Is there anything more universally American than NFL football? Love of the NFL runs deep and broad. It is a primetime TV event on multiple national networks, subsidized by public funds and popular from Mount Rainier to Miami Beach. The 2015 Super Bowl, a thriller between the Patriots and Seahawks, was the most-watched program in the history of television, with more than a third of the country watching. Yet football is in trouble. Public anxiety over football spiked in 2014 during the heat of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, the ongoing concussion crisis and the league's appropriations of tax money for its own ends. The mounting problems have led some to question the ethics of watching America's beloved game. In this sharply argued, witty, observant book, Gregg Easterbrook makes a spirited case in defense of the NFL. As he shows, the league brings together Americans of all stripes, providing a rare space to talk about what matters. Indeed, the various issues we see in the league are often microcosms of the ones we see elsewhere, whether it's suspicion of the rich, or gender politics or even concern over bullying. The NFL's social, economic and legal problems are real, but they also produce some of our best and most valuable discussions of those issues. Football is a magnificent incarnation of our national character. It has many flaws, and they need fixing -- but the game's not over.

After publishing the Quebec Major Junior hockey League: from Lafleur to Lemieux and Crosby, in 2012, authors, Jean-Pierre D’Auteuil (right) and Jean-Philippe Otis (left), present The Game Is Not Over: The epic story of the most prestigious Pee wee hockey tournament in the world. The Quebec City International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament took off in 1960, when five die-hard hockey fans, led by Gérard Bolduc, decided to bring together young Pee-Wee calibre players in Quebec City. After starting out at the Aréna du Parc Victoria, the adventure continued for many years at the Colisée de Québec and currently takes place at the Centre Vidéotron. This book tells the beautiful and great story of this prestigious event, which has enabled millions of hockey fans to see the great players of yesterday and the stars of today at work: Guy Lafleur, Auston Matthews, Wayne Gretzky, Manon Rhéaume, Connor McDavid, Patrick Roy, Jonathan Quick, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brett Hull, Brendan Gallagher, Nico Hischier, Mario Lemieux, Sylvain Côté, Steven Stamkos, Thomas Chabot, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Audy-Marches-sault, Pierre Larouche, Yanni Gourde, Réal Cloutier, Mathew Barzal et Guy Chouinard, just to name a few. While reading this book, you will also discover Gaétan Boucher, Arthur Quoquochi, Raynald Fortier, Gilles Levasseur, Benoît Parke, Jeannot Ferland, Tim Connolly, Gilles Duclos, Freddie Meyer and many others, as well as players, who are less well known today, but who have made their own mark on the history of the Quebec City International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Statistics, anecdotes, highlights, quotes and more than 400 photos. A real piece of anthology!

From the untimely deaths of young athletes to chronic disease among retired players, roiling debates over tackle football have profound implications for more than one million American boys—some as young as five years old—who play the sport every year. In this book, Kathleen Bachynski offers the first history of youth tackle football and debates over its safety. In the postwar United States, high school football was celebrated as a "moral" sport for young boys, one that promised and celebrated the creation of the honorable male citizen. Even so, Bachynski shows that throughout the twentieth century, coaches, sports equipment manufacturers, and even doctors were more concerned with "saving the game" than young boys' safety—even though injuries ranged from concussions and broken bones to paralysis and death. By exploring sport, masculinity, and citizenship, Bachynski uncovers the cultural priorities other than child health that made a collision sport the most popular high school game for American boys. These deep-rooted beliefs continue to shape the safety debate and the possible future of youth tackle football.

More American children recognize Super Mario, the hero of one of Nintendo’s video games, than Mickey Mouse. The Japanese company has come to earn more money than the big three computer giants or all Hollywood movie studios combined. Now Sheff tells of the Nintendo invasion–a tale of innovation and cutthroat tactics.

Helps readers to understand what matters most in life--their relationships with God and people--by using personal stories, humor, and metaphors about popular games, which show Christians how to focus on winning "the right trophies" in life.

Sportscaster Howard Cosell dubbed it "rule number one of the jockocracy" sports and politics just don't mix. But in Game Over, celebrated alt-sportswriter Dave Zirin proves once and for all that politics has breached the modern sports arena with a vengeance. From the NFL lockout and the role of soccer in the Arab Spring to the Penn State sexual abuse scandals and Tim Tebow's on-field genuflections, this timely and hard-hitting new book from the "conscience of American sportswriting" (The Washington Post) reveals how our most important debates about class, race, religion, sex, and the raw quest for political power are played out both on and off the field. Game Over offers new insights and analysis of headline-grabbing sports controversies, exploring the shady side of the NCAA, the explosive 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and why the Dodgers crashed and burned. It covers the fascinating struggles of gay and lesbian athletes to gain acceptance, female athletes to be more than sex symbols, and athletes everywhere to assert their collective bargaining rights as union members. Zirin also illustrates the ways in which athletes are once again using their exalted platforms to speak out and reclaim sports from the corporate interests that have taken it hostage. In Game Over, he cheers the victories but also reflects on how far we have yet to go. Combining brilliant set pieces with a sobering overview of today's sports scene in Zirin's take-no-prisoners style, Game Over is a must read for anyone, sports fan or not, interested in understanding how sports reflect and shape society--and why the stakes have never been higher.

Devin Devine's debut collection DRINKING TO SAINTHOOD is an unwavering portrayal of addiction, both the funeral and the wake. Drinking to Sainthood confronts the narrative of two addicts careening into love, the crumbling of a whiskey-brined marriage, and ultimately the loss of Devine's estranged husband to suicide. This collection is a labyrinth to Devine's sobriety, from journal entry to the hospital stay. This book is a biblical reconciliation of grief, a willingness to offer mercy, and an invocation to forgive oneself. "Drinking to Sainthood is a lifeline for those of us that have survived rock bottom and homage to those that didn't. A profound and cautious study in mourning, self-preservation, and the lengths our hearts will take us to love our kin and ourselves, no matter the cost."--Desireé Dallagiacomo, author of Sink "We aren't always ready for what we need. This collection of poems is a tire iron hidden under a blanket of apologies and wishes. It is a model for fearless writing. It is a clear reminder that it is not a total loss to be totally filled with loss."--Derrick C. Brown, author of How the Body Works in the Dark Poetry. Hybrid. LGBTQ+ Studies. Women's Studies.