Broadcasters & Sportswriters Titles

For the past 40 years, Steve Simmons has had the best seat in the house, documenting the greatest sports moments in Canada and around the world. He was there when Wayne Gretzky won his first Stanley Cup. When Tiger Woods hit the first drive of his career at the Greater Milwaukee Open. When Usain Bolt crossed the Olympic finish line in an ecstatic blur.<br /><br />He was there when Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal in 2010. When Kawhi Leonard hit the shot. When Joe Carter hit the home run and when Jose Bautista flipped his bat. When Michael Jordan retired in Chicago and when he came out of retirement to play his first game in Indianapolis.<br /><br />In <em>A Lucky Life</em>, Simmons shares a selection of columns from his prolific career which celebrate sport at its best and most impactful. Added postscripts further illuminate historic events and towering figures with modern perspective and behind-the-scenes anecdotes.<br /><br /><strong>Covering both larger-than-life achievements and quieter personal victories, this collection captures those moments in sport that stay with you long after the final buzzer.</strong>

<strong>An unforgettable look at a lifetime of Cardinals baseball packed with Mike Shannon&#39;s passion for the game </strong><br /><br />Mike Shannon&#39;s voice served as the soundtrack of St. Louis Cardinals baseball for 50 years. Millions of fans have enjoyed his observations, insight, and magical storytelling on radio broadcasts. Now, with the help of Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, the St. Louis native and lifelong Cards fan takes fans behind the mic, into the clubhouse, and beyond as only he can.<br /><br />Shannon weaves countless unforgettable tales, from childhood memories growing up in south St. Louis to champagne-soaked World Series celebrations as a player in 1964 and 1967, plus encounters with Cardinals legends ranging from Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith, to Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. <br /><br /><strong>This unmissable autobiography gives fans a rare seat to over six decades of Cardinals history, hijinks, and lore.</strong>

A love letter to the game of baseball from one of America's foremost scribes Bob Ryan has scored every baseball game he's attended, at every level, since the start of the 1977 season. It's a deeply personal tradition still going strong at more than 1,400 games and counting. The tattered scorebooks he's filled are worn from age, travel, and countless summer days, but their grids and scrawled symbols tell the stories of milestones, rivalries, rare historic achievements, and more.In Scoring Position captures the incomparable spirit of baseball, with its infinite possibilities and madcap anomalies. Ryan, alongside baseball historian and statistician Bill Chuck, has scoured his scorecard archives for the most singular events—a switch-hitter being hit by a pitch from both sides of the plate in the same game; a player batting for the cycle off four different pitchers; even back-to-back pinch-hit home runs with two outs in the 9th. Featuring some of the game's biggest names and wildest scenarios, this is a fascinating romp through baseball history, exuding a pure zeal for this sport that fans of all teams will recognize in themselves.Part of the collection at the library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, this volume also features reproductions of dozens of scorecards from Ryan's collection.

<strong>An unforgettable look at a lifetime of baseball packed with humor and passion for the game.</strong><br /><br />With a career that has now touched eight decades, Jim Kaat has had a prime front row seat for baseball#&39;s continuing evolution. Not only was he a major-league pitcher for 25 seasons, but his time as a pitching coach and his many years as a broadcaster have given him a singular long view of the game.<br /><br />In <em>Good as Gold</em>, Kaat weaves the tale of a lifetime, taking fans on the field, into the clubhouse, and behind the mic as only he can.<br /><br /><strong>Full of priceless stories from New York, Minnesota, and across the major leagues, this honest and engaging autobiography gives fans a rare seat alongside Kaat on a tour of baseball history.</strong>

<div>For 25 years, Chicago sports fans invited Terry Boers into their homes, cars, and offices as one of the premier voices of WSCR radio. Covering the latest championships and trades, Boers was a Windy City constant until his retirement in 2017. In his highly-anticipated memoir, Boers delivers a trove of lively anecdotes and personal reflections from journey through sports media—from raucous banter with Mike Ditka during The Score&#39;s early days to the Cubs&#39; World Series celebration in 2016. A must-read for any of the thousands who made Boers part of their daily routine, <em>The Score of a Lifetime</em> is a freewheeling, frank portrait of a man, a career, a station no one thought would survive, and a city that loves its sports.</div>

During his nearly 50 years of sportswriting, including 28 at Sports Illustrated, readers of Dr. Z came to expect a certain alchemical, trademark blend: words which were caustic and wry, at times self-deprecating or even puzzling, but always devilishly smart with arresting honesty. In 2008, Zimmerman had nearly completed work on his personal memoirs when a series of strokes left him largely unable to speak, read, or write. Compiled and edited by longtime SI colleague Peter King, these are the stories he still wants to see told. Dr. Z's memoir is a rich package of personalities, stories never shared about such characters as Vince Lombardi, Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch, and Hunter S. Thompson.

<DIV><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Exploring a pitching career that began with a complete-game victory over Hall of Famer Don Drysdale in 1964 and ended when he could no longer control his pitches, this book details the life of Pittsburgh Pirates great, Steve Blass. This insider's view of the humorous and bizarre journey of a World Series champion pitcher turned color commentator will delight Pirates and baseball fans alike. Recounting his first years in the Major Leagues and his battle with the baffling condition that would ultimately bear his own name, Steve Blass tells the story of his life on and off the field with a poignant, dazzling wit and shares the life of a baseball player who had the prime of his career cut short.</DIV>

The extraordinary life of an Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame broadcaster is shared in this firsthand account of the highs and lows of Major League Baseball. Pete Van Wieren’s legacy began in 1976, when he and a young Skip Caray were hired to call Atlanta Braves games. During the next three decades, "the Professor" and Caray became the voices of a team known nationwide as America's Team courtesy of Ted Turner's SuperStation TBS. In this heartfelt autobiography, Van Wieren shares his memories of thrilling moments in Braves history, such as the 1995 season when the Braves won the world championship; the pitching mastery of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz; the heartbreak of the 1996 World Series loss to the Yankees; and Atlanta's unprecedented run of 14 consecutive division titles.

<P style=&#34;MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt&#34; class=MsoNormal>A stirring tribute to Harry Kalas, the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 until his sudden passing in 2009, this work captures the spirit of the man who became as synonymous with the city of Philadelphia as a Mike Schmidt home run, a cheesesteak sandwich, or the Liberty Bell. <I>Remembering Harry Kalas</I> includes stories about the longtime Phillies voice from a who&#8217;s who of national figures and people who were close to the late broadcaster, including Schmidt, Kalas&#8217;s family, Tim McCarver, Curt Smith, Phillies president David Montgomery, Ryan Howard, Mike Piazza, and many others. It is the definitive book about one of the most memorable personalities in the City of Brotherly Love.

Few in Chicago sports history have been as beloved on both the North and South Sides of the baseball-crazy city as Steve Stone—a privilege that made no small contribution to the incredible stories shared in this fun baseball exploration led by the man himself. Part anecdote and part analysis, the book shares the unique slant of the American League Cy Young Award-winning pitcher and fan-favorite broadcaster on the game that has been his passion for nearly five decades. He starts by analyzing the game position by position; illustrating his points with personal experiences and the players he has either played with or covered. What he hasn't seen, his broadcast partner of 15 years, Harry Caray, probably had, and he shares plenty of funny stories about their years together in the booth as well. Finally he takes a serious look at how the game has changed and what the future holds for America's pastime.

The extraordinary life of an Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame broadcaster is shared in this firsthand account of the highs and lows of Major League Baseball. Pete Van Wieren’s legacy began in 1976, when he and a young Skip Caray were hired to call Atlanta Braves games. During the next three decades, &#34;the Professor&#34; and Caray became the voices of a team known nationwide as America&#39;s Team courtesy of Ted Turner&#39;s SuperStation TBS. In this heartfelt autobiography, Van Wieren shares his memories of thrilling moments in Braves history, such as the 1995 season when the Braves won the world championship; the pitching mastery of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz; the heartbreak of the 1996 World Series loss to the Yankees; and Atlanta&#39;s unprecedented run of 14 consecutive division titles.

<DIV>Radio personality and equal-opportunity offender Sid Rosenberg shares all the stories listeners never got to hear when the microphones were turned off in this detailed autobiography. He leaves no one unscathed, calling out self-important people in every profession, including athletes, Hollywood hunks and starlets, and "the next big thing"s in entertainment. Despite the sometimes rough and opinionated takes in this book, many laughs are to be found within its pages.</DIV>

Calm, reasoned, and well-modulated tones are not the order of business in discussing Chicago sports, and when it comes to talking Chicago sports, Mike North is in a class by himself. He led the sports-talk-radio industry out of its formative stages and became the city's most recognized voice. With his in-your-face style, North has all the answers and doesn't shortchange the reader when it comes to opinions. Why do the Bears carry the city? What's the basic difference between Sox and Cubs fans? Will the Bulls ever return to glory? Can the Blackhawks recapture their stature as one of the top teams in the NHL?

To many New Yorkers who came of age in the 1980s as Mets fans, Keith Hernandez is the Mets. Two decades after his last game in a New York uniform, the first captain in Mets history is still with them, literally. He's spent most of the last decade in the broadcast booth at Shea Stadium watching the rise and fall of the club and, just as he did when he played, calling it as he sees it. Opinionated, funny, urbane, and unafraid to poke holes in the team or himself, Hernandez is a master at relating the unseen game on the field. Shea Good-Bye carries on the high standards of Hernandez's earlier best-selling books. He recalls Shea Stadium both fondly and matter-of-factly in its last year of existence, lamenting the loss of the stadiums he knew, replaced with flashier bandboxes that favor home runs and negate strategy. He looks at the 2008 season and all the hope that arrived with the Johan Santana deal and how much of the optimism went out the window with the team's stumble out of the gate. He speaks frankly on the taint of steroids in the Mitchell Report and how the game has been compromised, as well as the firing of Willie Randolph.

Steve "Psycho" Lyons uses his patented Psycho-Meter to break down the 100 most famous and infamous moments in baseball history. And who better to chronicle baseball's history of outrageous personalities, plays, and pranks, than Lyons, the man who dropped his pants at first base and created perhaps the most outrageous moment of all time? Digging in and dusting off the annals of baseball history, he has researched the craziest moments in baseball ever, ranging from the hilarious to the ridiculous, from the incredible to the heroic, including Randy Johnson's unexpected and unbelieveable exploding bird, Clemens v. Piazza—rounds 1 and 2, the infamous Disco Demolition Night in Chicago, and the George Brett pine tar incident. From Babe Ruth's called home-run shot to the Steve Bartman fiasco, from Pete Rose bowling over Ray Fosse to Joba Chamberlain being attacked by insects, and from Pedro Martinez body slamming Don Zimmer to a team turning a triple play without ever touching the ball, The Psycho 100 has it all.