Sports in America
Sports in America

Author: James A. Michener

Publisher: Dial Press

Published: 2014-04-15

Total Pages: 562

ISBN-13: 0804151393

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Originally published in 1976, James A. Michener’s explosive, spectacular Sports in America is a prescient examination of the crisis in American sports that is still unfolding to this day. Pro basketball players are banned for narcotics use, while a Major League pitcher is arrested for smuggling drugs across the Mexican border. The NFL’s “injury report” grows longer every Sunday. Corruption and recruiting violations plague collegiate sports as the “winning is everything” mentality trickles down to the Little League level. With his lifelong enthusiasm for sports in evidence, the incomparable Michener tackles this subject thoroughly and leaves us amazed and appalled by what we’ve learned, yet still loving the games we grew up on. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for Sports in America “A comprehensive, controversial examination of sports as a major force in American life.”—Los Angeles Times “Michener’s life was saved by sports twice. In return, he has issued a long, lovingly critical, prodigiously researched account of the passions and politics of America at organized play. Rich in anecdote, source material and his own shrewd commentary.”—The New York Times Book Review “Like just about everything James Michener has produced, Sports in America is a thoughtful, well-written document that’s thoroughly researched. . . . For anyone interested in how the ball bounces in the U.S. of A., the answers are all here.”—The Wall Street Journal “Encyclopedic . . . amusing and sometimes alarming.”—The Washington Post

A Brief History of American Sports
A Brief History of American Sports

Author: Elliott J. Gorn

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780252071843

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Elliott J. Gorn and Warren Goldstein show us where our games and pastimes came from, how they developed, and what they have meant to Americans. The great heroes of baseball and football are here, as well as the dramatic moments of boxing and basketball. Beyond this, the authors show us how sports fit into the larger contours of our past. A Brief History of American Sports reveals that from colonial times to the present, sports have been central to American culture, and a profound expression of who we are.

What's My Name, Fool?
What's My Name, Fool?

Author: Dave Zirin

Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com

Published: 2011-02

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 1458786986

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In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

Sports and Labor in the United States
Sports and Labor in the United States

Author: Michael Schiavone

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-06-16

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1438456832

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Longlisted for the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing presented by PEN American Center Are today's professional athletes nothing more than selfish, greedy millionaires with no idea how ordinary people live? The common perception of today's professional baseball, basketball, football, and hockey players is of individuals always wanting more money and better working conditions. When it comes to labor issues in sports, the usual media spin portrays topics such as strikes by players and lockouts by owners as millionaires in dispute with billionaires; each group as self-interested as the other. However, as is often the case, the truth is vastly different. Sports and Labor in the United States demonstrates that players are often exploited by ownership and fight for matters of principle, not simply material gain. In accessible, nontechnical language, Michael Schiavone presents a comprehensive examination of labor relations in American professional sports and how they have evolved over time. Separate chapters on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL provide an overview and analysis of each sport from their organized beginnings up to the present day. Like no other work before it, Sports and Labor in the United States provides a comprehensive and detailed understanding of labor relations in American sports for scholars, those interested in labor issues, and sports fans.

The Sports Revolution
The Sports Revolution

Author: Frank Andre Guridy

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2021-03-23

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 1477321837

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In the 1960s and 1970s, America experienced a sports revolution. New professional sports franchises and leagues were established, new stadiums were built, football and basketball grew in popularity, and the proliferation of television enabled people across the country to support their favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the civil rights and feminist movements were reshaping the nation, broadening the boundaries of social and political participation. The Sports Revolution tells how these forces came together in the Lone Star State. Tracing events from the end of Jim Crow to the 1980s, Frank Guridy chronicles the unlikely alliances that integrated professional and collegiate sports and launched women’s tennis. He explores the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that emerged during the era, including the role the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders played in defining womanhood in the age of second-wave feminism. Guridy explains how the sexual revolution, desegregation, and changing demographics played out both on and off the field as he recounts how the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers and how Mexican American fans and their support for the Spurs fostered a revival of professional basketball in San Antonio. Guridy argues that the catalysts for these changes were undone by the same forces of commercialization that set them in motion and reveals that, for better and for worse, Texas was at the center of America’s expanding political, economic, and emotional investments in sport.

The United States of Sports
The United States of Sports

Author: The Editors of Sports Illustrated Kids

Publisher: Sports Illustrated Kids

Published: 2018-12-04

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781547800001

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The United States of Sports takes kids on a first-of-its-kind journey across the U.S. with stops in every state in the union. Super cool maps with unique hand-illustrated icons show where all the great sites can be found, including arenas, stadiums, halls of fame, championship golf clubs, the greatest ski mountains, Olympic cities, and more. Each state’s Greatest Moments and homegrown heroes are pro led, and we wouldn’t forget to run down all the numbers! Championships, pro teams, famous events, and more— spread by spread—it’s the book to pore over this season.

How Football Explains America
How Football Explains America

Author: Sal Paolantonio

Publisher: Triumph Books

Published: 2015-09

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1633192911

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ESPN's Sal Paolantonio explores just how crucial football is to understanding the American psyche Using some of the most prominent voices in pro sports and cultural and media criticism, "How Football Explains America" is a fascinating, first-of-its-kind journey through the making of America's most complex, intriguing, and popular game. It tackles varying American themes--from Manifest Destiny to "fourth and one"--as it answers the age-old question Why does America love football so much? An unabashedly celebratory explanation of America's love affair with the game and the men who make it possible, this work sheds light on how the pioneers and cowboys helped create a game that resembled their march across the continent. It explores why rugby and soccer don't excite the American male like football does and how the game's rules are continually changing to enhance the dramatic action and create a better narrative. It also investigates the eternal appeal of the heroic quarterback position, the sport's rich military lineage, and how the burgeoning medium of television identified and exploited the NFL's great characters. It is a must read for anyone interested in more fully understanding not only the game but also the nation in which it thrives. Updated throughout and with a new introduction, this edition brings "How Football Explains America" to paperback for the first time.

Offside
Offside

Author: Andrei S. Markovits

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2014-04-24

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 1400824184

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Soccer is the world's favorite pastime, a passion for billions around the globe. In the United States, however, the sport is a distant also-ran behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Why is America an exception? And why, despite America's leading role in popular culture, does most of the world ignore American sports in return? Offside is the first book to explain these peculiarities, taking us on a thoughtful and engaging tour of America's sports culture and connecting it with other fundamental American exceptionalisms. In so doing, it offers a comparative analysis of sports cultures in the industrial societies of North America and Europe. The authors argue that when sports culture developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nativism and nationalism were shaping a distinctly American self-image that clashed with the non-American sport of soccer. Baseball and football crowded out the game. Then poor leadership, among other factors, prevented soccer from competing with basketball and hockey as they grew. By the 1920s, the United States was contentedly isolated from what was fast becoming an international obsession. The book compares soccer's American history to that of the major sports that did catch on. It covers recent developments, including the hoopla surrounding the 1994 soccer World Cup in America, the creation of yet another professional soccer league, and American women's global preeminence in the sport. It concludes by considering the impact of soccer's growing popularity as a recreation, and what the future of sports culture in the country might say about U.S. exceptionalism in general.

Encyclopedia of Sports in America [2 volumes]
Encyclopedia of Sports in America [2 volumes]

Author: Murry R. Nelson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2008-12-30

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 0313347913

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Sports and leisure activities serve as a mirror, allowing us to examine the attitudes and values of everyday people. This new reference explores the development and influence of sports in American culture, as well as how sports icons, commercial enterprises, organizations, sporting events, and even fan culture have changed from decade to decade and from era to era, from the foot races of colonial times to the extreme sports of today. Each chapter focuses on key aspects of sports in American culture, including such topics as ethnicity, gender, and economics. Enhanced with numerous sidebars on the movers and shakers, key sporting trends, as well as the controversies that threatened to tear the sports world apart, this insightful reference is ideal for high school and college students who are interested in tracing the evolution of sports and American culture throughout the nation's history. Features include a timeline of important events, numerous photographs, and a bibliography of print and electronic sources for further