Sumo is the official national sport of Japan, as recognized by the country's government. It is built around the simple concept of two nigh-naked men battling within a small roped ring, but actually has a far deeper meaning, which encompasses both Shinto beliefs and Japan's most subtle cultural nuances.Historical records have the sport dating back at least 1500 years, with popular myths linking the sport to events even further back than that.Professionalized in the 18th cent...

What started in small venues around Mexico in the 1930s has become an industry that is now known all around the world. Millions of fans attend live events and watch the television shows of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion and the many independent wrestling companies of Mexico.One of the quickest, most exciting and popular forms of professional wrestling is lucha libre from Mexico. For close to a century, crowds have been entertained and inspir...

Sumo is the official national sport of Japan, as recognized by the country’s government. It is built around the simple concept of two nigh-naked men battling within a small roped ring, but actually has a far deeper meaning, which encompasses both Shinto beliefs and Japan’s most subtle cultural nuances.Historical records have the sport dating back at least 1500 years, with popular myths linking the sport to events even further back than that.Professionalized in the 18th cent...

From the founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, an inspirational book for the hip-hop fan.The RZA, founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, imparts the lessons he’s learned on his journey from the Staten Island projects to international superstardom. A devout student of knowledge in every form in which he’s found it, he distills here the wisdom he’s acquired into seven “pillars,” each based on a formative event in his life—from the moment he first heard the call of hip-hop to the death ...

ROBERTO DURAN is a sporting legend. Often called the greatest boxer of all time, he held world titles at four different weights and is the only professional in history to have fought in five different decades. His bouts with fellow greats like Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler have gone down in fistic folklore and his pro record of 104 wins, 69 by KO, in 120 fights puts him in an elite group of fighters. They called him Manos de Piedra: “Hands of Stone”.American jo...

Think you know NHL tough guy Georges Laraque? Think again.Sure, Laraque knows all about the rough side of hockey. The Hockey News named him “best fighter.” Sports Illustrated called him the league’s “#1 enforcer.” Fans called him “BGL”—for Big Georges Laraque. Ottawa Senators’ pugilist Chris Neil called him “probably the toughest in the league.”Ask Laraque, though, and he’ll say that’s not who he really is.Known as a player who was unfailingly resp...

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of his generation. In fact, although still so young, he has been dubbed by many fellow professionals as "The Best Player to Ever Grace the Sport." Most fans are aware of his successes on the field, but in order to truly understand Lionel Messi, you must first understand where he came from. Lionel Messi: An Unauthorized Biography explores Messi's upbringing and details his breakthrough onto the world stage, all the way through his ...

Grantland and Deadspin correspondent presents a breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact that does for the sport what Chuck Klosterman did for heavy metal.The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker’s writing for Deadspin, where he started the column “Dead Wrestler of the Week” (which boasts over 1 million page views) -- a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young bec...

Granted unprecedented access to travel throughout the country, this lively travelogue presents us with rare insight into one of the world's only Communist countries."Havana knew me by my shoes," begins Tom Miller's lively and entertaining account of his sojourn for more than eight months traveling through Cuba, mixing with its literati and black marketers, its cane cutters and cigar rollers. Its best-known personalities and ordinary citizens talk to him about the U...

Frustrated watching English football? You know we can do better, but why don't we? This e-book provides a guide for all football coaches and managers to improve the way that their team plays.It is asking managers to be brave and embrace new methods and techniques, to step away from the kick and hope mentality seen in so many matches.

Pelé—legendary footballer and humanitarian—explores the sport’s recent history and shares his most inspiring experiences, heartwarming stories, and hard-won wisdom.“I know in my heart that soccer was good to me, and great to the world....I saw, time and again, how the sport improved countless millions of lives, both on and off the field. For me, at least, that’s why soccer matters.”The world’s most popular sport goes by many names—soccer, football,...

Winning wasn’t the only thing for the one of the greatest coaches of professional football, but wanting to win was. Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers ruled the game through the 1960s, and his ability to innovate, motivate, and teach hold priceless lessons for leaders and football fans everywhere, argues this brief eBook.