He’s the playboy she shouldn’t want. She’s the woman he can’t live without. Brit has spent her entire professional career trying to prove that she deserves a spot with the guys. So when she meets Stefan, the Gold's captain, she is determinedly not interested in the well-known playboy. But when management pushes Brit and Stefan together to gain good press for the beleaguered team, Brit finds that her carefully calculated disinterest doesn’t mean anything. She wants him. And the more she falls, the more she risks it all.
With traditions, records, and Penguins lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every Pittsburgh fan should know. It contains crucial information such as important dates, behind-the-scenes tales, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by singular players like Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Jaromir Jagr, and Evgeni Malkin. This guide to all things Penguins covers which player is considered the "original Penguin," the team's first player to score 50 goals in a season, the Pens' recent back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, and more.
The Art of Scouting delves into the secretive world of hockey prospecting, a world more akin to Cold War-era spying than a casual day in the stands. Scouts decide whether a player has the talent to make the final step to the NHL-or not-but what they do and how they do it are a mystery to most fans. Shane Malloy is one of the first media personalities to be welcomed into the world of scouting and brings to hockey fans an enlightening and fascinating narrative that explains the culture, history, science and art of hockey scouting. Malloy's unique experience-combined with interviews featuring scouts, coaches and hockey executives- will give readers a true understanding and appreciation for what scouts do and how they do it, what it really takes to make it to the NHL, and how to watch the game like a scout. Praise for The Art of Scouting: "If you love hockey but wonder how teams are built and what goes into scouting, then this book is a gem." — Kelly Hrudey, Hockey Night in Canada Analyst "The work that Shane has done is based on knowledge and diligence. We have great respect for this project as it has tremendous substance to it. An excellent source of information." —Doug Wilson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, San Jose Sharks "If you have ever been at a hockey game and seen the scouts in the corner and wondered what they do, how they do it and why they do it, The Art of Scouting by Shane Malloy will take you inside their world." —Bob McKenzie, TSN Hockey Insider "For anyone fascinated by player evaluation and what goes into it, this is a must-read. Interesting perspectives and a good cast of characters. Thought-provoking and entertaining." —Peter Loubardias, Hockey Broadcaster,Rogers Sportsnet "The Art of Scouting provides readers with a behind-the-scenes view of the sport's lifeblood...scouting and the people that do it...A great read for any hockey fan." —Brad Treliving, Vice President and Assistant General Manager, Phoenix Coyotes
The #1 Bestseller! Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources. Perfect for any Little Leaguer with dreams of making it big--as well as for fans of Mike Lupica's other New York Times bestsellers Travel Team, The Big Field, The Underdogs, Million-Dollar Throw, and The Game Changers series, this cheer-worthy baseball story shows that when the game knocks you down, champions stand tall.
**One of Sports Illustrated's Best Sports Books of 2017** Controversial hockey star Sean Avery's no-holds-barred memoir of high living and bad behavior in the NHL—coupled with the behind-the-scenes glitter of celebrity and media nightlife in New York and LA. As one of the NHL’s most polarizing players, Sean Avery turned the rules of professional hockey on its head. For thirteen seasons, Avery played for some of the toughest, most storied franchises in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers, making his mark in each city as a player that was sometimes loved, often despised, but always controversial. In Ice Capades, Avery takes his trademark candidness about the world of pro hockey and does for it what Jim Bouton's game-changing Ball Four did for baseball. Avery goes deep inside the sport to reveal every aspect of an athlete’s life, from what they do with their money and nights off to how they stay sharp and competitive in the league. While playing the talented villain in the NHL, Avery broke far away from his on-ice character in the off-season, and Ice Capades takes the reader inside the other unexpected and unprecedented roles that Avery inhabited—Vogue intern, fashion model, advertising executive, restauranteur, gay rights advocate, and many more. Love him or hate him, Sean Avery changed the way professional hockey is played today. Rollickingly honest and compelling throughout, Ice Capades transcends the “sports book” genre and offers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the world of 21st century hockey through the eyes of one of its most original and memorable players.
George Plimpton takes to the ice with the Boston Bruins in this memorable portrait of the rough-and-tumble world of professional hockey, repackaged and featuring a foreword from Denis Leary and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton Archives. In Open Net, George Plimpton takes to the ice as goalie for his beloved Boston Bruins. After signing a release holding the Bruins blameless if he should meet with injury or death, he survives a harrowing, seemingly eternal five minutes in an exhibition game against the always-tough Philadelphia Flyers. With reflections on such hockey greats as Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Eddie Shore, Open Net is at once a celebration of the thrills and grace of the greatest sport on ice and a probing meditation into the hopes and fears of every man.
By the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas | Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Selected by Time as One of the Ten Best Books of the Year | A New York Times Notable Book | Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post Book World, The Christian Science Monitor, Rocky Mountain News, and Kirkus Reviews | A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist | Winner of the ALA Alex Award | Finalist for the Costa Novel Award From award-winning writer David Mitchell comes a sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. Black Swan Green tracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; of “nightcreeping” through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less than she appears; of Jason’s search to replace his dead grandfather’s irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher’s recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons. Pointed, funny, profound, left-field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life, Black Swan Green is David Mitchell’s subtlest and most effective achievement to date. Praise for Black Swan Green “[David Mitchell has created] one of the most endearing, smart, and funny young narrators ever to rise up from the pages of a novel. . . . The always fresh and brilliant writing will carry readers back to their own childhoods. . . . This enchanting novel makes us remember exactly what it was like.”—The Boston Globe “[David Mitchell is a] prodigiously daring and imaginative young writer. . . . As in the works of Thomas Pynchon and Herman Melville, one feels the roof of the narrative lifted off and oneself in thrall.”—Time
Hey, kids! These hockey jokes will tickle your funny bone and keep you laughing all through hockey season and beyond: Q: What does a hockey player and a magician have in common? A: Both do hat tricks!
The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.
