Nashville may be the country music capital, but local hockey fans know it as Smashville. The Predators adopted their name from the bones of a saber-toothed tiger found beneath a local building. Craig Leipold first purchased the expansion rights in 1997, and the team quickly built a loyal following. It won twenty-eight games in the inaugural season. Twelve seasons later, the team finished second in the Central Division and appeared in its first-ever conference semifinals. One year later, it...

BUFFALO, HOME OF THE BRAVES chronicles the rise and fall of the National Basketball Association franchise in Western New York that existed from 1970-1978. The team roster included such key players and personalities as Bob McAdoo, Dr. Jack Ramsay, Randy Smith, Paul Snyder, Jack Marin, Gar Heard, John Shumate and Ernie DiGregorio. The Braves made history with their up-tempo style of play and had three rookies of the year. This award-winning book highlights each of those memorable seasons, in...

**The New York Times BestsellerWith inside access and reporting, Sports Illustrated senior baseball writer and FOX Sports analyst Tom Verducci reveals how Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon built, led, and inspired the Chicago Cubs team that broke the longest championship drought in sports, chronicling their epic journey to become World Series champions.**It took 108 years, but it really happened. The Chicago Cubs are once again World Series champions.How...

The Baseball is a salute to the ball, filled with insider trivia, anecdotes, and generations of ball-induced insanity—from Zack Hample, the bestselling author of Watching Baseball Smarter• Which Hall of Famer once caught a ball dropped from an airplane?• Why do balls get stamped with invisible ink?• What’s the best ticket to buy for catching a foul ball?• Whic...

Chicken soup for the baseball lover's soul -- the inimitable Vince Staten takes you out to the ol' ballgame and answers all the baseball questions your dad hoped you wouldn't ask.

A fan's list of fun and historic facts about the Green Bay Packers football team.

With unparalleled access to Heisman Trophy-winning phenom Johnny Manziel, Bruce Feldman has written a modern-day tale about the making of the next superstars in football's most important position: the quarterback.In the world of modern football, with NFL teams worth more than a billion dollars, no position defines a franchise like the quarterback. The QB is the story of a year in the making of those star players, and of the most significant year in QB deve...

Preeminent baseball analyst Bill James and ESPN.com baseball columnist Rob Neyer compile information on pitches and their origins, nearly two thousand pitchers, and more in this comprehensive guide.Pitchers, the pitches they throw, and how they throw them—they’re the stuff of constant scrutiny, but there's never been anything like a comprehensive source for such information…until now. Bill James and Rob Neyer spent over a decade compiling the centerpiece of this bo...

Super Season celebrates the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XLV-winning season in a commemorative publication that covers the memorable season and the people who made it happen. We recap each game of the 2010-11 season with stats, highlights and commentary from those involved, with a special look at the Super Bowl itself. We also have exclsusive features on Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, general manager Ted Thompson and many other star players on the team. Plus, we take a look back at the 12 o...

In this fascinating collection of Bruins tales, Kerry Keene brings readers behind the scenes and captures the stories that have defined the franchise throughout its storied history. From the team’s inception in 1924 up through their 2011 championship run, Tales from the Boston Bruins Locker Room has it all. This treasure trove of Bruins lore brings Boston’s best hockey players to life with stories about Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Phil Esposito, Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and other Brui...

In We Are the Goal Scorers, the NHL's top point leaders are celebrated for their contribution to the game. Along with photos, player history, and personal information, young and eager fans will enjoy learning about each of their hockey heroes.

From the scoring exploits of historic greats like Gordie Howe, Dit Clapper and Joe Malone to hockey heroics ripped from yesterday's headlines—including the wild 2011 Cup final between the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks—these quizzes and games will test the knowledge and stoke the passions of hockey fans everywhere.In eight cleverly constructed theme chapters, among them a chapter on swashbuckling Stanley Cup clashes and another on the on-ice drama at the Vancouver 2010 Oly...