Search results for ""Author Kevin Cook""

The stories and accounts of Kentucky basketball's players, iconic coaches and epic games have been told and retold, but lesser known are the stories of the arenas and venues that have been home to the Wildcats face=Calibri>– buildings that have witnessed the sights, sounds, and shared spirit of the Big Blue Nation for over a century.In House of Champions author Kevin Cook combines archival research and numerous interviews with players and coaches to reveal the rich history and colorful details of the structures that have hosted UK basketball. A number of fascinating backstories are uncovered, including the excitement of Alumni Gym's opening night in 1925; the problematic acquisition of a Black community for Memorial Coliseum; and the moving account of the displays of nearly ten thousand names of Kentucky's WWII and Korean War heroes on the Coliseum's pedestrian ramps. The account concludes with a compelling overview of the development of historic Rupp Arena: its inner workings, the prominent figures involved face=Calibri>– and how the initial conversation to build it began over a slice of Jerry's pie in 1968.This insightful and entertaining history reveals how the impact of these sporting facilities extended far beyond the courts' sidelines to directly shape and influence the social, economic, and political landscapes of Lexington and Central Kentucky. House of Champions also faithfully recreates the full game day experience of fans in the stands for several key games in UK's storied past. It ultimately offers an even greater appreciation of the history of the Wildcats and what the famed indoor stadiums have brought to the program face=Calibri>– a must for any true Big Blue Basketball fan.

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The stories and accounts of Kentucky basketball's players, iconic coaches and epic games have been told and retold, but lesser known are the stories of the arenas and venues that have been home to the Wildcats face=Calibri>– buildings that have witnessed the sights, sounds, and shared spirit of the Big Blue Nation for over a century.In House of Champions author Kevin Cook combines archival research and numerous interviews with players and coaches to reveal the rich history and colorful details of the structures that have hosted UK basketball. A number of fascinating backstories are uncovered, including the excitement of Alumni Gym's opening night in 1925; the problematic acquisition of a Black community for Memorial Coliseum; and the moving account of the displays of nearly ten thousand names of Kentucky's WWII and Korean War heroes on the Coliseum's pedestrian ramps. The account concludes with a compelling overview of the development of historic Rupp Arena: its inner workings, the prominent figures involved face=Calibri>– and how the initial conversation to build it began over a slice of Jerry's pie in 1968.This insightful and entertaining history reveals how the impact of these sporting facilities extended far beyond the courts' sidelines to directly shape and influence the social, economic, and political landscapes of Lexington and Central Kentucky. House of Champions also faithfully recreates the full game day experience of fans in the stands for several key games in UK's storied past. It ultimately offers an even greater appreciation of the history of the Wildcats and what the famed indoor stadiums have brought to the program face=Calibri>– a must for any true Big Blue Basketball fan.

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Between the Immaculate Reception in 1972 and The Catch in 1982, pro football grew up. In 1972, Steelers star Franco Harris hitchhiked to practice. NFL teams roomed in skanky motels. They played on guts, painkillers, legal steroids, fury, and camaraderie. A decade later, Joe Montana’s gleamingly efficient 49ers ushered in a new era: the corporate, scripted, multibillion-dollar NFL we watch today. Kevin Cook’s rollicking chronicle of this pivotal decade draws on interviews with legendary players—Harris, Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Ken “Snake” Stabler—to re-create their heroics and off-field carousing. He shows coaches John Madden and Bill Walsh outsmarting rivals as Monday Night Football redefined sports’ place in American life. Celebrating the game while lamenting the physical toll it took on football’s greatest generation, Cook diagrams the NFL’s transformation from second-tier sport into national obsession.

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In 1964 a woman was stabbed to death in front of her home in New York, a murder The New York Times called "a frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change". The victim, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, became an urban martyr, butchered in sight of thirty-eight neighbours who "didn’t want to get involved". Her sensational case provoked an outcry and launched a sociological theory known as the "Bystander Effect". On the fiftieth anniversary of her murder, Kevin Cook presents the real Genovese. "Gripping" (The New York Times) and "Provocative" (The Wall Street Journal), Kitty Genovese evokes the gay and lesbian underground of Greenwich Village with feeling and detail. Cook reconstructs the crime, and drawing on lost documents and new interviews, explores the legacy of the case. His account of what happened is the most accurate and chilling to date.

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Baseball honors legacies—from cheering the home team to breaking in an old glove handed down from father to son. In The Dad Report, award-winning sportswriter Kevin Cook weaves a tapestry of uplifting stories in which fathers and sons—from the sport's superstars to Cook and his own ball-playing father—share the game. Almost two hundred father-son pairs have played in the big leagues. Cook takes us inside the clubhouses, homes, and lives of many of the greats. Aaron Boone follows grandfather Bob, father Ray, and brother Bret to the majors—three generations of All-Stars. Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. strive to outdo their famous dads. Michael Jordan walks away from basketball to play minor-league baseball—to fulfill his father's dream. In visiting these legendary families, Cook discovers that ball-playing families are a lot like our own. Dan Haren regrets the long road trips that keep him from his kids. Ike Davis and his father, a former Yankee, debate whether Ike should pitch or play first base. Buddy Bell leads a generation of big-leaguers determined to open their workplace—the clubhouse—to their kids. Framing The Dad Report is the story of Kevin Cook's own father, Art Cook, a minor-league pitcher, a loveable rogue with a wicked screwball. In Art's later years, Kevin phoned him almost every night to talk baseball. They called those nightly conversations "the Dad Report." In time, Kevin came to see that these conversations were about much more than the game. That's what this book is about: the way fathers and sons talk baseball as a way of talking about everything—courage, fear, fun, family, morality, mortality, and how it's not whether you win or lose that counts, it's how you share the game.

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In 1964 a woman was stabbed to death in front of her home in New York, a murder The New York Times called "a frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change". The victim, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, became an urban martyr, butchered in sight of thirty-eight neighbours who "didn’t want to get involved". Her sensational case provoked an outcry and launched a sociological theory known as the "Bystander Effect". On the fiftieth anniversary of her murder, Kevin Cook presents the real Genovese. "Gripping" (The New York Times) and "Provocative" (The Wall Street Journal), Kitty Genovese evokes the gay and lesbian underground of Greenwich Village with feeling and detail. Cook reconstructs the crime, and drawing on lost documents and new interviews, explores the legacy of the case. His account of what happened is the most accurate and chilling to date.

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Baseball honors legacies—from cheering the home team to breaking in an old glove handed down from father to son. In The Dad Report, award-winning sportswriter Kevin Cook weaves a tapestry of uplifting stories in which fathers and sons—from the sport's superstars to Cook and his own ball-playing father—share the game. Almost two hundred father-son pairs have played in the big leagues. Cook takes us inside the clubhouses, homes, and lives of many of the greats. Aaron Boone follows grandfather Bob, father Ray, and brother Bret to the majors—three generations of All-Stars. Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. strive to outdo their famous dads. Michael Jordan walks away from basketball to play minor-league baseball—to fulfill his father's dream. In visiting these legendary families, Cook discovers that ball-playing families are a lot like our own. Dan Haren regrets the long road trips that keep him from his kids. Ike Davis and his father, a former Yankee, debate whether Ike should pitch or play first base. Buddy Bell leads a generation of big-leaguers determined to open their workplace—the clubhouse—to their kids. Framing The Dad Report is the story of Kevin Cook's own father, Art Cook, a minor-league pitcher, a loveable rogue with a wicked screwball. In Art's later years, Kevin phoned him almost every night to talk baseball. They called those nightly conversations "the Dad Report." In time, Kevin came to see that these conversations were about much more than the game. That's what this book is about: the way fathers and sons talk baseball as a way of talking about everything—courage, fear, fun, family, morality, mortality, and how it's not whether you win or lose that counts, it's how you share the game.

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This "raucous retelling of the life of a consummate gambler, grifter and quintessential American character" (Kirkus Reviews) introduces Alvin "Titanic" Thompson (1892-1974), who traveled with golf clubs, a .45 revolver, and a suitcase full of cash. A terrific read for anyone who has ever laid a bet, Titanic Thompson recaptures the colorful times of a singular figure.

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