Sports

Sportscaster Len Berman collects a plethora of true tales about minor leaguers, high school athletes and the majors in the paperback And Nobody Got Hurt!: The World’s Weirdest, Wackiest True Sports Stories. Organized by sport, the anecdotes range from the May 1993 home run hit by the Cleveland Indians’ Carlos Martinez, off the head of Texas Ranger right fielder Jose Canseco; to Natasha Zvereva’s 1993 Wimbledon match which quite literally brought her to her knees, from where she made not one, but two returns while playing with doubles partner Gigi Fernandez. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Best known for his sports related young adult novels, Matt Christopher tackles nonfiction in this well-written book that describes nine memorable moments from baseball’s past. Christopher brings us into the careers of nine spectacular baseball players including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Reggie Jackson, and Jim Abbott. Young lovers of sports will enjoy this informative, entertaining book.

Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.

Tiki and Ronde’s twelfth summer is winding down — the nights are getting shorter and the evenings cooler. That means two things: The first day of junior high is just a few days away, and it’s almost the start of football season at last. With two championships and an 8-2 season last year, Tiki and Ronde are ready to graduate from the Peewee League and hit the field as starting players for the Hidden Valley Eagles. But junior high is a lot bigger than elementary school. The competition for starting spots is stiff, and seniority rules. If Tiki and Ronde make it past tryouts and cuts, will they get the chance to play, or will they have to spend the season watching from the bench with the other seventh graders? Inspired by the childhood of NFL superstars Tiki and Ronde Barber, Kickoff! is a story of teamwork, perseverance, and what it takes to be a champion.

There’s one last chance to save the world in MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS, the closing chapter of James Patterson’s thrilling trilogy. The time has arrived for Max and her winged “flock” to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of “Re-evolution”–a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race…and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them–but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

From the moment a fired-up teenager from Kentucky won 1960 Olympic gold to the day in 1996 when a retired legend, hands shaking from Parkinson’s, returned to raise the Olympic torch, the boxer known as “The Greatest” waged many a fight. Some were in the ring, against opponents like Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier; others were against societal prejudice and against a war he refused to support because of his Islamic faith. Charles R. Smith Jr.’s rap-inspired verse weaves and bobs and jabs with relentless energy, while Bryan Collier’s bold collage artwork matches every move — capturing the “Louisville loudmouth with the great gift of rhyme” who shed the name Cassius Clay to take on the world as Muhammad Ali.

Chris Conlan is the coolest kid in sixth grade—the golden-armed quarterback of the football team, and the boy all the others look up to. Scott Parry is the new kid, the boy with the huge brain, but with feet that trip over themselves daily. These two boys may seem like an odd couple, but each has a secret that draws them together as friends, and proves that the will to succeed is even more important than raw talent.