Social Media Sports

In his blistering new audiobook, Bias in the Booth, sports reporter and commentator Dylan Gwinn takes you inside the sports media spin machine to reveal what they hope you won't notice: The sports media are no different from the news and entertainment media.

Once a shoestring operation built on plywood sets and Australian rules football, ESPN has evolved into a media colossus. A genius for cross-promotion and its near-mystical rapport with its viewers empower the network to set agendas and create superstars, to curate sports history even as it mainstreams the latest cultural trends. Travis Vogan teams archival research and interviews with an all-star cast to pen the definitive account of how ESPN turned Xs and Os into billions of $$$.

Lionel Messi is one of the best soccer players in the world. He's led his team - Fútbol Club (FC) Barcelona - to several championships, he's won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award five times, and he's been on the cover of the video game EA Sports FIFA four times. Messi is known for his amazing ability to score goals, but he didn't become a soccer superstar without plenty of hard work. Learn how Messi keeps his body fit for the game, what his life is like off the pitch, and more.

LeBron James is a basketball legend. In 2016 he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their first ever National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship. Before that, the basketball superstar - known to fans as King James - had already won two other NBA championships and two Olympic gold medals. He's been in movies, on TV, and on magazine covers. He's naturally talented, but he still works incredibly hard to stay on top of his game. Learn more about James's career, his routine before and after games, and his incredible successes both on and off the court.

Patrick S. Washburn and Chris Lamb tell the full story of the past, the present, and to a degree, the future of American sports journalism. Sports Journalism chronicles how and why technology, religion, social movements, immigration, racism, sexism, social media, athletes, and sportswriters and broadcasters changed sports as well as how sports are covered and how news about sports are presented and disseminated.

Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball’s all-time-greatest players - an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was Black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA.

Dass es in der Welt des Fußballs immer weniger um den Sport und immer mehr um schmutzige Geschäfte geht, ahnen die Fans nicht erst seit den Skandalen um die Fifa und die vermeintlich gekaufte WM 2006 in Deutschland. Die "Football Leaks" bieten nun erstmals Einblicke in die Schattenwelt der Branche, offenkundig wird die grenzenlose Gier, die hinter den Kulissen des Weltfußballs herrscht.

Elise is a talented gymnast who enters the US Gymnastics Open with just one goal: gold. Accustomed to winning, the confident athlete believes that four clean performances are the only obstacles in the way of a victory. Yet, what happens when Elise delivers perfect routines but doesn't win? Can the disappointed gymnast accept the silver medal when she dreamed only of gold?

In Sit Down and Cheer, Martin Kelner traces the development of this relationship from its humble origins in the 1960 Olympics, by way of the first-ever Match of the Day in 1964, through to the financial impact of Sky, right up to the high-tech gadgetry of our present-day viewing. Insightful and very funny, this is an entertaining exploration of two major national pastimes and not to be missed.

Ob es um die dubiosen Geschäftspraktiken von internationalen Spitzenklubs wie dem FC Barcelona, Manchester City oder Paris Saint-Germain geht, um die Ausbeutung von Jugendspielern oder die Vertuschung von Straftaten: Die Gier im Fußball kennt kaum noch Grenzen. Die SPIEGEL-Journalisten Rafael Buschmann und Michael Wulzinger geben neue, exklusive Einblicke in die zunehmend mafiösen Strukturen im Spitzenfußball und erzählen dabei auch die Geschichte des Mannes, der durch seinen Mut die spektakulären Enthüllungen erst möglich gemacht hat - und dafür nun im Gefängnis sitzt.

Inspired by The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Michael J. Rosen's wry tale captures Ben's spirit in evocative yet playful language. A love story to the value of variety, A Ben of All Trades sheds light on an unconventional path to greatness and humanizes a towering figure in American history.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert come from completely different places and play tennis in completely different ways. Chrissie is the all-American girl: practiced, poised, with perfect technique. Martina hails from Czechoslovakia, a Communist country, and her game is ruled by emotion. Everything about them is different, except for one thing: they both want to be the best. But as their intense rivalry grows, something else begins to swing into place, and a friendship forms that will outlast all their tennis victories.

Maggie has spent basically every summer of her 15-year-old life at the 100-year-old Camp Bellflower for Girls, set deep in the heart of Appalachia. She's from Atlanta, she's never kissed a guy, she's into Backstreet Boys, and her long summer days are full of a pleasant, peaceful nothing - until one confounding moment. A split-second of innocent physical contact pulls Maggie into a gut-twisting love for an older, wiser, and, most surprising of all (at least to Maggie), female counselor named Erin.

It's time for this year's Going Places contest! Finally. Time to build a go-cart, race it - and win. Each kid grabs an identical kit, and scrambles to build. Everyone but Maya. She sure doesn't seem to be in a hurry... and that sure doesn't look like anybody else's go-cart! But who said it had to be a go-cart? And who said there's only one way to cross the finish line?

In our post-feminist society, nothing is hotter than women who not only do so-called guy things, but take it one step further and do alpha male things, while at the same time still retain their classical femininity. Femininity is changing and women who participate in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) have become the new sex symbols. Through poetry, this work celebrates three well known female MMA stars.

Life in the fast lane is a typical day's work for race car drivers. Discover the history of racing, the dangers drivers face, and the ways they stay safe on the track.

From plain old doping to claiming a marathon victory despite having driven the middle section of the race, from match-fixing to diving for a penalty - cheating in sport is as old as sport itself. But what constititues cheating and where do we draw the line? Are some sports cleaner than others? Is cheating in one sport the same as cheating in another or does each sport's distinctive culture set different standards? Is there such a thing as a sport without sin? Or, indeed, a sporting competitor?

As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, virtually all of the debate involves whether (and how much) student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams Jr., argue that "student" has to come first: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education. They draw on new research to reveal that it has become increasingly difficult for college athletes to balance school and sports, much less a social life, leading to serious economic, professional, and emotional consequences for young people.

Millbrook Press publishes informational titles for grades K-5 that offer fresh perspectives, unusual points of view, and a good dose of humor, while Carolrhoda Books spark children’s imaginations and offer new ways of looking at the world. These fact-filled books draw listeners in with engaging writing and a wide variety of genres encompassed, from coming-of-age stories to exceptional nonfiction to mysteries.

Few people watch sport for its politics. Yet what happens on the field of play often reflects the problems in our society. Such was the case in the '80s, when black footballers emerged from the dressing room to find bananas being hurled from the stands, and racially motivated attacks and police harassment were the norm. Today, things have improved. Crowds are less hostile and stars like Anthony Joshua and Sir Mohamed Farah are among our most revered sporting heroes. But for athletes of colour, success on the field seldom converts to power away from it.