Author: Tim Harwood
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1609385896
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
Believe it or not, Waterloo, Iowa, had an NBA team during the league’s first season, 1949 to 1950. Broadcaster and independent sports historian Tim Harwood uncovers the fascinating story of the Waterloo Hawks and the Midwest’s influence on professional basketball. Beginning with the professional leagues that led up to the creation of the National Basketball Association, Harwood recounts big games and dramatic buzzer-beaters, and the players who made them. The first season of the NBA was far from a success. Teams had a hard time attracting fans, with games often played in half-empty arenas. When Waterloo residents learned that the team was struggling financially, they rallied behind the Hawks and purchased shares of the team in a bid to keep it afloat. Unfortunately, that community-based effort was not enough; owners of teams in larger markets pressured the league to push Waterloo—and other smaller towns like Anderson, Indiana, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin—out of the league. Though the Hawks disappeared after their lone NBA campaign, Waterloo and other midwestern teams were nonetheless integral to getting the NBA off the ground, and their legacy continues today through some of the current franchises that relocated to larger markets. Combining newspaper accounts and personal interviews with surviving players, Harwood weaves a fascinating story of the underdog team, in the unlikeliest of places, that helped make professional basketball the worldwide success it is today.
Author: Donald E. Auten
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595600123
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 486
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Book Description
"Roger Ball! is a magnificent read about a great and distinguished life well lived. John Monroe Smith is a living legend in Naval aviation: an all-American boy living his dream, a dream of becoming the best fighter pilot and carrier aviator in the Navy. He succeeded in being the best in a way that only one with unbridled passion, fierce commitment, boundless energy, unconditional dedication and relentless resolve can experience." -Ed Allen, Rear Admiral, USN (Retired) In the wake of the hard lessons of the Vietnam War, a pantheon of committed naval aviators struggled valiantly to modernize fighter aircraft and overhaul tactics. It was a seemingly titanic task marked by political intrigue, doctrinal apoplexy, and sadly, petty politics. This is the personal story of one of those naval aviators, Captain John Monroe "Hawk" Smith. It chronicles his growth as a naval officer, his seasoning as a fighter pilot, and his hardening as a commanding officer. It tells of the raw courage of naval aviators and captures the visceral loyalty, unswerving commitment, and the unsinkable camaraderie that is the brotherhood of naval aviation. Roger Ball! is a seven-g, heart-in-the-throat story of the very unforgiving profession of naval aviation.
Author: Laura Enright
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1612340342
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 445
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Book Description
Established less than 200 years ago, Chicago has seen a lot of living in that short span of time. Burned to the ground early on, it’s been frozen and just recently flooded. Tucked away in the Midwest, it still rivals both coasts with its food, entertainment, and cultural venues. Chicago’s Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of Murderous Mobsters, Midway Monsters, and Windy City Oddities takes you on a tour of that toddlin’ town with dozens of top-ten lists containing memorable minutiae and delightful details. Laura L. Enright will blow you away with this collection of amusing and amazing facts about the Windy City. One would be hard-pressed to decide what Chicago is most famous for. Is it disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire? Or perhaps gangsters are its calling card, with Al Capone at the head? Maybe it’s the politics, with “Hizzoner, da Mayor” and stories of votes coming from the dead. Or do sports come to mind first, like the Cubs’ dismal failures—some say due to a decades-old curse—and the glory days of da Bulls and da Bears? Whatever it is that makes Chicago, it’s in Chicago’s Most Wanted™. The famous and the infamous, festivals and food, blues and jazz, and so much more are all included in this collection of fascinating and often humorous trivia tidbits. Frank Sinatra rhapsodized that Chicago “won’t let you down,” and neither will Laura L. Enright’s Chicago’s Most Wanted™!
Author: JACK THOMSEN; KATHRYN THOMSEN
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 146698032X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 399
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Book Description
When learning Thomsen was writing Golf: Find Center, Enter the Circle, many had emphasized the diversity of golf due to its natural setting, and golf’s natural setting was open to amateurs, professionals, and all ages also. Thomsen was quick to agree. “Golf can serve the needs of many. It’s my job to open up to more and increase the standards within the art form—golf.” Thomsen said. Some have asked, “Who do you think will read it, Jack?” “Few,” came the reply. “Golfers mainly, and only the most obsessive of those. There’s no popular market for this book. Materialism is too much in demand, and serving the spirit has become lost in the equation.” That brief exchange reveals an unvarnished truth: golf is essentially caught in a materialistic grasp as an overview of the game, and yet as an art form, independent players function in it. The artist Vincent van Gogh had sold few of his paintings. Someone else had done that. Is the treasure the money or the art? Golf: Find Center, Enter the Circle’s genesis from a personal journal’s beginning had been imbued with a Joycean stream of consciousness that, in its intuitiveness, is likely to engage none but the determined reader. By way of contrast, however, the book’s title forthrightly distills Thomsen’s thesis. Golf, he asserts, can be a spiritual practice when done as an expression of the golfer’s essential self and if engaged in it for the sheer love of golf’s diversity, its wholeness, bringing on its transcendental nature. Accept Thomsen’s invitation. Turn your attention inward, tap into the answers that are there, feel the resultant centering, the balance, and project that centering—enter the circle. “A liberated person possesses perfect senses and with perfect senses only can serve the sense proprietor,” says the Bhagavad Gita.
Author: Gary J. Kirchner
Publisher: FriesenPress
ISBN: 1039163696
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 422
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Book Description
An offence with attitude and a mean streak. A defence so radical it’s dubbed “the Weird.” A fractured coaching staff ready to come to blows. It is Head Coach Arne Viimets’ third year at McGill, and he’s been told his contract will not be renewed. The university is moving in a different direction, and he is not the man wanted at the helm of the football program. But what if he achieves the ultimate success? What if he brings his team to the Vanier Cup? It’s a long shot – McGill hasn’t even made the playoffs since Arne took over. To do so will require every element of his peculiar football genius. It will require his controversial best player to buy in. It will require his team to punch above its weight game after game. Ultimately, it will require Arne to hold his own life together as forces from all directions threaten to tear it apart.
Author: Thom Storden
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1496695445
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 65
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Book Description
TOUCHDOWN! Few things are as exciting as a football player making a one-handed grab to get a game-winning score--except when that big catch sets a new record! Behind every big-time football record is a dramatic story of how a player or team achieved greatness on the field. From the greatest scoring plays to the hardest-hitting tackles, here are the record-setting moments that will keep football fans turning the page for more.
Author: Robert Tuchman
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1935251147
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
For the casual armchair fan to the fan who dreams of a front row seat at the games, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live provides invaluable information about tickets and travel as well as the parties and the pageantry for the top games across the sporting landscape. A detailed travel guide from Robert Tuchman, founder and president of the global leader in sports and entertainment promotion, TSE Sports & Entertainment, the book is replete with insider knowledge and expert advice. We are a list-obsessed people and sports-obsessed to boot, so this is a book that quenches our insatiable appetites for both. From the obvious to the obscure, Tuchman's list of must-see events is as thorough as it is controversial. What events made the top 100 and where did they rank? The book is sure to fire up sports fans everywhere. But more than a mere list, for each event the reader learns a detailed history of their favorite contests and all the background information to make a successful pilgrimage. Featuring also a list of honorable mentions that just missed the cut and a list of the top sports cities with arguments for what makes each city the perfect sports mecca, The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live is a must for every sports fan's library.
Author: Steven Travers
Publisher: Taylor Trade Publications
ISBN: 158979544X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 418
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Book Description
In the sweltering heat of September of 1970 on Legion Field, the USC Trojans and the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide played a game that defined the emancipation of the South from its sordid history of racial segregation. When USC's black running backSam "The Bam" Cunningham ran roughshod all over the all-white Crimson Tide, more than a football game was won. Based on interviews with many of the game's participants and thoroughly researched this book presents sports as a metaphor for one of the mostprofound social changes in history.
Author: Gay Talese
Publisher:
ISBN: 034546723X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353
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Book Description
"Fascinating . . . Poignant." The Wall Street Journal In this extraordinary work of insight and interviews, bestselling author Gay Talese shares with us the lives of those we don't know and those we might wish we did: Frank Sinatra, Joe DiMaggio, Manhattan mobsters, Bowery bums, and many others -- fascinating men and women who define our country's spirit and lead us to an understanding of ourselves as a nation.
Author: Melissa M. Proctor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781948145831
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Whenever a young child is asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" the answer will undoubtedly include childlike wonder, optimism, and unbridled imagination. A future-traveling astronaut, a fashion designing veterinarian, a doctor for stuffed animals, and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, as we age and settle firmly into adulthood, that wonder dissipates and we swap our childhood dreams for life's demands. Our days feel prescribed and responsibilities rule our minutes and how we prioritize what matters. As adults, we are taught to believe the question is somehow invalid because we are functioning as a "grown-up." Even though Melissa M. Proctor did not play basketball or have extensive knowledge of the game, her dream as a child was to be the first female coach in the NBA. Instead, her unconventional path has taken a number of twists and turns, starting with being the first ball girl for the Miami Heat and ultimately, earning the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. However, some would be surprised to learn that even at this stage of her career, Melissa still doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up?and she's okay with it. From Ball Girl to CMO includes relevant themes of hope, persistence, empowerment, and courage to help readers navigate everything from the personal to the professional. Throughout the pages, Melissa shares lessons learned, guiding principles, and a means of comfort for those not quite sure what to do next. With her laid-back style and down to earth attitude, she offers acceptance at a time when many are confused and hope when uncertainty distorts the light at the end of the tunnel. From Ball Girl to CMO urges us to consider if we have in fact been asking ourselves the right question, or if perhaps, we've been expecting an answer from the wrong version of ourselves.
