Loose Balls Book

  loose balls book: Loose Balls Terry Pluto, 2007-11-06 Capturing the legendary days of the American Basketball Association in the words of players, officials, commentators, owners, and coaches, this oral history weaves memories of the red, white, and blue ball, fortunes lost, and stars discovered.
  loose balls book: Loose Balls Jayson Williams, Steve Friedman, 2000 Sex, Booze, Violence, Racism, Easy Money, Hard Fouls & Cheap Laughs in the NBA Autobiography of Jayson Williams, the all-star centre for the New Jersey Nets, one of the best players in the NBA, probably the strongest, and definitely the funniest man in basketball. His irreverent take on life, on and off court, have drawn comparisons with Dennis Rodman but the difference is that Williams is actually very funny.
  loose balls book: Tall Tales Terry Pluto, 2000-10-01 An account of the NBA from 1956 to 1966, after the introduction of the 24-second shot clock, highlights those who dominated the sport during its glory days, including Red Auerbach, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Boston Celtics.
  loose balls book: Basketball Jones Todd Boyd, Kenneth L. Shropshire, 2000-09 It began with Magic, Bird, and Dr. J. Then came Michael. The Dream Team. The WNBA. And, most recently, Spree Latrell Sprewell--American Dream or American Nightmare?--the embodiment of everything many believe is wrong--and others believe is exciting--about the game. Today, despite the NBA strike, despite home run derbies, despite football's headlock on network television ratings, despite the much-heralded return of baseball, basketball has assumed a role in American culture and consciousness impossible to imagine 20 years ago, when arenas were empty and the NBA finals were broadcast via tape delay in the wee hours. So what happened? How did a black sport, plagued by drug scandal and decimated by white flight, come to achieve such prominence? What are the subtle and not-so-subtle racial codes that define how the game is played and perceived, and the reception of its high-profile stars? What does the shift in popularity from the predominantly white, working-class ethos of baseball to the black, urban ethos of basketball suggest about contemporary life in America? What linkages exist between basketball and hip-hop culture and how did these develop? How has the arrival of women on the scene changed the equation? Bringing together journalists, cultural critics, and academics, this wide-ranging anthology has something for everyone, from hard-core fan to casual observer. Contributors: Todd Boyd, Kenneth L. Shropshire, Gerald Early, James Peterson, Susan J. Rayl, Davis W. Houck, Mark Conrad, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Earl Smith, Sohail Daulatzi, Larry Platt, Tina Sloan Green, Alpha Alexander, Tara McPherson, Aaron Baker.
  loose balls book: Falling from Grace Terry Pluto, 2013-05-18 Award-winning sportswriter and author of The Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto gives readers a frank and honest opinion of the National Basketball Association in the 1990s as it dealt with a low level of support following the extraordinary popularity it saw in the 80s. Pulling back the curtain on the struggles of the NBA in the mid-1990s, sportswriter Terry Pluto shares first-hand insight on how the league maneuvered some of its hardest seasons yet. Teams with superstar players that couldn’t make free throws, coaches getting blank checks from their all-star players when there were no fines for the season, and ill-chosen spokesmen of shoe companies are just a few of the hardships that struck the NBA. Through interviews and discussions with coaches, owners, refs, players, broadcasters, and general managers, Falling from Grace reveals what was going wrong with professional basketball and what must be done to save it.
  loose balls book: Loose Balls Terry Pluto, 2011-07-19 What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association. What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association. The NBA may have won the financial battle, but the ABA won the artistic war. With its stress on wide-open individual play, the adoption of the 3-point shot and pressing defense, and the encouragement of flashy moves and flying dunks, today's NBA is still—decades later —just the ABA without the red, white and blue ball. Loose Balls is, after all these years, the definitive and most widely respected history of the ABA. It's a wild ride through some of the wackiest, funniest, strangest times ever to hit pro sports—told entirely through the (often incredible) words of those who played, wrote and connived their way through the league's nine seasons.
  loose balls book: Levels of the Game John McPhee, 2011-04-01 Levels of the Game is John McPhee's astonishing account of a tennis match played by Arthur Ashe against Clark Graebner at Forest Hills in 1968. It begins with the ball rising into the air for the initial serve and ends with the final point. McPhee provides a brilliant, stroke-by-stroke description while examining the backgrounds and attitudes which have molded the players' games. This may be the high point of American sports journalism- Robert Lipsyte, The New York Times
  loose balls book: The Best Book of Basketball Facts & Stats Marty Strasen, Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems, Inc, 2004 A reference guide to all National Basketball Association teams, important players, coaches, games, and statistics.
  loose balls book: The Book of Basketball Bill Simmons, 2010-12-07 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The wildly opinionated, thoroughly entertaining, and arguably definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA—from the founder of The Ringer and host of The Bill Simmons Podcast “Enough provocative arguments to fuel barstool arguments far into the future.”—The Wall Street Journal In The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons opens—and then closes, once and for all—every major NBA debate, from the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball. Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.
  loose balls book: Personal Foul Tim Donaghy, 2010-06-29 The media has often speculated and sports fans have debated, but until now no one has known the real story. Personal Foul takes an in-depth look at former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and the betting scandal that rocked professional basketball. This is the decisive book that reveals exactly what was done and how it all happened. Which games were affected and how? Did referees target particular players or teams? Just how much did the NBA know and when? How did the mafia get involved? The book answers all of these questions and more. Thrilling and poignant, Personal Foul takes readers on the journey of one man wrestling his own demons and shines a light on a culture of gambling and directive officiating in the NBA that promises to change the way sports fans view the game forever. The book also includes a foreword by Phil Scala, the FBI Special Agent who worked the Gambino case.
  loose balls book: I Love Being the Enemy Reggie Miller, 1999-04 Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks: I'm telling you right now, I hate the Knicks. Absolutely hate those kids....Face it: The Knicks are dirty players. Let me take the back. They're not dirty players, but when things aren't going New York's way, they're going to do whatever it takes to win. And if that means hurting someone, then they'll do it. I'm not going to say that's dirty, but sometimes they take it to the extreme. On the mental side of the game: Everybody in the NBA knows how to play basketball or else they wouldn't be there. But what separates the good players from the great players is their mental capacity, not only to overcome their opponent, but to get through the tough spots...I always feel mentally stronger than any opponent I step on the same floor with. He might have more talent than I do, but I don't think anybody is mentally stronger than me. I'll match wills with anybody. On determination: On Cheryl Miller: Cheryl, I got 39. Reggie, that's great. Yeah, so how'd you do? Uh, I got 105. Thing was, Cheryl didn't say it to be mean, But, damn, 105 points in one game? But I got my revenge a few years later... We got out to the court and shesaid, Your ball. I told her she could have it first. So she kind of crouched down, made her usual strong first move, got right past me and put up the shot.Cheryl paused for a moment and then said, in a real serious tone, We're going to play Hors
  loose balls book: The Spencer Haywood Rule Marc J. Spears, Gary Washburn, 2020-10-06 If you are a basketball fan, you should be aware of Spencer Haywood's immense historical importance. If you're not aware, you should be. —Bob Ryan, The Boston Globe Hall of Famer, Olympic gold medalist, MVP, and All-Star could all be used to describe the illustrious career of Spencer Haywood on the hardwood. From picking cotton in rural Mississippi to the historic 1968 Olympics to Winning ABA MVP to the battle with the NBA that would go all the way to the Supreme Court and change the league forever, Spencer Haywood's life has been a microcosm of 20th-century sports and culture. One of the most dominant big men of his era, Haywood burst onto the international scene as a teenager with a revelatory performance at the Mexico City Olympics. Yet, while his basketball career was just beginning back in that summer of '68, it was only one of many notable moments in the extraordinary and fateful life of the big man from Silver City, Mississippi. In The Spencer Haywood Rule, Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated and Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe worked with Spencer to tell the remarkable story of a man who was born into indentured servitude in rural Mississippi, and all of the unbelievable trials, tribulations, successes, failures, and redemptions that followed. Haywood would go on to be the ABA Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, but his triumphs on the court are only part of the?legend. His winding journey off the court saw him challenge the NBA's draft-entry rules and win at the Supreme Court level; run in New York City high-fashion circles in the mid-70s with his then-wife, supermodel Iman; and bottom out with alcohol and drug addiction during the infancy of the Showtime Lakers dynasty.? Spears and Washburn explore how Haywood's impact was felt throughout the NBA and in society at large—and still is to this day—culminating in Haywood's inspiring second act as an advocate for current and retired NBA players alike.
  loose balls book: Basketball's Half-Court Offense John Calipari, 1996 A must for any coach who wants to thoroughly understand the half-court offense, its potential, and the defensive weaknesses it exploits.
  loose balls book: Let's Talk Basketball Amanda Miller, 2008-09 This subset introduces young readers to the exciting world of athletics by focusing on the often-colorful terminology specific to popular individual and team sports. As children explore the words they would hear at a game, meet, or match, they learn the basic rules and objects of each sport, the essentials of gear and equipment, and what happens in the most thrilling moments of competition.
  loose balls book: A Passion to Lead Jim Calhoun, Richard Ernsberger, Jr., 2007-10-02 Motivation...Success...Leadership...Passion. Hall of Fame college basketball coach Jim Calhoun shares his secrets for success for the first time ever in A Passion to Lead. Coach Jim Calhoun is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history. Having sent countless players to the NBA, Coach Calhoun is known for producing not just great athletes but great human beings. He is both an exceptional leader and self-made man whose ability to motivate and inspire young men is unsurpassed. In A Passion to Lead, he shares the fundamental principles that have allowed him to have an impact on so many. When he took command of the Connecticut Huskies, the team had had a losing record for five straight seasons. In twenty-one years of leadership, Calhoun has transformed a middling regional program into a national powerhouse with two NCAA championships. But what makes Coach Calhoun such an excellent leader? How did he take a program with a modest tradition and turn it into a national champ and perennial title contender? What is his management style? What are his motivational techniques? Calhoun reveals them here and includes anecdotes about his life as a coach, family man, and, ultimately, a teacher--as well as the following key principles: *Win Every Day: Talent determines what you can do in life. Motivation determines what you decide to do. Attitude determines how well you do it. *Standards, Then Victories: To build a winning organization, establish a culture of winning and make everyone accountable. Out of high standards come victories. *Tough Love: Pushing is only half the equation. Individuals perform best when they feel good about themselves. *And much more. A Passion to Lead is for all those who are serious about making their dreams a reality. It's a motivational tool for achieving success both at work and in life, and it can help turn any adversity into an advantage.
  loose balls book: The Great Nowitzki: Basketball and the Meaning of Life Thomas Pletzinger, 2022-03-15 A journey into the mindset of a historic basketball superstar, and the importance of his landmark career. The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history. The Dallas Maverick’s legend revolutionized the sport, redefining the role of the big man in the modern game. Dirk moved differently: flexible and fast, confident and in control. He thought differently, too. On the court, his shots were masterful—none more venerated than his signature one-legged flamingo fadeaway, a move that lives on in the repertoire of today’s most skilled NBA players. How did this lanky kid from the German suburbs become an all-time top ten scorer and NBA champion? How can a superstar stay so humble? Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger spent over seven years traveling with Nowitzki. He witnessed Dirk’s summer workouts, involving fingertip pushups and the study of the physics, and spent days discussing literature and philosophy with Holger Geschwindner, Dirk’s enigmatic mentor and coach. Watching Nowitzki in empty gyms and in packed arenas with 30,000 fans, Pletzinger began to understand how Dirk and Holger’s philosophical insights on performance, creativity, and freedom enabled his success and longevity. The Great Nowitzki tells Dirk’s dramatic story like never before. Pletzinger describes Dirk’s youth in small-town Germany, follows the steep learning curve of Dirk’s early seasons, the devastating Finals loss to the Miami Heat, and the triumphant championship five years later. Traveling with Dirk in his final seasons, Pletzinger immerses himself in the community of people impacted by Nowitzki’s game, interviewing everyone from average fans in Dallas and security guards at the arena to front office executives and Hall of Fame teammates, who reflect on what Dirk’s career means to the next generation of ballplayers. And to the game itself. A masterpiece of sports writing that reads like a novel, The Great Nowitzki brims with a fan’s passion. Pletzinger shows how strongly basketball influences our imagination and the extraordinary journey an icon like Dirk Nowitzki must take to reach the pinnacle of the game.
  loose balls book: Basketball Stars Therese Shea, 2007 Looks at seven (7) basketball players.
  loose balls book: The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers Terry Pluto, Brian Windhorst, 2007-12-06 Not your typical sports biography . . . Take[s] the reader behind the scenes in the Cavaliers’ front office, revealing how championship contenders are built — Library Journal Two award-winning sports journalists give an in-depth look at how a team and a city were rebuilt around superstar LeBron James. When the Cleveland Cavaliers drew the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, an entire city buzzed with excitement. After all, how often does a LeBron James come along? Especially for Cleveland, a midmarket Rust Belt city without a sports championship in forty years. Especially for the Cavaliers, a long-struggling team that had never reached the NBA finals. Soon, everyone had something riding on LeBron—billionaire team owner Dan Gilbert looking for a return on his investment . . . teammates eager for a championship ring . . . the league in need of the next Michael Jordan to promote . . . the shoe company with its multimillion-dollar endorsement deal . . . even popcorn vendors in the stands of Quicken Loans Arena and servers waiting restaurant tables in a downtown that now booms every game night. Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst tell the converging stories of a struggling franchise that had to get worse in order to get better and a highly touted teenage phenom, the local kid who became their future. This book will fascinate any basketball fan who wants the inside story of how LeBron James became the young superstar shouldering the weight of an entire NBA franchise. Chock full of facts and analysis.
  loose balls book: The Last Shot Darcy Frey, 2004 It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that -- for many young men it represents their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. In The Last Shot, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of four of the neighborhood's most promising players. What they have going for them is athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication. But working against them are woefully inadequate schooling, family circumstances that are often desperate, and the slick, brutal world of college athletic recruitment. Incisively and compassionately written, The Last Shot introduces us to unforgettable characters and takes us into their world with an intimacy seldom seen in contemporary journalism. The result is a startling and poignant expose of inner-city life and the big business of college basketball.
  loose balls book: Ramblers Michael Lenehan, 2013-02-18 Today basketball is played “above the rim” by athletes of all backgrounds and colors. But 50 years ago it was a floor-bound game, and the opportunities it offered for African-Americans were severely limited. A key turning point was 1963, when the Loyola Ramblers of Chicago took the NCAA men’s basketball title from Cincinnati, the two-time defending champions. It was one of Chicago’s most memorable sports victories, but Ramblers reveals it was also a game for the history books because of the transgressive lineups fielded by both teams. Ramblers is an entertaining, detail-rich look back at the unlikely circumstances that led to Loyola’s historic championship and the stories of two Loyola opponents: Cincinnati and Mississippi State. Michael Lenehan’s narrative masterfully intertwines these stories in dramatic fashion, culminating with the tournament’s final game, a come-from-behind overtime upset that featured two buzzer-beating shots. While on the surface this is a book about basketball, it goes deeper to illuminate how sport in America both typifies and drives change in the broader culture. The stark social realities of the times are brought vividly to life in Lenehan’s telling, illustrating the challenges faced in teams’ efforts simply to play their game against the worthiest opponents.
  loose balls book: The Rivalry John Taylor, 2005-10-11 A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA’S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport’s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America’s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played “above the rim”–and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA’s golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylor’s electrifying account of two complex men–as well as of a game and a country at a crossroads–is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s. It’s hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans. Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success–to say nothing of their candor–also inflamed passions along America’s racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today. Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climax–the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain–The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain? Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporter’s unerring command of events and a storyteller’s flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.
  loose balls book: Basketball Jones E. Lynn Harris, 2010-01-05 AJ Richardson is living the good life. Thanks to his longtime lover, NBA star Dray Jones, he has a gorgeous townhouse in New Orleans, plenty of frequent-flier miles, and an MBA he’s never had to use. Built on a deep and abiding love, their hidden relationship sustains them both. But when Dray’s teammates begin to ask insinuating questions, Dray puts their doubts to rest by marrying Judi, a beautiful and ambitious woman. Judi knows nothing about Dray's “other life.” Or does she? In Basketball Jones, E. Lynn Harris explores the consequences of loving someone who is desperate to conform. Filled with nonstop twists and turns, it will keep readers riveted from the first page to the last.
  loose balls book: Forty-eight Minutes Bob Ryan, Terry Pluto, 1987
  loose balls book: Chasing Perfect Bob Hurley, 2013 The famed basketball coach of St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City traces his decades-long career, citing his championship coaching strategies and memorable players from the team's seven undefeated seasons.
  loose balls book: The View from Pluto Terry Pluto, 2002-10 Now in paperback. The best columns from one of Northeast Ohio's most popular sportswriters ever. Terry Pluto has twice been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year six times, and has won more than 50 national and state writing awards. This book collects his best Akron Beacon Journal columns about Northeast Ohio sports -- Indians, Browns, Cavs, high school, and more -- from the past decade. It's his first column collection. (He is author of 18 other sports books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito.)
  loose balls book: The Smart Take from the Strong Pete Carril, Dan White, 2004-08-01 “The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong.” So said Pete Carril’s father, a Spanish immigrant who worked for thirty-nine years in a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, steel mill. His son stood only five-foot-six but nonetheless became an All-State basketball player in high school, a Little All-American in college, and a highly successful coach. After twenty-nine years as Princeton University’s basketball coach, he became an assistant coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. In 1997 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Carril inspired his teams with his own strength of character and drive to win, and he demonstrated time and again how a smart and dedicated team could compete successfully against bigger programs and faster, stronger, more athletic players. His teams won thirteen conference championships, made eleven NCAA Tournament appearances, and led the nation in defense fourteen times. Throughout his reflections on a lifetime spent on the basketball court and the bench, Carril demonstrates deep respect for the contest, his empathy and engagement with the players, humility with his own achievements, a pragmatic vision of discipline and fundamentals, and an enduring joy in the game. This is an inspiring and wonderful book, even for those who never made a basket.
  loose balls book: Boys Among Men Jonathan Abrams, 2016-03-15 The definitive, never-before-told story of the prep-to-pro generation, those basketball prodigies who from 1995 to 2005 made the jump directly from high school to the NBA. When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college—as young basketball prodigies were expected to do—but instead enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros. That trend would continue until the NBA instituted an age limit in 2005, requiring all players to attend college or another developmental program for at least one year. Over that decade-plus period, the list of players who made that difficult leap includes some of the most celebrated players of the modern era—Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, and numerous other stars. It also includes notable “busts” who either physically or mentally proved unable to handle the transition. But for better or for worse, the face of the NBA was forever changed by the prep-to-pro generation. In compelling, masterfully crafted prose, Boys Among Men goes behind the scenes and draws on hundreds of firsthand interviews to paint insightful and engaging portraits of the most pivotal figures and events during this time. Award-winning basketball writer Jonathan Abrams has obtained remarkable access to the key players, coaches, and other movers and shakers from that time, and the result is a book packed with rare insights and never-before-published details about this chapter in NBA history. Boys Among Men is a thrilling, informative, must-read for any basketball fan.
  loose balls book: Attitude Jay Wright, Michael Sheridan, Mark Dagostino, 2017-02-28 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the coach of the 2016 and 2018 NCAA Tournament–winning Villanova University men’s basketball team comes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a champion, along with lessons from his coaching career and the story of his personal road to success. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG When Kris Jenkins sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the 2016 NCAA Tournament, it was a victory not just for a team and its coach but for an entire program. In his twentieth season with the Villanova program, including a five-year stint as an assistant to Coach Rollie Massimino, Coach Jay Wright had achieved his lifelong dream—and witnessed the culmination of a decades-long effort to build a culture of winning around a set of core values. In Attitude, Coach Wright shares some of the leadership secrets that have enabled Villanova, a private university with an undergraduate enrollment of less than 6,500, to thrive in the hypercompetitive world of college athletics. As he recounts the story of the 2015–16 Wildcats, Coach Wright offers anecdotes from his own journey up the ladder of success, with lessons learned on the Little League playing fields of his youth and wisdom passed down from his coaches and mentors. Each step of Villanova’s journey to a national championship incorporates a signature term torn from Coach Wright’s own motivational playbook. Here are key principles that aspiring leaders can apply, not only on the basketball court but in the boardroom, the classroom, and the living room. From learning to accept your role to remembering to honor those who came before us, Jay Wright’s core values provide a positive blueprint for transformational team building based on the idea that anyone—from the head coach to the last player on the bench—can be a leader when the moment demands it. The product of a lifetime’s worth of championship-level preparation, Attitude is perfect for anyone looking to build a team, achieve a goal, or nurture their own winning culture. Praise for Attitude “Jay Wright’s Attitude is filled with wonderful anecdotes, life lessons, and that which we all seek: wisdom.”—Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman emeritus, Nike “In 2015–16, Villanova displayed the best attributes of a champion by playing hard, smart, and together. Jay Wright instilled those traits in his team, and in Attitude he shares the universal leadership lessons that helped it succeed.”—Mike Krzyzewski, head coach, Duke University basketball
  loose balls book: Shut Out Kody Keplinger, 2011-09-05 The battle of the sexes is on. Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention. Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.
  loose balls book: The Inner Game of Tennis W. Timothy Gallwey, 1997-05-27 The timeless guide to achieving the state of “relaxed concentration” that’s not only the key to peak performance in tennis but the secret to success in life itself—now in a 50th anniversary edition with an updated epilogue, a foreword by Bill Gates, and an updated preface from NFL coach Pete Carroll “Groundbreaking . . . the best guide to getting out of your own way . . . Its profound advice applies to many other parts of life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes (“Five of My All-Time Favorite Books”) This phenomenally successful guide to mastering the game from the inside out has become a touchstone for hundreds of thousands of people. Billie Jean King has called the book her tennis bible; Al Gore has used it to focus his campaign staff; and Itzhak Perlman has recommended it to young violinists. Based on W. Timothy Gallwey’s profound realization that the key to success doesn’t lie in holding the racket just right, or positioning the feet perfectly, but rather in keeping the mind uncluttered, this transformative book gives you the tools to unlock the potential that you’ve possessed all along. “The Inner Game” is the one played within the mind of the player, against the hurdles of self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration. Gallwey shows us how to overcome these obstacles by trusting the intuitive wisdom of our bodies and achieving a state of “relaxed concentration.” With chapters devoted to trusting the self and changing habits, it is no surprise then, that Gallwey’s method has had an impact far beyond the confines of the tennis court. Whether you want to play music, write a novel, get ahead at work, or simply unwind after a stressful day, Gallwey shows you how to tap into your utmost potential. In this fiftieth-anniversary edition, the principles of the Inner Game shine through as more relevant today than ever before. No matter your goals, The Inner Game of Tennis gives you the definitive framework for long-term success.
  loose balls book: Swing Your Sword Mike Leach, 2012-08-07 Recounts the former Texas Tech coach's life and accomplishments, reflecting on pivotal moments and discussing his unorthodox approach to coaching.
  loose balls book: Football for a Buck Jeff Pearlman, 2018 From a multiple New York Times bestselling author, the rollicking, outrageous, you-can't-make-this-up story of the USFL The United States Football League--known fondly to millions of sports fans as the USFL--was the last football league to not merely challenge the NFL, but cause its owners and executives to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, 1983-85. It secured multiple television deals. It drew millions of fans and launched the careers of legends. But then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner--a New York businessman named Donald J. Trump. The league featured as many as 18 teams, and included such superstars as Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Herschel Walker, Reggie White, Doug Flutie and Mike Rozier. In Football for a Buck, the dogged reporter and biographer Jeff Pearlman draws on more than four hundred interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America. From 1980s drug excess to airplane brawls and player-coach punch outs, to backroom business deals, to some of the most enthralling and revolutionary football ever seen, Pearlman transports readers back in time to this crazy, boozy, audacious, unforgettable era of the game. He shows how fortunes were made and lost on the backs of professional athletes and also how, thirty years ago, Trump was a scoundrel and a spoiler. For fans of Terry Pluto's Loose Balls or Jim Bouton's Ball Four and of course Pearlman's own stranger-than-fiction narratives, Football for a Buck is sports as high entertainment--and a cautionary tale of the dangers of ego and excess.
  loose balls book: Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020) Pat Benson, 2020-11-03 Pat Benson has covered the NBA and sneakers for years, including writing for Forbes.com. While grieving from the loss of his hero and quarantining during a pandemic, Benson dedicated countless hours documenting anything that had to with what Kobe Bryant wore on his feet.In Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020), everything from the technology to the marketing campaigns is examined and woven into the story of Bryant's incredible career. In this book, journalists, friends, trainers, and staff members give detailed accounts that paint a vivid picture of an athlete and businessman obsessed with performance footwear. Whether searching for obscure information that has been lost in time or taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane, this is the definitive historical account of Bryant's one-of-a-kind sneaker career.
  loose balls book: The Bad Guys Won Jeff Pearlman, 2009-10-13 Jeff Pearlman has captured the swagger of the '86 Mets. You don't have to be a Mets fan to enjoy this book—it's a great read for all baseball enthusiasts. —Philadelphia Daily News Award-winning Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman returns to an innocent time when a city worshipped a man named Mookie and the Yankees were the second-best team in New York. It was 1986, and the New York Mets won 108 regular-season games and the World Series, capturing the hearts (and other assorted body parts) of fans everywhere. But their greatness on the field was nearly eclipsed by how bad they were off it. Led by the indomitable Keith Hernandez and the young dynamic duo of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, along with the gallant Scum Bunch, the Amazin’s left a wide trail of wreckage in their wake—hotel rooms, charter planes, a bar in Houston, and most famously Bill Buckner and the hated Boston Red Sox. With an unforgettable cast of characters—including Doc, Straw, the Kid, Nails, Mex, and manager Davey Johnson—this “affectionate but critical look at this exciting season” (Publishers Weekly) celebrates the last of baseball’s arrogant, insane, rock-and-roll-and-party-all-night teams, exploring what could have been, what should have been, and what never was.
  loose balls book: The Show Roland Lazenby, 2005-12-26 The first definitive oral history of the ever popular L.A. Lakers The L.A. Lakers have long been one of the NBA's most exciting teams. In The Show, critically acclaimed sportswriter Roland Lazenby brings the story of this charismatic team to life in an unprecedented oral history, featuring such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, and Magic Johnson, along with current stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Through in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and many other key figures, Lazenby follows the Lakers from their birthplace in 1946 Minneapolis to their eventual successes and failures in Los Angeles, using his flair for storytelling and eye for detail to show you exactly why the 14-time NBA champion Lakers are a celebrated favorite for sports fans all over America.
  loose balls book: Stop that Ball! Marshall McClintock, 1959 Illus. in color. A boy's madcap adventures as he tries to retrieve his bouncing ball are told in lively rhyming prose. Humorous, repetitious situations will delight children. Recommended.--School Library Journal.
  loose balls book: Nowhere Now Here Charles Springer, 2021-08 Prose poems.
  loose balls book: The Browns Blues Terry Pluto, 2018-10-31 From their return in 1999 through the 2017 season, the Cleveland Browns have had the worst record in the NFL. The author covers all the reasons why.
  loose balls book: Lebron James Terry Pluto, Brian Windhorst, 2009 Biography of NBA star Lebron James.
  loose balls book: Do You Want to Play with My Balls? Christopher Cifaldi, Matthew Cifaldi, 2012-11-12
Lose vs. Loose: How to Use Each Correctly | Merriam-Webster
Lose typically functions only as a verb, with such meanings as “to bring to destruction,” “to miss from one's possession or from a customary or supposed place,” or “to undergo defeat in.” …

LOOSE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
LOOSE definition: 1. not firmly held or fastened in place: 2. Loose hair is not tied back: 3. Loose things are not…. Learn more.

Loose - definition of loose by The Free Dictionary
Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks. 2. Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg. 3. Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the …

Loose vs Lose: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each?
Sep 17, 2024 · “Loose”: As an adjective, it indicates a lack of tightness or security. For example, “The screw is loose” means the screw is not firmly in place. When used as a verb, it means to …

Loose vs. Lose–What's the Difference? - Grammarly
Jun 21, 2023 · Loose can be defined as “not tightly attached, pulled, or held.” The loose change jingled in Tina’s pocket. Loose also means “lacking in precision or exactness.”

Loose or Lose? - Grammar Monster
Loose and lose are confused because of the inconsistencies in English pronunciation. Loose means not tight (e.g., loose dress, dog on the loose). Lose means fail to keep or win (e.g., lose …

Lose vs. Loose vs. Loosen: What’s the Difference?
Loosen functions as a verb, but it has a slightly different meaning than loose. To loosen means make less tight or firm; to make more lax. For example, He loosened his shoelaces. He …

LOOSE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
Something that is loose is not firmly held or fixed in place. If a tooth feels very loose, your dentist may recommend that it's taken out. His tie was pulled loose and his collar hung open. She idly …

Loose and Lose – Learn the Difference with Easy Examples
Mar 25, 2025 · Loose describes objects that are not tight, free, or unattached, while lose means to misplace something, fail in an attempt, or be deprived of something valuable. Recognizing this …

Loose vs Lose: Easy Guide to Avoid This Common Mistake
Mar 21, 2025 · Loose (with double ‘o’) is an adjective that means not tight, not firmly attached, or free from constraints. Lose (with a single ‘o’) is a verb that means to misplace something, to be …

Lose vs. Loose: How to Use Each Correctly | Merriam-Webster
Lose typically functions only as a verb, with such meanings as “to bring to destruction,” “to miss from one's possession or from a customary or supposed place,” or “to undergo defeat in.” …

LOOSE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
LOOSE definition: 1. not firmly held or fastened in place: 2. Loose hair is not tied back: 3. Loose things are not…. Learn more.

Loose - definition of loose by The Free Dictionary
Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks. 2. Not taut, fixed, or rigid: a loose anchor line; a loose chair leg. 3. Free from confinement or imprisonment; unfettered: criminals loose in the …

Loose vs Lose: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each?
Sep 17, 2024 · “Loose”: As an adjective, it indicates a lack of tightness or security. For example, “The screw is loose” means the screw is not firmly in place. When used as a verb, it means to …

Loose vs. Lose–What's the Difference? - Grammarly
Jun 21, 2023 · Loose can be defined as “not tightly attached, pulled, or held.” The loose change jingled in Tina’s pocket. Loose also means “lacking in precision or exactness.”

Loose or Lose? - Grammar Monster
Loose and lose are confused because of the inconsistencies in English pronunciation. Loose means not tight (e.g., loose dress, dog on the loose). Lose means fail to keep or win (e.g., lose …

Lose vs. Loose vs. Loosen: What’s the Difference?
Loosen functions as a verb, but it has a slightly different meaning than loose. To loosen means make less tight or firm; to make more lax. For example, He loosened his shoelaces. He …

LOOSE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
Something that is loose is not firmly held or fixed in place. If a tooth feels very loose, your dentist may recommend that it's taken out. His tie was pulled loose and his collar hung open. She idly …

Loose and Lose – Learn the Difference with Easy Examples
Mar 25, 2025 · Loose describes objects that are not tight, free, or unattached, while lose means to misplace something, fail in an attempt, or be deprived of something valuable. Recognizing this …

Loose vs Lose: Easy Guide to Avoid This Common Mistake
Mar 21, 2025 · Loose (with double ‘o’) is an adjective that means not tight, not firmly attached, or free from constraints. Lose (with a single ‘o’) is a verb that means to misplace something, to be …