Monster back Cody martin loves football. Since he first tossed a pigskin, he's imagined playing for the NFL. But lately the thirteen-year-old, all-around athlete can't get his head-or heart-into the game. His number one fan is not longer in the stands. And the anger of a grudge-holding football coach pushes Cody to the brink-until he finds the true spirit of the game.

A rollicking memoir from the linebacker at the heart of the most famous Alabama football play of all time No university has won more football championships than Alabama, and Barry Krauss played a key role in one of them. The linebacker’s fourth down stop of Penn State’s Mike Guman in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1979, was recently named by ESPN as one of the ten most important plays of the 20th century. The Goal Line Stand, as the play became known, immortalized Krauss among legions of fans. More than twenty-five years later, people still tell him exactly what they were doing and how they felt when he collided in mid-air with Guman that New Year’s Day—and almost never mention his twelve-year career in the NFL. In this entertaining and well-illustrated memoir, Krauss tells of scrimmaging on front lawns with friends as a kid in Pompano Beach, Florida, and of his childhood dream to play for Don Shula. He acknowledges how Coach Bear Bryant tamed his free spirit and shaped him into the football player—and the man—he became. In addition, he emphasizes the importance of team, weaving together the personal stories of his Alabama teammates on the field during the Goal Line Stand, and acknowledges their significant roles in winning the game and the championship. Ain’t Nothin’ But a Winner offers an insider’s look at how a team is built, tested, and becomes a national champion—and how that process sometimes calls upon an individual to rise to the challenge presented by his own personal gut check.

Providing detailed tales and anecdotes from the players and coaches responsible for some of the school’s greatest victories, Glory Days focuses on pivotal moments in Crimson Tide history. From the 1969 game against Ole Miss to the 1979 Sugar Bowl victory over Penn State during the team’s perfect season, up through the 2012 BCS national championship game, this book takes the reader on a journey through the last forty-plus years of the Alabama football team in all its glory. With stories covering everyone from legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, to the Miami Dolphins’ two-time Player of the Year Don McNeal, to current NFL phenomenon Julio Jones, and many more, columnist Tommy Hicks builds on the insight from Alabama players and coaches alike to provide the color and emotion surrounding the best games. Crimson Days is sure to captivate and enlighten Crimson Tide football fans past and present.

Sams local 11-22-2004 $24.95.

It's easy to be a Monday-morning quarterback, but the true football fan has the answers all week long. Doug Lennox, the all-pro of Q&A, leads the drive as he tells us why a touchdown is worth six points, who first decided to pick up the ball and throw it, and how a children's toy changed the sport's biggest championship. Along the way we'll meet players great and not-so-great and encounter the various leagues that have come and gone throughout the world. Why is the sport called "football"? Who first used the term sack? Why did one American president consider banning football? What football team was named after a Burt Reynolds character? Why are footballs shaped the way they are? How many times have NFL and CFL teams squared off? Which came first - the Ottawa Rough Riders or the Saskatchewan Roughriders? Whose Super Bowl ring is a size 25?

A Fire to Win is an honest and revealing biography of Woody Hayes, a man who ranks in the pantheon of football coaches. Woody Hayes is one of the greatest football coaches in history—and one of the most fascinating. More than a brilliant coach, he was a complicated, contradictory man. The former history teacher would tout the ideals of democracy yet run his football empire as an absolute monarchy. But he had a surprisingly altruistic side, hidden from the public,. and Hayes visited local hospitals, donated his time, money, and advice, and insisted that his players graduate. More than just a standard biography, A Fire to Win explores the psychological motivations of one of the most complex of coaches. First and foremost, Woody Hayes was a coach—and his achievements are stunning. While at Ohio State, he won five national titles, and thirteen Big Ten Conference championships, made eight Rose Bowl appearances, and earned two national Coach of the Year awards. His killer instincts, honed in the navy, where he commanded a destroyer escort in the Pacific during World War II, helped him lead his teams to a 30-9 winning average. Moreover, Hayes's lifetime coaching record, 238-72-10, puts him in the first rank of college coaching immortals. No other coach has won more games in a shorter period. John Lombardo uses his extensive sports writing experience to craft an accurate portrait of one of the most complex and fascinating figures in football. Countless interviews of former players, assistant coaches, administrators, faculty, associates, and friends shape the image of Hayes and his career, which spanned the mid-1940s to the late 1970s during a tremendous period of change in American society.

Presents a cultural history that highlights the key moments, games, personalities, and scandals of American college football, tracing how it grew from a rugby offshoot to a part of the country's national identity.