99: Stories of the Game

99: Stories of the Game
Author: Wayne Gretzky
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2016-10-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0399575480

In this sports memoir, Wayne Gretzky weaves memories of his legendary career with an inside look at professional hockey and the heroes and stories that inspired him. From minor-hockey phenomenon to Hall of Fame sensation, Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books, his accomplishments becoming the stuff of legend. Dubbed “The Great One,” he is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player who ever lived. No one has seen more of the game than he has—but he has never discussed in depth just what it was he saw. For the first time, Gretzky discusses candidly what the game looks like to him and introduces us to the people who inspired and motivated him: mentors, teammates, rivals, the famous and the lesser known. Weaving together lives and moments from an extraordinary career, he reflects on the players who inflamed his imagination when he was a kid, the way he himself figured in the dreams of so many who came after; takes us onto the ice and into the dressing rooms to meet the friends who stood by him and the rivals who spurred him to greater heights; shows us some of the famous moments in hockey history through the eyes of someone who regularly made that history. Warm, direct, and revelatory, it is a book that gives us number 99, the man and the player, like never before.

99 Percent Mine

99 Percent Mine
Author: Sally Thorne
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062439626

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game, soon to be a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, an unforgettable romantic comedy about a woman who finally has a shot at her long time crush—if she dares. Crush (n.): a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach… Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough. When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade. Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers. This next hilarious romance includes a special PS section with two Happily Ever Afters—one for this novel featuring Darcy and Tom and the other, an epilogue featuring fan favorites Lucy Hutton and Josh Templeman from The Hating Game!

The Great One

The Great One
Author: Sports Illustrated
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2012-11-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0771083629

Sports Illustrated followed The Great One's career right from the very beginning. Starting in 1978, when Gretzky was a young phenom playing for the Soo Greyhounds, they had their best writers cover his rise to fame and subsequent dominance of the sport. His staggering career stats tend to overshadow the struggles he faced in his career -- the early days in Edmonton, when he was establishing himself as the greatest player, but could not lead his team to a cup. The years after the trade that shook the hockey world he spent years trying to lead a new team to glory, only managing to reach the final once more, in 1993, and losing in five games. Covered as well are his forgotten goal-droughts, the thoughts that he had lost his touch in the early nineties. His struggles with injury and playing though his father's near death. The Great One reads not like a sports book, but a biography of one of the greatest athletes of all time. Sports Illustrated's greatest writers all contribute articles, EM Swift, Michael Farber, Jack Kalla, to tell the complete story of Wayne Gretzky's career.

If Life Is a Game...These Are The Stories

If Life Is a Game...These Are The Stories
Author: Cherie Carter Scott
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2004-09
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 9780740746840

Filled with stories of hope, inspiration, and human perseverance from 40 countries, this treasury of tales opens the heart and uplifts the spirit. With passages by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, and Desmond Tutu, this collection includes stories that range in voice and locale.

Masters of Doom

Masters of Doom
Author: David Kushner
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2004-05-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0812972155

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerful and compassionate account of what it’s like to be young, driven, and wildly creative. “To my taste, the greatest American myth of cosmogenesis features the maladjusted, antisocial, genius teenage boy who, in the insular laboratory of his own bedroom, invents the universe from scratch. Masters of Doom is a particularly inspired rendition. Dave Kushner chronicles the saga of video game virtuosi Carmack and Romero with terrific brio. This is a page-turning, mythopoeic cyber-soap opera about two glamorous geek geniuses—and it should be read while scarfing down pepperoni pizza and swilling Diet Coke, with Queens of the Stone Age cranked up all the way.”—Mark Leyner, author of I Smell Esther Williams

Fabric of the Game

Fabric of the Game
Author: Chris Creamer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 740
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 168358385X

An in-depth look into the origins of how each NHL team was named, received their logo and design, with interviews by those responsible. Written by those most knowledgeable, you'll learn why every hockey team to every play in the National Hockey League looks the way it does. Nothing unites or divides a random assortment of strangers quite like the hockey team for which they cheer. The passion they hold within them for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Boston Bruins allows them to look past any differences which would have otherwise disrupted a perfectly fine Thanksgiving dinner and channels it into a powerful, shared admiration for their team. We decorate our lives with their logos, stock our wardrobe with their jerseys, and, in some cases, even tattoo our bodies with their iconography and colors. They’re so ingrained in our lives we don’t even think to ask ourselves why Los Angeles celebrates royalty; why Buffalo cheers for not one, but two massive cavalry swords; or why the Broadway Blueshirts named themselves for a law enforcement agency in Texas (or why they even wear blue shirts, for that matter). All that and more is explored in Fabric of the Game, authored by two of the sports world’s leading experts in team branding and design: Chris Creamer and Todd Radom. Tapping into their vast knowledge of the whys and hows, Creamer and Radom explore and share the origin stories behind these and more, talking directly to those involved in the decision processes and designs of the National Hockey League’s team names, logos, and uniforms, pouring through historical accounts to find and deliver the answers to these questions. Learn more about the historied Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, as well as the lost but not forgotten Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, all the way to the lesser-known Kansas City Scouts and Philadelphia Quakers. Whichever team you pledge allegiance, Fabric of the Game covers them in-depth with research and knowledge for any hockey fan to enjoy.

Chill Factor

Chill Factor
Author: David Paitson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 413
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1613217951

The city of Columbus, Ohio, had always struggled to support any professional sports franchise. It’s a town where Ohio State University reigns supreme, and everything else is less important. That was until 1991, when the Columbus Chill, a minor-league hockey franchise, arrived. Using Veeckian marketing tactics and on-ice shenanigans, the Chill became the talk of the city and gained a religious local fan base. Based on the success of the Chill, from 1991–99, the city of Columbus was awarded with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000, the city’s own NHL franchise. Chill Factor follows the wild ride through the eyes of team president and general manager David Paitson, from the early formation of the minor-league franchise through the decision to rattle the status quo by going to the edge and beyond with a marketing and promotional plan that was both edgy and controversial. The success of the Chill after their first season gave the organization the impetus to challenge local civic and business leaders to build a world-class arena and emerge from the shadow of OSU. There were setbacks and triumphs on and off the ice, and eventually the realization that the Columbus of today would not be possible without the aid of the Chill. Chill Factor takes readers into the front office and onto the rink, giving every angle of how a small town was able to get behind a working-class team that fought both on and off the ice. This thrilling account will appeal to those who remember the Chill’s reign, as well as those who enjoy seeing the underdog climb the ladder to sports supremacy. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2004-03-17
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0393066231

Michael Lewis’s instant classic may be “the most influential book on sports ever written” (People), but “you need know absolutely nothing about baseball to appreciate the wit, snap, economy and incisiveness of [Lewis’s] thoughts about it” (Janet Maslin, New York Times). One of GQ's 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century Just before the 2002 season opens, the Oakland Athletics must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players and is written off by just about everyone—but then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins. How did one of the poorest teams in baseball win so many games? In a quest to discover the answer, Michael Lewis delivers not only “the single most influential baseball book ever” (Rob Neyer, Slate) but also what “may be the best book ever written on business” (Weekly Standard). Lewis first looks to all the logical places—the front offices of major league teams, the coaches, the minds of brilliant players—but discovers the real jackpot is a cache of numbers?numbers!?collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors. What these numbers prove is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information had been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics. He paid attention to those numbers?with the second-lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to?to conduct an astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win . . . how can we not cheer for David?

99 Days

99 Days
Author: Katie Cotugno
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2015-04-21
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0062216406

From the acclaimed author of How to Love comes another stunning contemporary novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen. Molly Barlow is facing one long, hot summer—99 days—with the boy whose heart she broke and the boy she broke it for . . . his brother. Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that's how I know everyone still remembers everything. She has every right to hate me, of course: I broke Patrick Donnelly's heart the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. Now I'm serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college and be done. Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn't finished. I'm expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it's just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. "For what it's worth, Molly Barlow," he says, "I'm really glad you're back." Day 12: Gabe wouldn't quit till he got me to come to this party, and I'm surprised to find I'm actually having fun. I think he's about to kiss me—and that's when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who's supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who's never going to forgive me.

Orr

Orr
Author: Bobby Orr
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2013-10-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0143188682

One of the greatest sports figures of all time at last breaks his silence in a memoir as unique as the man himself. Number 4. It is just about the most common number in hockey, but invoke that number and you can only be talking about one player -- the man often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game: Bobby Orr. From 1966 through the mid-70s he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. Orr could do things that others simply couldn’t, and while teammates and opponents alike scrambled to keep up, at times they could do little more than stop and watch. Many of his records still stand today and he remains the gold standard by which all other players are judged. Mention his name to any hockey fan – or to anyone in New England – and a look of awe will appear.