By: Cathy and Louise,
on 4/19/2013
Baseball is in the air! April is the start of the Major League Baseball season. Drive by any local park, and you'll find Little League practices in full swing. If you're planning to display or feature baseball books in your library or classroom this spring, we have some recommendations for you (with links to our reviews). You Never Heard of Willie Mays?! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by
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By: Keith Schoch ,
on 4/11/2013
By: John Mark Boling,
on 4/8/2013
What happens in your brain when you watch sports? Why do so many people return to something that so often leaves them heartbroken, angry, and even violent? The Secret Lives of Sports Fans by Eric Simons, out this month from Overlook, turns to neuroscience, psychology, endocrinology, evolutionary biology — and one sensitive man in an Oakland Raiders gorilla suit — in a search for the roots of a
By: nicole,
on 4/1/2013
By: Hannah,
on 3/21/2013
Since it’s Women’s History Month and baseball season is right around the corner (!), we asked our favorite sports expert, author Crystal Hubbard, whether she thought women should be allowed to play professional baseball. Here’s what she had to say:
Pitcher Jackie Mitchell signed a contract to play for the Chattanooga Lookouts, a Southern Association minor league team, in 1931. This deal differed from most because Mitchell wasn’t like the other boys. She wasn’t a boy at all. She was a woman, one of the very few to play professional baseball on all-male teams. Although Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an April 2, 1931 exhibition game against the New York Yankees soon after signing with the Lookouts, baseball commissioner Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis canceled Mitchell’s contract, claiming that baseball was too strenuous for women. Commissioner Ford Frick, on June 21, 1952, officially banned women from professional baseball.
Marcenia “Toni Stone” Lyle, Ila Borders, and most recently, Eri Yoshida of Japan, are among the very few truly accomplished female baseball players who found spots on the rosters of professional male teams. In 1993, Carey Schueler—the daughter of then White Sox general manager Ron Schueler—was drafted by the White Sox, becoming at 18 years old the first woman ever drafted by a Major League team.
Schueler, a left-handed pitcher, never took the field for a game.
While banning women from almost any other field would lead to a lawsuit, the No Girls Allowed code of Major League Baseball remains. Is it because women are too delicate for the physical challenges of MLB, or because they don’t have the physical ability or talent? Some women, perhaps. But not all, as evidenced by Mitchell, Lyle, Borders, Yoshida, and a fresh generation of skilled female Little Leaguers.
The same physical limitations used to justify banning women from professional baseball can also be applied to most male players—they aren’t strong enough, they aren’t fast enough, they aren’t good enough. Some female athletes are strong enough. And fast enough and good enough. Yet they still don’t have the same opportunities their male contemporaries enjoy. Male athletes who play baseball well have the chance to earn scholarships to college and perhaps even play professionally. Female athletes deserve the same.
No capable athlete should be banned from the Major Leagues because of her gender. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. It’s long past time we redefined that saying.
Crystal Hubbard is a sports buff and full-time writer. Her books include Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream, Game, Set, Match, Champion Arthur Ashe, and The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby.
By: Greg Leitich Smith,
on 3/6/2013
By: Nicola,
on 2/25/2013
“My captain, my leader, my right-hand man. He was the spirit and the heartbeat of the team. A cool, calculating footballer I could trust with my life. He was the supreme professional, the best I ever worked with. Without him England would never have won the World Cup.” –Sir Alf Ramsey
Bobby Moore is an icon. He earned his place in football’s pantheon by captaining England to their only World Cup triumph in 1966 and his rightful place amongst the football greats is immortalised in bronze outside Wembley Stadium. He represented West Ham United over 500 times and was described by Pele as ‘the most accomplished defender [he has] ever played against’.
From the iconic image of Bobby Moore holding the World Cup trophy aloft to the famous embrace between him and Pele during the 1970 World Cup, from his loyalty to West Ham United Football Club to his brave struggle against bowel cancer in his later years, Bobby Moore represents a significant chapter in the history of world football. But what about the man behind the bronze? To mark the twentieth anniversary of his death (February 24), here are five things you might not have known about the man known as Mooro:
.jpg "Bobby Moore")
(1) Bobby Moore was a good footballer as a schoolboy but he wasn’t exceptional. In fact, he was a better cricketer than he was a footballer and for a while it seemed he was more likely to make it as a professional cricketer. He represented Tom Hood Grammar School in Leyton at both cricket and football, and played county cricket for the Essex Youth team. It was only after a few years did his football ability begin to shine.
(2) The England team that arrived in Mexico to defend the World Cup in 1970 were high in confidence. However, Bobby Moore was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t with the squad as they arrived in Mexico. Instead he was being held in Bogota, Columbia, arrested and facing charges of stealing an emerald-studded gold bracelet valued at over £600. The ordeal Moore went through before joining up with his England team-mates is common knowledge. What is less widely known, however, is that he still faced those charges when he went to Mexico to captain his country at the World Cup. He arguably even played the greatest game he had ever played for England against Brazil in the quarter-finals, despite not knowing whether he would be found innocent or guilty by the Columbian police. He was later found innocent.
(3) Despite his fabled heroics with England, Moore’s club form never reached the same heights as his performances for the national team. West Ham had three England regulars in their side throughout the 1960s but they never finished higher than eighth in the league. It was suggested by his manager at the time, Ron Greenwood, that Moore concentrated harder on his performances for England than he did for West Ham. Although West Ham did win the FA Cup in 1964 and the European cup winners’ trophy in 1965, their star players, including Bobby Moore, were criticised for being ‘as erratic as dock work’.
(4) After his playing career Bobby Moore part-owned pubs and clubs across east London. Many of these were successful business ventures, notably Mooro’s, and his status in London’s east end helped these businesses flourish. However, he also was part of the failed sports marketing and promotion company Challenge. After only a few years, in the early 1990s, Challenge went into liquidation, an illustration that leading a nation on the football pitch perhaps came more naturally to Moore than leading a business.
(5) Bobby Moore’s last appearance in an FA Cup final wasn’t for his beloved West Ham United but against them. The season after Moore transferred from West Ham to Fulham, he guided Fulham to an FA Cup Final in 1975. Having led West Ham to FA Cup glory in 1964, it is ironic that Moore’s last club game in England in 1975 came against the side that he represented 544 times. West Ham ended up winning in a game that provoked mixed emotions for Moore. Also, not only did Moore play for Fulham, one of Moore’s middle names is Chelsea. It’s unlikely that many Hammers would hold this against him though.
To read more about the life of Bobby Frederick Chelsea Moore, please visit his biography page on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Moore’s life story is also available as an episode in the ODNB’s free biography podcast.
Daniel Parker is Publicity Assistant for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is the national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. In addition to 58,500 life stories, the ODNB offers a free, twice monthly biography podcastwith over 175 life stories now available. You can also sign up for Life of the Day, a topical biography delivered to your inbox, or follow @odnb on Twitter for people in the news. The Oxford DNB is freely available via public libraries across the UK. Libraries offer ‘remote access’ allowing members to log-on to the complete dictionary, for free, from home (or any other computer) twenty-four hours a day.
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Image credit: Bobby Moore statue by John Dobson [Creative Commons License via Wikimedia Commons].
The post Five things you might not know about Bobby Moore appeared first on OUPblog.
By: keilinh,
on 2/15/2013
Everyone knows Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr., but there are many other African Americans who have contributed to the rich fabric of our country but whose names have fallen through the cracks of history.
We’ve asked some of our authors who chose to write biographies of these talented leaders why we should remember them. We’ll feature their answers throughout Black History Month.
Today, Crystal Hubbard shares why she wrote about Arthur Ashe in Game, Set, Match, Champion Arthur Ashe:
“Arthur Ashe is one of my heroes because he was a great athlete, but he was also a great human being. Tennis propelled him to fame, and he used his stature to bring attention to causes that people might otherwise have ignored. He used sports to help change the world for the better, not to get rich or gain popularity.
“I am most impressed by Mr. Ashe’s efforts to focus the world’s eyes on Apartheid. Through sports, he managed to bring attention to South Africa’s policy of racial segregation, and he was the first major sports figure to do so. Having grown up in segregated Richmond, Virginia, one would think that Mr. Ashe would have confronted Apartheid with anger, but he didn’t. A combination of intellect, tenacity, compassion, and fearlessness fueled his crusade. At the beginning, he was a one-man silent storm, and his approach worked. He drew others to his cause without fire and righteousness, but with reason and hope.
“Mr. Ashe is an example of how one person can truly make a difference in the lives of many. He showed me that someone from the humblest of beginnings can make a monumental change in the way we think about people who are different from us, or who need our help.”
Further reading:
Black History Month: Why Remember Robert Smalls?
Black History Month: Why Remember Toni Stone?
Black History Month Book Giveaway
By: keilinh,
on 2/14/2013
Everyone knows Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr., but there are many other African Americans who have contributed to the rich fabric of our country but whose names have fallen through the cracks of history.
We’ve asked some of our authors who chose to write biographies of these talented leaders why we should remember them. We’ll feature their answers throughout Black History Month.
Today, Crystal Hubbard shares why she wrote about Toni Stone (a.k.a. Marcenia Lyle) in Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream:
“I wrote about Marcenia Lyle, the first woman to have become a full-time roster member of an all-male professional baseball team, because she is an example of what it truly means to make a dream come true.
“Marcenia Lyle loved baseball, and she played as a child. She wanted to do what so many boys could grow up to do, which was to play ball professionally.
“In the early 1930s, career options were limited for African-American women. Most typically became teachers, nurses, maids and housewives. But Marcenia held on to her dream of playing baseball. Even when it was hard to get people to believe in her, she worked harder to prove that she could be a good baseball player. She made her dream come true, and her drive and determination inspired me to follow my heart, to work hard, and to bring my dreams to life.”
Further reading:
Black History Month: Why Remember Robert Smalls?
By: Alice,
on 2/5/2013
“Just look at the gladiators… and consider the blows they endure! Consider how they who have been well-disciplined prefer to accept a blow than ignominiously avoid it! How often it is made clear that they consider nothing other than the satisfaction of their [coach] or the [fans]! Even when they are covered with wounds they send a messenger to their [coach] to inquire his will. If they have given satisfaction to their [coach], they are pleased to fall. What even mediocre gladiator ever groans; ever alters the expression on his face? Which one of them acts shamefully, either standing or falling? And which of them, even when he does succumb, ever contracts his neck when ordered to receive the blow?”
The above passage, with the exception of two minor word substitutions on my part, was written by Cicero 2,000 years ago. My point is that his description of the sacrificial gladiator of the ancient amphitheater can be applied all too easily to the players who currently do battle on the modern gridiron.
I am convinced that football, in its present form, cannot last. I will put aside the physical carnage that piles up every weekend, the torn cartilage, broken bones, blackened, bruised and ripped skin, the shredded muscle fibers; I am not a physician. However, I am a psychologist. From my perspective, I believe that the greatest health crisis precipitated by football involves the brain and the mind, especially for those at the professional level, and particularly for those who are retired, and have suffered one too many concussions. For these former gladiators, there is a great risk of succumbing to severe, life-threatening forms of hopelessness.
The hopelessness that descends upon the retired professional football player should not be a surprise. It is understandable if you begin with some knowledge of what changes occur in a soft and mushy brain that has been repeatedly concussed, or more bluntly, tossed and smashed from side to side within a bony skull-box. Repetitive brain trauma can result in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
CTE has been detected in the brains of ex-football players well as former boxers. In CTE, there are signs of a spreading tau protein that normally serves a stabilizing function but becomes dislodged, primarily from the axons which transmit nerve impulses. The floating Tau form a spreading tangle of tissue that disrupts brain function. Rare diseases can precipitate this pathological cascade but so can repetitive head trauma. CTE has also been found in the aged, and those stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. The most commonly affected areas include the frontal lobes (decision-making, planning, willpower), the temporal lobes (memory and speech), and the parietal area (sensory integration, reading and writing). The most common emotional symptoms in those suffering from CTE include depression, anger, hyper-aggressiveness, irritability, diminished insight and poor judgment.
On 2 May 2012 former football star Junior Seau shot himself in the chest with a .357 magnum. Eighteen months earlier, Seau had driven his SUV off a cliff following an arrest on charges of domestic violence. He claimed that he had fallen asleep. Back then, many in his circle of friends and family hoped and prayed it was the truth. His brain was sent to a team of researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine. Their tests revealed a brain besieged by CTE.
A little more than a year earlier, in February, 2011, Dave Duerson, also a former professional football player, similarly committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. He had texted a message to his family indicating that he was “saving” his brain for research. Three months later BU School of Medicine confirmed “neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions.” In high school, Duerson had been a member of the National Honor Society and played the sousaphone, traveling Europe with the Musical Ambassadors All-American Band. He attended the University of Notre Dame on both football and baseball scholarships. He graduated with honors, receiving a BA in Economics. Duerson played eleven seasons in the NFL.
Whenever interviewed, the researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine are reluctant to affirm a cause and effect link between CTE and suicide. They provide the typical (and not unreasonable) response that multiple causes often underlie human behavior, including suicide. While generally true, a case such as that of Duerson seems to beg the question, what else besides CTE could have led a formerly intelligent, well-organized, responsible, and successful individual to morph into a desperate failure that ends his own life at the age of fifty?
Anthony Scioli is Professor of Clinical Psychology at Keene State College. He is the co-author of Hope in the Age of Anxiety with Henry Biller. Dr. Scioli completed Harvard fellowships in human motivation and behavioral medicine. He co-authored the chapter on emotion for the Encyclopedia of Mental Health and currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Positive Psychology and the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Read his previous blog articles.
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The post Why football cannot last appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/4/2013
When the Super Bowl at the Super Dome was plunged into darkness by a blackout last night, Twitter immediately pointed the finger at two possible suspects—halftime entertainer Beyoncé ,who doubtless needed a million hair dryers to get her 'do just so, and alight those neon Busby Berkeley tributes.
By: Julie,
on 2/3/2013
This issue clocks in at 171 pages.
First up is Toriko Chapter 219- I guess there is nothing as intimidating as group of pissed off chefs. As the Gourmet Corp launches a fearsome attack during the cooking competition, Toriko and his buddies counter with some powerful, yet ultimately useless attacks. Oh, my! Komatsu is in trouble! I don’t think all the cooking skills in the world are going to help him save himself from the freaks attacking him. It’s a good thing the other chefs seem more competent at defending themselves. Plus they will probably get pissed if their carefully prepared dishes are ruined. This series is still not one of my favorites, but at least there were lots of speed lines and attacks to keep me somewhat entertained.
One Piece – chapter 696 – Lots of eating and celebrating their escape from the island. The rescued kids are going to go with the Navy, and Luffy has big plans! He’s going to crush all four emperors! Hopefully this wraps up all involvement of Caesar, because I thought he was obnoxious and I’m not going to miss him much.
Naruto – Chapter 617 – Naruto hands out chakra like it’s candy. The ninjas get ready for an all out attack. Naruto’s shoulder is dislocated! But wait! Now it’s not! Can Naruto’s buddies keep Neji’s death from being a tragic waste? Maybe we’ll find out next issue! Nah, probably not, but maybe the fighting will start again?
Nisekoi - Chapter 59 – Christmas chapter! Chitoge’s mom is coming home for the holiday! She’s a terror, too. Everyone is terrified of her, despite her less than imposing appearance. When her secretary collapses, she quickly lassoes Raku in to handle the job until Christmas Eve. Poor guy! She wants to see what he’s made of, and I think his work experience with her won’t be pleasant. I am curious to see just how bad Chitoge’s mom can be! If he can stick it out, she’ll reward him with a stay for two in a penthouse suite at a deluxe hotel. Can he make it that long?
One-Punch Man – Chapter 2 – Another short chapter, giving more background on Saitama. He became One-Punch Man after taking on a crab dude, and then trained like a fiend, losing his hair (as well as his good looks) in the process. I am a bit disappointed with the length of the chapters so far, and the lack of a story. Maybe we’ll get a story next issue?
Bleach – Chapter 524 – Oh MY! The battle between Unohana and Zaraki rocks! That is all.
Cross Manage – Chapter 18 – Soccer team manager Chiumi drops by to watch the lacrosse teams’ second game, and she has a crush on Sakurai! She’s studied up on lacrosse, and she’s all ready to wow him with her knowledge of the game and the team. She knows Sakurai has some problems communicating with girls, and she’s going to help him with that, and earn some brownie points at the same time. This chapter was bogged down with lacrosse rules, and it didn’t hold my attention like previous chapters.
Kintoki One-shot – Cute color splash page! Though I enjoyed this one-shot, it’s more a throw away chapter than anything else. Great art but not much substance. It did get a few chuckles from me, and that’s saying a lot since I am sick as a dog today.
Oh, they will start running a colorized DBZ starting next issue! And there will be new series announcements next week, too!
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/30/2013
After our mentioning how much the world needs the return of NFL Superpro just the other day, a well-sourced rumor claims that NFL Superpro may make an appearance in Action Lab's new NFL RUSH ZONE comics.
By: Julie,
on 1/28/2013
  |
Title: Smashed Author: Lisa Luedeke
|
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
A field hockey star grapples with addiction in this riveting debut that will appeal to fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.
Stay out of trouble for one more year, and Katie Martin can leave her small town loneliness behind forever. She is a field hockey star on the fast track to a college scholarship, but her relationship with alcohol has always been a little questionable. Then trouble finds her. Alec is the most popular guy in school, and also the biggest bully—with his sights set firmly on Katie. When Alec turns on the charm, Katie thinks she must have been wrong about him.
Except that she wasn’t. On a rain-soaked, alcohol-drenched night, one impulsive decision leaves Katie indebted to Alec in the worst possible way. This debut novel is a fast-paced and compelling story of addiction, heartbreak, and redemption.
Review:
I am not going to lie. Parts of Smashed left me angry and frustrated. It’s a hard book to put down, because Katie’s life is such a train wreck. While I found it engrossing, I am torn about it. I wanted to like Katie more than I did, but there are many times throughout the narrative that she is unlikable, and hard to relate to. She is struggling with her father’s rejection of her family, and when Alec is nice to her, she ignores her reservations about him and starts falling for him. With a distant, distracted mother who is never there for her, she craves what Alec is giving her; attention and kindness. When he shows a darker side, she is frightened, but when he apologizes for his abusive behavior, she forgives him, and puts herself at risk again. Katie doesn’t trust adults, and frankly, who can blame her after taking a long, hard look at her parents, so she instead tries to deal with all of her problems by herself. She doesn’t even confide in her closest friends that she is in over her head with Alec. Instead, she decides to deal with him herself, but her way of dealing with him can only have one outcome, and it isn’t a pretty one.
Alec and his friends are the kings of her school, and they have a reputation for being bullies and getting away with crap. When their paths start crossing during the summer, Katie starts to think that she’s been wrong about him. He’s attentive and kind, and he’s there to listen as she vents about her family. Sure, a couple of things don’t add up, and he gets aggressive about a physical relationship, but Katie convinces herself that she’s sending him the wrong signals. She just wants to be friends. But the more she pushes him away, the harder he pushes back, until he has her scared and wary of him. When a drunk driving accident almost kills them both, Katie has to live the consequences of a very bad decision. In the months that follow, she puts her dream of playing field hockey in college, a scholarship, and even her life in danger.
I was so upset with some of the choices that Katie made. There is pressure on her and her teammates to not get caught partying during the season, or they will be kicked off the team. Instead of drinking publically, Katie starts drinking at home. Her mother is never there, so it’s not like anyone is going to know or care. Her mother is more focused on her job and finding a boyfriend to be there for Katie and her younger brother. Without positive role models, Katie is struggling to find her place and struggling to deal with the challenges she is facing. I kept wondering if and when her mother would take a step back from her own life and take an interest in her children’s. I also felt horribly sad that Katie felt so abandoned and alone. She feels that she has no one, so she starts drinking to forget all of her problems.
I don’t feel that Alec’s personality was developed enough, and I was disappointed at Alec’s lack of depth. I never felt that I got to know him or understand him. He’s just a one-dimensional jerk whose only purpose in the story is to propel Katie down a path of self-destruction.
If you enjoy contemporary fiction that deal with social issues, I think you will enjoy Smashed. It is a compelling and hard to put down read, and even though I didn’t always like Katie, I always sympathized with her.
Grade: B/B-
Review copy obtained from my local library
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By: Julie,
on 1/22/2013
Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?
This is another YUM! cover! And since we didn’t get much hockey this season, I may as well read about it. Taking the Shots by Toni Aleo will be available in May.
In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating Loveswept debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.
No matter how hard she tries, Elleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.
A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the women, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside before she misses out on a shot at love.
Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Trying to Score, Empty Net, and Along Came Trouble.
By: Alice,
on 12/25/2012
Sports fans eagerly anticipate television broadcasts of their favorite sports, whether it is baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, boxing, golf, auto racing, or any of the other events aired on the tube. In the USA, the biggest television sports event is undoubtedly (American) professional football: the National Football League. In 2011, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” was the highest-rated program on American TV; nine of the ten most-watched shows that year were NFL games or pregame shows (the other was the Academy Awards), and each of the 21 biggest audiences in TV history are Super Bowls. Football’s popularity may be attributed to the coincidence of the NFL season with the American holiday season (i.e., Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, New Year’s Day, etc.). For many sports fans, football on TV is synonymous with the holidays, and vice versa. One might say that football is part of American holiday festivities.
Professional football was broadcast on television as far back as 1939, when the Philadelphia Eagles played the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 22nd. Games were not telecast with any regularity until the 1950s, but after the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants — the so-called “Greatest Game Ever Played” — football on television gained an enthusiastic following. The DuMont Network and ABC broadcast games in these early years, but NBC and CBS soon bought the rights to broadcast all professional football, with CBS broadcasting the NFL games, and NBC broadcasting AFL games.
By the early 1970s, NFL football became so popular that telecasts featured “pregame shows” that had high quality sets, analytical commentators (many of whom were former players or coaches) and, of course, catchy musical themes — all done to add an air of festivity to the broadcasts of the games. CBS offered one of the first pregame shows dating back to 1961, eventually becoming “The NFL Today,” in the 1970’s. The program was introduced by an upbeat, “light rock” musical theme, with a sort of light rock motif.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The theme was updated in 1982, adding a disco-style “wah-wah” guitar, and omitting the trombone glissando.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The arrangement was tweaked again in 1983, with the alteration of computer-generated visual images.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Not to be outdone, NBC had their own pregame show, “The NFL on NBC.” NBC became the sole broadcaster for AFL football games in 1964, and when the league merged with the NFL in 1970, NBC retained rights to the AFC games, with CBS taking the NFC. (ABC began airing “Monday Night Football” in 1977.)
The musical theme of “The NFL on NBC” in 1973 featured a driving brass section with “wah-wah” guitar, and a jazz-like sax solo:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Unlike CBS, NBC changed its musical themes frequently. Here’s composer by John Colby’s 1992 theme to the show:
Click here to view the embedded video.
And the 1995-97 version by Randy Edelman:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Like the CBS theme, the latter two NBC themes are festive, almost joyful, reflecting the playful nature of sports telecasts.
The Fox Network entered the NFL TV market in 1994 when the network outbid CBS for NFC games. The theme for its show, “Fox NFL Sunday,” was composed by Scott Schreer, Reed Hays, and Phil Garrod, who pitched three separate songs to Fox, who then spliced them together into one.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The use of the minor key and heavy percussion of the Fox theme creates a more serious tone than the more laid-back light jazz/rock themes of its predecessor. The theme leads to a perception that the broadcast is less about a festive game of skilled athletes, and more about a life-or-death combat by gladiators.
Fox’s gladiatorial theme was soon imitated by both NBC and CBS, who in turn used minor key, martial music for their own broadcasts. In my September blog post, I wrote about John Williams’ theme to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” called by at least one fan as “Football’s Imperial March.”
Click here to view the embedded video.
What caused the shift from festive athletes to combative gladiators in American pro football TV broadcasts? It may have much to do with America’s militaristic posture during the past decade (two wars fought), or television networks’ desire to align the game with the combative, hyper-masculine ethos that emerged from the post 9/11 era.
However, I would contend that we haven’t lost the festive spirit completely in pro football on TV. While the “Fox NFL Sunday” theme has become nearly synonymous with the NFL with its serious, militaristic tone, if we listen to the opening motif of the theme, we might detect a resemblance to a portion of a famous winter holiday song:
Click here to view the embedded video.
The song is Leroy Anderson’s famous “Sleigh Ride,” sung here in a classic recording by Johnny Mathis. The melody at the beginning of the “B” section (“Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up! Let’s go!”) has a melodic profile identical to the beginning of the Fox football theme. Here is a melodic comparison:
So, did Schreer, Hays, and Garrod get their inspiration from a festive holiday song? Maybe televised football hasn’t lost its festive spirit after all!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Ron Rodman is Dye Family Professor of Music at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He is the author of Tuning In: American Television Music, published by Oxford University Press in 2010. Read his previous blog posts on music and television.
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Image credit: Image courtesy of Ron Rodman. Do not reproduce without permission.
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By: Julie,
on 10/15/2012
|
Title: Playing at Love Author: Ophelia London |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Show choir teacher Tess Johansson loves three things: music, her job, and sharing that passion with her students. But when a school budget crisis forces funding to be pulled from either the sports or music programs, she finds herself going head to head with Jack, the gorgeous new football coach who broke her heart fifteen years ago.
Jack Marshall wants two things: to be closer to his young daughter and to make his mark as a football coach. Taking the new job, with the promise that he’d have time to build a solid team, gave him both. But now he must win the season with a group of boys who aren’t anywhere near ready or he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard for. Being pitted against Tess, the summer love he never forgot, is like being fourth and long with only seconds on the clock.
On opposing sides of a fierce battle and with everything at stake, Tess and Jack find themselves torn between doing what it takes to win and doing what it takes to be together.
Review:
When I saw this new Bliss title, I jumped at the chance to read it. It has my favorite trope – you guessed it – second chances at love. I just can’t resist that one, so as I settled into my seat for the flight back from OKC, I started gobbling up this book. It is a sweet romance, with rapid pacing and fun characters.
Tess loves her job as the show choir teacher at Franklin High. She loves mentoring her students and pushing them to be the best they can be. When her job is threatened due to budget cuts, she is on the defensive. The only way to save her show choir is to take first place at Regionals, and even then, she has to hope that the new football coach, Jack, meets with failure. If Jack can’t win 4 out of 6 games with the beleaguered football team, his new position will be going down the toilet. Their rivalry is fueled by Jack’s betrayal when they were teenagers. As the entire town starts to choose sides, Jack and Tess must decide what’s most important – winning or falling in love.
I liked Tess, and felt that I got to know her and what made her tick. She’s appalled to face a ghost from her past, and infuriated when Jack’s football team threatens the survival of her show choir program. She loves her job, and she needs a paycheck to help keep her parents’ home out of foreclosure. When Jack comes waltzing back into her life after breaking her heart all those years ago, Tess doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. She still hasn’t gotten over his betrayal. She can’t trust men, and something always drives her away from a serious, steady relationship.
Jack has always regretted what he did that summer, all those years ago. Now he has a chance to make up for it, but Tess won’t give him the time of day. He’s beyond dismayed to learn that his new dream job may go up in smoke, and he can’t believe that his team has to compete with the show choir for survival. The added conflict to their relationship kept me engaged in the story. Since one of the programs has to go, I kept wondering how either protagonist would accept defeat. As the competition began to divide the school, and eventually, the community, both Jack and Tess began to see the damage that was being done as pranks between supporters began to get out of hand. I enjoyed reading along as they tried to come up with a mutually agreeable solution to the mess they found themselves in. As their October deadline approached, they each began to question what was really important in their lives. As they worked through this dilemma, it seemed that their relationship would take one step forward and two back, but I never felt that the pacing suffered, regardless of all of the new road bumps they encountered.
Playing at Love keeps a flirty tone throughout. I didn’t feel that Tess and Jack’s past was explored enough, but the story kept me entertained through a mechanical delay, a late flight crew, and a layover at DFW. My one nitpick – I felt that it lacked depth, and the ending was wrapped up too quickly, and too conveniently. Still, there is a good time to be had by all, and I believe that Jack and Tess won’t squander their second chance at a happy ever after.
Grade: B
Review copy provided by publisher
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By: Julie,
on 10/9/2012
Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?
Jaci Burton has some of the yummiest romance covers ever! I love seeing each new addition to the Play-by-Play series. I really need to make the time to start reading these books! Are you reading them? Which cover is your favorite? Do you like the cover for One Sweet Ride?
In stores June 2013.
Race car driver Gray Preston enjoys fast cars and an uncomplicated life, until political aide Evelyn Hill enters the picture and complicates the hell out of it with a request that he help out his estranged father’s political campaign. Racing and politics don’t mix, but Gray and Evelyn’s sexual attraction sizzles like asphalt in August.
By: Julie,
on 8/24/2012
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Title: Seducing Cinderella Author: Gina L Maxwell Publisher: Entangled Publishing Imprint: Brazen |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Mixed martial arts fighter Reid Andrews’s chance to reclaim his title as light heavyweight champ is shattered when he’s injured only months before the rematch. To make sure he’s healed in time, his trainer sends him to recuperate under a professional’s care—Reid’s best friend’s little sister, all grown up. Disorganized and bookish Lucie Miller needs some professional help of her own. She’d do anything to catch the eye of a doctor she’s crushed on for years, so when Reid offers seduction lessons in exchange for 24/7 conditioning for the biggest fight of his career, Lucie jumps at the chance. Soon Reid finds himself in the fight of his life…winning Lucie’s heart before she gives it to someone else.
Review:
I admit the reason I wanted to read Seducing Cinderella is because of the hunky, tattooed guy on the cover. I like tats. More specifically, I like his tats. Add the ink to one of my favorite romance tropes, and “Hello, book, yes, I’d like to get to know you better!”
Seducing Cinderella is the first book that I have read under Entangled Publishing’s new Brazen imprint. I will compare this to a Harlequin Blaze, which is an imprint that I read infrequently, and again, it is usually the cover that tempts to me scoop one up. This is hard, admitting that I am such a shallow reader! Still, with the torrential glut of new releases every week, something needs to catch my eye, and I don’t have time to read all of the plot descriptions, so I guess cover illustration it is! I certainly don’t pick these up based on the title, some of which are so ridiculous I’m glad that I do have several eReaders!
Back to this book – if this is an indication of the Brazen imprint, I would read more, with no hesitation. This title did have a few irritating moments, but it is a fun, fast, sexy read. I liked the characters, especially Reid. While I was expecting a tougher depiction of his MMA manliness, he is a softie on the inside, and the alpha-idiot only reared its ugly head near the end, for which I am grateful. I like tender guys, who can make you feel like a million bucks with just a smile and few kind words. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in a battle of wills with my guy, which so many category romance heroines seem to be in for. That just doesn’t seem like fun, and I don’t care how rich the guy is. If he can’t set aside his own ego for more than a few pages, I can’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck with him for the rest of my life!
Physical therapist Lucie Miller is having a really bad day. She has been in love with a surgeon she works with closely, and when she thinks he’s about to finally catch a clue and ask her out, he asks for her best friend’s number instead. Instead of letting him know how she feels, she coughs up the number, waits for him to leave, and bursts into tears in her messy office. When her new patient arrives early for his therapy session, she’s shocked to discover that it’s her brother’s best friend, Reid, incognito. Oh, noes! He can’t help but see her puffy, tear-stained face, and after discovering her troubles, he has a proposition for her – if she dedic
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By: Julie,
on 9/3/2012
Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?
This cover? Yum. I missed this book the first time around, so I’m looking forward to reading the digital release in February 2013.
| From celebrated author Sandra Chastain comes the sensual tale of a compassionate nurse who is determined to heal her patient . . . and mend his shattered heart. |
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By: prkcslog,
on 9/10/2012
Sports camp! Fun or intimidation? Maybe a little of both. It is Riley Liston’s first time away at sports camp, Camp Olympia. He doesn’t have any friends at camp and he is the youngest and the smallest. He is eleven and all the other boys are either twelve or thirteen. In spite of these facts, Riley is competitive and he loves sports.
This short story of a two week sports camp experience is chock full of successes and failures, tentative new friendships, and the formation of a team from kids that were just assigned to the same cabin, Cabin 3 – Threshers. There are also pranks and ghost stories, after lights out retaliations and spooky happenings. Looming over all is the threat of Big Joe, a huge snapping turtle which supposedly inhabits Lake Surprise and is capable of biting off a swimmer’s arm or foot. This adds a lot of drama to the last, big swimming competition.
This is a fun, quick read sprinkled with Camp Olympia Bulletins which give the highlights of the sports events of the day and give the standings of the teams. Recommended for boys 5th grade through 7th.
Posted by: Fran
By: Rae,
on 9/17/2012
This week's cutie is Steven Lopez, an Olympic medalist in Taekwondo from Sugar Land, Texas. He and his three siblings are on the US National team for Taekwondo. He, along with two of his siblings, have participated in the Olympics and have won world championship titles. I love his dimpled smile!
Word(s) to describe: Cute!
Authors: Stephanie Perry Moore & Derrick Moore
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Genre: Teen
ISBN: 978-1-61651-884-4
Pages: 314
Price: $14.95
Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon
Charli Black is on top of the world. She’s only a junior in high school, and she’s just been named cheer captain. She’s dating Blake Strong, the quarterback and captain of the football team. Life seems almost perfect. But suddenly things change, and she no longer knows where she stands – with her cheer team and also with Blake.
Blake Strong loves football, but he also loves his family. And when devastating news about his mom nearly crushes him, he turns to Charli to lean on. But Charli is too busy with her girls to have any time for him. Is it time to end things with Charli, and move on to someone who seems to care?
In Always Upbeat / All That, the reader is given both sides of the same story. After reading Charli’s thoughts, we then get a glimpse of Blake’s perspective, which helps us better understand his actions. Set in a predominantly African-American community outside of Atlanta, this story offers real-life drama for urban teens.
The Lockwood Lions series pulls no punches. These are kids the reader can relate to, and the situations are not sugar-coated. But overall, this series send a positive message of getting a good education, avoiding trouble, and striving to do the right thing.
Reviewer: Alice Berger
By: Julie,
on 10/6/2012
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Title: Full Count: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Baseball Publisher: Sports Illustrated |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Get everything you ever wanted to know about America’s pastime in FULL COUNT: TOP 10 LISTS OF EVERYTHING IN BASEBALL . Presented in the format of Top 10 lists, this book is a comprehensive yet fun look at the greatest aspects of the game. From the top World Series moments to the most colorful characters, SI Kids ranks a variety of topics from the baseball diamond. Readers are guaranteed to love the big, exciting action photos from the Sports Illustrated collection and the insider knowledge of SI Kids. Filled with trivia and information, this dynamic book will be the definitive kids book on baseball.
Top 10 Rankings include:
Hardest throwers
Slickest infielders
Powerful sluggers
Loveable losers
Fastest base stealers
Best ballparks
The Look Inside:
As with all of the Sports Illustrated Kids books, Full Count: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Baseball is beautifully presented. The book is huge, featuring eye-popping photographs, both in color and black and white, of the best in baseball. I love these Top 10 books, and the material had me flipping eagerly through the pages. While I was a huge baseball fan in my teens, I have flipped over to football and hockey, preferring a faster, harder hitting game. There was still plenty to hold my attention here, including Top 10 Ugly Uniforms (and yes, they are hideous! Most of the fugly are from the 70s, which doesn’t surprise me, but gaak! I can’t believe anyone thought these uniforms looked COOL!), Top 10 Mascots, and Top 10 Nicknames. There are lots of Tigers mentioned, too, though Ernie Harwell only ranked second on the Top 10 Announcers list. What?! He was baseball in Detroit, and listening to games will never be the same without him.
Now, for those baseball fans out there, don’t be alarmed – there are plenty of lists with compelling baseball moments. If Top 10 Facial Hair doesn’t interest you, I’m such that Top 10 Future Hall of Famers, Top 10 Scandals, and Top 10 Legendary Home Runs will get your blood pumping. It was fun Googling footage of some of the most memorable moments in baseball, but without this book, I never would have thought to do it! Hank Aaron’s 715th home run? it’s on YouTube. Kirk Gibson’s game winning homer in 1988? Read about it in the book, then go watch it for yourself.
If you have a young baseball fan at home, Full Count: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Baseball will keep them entertained with the action-packed shots and fun trivia. With the holidays fast approaching, this will make a fun gift for the baseball fan in your life.
Grade: Fun!
Review copy provided by publisher
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Thanks for sharing this information. There should be an equal treatment for men and boys.
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