A vital narrative history of 1970s pro basketball, and the Black players who shaped the NBA
Against a backdrop of ongoing resistance to racial desegregation and strident calls for Black Power, the NBA in the 1970s embodied the nation's imagined descent into disorder. A new generation of Black players entered the league, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Spencer Haywood, and the press and public were quick to blame this cohort for the supposed decline of pro-basketball, citing drugs, violence, and greed. Basketball became a symbol for post-civil rights America: the rules had changed, allowing more Black people onto the playing field, and now they were ruining everything. Enter Black Ball, a gripping corrective in which scholar Theresa Runstedtler expertly rewrites basketball's "Dark Ages." Weaving together a deep knowledge of the game with incisive social analysis, Runstedtler argues that this much-maligned period was pivotal to the rise of the modern-day NBA.
The captivating story of how The Sheik captured the imagination of a generation, conquered the wrestling business, and lost it all in a blaze of flame and glory He was the most vicious, bloodthirsty, reviled villain in the history of the ring. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, he drew record crowds everywhere he went and left a trail of burned and bloody opponents in his wake. He was The Sheik: the mysterious and terrifying madman from Syria whose wanton destruction and mayhem are the stuff of wrestling legend. But what those legions of fans screaming for his head never knew was that The Sheik was really Eddie Farhat. From Lansing, Michigan, and the son of Arab immigrants, Farhat served his country proudly in World War II and was fulfilling the American dream through hard work and tireless dedication to his craft. And when he wasn't screaming unintelligibly and attacking his enemies with sharp objects, he was busy being the owner and operator of World Wide Sports, one of the most successful wrestling companies in North America. This is Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik.
Increase strength, build mass, burn fat, and define your muscles. With full-color anatomical illustrations, step-by-step instructions, and training advice, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy is the authoritative resource for sculpting your physique without free weights, machines, or expensive equipment.
Targeting all muscle zones and primary muscle regions--arms, chest, shoulders, back, core, thighs, glutes, and calves--Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy presents 156 of the most effective bodyweight exercises that can be performed anytime, anywhere. With expert advice from renowned strength trainer Bret Contreras, you'll learn how to modify, combine, and sequence exercises to ramp up your routine and avoid plateaus.
In depth yet practical, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy takes you inside every exercise through stunning anatomical artwork that reveals primary muscles worked along with the relevant surrounding structures, including bones, ligaments, and tendons.
Whether you are just beginning your quest for a better body or simply seeking a proven approach for training at home, on the road, or on the go, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy is a one-of-a-kind resource that you'll refer to again and again.
"Alguna vez te has preguntado qué sucede en el vestuario de béisbol cuando los jugadores y entrenadores no están presentes? Únete a la aventura en el interior mientras un cubo de pelotas de béisbol tiene su reunión anual justo antes de que comience la pretemporada. Una historia divertida llena de giros y curvas, que seguramente hará que cualquier lector se sienta nostálgico por el juego al final de la historia."
In 1956, a casual bet between two millionaires eventually pitted two of the greatest golfers of the era -- Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan -- against top amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. The year: 1956. Decades have passed since Eddie Lowery came to fame as the ten-year-old caddie to U.S. Open Champion Francis Ouimet. Now a wealthy car dealer and avid supporter of amateur golf, Lowery has just made a bet with fellow millionaire George Coleman. Lowery claims that two of his employees, amateur golfers Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, cannot be beaten in a best-ball match, and challenges Coleman to bring any two golfers of his choice to the course at 10 a.m. the next day to settle the issue. Coleman accepts the challenge and shows up with his own power team: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, the game's greatest living professionals, with fourteen major championships between them. In Mark Frost's peerless hands, complete with the recollections of all the participants, the story of this immortal foursome and the game they played that day-legendarily known in golf circles as the greatest private match ever played-comes to life with powerful, emotional impact and edge-of-your-seat suspense.
The Story of the Masters is the first comprehensive year-by-year history of the world's most famous golf tournament. Veteran golf journalist David Barrett draws upon contemporaneous reporting and other source material to offer dramatic accounts of each year the tournament has been played, starting in 1934. The story of the tournament progresses from the early years when it was founded by golf great Bobby Jones and quickly established itself as an elite event, to the post-World War II era when Sam Snead and Ben Hogan dominated. The thrilling exploits of dashing hero Arnold Palmer brought the tournament into the television age and the sustained excellence of Jack Nicklaus helped to further the prestige of the tournament. Nearly two full decades of European dominance of the Masters heralded the international age of golf. Then Tiger Woods came along and used the Augusta stage for his coming-out party in 1997 and then for his epic comeback in 2019. In Barrett's telling, each year has its own story to tell as the Augusta National course provides the perfect setting for tournament excitement, noted for suspenseful back-and-forth action between multiple contenders --- the norm at the Masters. The nature of the course's layout creates opportunities for stirring charges and heroic shots to determine the champion, while filled with enough danger to provoke monumental collapses that also become part of Masters lore. Through the decades, the game's greatest players have shined their brightest at the Masters. Many golfing careers have been shaped and defined by this tournament, and Barrett shares unknown and forgotten stories of not only the sport's stars, but also the many others who challenged them over the years at Augusta.
One of the greatest and most beloved golf books ever written is triumphantly back in print--"a cause for celebration" (The Wall Street Journal)--with a new introduction by Golf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy, a new afterword, and never-before-seen photographs. Thirty years (and counting!) after publication, To the Linksland still enthralls readers who pick it up for the first time--or return to the book for the sheer pleasure of it. In 1991, Michael Bamberger, a newspaper sportswriter, gave up his apartment, took a leave of absence from his job and his life, and, joined by his newlywed wife, set off to explore the wide world of golf. Bamberger's first step in this madcap golfing adventure was to become a caddie on the European golf tour, where he encountered the game's most dynamic players up close and personal, including golf's greatest artist, Seve Ballesteros. Crisscrossing the Continent with his bride, Bamberger caddied for a true original, Peter Teravainen, a Yale-educated golfer with a workingman's spirit and a knack for making brilliant, on-the-spot observations about the game ("Good shots must come in groups of two"). Over the course of one unforgettable year, Bamberger caddied in the national championships of Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, and, finally, Scotland, golf's ancestral home. Once there, Bamberger fell under the spell of one of golf's great teachers and thinkers, John Stark. To the Linksland is the captivating memoir of Bamberger's golfing pilgrimage/extended honeymoon. From an all-night caddie bus on the back roads of southern Europe to Stark's secret six-hole course in the Scottish Highlands, Bamberger takes you on a journey into the heart of golf. This thirtieth-anniversary edition of Bamberger's classic, lyrical tale of discovery is bookended with a new introduction by Michael Murphy and a new afterword by Bamberger, with a trove of new photographs in between. Gloriously back in print, To the Linksland is a "great book for your golfing soul" (Golf Monthly).