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Wag Wars: The Glamour Story of Footballers' Wives
by Sam Kimberley‘A bit of a shock... The very definition of an easy read.’ TelegraphFrom the 1966 Euro Final the influx of money into English football grew stratospheric, and so did the wealth of the footballers and their WAGS. Once housewives, today WAGgery guarantees instant celebrity as a result of the character and grit of the early WAGs. Here is the first-ever history of WAGs and how they came to dominate the front pages as much as the footballers do the sports pages. There are epic rivalries, catfights and gossip between and about the women and their husbands; from the first stirrings of the phenomenon 1960s to the WAGs’ roaring entry on to the front pages, to today where they are an institution with winners and losers. What makes WAGs tick? Come and find out! Victoria Beckham, Coleen Rooney, Rebekah Vardy, Cheryl Cole, Joy Beverley, Angie Best, Tina Moore, Danielle Souness, Karen Souness, Sheryl Gascoigne, Ulrika Johnson, Nancy Dell’Olio, Stacey Giggs, Natasha Giggs, Vanessa Perroncel and many others.
WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency: A Multi-Level Legitimacy Analysis (Routledge Research in Sport and Corruption)
by Daniel Read James Skinner Daniel Lock Aaron C.T. SmithExamining the legitimacy of the World Anti-Doping Agency, this book offers a critical analysis of the anti-doping system and the social and behavioural processes that shape policy, asking why the current system is failing. Featuring in-depth, contemporary case studies from around the world, including the whereabouts system; Lance Armstrong; therapeutic use exemptions; the Essendon Bombers; recreational drugs policy; and the Russian Olympic doping programme, this is the first text to analyse empirically how the legitimacy of WADA is constructed, contested and managed in the field of anti-doping, and the consequent impact this has on anti-doping. Based on the analysis of these case studies, the book discusses how legitimacy processes have shaped the current regulatory environment and offers structural and governance reforms to improve anti-doping policy design and implementation. Adopting a unique theoretical perspective, rooted in a socio-cognitive perspective on organisational behaviour, this book is essential reading for any researcher or student working on drugs and doping in sport, sport management, the sociology of sport, governance, transnational organisations or strategic management. It also offers important insights for policymakers and administrators working in sport or in government.
WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency: A Multi-Level Legitimacy Analysis (Routledge Research in Sport and Corruption)
by Daniel Read James Skinner Daniel Lock Aaron C.T. SmithExamining the legitimacy of the World Anti-Doping Agency, this book offers a critical analysis of the anti-doping system and the social and behavioural processes that shape policy, asking why the current system is failing. Featuring in-depth, contemporary case studies from around the world, including the whereabouts system; Lance Armstrong; therapeutic use exemptions; the Essendon Bombers; recreational drugs policy; and the Russian Olympic doping programme, this is the first text to analyse empirically how the legitimacy of WADA is constructed, contested and managed in the field of anti-doping, and the consequent impact this has on anti-doping. Based on the analysis of these case studies, the book discusses how legitimacy processes have shaped the current regulatory environment and offers structural and governance reforms to improve anti-doping policy design and implementation. Adopting a unique theoretical perspective, rooted in a socio-cognitive perspective on organisational behaviour, this book is essential reading for any researcher or student working on drugs and doping in sport, sport management, the sociology of sport, governance, transnational organisations or strategic management. It also offers important insights for policymakers and administrators working in sport or in government.
W. G. Grace: A Life
by Simon RaeW. G. Grace burst onto the cricket scene in the 1860s with spectacular force. He dominated the game until the end of the century, and influences it to this day. He was the world's first sporting superstar, rivalled as a public figure only by Gladstone and Queen Victoria herself. His staggering achievements as both batsman and bowler made him the greatest draw cricket had ever known. Though often depicted as an overgrown schoolboy, W. G. was extremely shrewd and ruthlessly exploited the power his immense popularity gave him. A notorious 'shamateur', he amassed great wealth through cricket, while remaining the standard-bearer for the Gentlemen against the Players for forty years.Researched in archives from Grimsby (where Grace once scored 400) to Australia, Simon Rae's new biography offers a radical analysis of Grace's career, and reviews the more controversial aspects of his conduct, including verbal and physical altercations, both on and off the field, and his kidnapping of an Australian cricketer from Lord's. But W. G. Grace: A Life provides more than a fresh look at the cricketer. It focuses on Grace's formative family background; his intensely competitive relations with his two famous brothers, 'E. M.' and Fred; his career as a doctor, and his ambitions and bereavements as a father. Drawing on little-known diaries and letters, and unique access to Grace's own library, Simon Rae builds up a convincing psychological portrait of the man behind the most famous beard in English history.
Vuelta Skelter: Riding the Remarkable 1941 Tour of Spain
by Tim MooreTim Moore completes his epic (and ill-advised) trilogy of cycling's Grand Tours.Julian Berrendero's victory in the 1941 Vuelta a Espana was an extraordinary exercise in sporting redemption: the Spanish cyclist had just spent 18 months in Franco's concentration camps, punishment for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war. Seventy nine years later, perennially over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer Tim Moore developed a fascination with Berrendero's story, and having borrowed an old road bike with the great man's name plastered all over it, set off to retrace the 4,409km route of his 1941 triumph - in the midst of a global pandemic.What follows is a tale of brutal heat and lonely roads, of glory, humiliation, and then a bit more humiliation. Along the way Tim recounts the civil war's still-vivid tragedies, and finds the gregarious but impressively responsible locals torn between welcoming their nation's only foreign visitor, and bundling him and his filthy bike into a vat of antiviral gel.
Voyageur: Across The Rocky Mountains In A Birchbark Canoe
by Robert TwiggerBest-selling author of Angry White Pyjamas travels across the Rocky Mountains by canoe Fifteen years before Lewis and Clark, Scotsman Alexander Mackenzie, looking to open up a trade route, set out from Lake Athabasca in central Northern Canada in search of the Pacific Ocean. Mackenzie travelled by bark canoe and had a cache of rum and a crew of Canadian voyageurs, hard-living backwoodsmen, for company. Two centuries later, Robert Twigger decides to follow in Mackenzie's wake. He too travels the traditional way, having painstakingly built a canoe from birchbark sewn together with pine roots, and assembled a crew made up of fellow travelers, ex-tree-planters and a former sailor from the US Navy. Several had tried before them but they were the first people to successfully complete Mackenzie's diabolical route over the Rockies in a birchbark canoe since 1793. Their journey takes them to the remotest parts of the wilderness, through Native American reservations, over mountains, through rapids and across lakes, meeting descendants of Mackenzie and unhinged Canadian trappers, running out of food, getting lost and miraculously found again, disfigured for life (the ex-sailor loses his thumb), bears brown and black, docile and grizzly.
Volunteers in Sport: International perspectives
by Geoff NicholsVolunteers are central to providing opportunities to play sport, whether helping to run sports clubs, helping in school sport or at sports events. This volume focuses on the volunteers who support clubs. Approximately 150,000 sports clubs in the UK are supported by volunteers in roles such as coaches, treasurers, membership secretaries and other formal roles, as well as a myriad of other volunteers who help on a more informal basis. This structure of clubs run by volunteers is common to other countries; such as Germany, Canada, Finland and Australia. It is a valuable community resource; not only for the opportunities it provides for sports participation but also the more general contribution to the quality of communities. This club structure has been central to government policy to increase sports participation and has developed from the second half of the 19th century. Yet its maintenance relies on a nucleus of core volunteers in each club who take the major roles. Recruiting new volunteers – especially for these core roles – is always difficult. Despite central government in the UK having a commitment to developing volunteering, clubs are having to adjust to new relationships with local government as funding and subsidy of facility use is reduced. Trends in sports participation are away from the traditional team sports and towards more individual participation. Club members may demand an experience benchmarked against private or local government providers; regarding the club as providing a service as much as an organisation they contribute to. The chapters in this book contribute an international perspective to understanding these issues. It will be of great value to community sport leaders and scholars of sport sociology and leisure studies. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.
Volunteers in Sport: A Literature Review
by Geoff NicholsVolunteers are central to providing opportunities to play sport, whether helping to run sports clubs, helping in school sport or at sports events. This volume focuses on the volunteers who support clubs. Approximately 150,000 sports clubs in the UK are supported by volunteers in roles such as coaches, treasurers, membership secretaries and other formal roles, as well as a myriad of other volunteers who help on a more informal basis. This structure of clubs run by volunteers is common to other countries; such as Germany, Canada, Finland and Australia. It is a valuable community resource; not only for the opportunities it provides for sports participation but also the more general contribution to the quality of communities. This club structure has been central to government policy to increase sports participation and has developed from the second half of the 19th century. Yet its maintenance relies on a nucleus of core volunteers in each club who take the major roles. Recruiting new volunteers – especially for these core roles – is always difficult. Despite central government in the UK having a commitment to developing volunteering, clubs are having to adjust to new relationships with local government as funding and subsidy of facility use is reduced. Trends in sports participation are away from the traditional team sports and towards more individual participation. Club members may demand an experience benchmarked against private or local government providers; regarding the club as providing a service as much as an organisation they contribute to. The chapters in this book contribute an international perspective to understanding these issues. It will be of great value to community sport leaders and scholars of sport sociology and leisure studies. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.
Voices Of The Old Firm
by Stephen WalshThis revised and updated edition of Voices of the Old Firm tells the story of Rangers and Celtic in the words of those who can say 'I was there'. By interviewing players, managers but above all supporters of the two great clubs, Stephen Walsh has built up a unique portrait of sixty years of football in the city.Full of evocative social and historical detail, the book surveys all the great moments since the war - the ups and downs, the triumphs and disasters. What was it like to be in Lisbon for Celtic's epic 1967 European Cup victory, or in Barcelona for Rangers' European triumph of 1972? The different 'voices' which describe these and many other key events include some of the greatest players ever to pull on a green or a blue jersey and they have vivid tales to tell of encounters on the field.But the book also hears the voices of those who have spent their time standing on the terraces or sitting in the stands cheering on their heroes. Ordinary supporters tell of their adventures at home and abroad while following their clubs with sometimes ridiculous levels of devotion. In their own words, they tell of great games of football, but they also describe the fabric of the fan's life - the buses, the songs, the drink, the clothes, the bigotry and the passionate emotion which marks Glasgow out from almost all other footballing cities.This classic oral history has been brought fully up to date with the addition of new material reflecting the way the teams have come to dominate the Scottish football scene in the last ten years. Highlights include Celtic's pilgrimage to Seville for the UEFA Cup final and Rangers' unforgettable championship win of 2005.
Voices from the Back of the Bus: Tall Tales and Hoary Stories from Rugby's Real Heroes
by Stewart McKinneyVoices from the Back of the Bus provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at international rugby at the height of a golden period. Recounted with genuine warmth and much humour, over a hundred players recall the scrapes, the games, the laughs, the glory and the gritty reality of the pre-professional game.Packed with true rugby tales from the days when men played purely for the love of the game and of their nation, and multimillion-pound contracts and sponsorship deals were unheard of, this refreshing, revealing and often hilarious collection will inspire sports fans of all generations.
Voices from Croke Park: The Stories of 12 GAA Heroes
by Sean PottsVoices from Croke Park charts the journeys of 12 true greats of the Gaelic games, each of whom has helped shape the rich history of football and hurling. These are men who pursued glory in Ireland's greatest sporting arena, players whose passion and vision were embodied in their performances in their county's jersey. The footballers featured are Bernard Flynn (Meath), Mikey Sheehy (Kerry), Ciarán Whelan (Dublin), Anthony Molloy (Donegal), Peter Canavan (Tyrone), Liam McHale (Mayo) and Cork footballer and hurler Jimmy Barry-Murphy. From hurling, Eamonn O'Donoghue (Cork), Tony Keady (Galway), DJ Carey (Kilkenny), Gerard McGrattan (Down) and Michael Duignan (Offaly) are interviewed. This collection is a celebration of their achievements in the GAA, with their stories brought vividly to life by Ireland's leading sportswriters.
The Voice of Anfield: My Fifty Years with Liverpool FC
by George Sephton'George Sephton is part of the brickwork of Liverpool Football Club and was witness to so many iconic moments. He has lived through a huge chunk of our history, from when Liverpool were in the Second Division, when he used to come to Anfield with his father, all the way to being crowned World Club and Premier League champions. It's been a rollercoaster ride, and George has been there for all the ups and downs - but mainly the ups.' Sir Kenny Dalglish'The voice of George Sephton has been heard at Anfield for so long that you could be forgiven for imagining him poised with a wind-up gramophone and a 78-rpm record of Gerry with his ukulele and a single Pacemaker, on a comb and tissue paper, piping Alan A'Court and Alf Arrowsmith onto the field.' Elvis CostelloGeorge Sephton's relationship with Liverpool Football Club began in 1971 when he wrote to the club secretary applying to be the stadium announcer. His first match also marked the debut of Kevin Keegan. For the past fifty years, Sephton has been at Anfield for all but a handful of home fixtures, as well as travelling with the team to major finals. From the highs of winning numerous league titles and European Cups, to the lows of Heysel and Hillsborough, Sephton has been with Liverpool through it all. From encounters with great managers and legendary players - from Bill Shankly to Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes to Jurgen Klopp, he tells his unique and entertaining story of the greatest club in the world.
Vive le Tour!: Wiggo, And The Amazing Tales Of The Tour De France
by Nick BrownleeThe Observer, July 1, 2007 "A quirky and inventive collection of history, statistics and random trivia, Brownlee's book would be perfect for whipping out of the back pocket of your cycling jersey to settle arguments or impress your friends."
Vital Blindside
by Hannah CowanAdam White has been called many things but single dad was not one he expected. At twenty-three Adam’s life changed forever – suddenly he was the father to a son he never knew existed – but he’s spent the past ten years managing to raise his son and juggle his business. White Ice Training is now one of the best hockey training facilities in Vancouver. But when he recruits a new hockey trainer, she lights a flame inside of him that he thought had long since burnt out. One terrible game was all it took for Scarlett Carter to lose everything. After a career-ending injury destroys her chances of ever playing professional hockey again, she finds herself lost in a mess of broken dreams. Moving back home to Vancouver was never in the playbook.Scarlett wants to forget about the world that broke her, but a new job at White Ice won’t let that happen. The more time she spends with Adam, the harder she’s finding it to resist him. She can’t help but wonder why he cares so much about her. And more importantly, why can't she bring herself to skate away?
Visual Perception and Action in Sport
by Keith Davids A. Mark Williams John G. WilliamsAthletes are dependent upon a constant supply of accurate and reliable information from the environment whilst performing complex movements. Visual Perception and Action in Sport examines the information which is perceived by the human visual system and the way it is utilised to support actions in sport. It focuses attention on the rich diversity of sport-related studies drawn together from a number of theoretical approaches. Divided into three sections, this book covers: * indirect theories of perception and action* direct theories of perception and action* skill acquisition in the sports context. Each of the sections features learning objectives, summary, and study questions to help facilitate student learning. Throughout the text, the integration of theoretical knowledge and practical expertise is emphasised. All three authors are specialists have expertise in the teaching and researching of motor learning and control in sport.
Visual Perception and Action in Sport
by A. M. Williams K. Davids J. G. WilliamsAthletes are dependent upon a constant supply of accurate and reliable information from the environment whilst performing complex movements. Visual Perception and Action in Sport examines the information which is perceived by the human visual system and the way it is utilised to support actions in sport. It focuses attention on the rich diversity of sport-related studies drawn together from a number of theoretical approaches. Divided into three sections, this book covers: * indirect theories of perception and action* direct theories of perception and action* skill acquisition in the sports context. Each of the sections features learning objectives, summary, and study questions to help facilitate student learning. Throughout the text, the integration of theoretical knowledge and practical expertise is emphasised. All three authors are specialists have expertise in the teaching and researching of motor learning and control in sport.
A Visitor's Guide to the Ancient Olympics
by Dr. Neil FaulknerWhat was it like to attend the Olympics in 388 B.C.? Would the experience resemble Olympic festivals as we celebrate them today? This remarkable book transports us back to the heyday of the city-state and classical Greek civilization. It invites us to enter this distant, alien, but still familiar culture and discover what the Greeks did and didn't do during five thrilling days in August 2,400 years ago.In the Olympic Stadium there were no stands, no shade—and no women allowed. Visitors sat on a grassy bank in the searing heat of midsummer to watch naked athletes compete in footraces, the pentathlon, horse and chariot races, and three combat sports—wrestling, boxing, and pankration, everyone's favorite competition, with virtually no rules and considerable blood and pain. This colorfully illustrated volume offers a complete tour of the Olympic site exactly as athletes and spectators found it. The book evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of the crowded encampment; introduces the various attendees (from champions and charlatans to aristocrats and prostitutes); and explains the numerous exotic religious rituals. Uniquely detailed and precise, this guide offers readers an unparalleled opportunity to travel in time, back to the excitement of ancient Olympia.
Virtual Kombat (Pocket Money Puffin)
by Chris BradfordYoung Samurai meets The MatrixScott is selected as a games tester by Vince Power, creator of Virtual Kombat, the most realistic martial-arts video game ever invented. But when friend and rival Kate fails to return from the Virtual Arena, Scott begins to wonder if it's more than just a game...A thrilling adventure from Chris Bradford, creator of the bestselling Young Samurai series.
Virgin on Insanity: Coming of age on the world's toughest mountains
by Steve BellOutwardly, ‘Britain’s most experienced teenage Alpinist’ is a brave young mountaineer. But he’s not experienced at all, at least not in the way he really wants to be. Behind his death-defying climbs there lurks a great deal of fear – fear of the opposite sex, fear of failure, fear of not being ‘man enough’.He seeks manhood in the mountains, yet he believes he will only truly gain it by losing something. Harrowing escapades in Scotland, the Alps and Alaska are interspersed by excruciating sexual encounters and unsettling hitch-hiking rides. When the mountains fail him, he seeks meaning with a religious cult in Colorado. Eventually he succeeds in his quest, only to find that he’s lost more than he bargained for.Virgin on Insanity by Steve Bell is a coming-of-age story of high adventure, youthful insecurity and immature love. The situations might be extreme, but the deeper issues will be familiar to many.
Virat Kohli (Amazing Cricket Stars #2)
by null Clive GiffordMeet the champion Indian batter, Virat Kohli, in this stunning unofficial biography! From when he was a small boy, Virat Kohli’s special talent for cricket has wowed those around him – his family, friends, and eventually, his colleagues on the Indian national team. His dedication to his training and teammates, and his incredible aptitude with a bat have placed him firmly among the ranks of the best cricketers of all time. Follow this impressive cricketer as he bats his way to international glory. Look out for the rest of the Amazing Cricket Stars series: Ben Stokes Heather Knight Mitchell Starc
VIRAT: The Making of a Champion
by Neeraj Jha Vidhanshu KumarTHE GRIPPING AND ACTION-PACKED STORY OF THE BOY WHO NEVER GAVE UP! He is that exceptional teenager who returned to play an innings the day his dad passed away. He is the chubby rookie who now sets fitness goals. He is the fiery batsman and nimble fielder who always wants to win. Virat Kohli’s determination to overcome his drawbacks and shine his skills has him well on his way to becoming an all-time great in cricket. From gully cricket and junior teams to the Ranji and national squads, Virat has had more than his share of hurdles. But pressure is his middle name – and he has made performing under the toughest conditions an art with his fine strokes, his electric feet and his ginormous hunger for runs. That’s why the dashing King Kohli – captain of Team India across all formats of the game – holds many records and prestigious awards. Virat looks unstoppable in the lead-up to the top, and his tremendously inspiring story is told vividly in this book. Peppered with anecdotes and stories from his coaches, teammates and other insiders from the cricketing world, this is one life story that is a must-read for everyone who, like Virat, prizes both guts and glory.
Violence, Silence, and Rhetorical Cultures of Champion-Building in Sports (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication)
by Kathleen Sandell HardestyThis book takes a close look at systems and rhetorics of silencing in sports training. Using the case study of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal at Michigan State University and within USA Gymnastics, the book explores multifaceted problems of speaking, silencing, and listening in youth and college athletic organizations, investigating the cultures of abuse and discursive practices that silence victims while protecting abusers. The author foregrounds the victims’ voices through an analysis of victim impact statements and victim interviews, while examining other textual artifacts to understand the institutional behaviors and actions both before and after the case caught public attention. Exploring the issue far beyond the single organization, the author discusses the norms, values, ideologies, and expected behaviors of youth and college sports programs as institutions to help describe “rhetorical cultures of champion-building.” This innovative study offers new perspectives that will interest students and scholars of sport communication, rhetoric, organizational communication, criminology, and feminist theory.
Violence, Silence, and Rhetorical Cultures of Champion-Building in Sports (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication)
by Kathleen Sandell HardestyThis book takes a close look at systems and rhetorics of silencing in sports training. Using the case study of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal at Michigan State University and within USA Gymnastics, the book explores multifaceted problems of speaking, silencing, and listening in youth and college athletic organizations, investigating the cultures of abuse and discursive practices that silence victims while protecting abusers. The author foregrounds the victims’ voices through an analysis of victim impact statements and victim interviews, while examining other textual artifacts to understand the institutional behaviors and actions both before and after the case caught public attention. Exploring the issue far beyond the single organization, the author discusses the norms, values, ideologies, and expected behaviors of youth and college sports programs as institutions to help describe “rhetorical cultures of champion-building.” This innovative study offers new perspectives that will interest students and scholars of sport communication, rhetoric, organizational communication, criminology, and feminist theory.
Violated: Exposing Rape at Baylor University amid College Football's Sexual Assault Crisis
by Paula Lavigne Mark Schlabachp.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 17.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #ff2500} p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Geneva} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 36.0px; font: 12.0px Geneva} Written by ESPN investigative reporters VIOLATED narrates the sexual abuse by members of Baylor's football team and the university's attempt to silence the victims. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to RAINN to help fight sexual abuse.Throughout its history, Baylor University has presented itself as something special: As the world's largest Baptist university, it was unabashedly Christian. It condemned any sex outside of marriage, and drinking alcohol was grounds for dismissal. Students weren't even allowed to dance on campus until 1996. During the last several years, however, Baylor officials were hiding a dark secret: Female students were being sexually assaulted at an alarming rate. Baylor administrators did very little to help victims, and their assailants rarely faced discipline for their abhorrent behavior. Finally, after a pair of high-profile criminal cases involving football players, an independent examination of Baylor's handling of allegations of sexual assault led to sweeping changes, including the unprecedented ouster of its president, athletics director, and popular, highly successful football coach. For several years, campuses and sports teams across the country have been plagued with accusations of sexual violence, and they've been criticized for how they responded to the students involved. But Baylor stands out. A culture reigned in which people believed that any type of sex, especially violent non-consensual sex, simply "doesn't happen here." Yet it was happening. Many people within Baylor's leadership knew about it. And they chose not to act. Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach weave together the complex - and at times contradictory - narrative of how a university and football program ascending in national prominence came crashing down amidst the stories of woman after woman coming forward describing their assaults, and a university system they found indifferent to their pain.