What Washington Can Learn From The World Of Sports

Politics and sports: they’re two of America’s greatest passions. And George Allen—former U.S. Senator, former Virginia Governor, and son of the great NFL coach George Allen, Sr.—brings these two worlds together in his new book, What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports. Having spent his life with one foot in the sports arena and the other in the political arena, Allen brings his unique perspective and experiences to What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports. Through personal stories, anecdotes, and interviews, Allen draws both parallels and contrasts between two of our nation’s favorite passions. From national security, to wasteful government spending, to judicial activism, Allen proves that our government need look no further than the football field, baseball diamond, or basketball court to solve today’s pressing problems.What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sportsshows what Washington can learn from the greatest moments—and failures—in sports, as well as from the spirit and principles of fair play, hard work, and keeping score.

Asserts that American sports award merit, action, improvement, and defense, while politicians flounder because of a lack of these virtues.

From Cicero to Snooki, the cultural influences on our American presidents are powerful and plentiful. Thomas Jefferson famously said "I cannot live without books," and his library backed up the claim, later becoming the backbone of the new Library of Congress. Jimmy Carter watched hundreds of movies in his White House, while Ronald Reagan starred in a few in his own time. Lincoln was a theater-goer, while Obama kicked back at home to a few episodes of HBO's "The Wire." America is a country built by thinkers on a foundation of ideas. Alongside classic works of philosophy and ethics, however, our presidents have been influenced by the books, movies, TV shows, viral videos, and social media sensations of their day. In What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culturen in the White House presidential scholar and former White House aide Tevi Troy combines research with witty observation to tell the story of how our presidents have been shaped by popular culture.

George Allen was a fascinating and eccentric figure in the world of football coaching. His remarkable career spanned six decades, from the late 1940s until his sudden death in 1990 at the age of seventy-three. Although he never won a Super Bowl, he never had a losing season as an NFL head coach and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In George Allen: A Football Life, Mike Richman captures the life and accomplishments of one of the most successful NFL coaches of all time and one of the greatest innovators in the game. A player's coach, Allen was a tremendous motivator and game strategist, as well as a defensive mastermind, and is credited with making special teams a critical focus in an era in which they were an afterthought. He had a keen eye for talent and pulled off masterful trades, often for veteran players who were viewed to be past their prime, who then had great seasons and made his teams much better. In addition to his coaching feats, Allen had an idiosyncratic and controversial personality. His life revolved around football 24-7. One of his quirks was to minimize chewing time by consuming soft foods, giving himself more time to prepare for games and study opponents. He lived and breathed football; he compared losing to death. Allen had contentious relationships with the owners of the two NFL teams for which he was the head coach, the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. Richman explores why he was fired by those teams and whether he was blackballed from coaching again in the NFL. Based on detailed research and interviews with family, former players, and coaches, George Allen is the definitive biography of the football coach who lived to win, loved a good challenge, and left a lasting legacy on pro football history.

This 184-page, soft-cover book is designed to provide students in grades 7 through 12 with opportunities for practice in improving reading skills. The book provides nonfiction stories about sports, particularly football, swimming, and boxing, and sports figures such as Anne Henning, O.J. Simpson, Diane Holum, and Chris Evert. Each reading selection is followed by a set of exercises called 'Putting It All Together, ' which provided exercises in finding the main idea, skimming for details, drawing conclusions, and recognizing facts and opinions. Another section called 'Looking At Pictures, ' which asks students to examine some extraordinary sports photos which offer a challenge to observation. The specified reading levels include grades 4 through 6. LKK, 10-76.