Well, it's pretty boring in the hockey world, so I figured I would start a thread about some good sports related books that anyone is currently reading or has read. I want to read some more books that I'll enjoy before I start back up at university and I have to read about macroeconomics.
I'm not great at synopses but I'll try to outline what I've read lately:
Hockey
Future Greats and Heartbreaks: A Year Undercover in the Secret World of NHL Scouts by Gare Joyce (who is actually a HF member). It's a perfect book for all those who want an in-depth look at the behind scenes stuff of scouting and the atmosphere of draft day. Gare Joyce travels the world with scouts giving an unparalleled look into the scouting world, and their lifestyles. He identifies some of the top prospects of '06 Draft and gives some background information on some of the players (Kessel in particular). It's also gives a behind the scenes look at the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, as Joyce writes about their scouting, pre-draft interviews as well as little tidbits from the draft day warroom. Very good read for people who are into that stuff. IMO, you can tell that Joyce is more of a sports enthusiast than simply a person who writes strictly because they love language, I don't mean that as a slight. It's an easy and fun read.
When The Lights Went Out: How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War and Changed the Game by Gare Joyce. It's about the famous WJC fight in Piestany in '87 between Canada/USSR (if you're not familiar with it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ydbATVriqA) The book is basically divided into stages. It focuses on the lead-up to the tournament with information about both country's coaching staff, and the Canadian team. The next part is about the tournament itself, and then the fight. It was followed with perceptions of the fight within Canada, and also talk about what the players went on to do. Many players made it to the NHL, Moligny, Fedorov, Fleury, Shanahan just to name a few. I just finished doing a course of Evolution of Modern Europe and this book really fit right in. The book has a lot of USSR overtones within it, which was interesting because I'm not that familiar with the emergence of Soviet hockey other than the Summit Series and Canada Cup. It may not be some people's cup of tea but it was an interesting and informative read.
Walking with Legends: The Real Stories of Hockey Night in Canada by Ralph Mellanby and Mike Brophy. This book was very well written IMO. It gives an inside look in the behind the scenes stuff of HNiC, but also gives stories on some great players of the past. It's not going to tweak everyone's interest seeing as it's about HNiC but it's has a lot of really neat stories that I would never have heard otherwise.
Football
The Blind Side: Evolution of a game by Michael Lewis. There a two stories going on simultaneously in this book. One is about Michael Oher -- an underprivileged black youth -- that is given a chance to be admitted into a Christian private school. Eventually is taken in by a white family and goes on to Ole Miss for football, and then drafted 1st round by the Ravens in last years draft. The other is the emerging importance of the Left Tackle position throughout the years and how it's changed a lot of beliefs in the world of football. I personally found it quite powerful and informative. It's from the same author as Moneyball. There will be a movie coming out for this book in '09 as well.
oh.. I thought we were talking about online gambling here.
Moneyball: The art of winning an unfair game is a pretty cool read if you're a baseball fan. I also really enjoyed In the Crease by Dick Irvin, which is a really neat compilation of the experiances of goaltenders in the NHL from the early 50's straight through to the mid 90's.
Moneyball: The art of winning an unfair game is a pretty cool read if you're a baseball fan. I also really enjoyed In the Crease by Dick Irvin, which is a really neat compilation of the experiances of goaltenders in the NHL from the early 50's straight through to the mid 90's.
I've read Moneyball, and started re-reading again this morning actually, which lead me to start the thread. Should've listed it as well. I've also read Ken Dryden's The Game, which was amazing.
Never heard of In the Crease. I'm really interested in goalies and Dick Irvin is quite knowledgeable so I'll try to pick it up. Thanks.
While on the subject of books, though he doesn't write anything on sports, Steven Pressfield has written perhaps the most interesting fiction books I have ever read. I still haven't gotten ahold of 'Last of the Amazons,' but 'Gates of Fire' (a first-person narrative of the Battle of Thermopylae) could very well be the cream of the crop for him.
Starting an AHL expansion franchise in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2001–2 was exciting. But that challenge was tempered by a tragic dose of perspective on September 11, 2001.
I was supposed to be on United Airlines flight 175 out of Boston, which flew into the World Trade Center in New York. Los Angeles Kings pro scouting director Ace Bailey and scout Mark Bavis were on the flight and were killed. Ace and I became fast friends when I coached in Lowell. There wasn’t a more lovable guy in the world than Garnet "Ace" Bailey, who was like a big brother to me. Ace, who was Wayne Gretzky’s roommate during the Great One’s first season in Edmonton, possessed a geniality and charisma that made him a beloved figure throughout pro hockey.
The original itinerary called for me to be on the Tuesday flight from Boston to Los Angeles for the start of Kings training camp. But Kings head coach Andy Murray decided he wanted me and Bobby Jay, my Manchester assistant coach, there a day earlier. Thank God Andy’s a stickler for details, and thank God Kings general manager Dave Taylor listened to coaches when they wanted something. The week before, John Wolf, Taylor’s assistant, told me he changed my flight because Murray had scheduled a precamp meeting and dinner with all the coaches in the organization. I would fly to LA on Monday, September 10, instead of Tuesday, September 11. I wasn’t peeved about the switch. I was happy that Andy wanted me there early. I didn’t know he had saved my life.
The weekend before September 11, Kings player personnel director Bill O’Flaherty’s daughter got married in Lake Placid, New York. Ace Bailey picked me up in Manchester, and we drove to Lake Placid. We had to take a car ferry across Lake Champlain from Vermont to New York, and Ace chatted with fellow passengers and offered them beer. Typical, gregarious Ace. He knew everybody in hockey.
We were hungry when we arrived in Lake Placid. The lights were out when we checked into our hotel room, but we started ravenously searching for food before we turned them on. Ace pointed out a big bowl in the shadows and suggested I dig in. I started eating what I thought were peanuts. They tasted stale. Ace tried them (or at least pretended to try them) and agreed they were stale. He encouraged me to keep eating, noting they weren’t half bad given our hunger. When we turned on the lights, I discovered I’d been eating potpourri. Yum-yum. At the wedding reception, Ace made sure to tell everybody that foolish Bruce dined on potpourri, never mentioning that it originally was his idea. I was always Mutt to his Jeff.
We returned home Sunday morning. I suggested to Ace that he get his Tuesday flight changed to Monday and travel to LA with me. Ace checked with John Wolf. A flight change would cost $750. Ace didn’t want to hit the Kings with that expense and opted to stick with the Tuesday flight. He dropped me off and I shook his hand, gave him a man hug, and told him I’d see him Tuesday.
I flew to Los Angeles on Monday with Bobby Jay, and on Tuesday morning, September 11, at around 6:00 a.m. Pacific time, my wife, Crystal, phoned and told me to turn on the TV. I did and saw all the stuff happening with the terrorist attacks. I went to Bobby Jay’s room. He’s from Boston. We went to the rink to continue watching and word started to drift out that one of the planes involved was United flight 175—the flight taken by Ace Bailey and Mark Bavis.
