What does it take to make it to professional level sports? And how do you ensure a player's health, as well as mental and financial wellbeing, throughout their career and into retirement? How do you know a good agent from a bad one? Who can you trust to be in your inner circle? These are the questions author Jo Ann Pugh tackles in The 50-Yard Line Mom: One Mom's Journey Through The NFL And Beyond. From her own experience as the mother of NFL veteran Jordan Pugh, Jo Ann gained invaluable insight into the makings of an athletic career with the wealthiest sports league in history. She sharesthis insight, along with real stories of her family's experience in this guidebook for pursuing and surviving a professional athletic career. A must-read for parents and their athletes, The 50-Yard Line Mom delivers wisdom and advice for navigating the complex, demanding, and exciting world of sports, including: - Draft dreams & delusions - What to expect, who to involve, and how to manage the pressure - Hiring the right agent - What to look for...and who to look out for - The truth about the money - How to set yourself up to avoid the fall - Physical & mental health - Knowing the signs and staying involved - Life after professional sports - Planning now for success ahead With the mission to improve the financial, physical, and emotional welfare of players at all levels of their journey, Jo Ann Pugh, takes readers into the huddle, sharing insider information on navigating the exciting, sometimes terrifying, path to and through professional sports. While Jo Ann's story centers on her son Jordan's NFL experience, her wisdom and advocacy span all sports. If your son or daughter aspires to play professional sports, you need to read this book. With a foreword written by Eugene Robinson, three-time Pro Bowl safety, Super Bowl XXXI Champion, Sports Analyst & Talk Show Host: "Jo Ann Pugh knows firsthand how unpredictable and rocky the NFL journey can be," says Eugene Robinson, three-time Pro Bowl safety, Super Bowl XXXI Champion, Sports Analyst and Talk Show Host. "She's been through it all with her son, Jordan, and she's well-equipped to make it easier for you to navigate what may, at times, seem like a minefield."

"Is there life after 50?" ..."I don't care if we don't use it anymore," Rebecca said, "that piano has to stay or move over my dead body." The old piano. That's what Lucy had become. No more. No less. No longer useful, but necessary to keep the family alive. Seven women, seven different stories. Three hundred and fifty years of life between them, but all singularly feeling too young to give up or give in, some faced with life decisions. Stories of running away from a painful past, present or future. Stories of self-discovery by women who got lost somewhere between childhood and now.

From the early sixties to the late seventies, defensive end Ron McDole experienced football’s golden age from inside his old?school, two?bar helmet. During an eighteen?year pro career, McDole—nicknamed “The Dancing Bear”—played in over 250 games, including two AFL Championships with the Buffalo Bills and one NFL Championship with the Washington Redskins. A cagey and deceptively agile athlete, McDole wreaked havoc on football’s best offenses as part of a Bills defensive line that held opponents without a rushing touchdown for seventeen straight games. His twelve interceptions remain a pro record for defensive ends. Traded by the Bills in 1970, he was given new life in Washington as one of the most famous members of George Allen’s game?smart veterans known as “The Over?the?Hill Gang.” Through it all, McDole was known and loved by teammates and foes alike for his knowledge and skill on the field and his ability to have fun off it. In The Dancing Bear McDole the storyteller traces his life from his humble beginnings in Toledo, Ohio, to his four years at the University of Nebraska, his marriage to high school sweetheart Paula, and his long, accomplished professional career. He recounts the days when a pro football player needed an off?season job to pay the bills and teams had to drive around in buses to find a city park in which to practice. The old AFL and NFL blitz back to life through McDole’s straightforward stories of time when the game was played more for love and glory than for money.

Few emotions run as deep as a mother's love for her children. This collection of brief, touching narratives inspires women to combine their love with faith and hope, praying with confidence and thankfulness. The settings include... "Mom, I'm pregnant'...the words no parent wants to hear from her unmarried teen "Tying My Son's Shoes.,."a mom thinks back on her grown son's life "An Urge to Pray.,."when God prompts a mom to intercede "right now" "Shattered Dreams.,."when a child is born handicapped "Gideon's Bride.,."a mom prays for her son's future wife Readers will be reminded that whether moms offer prayers of praise and thanksgiving or desperate cries for help during trial and tribulation, God often answers in profound and poignant ways.

A groundbreaking memoir from professional NFL player, writer, and advocate R.K. Russell, who made history by becoming the first out active NFL player to identify as bisexual. In 2019, R.K. Russell broke the mold when he came out as bisexual in an essay for ESPN that ignited the sports world. Now, in his powerful memoir, THE YARDS BETWEEN US, he shares his story and explores his love of football, men and women, walking the devastating tightrope of keeping his sexuality secret, the tension between his private and public lives, and the importance of crashing through barriers. One part inspirational journey and one part coming of age as an athlete struggling to break a mold, THE YARDS BETWEEN US follows in the footsteps of moving, impactful sports memoirs like Agassi's OPEN, Misty Copeland's LIFE IN MOTION, and Megan Rapinoe's ONE LIFE. Told through the people and moments that have shaped him, Russell traces the highs and lows of his life in and out of football, from his early life as a shy kid struggling with the expectations on a Black boy and the pull between his quiet nature and his athletic ability, to being drafted by his hometown team the Dallas Cowboys, and then on to seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills. And as his time in the sport comes into full bloom, Russell realizes that keeping his secret in the NFL is easier than in college when life and football are so much more connected to social worlds. Through being cut, injured, and frustrating setbacks, Russell's confidence lags as the secret of his sexuality weighs heavier and heavier. And when that frustration is combined with the devastating loss of his best friend and sole confidant, the darkness that follows also brings a deep understanding that perhaps it's time to make a change. In Los Angeles, against the backdrop of the swaying palm trees and warm sands of Malibu, Russell falls in love and it's the final push he needs to stand up for every part of himself—a professional athlete, a writ

Theres murder and stock market shenanigans continually taking place in sports-crazy Honey Oaks, Texas. Curiously enough, the athletic programs of Honey Oaks High are where the crimes that keep citizen-investigator Clayfour Peterson and Feaster County Sheriff Dalton Gumby looking for perps originate, first at the Honey Oaks Bumblebee football stadium in Zero Tolerance and then at the Honey Oaks High Gymnasium in Just Greed/Not Lust. Two stories in one cover, set two years apart with a continuing group of characters makes for some exciting reading, especially for those wanting a taste of Texas and the people, events and items that make it a unique state to live in, if not read about.