Showing results by author "Howard Bryant" in All Categories

Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. Teams wear camouflage jerseys to honor those who serve; police officers throw out first pitches; soldiers surprise their families with homecomings at halftime. Sports and politics are decidedly entwined. But as journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more complicated for black athletes, who from the start were committing a political act simply by being on the field.

In the 34 years since his retirement, Henry Aaron’s reputation has only grown in magnitude: He broke existing records (rbis, total bases, extra-base hits) and set new ones (hitting at least 30 home runs per season 15 times, becoming the first player in history to hammer 500 home runs and three thousand hits). But his influence extends beyond statistics, and at long last here is the first definitive biography of one of baseball’s immortal figures.

Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.

In the thirty-four years since his retirement, Henry Aaron’s reputation has only grown in magnitude: he broke existing records (rbis, total bases, extra-base hits) and set new ones (hitting at least thirty home runs per season fifteen times, becoming the first player in history to hammer five hundred home runs and three thousand hits). But his influence extends beyond statistics, and at long last here is the first definitive biography of one of baseball’s immortal figures.

Whether the issues are protest, labor, patriotism, or class division, it is clear that professional sports are no longer simply fun and games. Rather, the industry is a hotbed of fractures and inequities that reflect and even drive some of the most divisive issues in our country. The nine provocative and deeply personal essays in Full Dissidence confront the dangerous narratives that are shaping the current dialogue in sports and mainstream culture.

“Stuck” happens. Every business gets stuck from time to time. We fantasize about running up the smooth, upward trajectory of growth—but there are hurdles, there are setbacks, and there are pits of quicksand along the way. How we launch and build momentum may work for a season, but change and complexity materialize, throwing fistfuls of sand into the gearbox. In short, growing pains are a normal part of running a business. Who knew there were so many ways to get bogged down by people, process, financial, and marketing issues? If your growth trajectory is stalling out, welcome to the 99...

Sometimes past experiences make a person feel as if they will never know true love. LOVE KNOWS MY NAME features nine sweet Christian romance short stories from veteran and new authors. Enjoy stories of characters finding love at last. LASTING IMPRESSIONS by Wanda B. Campbell Working as an ICU nurse offers Kaymar Washington many rewards, but a cure for loneliness isn’t one of them. Patient Johnny Twenty-five changes everything. If only her patient wasn't comatose and knew she exists. DANCING ON THE MOON by Linda Leigh Hargrove Dr. Katrina Mason loves teaching college math. It's a rewarding...