The Sports & Outdoors category has 1,991 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 11,712 ratings. The most-rated is Burke's Law.
Running with Sherman
Summary
"A delight, full of heart and hijinks and humor.... McDougall is a gifted storyteller who gets to the heart of the human-animal connection." (John Grogan, author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog) From the best-selling author of Born to Run, a heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America, and, in the process, discovering the life-changing power of the human-animal connection. When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move, and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body but to heal his mind as well. It turns out the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job, and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing - a unique type of race where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days - and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado. Easier said than done. In the course of Sherman's training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers. An entire community comes together to help save Sherman, and along the way, Chris shows us the joy of a life with animals.
©2019 Christopher McDougall (P)2019 Random House Audio
Belichick
Summary
From a New York Times best-selling author, the definitive biography of the NFL’s most enigmatic, controversial, and yet successful coach, Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick is perhaps the most fascinating figure in the NFL - the infamously dour face of one of the winningest franchises in sports. As head coach of the New England Patriots, he’s led the team to five Super Bowl championship trophies. In this revelatory new and robust biography, listeners will come to understand and see Belichick’s full life in football, from watching Naval Academy games as a kid with his player-scout father, to masterminding two Super Bowl-winning game plans as defensive coordinator for the Giants, and to his dramatic leap to the Patriots, where he has made history. Veteran sports writer and award-winning author Ian O’Connor delves into the mind of the man who has earned a place among coaching legends like Lombardi, Halas, and Paul Brown, presenting sides of Belichick that have previously been unexplored. O’Connor discovers how this legendary coach shaped the people he met and worked with in ways perhaps even Belichick himself doesn’t know. Those who follow and love pro football know Bill Belichick only as the hooded genius of the Patriots, a team shrouded in victory and controversy. But there is so much more - from the hidden tensions and deep layers to his relationship with Tom Brady, to his sometimes frosty dealings with owner Robert Kraft, and to the surprising camaraderie he shares with the team. This is a man who has many facets and, ultimately, has created a notorious football dynasty. Based on exhaustive research and countless interviews, this audiobook circles around Belichick to tell his full story for the first time and presents an incisive portrait of a mastermind at work.
©2018 Ian O'Connor (P)2018 Recorded Books
Hello, Friends!
Summary
An honest memoir about life, family, and baseball from the longtime, legendary Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster For 36 years, Jerry Howarth ushered in eternal hope each spring and thrived in the drive of each fall as the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1982, the lifelong avid sports fan joined Tom Cheek as full-time play-by-play radio announcer for the Blue Jays, and for the next 23 years, “Tom and Jerry” were the voices of the franchise. Jerry became part of the fabric of a nation and a team, covering historic moments like the rise of the Blue Jays through the 1980s that culminated in back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993. His Hall of Fame-worthy broadcasting career has been nothing short of legendary. When Jerry retired in February 2018, the tributes poured in and made one thing perfectly clear: Toronto baseball would never be the same. Howarth brings together thoughts on life, family, work, and baseball. Featuring stories about everyone from Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, Duane Ward, Roberto Alomar, and Joe Carter to John Gibbons, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson, and the late Roy Halladay, Hello, Friends! is a must-listen for sports fans everywhere.
©2019 Jerry Howarth (P)2019 ECW Press
The Hardcore Truth
Summary
The wrestling legend Bob "Hardcore" Holly tells all in this autobiography that chronicles his journey from fighting in bars for money to the bright lights of the World Wrestling Federation. Holly reveals how he took more body slams and clotheslines outside the ring than in and that long before he was known as "Hardcore Holly", he had an unquenchable passion for professional wrestling. Ultimately, Holly would hold the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hardcore Championship seven times, the WWE Tag Team Championship three times, and the National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship once. But in the midst of his career achievements was a roller coaster of success and frustration, and Holly reveals the plethora of missed opportunities and broken promises that marked his road to television stardom. Replete with fast motorcycles, faster cars, wrestling bears, betrayal, and lost love, Holly shares his uncompromised view of his past and the current state of professional wrestling.
©2013 Bob Howard and Ross Williams (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
Pro Cycling on $10 a Day
Summary
Plump, grumpy, slumped on the couch, and going nowhere fast at age 16, Phil Gaimon began riding a bicycle with the grand ambition of shedding a few pounds before going off to college. He soon fell into racing and discovered he was a natural, riding his way into a pro contract after just one season despite utter ignorance of a century of cycling etiquette. Now, in his book Pro Cycling on $10 a Day, Phil brings the full powers of his wit to tell his story. Presented here as a guide - and a warning - to aspiring racers who dream of joining the professional racing circus, Phil's adventures in road rash serve as a hilarious and cautionary tale of frustrating team directors and broken promises. Phil's education in the ways of the peloton, his discouraging negotiations for a better contract, his endless miles crisscrossing America in pursuit of race wins, and his conviction that somewhere just around the corner lies the ticket to the big time fuel this tale of hope and ambition from one of cycling's best story-tellers. Pro Cycling on $10 a Day chronicles the racer's daily lot of blood-soaked bandages, sleazy motels, cheap food, and overflowing toilets. But it also celebrates the true beauty of the sport and the worth of the journey, proving in the end that even among the narrow ranks of world-class professional cycling, there will always be room for a hard-working outsider.
©2014 Velopress (P)2017 Sportybooks
LeBron, Inc.
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James' incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul. With eight straight trips to the NBA Finals, LeBron James has proven himself one of the greatest basketball players of all time. And like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan before him, LeBron has also become a global brand and businessman who has altered the way professional athletes think about their value, maximize their leverage, and use their voice. LeBron, Inc. tells the story of James' journey down the path to becoming a billionaire sports icon - his successes, his failures, and the lessons both have taught him along the way. With plenty of newsmaking tidbits about his roller coaster last season in Cleveland and high-profile move to the Lakers, LeBron, Inc. shows how James has changed the way most elite athletes manage their careers and how he launched a movement among his peers that may last decades beyond his playing days.
©2019 Brian Windhorst (P)2019 Hachette Audio
Eiger Dreams
Summary
No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb. In Pakistan, the fearsome K2 kills 13 of the world's most experienced mountain climbers in one horrific summer. In Valdez, Alaska, two men scale a frozen waterfall over a 400-foot drop. In France, a hip international crowd of rock climbers, bungee jumpers, and paragliders figure out new ways to risk their lives on the towering peaks of Mont Blanc. Why do they do it? How do they do it? In this extraordinary book, Krakauer presents an unusual fraternity of daredevils, athletes, and misfits stretching the limits of the possible. From the paranoid confines of a snowbound tent to the thunderous, suffocating terror of a whiteout on Mount McKinley, Eiger Dreams spins tales of driven lives, sudden deaths, and incredible victories. This is a stirring, vivid book about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits.
©2017 Jon Krakauer (P)2017 Random House Audio
Nowhere Near First
Summary
Long before Cory Reese strapped on his first pair of running shoes, he learned the key to being a successful ultrarunner: He knew how to suffer. In Nowhere Near First, Cory shares his deeply personal story about experiencing his father’s suicide at a young age, and how this led to a career in endurance running and a desire to live life to the fullest. Nowhere Near First is a humorous, captivating, and uplifting account of Cory’s memorable ultramarathon experiences. Not only does Cory’s entertaining and powerful writing allows listeners a unique perspective into the challenges and rewards of running, but it also inspires each of us to turn tragedy into triumph. “Cory Reese writes with humor, humbleness and honesty. His story is both uplifting and real, and his tales of persistence and perseverance are sure to inspire, whether you’re at the front of the pack or nowhere near first. Regardless of the title, this book’s a winner!” (Dean Karnazes, author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner) “Cory Reese’s book, Nowhere Near First, is an immensely entertaining and profoundly educational story about overcoming challenges to forge a meaningful life. Reese’s story is must-read for people looking to find meaning and purpose in modern-day society.” (Karl Hoagland, publisher, UltraRunning Magazine) “Cory has penned a very personal account of overcoming hardship in his personal and athletic life. Nowhere Near First tells his story of perseverance and survival in a vivid, down and dirty way that peaks with his extraordinarily positive way of looking at life.” (Marshall Ulrich, author of Running On Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America)
©2016 Cory Reese (P)2018 Cory Reese
The Grim Reaper
Summary
A powerful memoir from an NHL heavyweight champion who moved from the dressing room to the courtroom. NHL tough guys all tell the same story. They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL. Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms. He stared down the toughest players on the planet for 17 years, while working on his first university degree. He retired on his own terms, and went on to practice law, including a stint as in-house counsel for the NHLPA. This has put him in a unique position when it comes to commenting on the game. He's seen it from the trenches, and he's seen it from the courtroom. This puts him in the eye of the storm surrounding fighting and concussions. And he handles that the way he does everything: on his own terms. When Don Cherry called him out on televison, it was the seemingly indomitable Cherry who backed down. Hockey fans will be fascinated by his data-driven defence of fighting. But in the end, this is not a book about fighting and locker-room stories. It's the story of a young man who ultimately took on the toughest role in pro sports and came out the other side. Where many others have not.
©2019 Stu Grimson (P)2019 Viking
Mastering Golf's Mental Game
Summary
To be a golfer is to tinker - with everything from equipment to grip to swing. But one thing most players don't give enough attention to is the mental game. Psychologists aren't a new phenomenon in golf, but Dr. Michael Lardon is a different breed of performance coach. Instead of sending his players into a losing battle against emotion, indecision, and fear on the golf course, he shows them how to organize their thoughts and use them for maximum performance. His step-by-step Pre-Shot Pyramid provides any player with the ideal blueprint for shot setup, and his revolutionary Mental Scorecard will give you the tools to accurately measure what you really do on the golf course. You will learn the same techniques that Dr. Lardon shares with Phil Mickelson and dozens of other tour players, including the tools that helped Mickelson right himself after the 2012 U.S. Open to win the British Open a month later with a historic final round. Mastering Golf's Mental Game will change the way you think about golf, and is a must-listen for any player serious about shooting better scores and getting more enjoyment out of the game. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2014 Michael Lardon (P)2014 Tantor
Sailing Alone Around the World
Summary
Challenged by an expert who said it couldn’t be done, Joshua Slocum, a fearless New England sea captain, set out in April 1895 to prove that a man could sail alone around the world. A little over three years and forty-six thousand miles later, the proof was complete. This is Slocum’s own account of his remarkable adventures during the historic voyage of the Spray. Whether Slocum was more accomplished as a writer or sailor is hard to say. His writing style is fast paced, witty, and exhilarating, an absorbing match to his harrowing adventures - adventures that included being chased by Moorish pirates off Gibraltar; escaping a fleet of hostile canoes; being submerged by a great wave off the Patagonian coast; an encounter with Black Pedro, “the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego”; and foiling a nocturnal attack by savages by strewing carpet tacks on the Spray’s deck. Captain Joshua Slocum (1844–1909) was the first person to circle the globe alone entirely by sea. This remarkable achievement made Slocum the most famous North American sailor of all time.
Public Domain (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Be a Player
Summary
Golf is a beloved yet technical game, so a sound swing and precise technique are essential. Most golfers who want to improve their skills go to the range and work painstakingly on their swings, not realizing it's often their performance state on the course that needs work, not their technique. Simple things such as awareness of your balance, tension, and tempo, as well as the ability to control mental, emotional, and social variables you encounter while playing, can quickly take your game to a new performance level. Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of VISION54's groundbreaking and innovative golf program, are here to help. Aimed at both the weekend golfer and the advanced player, each chapter presents a series of "human skills" - including assignments, explorations, and mini lessons - that strip away the complexity surrounding swing technique and playing consistency - the conditional variations that plague golfers. Be a Player is a must-listen for any golfer who wants to unite technical skills and on-course performance seamlessly and effectively. With this cutting-edge book, you will become a true student of VISION54 and a better player on the course...where it matters most!
©2017 Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott (P)2017 Tantor
GSP : le sens du combat
Summary
Le plus grand atout du Québécois Georges St-Pierre n'est ni sa force ni ses qualités athlétiques, mais plutôt sa profonde détermination. Il a découvert le karaté alors qu'il n'était qu'un petit garçon victime d'intimidation et, par la suite, il n'a jamais abandonné son ambition de devenir le plus grand athlète en arts martiaux mixtes de tous les temps. GSP a gravi un à un les échelons. Après avoir acquis une renommée internationale à titre de champion de l'Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), il a été contraint de quitter l'arène pour guérir d'une grave blessure. Comme toutes celles qu'il a dû surmonter, cette épreuve, qui aurait pu anéantir sa carrière, lui a surtout appris à voir en chaque obstacle une occasion de forger son caractère. Selon Georges St-Pierre, la vie dans son ensemble est une compétition et il n'en existe pas de métaphore plus éloquente que le parcours d'un combattant. Dans son ouvrage, il explique à cœur ouvert la valeur de la discipline, du risque et même de la peur avec la sagesse d'un homme qui sait que rien n'est acquis : le prochain combat pourrait toujours être le dernier. Il s'inspire de la philosophie orientale, d'athlètes légendaires et d'un cercle restreint de gens de confiance. Éclairé en contrepoint par leur regard, ce livre est un guide qui pourrait transformer la vie du lecteur et l'aider à trouver des moyens d'atteindre ses objectifs les plus ambitieux.
©2013 Georges St-Pierre, Flammarion Québec, pour la traduction française (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Seal Survival Guide
Summary
Former Navy SEAL and preeminent American survivalist Cade Courtley delivers step-by-step instructions anyone can master in this user-friendly guide. You'll learn to think like a SEAL and how to: Improvise weapons from everyday items Pack a go bag Treat injuries Survive extreme climates Survive a pandemic From random shootings to deadly wildfires to terrorist attacks, the reality is that modern life is unpredictable and dangerous. Don't live in fear or rely on luck. Learn the SEAL mindset: Be prepared, feel confident, step up, and know exactly how to survive any life-threatening situation.
©2012 SEAL Survival, LLC (P)2014 Tantor
Beyond the Mountain
Summary
What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world's most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram, and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty. In 2005 Steve and alpinist Vince Anderson pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 26,600-foot Nanga Parbat, which had never before been climbed in alpine style. It was the third ascent of the face and the achievement earned Steve and Vince the first Piolet d'or (Golden Ice Axe) awarded to North Americans. Steve is an accomplished and spellbinding storyteller in the tradition of Maurice Herzog and Lionel Terray. Beyond the Mountain is a gripping listen, destined to be a mountain classic. And it addresses many issues common to nonclimbing life - mentorship, trust, failure success, goal setting, heroes, partnership - as well as the mountaineer's heightened experience of risk and the deaths of friends. Beyond the Mountain is a window into the process of a man working to be the best he can be.
©2013 Steve House (P)2017 Random House Audio
Decide to Play Great Poker
Summary
Ask the great poker players how they'd play a hand and the answer is always "it depends." That answer can be infuriating. But guess what? It really does depend. The key to becoming a great poker player is in knowing what it depends on. At last there's a book that gives you that answer. Poker is a game of so many variables; table position, flop texture, the number of players in a hand, the personalities of your opponents, and so much more. Decide to Play Great Poker teaches you how to identify and analyze those variables, interchange them within basic game-situation templates, and become knowledgeable, comfortable, and confident in any poker situation. Instead of just dictating a bunch of rules that work only some of the time, this book teaches you to become a great poker thinker and strategist so that you can expertly navigate any poker challenge you encounter. Most players think the goal of poker is to make money. They're wrong! The goal of poker is to make good decisions. Money is simply the way you measure how well you're meeting that objective. So if you're ready to start making world-class decisions at the poker table - and to reap the substantial rewards that those decisions will yield - all you have to do is decide: Decide to Play Great Poker now. You'll never be vexed by "it depends" again.
©2011 Annie Duke and John Vorhaus (P)2011 Spoken Word Inc
The Victory Machine
Summary
How money, guts, and greed built the Warriors dynasty - and then took it apart The Golden State Warriors dominated the NBA for the better part of a decade. Since the arrival of owner Joe Lacob, they won more championships and sold more merchandise than any other franchise in the sport. And in 2019, they opened the doors on a lavish new stadium. Yet all this success contained some of the seeds of decline. Ethan Sherwood Strauss' clear-eyed exposé reveals the team's culture, its financial ambitions and struggles, and the price that its players and managers have paid for all their winning. From Lacob's unlikely acquisition of the team to Kevin Durant's controversial departure, Strauss shows how the smallest moments can define success or failure for years. And, looking ahead, Strauss ponders whether this organization can rebuild after its abrupt fall from the top, and how a relentless business wears down its players and executives. The Victory Machine is a defining book on the modern NBA: it not only rewrites the story of the Warriors, but shows how the Darwinian business of pro basketball really works.
©2020 Ethan Sherwood Strauss (P)2020 Hachette Audio
Running Like a Girl
Summary
Until five years ago, Alexandra Heminsley was decidedly not a runner. Nor was she athletic in any sense of the word. She was an ordinary, curvy woman who was convinced that sports of any kind, especially running, were beyond her. But she's made running part of her life, and gets to reap the rewards: not just the obvious things, like a touch of weight loss, health and glowing skin, but self-belief, and immeasurable daily pleasure. She's discovered a new closeness to her father, a marathon-runner of many years standing , and her brother, with whom she ran her first marathon, as well as a new side to herself, and has become intrigued by the little-known but rich feminist history to running. Along the way, Alex has had to handle the logistics of learning to run: the intimidating questions of a 22 year-old sales assistant while buying running shoes, where to get decent bra for the larger bust, and how to apply Vaseline to make the wearing of both comfortable. She's worked out how not to freeze, how not to get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She' s worked out what's important (pockets) and what isn't (appearance) about what you wear. She's conquered the logistics of how to run a race, and how to use a heart rate monitor. She's run the gamut of uncontrollable emotion that a long-distance race can bring, and she's experienced the zen moment of distance covered, problems solved, that is the grail of every regular runner. Part memoir, part how-to, Running Like a Girl is a funny, warm and practical exhortation to ordinary women to lace up their sneakers, and see what they are capable of.
©2013 Onion Publications Limited (P)2013 Recorded Books
The Climb
Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of the revealing, inspirational memoir from the British winner of the Tour de France. The Climb tells the extraordinary story of Chris Froome's journey from a young boy in Kenya, riding through townships and past wild animals, and with few opportunities for an aspiring cyclist, to his unforgettable yellow jersey victory in the 2013 Tour de France. A journey unlike any other in the history of cycling, Froome has crossed continents, overcome the death of his mother and conquered debilitating illness to follow his dreams and represent Team GB and Team Sky. He has experienced soaring triumphs, humbling defeats, a public rivalry with Bradley Wiggins and, most recently, the pressures of Lance Armstrong's legacy. Extraordinary and life-affirming, The Climb is a story of determination, hardship and unimaginable success.
©2014 Chris Froome (P)2014 Penguin Books Limited
My World
Summary
Peter Sagan, at just 28 years of age, is already one of cycling's greatest riders of all time. With four Tour de France points jersey victories, three road-race world championships, the 2018 Paris-Roubaix, and multiple spring classics among Sagan's palmares, the world of cycling agrees that this intense, yet fun-loving rider is among the most dominant and fun-to-watch riders of his generation. In My World, for the very first time, bike racing fans will have the opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of Sagan's cycling life, revealing the full extent of his dedication to competition and determination to win. They will learn about his relationship with fellow riders, his heroes, and how he copes with the expectation of success. He will share technical details about his preparation, dissect the art of the sprint, and analyze the tactics that play out during a fiercely competitive stage or race. If the rainbow jersey comes with a curse, what happens when you win three? Meet the real Peter Sagan in My World and find out why cycling's most interesting personality never takes winning too seriously.
©2018 Peter Sagan (P)2019 Tantor