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.
Zonal Marking
Summary
A mazy dribble through the recent history of European soccer, showing how shifting styles and influence have shaped the game. In the early 1990s, the Dutch footballing philosophy was worshiped across the continent. Then the baton passed to the Italians, who clearly boasted Europe's strongest league. But when France started winning everything at international level its national academy became the template for others, until suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Europe's most revered player and manager both hailed from Portugal. Next, Barcelona and Spain won everything during a very obvious four-year period of dominance, before tiki-taka's decline meant Bayern and Germany took control. Finally, Europe's most successful coaches found themselves competing in England, introducing a brilliant cacophony of styles to the Premier League. Zonal Marking is a glorious travelogue through soccer's triumphant styles and characters.
©2019 Michael Cox (P)2019 Hachette Audio
Three Ring Circus
Summary
The story of the Lakers dynasty from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal combined - and collided - to help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse. In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. Together, the two led the Lakers to three straight championships and returned glory and excitement to Los Angeles. In the tradition of Jeff Pearlman’s best sellers Showtime, Boys Will Be Boys, and The Bad Guys Won, Three-Ring Circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of sports’ most fraught yet successful pairings.
©2020 Jeff Pearlman (P)2020 Recorded Books
Football for a Buck
Summary
The United States Football League was the last football league to not merely challenge the mighty NFL but also to cause it to collectively shudder. It spanned three seasons, featured as many as 18 teams, secured multiple television deals, drew millions of fans, and launched the careers of legends - but then it died beneath the weight of a particularly egotistical and bombastic owner, a New York businessman named Donald Trump. In Football for a Buck, Jeff Pearlman draws on more than 400 interviews to unearth all the salty, untold stories of one of the craziest sports entities to have ever captivated America. From 1980s drug excess to some of the most enthralling and revolutionary football ever seen, Pearlman transports listeners back in time to this crazy, boozy, audacious era of the game. He shows how fortunes were made and lost and how, 30 years ago, Trump was a scoundrel and a spoiler. This is sports as high entertainment - and a cautionary tale of the dangers of ego and excess.
©2018 Jeff Pearlman (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC
A Life Without Limits
Summary
In 2007, Chrissie Wellington shocked the triathlon world by winning the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. As a newcomer and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A Life without Limits is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to the oceans of New Zealand, to the trails of Argentina, and finally, across the finish line. Wellington's first-hand, inspiring story includes all the incredible challenges she has faced - from anorexia, to near-drowning, to training with a controversial coach. But to Wellington, the drama of the sport also presents an opportunity to improve people's lives. A Life without Limits reveals the heart behind Wellington's success, along with the diet, training, and motivational techniques that keep her going through one of the world's most grueling events.
©2012 Chrissie Wellington (P)2012 Hachette Audio
80/20 Triathlon
Summary
A breakthrough program for triathletes - beginner, intermediate, and advanced - showing how to balance training intensity to maximize performance - from a fitness expert and elite coach. Cutting-edge research has proven that triathletes and other endurance athletes experience their greatest performance when they do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and the remaining 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. But the vast majority of recreational triathletes are caught in the so-called "moderate-intensity rut", spending almost half of their time training too hard - harder than the pros. Training harder isn't smarter; it actually results in low-grade chronic fatigue that prevents recreational athletes from getting the best results. In 80/20 Triathlon, Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden lay out the real-world and scientific evidence, offering concrete tips and strategies, along with complete training plans for every distance - sprint, Olympic, half-Ironman, and Ironman - to help athletes implement the 80/20 rule of intensity balance. Benefits include reduced fatigue and injury risk, improved fitness, increased motivation, and better race results. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden (P)2018 Hachette Audio
Where Men Win Glory
Summary
The best-selling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven delivers a stunning, eloquent account of a remarkable young man's haunting journey. Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous best sellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan. Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman's own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman's wife, other family members, and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman's name to promote his administration's foreign policy. Long after Tillman's nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had probably been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible. In Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer draws on Tillman's journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render an intricate mosaic of this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure, as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death. Before he enlisted in the army, Tillman was familiar to sports aficionados as an undersized, overachieving Arizona Cardinals safety whose virtuosity in the defensive backfield was spellbinding. With his shoulder-length hair, outspoken views, and boundless intellectual curiosity, Tillm...
©2009 Jon Krakauer (P)2009 Random House Audio
Win Forever
Summary
"I know that I'll be evaluated in Seattle with wins and losses, as that is the nature of my profession for the last 35 years. But our record will not be what motivates me. Years ago I was asked, 'Pete, which is better: winning or competing?' My response was instantaneous: 'Competing...because it lasts longer.'" Pete Carroll is one of the most successful coaches in football today. As the head coach at USC, he brought the Trojans back to national prominence, amassing a 97-19 record over nine seasons. Now he shares the championship-winning philosophy that led USC to seven straight Pac-10 titles. This same mindset and culture will shape his program as he returns to the NFL to coach the Seattle Seahawks. Carroll developed his unique coaching style by trial and error over his career. He learned that you get better results by teaching instead of screaming, and by helping players grow as people, not just on the field. He learned that an upbeat, energetic atmosphere in the locker room can coexist with an unstoppable competitive drive. He learned why you should stop worrying about your opponents, why you should always act as if the whole world is watching, and many other contrarian insights. Carroll shows us how the Win Forever philosophy really works, both in NCAA Division I competition and in the NFL. He reveals how his recruiting strategies, training routines, and game-day rituals preserve a team's culture year after year, during championship seasons and disappointing seasons alike. Win Forever is about more than winning football games; it's about maximizing your potential in every aspect of your life. Carroll has taught business leaders facing tough challenges. He has helped troubled kids on the streets of Los Angeles through his foundation A Better LA. His words are true in any situation: "If you want to win forever, always compete."
©2010 Pete Carroll (P)2010 Penguin
The MVP Machine
Summary
Move over, Moneyball - a cutting-edge look at major league baseball's next revolution: the high-tech quest to build better players. As best-selling authors Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik reveal in The MVP Machine, the Moneyball era is over. Fifteen years after Michael Lewis brought the Oakland Athletics' groundbreaking team-building strategies to light, every front office takes a data-driven approach to evaluating players, and the league's smarter teams no longer have a huge advantage in valuing past performance. Lindbergh and Sawchik's behind-the-scenes reporting reveals: How the 2017 Astros and 2018 Red Sox used cutting-edge technology to win the World Series. How undersized afterthoughts José Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs. How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender. How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques. How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch. Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik (P)2019 Basic Books
Leading
Summary
After an astonishing career - first in Scotland and then over 27 years with Manchester United Football Club - Sir Alex Ferguson delivers Leading, in which the greatest soccer coach of all time will analyze the pivotal leadership decisions of his 38 years as a manager and, with his friend and collaborator Sir Michael Moritz, draw out lessons anyone can use in business and life to generate long-term transformational success. From hiring practices to firing decisions, from dealing with transition to teamwork, from mastering the boardroom to responding to failure and adversity, Leading is as inspiring as it is practical and a go-to reference for any leader in business, sports, and life.
©2015 Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz (P)2015 Hachette Audio
The Fighter's Mind
Summary
In his acclaimed national best seller, A Fighter's Heart, Sam Sheridan took listeners with him as he stepped through the ropes into the dangerous world of professional fighting. From a muay Thai bout in Bangkok; to Rio, where he trained with jiu-jitsu royalty; to Iowa, where he matched up against the toughest in MMA, Sheridan threw himself into a quest to understand how and why we fight. In The Fighter's Mind, Sheridan does for the brain what his first book did for the body. To uncover the secrets of mental strength and success, Sheridan interviewed dozens of the world's most fascinating and dangerous men, including celebrated trainers Freddie Roach and Greg Jackson; champion fighters Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock, and Marcelo Garcia; ultrarunner David Horton; legendary wrestler Dan Gable; and many more. What are their secrets? How do they stay committed through years of training, craft a game plan, and adjust to the realities of the ring? How do they project strength when weak and remain mentally tough despite incredible physical pain? A fascinating book, bursting at the seams with incredible stories and insight, The Fighter's Mind answers these questions and many more.
©2010 Sam Sheridan (P)2014 Audible Inc.
The Unstoppable Golfer
Summary
From the best-selling author of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, and the preeminent golf psychologist to the game’s top players, comes the defining guide to mastering the enormous challenges of chips, pitches, bunker shots, and putts. It is no secret that more than two-thirds of the shots a golfer makes are shorts ones: putts, chips, and pitches. Long drives may garner applause, but whether a golfer wants to win the Masters or just five bucks from a friend on Saturday morning, it’s the little shots that make the difference. In The Unstoppable Golfer, Dr. Bob Rotella takes the same wisdom and experience that have worked for clients like Davis Love III and David Toms to help you master this special art of short shots and avoid all the frustration out of this increasingly challenging element of the game. Requiring extraordinary levels of concentration, the short game is typically a source of fear for amateurs and pros alike. Here Dr. Rotella teaches listeners how to overcome that fear by using their minds to achieve a state of calm in which focus is on one thing alone: the hole. In addition, he explains the science of memory and how knowledge of the brain’s workings—especially those areas that deal with physical tasks—can markedly improve a golf game, particularly when it comes to getting out of a bunker or taking the measure of a long putt. For casual and dedicated golfers alike, a better short game provides one of the ultimate pleasures of the game—a pleasure they will come to know by training their minds with The Unstoppable Golfer.
©2012 Dr. Bob Rotella (P)2012 Simon & Schuster
Finding Murph
Summary
Joe Murphy had it all. In 1986, he became the first college-educated hockey player ever selected first overall in the NHL entry draft. He won a Stanley Cup in Edmonton four years later. But since then, his life has taken a tragic turn, largely due to the untreated brain injuries he suffered as a player. Murphy’s life didn’t begin on a track that would lead to homelessness. He was smart, dedicated to hockey, and was a key player for the Oilers, Red Wings, and Blackhawks, among other teams. But one vicious body check changed his life forever. Despite being shaken by the hit, Murphy was cleared to return to the game. Soon after, his entire life seemed to change. Murphy became a journeyman, moving from team to team. Along the way, other NHLers said they noticed something different about him, too. Murphy wasn’t acting like himself and soon found himself out of the NHL entirely. Eventually, Murphy became homeless. In the spring of 2018, Murphy made his way to Kenora, Ontario, where he lived in the bush, spending his days outside a local convenience store, muttering to himself and taking handouts of food and drinks from passersby. The player who had once set the NHL aflame now slept by the side of the road in the unforgiving North. In Finding Murph, Rick Westhead traces the true story of Joe Murphy and examines the role of the NHL in the downward spiral of one of the league’s most promising players.
©2020 Rick Westhead (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival
Summary
The ultimate resource for experiencing the backcountry! Written by survivalist expert Dave Canterbury, Bushcraft 101 gets you ready for your next backcountry trip with advice on making the most of your time outdoors. Based on the Five Cs of Survivability - cutting tools, covering, combustion devices, containers, and cordages - this valuable guide offers only the most important survival skills to help you craft resources from your surroundings and truly experience the beauty and thrill of the wilderness. In this book, you'll also discover detailed information on: Choosing the right items for your kit. Manufacturing needed tools and supplies. Collecting and cooking food. Protecting yourself from the elements. With Canterbury's guidance, you'll not only prepare yourself for any climate and situation, you'll also learn how to use the art of bushcraft to reconnect with nature in ways you've never imagined. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Dave Canterbury (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
Marathon Woman
Summary
Katherine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon in 1967, where she was attacked by one of the event's directors who wanted to eject her from the all-male race. She fought off the director and finished the race. From the childhood events that inspired her to winning the New York City Marathon in 1974, this book details the struggles and achievements of a pioneering woman in sports. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2017 Kathrine Switzer (P)2017 Hachette Audio
Starting Strength
Summary
Starting Strength has been called the best and most useful of fitness books. It has sold over a half-million copies in a competitive global market for fitness education. The updated third edition expands and improves on the previous teaching methods and biomechanical analysis. No other book on barbell training ever written provides the detailed instruction on every aspect of the basic barbell exercises. And while the methods for implementing barbell training detailed in the audiobook are primarily aimed at young athletes, they have been successfully applied to everyone: young and old, male and female, fit and flabby, sick and healthy, weak and already strong. Many people all over the world have used the simple biological principle of stress/recovery/adaptation on which this method is based to improve their performance, their appearance, and their long-term health. Starting Strength is the most important method available to learn the most effective way to train with barbells - the most important way to improve your strength, your health, and your life. Why barbells are the most effective tools for strength training. The mechanical basis of barbell training, concisely and logically explained. Complete, easy-to-follow instructions for performing the basic barbell exercises: the squat, press, deadlift, bench press, power clean, and the power snatch. Revised instruction methods for all six lifts, proven effective in four years of seminar, military, and group instruction. How the human body adapts to stress through recovery, and why this is the foundation of the development of strength and lifetime health. How to program the basic exercises into the most effective program for long-term progress. The most productive method in existence for anyone beginning a strength training program.
©2013 The Aasgaard Company (P)2019 The Aasgaard Company
On the Edge
Summary
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Biography of the Year, 2008. Richard Hammond describes his childhood and adolescence and the emergence of the adrenalin junkie, the first ridiculous stunts on his tricycle, and an increasing and near-obsessive attraction to speed and the smell of petrol. He finds an attractive girl, Mindy, who shares his interests and helps him organise his high-speed life. For such a lively and intelligent communicator, TV beckons and he becomes one of the daredevil trio, with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, who make such an enormous world-wide success of the revamped BBC-TV programme Top Gear. He describes the personalities, the camaraderie, and the stunts with which they entertain their weekly audiences until the day of his 300 mph crash that took Top Gear off the air and plunged a nation into mourning. The day of the crash, his rescue and the flight to hospital in a coma are described, and then Mindy recounts the anxious waiting until he finally emerges from his coma to immediately pull out all his life-support equipment. Richard then pieces together the stages of recovery as his shattered mind slowly reforms. We learn exactly what happened to him and the milestones in his slow recovery to full health. The final chapter recounts the return to Top Gear and the screening of the events of that fateful day.
©2007 Richard Hammond (P)2007 Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father
Summary
A Globe and Mail Best Seller As a child, Murray Howe wanted to be like his father. He was an adult before he realized that didn't necessarily mean playing hockey. Gordie Howe may have been the greatest player in the history of hockey, but greatness was never defined by goals or assists in the Howe household. Greatness meant being the best person you could be, not the best player on the ice. Unlike his two brothers, Murray Howe failed in his attempt to follow in his father's footsteps to become a professional athlete. Yet his failure brought him to the realization that his dream wasn't really to be a pro hockey player. His dream was to be his father. To be amazing at something, but humble and gracious. To be courageous and stand up for the little guy. To be a hero. You don't need to be a hockey player to do that. What he learned was that it was a waste of time wishing you were like someone else. When Gordie Howe passed away in 2016, it was Murray who was asked to deliver the eulogy. Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father takes the listener through the hours Murray spent writing the words that would give shape to his father's legacy - the hours immediately after his hero's death, as he gathers his thoughts and memories, and makes sense of what his remarkable father meant to him. The result is nine pieces of wisdom, built out of hundreds of stories, that show us the man behind the legend and give us a glimpse of what we can learn from this incredible life.
©2017 Murray Howe (P)2019 Penguin Canada
My Fight / Your Fight
Summary
Her story, her voice. In this inspiring and moving book, Ronda Rousey, Olympic medalist in judo, reigning UFC women's bantamweight champion, and Hollywood star, describes her difficult path to glory. Marked by her signature charm, barbed wit, and undeniable power, Rousey's account of the toughest fights of her life - in and outside the Octagon - reveals the painful loss of her father when she was eight years old, the intensity of her judo training, her battles with love, her meteoric rise to fame, the secret behind her undefeated UFC record, and what it takes to become the toughest woman on earth. Rousey shares hard-won lessons on how to be the best at what you do, including how to find fulfillment in the sacrifices, how to turn limitations into opportunities, and how to be the best on your worst day. Packed with raw emotion, drama, and wisdom, this is an unforgettable book by one of the most remarkable women in the world.
©2015 Ronda Rousey (P)2016 Audiobooks.com Publishing
The Incomplete Book of Running
Summary
Peter Sagal, the host of NPR’s Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! and a popular columnist for Runner’s World, shares lessons, stories, advice, and warnings gleaned from running the equivalent of once around the Earth. At the verge of turning 40, Peter Sagal - brainiac Harvard grad, short, bald Jew with a disposition toward heft, and a sedentary star of public radio - started running seriously. And much to his own surprise, he kept going, faster and further, running 14 marathons and logging tens of thousands of miles on roads, sidewalks, paths, and trails all over the US and the world, including the 2013 Boston Marathon, where he crossed the finish line moments before the bombings. In this new audiobook, Sagal reflects on the trails, tracks, and routes he’s traveled, from the humorous absurdity of running charity races in his underwear - in St. Louis, in February - or attempting to “quiet his colon” on runs around his neighborhood - to the experience of running as a guide to visually impaired runners and the triumphant post-bombing running of the Boston Marathon in 2014. With humor and humanity, Sagal also writes about the emotional experience of running, body image, the similarities between endurance sports and sadomasochism, the legacy of running as passed down from parent to child, and the odd but extraordinary bonds created between strangers and friends. The result is a funny, wise, and powerful meditation about running and life that will appeal to listeners everywhere.
©2018 Peter Sagal (P)2018 Simon & Schuster
The Art of Mental Training
Summary
Achieve the champion mindset for peak performance. Reach new levels of success and mental toughness with this ultimate guide. Learn the "Science of Success" and prepare to excel. In this concise and highly acclaimed training guide, Peak Performance Coach DC Gonzalez teaches a blend of unique mental training technologies, sports psychology essentials, and peak performance methods that are effective and motivational. Get ready to increase your self-belief, self-confidence, and mental toughness using this powerful guide designed to help you reach new levels of success, sports performance and personal development. Peak Performance Coach DC Gonzalez is among a very fortunate few who have had the unique experience of learning from the late Peter Siegel, a world renowned sports and peak performance authority, sports hypnotherapist, and Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner. This audio book is powerful. In it, Dan explains, teaches, and helps you develop the psychological skills required for peak performance, while pointing out the underlying mental training strategies that will help anyone reach higher levels of achievement and performance - not by random chance, but by focused choice. The Art of Mental Training teaches the critical essentials while interwoven with stories from Dan's fascinating background as an Aviator in the Navy, a Federal Agent, Military Cyber-Security Specialist, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and a Peak Performance Coach. Dan creates a powerful teaching connection between his adrenaline-filled life experiences and the mental skills and mental training that make all the difference. The lessons and techniques presented in this book are essential for anyone seeking more success and peak performance, whether it be on the playing field, in business, or life in general.
©2014 Daniel C. Gonzalez (P)2014 Daniel C. Gonzalez and Robert Caleb Lane