Book Description

Stoic, unflappable, determined --all words used to describe Tyrone Willingham-- also represent the remarkable character of a man whose entire life has demanded poise under pressure. While Willingham became a household name during his first season as head football coach of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, this book goes behind the scenes and listens to the voices of the people who helped shape the athlete, the coach and the man. From his roots in Kinston, N.C., to his playing career at Michigan State and his 18-year coaching odyssey that included stops at his alma mater, Stanford and the NFL, we observe how every assignment was for a purpose. Whether he was performing as an athlete or a coach, Willingham, it seems, was never anybody's first choice. But he always responds in a first-class manner. A walk-on athlete at Michigan State, Willingham would earn three letters each in football and baseball. As perhaps the fourth or fifth choice to become head coach at Notre Dame, Willingham answered the call and led the Irish to a 10-3 record and bowl appearance. Bob Davie had been fired as Notre Dame's head coach after the disappointing 5-6 season of 2001. Willingham then replaced George O'Leary, who had been forced to resign because of embellishments on his resume. Willingham would become the first African-American head coach in the history of Notre Dame. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A truly remarkable leader's life and career
Tyrone Willingham: The Meaning Of Victory is a straightforward, informative biography by sportswriter Fred Mitchell of the justifiably famous athlete and coach Tyrone Willingham, whose service to Notre Dame as head coach (the first African-American head coach in Notre Dame's history) showed the world collegiate football just what his team could do. Bright, full color photographs add a vibrant touch to this straightforward telling of a truly remarkable leader's life and career. ... Read more

Book Description

Billy Graham and his Christian ministries are known around the world and hundreds of his most memorable quotes are presented in this special book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

outstanding book
tom pagna was the coach that recruited me as a student athlete at the univ. of notre dame. coach pagna believes in family, teamwork and togetherness...this was indicated in his book with his mother rose and his family. the teamwork and togetherness of the family is the way coach pagna exemplified as a coach. after reading petals from a rose i feel i learned so much about not only coach pagna and his family but the true meaning of what a family should be like.

Every family has a rose and the rose's petals touch all.
This is a touching story about a seemingly ordinary family. The strength, determination, pride and faith of the Pagna's Rose reaches all members of the family and guides them through their lives. For a career football coach who has primarily dealt with "X's and O's", Tom Pagna displays a great command of the written word in describing this remarkable woman, his mother. I suspect that this book will remind all of its readers of the Rose in their family and the extraordinary things mothers do to nurture, goad, challange, encourage and love their children. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The day Walter Payton died, Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey tearfully said, "After Brian Piccolo died, my husband Ed and I promised ourselves we wouldn't be so personally involved with any of the players. We were able to follow that resolve until Walter Payton came into our lives." Payton was magical to watch, playing with a toughness that never failed to impress opponents, teammates, and fans alike. Alternately graceful and bruising, Payton ran, leapt, and battered his way to eight NFL records in his 13-year career--including the most rushing yards in a single game (275), most career rushing yards (16,726), and most career total yards (21,803), in addition to having 10 1,000-yard rushing seasons, five 1,500-yard rushing seasons, and 77 100-yard rushing games.

As Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton points out, however, Payton was much more than just a football player. The contributors (many of whom are Chicagoans themselves) certainly highlight Payton's great athletic ability, his impressive stats, and the respect felt for him by his professional colleagues. But they also honor Payton the family man, the practical joker who loved to set off firecrackers in the locker room, and the philanthropist who quietly gave thousands of dollars to charities throughout Illinois. Dozens of photos, quotes from friends and family, and a handful of short essays will help football fans remember a time when life was a little sweeter. A fitting tribute to the man Mike Ditka called "the best football player I've ever seen, and probably one of the best people I've ever met." --Sunny Delaney ... Read more

Reviews (3)

AWESOME SWEETNESS
Walter Payton was the model of what every player should be like, even in today's "me only" generation. Walter was a first class football player amd first class individual as well.

He is what other players should strive to be like, Walter broke the mold and still stands as the premiere football player of all time. Walter can not and will never be replaced, he represented what all of us should be like no matter what color we are or where we came from or anything!

A truly remarkable individual that went beyond being a great football player, Walter was a great person as well. If a person couldn't be inspired by what Walter Payton represented, they just couldn't be inspired with anything!

I named my son after his son, and my family will never forget watching #34 on the field on Sunday's. Walter is my all time hero and inspiration, and always will be.

A good book about a good man
This is a terrific book, especially for parents who want to show their sports-mad kids a real role model. The photos are wonderful, and the text describes the whole man, not just the football player. And he was as good a man as he was player, and there wasn't ever a better player.

Give this to a football-loving kid for Christmas, and try not to cry when you read it yourself.

A GREAT REMINDER OF A GREAT MAN.
"Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton" is a wonderful collection of quotes, stats, stories, and pictures illustrating the complete Payton. He was indeed one of the greatest running-backs of all time. What this book gives, that many don't, is a review of Walter's off-field perfomances. He was kind, caring, and loving to all. This book clearly shows that Walter was in all aspects.....a hero. This title is a must for all those who miss the headbands, the dives over the goal lines, the amazing runs, the jumping high fives, and a great man----SWEETNESS! ... Read more

Book Description

Merrill Reese has lived his dream. From the time he couldtalk he wanted to broadcast Philadelphia Eagles football games and thats exactly what he has done for more than 20 years. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

ITS BAD!!!!
This book was not what I expected. Im a huge eagles fan and had liked reese but this book changed my mind. The funniest chaptor is the one titled "my guy, my pick". Reese tells us all how great a certain failed player is and how his influence picked him for the eagles. Reese also talks about how the players respect him when in fact my brother was a memeber of the team in the late 80's to mid 90's and constantly said that reese was a running "joke" in the locker room, he was known as the mosqiuto for being an annoying pest. Buyer beware.

Cut-and-dried typical homer broadcaster
Merril Reese's book is called "It's Good." Unfortunately, in my opinion,it's not. I found this to be the typical, cut-and-dried biography of a home-town broadcater whose life is totally defined by one dimension. He's the voice of the home team. That's pretty much it. Unless you eat, sleep and live Eagles football -- and this a 3-13 team now that creates yawns instead of yeahs, I would pass. (The Eagles wish they had a quarterback who could pass.) I guess Merrill won't be writing a sequel anytime soon.

For all with a passion for the Eagles or sports broadcasting
Merrill Reese is an icon in Philadelphia. He has always come across as a passionate fan and a dedicated, prepared sports broadcaster. His masterful radio broadcasts of Eagle games help his listeners watch the game in their minds. With this book, Reese goes far beyong the games, allowing the reader to view his team and sports broadcasting through his eyes, and what a view! Everyone loves to get the skinny on things, and Reese doesn't disappoint. The book is a very quick read for not only Philadelphia Eagle fans, but for those looking to get into sports broadcasting as well. In my opinion, it should be required reading for all those former athletes turned broadcasters, yet have little knowledge of how to communicate. Maybe they would come to understand Reese's passion, professionalism, and command of the English language, and why Philadelphia Eagle fans turn down the volume on the television and turn up Merril Reese on the radio.

Merrill tells us the lowdown!
I may be biased, since I've admired Merrill for a long time and since I am a huge Eagles fan as well as a fellow radio broadcaster, but I found this book to be very entertaining and interesting. Merrill gives us a look at what was going on behind some of those Eagles teams from the late 70's until now. His insight is unsurpassed when it comes to the Birds. On top of that, he gives us a look into his life and his experiences behind the microphone as well as his climb up the ladder of broadcasting. If you're looking to get into the broadcasting field, this book just might give you the pointers and inspiration you need. If you're a diehard Eagles fan, then this is a must have. Highly enjoyable. ... Read more

Book Description

The book is an inspiring story of a young black football player, from a family of 15 children, Isaac Bruce makes it from the football fields of Ft. Lauderdale, FL to catch the winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXIV.

His belief in God and his family will inspire all who read it. ... Read more

Book Description

A hair-raising account of imprisonment that reads like an African version of "Midnight Express." "Acabou: It's Finished" started as a journal Tim Green kept for himself during his imprisonment in Mozambique. Scribbled with the stub of a pencil in a children's notebook smuggled into the cell by his fellow inmates, the notes were intended as messages to his family should he not survive. This gripping story tells how Tim Green was working as a commercial pilot, flying communications equipment into Mozambique. On the last run of a business trip, he was paid for his work in American dollars, which he tried to exchange for local currency so that he could pay for a meal. Mozambican authorities alleged that the currency was counterfeit and he was imprisoned without trial for trying to ruin the economy. His harrowing account includes a description of how he was marched in front of a firing squad and almost put to death, and that in the end it was the efforts of his family and friends that saw him freed. As Tim Green writes, " This is my story of imprisonment in Mozambique. A story of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. A story of despair and rage. It is a frightening story. It is also a story of great feeling and compassion in deprived circumstances, kindness and sharing in brutal conditions. There but for the grace of God, go you. I wrote this for me, for my sanity and understanding of the things that happened to me. And then for the people that loved me. Long afterwards, I came to realize that my words and my story may have some relevance to others that have suffered and survived." ... Read more

Book Description

Of all the great National Football League coaches, none have enjoyed the respect and reputation that Vince Lombardi earned during his tenure as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Both feared and beloved by players and peers, Lombardi coached the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls ever played. Over ten seasons, his Green Bay teams compiled a remarkable 98-30-4 record, although it was Lombardi’s relentless, uncompromising tactics and values that defined him and his career more than the victories themselves.

I Remember Vince Lombardi takes readers back to a bygone era when professional football was a game of guts, grit, and spit. Lombardi embodied greatness, and he demanded it from his staff and players. In this book, dozens of people who knew him recount their favorite memories of him in their own words, including former players, assistant coaches, opponents, and league officials. What they reveal is a man who was a genuine legend on and off the field.

Included are his days as an assistant coach for the New York Giants with colleague Tom Landry, the "Ice Bowl" NFL title game of 1966, his two Super Bowl victories, his sudden departure from the Packers, and his short-lived position as coach of the Washington Redskins. Many aspects of his personal and professional lives are covered, offering a refreshing look at one of football’s greatest icons. ... Read more

Book Description

In its review of Turbulent Souls, the New York Times wrote: "While it is clearly better for Stephen Dubner if his turbulent soul stays quiet, I think readers of this wonderful book will rather hope that a continued measure of unsettlement inspires him to write more."

Now Stephen J. Dubner has returned with the brilliant Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper, a true story that reads like the wisest of novels. Dubner embarks on the kind of search that tantalizes every one of us -- the search for a long-forgotten childhood hero -- and in so doing, plumbs the secrets to his own survival.

When he was a boy, Dubner developed a fierce attachment to a football player, Franco Harris, the famed and mysterious running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. When Dubner's father died, this attachment became an obsession. He dreamed of his hero every night; he signed his school papers "Franco Dubner." Though they never met, it was Franco Harris who shepherded Dubner through a fatherless boyhood.

Fast-forward twenty years. Dubner, by now an accomplished writer, happens to catch sight of Harris, now a businessman, on a magazine cover. His long-dormant obsession comes roaring back. He is driven to journey to Pittsburgh and even move there if necessary. He is certain that Harris will embrace him. He is convinced that he will wrest from his old hero the mysteries of the universe. And he is ... well, wrong.

Told with the grit of a journalist and the grace of a memoirist, Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper is a breathtaking, heartbreaking, and often humorous story of astonishing developments. It is also a sparkling meditation on the nature of hero worship -- which, like religion and love, tells us as much about ourselves as about the object of our desire. Dubner also manages to discuss the perils of celebrity, the psychology of nudity, and the vast difference between Jewish and Christian ideas about hero worship.

Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper is a must-read for anyone who has ever had a hero or wanted one; for anyone who considers football, as the Trappist monk Thomas Merton once wrote, "one of the really valid and deep American rituals"; and especially for those who read about others to find the truth in themselves.

Reviews (5)

A GREAT read!
After reading Stephen Dubner's first book, Turbulent Souls, I couldn't wait to read his latest work. I thoroughly enjoyed Confessions of a Hero Worshiper. It is a poignant, beautifully-written story about Dubner, who as a ten-year-old boy, grasped on to his football hero to help him survive his loneliness and insecurity after his father died. Dubner's childhood hero was Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the "man of steel" becomes much more to the young, fatherless boy than anyone would ever imagine. In school Dubner even wrote his name as "Franco Dubner" on his papers. For the next 4 years, Dubner has the same dream every night of meeting Franco Harris, inviting him over to his house for dinner, and playing a game of football in the backyard with him afterwards. Every night in the dream, Franco breaks his ankle just as he's about to score a touchdown. He hands the ball to Dubner and tells him, "You gotta take it from here yourself, kid." The words end up being prophetic.

Fast forward about twenty-five years. Dubner is now a successful writer and former editor of the NY Times Magazine. When he spies a magazine cover sporting Franco Harris's picture, his long-buried feelings are rekindled. Dubner is overcome by a deep desire to meet his hero and let him know what an important part he played in Dubner's young life.

When Dubner finally gets to rubs elbows with Franco Harris, the time spent with him and his athlete buddies is both exhilerating and frustrating. What transpires between them over the next months enables Dubner to finally shed his childhood ghosts when he comes to an epiphany of sorts. The story is both a heartfelt and at times hilarious account of Dubner's trip back into his past as he comes to grips with the present and discovers the secret to his future.

The story is so engaging and well-written that I couldn't put it down...and me, a sports fan...NOT!

A 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5-Very Moving, Very Poignant
I too worshipped a sports God in my youth-in my case, it was Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins. Thus, I could relate to Dubner's moving tribute to his hero, Franco Harris. I know what it is like to be a teenager and to think that this person really would be your good friend if only they knew you.
Dubner takes one small aspect of American society shared by many people-the worship of a sports hero at a young age-and explores it. He meets Harris as an adult and decides to write a book on him. Only the experience doesn't turn out to be the dream of a lifetime. In many ways, it is more of a nightmare.
The reader feels for both the author and Harris. Franco Harris clearly is an athlete who has moved on with his life, much to his credit. At times, the author seemed to almost stalk him. Yet you feel for the author also. No one should lose the image of a hero at any stage in his or her life.
I would recommend this book for sports lovers of all ages and both genders. If you're not into sports, then this would be a more challenging read. Yet most people have heroes in their youth in many arenas (sports, history, politics), so in that sense, the book's theme is universal.

Confessions of an Author Worshipper
Having read, enjoyed and reviewed Mr. Dubner's first book, "TURBULENT SOULS", I was most anxious to read his latest book, "CONFESSIONS OF A HERO WORSHIPPER". I found the book to be full of entertaining humor as Mr. Dubner seeks out and finds his childhood hero, Franco Harris, star football player of the Pitttsburgh Steelers. It also explains the need of a hero to come into Mr. Dubner's life to help him deal with the loss of his own father when Stephen was a small boy.This is a most enjoyable easy read....a pleasant true story.

How hero worship saved a fatherless boy's life
Stephen J. Dubner is the child of two first generation Brooklyn Jews, who had each converted to Catholicism during the second world war. They met, married, moved to Upstate New York and had eight children. Stephen was the youngest. When he was nine his father died, and Stephen began dreaming about a mysterious, black Italian, Pittsburgh Steelers football player named Franco Harris. Stephen signed his school papers Franco Dubner, and wore a Steelers Jersey. He fiercely followed Harris' life and career for all the years of his lonely childhood and adolescence. Twenty years later, a grown man, a published author, a New York Times magazine editor and writer, Dubner caught sight of his boyhood hero's picture on the cover of Black Enterprise magazine. He was seized by a strong desire to find his boyhood hero and try to understand the meaning of his long and passionate hero worship. Dubner's search is an extraordinary story of love, loss, and healing. The writing is beautiful and honest. I laughed and cried. Even the descriptions of Harris' football playing held my interest, and I am no sports fan. This is a tremendously moving, authentic story of how the human spirit can transcend the most terrible tragedy, with glorious grace.

Great book, not what I was expecting
It seemed like a simple story about a man who tracks down his childhood hero. Becomes much more than that, though. It's about life, love, football, fatherhood, sonhood, etc. Dubner is a great writer. Smart, funny, gentle, with an old-fashioned ear for storytelling. Couldn't put it down, was really sad when it ended. ... Read more

Book Description

Legends of Health & Fitness are non-fictionalized stories that present the lives of contemporary, health and fitness role models for young adults. These are the stories of real men and women who, despite busy lives, find time each day to ensure their health. Each book in the series begins with a chapter that gives a history and background of the sport or career and ties the sport to health and fitness.

Legends of Health & Fitness are apropriate for all middle school and high school students who want to lead a healthy and fit lifestyle.

The book, Fitness Stars of Pro Football profiles Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Darrell Green, and Wayne Chrebet. Years ago, football players were often overweight and out of shape. Today, most are still big guys, but many are rock-hard fitness fans with very little body fat. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Fun, Fast Read that leaves you LOL at times!

As a fellow fantasy football junkie, I was compelled to pick up a copy after finding it mentioned in so many message boards. Simply put, I could not put the book down after reading the first chapter.St. Amant uses a nice mix of jargon, humor, real-life examples, and suspense.By following his personal league, other leagues, the World Championship of Fantasy Football, while providing an education into the history of the game, you find yourself wondering what happens next!The back and forth style between the real life events, glimpses into the psychology of enthusiasts, and his own personal experiences made this one of the most entertaining books I have read to date.

Following the real life events during Mark's quest provides a nice break from the action and helps any fantasy football participant relate to the author.The benefit of 20/20 hindsight, with the 2003 season having past, provides a deeper understanding of the logic behind the player's decisions and their results as you follow his league to its conclusion.

Again, I constantly found myself wondering what would happen the next week and I learned a great deal about the game I was unaware of previously!I recommend it for any football fan!

Entertaining even for girls!
I thoroughly enjoyed Mark St. Amant's "Committed." I wanted to learn about Fantasy Football without having to try to glean information from some glossy magazine made for people in the know. But chicks love narrative and so I was lucky that his memoir was out there. It was delightfully bawdy at times and funny from beginning to end. He dispenses not only facts but touching stories about folks who maintain and nurture friendships across the years. Smack talk included, it's really very sweet. Indeed, for ladies, there could be no better sports book, than one in which the author proclaims again and again, how much he loves his wife.

Realistic View of the World of Fantasy Football
I just finished Mark St Amant's book Committed and I was impressed. As a fantasy football junkie since 1992 (when I received my stats and standings in the mail each week) I appreciate the way Mark captured "the obsession" and the camaraderie of the hobby.

Fantasy Football's real magic is in the friendships you make and maintain, year after year, both old and new. I keep in touch with friends from grade school through my current business life, all across the world. Fathers and sons connect playing fantasy football, friendships are stregthened (sometimes tested though), and it is a great diversion from the challenges of everyday life.Also, the draft is a great reason to all get together once a year and reconnect, face to face.

Bottom line, Committed captures the soul of the game.Well done.

Guilty
This book is hilarious.Mark interjects his own wit with his stories that had me in the floor rolling.I can relate to Mark about the many feelings and emotions that come with avid fantasy football managers.Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in fantasy football.I helps newbies understand slang and strategies, it provides vets with stories and situations that will all have in common and it even has something for the fantasy football widows so that they may understand why there husband is somebody different during football season.

Encore, encore!!!
My name is Jeff and I'm a fantasy football junkie!Glad to know I'm not the only one.Totally enjoyable...Mark, Willis (McGahee) and Julius (Jones) helped inspire my lackluster 1-4 Fire Ants to a 6-1 finish, playoff berth and 3 points from the championship game.I'm trying to scrape together the $$$ to feed my growing addiction in 2005 (WCOFF?). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good biography about O.J. Simpson
After reading this book, I know more about O.J.'s childhood and career before the infamous murders occured. It is very informative about his days as a football star and an actor. However, I was expecting more about O.J.'s relationship with Nicole. I also did not like the way the book ended. It left you wondering whether or not O.J. is guilty. I really recommend this book if you want to know about O.J. and his rise to fame. I recommend "Raging Heart" by Sheila Weller for an intimate look at the relationship between O.J. and Nicole. Overall, it was a good book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Revealing
Having been a lifelong Cowboys fan I saw this book and had to read it. The first thing I found upon reading it was that total honesty of Coach Landry and the guts it took to wither all the storms life can throw at one person. I found that, even though it deals worth football, there are lessons that are applicable to everyday life. This would be a great book for all school children to be assigned to read. It shows what can happen when one person puts faith and families and principles ahead of instant gradification. ... Read more

Book Description

Kurt Warner is the greatest rag-to-riches story in the history of sports. It's a wonderful, hilarious, poignant and factual account of the magical ride. Go inside the locker rooms with all his coaches - from Dick Vermeil to Dick Breitbach... Get behind the scenes with Warner's trips to Wheel of Fortune, David Letterman and Disney World... Venture into the press box with Bernie Miklasz, Jim Thomas and J.R. Ogden... Eavesdrop on Bob Costas and Dan Dierdorf discussing the Kurt Warner Miracle... From the UNI-Dome to the Trans World Dome to the Georgia Dome, from Mariucci to his mom, this is the only book with the full story on the great unknown - Kurt Warner. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Worst book I have ever purchased
I live in St. Louis and love both the Rams and Kurt Warner.I bought this book expecting to find out information on Warner and the magical season, but got rambling ... instead. The book is one chapter after another of people telling stories about themselves, some of which do not even know Warner.I bought the book at a local grocery store that had a huge promotion, selling copies at half-off the list price.Good books do not sell for half-price immediately after being published.It is not worthy of a match to burn it.

Kurt Warner: And The First Shall Be Last
I'm a big Kurt Warner fan, both as a football player and a peron. However, this book is almost degrading to him. Although everyone quoted speaks highly of Kurt, the author's presentation is extremely poor. It reads like he taped interviews and transcribed them word for word into a book. Very boring.

Weak effort. No Super Bowl for this book.
I am a huge Kurt Warner fan. However, this book was terrible. It seemed that it was thrown together so it could get to market quick. I wouldn't want anyone to waste their time with this. I normally don't try to trash items that people put a lot of work into. However, I don't feel there was lot of work put into this project. The book consists of stories/letters from people that new him. Most stories are disjointed at best. Sorry Kurt. Just don't feel this book is worthy of your achievements.

The intence biography of Kurt Warner
I think that this book is one of best Kurt Warner Biographys of many.I would requst this book to a person that likes sports.Also I would say that you would have to would have to know some things about the sport of football.There is alot of terms that only the people that like sports would know about.There is some things that this book doesn't cover.If you want to know more about Kurt Warner look at some of the other books that Amozon carries.

A Great Alternative Look at Warner and the Rams
Excellent book for those that would like to look at the spiritual side of Kurt Warner and several other Rams that played key roles in their championship season.Stories and comments not found in "All Things Possible".Buy both books to get the full story! ... Read more

Book Description

In a state where basketball is the established religion and kids dream of someday playing the game for the University of Kentucky, Tim Couch had a different dream. It was hidden away, deep in the "hills and hollers" surrounding tiny Hyden, Kentucky (pop. 250), but it blossomed into a reality that would shake the consciousness of the entire Commonwealth. That this dream was in football, and would make Couch one of Kentucky's most prominent and admired sports heroes in history, makes his story all the more compelling. In becoming the national prep player of the year, in reviving UK's football program and leading it to its first New Year's Day bowl game since the 1950s, and in becoming the No. 1 NFL draft pick of 1999, Tim Couch answered his doubters every step of the way. This story is told from the "inside" in his own words, and in the words of those closest to him. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A pleasant surprise - no self hype here!
A very good read. I'm not quite down with it, but a great book. There's no self-hype here by Couch. The authors do a great job taking a story of "small town boy makes good" into a story all of us can relate to in one way or another. I've been a Tim Couch fan ever since he came to Cleveland, and you'll enjoy reading about how he gets there. A definite must-read. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A GREAT BOOK ON THE BEST EVER COLLEGE FOOTBALL QB!!!!!
Ty Detmer had one of the greatest college careers ever! Dick Harmon is a great writer. He has written many books on BYU football and their quarterbacks. This book goes into depth on how Ty became a football player in the small town of Mission, Texas. Buy it, read it, and ENJOY! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Interesting and insightful information from an insider
So you think a team trainer simply wraps ankles and takes care of injuries? Read this book and you will find that he does much more. The Packer Tapes: My 32 Years With the Green Bay Packers by Dominic Gentile informs the reader that he can also play the part of a sounding board to players and coaches alike, be a personal advisor, and even making personnel suggestions to the coaching staff.
The Packer Tapes contains interesting tidbits from someone who was as close to being a part of the team as could possibly be, but actually wasn't.
Hired by the legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, and employed by the Packers through Mike Holmgren's first season, Gentile, who obviously was also a diehard Packer fan besides being the team trainer, offers his opinion of both of those coaches as well as those who were sandwiched in between. He also sheds insight about many of the players that he worked with through those years and dispells some myths about a few of the players and the team.
For instance, many Packer fans probably thought that Sterling Sharpe was an introverted individual because he didn't speak to the local press. Gentile reveals that Sharpe was actually very vocal, outgoing, and even a prankster in the locker room. Another bit of Sharpe information disclosed was that he played with injuries and pain much of the time and still was able to perform at a top-notch level.
Reading this book approximately nine years after it was published (the book was published after the 1994 season; this reviewer read the book and wrote this review in February, 2004) provided - maybe inadvertently - some interesting and amazingly accurate observations. It almost appeared that Gentile could see into the future. For instance, his take on Brett Favre: He hoped that the Packers would stick with Favre because he thought that he was "something special." Favre went on to win three MVPs and has led the Packers to the Super Bowl.
On Mike Holmgren: Dom always felt that the Packers' head coaches after Lombardi -and until Holmgren - worked the players too hard in training camp and practice, leaving them with a low energy level for the games. He felt that Holmgren would have success that the preceding coaches couldn't achieve. Holmgren went on to win a Super Bowl with the Packers.
It's obvious that Gentile was very observant and a good judge of character.
In a nutshell: The Packer Tapes is an easy read, insightful, with viewpoints and stories from someone with the inside scoop, who probably knew the coaches and especially the players better than anyone. I don't know if non-Packer fans would like the book - they might. But Packer backers are sure to enjoy it. ... Read more

Book Description

Bobby Bowden is a coaching treasure and legend. Across six decades at Howard College, West Virginia University, and Florida State University, Coach Bowden has won a total of 332 games and touched the lives of all those around him. With style and grace he has accumulated his victories, which during one stretch resulted in the unfathomable accomplishment of at least 10 wins a season for 15 consecutive years. Inside the pages of this book, readers will discover how Bowden won and what players he used to secure each of his coaching victories. From his first unnoticed conquest in 1959 through the last triumph attended by tens of thousands and covered by a media throng, this is the account of how he did it, win by win. ÝÝ ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A wonderful book about the legend Bobby Bowden
A very well written book with great, rare photographs. Much more than just a game by game analysis of Bobby Bowdens career. This book gives behind the scenes look at the decisions he made in the games and in his career - I am sure happy he did not take the LSU or Alabama positions when he was considering them! A great book about the all-time coaching win leader!. Well researched. ... Read more

Book Description

As one of the greatest football players of the 20th Century Deacon Jones learned that it would take more than size and speed to be the best defensive end in the NFL. He knew that extraordinary mental toughness would keep him at the peak of his game. After he retired from football, Deacon continued to use his winning attitude to help him to recreate his success off the gridiron. The Book of Deacon is a collection of sayings that represents the mental and spiritual essence of a modern day warrior.

As an integral member of the Los Angeles Rams legendary Fearsome Foursome, Deacon Jones was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. Deacon’s combination of speed and tenacity made him one of the leading pass rushers in NFL history and the 13th greatest football player to have played in the NFL by Sporting News. Today, the Deacon Jones Foundation is instrumental in helping academically qualified inner city students find personal and financial success by providing scholarships and mentoring programs.

The Book of Deacon is a combination of down home wisdom, gridiron determination, and modern motivation to help anyone to succeed in the game of life. ... Read more