Sports & Recreation Audiobooks

From his perspective as a journalist and a true fan, Bob Costas, NBC’s award-winning broadcaster, shares his views on the forces that are diminishing the appeal of Major League Baseball and proposes realistic changes that can be made to protect and promote the game’s best interests. In this cogent–and provocative–book, Costas examines the growing financial disparities that have resulted in nearly two-thirds of the teams in Major League Baseball having virtually no chance of contending for the World Series. He argues that those who run baseball have missed the crucial difference between mere change and real progress. And he presents a withering critique of the positions of both the owners and players while providing insights on the wild-card system, the designated-hitter rule, and interleague play. Costas answers each problem he cites with an achievable strategy for restoring genuine competition and rescuing fans from the forces that have diluted the sheer joy of the game. Balanced by Costas’s unbridled appreciation for what he calls the "moments of authenticity" that can still make baseball inspiring, Fair Ball offers a vision of our national pastime as it can be, a game that retains its traditional appeal while initiating meaningful changes that will allow it to thrive into the next century.

Bob Costas (Author), Bob Costas (Narrator)

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Eiger Dreams

No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb. In Pakistan, the fearsome K2 kills thirteen of the world's most experienced mountain climbers in one horrific summer. In Valdez, Alaska, two men scale a frozen waterfall over a four-hundred-foot drop. In France, a hip international crowd of rock climbers, bungee jumpers, and paragliders figure out new ways to risk their lives on the towering peaks of Mont Blanc. Why do they do it? How do they do it? In this extraordinary book, Krakauer presents an unusual fraternity of daredevils, athletes, and misfits stretching the limits of the possible. From the paranoid confines of a snowbound tent, to the thunderous, suffocating terror of a white-out on Mount McKinley, Eiger Dreams spins tales of driven lives, sudden deaths, and incredible victories. This is a stirring, vivid book about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Jon Krakauer (Author), Jon Krakauer (Narrator)

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Epic: Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peaks

Clint Willis (Author), Alan Sklar, Clint Willis, Eric Conger, Graeme Malcolm, Rick Adamson (Narrator)

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High: Stories of Survival from Everest and K2

Clint Willis (Author), Alan Sklar, Eric Conger, George Guidall, Simon Prebble (Narrator)

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Last Over

E. W. Swanton, E.W. Swanton (Author), E. W. Swanton, E.W. Swanton (Narrator)

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The Elements of Effort: Reflections on the Art and Science of Running

In this engaging collection of essays, author and athlete John Jerome celebrates the simplicity and freedom of running. With contagious passion, he strips away fads and myths to offer basic guidelines for participants, from beginning joggers to those preparing for marathons. For years Jerome recorded his thoughts and experiences during his daily training. As he ran, he discovered not only physical benefits, but philosophical ones as well. His wry reflections take you on a joyous journey through the most elemental aspects of the sport-stretching, falling, sweat, bugs, the food police, and more. A fount of prescriptions and wisdom, The Elements of Effort offers a disarming collection of ideas to mull over as you participate in your daily run. So grab your cassette player, lace up your running shoes, and enjoy narrator L.J. Ganser's entertaining performance.

John Jerome (Author), L.J. Ganser (Narrator)

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Golf of Your Dreams

Fifteen years ago, the average American male golfer's handicap was 16.2. The average female golfer's handicap was 29. Today, the average American male golfer's handicap is 16.2 and the average female golfer's is 29. American golfers have not gotten any better. World-renowned performance consultant and sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, author of the best-selling books Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and Golf Is a Game of Confidence, has written The Golf of Your Dreams for the golfer who is determined to get better but hasn't figured out how to go about it. Building on his success with golfers, Dr. Rotella now teaches and details a plan for lowering your handicap, ensuring your improvement if you follow his plan. His program for success in playing the golf of your dreams is based on strategies found to be successful with tour players such as Tom Kite, Brad Faxon, Pat Bradley, and Davis Love III, and is similar to approaches used by Rotella's other clients who are top athletes in a variety of different sports. Whereas Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and Golf Is a Game of Confidence covered the mental aspects of the game, The Golf of Your Dreams offers a programmatic guide for getting down to scratch or single digits. It is an approach that Dr. Rotella and his clients have tested for over twenty years, one that has been proven to work consistently with all levels of golfers. Dr. Rotella knows that if you want to play your best golf ever, you must admit to yourself that you want to be good and that you have the necessary talent to play well. But that's not all. You must commit yourself to a process that will improve your game. In The Golf of Your Dreams Dr. Rotella provides tips on how to: * Choose the fight teaching professional * Communicate your dreams and goals to your teacher * Get your teacher to teach you as a student serious about improving * Make a plan for improvement with your teacher and stay committed * Sustain and honor your commitment * Break old habits and develop new ones * Practice efficiently and effectively so you can take your learning from the practice area to the golf course Dr. Rotella also discusses a piece of very good news for any golfer: Great physical ability is not required in order to play exceptional golf. Rotella demonstrates how characteristics such as desire, patience, and persistence, more than physical talent, enable golfers to improve their performance dramatically. When these characteristics are combined with a proven plan for success, modest talent is more than enough. Dr. Rotella will reveal why, despite the billions of dollars they have spent on new golf clubs, balls, and lessons, average American golfers' skills are stagnant and their performance is lackluster year after year. Dr. Rotella knows, above all, that simply reading a book or watching a video will not make anyone a better golfer. But reading The Golf of Your Dreams will make you keenly aware of what you have to do in order to play the kind of golf you've always sensed you were capable of playing.

Dr. Bob Rotella (Author), Dr. Bob Rotella (Narrator)

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Wait Til Next Year: A Memoir

When historian Goodwin was six years old, her father taught her how to keep score for "their" team, the Brooklyn Dodgers. While this activity forged a lifelong bond between father and daughter, her mother formed an equally strong relationship with her through the shared love of reading. Goodwin recounts some wonderful stories in this coming-of-age tale about both her family and an era when baseball truly was the national pastime that brought whole communities together. From details of specific games to descriptions of players, including Jackie Robinson, a great deal of the narrative centers around the sport. Between games and seasons, Goodwin relates the impact of pivotal historical events, such as the Rosenberg trial. Her end of innocence follows with the destruction of Ebbets Field, her mother's death, and her father's lapse into despair. Goodwin gives listeners reason to consider what each of us has retained of our childhood passions. A poignant but unsentimental journey for all adults and, of course, especially for baseball fans.

Doris Kearns Goodwin (Author), Doris Kearns Goodwin (Narrator)

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The Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter

From World Sports Headquarters in historic Bristol, Connecticut, comes the audiobook that's more colorful than Dennis Rodman's hair. For the first time, Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick, the tag-team partners of ESPN's award winning Sportscenter, bring what People magazine calls their "Letterman-like loopiness and Koppel-esque smarts" to listeners everywhere in THE BIG SHOW. Less expansive (and easier to ge) than a big leaguer's autograph, THE BIG SHOW gives you the honest, horrifying, yet always entertaining story of two men, three cameras, and highlights run amok. It tells truths about the sports world the government doesn't want you to hear. Which government, nobody'sure, but there must be a government somewhere that doesn't want you to now about: The voodoo that Keith and Dan do to make THE BIG SHOW run slicker than Pat Riley's "do" Keith and Dan's complaints about sports idiocies - and each other! What superstars, celebrities and the press really think about Dan and Keith - and how they've survived to this day! Listening to THE BIG SHOW, you'll have joy, you'll have fun, you'll have seasons in the sun, and you'll dismiss all notions of becoming a sportscaster yourself. But try as you may, your TV remote can't turn them off this time, so Dan and Keith's fragrantly illegal use of the mouth will keep you listening O-ver-time!

Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann (Author), Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann (Narrator)

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Golf is a Game of Confidence

Dr. Bob Rotella, whose clients include Nick Price, Davis Love III, Tom Kite and Pat Bradley, is firmly established as the premier performance enhancement specialist in the golf world. In Golf is a Game Of Confidence, "Doc" Rotella focuses on the most important skill a golfer can have: the ability to think confidently. Confidence, or "playing with your eyes," can be the difference between making par and a bogey, one-putting and three-putting, winning and losing. To help listeners revolutionize their own course management and mental game, Rotella relates stories of the game's legendary figures, and allows the listener not only to get inside the ropes but also to get inside the heads of the game's greatest players in their most important moments. Filled with lore about the great players, great courses, and great tournaments, Golf Of Confidence inspires golfers to reach new heights in their games and their lives.

Bob Culler, Bob Rotella (Author), Bob Rotella (Narrator)

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Caught Me A Big'Un...And then I Let Him Go!: Jimmy Houston's Bass Fishing Tips

One of the best-known, most-loved TV fishing personalities, Jimmy Houston has become a bass legend. Two-time winner of the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year award, Jimmy now brings you A of the wonderful, entertaining, and instructive stories he's gathered over the years.... CAUGHT ME A BIG 'UN... and then I let him go! Anyone who loves fishing -- on a lake, pond, river, or ocean -- is guaranteed to love Jimmy Houston's insightful, instructive, and laugh-out-loud funny tips and tales. Whether he's fishing with sports or political celebrities or his children, Jimmy proves there's no story like a fish story, and here are his best-packed with all the know -- how that has made his name a legend. Discover the secrets of tournament fishermen from Jimmy and other award-winning pros; get the lowdown on tackle, baits, and boats; and find out why the best anglers know that you have to understand fish in order to catch them (and how you can, too!), and more. From that first tug on the line to the last cast of the day, every angler will love Jimmy's bass fishing tips and anecdotes. Get in the boat with the master -- and turn those tall tales into reality.

Jimmy Houston (Author), Jimmy Houston (Narrator)

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Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect

GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT Listen to the teacher that teaches today's top professionals. Dr. Bob Rotella is one of the hottest performance consultants in America today. Among his many professional clients are Nick Price, Tom Kite, Pat Bradley, John Daly, and many others. In Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect, Rotella -- or "Doc," as most players refer to him, goes beyond just the usual mental aspects of the game and the reliance on specific techniques. Rotella creates an attitude and a mindset about all aspects of a golfer's game, from mental preparation to competition and with a conversational fashion in a dynamic blend of anecdote and lesson. Rotella helps golfers improve their golf game and have more fun playing. Some of his maxims include: On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot. Golfers must learn to love the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives -- anger, fear, whining, and cheating -- do no good. Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself. Filled with delightful and insightful stories about golf and the golfers Rotella works with, Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player.

Bob Rotella (Author), Bob Rotella (Narrator)

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