Okay sports enthusiasts, here is a column for you.  I never know when I purchase sports books if they will find readers.  I feel that most people interested in a sport would rather be out enjoying their favorite sport than reading about it.  However, there are days when that is just not possible because the weather is bad, or it’s the wrong season or whatever.  So if you can’t be playing or watching your sport, the library has sports books for you. 

                FISHING--

            One “Star-Herald” column I enjoy reading is Steve Frederick’s fishing column although I am a pretty poor fisherman.  Although I moaned and groaned over the years about fishing, some of my favorite memories are of taking our kids fishing.  (Shucks, now my husband will find out.)  Anyway, “So Many Fish, So Little Time: 1001 of the World’s Greatest Backcountry Honeyholes, Trout Rivers, Blue Ribbon Waters, Bass Lakes, and Saltwater Hot Spots” by Mark D. Williams may be a fisherman’s dream book.  The only two places in Nebraska mentioned are Lake McConaughy and Merritt Reservoir.  Steve, you still have time to write your own book on Nebraska fishing.

                 BASEBALL--

            “The Soul of Baseball: a Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America” by Joe Posnanski.  Buck O’Neil was a legendary player in the Negro Leagues.  This is the story of O’Neil, baseball and the Negro Leagues.

            “The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World” by Joshua Prager.  In baseball the shot heard round the world was the Bobby Thomson home run that won the 1951 pennant for the Giants against the Dodgers.. 

            “The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes, and History at the College World Series” by Ryan McGee.

            “Heart of the Game: Life, Death, and Mercy in Minor League America” by S. L. Price. Mike Coolbaugh was a minor league coach for a Colorado Rockies farm team who was killed by a line drive foul ball in July 2007.  This is his story and the story of minor league baseball in America

            FOOTBALL--

 “The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever” by Frank Gifford with Peter Richmond.  The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants in overtime to win the 1958 NFL Championship. It was the first title game ever to go into sudden-death. 

“’77: Denver, the Broncos and a Coming of Age” by Terry Frel.  Broncos fans, you know what this is about.

“The Great Book of Denver Sports Lists” by Joe Williams and Irv Brown.  This book contains enough trivia for even the most diehard of Denver sports fans.

BASKETBALL--

            “Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend” by Bill Russell with Alan Steinberg. This book is about the relationship between Boston Celtic Coach Red Auerbach and his all-star center Bill Russell.  Together they won eleven NBA championships in thirteen years.

            “When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball” by Seth Davis.  This is the story of the 1979 NCAA basketball championship between Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores, and the impact it had on basketball.

            So if it is not a good day to fish, play or watch baseball, basketball or football, stop by the library and enjoy a trip down memory lane with a good book.

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