I've been reading a lot more lately and part of that has lead me into the wide world of sports books out there. I think it would be nice to have a collection of recommendations from everyone here of what books you've read, how you liked them, etc.

No offense to Matt Christopher (Dirtbike Runaway ftw) but I think we would do better to keep this thread concentrated on non-fiction books only. However, after that I don't care if they're autobiographies of famous sportsfolk, season retrospectives of teams/leagues, instructional books, collections of article, whatever.

Here's one of the ones I just finished reading

Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior - Phil Jackson

This is a kinda memoir I guess. It talks about his early upbringing in a very religious family, his times in college and the NBA, coaching in regional basketball leagues in the northeast and Puerto Rico, as well as with the Bulls up through MJ's retirement and comeback in '96. Really though, it's a lot more about his philosophies as a person/coach, how he got to thinking about things the way he does, and some stories about how and why he tried to get his players to think the same way.

I read the book over the course of two plane trips a couple weekends ago and liked it a lot.

Moneyball

ballfour

This thread was just done not too long ago

Playing Off the Rail

It's about gambling and pool. I know pool isn't really a sport, but it's a great book about a subject that everyone here is interested in.

Breaks of the Game

Moneyball
The Blind Side

Michael Lewis is such a good writer, it's hard not to devour his books in less than a couple sittings because he's such a compelling writer, even if you aren't a fan of baseball or football, which I'm not.

Running with the Buffaloes

I've read this one a few times. It captures the essence of a collegiate cross country team so well, and also develops an amazing subplot that goes way beyond what the scope of the author could have possibly imagined when he set out to write it. Probably my favorite of all time.

So true. I read Liar's Poker in one sitting.

"7 Seconds or Less" is a great read.

+10000 for the Michael Lewis stuff.

The Belichick book is really good, "The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam.

I enjoyed "The GM: A Football life, a Final Season, and a Last Laugh" by Tom Callahan, about Ernie Accorsi. I'm a Giants fan though so it was probably much more interesting to me for that reason.

agreed with all this

sportsbook.com

amirite?

Fantasyland by Sam Walker is a must read for any true fantasy sports fan. Read it all the night I got it. http://www.amazon.com/Fantasyland-Sp...7447459&sr=8-1

Haha, as soon as I saw the thread title, I opened it to post "Everything by Matt Christopher."

If Chad Ochocinco ever compiled all of his tweets into a book, that would be a must-read imo

ball four ainec

the punch by feinstein is amazing.

I havent read anything by matt christopher since fifth grade. This thread makes me want to go buy a boxed set

Ocho Cinco's tweets suck balls.

The Draft. By Pete Williams.

If you like soccer you should definitely get Inverting The Pyramid: A History Of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson. I reviewed it here.

How has Baseball Between The Numbers not been mentioned yet?

Baseball Between the GOD DAMNIT

Fever Pitch

http://www.amazon.com/Fever-Pitch-Ni.../dp/1573226882

the blind side

A couple other books I have on my shelf, but haven't read yet

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams - Darcy Frey
The best way to describe would be a book companion to Hoop Dreams. Frey follows 4 star players from Lincoln High in Brooklyn, chronicling their attempts to hit it big. The four players are Darryl Flicking (called "Russell Thomas" in the book for legal reasons), Tchaka Shipp, Corey Johnson & and Stephon Marbury. Yeah baby, a book about Starbury in high school.

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association - Terry Pluto
I'll just cut/paste a portion of the Bill Simmons review of this book:
First of all, the ABA was a goofy, ridiculous, once-in-a-lifetime league, and if you don't know all the stories, or even some of the stories, it's worth reading. Second, any book that glorifies Doctor J, Connie Hawkins and David Thompson is worth your time, since those are three of the most underappreciated basketball greats. Third, you couldn't even make up some of the ABA characters (Warren Jabali, John Brisker, Joe Caldwell, Wendell Ladner) in a million years, and the Marvin Barnes section ranks among the funniest chapters in any sports book (my favorite is the story where he misses the team plane, charters another one and shows up 10 minutes before a game holding a McDonalds's bag, wearing a mink coat and his game uniform underneath it). And fourth, few appreciate how influential this league was (the style of play, the 3-point line, the underclassmen, the promotion of individual players), or how devoted these guys were to fighting the good fight (battling the NBA and doing everything they could to make sure the league would survive long enough for a merger). Plus, since there was pretty much no TV coverage, and few remaining game films, this league almost happened in a vacuum. It's like the lost great league.