Growing The Game

A sociologist and anthropologist scientifically examines the worldwide growth of MLB and America’s favorite pastime. Baseball fans understand the game has become increasingly international. Major league rosters include players from no fewer than fourteen countries, and more than one-fourth of all players are foreign born. Here, Alan Klein offers the first full-length study of a sport in the process of globalizing. Looking at the international activities of big-market and small-market baseball teams, as well as the Commissioner’s Office, he examines the ways in which Major League Baseball operates on a world stage that reaches from the Dominican Republic to South Africa to Japan. The origins of baseball’s efforts to globalize are complex, stemming as much from decreasing opportunities at home as from promise abroad. Klein chronicles attempts to develop the game outside the United States, the strategies that teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kansas City Royals have devised to recruit international talent, and the ways baseball has been growing in other countries. He concludes with an assessment of the obstacles that may inhibit or promote baseball’s progress toward globalization, offering thoughtful proposals to ensure the health and growth of the game in the United States and abroad. “A superb inside look at how the national pastime has reinvented itself . . . Klein’s writing is engaging, and his research is top-notch.” —Tim Wendel, author of The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America’s Favorite Sport “A timely contribution to our understanding of baseball in our contemporary age.” —Michael L. Butterworth, Sociology of Sport Journal

In this charmingly honest book, Detroit Piston Grant Hill shares the wisdom and values imparted to him by his parents and speaks his mind on a variety of topics, showing how anyone--especially young people--can "change the game", on and off the court. Photos.

How family video game play promotes intergenerational communication, connection, and learning. Video games have a bad reputation in the mainstream media. They are blamed for encouraging social isolation, promoting violence, and creating tensions between parents and children. In this book, Sinem Siyahhan and Elisabeth Gee offer another view. They show that video games can be a tool for connection, not isolation, creating opportunities for families to communicate and learn together. Like smartphones, Skype, and social media, games help families stay connected. Siyahhan and Gee offer examples: One family treats video game playing as a regular and valued activity, and bonds over Halo. A father tries to pass on his enthusiasm for Star Wars by playing Lego Star Wars with his young son. Families express their feelings and share their experiences and understanding of the world through playing video games like The Sims, Civilization, and Minecraft. Some video games are designed specifically to support family conversations around such real-world issues and sensitive topics as bullying and peer pressure. Siyahhan and Gee draw on a decade of research to look at how learning and teaching take place when families play video games together. With video games, they argue, the parents are not necessarily the teachers and experts; all family members can be both teachers and learners. They suggest video games can help families form, develop, and sustain their learning culture as well as develop skills that are valued in the twenty-first century workplace. Educators and game designers should take note.

The timeless guide to achieving the state of “relaxed concentration” that’s not only the key to peak performance in tennis but the secret to success in life itself—part of the bestselling Inner Game series, with more than one million copies sold! “Groundbreaking . . . the best guide to getting out of your own way . . . Its profound advice applies to many other parts of life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes (“Five of My All-Time Favorite Books”) This phenomenally successful guide to mastering the game from the inside out has become a touchstone for hundreds of thousands of people. Billie Jean King has called the book her tennis bible; Al Gore has used it to focus his campaign staff; and Itzhak Perlman has recommended it to young violinists. Based on W. Timothy Gallwey’s profound realization that the key to success doesn’t lie in holding the racket just right, or positioning the feet perfectly, but rather in keeping the mind uncluttered, this transformative book gives you the tools to unlock the potential that you’ve possessed all along. “The Inner Game” is the one played within the mind of the player, against the hurdles of self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration. Gallwey shows us how to overcome these obstacles by trusting the intuitive wisdom of our bodies and achieving a state of “relaxed concentration.” With chapters devoted to trusting the self and changing habits, it is no surprise then, that Gallwey’s method has had an impact far beyond the confines of the tennis court. Whether you want to play music, write a novel, get ahead at work, or simply unwind after a stressful day, Gallwey shows you how to tap into your utmost potential. No matter your goals, The Inner Game of Tennis gives you the definitive framework for long-term success.

An insightful and practical toolkit for managing organizational growth Growing Pains is the definitive guide to the life cycle of an organization, and the optimization strategies that make the organization stronger. Whether growth is rapid, slow, or not occurring at all, this book provides a host of solid tools and recommendations for putting everything in order. Now in its fifth edition, this invaluable guide has been fully updated to reflect the current economic climate, and includes new case studies and chapters discussing nonprofit life cycle tools, leadership challenges and the "leadership molecule", and real-world applications of the frameworks presented. The latest empirical research is presented in the context of these ideas, including new data on strategic organizational development. Mini-cases that illustrate growth management issues have been added throughout, with additional coverage of international entrepreneurship and companies that provide a frame of reference for the perspective being developed. Growing pains are normal, and a valuable indicator of organizational health, but they indicate the need for new systems, processes, and structure to support the organization's size. This book provides a practical framework for managing the process, applicable to organizations of all sizes. Understand the key stages of growth and the challenges of each Measure your organization's growing pains and development Deploy new tools that facilitate positive organizational development Make the necessary transitions required to ensure sustainable success Some companies, even after brilliant beginnings, lose their way as growth throws them for a loop. Growing Pains identifies the underlying factors that promote long term success, and gives you a framework for successfully managing the transitions of growth.

Japan vs. Kenya. Lacrosse World Championships. The Score: 9- 8. 2 minutes left on the clock.Imagine if this game was for real. The only winners of the Lacrosse World Championships are the United States and Canada. But what if Japan, or Kenya, or Poland entered the scene and won as an underdog?Lacrosse needs to become popular first. Is Lacrosse the next hot sport to hit scene or is it a dying breed? How can Lacrosse become a dominating force, a sport that competes with Fútbol (Soccer) for the world's attention? Lacrosse The Globe not only answers these questions, but also provides a roadmap for World Class Programs to create a foothold in countries that haven't yet experienced the power and excitement of Lacrosse.Lacrosse The Globe challenges the notion that a sport has to remain niche and exclusive to a lucky handful of people. Lacrosse can enter the World's stage in a big way, and the collection of stories from non-profits, collegiate and professional teams, and Hall of Famers shows how and why in the year 2030, instead of chanting at the FIFA World Cup, fans will be watching Japan vs. Kenya in the Championship game - for the second time in a row.