft workouts, feuding between player agents and executives, surprising trade negotiations, interpersonal conflicts, organizational power struggles, and infamous public relations fiascos, making for a fascinating look at the NBA. The definitive account of the NBA's tanking era, when teams raced to the bottom in the hope of eventually winning a championship.
Author: Rax King
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0593312724
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
An irreverent and charming collection of deeply personal essays about the joys of low pop culture and bad taste, exploring coming of age in the 2000s in the age of Hot Topic, Creed, and frosted lip gloss—from the James Beard Award-nominated writer of the Catapult column "Store-Bought Is Fine” Tacky is about the power of pop culture—like any art—to imprint itself on our lives and shape our experiences, no matter one's commitment to "good" taste. These fourteen essays are a nostalgia-soaked antidote to the millennial generation's obsession with irony, putting the aesthetics we hate to love—snakeskin pants, Sex and the City, Cheesecake Factory's gargantuan menu—into kinder and sharper perspective. Each essay revolves around a different maligned (and yet, Rax would argue, vital) cultural artifact, providing thoughtful, even romantic meditations on desire, love, and the power of nostalgia. An essay about the gym-tan-laundry exuberance of Jersey Shore morphs into an excavation of grief over the death of her father; in "You Wanna Be On Top," Rax writes about friendship and early aughts girlhood; in another, Guy Fieri helps her heal from an abusive relationship. The result is a collection that captures the personal and generational experience of finding joy in caring just a little too much with clarity, heartfelt honesty, and Rax King's trademark humor. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
Author: John Feinstein
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780316540933
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
Based on dozens of shocking interviews with some of the most influential names in sports, this is the urgent and revelatory examination of racial inequality in professional athletics America has been waiting for Commentators, coaches, and fans alike have long touted the diverse rosters of leagues like the NFL and MLB as sterling examples of a post-racial America. Yet decades after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in a display of Black power and pride, and years after Colin Kaepernick shocked the world by kneeling for the national anthem, the role black athletes and coaches are asked to perform--both on and off the field--still can be determined as much by stereotype and old-fashion ideology as ability and performance. Whether it's the pre-game moments of resistance, the lack of diversity among coaching and managerial staff, or the consistent undervaluation of black quarterbacks, racial politics impact every aspect of every sport being played. Yet, the gigantic salaries and glitzy lifestyles of pro athletes tend to disguise the ugly truths of how minorities are treated and discarded by their white bosses. Promising to finally expose the structural prejudices underpinning this pilar of modern society, John Feinstein has crisscrossed the country to not only get the stories none of us have heard but all of us should know but also constructed those harrowing tales into a larger narrative that will be the definitive book on race and sports for a generation to come. Seventy-five years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line, race is still a central and defining factor of America's professional sports leagues. With an encyclopedic knowledge of professional sports, and shrew cultural criticism, John Feinstein uncovers not just why, but how, pro sports continue to perpetuate racial inequality.
Author: Metta World Peace
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1633198456
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 213
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Book Description
Metta World Peace knows what it means to be both the hero and the villain. In his 17-season professional basketball career, he's darted back and forth between extremes, taking on the roles of youthful phenom, league-wide disgrace, All-Star, unlikely international ambassador, and fan favorite. Along the way, there have been awards, teammate rifts, an NBA championship trophy, plus a name change or two. It's more than the guy born Ronald William Artest, Jr. might have imagined for himself as a kid growing up in Queens. In No Malice, World Peace speaks candidly about his life on and off the court, from his difficult upbringing, to his time as a star athlete and budding math major at St. Johns; from the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl in Detroit, where he earned one of the lengthiest suspensions the NBA has ever handed down, to his sunnier days as a Los Angeles Laker. World Peace also opens up on such diverse subjects as his forays into business and entertainment, the truth behind his volatile, unbelievable antics which have puzzled fans and team management alike, as well as his outspoken advocacy for mental health awareness. No topic is off the table, making this a must-read for hoops fans in Indianapolis, LA, Chicago, China, and any place in between.
Author: Hunter S. Thompson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780684873190
Category : Newspapers
Languages : en
Pages : 278
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Book Description
Sports, politics, and sex collide in Hunter S. Thompson s wildly popular ESPN.com columns. From the author of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and father of Gonzo journalism comes "Hey Rube." Insightful, incendiary, outrageously brilliant, such was the man who galvanized American journalism with his radical ideas and gonzo tactics. For over half a century, Hunter S. Thompson devastated his readers with his acerbic wit and uncanny grasp of politics and history. His reign as "The Unabomber of contemporary letters" ("Time") is more legendary than ever with "Hey Rube." Fear, greed, and action abound in this hilarious, thought-provoking compilation as Thompson doles out searing indictments and uproarious rants while providing commentary on politics, sex, and sports at times all in the same column. With an enlightening foreword by ESPN executive editor John Walsh, critics' favorites, and never-before-published columns, "Hey Rube" follows Thompson through the beginning of the new century, revealing his queasiness over the 2000 election ("rigged and fixed from the start"); his take on professional sports (to improve Major League Baseball "eliminate the pitcher"); and his myriad controversial opinions and brutally honest observations on issues plaguing America including the Bush administration and the inequities within the American judicial system. "Hey Rube" gives us a lasting look at the gonzo journalist in his most organic form unbridled, astute, and irreverent."
