Chris Therien

A riveting memoir of hockey, family, and addiction from a veteran NHL defenseman. In Philadelphia Flyers orange and black, Chris Therien cut an imposing figure on the ice, a stalwart physical presence for over a decade in the NHL. But by the end of his playing career, he was concealing a much greater battle with alcoholism which bled into his professional and family life. The defenseman-turned-analyst now opens up candidly and completely, reflecting on his life and career with perspective gained from over 10 years of sobriety. Therien takes readers from the blue line to the broadcast booth, sharing untold stories from life in pro hockey while laying bare his private struggle with addiction, including his ultimate low in 2006 after the death of his sister. Road to Redemption also details Therien's deep bond with the city of Philadelphia and his new path helping others find recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. Hockey fans will not want to miss this heartfelt and vulnerable tale.

A hilarious collection of the best book-related humor from the humor-laden archives of McSweeney's Internet Tendency. As John Hodgman says in this book's introduction, “We all know that books are funny. First, they are made of paste and cloth, which is funny, as is the fact that people still buy and read them.” Open McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes and be regaled by such sketches, lists, letters, and spoofs as: Postcards from James Joyce to his Brother Stan Winnie-the-Pooh is My Coworker Ikea Product or Lord of the Rings Character? Popular Children's Fairy Tales Reimagined Using Members of My Family The Very Unauthorized Biography of Steven Seagal Chuck Norris Erotica John Updike, Television Writer Jane Eyre Runs for President Cormac McCarthy Writes to the Editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican Holden Caulfield Gives the Commencement Speech to a High School Letters from Odysseus's College Roommate And many dozens more.

Each book in this series provides the best of the best of a particular sports team, indentifying the personalities, events and facts every fan should know--including numbers, nicknames, memorable moments, singular achievements and signature plays--as well as the top things fans should see and do.

Published to mark the club's 50th season in the National Hockey League, The Philadelphia Flyers at 50 sets a new standard for contemporary sports history. It tells the story of a remarkable hockey club with passion and detail. On the ice, in the dressing room and behind the scenes, this 600-page large-format illustrated book documents how the Flyers and their fans have maintained the passion that is their hallmark through great successes, valiant losses and even withering tragedies. Building on his 1996 best-seller Full Spectrum, writer Jay Greenberg invested three years interviewing 263 people who have told the team's story with pride and candor, revealing, in some cases for the first time, factors that shaped the franchise. Trades, retirements, injuries, untimely deaths, tough decisions and shift-by-shift game action combine to reveal what it means to be a Flyer. "It's an honor to wear this logo," said current captain Claude Giroux. "Being a Flyer meant everything to me," said Mark Recchi, a feeling echoed by Cup-winner Andre Dupont when he said, "They gave me a chance to be part of history." Includes a message from owner Ed Snider who passed away on April 11, 2016, as well as profiles of 50 Flyer heroes and descriptions of the club's 50 most important wins and significant events This comprehensive book has it all.

This multivolume set is much more than a collection of essays on sports and sporting cultures from around the world: it also details how and why sports are played wherever they exist, and examines key charismatic athletes from around the world who have transcended their sports. Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice provides a unique, global overview of sports and sports cultures. Unlike most works of this type, this book provides both essays that examine general topics, such as globalization and sport, international relations and sport, and tourism and sport, as well as essays on sports history, culture, and practice in world regions—for example, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and Oceania—in order to provide a more global perspective. These essays are followed by entries on specific sports, world athletes, stadiums and arenas, famous games and matches, and major controversies. Spanning topics as varied as modern professional cycling to the fictional movie Rocky to the deadly ball game of the ancient Mayans, the first three volumes contain overview essays and entries for specific sports that have been and are currently practiced around the world. The fourth volume provides a compendium of information on the winners of major sporting competitions from around the world. Readers will gain invaluable insights into how sports have been enjoyed throughout all of human culture, and more fully comprehend their cultural contexts. The entries provide suggestions for further reading on each topic—helpful to general readers, students with school projects, university students and academics alike. Additionally, the four-volume Sports Around the World spotlights key charismatic athletes who have changed a sport or become more than just an outstanding player.

This monumental book about the Philadelphia Flyers not only documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Flyers highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamous. Such moments include the era of the “Broad Street Bullies” as well as the playoff drought in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Learn how visionary founding owner Ed Snider created the Flyers and sold the city of Philadelphia on the sport of hockey. Get the inside story of how the franchise built a championship squad, then repeatedly rebuilt it over the next three decades to stay at the top of the NHL—in the process compiling the league’s second-best all-time winning percentage. Enjoy classic tales about the great rivalries (especially with the Rangers, Devils, and Penguins), about the great coaches—including Fred Shero and Pat Quinn—and countless great players: Barber, Clarke, Parent, Poulin, Hextall, Primeau, and many more. Whether providing fond memories, goose bumps, or laughs, this portrait of the team and its history is sure to appeal to the fan who has been through it all. This updated edition takes readers through the 2012–13 season and features the Flyers’ trip to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals as well as recent stars Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, and more.