03-10-2010, 09:53 AM | #1 | ||
Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
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Sports books recommendations
I'm going to order the band of brothers Blu-ray from amazon.co.uk, that found really cheap, but as i'm going to expend some $ on shipping to Spain, i thought it would be a good chance to add some more items, specially books.
I love sports books and movies, fictional or real that talk about the lives of players, managers, coaches, teams, etc. Not just a biography of a famous guy, but a nice story written like a novel. For example like Friday night lights, Any Given Sunday, the Natural, Bull Durham, Rudy, Remember the titans, etc. Also historical books about any sport, but not just a collection of stats, also anecdotes, etc. The sports i'm mainly interested are football, soccer, basketball, baseball and hockey, both at college and pro levels. Can you guys recommend some? One i'm thinking on buying could be "Moneyball" as i have read good things about it, both about being fun and also teaching some baseball, is it a good choice?
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03-10-2010, 09:58 AM | #2 |
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Civil War by John Feinstein (College Football). It is about the Army/Navy rivalry.
Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger is a good book if you haven't read that one. The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team by Wayne Coffey Something For Joey by Richard E. Peck. This one is about John Cappelletti's Heisman Run all the while his brother Joey is struggling with Leukemia. True story. Meat Market by Bruce Feldman: If you are into college football recruiting, this is the book to get. Last edited by Dr. Sak : 03-10-2010 at 09:59 AM. |
03-10-2010, 10:03 AM | #3 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: North Carolina
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If you like Bill Simmons' style and sense of humor, then you will like The Book of Basketball. And you will learn a lot about pro basketball.
Not everyone likes his style, so be sure you know that you like him before you buy it. |
03-10-2010, 10:16 AM | #4 |
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Am I the only one who thought this was about gambling?
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03-10-2010, 10:16 AM | #5 |
Favored Bitch #1
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The curious Case of Sid Finch
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03-10-2010, 10:19 AM | #6 | |
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Seconded
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03-10-2010, 10:19 AM | #7 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Speaking of Simmons, I'm looking forward to hearing from him on the Dunleavy dismissal. Should be fun. I'll add a couple more that I have enjoyed: The Draft by Pete Williams -- kind of an ins and outs of the draft from different perspectives (players, college coaches, agents, front office, etc.). It is from the 2003 or 2004 season (whichever year the Steelers got Heath Miller). License to Deal by Jerry Crasnick -- a fun book about an entrepreuner (sp?) who becomes a baseball agent. He gets his first big break when Dontrelle Willis blows up. Ball Four by Jim Bouton -- if you haven't already read it, a sports classic and one of my favorite books of all time. Bouton, who had been successful with the Yankees early in his career, is a washed up pitcher who essentially kept a diary while trying to hang on in 1969. |
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03-10-2010, 10:33 AM | #8 |
High School JV
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Virginia Beach
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Rope Burns - Book of short stories that Million Dollar Baby comes from
If you like MMA: Total MMA Blood in the Cage A Good Walk Spoiled |
03-10-2010, 10:34 AM | #9 |
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Just say no to bodog.
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03-10-2010, 10:39 AM | #10 |
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Moneyball is indeed a good one, so is the Blind Side by the same author (Michael Lewis).
Simmons' Book of Basketball is great. Another good one already brought up is A Good Walk Spoiled. Inverting the Pyramid is a good one on the history and evolution of soccer formations/tactics from the earliest matches to the present. Screwball by David Ferrell is a funny novel. The Red Sox have a brilliant rookie (think Roy Hobbs, blazing fastball and can hit a ton) who has turned the team around but all of a sudden murders are taking place wherever the Red Sox travel. Playing the Moldovans in Tennis by Tony Hawks. Not completely sports related, perhaps more of a travel book but still quite good. Basically, two guys are watching England v. Moldova in World Cup/Euro Championships qualifier (forget which) and one bets the other that he could beat every member of the Moldovan national team in tennis. The rest of the book is about getting into Moldova, his experiences there, and trying to track down all the players. Not much space is given to the tennis action but it's a good read. I didn't see tennis listed among your favorite sports (it's not one of mine either, I'm a more casual fan) but I just finished A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played and really enjoyed it. The subject is the 1937 Davis Cup semifinal between USA and Germany and three of the biggest names in tennis at that time, Don Budge, Gottfried von Cramm, and Bill Tilden. The Davis Cup was a bigger deal back then than it is nowadays and von Cramm in particular was under a lot of pressure to win it because the Nazis were keeping a close eye on him (he refused to join the party despite higher ups like Hermann Goring pressuring him to do so, he was a homosexual which the Nazis weren't the biggest fans of, etc.). The match itself is maybe 10% of the text, most of it is background information on the main characters, side characters, and various places during the interwar period. It's one of the best sports books I've ever read, a true story but it does read more like a novel which you said would appeal to you. |
03-10-2010, 10:42 AM | #11 |
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Next Man Up by Feinstein - a walk through a season with the Ravens under Billick. Interesting stuff.
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03-10-2010, 10:42 AM | #12 |
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Unsurprisingly all soccer related ...
Left Foot Forward: A Year in the Life of a Journeyman Footballer - Garry Nelson played at every English soccer level but the Premiership and in the latter days of his career wrote a couple of books detailing 'real life' as a professional soccer player. Fantastic reading all of them. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: Robin Friday Story - Auto-biography on Robin Friday, an amazingly talented soccer player who's wild side meant he never achieved the success he should have. An interesting read written partially through interviews with people who knew him. Inverting the pyramid - history of soccer tactics through the ages; its a great book imho - especially if you're a soccer geek. Finally not a book - but a DVD if you can find it Warnock its a BBC documentation done on Neil Warnock who is still a manager today, he allowed them behind the scenes a few years ago and you get to watch him as he really is. Last edited by Marc Vaughan : 03-10-2010 at 10:43 AM. |
03-10-2010, 10:42 AM | #13 | |
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I definitely recommend this one. |
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03-10-2010, 10:42 AM | #14 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Should definitely read Ball Four.
Mickey Mantle has an autobiography-like book called "My Favorite Summer: 1956" where he chronicled his Triple Crown year. My dad is a big Mantle fan and got it for me when I was younger, I remember reading it cover to cover frequently. There's a lot in there about his wild times with Billy and Whitey. |
03-10-2010, 10:43 AM | #15 | |
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Will have to look into those, thanks. |
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03-10-2010, 10:44 AM | #16 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
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I liked this a lot too. I'm pretty sure I mentioned this book on here before and a couple people knocked it good. But like you said, it's interesting...you get to read some of the behind the scenes stuff about the Terrell Owens trade to Baltimore that got canceled, Jamal Lewis' drug charge, etc. |
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03-10-2010, 10:45 AM | #17 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Fantasyland is a book I have read at least 4 times. It is kinda sports in that it deals with fantasy baseball. This book follows a sportswriter in his quest to win one of the toughest fantasy baseball leagues.
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03-10-2010, 10:46 AM | #18 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Blind Side
Anything by John Feinstein and I mean anything. Great writer. Here is his amazon page: hxxp://www.amazon.com/John-Feinstein/e/B000AQ72DC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Seabiscuit - an amazing book about a horse |
03-10-2010, 10:47 AM | #19 |
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Join Date: Jan 2001
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Speaking of Michael Lewis (who wrote "Moneyball"), "The Blind Side" is a good read. It's got the story of Michael Oher, but also the evolution of the Left Tackle position.
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03-10-2010, 10:50 AM | #20 |
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Some I've not seen mentionned yet and that were available on amazon.co.uk. All Football books...
Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback: Amazon.co.uk: George Plimpton: Books a writer becomes fourth string QB for the Detroit Lions for one training camp in the 60s and lives to tell about it. A Civil War: Year Inside College Football's Purest Rivalry: Amazon.co.uk: John Feinstein: Books very good book about the rivalry between Army and Navy in College Football "You'RE Okay, it's Just a Bruise": A Doctor's Sideline Secrets: Amazon.co.uk: Rob Huizenga: Books former doctor of the Oakland raiders tells of his time on the sidelines and the outrageous stuff that happened there Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL: Amazon.co.uk: Jeff Benedict, Don Yeager, Don Yaeger: Books a bit date as it came out in 1998, but I remember finding it intersting when I read it back then FM
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03-10-2010, 10:51 AM | #21 |
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As for soccer, I'd recommend:
Soccer Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer Both are books about the impact of soccer on the society and culture they are in. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby is also an amazing read about an Arsenal fan's obsession with his team done in a series of diary-like entries.
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"A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages" -Tennessee Williams Last edited by ISiddiqui : 03-10-2010 at 10:52 AM. |
03-10-2010, 10:57 AM | #22 |
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here's another I read about half of, don't remember why I got sidetracked, but the part I read was pretty interesting:
Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football: Amazon.co.uk: Robert W. Peterson: Books FM
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03-10-2010, 10:58 AM | #23 | |
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agreed, really like a few of his books, my favourite one : Let me tell you a story is basically a biography of Red Auerbach as told by himself. Feinstein gets to sit in with a lunch group of people headed and invited by Auerbach and writes down the stories Red has to tell. Great stories, well written = awesome book. |
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03-10-2010, 11:39 AM | #24 |
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A Few Seconds Of Panic by Stefan Fatsis - An NFL writer learns kicking and goes to a Denver Broncos training camp. Sort of a newer Paper Lion and a great book, especially for it's insights into the psyche of modern NFL players.
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03-10-2010, 11:48 AM | #25 | |
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I might check this out, I really liked his book Word Freak that was about the world of competitive Scrabble. |
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03-10-2010, 12:13 PM | #26 |
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Join Date: Jul 2001
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The Undefeated by Jim Dent (IIRC) is a good read on OU's undefeated streak in the 50's.
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03-10-2010, 12:17 PM | #27 |
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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I've often seen this book on shelves around here but never bought it. It's on my "to read" list for someday in the future, if only because I was a big Ken Dryden fan when growing up.
The Game, 20th Anniversary Edition: Amazon.co.uk: Ken Dryden: Books FM
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03-10-2010, 12:55 PM | #28 |
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End Zone by Don DeLillo is one of my favourite novels.
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03-10-2010, 01:00 PM | #29 |
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The Perfect Mile, by Neil Bascomb, about the battle to be the first to break the four minute mile.
The Real All Americans, by Sally Jenkins, about the Carlisle Indian School's college football performance in the early part of the century. I second some of the Feinstein selections, particularly a Civil War. Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, by Warren St. John, about an Alabama football season when he bought a used RV and followed the team. Missing Links, by Rick Reilly, fiction before Reilly went all soft and shit. |
03-10-2010, 01:00 PM | #30 |
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The first 50 or so pages of Underworld are fantastic and also fit in the sports motif.
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03-10-2010, 01:12 PM | #31 |
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Most of the books I'd recommend have already been mentioned here. I do think Friday Night Lights is a must-read and one of the classics of the last 30 years.
If you're a baseball guy, Crazy '08 is a fun book about the 1908 season. It covers a lot of the early figures in baseball and has some interesting history behind it. |
03-10-2010, 01:23 PM | #32 |
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+1 for "Crazy '08". Brilliant book and I can't believe I forgot about it!
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03-10-2010, 01:28 PM | #33 |
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One of my favorites, Miracle of Castel Di Sangro
Amazon.com: The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy (9780767905992): Joe McGinniss: Books Joe McGinnis went to a small town in Italy for a year and followed their team. The book is remarkable. |
03-10-2010, 01:40 PM | #34 |
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03-11-2010, 03:33 AM | #35 |
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Awesome list thanks, will pick some of those for sure.
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03-11-2010, 03:38 AM | #36 |
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03-11-2010, 07:17 AM | #37 | |
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Foer and Hornby are tremendous books. I'll look for Kuper myself. OTOH, I hated the Miracle of Castel Di Sangro because the author is an egotistical turd who injects himself into the action with his know-it-all attitude. He's a prime example of the Ugly American at work. I think a European such as you, Icy, would find Maginnis contemptible. I would like to recommend the greatest baseball book of all time, The Glory of Their Times: Amazon.com: The Glory of Their Times : The Story of Baseball Told By the Men Who Played It (9780688112738): Lawrence S. Ritter: Books Interviews with early major leaguers and fascinating. I'll never forget the cannon ball story of Dummy Hoy, the deaf center fielder, among so many others.
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"The case of Great Britain is the most astonishing in this matter of inequality of rights in world soccer championships. The way they explained it to me as a child, God is one but He's three: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I could never understand it. And I still don't understand why Great Britain is one but she's four....while [others] continue to be no more than one despite the diverse nationalities that make them up." Eduardo Galeano, SOCCER IN SUN AND SHADOW |
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03-11-2010, 08:26 AM | #38 |
SI Games
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Oh can't believe I forgot to recommend Trautmann ...
There are several books on him - he was an amazing person as well as being a great footballer. He came across to England as a German prisoner of war and ended up playing for Manchester City and being much loved despite originally being seen as one of the enemy in post war Britain. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trautmann-Al.../dp/185983762X (interesting fact - Trautmann broke his neck during one match playing for City and instead of being substituted decided to play on, completing the match ... and this was in the days before keepers had the protection they're afforded by referee's today) Last edited by Marc Vaughan : 03-11-2010 at 08:26 AM. |
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