Showing results by publisher "Audible studios" in Sports

In his memoir Son of Bum, decorated NFL coach Wade Phillips shows that the roots of his knowledge come from his father, Bum Phillips. A beloved character in NFL history, Bum taught Wade from the beginning that "coaching isn't bitching", as well as how to have perspective on the game during tough times. These are lessons that apply both on the field and off, and Wade has passed this wisdom down to his son, Wes Phillips, an NFL coach himself.

Before Bryce Harper was the top pick in the Major League Baseball draft, before he signed the sport’s biggest contract ever for a first-year pro, he gambled his future on one make-or-break season. The Las Vegas High School sophomore had already dominated the competition like Mickey Mantle on the playground and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which dubbed him the "most exciting prodigy since LeBron James".

When most sports fans hear the stat 3,000, they immediately turn to baseball. But for those fans whose breath comes out in frosty puffs, and who bleed ice and snow, 3,000 can only mean one thing - the glory of Montreal Canadiens hockey. The "Original One" of the "Original Six", the Montreal Canadiens hockey team is practically synonymous with superlative: The most Stanley Cup championship victories, with 24? The Montreal Canadiens. The highest number of regular-season wins? The Montreal Canadiens. The oldest active franchise in the NHL? The Montreal Canadiens.

Tim Richmond was, fellow NASCAR driver Kyle Petty said, "a stranger in time." In one regard, the flashy, flamboyant driver from Ashland, Ohio, was years ahead of the trends in a sport that would soon enjoy explosive growth in popularity. Women who were NASCAR fans loved him - and so did their husbands and boyfriends.

The stunning victory of the upstart New York Jets over the stalwart Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III transformed the NFL and established the Super Bowl as America s premier sporting event. While attending a banquet at the Miami Touchdown Club honoring his selection as the AFL s MVP, the brash Joe Nameth guaranteed a Jets victory in the forthcoming Super Bowl III and invoked a maelstrom of media attention.

Few men in sports history have accomplished more than Yogi Berra: three MVP Awards, 21 World Series appearances as a player, coach, and manager, and a plaque in Cooperstown honoring him as arguably the greatest catcher to ever play the position. Off the field, the man often derided for his appearance has become one of the most beloved and enduring sports figures of all time, as well as a successful pitchman and the source of some of the most-repeated expressions in the English language.

Born a spastic quadriplegic, Rick Hoyt was written off by numerous doctors, but his parents, Dick and Judy Hoyt, were determined to give their son all the opportunities of a "normal" kid. In 1977, 15-year-old Rick asked his dad to enter a charity race. The twist? Rick wanted to run it too. Dick had never run a race before, and the thought of pushing his son’s wheelchair while running was daunting. But, once again, Dick and Rick were determined to overcome any obstacle. More than 1,000 races later, the devoted father son duo is affectionately known worldwide as Team Hoyt.

This gripping tale follows the life of Jens Pulver, the current lightweight Ultimate Fighting Champion. Pulver reveals a youth spent in a family in which violence was the only way to deal with conflict, and in which his father's alcoholism made all family relationships contentious. Set against Pulver’s tumultuous upbringing, this account offers insight into his rise to prominence in the ring and his drive to overcome adversity and find inner peace.

One of the key professional wrestling or "sports entertainment" writers, Vince Russo helped pen modern wrestling's most electric storylines. Revealing the true, behind-the-scenes stories from some of wrestling's most famous moments, including Bret Hart's lost championship and the rise to superstardom of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and The Rock, this autobiography is the one that every wrestling fan has been waiting for.

The life story of Jeanie Buss could only have been written in Hollywood. Her father, Jerry Buss, emerged from a childhood of financial struggle to improbably become one of California’s most successful real estate developers. Though her life was not without turmoil - l her parents divorced when she was still a child - Jeanie’s world was forever changed for the better when her father bought the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979. By the time Jeanie was 19, she was already a high-ranking executive with World Team Tennis.

Oliver Kahn zeigt uns in diesem Hörbuch, dass er viel mehr ist, als Bilder von ihm verraten. Dass er noch härter ist, als man daran erkennen kann, aber auch, dass er viel besonnener, reflektierter und sogar weicher ist, als Bilder je zeigen könnten. Er erklärt uns in diesem Hörbuch, was alles dazugehört zum Erfolg à la Kahn. Vor allem aber sagt er uns, wo er herkommt, der Erfolg. Der Erfolg, sagt Kahn, kommt von innen.

A Nigerian native who emigrated to the United States at age 11, Alex Owumi's exploits on the basketball court earned him a college scholarship to Georgetown University. Undrafted by the NBA, Owumi pursued his basketball dream overseas, eventually signing with Al-Nasr of Libya, a state-run athletic club privately funded by the family of Libyan president Muammar Qaddafi.

Pippo Ricci si racconta in una toccante storia intima, svelando un faticoso percorso di crescita e la sua coraggiosa attitudine a migliorarsi, sempre. Dai soprusi subiti durante l'adolescenza, quando è stato vittima di bullismo, ai disturbi alimentari, dal suo senso per la competizione — che sprona, ma al tempo stesso logora — al lutto per il migliore amico falcidiato da un'auto in corsa quando era solo ventenne, il campione di oggi ha dovuto affrontare sfide decisive fuori e dentro al campo.

We talkin’ about practice, man. Not a game. «Stiamo parlando di un allenamento, amico. Non di una partita». È il ritornello che Allen Iverson, in preda ai fumi dell’alcol, pronunciò all’infinito in una famigerata conferenza stampa del 2002. I suoi Sixers erano stati buttati fuori dai playoff e lui si era scontrato per l’ennesima volta con il coach Larry Brown. È attorno a questo episodio, presagio di una vertiginosa caduta, che si avvolge come una spirale l’irrequieta esistenza di A.I., o The Answer, com’era noto a quei tempi.

«Quando sono in campo, sentire di essere amato mi dà una carica impressionante. Ma anche l’odio mi trasmette tanto. Quando mi fanno incazzare, vado a un livello superiore: sono più attento, più concentrato, più forte, più desideroso di dimostrare qualcosa. Se mi odiano, mi migliorano. Per questo, partite come i derby mi caricano a mille e mi riempiono di una rabbia speciale che mi porta più in alto. Ma oggi ho molto più controllo di un tempo, quand’ero giovane.»

Novembre 1999. Buio sugli spalti del Madison Square Garden di New York. Un’emozionata Steffi Graf, ormai non più giocatrice, entra in campo. Illuminata dall’occhio di bue va a ricevere ciò che le spetta: le istituzioni del tennis sfilano davanti a lei e le donano quadri, fotografie, targhe, come farebbero i magi con una dea. La ragazzina che amava lo scambio e il gioco più di ogni altra cosa, però, si infiamma solo quando scopre il regalo del Roland Garros, il suo Slam preferito: l’anta dell’armadietto dello spogliatoio femminile che ha sempre usato, il numero 19.

Amato, detestato. Idolatrato, contestato. Da più di vent’anni professa una sola religione: la sua. Chi lo ama lo segua. Ma chi non lo ama non può rimanere indifferente. Condottiero, visionario, grande seduttore, artista della provocazione, icona del football 2.0. C’è un solo allenatore al mondo che riassume su di sé il fascino del calcio moderno. Si chiama José Mourinho. Non è solo un nome, ma un marchio. Le virtù, i vizi, i trionfi e le sconfitte. Gli amici, i nemici. La luce della gloria, l’ombra del fallimento.

Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat—calling out the hacks, cheats, and ridiculous rules that have tarnished the game—and pitches A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect.

Tom Ballard fu "figlio della montagna" nel senso più profondo del termine. Non è un'ardita metafora, ma la sintesi di un rapporto che è stato prima genetico e poi animato da una passione esclusiva, irrefrenabile, assoluta. Era figlio di Alison Hargreaves, "la più forte delle donne alpiniste", secondo Reinhold Messner. E anche una delle più controverse: aveva scalato l'Eiger tre mesi prima di dare alla luce Tom, sollevando un vespaio di polemiche.

Diego Armando Maradona compie sessant'anni. Per tutti coloro che lo hanno amato rimane semplicemente il "mito", il piccolo grande uomo che è arrivato in una città come Napoli a cambiarne per sempre e irrimediabilmente la storia. 1984-1991: sette anni che valgono infinitamente di più, sette anni che sono una favola in cui il posto della bacchetta magica viene preso da un piede sinistro.