Athlete Activism by
"While Colin Kaepernick's 2016 protests reignited the debate surrounding athletes and political activism, the relationship between the two is a longstanding tradition. The athletic field has long been a site for protests against racism, hosting key events in the fight for equality, such as legendary African American baseball player Jackie Robinson's 1947 induction into the MLB. Recent protests have expanded to issues like sexism, LGBT rights, and immigration, and have made use of social media and other modern developments. This volume examines the controversies surrounding athlete activism as well as its place in history and contemporary politics"
The Best American Sports Writing of the Century by
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Halberstam selects the fifty best pieces of sports writing of this century. The Best American Sports Writing of the Century showcases the best sports journalists of the twentieth century, from Jimmy Cannon, Red Smith, William Mack, Gary Smith, and Frank Deford to A. J. Liebling, Tom Wolfe, and Hunter S. Thompson, and includes such classics as "What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now?" by Richard Ben Cramer, "Louis Knocks Out Schmeling" by Bob Considine,and "The Rocky Road of Pistol Pete" by W. C. Heinz. This outstanding collection captures not only the century's greatest moments in baseball, boxing, horseracing, golf, and tennis, but some of the finest writing of our time. Guest editor David Halberstam is the author of The Reckoning, The Summer of Forty-Nine, The Breaks of the Game, and, most recently, The Children. Series editor Glenn Stout has written biographies of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson.
From Jack Johnson to Lebron James: Sports, Media, and the Color Line by
The campaign for racial equality in sports has both reflected and affected the campaign for racial equality in the United States. Some of the most significant and publicized stories in this campaign in the twentieth century have happened in sports, including, of course, Jackie Robinson in baseball; Jesse Owens, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos in track; Arthur Ashe in tennis; and Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali in boxing. Long after the full integration of college and professional athletics, race continues to play a major role in sports. Not long ago, sportswriters and sportscasters ignored racial issues. They now contribute to the public’s evolving racial attitudes on issues both on and off the field, ranging from integration to self-determination to masculinity. From Jack Johnson to LeBron James examines the intersection of sports, race, and the media in the twentieth century and beyond. The essays are linked by a number of questions, including: How did the black and white media differ in content and context in their reporting of these stories? How did the media acknowledge race in their stories? Did the media recognize these stories as historically significant? Considering how media coverage has evolved over the years, the essays begin with the racially charged reporting of Jack Johnson’s reign as heavyweight champion and carry up to the present, covering the media narratives surrounding the Michael Vick dogfighting case in a supposedly post-racial era and the media’s handling of LeBron James’s announcement to leave Cleveland for Miami.
Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport by
This comprehensive text examines the history, significance, and philosophical dimensions of sport. Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport is organized to reflect the traditional division of philosophy into metaphysical, ethical, and sociopolitical issues, while incorporating specific concerns of today’s athletic world, such as cheating, doping, and Title IX, where they are applicable. This approach provides students with a basic understanding of the philosophy of sport as a whole and better equips them to investigate specific issues. Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport is not only an outline of the discipline and a summary of much of its pioneering work, but also an invitation for students to join the conversation by connecting it to their own athletic experience.
Leading with the Heart : Coach K's successful strategies for basketball, business, and life by 
Philosophy of Sport: International Perspectives by
The book Philosophy of Sport: International Perspectives represents the work of some of the leading moral and philosophical academics in the popular practice of sport. All contributors are scholars and researchers in the area of the Philosophy of Sport, a growing area of serious study within universities and colleges across the world. The contributors are also active members of the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport—a worldwide organisation dedicated to the development of the philosophy of sport as a serious and influential area of academic study. The book adds to the growing literature, which focuses on rigorously examining the global significance that sport plays in the fabric of twenty-first century life. Articles within the book provide a diverse set of ideas related to sport—from more familiar issue related to the ethics of performance enhancing substances and fair play, to issue of nationalism, and the way sport can contribute to human well-being.
Playing to Win: Sports, Video Games, and the Culture of Play by
In this era of big media franchises, sports branding has crossed platforms, so that the sport, its television broadcast, and its replication in an electronic game are packaged and promoted as part of the same fan experience. Editors Robert Alan Brookey and Thomas P. Oates trace this development back to the unexpected success of Atari's Pong in the 1970s, which provoked a flood of sport simulation games that have had an impact on every sector of the electronic game market. From golf to football, basketball to step aerobics, electronic sports games are as familiar in the American household as the televised sporting events they simulate. This book explores the points of convergence at which gaming and sports culture merge.
Sport : A Biological, Philosophical, and Cultural Perspective by
Sports are as varied as the people who play them. We run, jump, and swim. We kick, hit, and shoot balls. We ride sleds in the snow and surf in the sea. From the Olympians of ancient Greece to today's professional athletes, from adult pickup soccer games to children's gymnastics classes, people at all levels of ability at all times and in all places have engaged in sport. What drives this phenomenon? In Sport, the neuroscientist Jay Schulkin argues that biology and culture do more than coexist when we play sports—they blend together seamlessly, propelling each other toward greater physical and intellectual achievement. To support this claim, Schulkin discusses history, literature, and art—and engages philosophical inquiry and recent behavioral research. He connects sport's basic neural requirements, including spatial and temporal awareness, inference, memory, agency, direction, competitive spirit, and endurance, to the demands of other human activities. He affirms sport's natural role as a creative evolutionary catalyst, turning the external play of sports inward and bringing insight to the diversion that defines our species. Sport, we learn, is a fundamental part of human life.
Sport and Democracy in the Ancient and Modern Worlds by 
Sport, Culture and Nation : Perspectives from Indian Football and South Asian Cricket by
An in-depth analysis of the intricate relationships among sport, culture, politics, identity and regional cooperation in South Asia In South Asia, sport has long been a site—albeit ignored by social scientists—which articulates the complexities and diversities of the everyday life of the nations. This book highlights the importance of sport in colonial and postcolonial times in India and South Asia as an essential cultural experience, a political tool, a social instrument and a commercial force. It reveals how sport has become politically, socially, culturally and emotionally significant, particularly, football in India and cricket in South Asia. Sport, Culture and Nation would be useful to historians, political scientists, sociologists and to scholars of South Asian studies as well as culture and leisure studies.
Sport History in the Digital Era by
From statistical databases to story archives, from fan sites to the real-time reactions of Twitter-empowered athletes, the digital communication revolution has changed the way fans relate to LeBron's latest triple double or Tom Brady's last second touchdown pass. In this volume, contributors from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States analyze the parallel transformation in the field of sport history, showing the ways powerful digital tools raise vital philosophical, epistemological, ontological, methodological, and ethical questions for scholars and students alike. Chapters consider how philosophical and theoretical understandings of the meaning of history influence engagement with digital history, and conceptualize the relationship between history making and the digital era. As the writers show, digital media's mostly untapped potential for studying the recent past via media like blogs, chat rooms, and gambling sites forge a symbiosis between sports and the internet while offering historians new vistas to explore and utilize. In this new era, digital history becomes a dynamic site of enquiry and discussion where scholars enter into a give-and-take with individuals and invite their audience to grapple with, rather than passively absorb, evidence. Timely and provocative, Sport History in the Digital Era affirms how the information revolution has transformed sport and sport history--and shows the road ahead. Contributors include Douglas Booth, Mike Cronin, Martin Johnes, Matthew Klugman, Geoffery Z. Kohe, Tara Magdalinski, Fiona McLachlan, Bob Nicholson, Rebecca Olive, Gary Osmond, Murray G. Phillips, Stephen Robertson, Synthia Sydnor, Holly Thorpe, and Wayne Wilson.
Sporting Gender by
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are likely to feature the first transgender athlete, a topic that will be highly contentious during the competition. But transgender and intersex athletes such as Laurel Hubbard, Tifanny Abreu, and Caster Semenya didn't just turn up overnight. Both intersex and transgender athletes have been newsworthy stories for decades. In Sporting Gender: The History, Science, and Stories of Transgender and Intersex Athletes, Joanna Harper provides an in-depth examination of why gender diverse athletes are so controversial. She not only delves into the history of these athletes and their personal stories, but also explains in a highly accessible manner the science behind their gender diversity and why the science is important for regulatory committees--and the general public--to consider when evaluating sports performance. Sporting Gender gives the reader a perspective that is both broad in scope and yet detailed enough to grasp the nuances that are central in understanding the controversies over intersex and transgender athletes. Featuring personal investigations from the author, who has had first-person access to some of the most significant recent developments in this complex arena, this book provides fascinating insight into sex, gender, and sports."
Sports Business Unplugged: Leadership Challenges from the World of Sports by
For more than seven years, the incisive commentary of Burton and O'Reilly has graced the pages of SportsBusiness Journal, the industry's leading trade journal. Now, fifty of their most recent columns are collected in one volume, providing thoughtful and deeply knowledgeable insight into many of the industry's most contentious issues. Covering an era in sports that has experienced rapid change, the authors discuss such topics as gender equity, corporate sponsor-ship, collegiate athletics, diversity, and the future of sports. As two of the leading scholars in the business of sports, Burton and O'Reilly also draw upon years of experience to give both students and industry professionals a dual perspective on the role sports play in a healthy, thriving society.
Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century by 
Sports, Inc: 100 years of sports business by 
Sports: the complete visual reference by
Sports is a comprehensive reference to 125 amateur and professional sports, featuring classic Olympic athletic events (track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, combat sports, and equestrian events), as well as team, individual and motor sports (boxing, hockey, tennis, skiing, soccer, basketball, and Formula 1).
With one thousand annotated illustrations and four hundred color photographs, this book explains the games' history, rules, strategies, facilities and equipment. In addition, there are highlights of the greatest players from the past and present, analyses of changes in technology and comparisons of performance over the years.
The presentation of the information is fascinating for browsers and fans. How big is a soccer pitch? What are the four types of tennis court surface? How do you throw the hammer? It is all here, plus three indices (terms, symbols and illustrations).
Athlete profiles that list physical and mental requirements for each sport are invaluable guides for young athletes choosing a sport.
For a full table of contents and sample page spreads, visit: fireflybooks.com/books/sports.html
The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Sports Films of All Time by
Guys love movies. Especially sports movies, where every underdog has his day, every team achieves glory, and every hero gets his moment of redemption. Next to watching Monday Night Football, there’s nothing more enjoyable than plopping down on the couch with the remote and a bottle of beer and firing up the special-edition DVD of Rocky, Hoosiers, Caddyshack, or any other fan favorite. Now, two nationally renowned sports media personalities take on the task of ranking the top 100 sports movies of all time, including entertaining and informative lists, special features, and contributions from over 75 top sports figures. From drama to comedy to tragedy to documentary, all the greatest sports films are here, brought to life through detailed summaries, fun facts and trivia, behind-the-scenes revelations, plus images from the greatest moments in sports film history. Original comments from some of the top personalities in sports and entertainment—including Peyton and Eli Manning, Charles Barkley, Tony Romo, James Gandolfini, Bill Parcells, Dennis Quaid, Arnold Palmer, and many more—provide further insight and marketing punch.
Encyclopedia of Sports Science by
An encyclopedia which threatens to make sports interesting to even the staunchest anti-fan, and science interesting to devoted math-phobes. The first volume contains sections on particular sports, with historical information, basic science concepts, and stories from the annals of sports. Volume two deals with the physiology of sport. Here entries such as heart and circulatory system, knee, and respiration provide information about how the body works under stress, what type of damage or trauma might be incurred in certain sports, and how injuries can be prevented.
Gliding for Gold: The Physics of Winter Sports by
As anyone from cold climates knows, living with lots of ice and snow can lead to a special appreciation of sports such as skiing, sledding, and skating. Prolific physics popularizer Mark Denny's take on winter athletics lays out the physical principles that govern glaciated game play. After discussing the physical properties of ice and snow and describing the physics behind sliding friction and aerodynamic drag, Denny applies these concepts to such sports as bobsledding, snowboarding, and curling. He explains why clap skates would only hinder hockey players, how a curling rock curls, the forces that control luge speed, and how steering differs from skiing to snowboarding. With characteristic accuracy and a touch of wit, Denny provides fans, competitors, and coaches with handy, applicable insights into the games they love. The separate section of technical notes offers an original and mathematically rigorous exploration of the key aspects of winter sports physics. A physics-driven exploration of sports played on ice and snow that is truly fun and informative, Gliding for Gold is the perfect primer for understanding the science behind cold weather athletics.
Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports by
Nothing is quite as thrilling as watching superior athletes do the seemingly impossible. From Doug Flutie's "Hail Mary" pass to Lance Armstrong's record-breaking climb of Alp d'Huez to David Beckham's astounding ability to bend a soccer kick, we marvel and wonder, "How did they do that?" Well, physics professor John Eric Goff has the answers. This tour of the wide world of sports uses some of the most exhilarating feats in recent athletic history to make basic physics concepts accessible and fun. Goff discusses the science behind American football, soccer, cycling, skating, diving, long jumping, and a host of other competitive sports. Using elite athletes such as Greg Louganis and Bob Beamon as starting points, he explains in clear, lively language the basic physical properties involved in amazing and everyday athletic endeavors. Accompanied by illustrations and mathematical equations, each chapter builds on knowledge imparted in earlier portions of the book to provide a firm understanding of the concepts involved. Fun, witty, and imbued throughout with admiration for the simple beauty of physics, Gold Medal Physics is sure to inspire readers to think differently about the next sporting event they watch.
Key Concepts in Sport & Exercise Sciences by
This book seeks to serve as a reader-friendly source of Key Concepts in five of the main areas of study in sport and exercise courses: biomechanics, exercise physiology, pedagogy, psychology and sociology. Each section of the book contains entries on the concepts that organise each of these areas of study. Understanding these concepts is the starting point for understanding sport and exercise more broadly and will allow students beginning their courses to move on to acquire more specialised knowledge. It will also serve as a useful means of preparing for examinations and other forms of assessment for those undertaking more advanced studies who need to refresh their memories
Newton's Football: the science behind America's game by
"How is the West Coast offense like quantum mechanics? How does the shape of the football invoke chaos theory? What lessons did Vince Lombardi glean from the brain of Sir Isaac Newton and the beautiful mind of John Nash? Should the NFL ban helmets? Why, in defiance of mathematics, does a coach almost never go for it on fourth down? The answers to these and dozens of other physics questions determine the outcome of every football game played in America, and--perhaps--the future of the nation's most popular sport"--
The Sports Gene: inside the science of extraordinary athletic performance by
Explores the roles of both genetics and training in athletic success, arguing that both are equally necessary components of athletic achievement while considering such topics as race, gender, and genetic testing.
"We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. Naturals. Or were they? The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor's training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research. ... [In this exploration of athletic success, the author, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated magazine] "tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle. He investigates the so-called 10,000-hour rule to uncover whether rigorous and consistent practice from a young age is the only route to athletic excellence. Along the way, he dispels many of our perceptions about why top athletes excel. He shows why some skills that we assume are innate, like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball or cricket batter, are not, and why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like an athlete's will to train, might in fact have important genetic components. ... Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, the author forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.
