Hittin The Jumper

Hittin' the Jumper is a nostalgic tale of the key role that the game of basketball has played in the life of an ordinary player-a 60-year journey from the alley hoops and playgrounds of his boyhood hometowns in Montana to the hallowed halls of Notre Dame and Harvard, white-shoe law firms in New York and Chicago, and a variety of urban and suburban courts. Along the way, the author re-discovers fascinating characters and lost worlds in an appreciation of the gifts that playing the sport for a lifetime can bring. Several with whom he has shared the court-teammates and opponents-became famous in politics, business, and academia, and a few were former NBA players. Most, however, were not in the headlines. Their stories are diverse. Some are filled with humor, others are instructive and insightful, particularly in dealing with the challenges of continuing to play as age encroaches, while a few are tragic. All touched the author as they did their fellow hoopsters through the years. The author's basketball life has been shaped by the history, traditions, and ethos of the communities where he played, whether it was the local basketball lore or, even more generally, the prevailing culture of a place. These places include the neighborhood of the birth of our country and the site of the birth of the game of basketball itself. The courts in these communities each possess a distinctive character. Some were inspirational because of their historic connections while others simply provided comfort with their familiarity, intimacy, and charm. Lovers of basketball and the history of sport, of unusual life stories and sentimental journeys, will find this memoir both pleasurable and informative.

Many Indiana University fans have heard the name Branch McCracken, after whom the hallowed court at Assembly Hall is named, but how many of them know about the legendary coach himself? Before Tom Crean, before Bob Knight, IU basketball relied on this man to make the school famous for its hoops stars. And boy did he--with two national titles, four Big Ten titles, and numerous other accolades, McCracken defined Hoosier Hysteria for a generation. However, his greatest legacy remains the example of good character he set and the way he touched the lives of everyone around him. Fans remember him as the coach who helped IU break the color barrier in Big Ten basketball, and players remember him as a second father. If, as McCracken once wrote, "A coach is not paid in money or winning teams, but in the men his players become," he was a rich man, indeed. Branch McCracken made Indiana University basketball a force to be reckoned with, and this is his story.

Feinstein takes readers inside the locker rooms, the grueling practices, the late-night strategy sessions. They get a close-up look at recruiting, referees, injuries, winning, losing, and the private lives of the game's biggest stars.

Tells how the Chicago Bulls basketball team came together to win the 1991 NBA championship.

As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one had before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, nearly superhuman abilities, and a ferocious need to dominate the game, he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and captured every basketball award and accolade conceivable before retiring and taking a top executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan set out to reclaim the court that had been his dominion. When Nothing Else Matters is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Having gone on the road to chronicle Jordan's final two seasons, award-winning Washington Post writer Michael Leahy draws a riveting portrait of a deeply complex man waylaid by his impulses and impatience, frequently hampered by injuries, assaulted by younger players eager to usurp his throne, and ultimately done in by his presumption. Encouraged for two decades by his sport's magnates to believe that he had no limits or superiors, Jordan could not see his influence and power fading as his Wizards days ticked down and his team's losses and dissension grew. For teammates and outsiders alike, the star emerged as a relentlessly driven, at times unapproachable personality. Leahy reveals the striking contrast between Jordan's public image and the man who couldn't stand not "bein' it." Hell-bent on transforming the mediocre Wizards into championship contenders, Jordan controlled every facet of his new team, dispensing orders behind the scenes to coaches and players. As his anger and bitterness over Washington's on-court setbacks became increasingly public, his teammates' resentment of him stoked already burgeoning tensions between Jordan and the Wizards' top brass. Leahy unmasks the myths and unravels the deeper lessons behind the highs and lows of the two seasons, illuminating the excruciating reality Jordan was forced to accept after the Wizards' failed playoff bid in his final season. When Nothing Else Matters is about nothing less than a man struggling to come to grips with the end of a career, and the uncertainty of his life ahead.

The New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness delivers the first all-encompassing account of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of professional sports’ most-revered—and dominant—dynasties. The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s personified the flamboyance and excess of the decade over which they reigned. Beginning with the arrival of Earvin “Magic” Johnson as the number-one overall pick of the 1979 draft, the Lakers played basketball with gusto and pizzazz, unleashing their famed “Showtime” run-and-gun style on a league unprepared for their speed and ferocity—and became the most captivating show in sports and, arguably, in all-around American entertainment. The Lakers’ roster overflowed with exciting all-star-caliber players, including center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and they were led by the incomparable Pat Riley, known for his slicked-back hair, his Armani suits, and his arrogant strut. Hollywood’s biggest celebrities lined the court and gorgeous women flocked to the arena. Best of all, the team was a winner. Between 1980 and 1991, the Lakers played in an unmatched nine NBA championship series, capturing five of them. Bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost three hundred interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end—marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV—Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.

This is the hardest working team in the NBA -- the Utah Jazz. Led by iron men Karl Malone, John Stockton and coach Jerry Sloan. Go behind the scenes to reveal the unparalleled competitiveness of a collection of over-achieving players and their demanding coach, whose never-say-die efforts have captured the hearts of the entire state of Utah and basketball fans throughout North America.

THE ONE IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW ABOUT GAMBLING is that there is no guaranteed way to win all the time. But there is a guaranteed way to lose constantly, and that is when you don’t understand the basic rules of playing and betting. It is appalling how many people, even big-money gamblers, lose consistently and don’t know why. There are only two types of gamblers-those who really know the game and suckers. Mike Goodman, a veteran professional gambler, gives you an amazing, easy-to-understand insight on how to gamble and win. HORSE RACING...watch those second favorites; let the suckers play the favorites, they’re usually overplayed! DICE...you’re a sucker if you don’t take advantage of the odds, but the real pay-off comes when you know how to bet! SLOTS...there’s only one way to beat those “one-arm bandits,” but, unfortunately, it’s against the law! ROULETTE...it’s tough to beat the house percentage, but there are ways to lose less, keep you in the game, and then, who knows? BLACKJACK “21”...here’s a game you can win at consistently if you learn the tricks and how to put “lady luck” on your side! POKER...you get real help here; tips that’ll open your eyes, make you play a better game and win! This book gives solid advice on how you can become a tough player and helps tilt the odds more in your direction. I’m just plain sick of “experts” who promise the moon but peddle virtually worthless advice. Somewhere in their pitch you’re told that they’re not multi-millionaires because they are not allowed in gambling casinos and I challenge any one of them to use this system at “craps”, “21” or roulette at my casino. If they haven’t got the guts to back up their system with hard cash, I challenge them to meet me face to face in public to debate any phase of gambling on which they claim to be an authority. Mike Goodman