Average Joe's Super Sports Almanac

Steve Riach

Description

A Far-From-Average Sports Book for the Average Joe Go beyond the 24/7 online highlights and celebrate the hilarious humor and heartwarming heroics of the sports world in this all-star collection of trivia, quotes, and anecdotes. For example...Did You Know? The Chicago Bears were originally known as the Staleys before being moved from Decatur, Illinois. The Decatur Staleys, as the team was known, was the pride of the city that holds the motto, "The Soybean Capital of the World." Houston Astros infielder Julio Gotay played every game with a cheese sandwich in his back pocket. Others had less cheesy items in their back pockets. Pitcher Sean Burnett had a poker chip in his, while pitcher Al Holland opted for a two-dollar bill. While accepting his NBA MVP award in 2014, basketball star Kevin Durant focused his remarks on his mother, Wanda Pratt. "The odds were stacked against us, a single parent with two boys by the time you were 21 years old," Durant said. "You made us believe, you kept us off the street, put clothes on our backs, food on the table. When you didn't eat, you made sure we ate. You went to sleep hungry; you sacrificed for us. You're the real MVP." Packed with incredible facts, quirky moments, and heart-warming stories, The Average Joe's Super Sports Almanac will delight fans of all ages and makes a great gift for the sports buff in your life - whether superfan or average Joe.

Sujets

• Yearbooks
• Yearbook

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 03 avril 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736972499
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Cover by Jason Gabbert Design
Cover Image Scukrov / iStock; Robyn Mackenzie / Shutterstock
The Average Joe s Super Sports Almanac
Copyright 2018 SER Media
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-7248-2 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-7249-9 (eBook)
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Acknowledgments
The Average Joe s Super Sports Almanac is the result of many years of fascination with the unique stories and people from the world of sports. It really began about 40 years ago when my good friend Dr. Lance Rawlings and I started to converse about the trivial, the incredible, and the inane in sports. That banter, as well as the friendship, continues today. Much of what we laughed or expressed amazement over throughout the years found its way into this book.
While much of the content contained on these pages is public domain or comes from the work I have done with athletes for film, television, radio, and books over the years, this book is also the product of many years of research, work, and documentation. As with all projects of this magnitude, I received help and support from a number of people. I would like to thank the following:
My wonderful wife and children, who give me their constant love and support and often unselfishly sacrificed to allow me the necessary quiet time to write. More than that, they cheered me on to the finish line.
Some great research assistants over the years, including Nelson Staats, Anna Brocato, and Kristen Martin, each of whom spent hours researching, transcribing, and following leads for me.
And Todd Hafer at Harvest House, who believed in this book and originated the idea.
Thank you all. I hope you enjoy the read.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Inspiring Performances
2. Legends of Sports
3. The Best
4. The Numbers Game
5. Origins of the Games
6. Trivial Pursuits
7. The Business of Sports
8. Strange but True
9. The Tragic and the Comic
10. Say What? Some of Sports Most Memorable Quotes
11. Parting Shots: Random Moments of Amusement, Amazement, and Inspiration from the Sports World
About the Author
Heart of a Champion and the One Heart Project
INTRODUCTION
O n March 6, 1951, the New York Yankees played a spring training exhibition game against the University of Southern California Trojans at old Bovard Field located on the USC campus. On that day, a 19-year-old budding Yankees star named Mickey Mantle drilled the longest home run in baseball history. The drive sailed well over the head of the Trojans centerfielder, and the right-centerfield wall, and the adjacent practice football field. The ball came down to earth on that field s far sideline and bounced up and over a fence bordering the field. The landing point was measured at 656 feet away from home plate-a distance longer than two football fields end to end. USC s centerfielder watched the drive all the way and saw where it landed. He later marked the spot so the drive could be measured. That centerfielder was none other than my dad, Tom Riach, which makes me the offspring of the answer to a sports trivia question.
I guess you could say that the facts and figures of sports are in my blood. Which only stands to reason why, as a youth, I could easily recall the batting average of the entire Los Angeles Dodgers 1977 starting lineup (Bill Russell .278, by the way) with much greater acumen than my ninth grade calculus equations. Nearly 60 years after my dad chased down the Mickey s prodigious homer, I found myself in a reminiscent state as I sat between my father and my 11-year-old son at the college football national championship game in the Rose Bowl. We were three generations linked by the love of a game. I had been at that same site numerous times over my lifetime, absorbing more magical memories than I could count. But this time was different. As I sat between my soon-to-be-deceased father and my soon-to-be-teen son, I reflected on the way sports moments brought the three of us closer through shared experiences and the common bond of the team we all rooted for.
The next time we would all three be together around a game was in my dad s hospital room a few months later, eating pizza and watching TV with our entire family just weeks before my dad s death. I saw my dad scan the room, seeing his family enjoying this experience together. It would be the last time we shared that experience. But just as Mickey Mantle s blast is etched in the minds of those at Bovard Field that day in 1951, images from the Rose Bowl to the hospital room will forever rest in my mind and heart.
These are the best things that sports bring us. Moments in time that create lasting human bonds. I ve had the insane privilege of covering more than 30 Super Bowls, the Olympics, the Final Four, NASCAR and Indy races, bowl games, and much more. Sports has taken me across the globe and allowed me to visit with our greatest heroes and witness some of their most amazing moments. Yet it is those bonds-created or strengthened through those moments-that makes sports most special and, I think, why I have chosen to write about it, cover it, film it, and dissect it for the past 30 years.
From the football field to the baseball diamond to the basketball court and beyond, the rich history of sports is filled with the amazing, the amusing, and the truly astounding. Pick any year or any season, and sports always delivers incredible stories featuring inspiring athletes, comic pranksters, and some of the most eccentric characters to ever put on a uniform.
Consider, for example, 2016, which may have been the most thrilling sports year in recent memory. It was a year of epic comebacks, relief from misery, thrilling accomplishments, and overcoming great odds.
We should have known we were in for a special year as the NCAA men s basketball tournament unfolded. In the title game after a circus-like three-point shot by North Carolina s Marcus Paige tied it, Villanova s Kris Jenkins nailed a buzzer-beating three of his own to give Nova the crown.
Then it was on to the NBA Finals, where the Warriors had the Cavaliers on the mat. Down three games to one, the long-suffering fans of Cleveland began the familiar refrain, Wait til next year. But then some strange officiating, mixed with an odd decision by the commissioner s office and a lot of LeBron James, and the residents of Cleveland let out a collective cheer. They were champions at last.
Cleveland fans could commiserate with their Chicago brethren, who had waited 108 years for the Cubs to get back to the World Series. Also down three games to one (against the Cleveland Indians, ironically), the Cubbies fought back and became champions. In doing so, they removed the proverbial monkey from the back of their great city.
The college football season gave us a game for the ages. Clemson toppled Alabama on a touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second left.
And just when we thought it couldn t get any better, the 2016 NFL season brought us the most improbable finish in Super Bowl history. Down 28-3 midway through the third quarter, the New England Patriots likelihood of victory at that point was 0.4 percent, or a 1 in 250 chance. Yet win it they did, amazingly, much to the dismay of the Atlanta Falcons and their fans.
In between it all, Leicester City won a Premier League soccer title after starting the season as a 5,000 to 1 long shot to do so.
Michael Phelps won more Olympic gold, and Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky became stars in Rio.
Jimmie Johnson drove to his record-tying seventh NASCAR title.
Arnold Palmer, Gordie Howe, and Muhammad Ali left us.
Tiger Woods came back.
And the ageless Bartolo Col n hit his first career home run at age 42!
It seemed like every month brought us a watershed moment.
That s why we love sports-for the constant roller coaster ride it takes us on.
Throughout history, whether we are a superfan or an average Joe or Jane, sports grab our heart and won t let go.
Steve Riach
1
INSPIRING PERFORMANCES
S ports have always given us great moments. Some jubilant, others heartbreaking. All evoke emotion. Whether our team is on the winning end or losing end, we salute those who have left us amazed and inspired.
OVERTIME
Feel-good stories don t get much better than this. Five months after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and less than 24 hours after announcing his retirement, Carolina Hurricane forward Bryan Bickell ended his career with a Hollywood flourish. Bickell had spent time in treatment and regaining his strength in the minor leagues to prepare for the 2016-17 season s last four games. Now here he was in the finale, with Carolina deadlocked with Philadelphia at the end of regulation. Of course, Bickell was selected to take the first shot in the shoot-out. He promptly ripped the puck past the Flyers goalie, Anthony Stolarz. The crowd erupted, the Carolina bench erupted, and even the Flyers bench got into the act. It was a fitting way for the three-time Stanley Cup champion to close out his career.
FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER
The games of the thirty-first Olympiad in Rio provided thrilling competition. When the games closed, there