Showing titles in Sociology of Sports

Danielle Williams, skydiver and founder of the online community Melanin Base Camp, profiles dozens of adventurers pushing the boundaries of inclusion and equity in the outdoors. These compelling narratives include a mother whose love of hiking led her to found a nonprofit to expose BIPOC children to the wonders of the outdoors and a mountain biker who, despite at first dealing with unwelcome glances and hostility on trails, went on to become a blogger who writes about justice and diversity in natural spaces.

This book chronicles the long and tortured history of the NCAA's attempt to maintain the myth of amateurism and the student-athlete, along with the attendant fiction that the players academic achievement is the top priority of Division-I athletic programs. It is an indictment of the current system, making the case that big-time college sports cannot continue its connection to universities without undermining the mission of higher education. It concludes with bold proposals to separate big-time college sports from the university, transforming them into on-campus business operations.

A critique of football (soccer) in the USA, the richest country in the world, and how we became mediocre on the world stage of men's football and how to get from here to become #1 in the world for both the men and the women.

"Why It’s Taking So Long to Fix Youth Sports" speaks for the countless voices disheartened by the current state of youth sports. Once innocent neighborhood games have transformed into a cutthroat business fueled by profit. The joy and camaraderie of yesteryears have been overshadowed by a relentless pursuit of success, wealth, and self interest. Youth sports expert Matt Young takes us through a forensic examination of what’s gone wrong, combined with practical strategies for how to give sports back to the kids.

Si può mentire su tutto: sulle opinioni, sui giudizi, sui desideri e persino sui sentimenti, ma mai sulle passioni. E quale passione più vera e nobile può esserci di quella che abbiamo per la nostra squadra del cuore? Quando poi la prescelta è l’Inter, i ricordi delle undici partite che hanno cambiato la vita dei tifosi nerazzurri, assumono i contorni di una insonne nostalgia. Educazione ambrosiana racconta l’Inter del mago Herrera, quella dei record del Trap, quella di Ronaldo “il Fenomeno”.

Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of the most iconic images of Olympic history and the Black Power movement. Here is the remarkable story of one of the men behind the salute, lifelong activist, John Carlos.

In "Beyond the Game," we dive deep into the intricate relationship between sports, society, and the underlying forces that shape our perceptions and emotions. At the very heart of the sports world lies a dual narrative: one of unity and celebration, the other of exploitation and division. The book unravels the transformative power of sports as a unifying factor. It showcases how, irrespective of socio-economic backgrounds, sports can momentarily erase differences, as illustrated by the fervor in Rio's favelas during the FIFA World Cup.

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams is the “revelatory” (New York Times), “deeply empathetic” (New Yorker) true story of four teenagers attempting to escape the cycles of poverty, crime, and despair in 1990s Brooklyn by getting recruited to play college basketball. With poignant intimacy, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of these young men, including the future superstar Stephon Marbury, who are among the most promising players in Coney Island.

Jeanette Lee was 18 years old when she walked into a New York City pool hall and became enamored by the elegant geometry of the game. Before long, she was an unmistakable figure on the international competition circuit, dressed head-to-toe in black, stalking the billiards table, and gazing down her cue as if tracking her prey. In this new memoir, the woman nicknamed “The Black Widow” opens up about her legendary career and the rich, unpredictable life she’s woven around it.

Hockey culture: it’s a commonly used phrase inside the game, glorifying sacrifice, toughness, loyalty, and a sense of identity. Justin Davis viewed this culture as something he was lucky enough to experience. After all, he’d won a Memorial Cup after leading the tournament in scoring, and he’d been drafted by the Washington Capitals. “In my mind,” he says, “I was the normal one.” Unfortunately, after stepping outside the game, he began to recognize the racism, sexual abuse and bullying that was so deeply ingrained in the sport.

Randall Balmer was a late convert to sports talk radio, but he quickly became addicted, just like millions of other devoted American sports fans. As a historian of religion, the more he listened, Balmer couldn't help but wonder how the fervor he heard related to religious practice. From baseball to basketball and football to ice hockey, Balmer explores the origins and histories of big-time sports from the late nineteenth century to the present, with entertaining anecdotes and fresh insights into their ties to religious life.

This book aims to guide parents through the challenges of youth hockey, providing insights and strategies to foster a positive environment that promotes skill development, sportsmanship, and personal growth. By focusing on the desires of buyers seeking guidance on youth hockey parenting, the book equips parents with knowledge, empathy, and practical approaches to support their young athletes.

Sports fans, dads, and data analysts David Sikorjak and Ben Valenta argue that fandom can not only increase our sense of belonging but also serves as a powerful antidote to loneliness because sports fans experience increased social connection. What they didn't realize was how deep that connection was, the potential it carried for individual and societal wellness, or the opportunities it offered for adult friendships, making and keeping friends, and family ties.

At first glance, sports may appear as simple games of athleticism and skill. However, nestled within every cheer, every match, and each strategy is a reflection of the world's deeper political, societal, and economic narratives. "Ballgames & Boardrooms" delves into this intricate dance between sports and the inherent global structures it both represents and influences. From the gladiatorial arenas of Ancient Rome to the modern football stadiums, this essay dissects how sports have been employed as tools by elites to not only entertain but to dictate, control, and pacify the masses.

50 Things to Know About Being a Travel Athlete offers a different approach to travel sports. Most books on travel sports tell you to jump into the traveling world. Although there’s nothing wrong with that, you should know the ins and outs of traveling before dedicating yourself to becoming a travel athlete. Based on knowledge from the world’s leading experts, travel athletes have to juggle more than just their sport; they have to juggle the physical and mental barriers of traveling, too.

Cuando el trofeo se olvida y la violencia se impone, cuando la obsesión supera la estrategia, cuanto el juego se vuelve peligroso...

In Mallparks, Michael Friedman observes that just as cathedrals represented power relations in medieval towns, and skyscrapers epitomized those within industrial cities, sports stadiums exemplify urban America at the turn of the twenty-first century.