The Greatest Teams Never: Sports Memories of Near Misses, Total Messes, and Not-so-magical Moments chronicles the despair and disappointment of 40 remarkable teams that are remembered more for what they didn’t accomplish than their successes. The book revisits some of the most memorable and unbelievable events in the annals of sports, while at the same time recognizing those deemed "second-best" as unofficially great, even if history may never remember them that way. Each chapter comprises teams with similar notoriety and highlights a particular nuance of their ultimate demise. There is the 2007 New England Patriots stunning Super Bowl loss to the NY Giants headlining You Can't Win em All. Among other oddities in sports, the chapter Better Lucky than Good examines the Immaculate Reception and divergent outcomes for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders after their historic playoff game. Once long-suffering Red Sox and Cubs fans will appreciate the chapter, Wait til Near. Even international teams such as Brazil futbol and the USSR hockey are showcased in C'est La Vie. Using hundreds of quotes from players and coaches, statistics, and “distant” replay the book explores both the promise and improbable ending for some truly great teams. Hear in their own words how several Golden State Warriors blamed themselves for blowing the 2016 NBA finals; that Mickey Mantle and other Yankees greats wouldn’t admit the 1960 world champion Pirates were the better team; heartbroken college athletes who try to make sense of one-loss seasons; and more. From Baby Boomers to Millennials, avid sports fans to casual observers, there is something for anyone who follows sports, played sports, or simply roots for their hometown team. Each chapter is filled with reasons to consider the “losers” as still great and ends with a Claim to Fame providing some level of vindication for players and their fans. After all, everyone deserves a second chance — even the greatest teams never.

No one had really heard of Chaminade University—a tiny NAIA Catholic school in Honolulu with fewer than eight hundred undergraduates—until its basketball game against the University of Virginia on December 23, 1982. The Chaminade Silverswords defeated the Cavaliers, then the Division I, No. 1–ranked team in the nation, in what the Washington Post later called “the biggest upset in the history of college basketball.” Virginia was the most heralded team in the country, led by seven‐foot‐four‐inch, three‐time College Basketball Player of the Year Ralph Sampson. They had just been paid $50,000—more than double Chaminade’s annual basketball budget—to play an early season tournament in Tokyo and were making a “stopover” game in Hawaii on their way back to the mainland. The Silverswords, led by forward Tony Randolph, came back in the second half and won the game 77–72. Chaminade’s incredible victory became known as the “Miracle on Ward Avenue” or simply “The Upset” in Hawaii and was featured in the national news. Never before in the history of college basketball had a school moved so dramatically and irretrievably into the nation’s consciousness. The Silverswords’ victory was more than just an upset; it was something considered impossible. And the team’s wins over major college programs continued in the ensuing years. Today Chaminade is still referred to as “The Giant Killers”—the school that beat Ralph Sampson and Virginia. The Greatest Upset Never Seen relives the 1982–83 season, when Chaminade put small‐college basketball and Hawaii on the national sports map.

Canada’s first Olympic gold medallist couldn’t walk until he was ten, spoke nine languages, became the greatest runner of his generation, and was mistaken for an American for seventy years because the Americans wanted to keep him.

In The Greatest Stories Never Told: Special Ops, attorney and author Larry Yadon has written some of the greatest tales about special forces and operations – not twice- or thrice-told tales, but the ones you haven’t heard before. It is an unforgettable collection, and includes stories of legendary operations from the late 18th century, when special forces emerged, through present-day Afghanistan and Iraq.

In India, cricket is a religion and cricketers are Gods. This book is a pure celebration of India's cricket history and the players who took Indian cricket to great heights. Yet unlike other books that are one-dimensional, this book also looks at the flip side and asks the ‘why’ questions that are seldom asked in India. The book offers great insights into why India has never managed to reach the peaks that the great Australian and West Indian teams of the past did. More importantly, it offers great suggestions to make Indian cricket truly great.

William Greenhorn, who lost his dad at 11, narrates a thrilling pennant race and considers baseball history in this universe where baseball was always integrated. The final weekend's games are a whirlwind of twists and turns which leave him wondering if he could be called on and what might result. A doubleheader that may decided the season features 2 extra-inning games filled with excitement.

Robin Friday was an exceptional footballer who should have played for England. He never did. Robin Friday was a brilliant player who could have played in the top flight. He never did. Why? Because Robin Friday was a man who would not bow down to anyone, who refused to take life seriously and who lived every moment as if it were his last. For anyone lucky enough to have seen him play, Robin Friday was up there with the greats. Take it from one who knows: 'There is no doubt in my mind that if someone had taken a chance on him he would have set the top division alight,' says the legendary Stan Bowles. 'He could have gone right to the top, but he just went off the rails a bit.' Loved and admired by everyone who saw him, Friday also had a dark side: troubled, strong-minded, reckless, he would end up destroying himself. Tragically, after years of alcohol and drug abuse, he died at the age of 38 without ever having fulfilled his potential. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw provides the first full appreciation of a man too long forgotten by the world of football, and, along with a forthcoming film based on Friday's life, with a screenplay by co-author Paolo Hewitt, this book will surely give him the cult status he deserves.

William Lawrence Stribling, Jr. was born in a small southern Georgia town in 1904. He should have lived out his years in that rural setting, but he became a professional prizefighter by the age of sixteen. Though a fatal accident kept him from winning the championship title he sought, "Young" Stribling was true to himself and the values with which he had been raised. This book tells his story.

This story is based on a true love story that spanned almost two decades. The names and places have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved in this affair. The chronological sequence of events has been maintained for continuity. All the stories and experiences are based on facts. This book is about a love story that was kept secret for 18 years and perhaps shouldve remained a secret. The first book related to this love story was a book of poems entitled Somewhere, Sometime, Somehow: Love Poems and Short Stories published in 2008 by this author and Xlibris. For the perceptive reader of this book one can trace the ups and downs of our love relationship. These 18 years were filled with robust love and passion for each other. Perhaps it was fantasy; perhaps it was the most real thing we will ever experience. The heartbreaking part of this love affair is that I am not really sure my lover ever really understood or appreciated my profound and unconditional love for her. I opened my heart to her through poetry and thoughtful letters, but she rarely showed me what was in her heart. Perhaps it was a one-sided love affair, but I surely think and hope not. I was convinced that she truly loved me through her words and actions. At least I experienced a pure love that I had only dreamed was possible. The story is told mainly through the exchange of letters and emails to each other. Perhaps readers can experience and hopefully feel the deep love we felt for each other.

October 10, 2017. The U.S. men’s soccer team loses in Trinidad and Tobago, and fails to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Winning soccer’s greatest prize never seemed more distant. Immediate fixes—a new coach, a revamped professional league, a commitment to coaching education—won’t put the USA in the global elite. The nation is too fractious, too litigious, too wrapped up in other sports, and too late to the game. In Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup: A Historical and Cultural Reality Check, Beau Dure shows what American soccer is really up against. Using hundreds of sources to trace more than 100 years of history, Dure delves into the culture that only recently lost its disdain for the global game and still doesn’t have the depth of soccer insight and passion that much of the world has had for generations. The difficulty isn’t any single thing—the mismanagement of failed leagues, the inability to agree on a path forward, the lawsuits that stem from an inability to agree, or the unique American culture that treasures its homegrown sports. It’s everything. And yet, Why the U.S. Men Will Never Win the World Cup is ultimately optimistic. Dure argues that with the right long-term changes, the U.S. can build a soccer environment that consistently produces quality players, strong results, and a lot more fun on the international stage. Soccer fans and skeptics alike will find this a fascinating examination of America’s past, present, and future in the beautiful game.