An insider's look at Calgary Flames history from beloved trainer Bearcat Murray Jim "Bearcat" Murray knows what it means to live and breathe Calgary Flames hockey, and he's carved out his own spot in team history as an unforgettable character. The young man from Okotoks who once dreamed of becoming a jockey found his calling as the Flames' longtime athletic trainer, went on to sip beer from the Stanley Cup, and later was unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame. Murray now reflects on decades of incredible memories, from the Flames' earliest days after moving to Calgary in 1980 to the glory years of Lanny McDonald and Theo Fleury to the madcap sequence of events that inspired a group of Boston Bruin fans to create The Bearcat Murray Fan Club. Packed with countless unforgettable gems, this rollicking tour of Flames history is essential reading for all fans.

Most Calgary Flames fans have attended a game at the Scotiabank Saddledome, seen highlights of a young Theo Fleury, and remember where they were when the team won the Stanley Cup in 1989. But only real fans know what the team traded to acquire Miikka Kiprusoff, the best place to grab a bite before the puck drops, or who served as the radio voice of the Flames before Peter Maher. 100 Things Flames Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of Calgary hockey. Whether you're a die-hard fan from the days of Al MacInnis or a new supporter of Johnny Gaudreau, this book contains everything Flames fans should know, see, and do in their lifetime.

"It's a great day for hockey" Favourite saying of "Badger" Bob Johnson, Flames coach from 1982-88 This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: hockey sport "Yeah, baby!" yelled Peter Maher as the Flames won their series against the San Jose Sharks and headed to the Stanley Cup finals. The 2003-04 season saw the team climbing into the ranks of top contenders thanks to exceptional play by captain Jarome Iginla, goaltender Miika Kiprusoff, Martin Gelinas and others. Not since the 1989 Stanley Cup win starring Lanny McDonald had Flames fans had so much to cheer about...

In Playing With Fire, Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player, and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home. Dark personal issues began to surface, and drinking, drugs, gambling, and girls ultimately derailed a career that had him destined for the Hall of Fame. Fleury shares all in this raw, captivating, and honest look at the previously untold story of one the game's greatest heroes.

A first-of-its-kind celebration of the newspaper scribes who made sportswriting a glorious popular art, and immortalized America's greatest games and athletes Spanning nearly a century, The Great American Sports Page presents essential columns from more than three dozen masters of the press-box craft. These unforgettable dispatches from World Series, Super Bowls, and title bouts for the ages were written on deadline with passion, spontaneity, humor, and a gift for the memorable phrase. Read avidly day in and day out by a sports-mad public, these columnists became journalistic celebrities in their home cities, their coverage trusted and savored, their opinions hotly debated. Some even helped change the games they wrote about. Gathered here in a groundbreaking anthology, their writings capture some of sport's most enduring moments and many of its all-time greats: Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Jordan among them. But the best American sportswriters also found ways to write powerfully about lesser-known athletes and to convey, often with heartbreaking honesty and insight, the less glamorous and more tragic facets of the games we love. In its survey of the finest American sportswriting from Ring Lardner to Thomas Boswell, from Red Smith and Jimmy Cannon to Bob Ryan and Michael Wilbon, The Great American Sports Page takes the measure of the human richness, complexity, and competitive spirit of sports and the athletes who continue to fascinate and inspire us.

Here is your chance to go inside the huddle, head into the locker room, or grab a seat on the sideline. This is your exclusive pass to get on the team plane or have breakfast at the team hotel. Go behind the scenes and peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers and eavesdrop on their conversations.

As the radio voice of the Calgary Flames from 1980 until his retirement in 2014, Peter Maher has witnessed more than his fair share of Flames action up close and personal--from the 1989 Stanley Cup championship to the individual brilliance of stars like Lanny McDonald, Al MacInnis, Theo Fleury, and Jarome Iginla. Through singular anecdotes only Maher can tell as well as conversations with current and past players, If These Walls Could Talk: Calgary Flames provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between. No Flames fan will want to miss this book.

An up-close look at the rivalry between the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, told from the perspective of those that were there. Sports writer and on-air personality Mark Spector pays tribute to the province's hockey heyday with a unique blend of humour and homage. "I hated every single guy on the Oilers, 'cause they all hated me." --Tim Hunter, the Calgary Flames In the 1980s, the province of Alberta was home to the two best hockey teams in the NHL. Aptly dubbed "Death Valley" due to the sheer talent and ability of its players, the province not only begat rivalry with other NHL teams, but also sparked fierce competition within its own borders. Thus began The Battle of Alberta, the historic struggle between the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames. In The Battle of Alberta, veteran sports journalist Mark Spector presents homage to Albertan hockey, and the two teams that inspired one of the most bitter competitions in NHL history. Through exclusive interviews with coaches, trainers, and players, Spector provides an unbiased, often hilarious look at the brawls, the clashes, and the schemes. A chronicle of an unforgettable time in hockey history (filled with never-before-seen photographs), The Battle of Alberta is guaranteed to entertain fans and educate newcomers alike.

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.