We Re Not The Champions

Duke's cousin Coco, an elegant French bulldog from Paris, is coming to Barksdale Academy as an exchange student, and Duke is worried about what she will think about his often uncouth friends, the Underdogs; Coco joins Team Awesome for the K-2 exam where the Barksdale teams compete against a rival school, but it turns out that Coco has problems with the athletic events, and it is up to the Underdogs to rescue their school's reputation.

It is 1992 on the east coast of Northern Australia. Rocky Scott is a quiet, gentle man who is passionate about coaching his team of young athletes to attain success, both in the game of football and life. But when he is suddenly struck down with a serious illness and labors to recover over the next year, Rocky ultimately decides that mentoring young lads is his life’s work. After Rocky resigns from his sales job and becomes a maxi-taxi driver, he soon discovers that troubled teenagers are his most challenging passengers. When he realizes that their toughness can be broken down through honest and open conversations, Rocky focuses on coaching the young men to learn valuable life skills, embrace music, and live life without violence, drugs, and alcohol to become respectable members of the community. But when he encourages them to compete in a battle of the bands, no one—not even Rocky—can predict the transformation that results. Building Champions is the story of a determined mentor who helps a group of troubled teens from the wrong side of the tracks to change their attitudes and behaviors and become real-life champions.

Former boxing champion Dante "Blood and Guts" Lattanza is being featured in Personality magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" issue, and reporter Christiana Artis has the scoop. There's just one hitch: she'll have to fly to her elusive subject's home in Canada. But once she lays eyes on Dante's chiseled physique and sultry Italian looks, she decides it was worth every mile. Too bad his icy demeanor doesn't match his hot body. Since he lost his last fight ten years ago, Dante never gives interviews. But now he's ready to prove to the world--and his ex-wife--that he can still win a championship. He gives Christiana an ultimatum: if she can perform five tasks, she can ask him five questions. And then she can be on her way. Yet Dante's always had a weakness for beautiful black women, and seeing Christiana everyday is enough to melt his defenses. Soon she's an intimate part of the very story she came to write. But when the line between personal and professional gets blurred, it can be difficult to see when you've found the real thing. . .. "A sexy story of interracial love that's long on charm, romance and humor." --Booklist

From the writer of the bestselling Dragon Masters series and the illustrator of the bestselling Diary of a Pug series comes a high-energy, illustrated chapter book series about four dogs who learn that being yourself is much more fun than being Best in Show. Welcome to the town of Barksdale, where the canine residents strive for perfection. Every shopkeeper claims to be the "best groomer" or sell the "best biscuits." And at Barksdale Academy, the pressure is on every year for one pup to be named Best in Show. Nova, Duke, Harley, and Peanut have never won Best in Show... which is okay with them! But they have to work together to pass their Agility Exam, because either the whole pack passes or the whole pack fails. Nova has convinced her pals to train, but on her practice course, Duke is afraid to climb the high ramp, Harley keeps chasing squirrels, and Peanut can't make it through the hoops. Nova's not doing much better -- she's so excited she keeps knocking the whole course over! Will the pups make the grade, or are they doomed to be Underdogs forever? With black-and-white illustrations on every page and hilarious antics throughout, this series is perfect for readers who are just starting to read chapter books on their own, or for anyone who loves a good underdog story!

With some scrap lumber and a dream, young Bob Turner became the first All-American Soap Box Derby world champion in 1934. Over the next 40 years, pushed by curiosity, ingenuity, determination and sometimes an overbearing father, thousands more would follow in his footsteps to try--for at least one day--to become the most famous boy in America. Covering the glory years of the Soap Box Derby, Champions, Cheaters, and Childhood Dreams provides a history of the race from its beginnings on a hillside in Dayton, to the corporate-sponsored star-studded event it became in the 1950s and 1960s, and to its near-obscurity after it was rocked by withdrawal of its major corporate sponsor and a legendary cheating scandal. Through first person accounts and historical narrative, Champions, Cheaters, and Childhood Dreams demonstrates how the Soap Box Derby mirrored American society. The hard scrapple Depression years, the patriotism of the war years, the idealism of post-World War II America, the hope and prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s and the breakdown of institutions and values during the Vietnam-war era, are told through the stories of the people who raced in and ran the All-American Soap Box Derby.

Praise for Marketing Champions "Much has been written about the importance of using marketing principles and tools effectively. But we've paid far less attention to how marketing works within an organization--and how marketers can better interact with other prime movers in their companies. This book really delivers on this much-neglected subject--sounding a wake-up call to marketers everywhere on how to exert their influence and improve their contribution to cash flow." --Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University "The authors understand that marketing is now the most important force within an organization--if you can figure out how to coordinate the rest of your colleagues. This book shows you how." --Seth Godin, author of Small Is the New Big "This leadership guide is a must-read for every executive who wants to understand the crucial connection between marketing and bottom-line results." --Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, University of Southern California, and author of On Becoming a Leader "The best marketing leaders are those who can harness the power of the enterprise--not just lead the marketing team. This book will give you the ability to align and inspire the entire company." --Jerry Noonan, Spencer Stuart

How do you argue with perfection? The voters in the coaches and media polls can deliberate who's No. 1, the computers can spit out endless data to add to the arguments and everyone involved can ponder the merits of a playoff system, but some things aren't up for debate, especially the final perfection of Auburn's 2004 season. With a 13-0 record, an SEC championship and a Sugar Bowl victory, the Tigers know, "We're national champions in our hearts, even if no one else thinks so," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "No one can take that away from us." Nothing and no one, not the polls nor the computers, can take away what Auburn accomplished in 2004. Tales from the Auburn 2004 Championship Season is an inside look at the extraordinary character and the unique characters behind Auburn's undefeated season. "There's no doubt in my mind we left a legacy," safety Junior Rosegreen said. "They will never forget us. That's what it's all about." Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.