Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry

Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry

Author: Tom Kertscher

Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 9780299183103

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Al McGuire was the Mark Twain of college basketball. Never was there a figure in the game so quoted and so quotable, on sports and on the human condition. This book collects more than a hundred of McGuire's most colorful quotations, plus photographs from his life and career, in a tribute that is funny, poignant, and brimming with his streetwise sagacity. McGuire, a brash and fiery New Yorker who grew up working in his parents' saloon, played a rough and tumble game of basketball at St. John's University and briefly in the NBA before entering the coaching ranks. He reached the pinnacle of his profession and gained national fame at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where in thirteen seasons he compiled a 295-80 record, appeared in nine NCAA tournaments, and won eighty-one home games in a row. He was a fine coach who cared deeply about his players and was beloved by his teams and fans alike, but his flamboyance and his mouth sometimes got him into trouble. The end of his coaching career captivated the nation: McGuire wept on the bench as his Marquette Warriors won the national title. McGuire then began a ground-breaking career in network broadcasting, adding a zest and unconventionality that the college game had never seen. His sometimes bizarre and always entertaining commentary kept viewers tuned in even after the outcome of a lopsided game was a foregone conclusion. When Al McGuire died of leukemia in 2001, the sports world lost a true original.


College Sports Traditions

College Sports Traditions

Author: Stan Beck

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2013-09-19

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 0810891212

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Every year since 1961, football and basketball players at Middlebury College in Vermont pick up their wheelchair-bound fan, Butch, and bring him to the stadium sidelines to watch their games. At John Brown University, the volleyball team distributes candy to fans before each match. For years, fans attending a University of Maryland football game rubbed the bronze statue of their terrapin mascot, Testudo. Traditions like these are visible statements of school loyalty, and they are part of why college sports are unforgettable. College Sports Traditions: Picking Up Butch, Silent Night, and Hundreds of Others details not only the well-known traditions of major universities, but also the obscure customs of smaller schools. Approximately 1,200 traditions are captured, covering almost every college sport. It depicts such traditions as The Ohio State University’s “Script Ohio,” University of Kansas’s “Waving the Wheat,” Linfield College’s “End Zone Couches,” and even a list of traditions that involve streaking. The wide variety of traditions covered in this book are grouped thematically, including: Before the game During the game After a score After the game Mascot traditions Preseason traditions Traditions probably not university sanctioned Rivalries Yells, cheers, and chants From the crazy and eccentric to the touching and meaningful, these traditions connect fans and athletes across generations. The first of its kind, this comprehensive volume encompasses hundreds of universities and colleges throughout the U.S. Featuring 75 photos that bring many of these events to life, College Sports Traditions will be an entertaining read for every sports fan.


Football and Philosophy

Football and Philosophy

Author: Michael W. Austin

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2008-07-11

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 0813139023

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“Vince Lombardi—who relished his undergraduate studies in philosophy—would have loved this book.” —Booklist Football and Philosophy: Going Deep investigates many of the issues surrounding the nation’s biggest sport. From a review of the flaws of the Bowl Championship Series, to a study of the violence inherent in the game, to an examination of Vince Lombardi’s views on winning, to the problems created by the development of instant replay, the essays in this collection tackle the moral and philosophical principles behind gridiron competition. The result is an insightful, humorous, and original book that will engage all fans of the game. “Insightful and informative, as well as provocative and entertaining.” —Charles Taliaferro, author of Consciousness and the Mind of God


Al McGuire

Al McGuire

Author: Roger Jaynes

Publisher: Sports Publishing LLC

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1582618429

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Al McGuire was not only one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, but arguably, as this insightful memoir shows, the most colorful and unpredictable as well. Over the years his entertaining and often controversial remarks--and his altercations with fellow coaches, referees, and even the NCAA--became legendary.


I Remember Al McGuire

I Remember Al McGuire

Author: Mike Towle

Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781581822342

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For three decades, Al McGuire was the heart and soul of college basketball, first as the street-smart head coach at Marquette University and later as the hoops-savvy television analyst whose unique mix of humor, candor, and uncanny insights brought a whole new dimension to sports broadcasting. McGuire was the consummate professional at whatever he did. Possessing an impeccable insider's knowledge of the game, he was able to communicate to viewers in ways that were as entertaining as they were informative. He made people laugh, he could laugh at himself, and his joy for the game and people in it made him one of sports' most enduring icons.McGuire passed away at the age of seventy-two in early 2001 after a long illness, leaving behind a basketball-rich legacy that had its poetic qualities as well. Never was that more evident than in the 1976-77 season, when McGuire announced to his team in midseason that it would be his last year in coaching. The season ended with McGuire overcome by emotion, sitting on the Marquette bench with tears streaming down his face as the Warriors gave their beloved coach the ultimate going-away present, a national championship. Thus ended a twenty-year coaching career in which McGuire completed a 405-143 record, including a 295-80 mark at Marquette.In I Remember Al McGuire, the legendary basketball coach and announcer is remembered by dozens of associates, who offer their favorite anecdotes, insights, assessments, and other assorted memories of a basketball junkie as quick with a quip as he was with a word of encouragement. Among those contributing to this book are his former players and assistant coaches as well as other head coaches, media personalities, friends, and associates who knew him well at one time or another in his life


Surrounded by Reality

Surrounded by Reality

Author: Doug Moe

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13:

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80 columns written by Doug Moe for the Capital times in Madison, Wisconsin.