In New York Times bestselling author Tim Green's baseball novel, when two friends compete, one of them will be forced out. In this tense, action-packed story that takes an increasingly common dilemma in competitive sports to new heights, former NFL defensive end Tim Green perfectly captures the kids who will push themselves to the limit to compete--even if it means putting everything on the line.Joey and Zach have always been best friends. They're also two of the best baseball players in their league, and shoo-ins for the all-star team at the end of the season. Their dream is to play together on the Center State select team, and they will do anything to help each other get there.So when Zach is forced to go on an extra-credit field trip that would make him miss the championship game and his chances to move on, Joey comes up with a risky plan to bail him out. Everything should be fine--as long as no one finds out what they did. Then the unthinkable...

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From one of India's best-known sports journalists, a fascinating exploration of cricket—India's most popular sport—packed with lively anecdotes and never-before-seen photographs. Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians takes you behind the scenes of India's most popular sport—going from early tours in 1886 to the more contemporary IPL, offering a complete understanding of the evolution of the game both on and off the field. Featuring material that has never-been-released, this book sheds new light on cases like Monkeygate, the suspension of Lalit Modi, match-fixing scandals, and more. Weaving together personal interviews, photographs, and letters, Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians unflinchingly asks the questions that need answering, among them: Has internal conflict impacted the on- field performance of the Indian cricket team? Did some icons fail the country and the sport by trying to conceal important facts during the...

From beginnings on a gravel court on a farm in rural South Africa, Gordon Forbes went on to travel the world with his long-time tennis partner Abe Segal during the late 1950s and early 60s: the glory days of Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Virginia Wade. In this delightful insider's account of tennis on the international circuit, Forbes looks back with laughter at his tennis playing years through a varied, successful and often outrageous career on the world's courts.This newly published edition of A Handful of Summers brings back a cult classic, revealing an era populated by the most colourful tennis players of all time. More about the hilarious escapades of players than the game itself, the book begins with a short series of vignettes from Forbes's childhood on an Eastern Cape farm in South Africa, then takes the reader on a tennis tour – into locker rooms and restaurants, narrow streets and small hotels, and onwards to the lawns of Wimbledon and the caramel coloured...

The most comprehensive and definitive biography of Muhammad Ali that has ever been published, based on more than 500 interviews with those who knew him best, with many dramatic new discoveries about his life and career. When the frail, trembling figure of Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996, a TV audience of up to 3 billion people was once again gripped by the story of the world's most famous sporting icon. The man who had once been reviled for his refusal to fight for his country and for his fast-talking denunciation of his opponents was now almost universally adored, the true cost of his astonishing boxing career clear to see. In Jonathan Eig's ground-breaking biography, backed up with much detailed new research specially commissioned for this book, we get a stunning portrait of one of the most significant personalities of the second half of the twentieth century. We are not only taken inside the ring for some of the most famous...

From the street game to March Madness to Jordan and LeBron, the greatest writing about the grit, grace, and glory of basketballMade in America, basketball is a sport that stirs a national passion, reaching fever pitch during the NCAA's March Madness and the NBA Finals. Masterfully assembled by longtime Sports Illustratedwriter Alexander Wolff, Basketball spans eight decades to bring together a dream team of writers as awe-inspiring and endlessly inventive as the game itself. Here are in-depth profiles of the legends of the hardcourt—Russell, Kareem, Bird, Jordan, and LeBron—and storied franchises such as the Knicks and Celtics, along with dazzling portraits of the flash and sizzle of playground ball and more personal reflections on the game by some of America's finest writers, among them Donald Hall, John Edgar Wideman, and Pat Conroy. Highlights include James Naismith recalling how he invented the game that would go on to conquer the world;...

The Ninth Inning series presents Memphis Angels' first baseman, Hector Rodriguez.* Hector Rodriguez is an easy going guy, the one who tries to make everyone laugh or smile on the hard days. He loves playing baseball, loves his family, and loves chasing the girl who has caught his eye. His two biggest obstacles are getting the girl to give him the time of day and then getting his mother to look past what she sees on the surface. Zoey Reyes is use to people staring at her because of the tattoos covering her body, but the big tipper who has been begging for her name for two months is the only one who looks at her differently. Once Hector wears her down and finds out her name, she realizes why he is so likeable. However, it's one battle after another for their friendship to grow and Zoey's not sure how much stress she can handle. Hector and Zoey are making the right plays, but will it be enough for them to come out with a big win?**