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This book explores how recent football fiction has negotiated the decisive political developments in English football after the 1989 90… publication of the Taylor Report A direct response to the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster and growing concerns of hooliganism the Taylor Report suggested a number of measures for stricter regulation of fan crowds In consequence stadiums in the top divisions were turned into all-seated venues and were put under CCTV surveillance The implementation of these measures reduced violent incidents drastically but it also led to an unparalleled increase in ticket prices which in turn significantly altered the demographics of the crowd This development which also enabled football s entry into other mainstream cultural forms changed the game decisively Piskurek traces patterns across prose and film to detect how these fictions have responded to the changed circumstances of post-Taylor football Lending a cultural lens to these political changes this book is pioneering in its analysis of football fiction as a whole offering a fresh perspective to a range of scholars and students interested in cultural studies sociology leisure and politics
A new fun-filled Hot Rod Hamster reader from the dynamic duo of Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord and NEW YORK… TIMES bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson! Hot Rod Hamster is looking for adventure! Hamster and his friends go looking for an awesome adventure at Al's ATV Park. But Hamster needs YOUR help to make it the perfect ride, full of bumps, jumps, and down-and-dirty fun! After roaring up hills, rolling over rocks, and splashing through mud puddles, the group halts at the sound of one word: "Help!" A family out for a picnic has gotten their ATV stuck in the mud! So Hamster and his friends stage a down-and-dirty rescue, proving that great adventure--and great new friends--come in all sizes! Newbery Honor-winning author Cynthia Lord and New York Times bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson's beloved characters return. With the same bouncing rhythms, fun choices, and daredevil antics that make the acclaimed picture books sparkle, these Level 2 readers will be a sturdy stepping-stone for Hot Rod Hamster fans and series newcomers alike as they move on to independent reading.
Medical-textbook illustrator Marilyn draws her husband, technical diving expert Rand, and her best friend Jane into a complex triangle of… desire, loss, and guilt. Jane’s death on a dive with Rand causes Marilyn to spin out of control in a pattern of escalating risk-addiction. Marilyn drags Rand with her, endangering them both in their private underwater version of hell.
There is no event like the Olympic Games. The athletes who compete are amazing in their ability to attain world… class standards and their drive to be the best as they strive to beat their competitors and defy physical limitations and records on a global stage. These individuals are an example to all of us, and each of the Amazing Olympians in this book has an amazing story to tell. In this unique story collection, take a fascinating trip through the lives of some of the world's most celebrated Olympians! You'll meet Fanny Blankers-Koen, 'the flying housewife', who had great success as an athlete in the face of prejudice against her age and her refusal to conform. You'll discover the story of George Eyser, who overcame the loss of his leg in an accident, going on to win six medals in a day. Meet Jesse Owens, the most successful athlete of the 1936 German Olympics who was snubbed by Adolf Hitler because of his colour, and Johnny Weismuller, who went from Olympic success to a career in Hollywood. Join all these inspirational Olympians, and many others, as their stories come to life through BioViews®.A BioView® is a short biographical story, similar to an interview, about an amazing person. These stories offer an inspirational way of learning about people who made major contributions to our world. The unique format and flow enables each person's story to come alive, as if it is being personally told to you, and reflects their interests, emotions and passions.
In the Depression year of 1931, on the golf links at Krewe Island off Savannah's windswept shore, two legends of… the game--Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen--meet for a mesmerizing thirty-six-hole showdown. Another golfer will also compete--a troubled local war hero, once a champion, who comes with his mentor and caddie, the mysterious Bagger Vance. It is Vance, sage and charismatic, who will ultimately guide the match, for he holds the secret of the Authentic Swing. And he alone can show his protege the way back to glory. Written in the spirit of Gold in the Kingdom and The Natural, The Legend of Bagger Vance reveals the true nature of the game in a story that is unforgettable.
Each title of The Olympics examines the the Olympic Games from ancient times, then the revival of the 1890s through… to today's multi-million pound business. From the history of the games to which events are included and why, and from scandals to record breakers, The Olympics puts the reader at the centre of the action with fact-packed text, dramatic full-colour photos, facts and statistics.
Don't worry ... Everybody knows Jodi is no chicken--but lately she panics every time she gets on the beam. Why… is she so scared all of a sudden? Is it the new trick she's working on--or something else? Jodi can't figure it out. It's driving her crazy--and so is her coach. The more he tells her not to worry, the scarier it gets.
The Simple family's plans for a picnic in the park prove disastrously complex. From the artist and author J. C.… Phillipps comes this hilarious little picture book with a big heart to remind us that picnics are just a little about food and a lot about family.
Colin Shindler was dealt a cruel hand by Fate when he became a passionate Manchester City supporter. In this brilliant… sporting autobiography he recalls the great characters of his youth, like his eccentric Uncle Laurence, as well as his professional heroes. Threaded through these sporting events is the author's own story, which touches on a universal nerve, growing up in a Jewish family, his childhodd destroyed by the sudden death of his mother and his slow emotional recovery through his love for Manchester City. It is a tale that reveals what it is like to be on the outside looking in, with his nose pressed up against the sweet shop window watching the United supporters take all the wine gums.
Twelve-year-old Christian Phillips doesn?t think he will make the junior rugby team. When his parents give him a pair of… footy boots before the trial ? a gift from his late grandfather, a staunch Wallabies fan ? Christian is still not convinced. Shocked when he makes the team, and relegated to the wing, Christian soon realises his idea of teamwork is a little different from that of the coach and other boys. Christian spends most games waiting for a pass and decides conforming is easier than challenging the culture of the team. But when they have to face the brutal Scots team on their home turf, a new leader emerges ? From Raewyn Caisley, the acclaimed and established author of TOP MARKS, NOT CRICKET, HOT SHOT, TENNIS STAR, QUEEN?S CUBBY, FREE STYLE and GREAT LEAD, comes another book in the popular Junior Sports Series.
Sam Scott is not your average 13-year-old girl. When Sam?s friends are off chasing boys, she?s on the local footy… oval training for Richmond Juniors? upcoming matches. Her mother and father desperately want her to give up her obsession with football and get serious about law or medicine like her sister Kate. Sam is blitzing her junior Aussie Rules competition when two major disasters threaten to upset her season. First, she almost quits when the class snob calls her butch. Then, when she turns fourteen on the eve of the finals, red tape looks like forcing Sam out of the game she loves. Her battle to play makes her a public hero, but Sam soon realises that being a winner in the money-fuelled AFL world comes at a big price. From Cheryl Critchley, the author of UNSPOIL YOUR KIDS, ESCAPE THE PARENT TRAP, OUR FOOTY and REAL FANS VS BIG BUCKS, comes another book in the popular Junior Sports Series.
Somewhere between incarceration and sainthood stands Joe Rice, a man who relishes peace, painkillers, and his Friday-night baseball league. When… his shady business partner Gene dies rounding the bases, Joe knows this isn't going to be an ordinary season. Soon enough, a suburban ex-mobster, his entrepreneurial son, and a gun-toting minister have Tasered, maced and harassed Joe over the location of a three-million-dollar Babe Ruth baseball bat he doesn't know anything about. Joe just wants to save his car-detailing/ticker brokerage business from Gene's mountain of debt, crime and craziness. (Winning a game of Madden NFGL against his ex-girlfriend's twelve-year-old son would also be a relief. ) But first, he must confront the ghosts of his past - namely, his murdered uncle and his mentally unstable mother. He must also deal with the present, navigating the space between the two women he cares about. And finally, he must face the future, every man's least favorite obstacle. Dallas Hudgens, the acclaimed author ofDrive Like Hell, blends Guatemalan chicken, online pharmaceuticals, and unforgettable characters in a raucous but moving story of love and baseball. Season of Geneis a wild ride of a novel about a troubled man, the troubled women who love him and a legendary baseball bat that could either save their lives or get them killed.
Sammy Wong, All-American tells the tale of a very talented Asian basketball player's rise and stumble in the all-American sport… of basketball--among the most international of team sports, yet one where until very recently Asians were completely unrepresented. The novel unwinds in spectacular fashion. On his high school, college, and professional teams, Sammy isn't given much of a chance. Then when he does get into games, he turns out to be the kind of player who can turn a losing team into a winning one. Wong's career turns on chance opportunities and unexpected twists as much as on talent, persistence and hard work. There are great scenes describing pivotal plays on the hardwood floor as only Charley Rosen can. Like all Rosen's novels, this is about more than basketball. Sammy Wong, All-American is a book about identity in multi-ethnic American culture and the cost of innocence in the modern world. Sammy Wong, All-American will delight basketball fans and fiction readers alike, a sports novel that delivers on multiple levels.
Race for the record! At the Sydney Games, Marion Jones strove to become the first person ever to win five… gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics, making headlines for simply believeing she could do it. Driven to succeed at a very early age, Marion won multiple titiles at the Junior National Championships and set a junior record in the 200 meters. A multisport athlete, she helped lead the University of North Carolina women's basketball team to a national championship during her freshman year and also competed in track and field, until an injury forced her to reevaluate her priorities. Refocused on her track career, Marion quickly became the woman to beat, racking up an impressive thirty-five wims of the thiry-six events she entred in 1998. And after another injury sidelined her hopes of winning four gold medal at the 1999 World Championships, marion fought back in the 2000 season and is once again dominating the field. Get the full story of this amazing runner's race for the record, from her childhood dreams of gold medals to her tough choice between two sports and her determined drive to become the fastest woman in the world.
Told through a series of "historical documents"--memoirs, illustrations, letters, philosophical treatises, blue prints, maps--the novel details the tale of a… secret Brotherhood who meet in dreams, gain esoteric knowledge from contemplation of the bicycle, and seek to move in and out of history, manipulating events.
"The only constant passion in my life was my love of fly fishing and all that went with it. I… coveted the escape I could find sitting at my vise for hours, tying deceitful little flies. I loved to be in the world where trout lived--the rivers and mountains and forests and meadows, away from people and the demands and requirements that created stress in my life."Meet Benedict Salem, whose friends call him BS, a frustrated writer and teacher looking to find himself. Middle-aged and blocked creatively, his dreams are filled with those magical moments when the weather, the lay of the cast, the fly, and the water converge with the fish in one fluid arc of perfection. The desire to perpetuate these moments takes BS to a small town in Maine, home to the crossing house inn, behind which lies a tract of virtual wilderness, a clean-running river, and a bounty of large, smart, and mostly fearless trout.BS soon befriends the owner of the inn, Bill Cahill, and together they and a group of fellow anglers found the Samuel Tippett Fly Fishers club. They soon devise a fishing contest between them, but what starts out as a friendly game to determine the best trout fly to represent their new club, quickly descends into a bitter rivalry that threatens to overtake reason. Feelings and friendships are forgotten as a fight over rules and the hunger to win takes hold of the men.In a deftly interwoven tale that explores the camaraderie and sportsmanship among anglers, The Contest challenges the wisdom of chasing perfection, and instead, encourages the reader to revel in life's most important moments, however brief or passing.
A sports hero seeks a comeback in this wildly funny and ultimately redemptive novel.His name, as we all know, is… Herbert X. "Tree" Tremont, and he's the richest and most celebrated athlete of our time--a multicultural golfing icon with fifty-three Tour wins, thirteen major victories, a smoking hot wife, and two adorable kids. But when a reporter uncovers evidence that Tree's sexual appetites are as prodigious as his tee shots, his public and private lives collide, producing the juiciest scandal in sports history. In this wickedly funny novel that takes readers between the ropes and the sheets of the PGA Tour as never before, the only thing more entertaining than Tree's downfall is his quest for redemption.
A sports hero seeks a comeback in this wildly funny and ultimately redemptive novel.His name, as we all know, is… Herbert X. "Tree" Tremont, and he's the richest and most celebrated athlete of our time--a multicultural golfing icon with fifty-three Tour wins, thirteen major victories, a smoking hot wife, and two adorable kids. But when a reporter uncovers evidence that Tree's sexual appetites are as prodigious as his tee shots, his public and private lives collide, producing the juiciest scandal in sports history. In this wickedly funny novel that takes readers between the ropes and the sheets of the PGA Tour as never before, the only thing more entertaining than Tree's downfall is his quest for redemption.