“Beautifully illustrated and sharply written, SprawlBall is both a celebration and a critique of the 3-point shot. If you want to understand how the modern NBA came to be, you’ll need to read this book.”—Nate Silver, editor of fivethirtyeight.comFrom the leading expert in the exploding field of basketball analytics, a stunning infographic decoding of the modern NBA: who shoots where, and how.The field of basketball analytics has leaped to overdrive thanks to Kirk Goldsberry, whose visual maps of players, teams, and positions have helped teams understand who really is the most valuable player at any position. SprawlBall combines stunning visuals, in-depth analysis, fun, behind-the-scenes stories and gee-whiz facts to chart a modern revolution. From the introduction of the 3-point line to today, the game has changed drastically . . .Now, players like Steph Curry and Draymond Green are leading the charge. In chapters like “The Geography of the NBA,” “The Interior Minister (Lebron James),” “The Evolution...

More and more football fans are watching the NFL each week, but many of them don’t know exactly what they should be watching. What does the offense’s formation tell you about the play that’s about to be run? When a quarterback throws a pass toward the sideline and the wide receiver cuts inside, which player is to blame? Why does a defensive end look like a Hall of Famer one week and a candidate for the practice squad the next? These questions and more are addressed in Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0, a book that takes readers deep inside the perpetual chess match between offense and defense. This book provides clear and simple explanations to the intricacies and nuances that affect the outcomes of every NFL game. This updated edition contains recent innovations from the 2015 NFL season.

In the first book from popular Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, the network’s “resident scholar and critic” (The New York Times) explores the common swing positions of the greatest players throughout history—and reveals how those commonalities can help players of every skill level improve their own games.Every golf game begins with the swing. While no two are identical, Brandel Chamblee, the highly regarded television analyst and former PGA Tour professional, once noticed that the best players of all time have shared similar positions in each part of the swing, from the grip and setup to the footwork, backswing, and follow-through. Since then, Chamblee, a student of the game’s history, has used scientific precision and thoroughness to make a study of the common swing positions of the greats. Now, in The Anatomy of Greatness, he shares what he has learned, offering hundreds of photographs as proof, to show us how we can...

Veteran golfers know that the secret to a lower score is a solid short game, but mastering those small strokes can be maddening?even for the pros. One of golf?s most revered instructors, Stan Utley now reveals the step-by-step tactics behind his revolutionary short-game techniques in The Art of the Short Game. After introducing readers to his groundbreaking philosophy that explains why most players don?t see all the shots available to them near the green, Utley moves on to shatter conventional wisdom about stance, grip, and ball position. From choosing the right clubs (including a checklist of must-haves that should always be in your bag) to spin reduction during chipping and fearless sand play, The Art of the Short Game demystifies the most aggravating shots on the links. Though Utley?s primer features a full set of drills, accompanied by more than seventy-five photos, his approach is far removed from the monotonous, mechanical instruction of...

Don't feel left out in the roar of the crowd. Football is the most popular sport in America today. It's also the most complicated, especially to those who watch their loved ones hibernate in football heaven from September to February. Here's the book that levels the playing field for novices, giving them a simple, clear, and comprehensive guide worthy of a Lombardi Trophy. Finally, get in the game with: ?Basic rules and objectives ?Player position, strategies, formations, and plays ?The business of football ?Differences between high school, college, and pro football ?Fantasy football

Celebrated sports writer Roger Kahn casts his gaze on the golden age of baseball, an unforgettable time when the game thrived as America's unrivaled national sport. THE ERA begins in 1947, with Jackie Robinson changing major league baseball forever by taking the field for the Dodgers. Dazzling, momentous events characterize the decade that followed—Robinson's amazing accomplishments; the explosion on the national scene of such soon-to-be legends as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Bobby Thomson, Duke Snider, and Yogi Berra; Casey Stengel's crafty managing; the emergence of televised games; and the stunning success of the Yankees as they play in nine out of eleven World Series. THE ERA concludes with the relocation of the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, a move that shook the sport to its very roots.Praise for Roger Kahn:"As a kid, I loved sports first and writing second, and loved everything Roger Kahn wrote. As an adult, I...