Balls and Stripes is a collection of stories about Alaska's most popular sport, basketball — and more. The title comes from my many experiences playing, coaching, and broadcasting Naismith's game; as well as refereeing the sport and also wearing the stripes of a sergeant in the U.S. Army. Basketball has taken me all over Alaska, with radio gear or whistle in hand. From Barrow to Petersburg, from Dutch Harbor to Tok, it has been a marvelous journey, with countless amusing experiences as well as dramatic moments. Much of the action occurs in my hometown, Cordova. A small fishing town of 2500 located on Prince William Sound, its denizens are passionate about their hoops, and also their rivalry with Valdez, located just 70 miles away. In many ways, sports transcend location. Small town basketball is the same anywhere; yet Alaska, with its vast spaces and dramatic climates, offers unique experiences. In northernmost Barrow, I watched Inupiat cooks shut down a high school cafeteria so they could glimpse the sun for the first time in 67 days; on the way to Dutch Harbor, I heard a pilot announce the reassuring words that he would land the small prop plane “whenever we can”, to load on fuel necessary to complete the flight; in Petersburg, I learned about “julebukking” and Men's Night Out. Refereeing, always a source of potential controversy, has provided its share of highlights. How many officials can claim fame for calling a technical foul on a curtain; or playing the first minutes of a championship game with the wrong size ball? Football and baseball are also included. Guess who brought Oregon State's mascot Benny the Beaver to Cordova's Iceworm Festival; and dodged barbed wire while tracking down a fly ball in Korea? And, like so many others, who can not recall in vivid detail a last second shot that didn't go in? People, places, moments. Sports - drama, tears, and cheers. It's all here.

Why do zebras have stripes? Popular explanations range from camouflage to confusion of predators, social facilitation, and even temperature regulation. It is a challenge to test these proposals on large animals living in the wild, but using a combination of careful observations, simple field experiments, comparative information, and logic, Caro concludes that black-and-white stripes are an adaptation to thwart biting fly attack.

What things with stripes will you see at the beach?

With alphabetical indexes of firms and trade specialties.

Pippa Eccles Armbrester is a creative designer whose vibrant patterns make outstanding use of bold colors and simple shapes. You'll love her relaxed approach as she balances technique with improvisation--with color-saturated, eye-popping results! Enjoy 16 innovative designs featuring bright solid fabrics stitched into bold geometric motifs Use applique and other techniques to create practical items from bed quilts to pillows, place mats, and table runners Make quick projects that are ideal for gifts and for using up your scraps

With brilliantly colorful illustrations, Buckley examines various aspects of professional football, including the history of the game, evolution of equipment, playing field, and more.

The Sports Book features a large and diverse range of over 200 sports, from basketball to bobsledding, karate to korfball, and synchronized swimming to ski-jumping. This up-to-date and authoritative guide presents information sourced from leading experts and sports governing bodies around the world to give you the most comprehensive book on sports to ever hit the market.