Telling an inspiring, largely unknown story, Thursday Night Lights recounts how African American high school football programs produced championship teams and outstanding players during the Jim Crow era.

Jack, meet Bea. Your game just changed. Forever. In this short story somewhere between contemporary fantasy and horror, Jack Radney is a poker player with a history. And a fetish for keeping a rigid schedule. Until one night he meets Beatrice, who has a highly unusual gift. But her ability doesn't work on Jack. Turns out he's a little bit...odd...himself. And in more than one way. They leave the game together. Which just might be the worst idea either of them ever had. Note: this story is included in the author's What Happens in September... collection. He also has three novels available. The Secret, a post-apocalyptic supernatural thriller, was published in September 2015.

Intended for the serious biweekly or monthly player, this gaming guide devotes chapters to calculating probabilities, estimating odds, bluffing and being bluffed, reading your opponents' down cards, and more. Virtually everyone will learn from this clearly written, fully illustrated instructional book.

Now available in a fully revised and updated fourth edition, Sport Management: Principles and Applications introduces the sport industry and examines the role of the state, non-profit and professional sectors in sport. It focuses on core management principles and their application in a sporting context, highlighting the unique challenges faced in a career in sport management. Written in an engaging and accessible style, each chapter has a clear structure designed to make key information and concepts simple to find and to utilize. Chapters contain a conceptual overview, references, further reading, links to important websites, study questions and up-to-date case studies from around the world to show how theory works in the real world, and a companion website offers additional activities for students and guidance notes and slides for instructors. The book covers every core functional area of management, including: strategic planning organizational culture organizational structures human resource management leadership governance financial management marketing performance management. This fourth edition also includes expanded coverage of sport media, change management and other contemporary management issues, providing a comprehensive introduction to the practical application of management principles within sport organizations. It is ideal for first and second year students on sport management related courses, as well as those studying business-focused or human movement courses seeking an overview of applied sport management principles.

1 British NFL fan, 1 NFL season, 40 games!

In the exclusive behind the scenes look, sports fans can unlock the fascinating history of the channel that changed the way people watch and interact with their favorite teams. It began, in 1979, as a mad idea of starting a cable channel to televise local sporting events throughout the state of Connecticut. Today, ESPN is arguably the most successful network in modern television history, spanning eight channels in the Unites States and around the world. But the inside story of its rise has never been fully told-until now. Drawing upon over 500 interviews with the greatest names in ESPN's history and an All-Star collection of some of the world's finest athletes, bestselling authors James Miller and Tom Shales take us behind the cameras. Now, in their own words, the men and women who made ESPN great reveal the secrets behind its success-as well as the many scandals, rivalries, off-screen battles and triumphs that have accompanied that ascent. From the unknown producers and business visionaries to the most famous faces on television, it's all here.

The Last Hug, A Storm is Coming is a real-life story of David C. French the Author. The story opens in the spring of 2010 and moves to events from the past in chapter one. The fall of 2009, David woke one morning and shared with his wife Lori about a dream. The dream was about a terrible storm coming. The Perfect Storm brings two manuscripts together, The Last Hug was a six page document recounting of overcoming and loss which would later become Chapter One and initially was shared as a message for a Sunday morning church service in November of 2009. Four months after the message was shared and the event of the dream the author had a near fatal accident by falling head first from a ladder. Trying to find purpose from surviving, what followed next were twelve chapters written over the course of nine years since.The book is about his family struggles, heartache, and tragedies that have tested himself and the family’s faith on this Earth. The message of the author is of inspiration and hope to all. Chapter Two thru Five take place during the early 1960’s to 1980. From a dysfunctional family trying to survive from separation, divorce, adoption, the loss of a second father, multiple homes, schools, and dreaming of goals while working the fields as a teenager. The dream of the terrible storm in the fall of 2009 is documented in Chapter Four. Chapter six and seven are devoted as memories to his siblings Matt and Janice, the tragedy’s rock the family. He was moved to forgiveness and prayed with his minister when he lost his second sibling in 2005. Life needed to move forward from 1977 tragedy’s so that the grief, anger, and hurt would not continue to smother him for the rest of his life. Chapter Eight, the author describes four incidents that he had been called to bear Witness, three of which involved fatalities. Chapter Nine and Ten are titled “Heads and…..Hearts”. He shares with the reader experiences with dealing with his own family’s heart issues and traumatic brain injuries. Chapter Eleven is about the author’s son Andy who wore number 15 as a high school football player. Chapter Twelve is the only part of the book not about the author’s family. Nathan Stiles, Spring Hill, Kansas student/athlete died during a high school game while the author was an assistant coach on the opposite sideline. From this tragedy the author experienced the birth of The Nathan Project. The author’s accident is described in the final chapter. David discovers his purpose in life, to share a gift to others through God and help others.

Strategic Sport Communication, Second Edition, explores the sport industry’s exciting and multifaceted segment of sport communication. With communication theory, sport literature, and insight from the industry’s leading professionals, the text presents a standard framework that introduces readers to the many ways in which individuals, media outlets, and sport organizations work to create, disseminate, and manage messages to their constituents. The team of international authors has drawn on its extensive practical, academic, and leadership experiences to update and revitalize this second edition of Strategic Sport Communication. Using the industry-defining standard of the Strategic Sport Communication Model (SSCM), the text explores sport communication in depth and then frames the three major components of the field: personal and organizational communication, sport media, and sport communication services and support. Readers will discover how each aspect of this segment of the sport industry is integral to the management, marketing, and operational goals at all levels of sport organizations. The second edition includes the following enhancements: • A new, expanded chapter titled Integrated Marketing Communication in Sport allows students to explore modern marketing strategy. • Substantial updates and new information on multiple social media platforms throughout the book elucidate the latest trends. • “Sport Communication at Work” sidebars and “Profile of a Sport Communicator” features apply topics and theoretical concepts to real-world situations. • Key terms, learning objectives, and chapter wrap-ups with review questions, discussion questions, and individual exercises keep readers engaged and focused. • An expanded ancillary package provides tools for instructors to use in course preparation and presentation. The content is complemented by photos throughout and organized in an easy-to-read style. Part I of the book introduces sport communication by defining the scope of study, examining roles and functions of sport communication professionals, and looking at the history and growth of the field. Part II dives into the SSCM, which provides a macro-view of the three main components of communication in sport. This section also addresses digital and mobile communications, public relations and crisis communication, and sport research. Part III addresses sociocultural issues and legal aspects of sport communication, including culture, gender, sex, race, ethnicity, and politics. Throughout the text, individual exercises, group activities, review questions, and discussion questions promote comprehension for a variety of learning styles. With Strategic Sport Communication, Second Edition, readers will be introduced to the vast and varied field of sport communication. The framework of the SSCM prepares readers with foundational and theoretical knowledge so they are able to understand the workings of, and ultimately contribute to, the rapidly growing field of sport communication.

Boston, Tuesday, October 21, 1975. The Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds have endured an excruciating three-day rain delay. Tonight, at last, they will play Game Six of the World Series. Leading three games to two, Cincinnati hopes to win it all; Boston is desperate to stay alive. But for all the anticipation, nobody could have predicted what a classic it would turn out to be: an extra-innings thriller, created by one of the Big Red Machine's patented comebacks and the Red Sox's improbable late-inning rally; clutch hitting, heart-stopping defensive plays, and more twists and turns than a Grand Prix circuit, climaxed by one of the most famous home runs in baseball history that ended it in the twelfth. Here are all the inside stories of some of that era's biggest names in sports: Johnny Bench, Luis Tiant, Sparky Anderson, Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski--eight Hall of Famers in all--as well as sportscasters and network execs, cameramen, umpires, groundskeepers, politicians, and fans who gathered in Fenway that extraordinary night. Game Six is an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at what is considered by many to be the greatest baseball game ever played--remarkable also because it was about so much more than just balls and strikes. This World Series marked the end of an era; baseball's reserve clause was about to be struck down, giving way to the birth of free agency, a watershed moment that changed American sports forever. In bestselling author Mark Frost's talented hands, the historical significance of Game Six becomes every bit as engrossing as its compelling human drama.