Search results for ""Sports Publishing LLC""

Learn the stories, history, and strategy of the sport's greatest champions—in their own words! Mixed martial arts (MMA) has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. With Dana White helping bring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to prominence and respectability, as well as Conor McGregor becoming one of the sport’s biggest stars, fans are skipping the squared circle for the Octagon.In Champions of the Octagon, writer Fiaz Rafiq interviews many of the greatest MMA and UFC champions of all-time, including Georges St-Pierre, Holly Holm, Daniel Cormier, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Randy Couture, and many others. Readers will learn of their upbringings, their introductions to the sport, and how they worked their way to be the best ever.Spending decades covering the sport and building relationships with those who have fought in the Octagon, Rafiq shares never-before-seen interviews and intimate stories from these greats. Learn from Royce Gracie how his family helped bring Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to America, Anderson Silva on challenging boxing champion Roy Jones Jr., BJ Penn on how he got introduced to MMA, Brock Lesnar on using his skills from WWE and bringing them to UFC, Alexander Volkanovski on a quest to dominate his division, Holly Holm on dethroning Ronda Rousey, and so much more.From the early days of the sport and its rich history to today’s stars and the future of MMA, Champions of the Octagon pulls back the curtain on their lives and careers. Including interviews from thirty-six UFC champions (seventeen Hall of Famers), hear never-before-told stories from the fighters who helped build the sport to what it is today.

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New York Times bestselling author! Here is the story of how Jim Ross, an Oklahoman farm kid with a vivid imagination and seemingly unattainable dreams, became “The Voice of Wrestling” to record TV audiences and millions of fans around the world. There are few people who have been in the wrestling business longer than Jim Ross. And those who have made it as long as he has (half a century to be exact) probably made enemies or burned bridges. But that’s just not JR. He’s recognized as the man who built and nurtured a once-in-a-generation talent roster that took the WWE to new heights, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock to name a few. Readers will finally get the opportunity to hear never-before-told stories about the politics, wackiness, and personalities of all the biggest stars. Jim opens up about his life as an only child on a working farm, who became obsessed with professional wrestling having first saw it on his grandparent’s TV. Even though the wrestling business was notoriously secretive and wary of “outsiders,” he somehow got a foot in the door to start a historic career, one where he held almost every job in the business—from putting up the ring to calling matches, from driving his blind, drunk boss towards revenge, to consoling two naked 600 pound brothers in the shower room after a rough match. This isn’t just a wrestling story. It’s a story about overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams, as success did not come without significant costs and unforeseen challenges to JR, including multiple bouts of severe facial paralysis called Bell’s Palsy. Currently the host of the podcast The Ross Report, any fan of wrestling—from the territory days to today—will be enthralled with stories from the road and behind the scenes. Slobberknocker is the first time Ross tells his story—and you don’t want to miss it!

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"An excellent reference work on the subject."—Library Journal (starred review) For fans, culture watchers, and perplexed outsiders, this expanded edition offers an engaging tour of the anime megaverse, from older artistic traditions to the works of modern creators like Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, Satoshi Kon, and CLAMP. Examined are all of anime's major themes, styles, and conventions, plus the familiar tropes of giant robots, samurai, furry beasts, high school heroines, and gay/girl/fanboy love. Concluding are fifteen essays on favorite anime, including Evangelion, Escaflowne, Sailor Moon, Patlabor, and Fullmetal Alchemist. Patrick Drazen is an anime historian who lives in Bloomington–Normal, Illinois.

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So You Think You’re a Philadelphia Phillies Fan? tests and expands your knowledge of Phillies baseball. Rather than merely posing questions and providing answers, you’ll get details behind each—stories that bring to life players and managers, games and seasons.This book is divided into multiple parts, with progressively more difficult questions in each new section. Along the way, you’ll learn more about the great Phillies players and coaches of the past and present, from Grover Alexander to Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Jim Bunning, Dick Allen, Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Garry Maddox, Jamie Moyer, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and so many more. Some of the many questions that this book answers include: Who is the Phillies’ career leader in slugging percentage and OPS? Who holds the longest hitting streak (36 games) in team history? Which pitcher holds the records for most complete games and hits allowed? In what year were the team records set for hits , doubles, and runs scored? Who was the last Phillies pitcher to win the Cy Young Award?This book makes the perfect gift for any fan of the Phils!

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Start Your Engines contains thirty-four chapters describing different inaugural accomplishments that have taken place throughout NASCAR history. This book answers the following questions: • When was NASCAR officially founded? • Where was the first Strictly Stock race held? • What was the first flag-to-flag race ever broadcast on TV? • When was the first night race? • When and where was the first international NASCAR race held? • Who was the first woman to win the Daytona 500 pole position? • And many more! In Start Your Engines, seasoned writer Jay W. Pennell outlines some of the most iconic and unknown firsts in NASCAR history. From Red Byron to Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt to Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson to Danica Patrick, Pennell also covers some of the biggest names of the sport and their landmark contributions. Providing in-depth explanations of each milestone, Pennell takes readers through the peaks and valleys of NASCAR history and details the impact each first had on the legacy of the sport. From the earliest days of NASCAR’s foundation, to the high banks of Daytona and famed Brickyard at Indianapolis, Pennell looks at monumental dates and races that changed the sport and helped it grow from a small gathering of race car drivers and promoters into the multibillion-dollar sports industry it is today. This book is a unique look at racing for new and experienced NASCAR fans alike. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is 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. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. 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.

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Now in paperback!Heaven Is a Playground was the first book on the uniquely American phenomenon of urban basketball. Rick Telander, a photojournalist and former high school basketball player, spent part of the summer of 1973 and all of the summer of 1974 in Brooklyn living the playground life with his subjects at Foster Park in Flatbush. He slept on the floor of a park regular’s apartment, observing, questioning, traveling, playing with, and eventually coaching a ragtag group of local teenagers whose hopes of better lives were often fanatically attached to the transcendent game itself. Telander introduces us to Fly Williams, a playground legend with incredible leaping ability and self-destructive tendencies that threatened to keep him earthbound. Another standout was Albert King, a fifteen-year-old phenom whose shy, quiet demeanor masked an otherworldly talent that eventually took him to the NBA. This edition also includes Telander’s perspectives on the arrival of an NBA team in Brooklyn. Heaven Is a Playground is one of a kind—a funny, sad, ultimately inspiring book about Americans and the roots of the sport that they love.

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Bob Backlund began life as a poor farm boy in the little village of Princeton, Minnesota, with a population of just over 2,000 people. He was a below-average student with a lackluster work ethic and a bad attitude, who hung with the wrong crowd and made a lot of bad choices. He was a kid whose life was headed for disaster—until a local coach took interest in him, suggested that he take up amateur wrestling, and offered to work with him if he promised to stay out of trouble. It was in North Dakota that Bob Backlund had the first of several chance encounters that would shape his destiny. While working out at the YMCA gymnasium in Fargo, North Dakota, where he wrestled for North Dakota State, Backlund met a well-known professional wrestler, “Superstar” Billy Graham. The men talked, and at Graham’s suggestion, Backlund was inspired to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Less than five years from that day, on February 20, 1978, Backlund would find himself halfway across the country, standing in the middle of the ring at Madison Square Garden with his hand raised in victory as the newly crowned World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. The man Backlund pinned for the championship that night was none other than Superstar Billy Graham. Featuring contributions from Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Pat Patterson, Ken Patera, Sergeant Slaughter, The Magnificent Muraco, George “The Animal” Steele, “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, The Iron Sheik, and many others, this book tells the incredible story of the life and nearly forty-year career of one of the most famous men to ever grace the squared circle. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is 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. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. 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.

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Donnie Allison was always the “other” brother of the famous NASCAR racing duo. Perhaps only true students of NASCAR history know that Donnie Allison won ten races in his career; that he posted top ten finishes in 47 percent of all the races he ever ran; that four of the five times the Allison brothers ran 1-2 in a race, it was Donnie in front at the checkers. Fewer still may know that he was Rookie of the Year in the 1970 Indianapolis 500. Little is known about Donnie Allison because he wasn’t much of a talker. Donnie lived by the philosophy that his driving did his talking for him. Over the years, his being so tight-lipped led to many misconceptions, twisted tales, and outright falsehoods about Donnie Allison, his racing career, and his life. In Donnie Allison: As I Recall . . ., he sets the record straight on a variety of subjects he’s wanted to clear up for years, including the 1979 Daytona 500 and the famous fight in the infield with Cale Yarborough;

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A comprehensive trivia book that enables readers to compete as they answer questions!In The New Book of Baseball Trivia, experienced baseball author Wayne Stewart includes 500 fun and engaging questions and answers on everyone's favorite former and active players and coaches. Readers are awarded a single, double, triple, or homer based on the difficulty level of the question, with the goal to score as many runs as possible by the end of the book. They are kept on their toes by answers head-scratchers such as: Which team became the first one ever to have three of its players hit 40+ homers in a season? Who was the shortest man ever to appear in a big-league game? Which two brothers combined for more lifetime home runs than any other brother act? When Shane Bieber won the 2020 Cy Young Award, he became the fifth Cleveland Indian to capture that honor. Name three of the other four men to accomplish this. Which two men bashed more home runs while teammates than any other teammate combo? And many more! This book makes the perfect gift for the baseball-loving fan!

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Whether it was helping Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win three consecutive NBA titles in the 1990s, or showing up to a book signing in a dress and full makeup, Dennis Rodman has always distinguished himself as one of the great and most polarizing personalities in the sports world. The controversial and flamboyant former basketball star is back in the national spotlight once again with I Should Be Dead By Now. This riveting book from the two-time best-selling author details Rodman’s struggles in life since he stopped playing in the NBA, including the breakup of his marriage to movie and TV star Carmen Electra, and his problems with alcohol. I Should Be Dead By Now is a look at the life of one of America’s most recognizable sports stars as he journeys beyond the court and into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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