Not every book about sport is necessarily a self-congratulatory autobiography, a story of redemption, of David and Goliath, or my personal least favorite - the 'dying athlete' story. Sometimes, it's just a really well written piece on sport. Some of these are a bit difficult to find - maybe long out of print - but well worth reading.
The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown. The story of the 1936 USA crew and their journey. I was living in Seattle in the '70s, and remember hearing quite a bit about Mr George Pocock. Very few people have had as profound an impact on a sport as he did.
The Last Amateurs - John Feinstein. The Patriot League - often supplying the 64/65th position in the NCAA, but at the time they forbid 'sports scholarships', so the players were there strictly because they wanted to be.
The Amateurs - David Halberstam. David Halberstam is probably best known for his Pulitzer Prize writing on Vietnam, and Civil Rights reporting, but he was a helluva good sports writer as well. The Amateurs follows the journey of various individuals competing for seats in the 1984 Olympics. A very different look at the sport 50 years after the '36 team.
1947: When all Hell broke loose in Baseball - Red Barber. I've listened to NPR Morning Edition since the early '80s, and would bring a transistor radio to work on Fridays just to listen to Bob Edwards and Red Barber. Barber was one of the absolute best baseball announcers of all time. I rank him above Harry Carey, Jimmy Dean and the rest. This is a great book about the events of 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color line. Well worth the read.
The Mountain of my Fear - Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative - David Roberts. The best climbing books I've ever read. Roberts portrays climbing and wilderness adventure in a much more realistic light than do most writers of climbing. You really do get a sense of struggle, success and failure - and how brutally friggin' hard climbing can be.
They Call Me Super Mex: The Autobiography of Lee Trevino - Lee Trevino and Sam Blair. Not the best book about golf ever (next read), but a pretty good rags to riches story. Trevino is funny almost all the time, and made a career of being a pretty darn good pro golfer, and a bit of a standup comedian at the same time. Golf needs people like Lee Trevino.
The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf - Mark Frost. Two of the finest gentlemen to hoist a club. A story (and movie) well told.
Comment with your contributions to a summer's sports reading list.
~marsh
Coach
Friday, June 20, 2014
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Summer Solstice Sunday ride - Around River Falls (a paved ride!)
Boy, I've been remiss in updating the blog for the past few weeks. Summertime hits, and I tend to be busy with doing, rather than writing.
First, to the hardy souls who came out for the Miesville Gents ride, thanks! I had a ball, and we'll do that again sometime. For those who missed it, well - you missed it.
This weekend is something a little different, a little social and probably a little lower key for some. We're riding <gasp> on the road!
The ride is out of River Falls and takes in some of the prettiest pastoral scenery around. We generally average seeing about a car/mile on these rides, and while not all the pavement is butter smooth, it's all better than your average Minnesota pavement. A couple of good climbs, a screaming descent or two, and generally a nice group ride. I'd guess my group will average around 14mph for the distance (including photo ops), and will not be a testosterone filled hammerfest!
(Your mileage may vary - I know some people can't ride that slow, and that's your privilege, too.)
Hoffman Park has a nice bathroom with flushies, and we generally wind up at the Dish&Spoon cafe for lunch after.
Rules:
1. Be NICE
2. Have fun
3. Wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear one, please don't come on my rides.
4. Enjoy the scenery
The route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5081310 - 42 miles. If you really need to extend, you could ride from the cities or Hudson!
Where: Hoffman Park, River Falls, WI - Hwy 35 to Division St. (left exit, then right under the highway to the park)
When: Sunday, 22 June, 8:30 AM
Who: anybody with a bike who can ride 42 miles
Why: because it's going to be a lovely morning and close enough to the Solstice
Ping me if you have any questions or to let me know you are coming -- mnswamp@gmail.com
First, to the hardy souls who came out for the Miesville Gents ride, thanks! I had a ball, and we'll do that again sometime. For those who missed it, well - you missed it.
This weekend is something a little different, a little social and probably a little lower key for some. We're riding <gasp> on the road!
The ride is out of River Falls and takes in some of the prettiest pastoral scenery around. We generally average seeing about a car/mile on these rides, and while not all the pavement is butter smooth, it's all better than your average Minnesota pavement. A couple of good climbs, a screaming descent or two, and generally a nice group ride. I'd guess my group will average around 14mph for the distance (including photo ops), and will not be a testosterone filled hammerfest!
(Your mileage may vary - I know some people can't ride that slow, and that's your privilege, too.)
Hoffman Park has a nice bathroom with flushies, and we generally wind up at the Dish&Spoon cafe for lunch after.
Rules:
1. Be NICE
2. Have fun
3. Wear your helmet. If you don't want to wear one, please don't come on my rides.
4. Enjoy the scenery
The route:
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5081310 - 42 miles. If you really need to extend, you could ride from the cities or Hudson!
Where: Hoffman Park, River Falls, WI - Hwy 35 to Division St. (left exit, then right under the highway to the park)
When: Sunday, 22 June, 8:30 AM
Who: anybody with a bike who can ride 42 miles
Why: because it's going to be a lovely morning and close enough to the Solstice
Ping me if you have any questions or to let me know you are coming -- mnswamp@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Miesville Redux, a Gent's Ride - June 8
All, I'm guilty of not getting a posting out recently with any updates, information or, well, anything. It's paddling season, and I'm up to my ears in kayak race team projects, so this may be the last gravel ride I do until after mid-August.
Anyway... Miesville Redux is happening Sunday, June 8 at 8:00 AM, departing from the Miesville Ball Field, and returning to the same about 3 hours later. The route should be in really good shape, no glaciers this time. It could be a bit muddy depending on the weather, so be prepared!
A few rules:
Rules -
No grumpy people allowed
Have a good time
Be gentle men and women out there
Wear your freaking helmet. If you don't want to wear one, don't show up on my rides.
Don't pee in the ballfield bushes, people's yards, or in front of them.
Tip well at Kings - they are nice people.
Introduce new people
Have fun
When: 8:00 AM, Sunday June 8, 2014
Where: Miesville ballpark (if there's something going on, park to the right of the ball field, there's plenty of parking back there
Distance: about 40 miles (if you want to go longer, there's an easy lap option of the best part of the course)
Cost: nada, zilch, zippo, zero
What do you get? a fun ride
A few rules:
Rules -
No grumpy people allowed
Have a good time
Be gentle men and women out there
Wear your freaking helmet. If you don't want to wear one, don't show up on my rides.
Don't pee in the ballfield bushes, people's yards, or in front of them.
Tip well at Kings - they are nice people.
Introduce new people
Have fun
When: 8:00 AM, Sunday June 8, 2014
Where: Miesville ballpark (if there's something going on, park to the right of the ball field, there's plenty of parking back there
Distance: about 40 miles (if you want to go longer, there's an easy lap option of the best part of the course)
Cost: nada, zilch, zippo, zero
What do you get? a fun ride
Maps, turn lists, GPS files are here:
See you Sunday!
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