How did we go from peach baskets to breakaway rims? From underhand lobs to 100-mph fastballs? The history of sports is full of hard-won victories, but they weren't all about being the fastest or scoring the most points. Lavishly illustrated, They Changed the Game tells 50 stories of pioneering players, obscure rules, and defining moments that have shaped the games we love. Spanning sports of all kinds, from football and tennis to speed skating and the Paralympic Games, this book celebrates how our most beloved pastimes evolved--and commemorates the trailblazers who made it all happen. Told through the artwork of talented artists from all over the world, this is a vibrant and stylish celebration of creativity both on and off the field. Winner of the National Indie Excellence Award for Best Sports Book, the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best Illustration, and the Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal.

Throughout the twentieth century, athletic heroes have altered their respective sports with spectacular achievements, renewing their fans' confidence and surpassing their expectations with pioneering fearlessness, powerful expertise and unforgettable performances. In They Changed the Game, authors Ken Rappoport and Barry Wilner profile professional sports' trailblazing champions, from boxing great Muhammad Ali to runner extraordinaire Jesse Owens, from stock-car racer Richard Petty to incomparable sportswoman Babe Didrickson.

We Changed the Game is a story about a city looking to grow up, a laughable basketball league trying to be taken seriously and a bunch of unsung players given a shot or a second chance to make it in pro basketball. It¿s equal parts comedy, creativity and sheer luck and only could have existed in the free-wheeling `60s. Indeed it is the Wild West in tennis shoes. The Indiana Pacers were born on a partially-used cocktail napkin for $6,000 and staggered through some challenging times but, in the end, they carried the American Basketball Association (ABA) into respectability and eventually a merger with what is known today as the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between their ABA existence from 1967 to 1976, the Pacers captured three ABA titles, but also--and only known by a select few--teetered on the brink of extinction at least three times before finally finding two Indianapolis-based real estate legends who would take a gamble and purchase this team that no one else could or would, officially securing the Pacers' future as one of the top-contending professional basketball teams in the country.Indianapolis¿ love affair with the Pacers also triggered the explosion of downtown Indy. Market Square Arena was conceived, with the vision of then Mayor Bill Hudnut, and made possible because of the Pacer¿s popularity. From that catalyst eventually came the Hoosier Dome, the Colts, Banker¿s Life Fieldhouse, major hotel chains and restaurants galore. The Pacers changed the city¿s profile ¿ Naptown was laid to rest and a vibrant, progressive state capital emerged over these past 40 years. Indianapolis was alive. Through the eyes of Richard Tinkham, the legal counsel of the Pacers from Day 1 (who also served as innovator, negotiator, deal maker and fireman), and the mercurial Netolicky, please sit back and enjoy one of the most improbable and inspirational stories in professional sports history.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona. Drawing on fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides the definitive account of the Dream Team phenomenon. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial selection process. He takes us inside the team’s Olympic suites for late-night card games and bull sessions where superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird debated the finer points of basketball. And he narrates a riveting account of the legendary intrasquad scrimmage that pitted the Dream Teamers against one another in what may have been the greatest pickup game in history. In the twenty years since the Dream Team first captivated the world, its mystique has only grown. Dream Team vividly re-creates the moment when a once-in-a-millennium group of athletes came together and changed the future of sports—one perfectly executed fast break at a time. With a new Afterword by the author. “The absolute definitive work on the subject, a perfectly wonderful once-you-pick-it-up-you-won’t-be-able-to-put-it-down book.”—The Boston Globe “An Olympic hoops dream.”—Newsday “What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum, both then and now.”—Booklist (starred review)

Traces the origins and history of football, including the new rules and plays, coaches, players, and games that contributed to its evolution.

Professional football in the last half century has been a sport marked by relentless innovation. For fans determined to keep up with the changes that have transformed the game, close examination of the coaching footage is a must. In The Games That Changed the Game, Ron Jaworski—pro football’s #1 game-tape guru—breaks down the film from seven of the most momentous contests of the last fifty years, giving readers a drive-by-drive, play-by-play guide to the evolutionary leaps that define the modern NFL. From Sid Gillman’s development of the Vertical Stretch, which launched the era of wide-open passing offenses, to Bill Belichick’s daring defensive game plan in Super Bowl XXXVI, which enabled his outgunned squad to upset the heavily favored St. Louis Rams and usher in the New England Patriots dynasty, the most cutting-edge concepts come alive again through the recollections of nearly seventy coaches and players. You’ll never watch NFL football the same way again.

Transforming Businesses, Changing Lives The goal of playing the Great Game of Business has always been to find a way to teach the have-nots how the haves make it. It's about creating and distributing wealth equitably as a way to close those gaps in wealth that plague our society. It's about changing the game. We wrote CHANGE THE GAME for those of you who continue to seek a brighter side of capitalism, one that truly transforms lives for the better. This book is about hope: no matter how grim things look, you can make them better. You don't have to wait for someone to bail you out. You have the ability to attain peace, security, and happiness. That's what we think the American dream is all about. It's our continuing belief that, through building successful organizations, we can change the world for the better. We can give people the tools to bring about positive change in our society. CHANGE THE GAME is filled with stories that demonstrate the transformative effects that happen when people embrace a system that makes work fun and rewarding for everyone who plays.