Sporting News presents SATURDAY SHRINES:

College Football’s Most Hallowed Grounds Foreword by Keith Jackson visit: www.sportingnews.com/books/

     What are the 40 Best College Football Stadiums?

The answer and more are in Sporting News presents SATURDAY SHRINES.  On Autumn Saturdays home field advantage is an experience for football squad and fan alike.  Can it be they’re all number one?  Michie Stadium, Yale Bowl, Kinnick Stadium, Franklin Field, Husky Stadium, sure Our House is a Very Fine House indeed.  It all comes down to your colors.  Get ready this 300+ vividly photographed filled volume will have you smelling the bratwurst on the bar-bee and hearing the bass drums and horns.  All venues are described at the very least with their Setting, Structure, and Fans.  Did you know Cornhusker boosters will applaud visiting teams, after the game?  Razorback fanatics yell “Woo!” as the kicker approaches the ball.  As for vocal chords, at 3^rd quarter’s end Penn students sing “Drink a Highball”.  (Tune’s last line: “Here’s a toast to dear old Penn.”)  And in Rocky Horror Fashion they toss toast into the air.  Yep it does come down to your religion.

     Magic moments and factoids galore abound in SATURDAY SHRINES.  Where else would the Pope kick off a USA tour but in Sun Devil Stadium?  Super Sunday started in Southern Cal’s Los Angeles Memorial Stadium.  And Bearcat supporters know in ‘68, Nippert was the NFL Bengals lair while Riverfront was being constructed.  How does NYC’s 34^th Street run thru Storrs, CT?  Easy cause Rentschler Field is piloted by MSG management.  And what time is tee time at WVU all the time because Mountaineer Field was built on the university’s golf course.  SATURDAY SHRINES even devotes a chapter to Dead Stadiums.  Are they gone?  No, cause again it comes down to your religion.  Green Wave alumni still talk up Tulane Stadium.  Invoke the icon of Pitt Stadium and passionate Panther pride will hoist an Iron City brew to you.

     For those who follow and enjoy NCAA gridiron glory SATURDAY SHRINES is a necessary blessing for the home sports library.

                TALES FROM THE BROWNS SIDELINE,

by Tony Grossi, Sport Publishing LLC, Cloth.

Visit: www.sportspublishingllc.com

     An America’s Team before there was an America’s Team, Hall of Famer Coach Paul Brown wanted to create “the New York Yankees of pro football” and indeed he successfully did with the Cleveland Browns.  10 League championship appearances and 7 titles in the franchise’s first decade.  That winning tradition commenced in 1946 and has blossomed into a global fan base.

     Today Browns Backers Worldwide is the largest organized fan club in pro sports, with over 265 chapters and 27,000 members.  The King, JFK, and MLB career HR leader Hammerin’ Hank, counted themselves as Browns boosters.

     Count yourself in to TALES FROM THE BROWNS SIDELINE.  Over fifty years of Browns yarns that all football enthusiasts can enjoy.  Maybe cause this writer can recall those frosty Fall days in the House that Ruth Built when the team in plain white unis and blank orange helmets lined up against their arch rival Giant gridders that 3 tales with a Big Blue bent bear mention.  WR Homer Jones invents the spike.  Ernie Accorsi discovers the rules behind the NFL Draft rules and gets his prime pick.  Coach Bill Belichick boldly designs the Dawgs.

     Cleveland native and veteran football scribe Tony Grossi has assembled some Gridiron Greats that paint a masterpiece about this Club.  Grossi who has covered the Browns and the NFL for The Plain Dealer since 1984 and serves on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors readily admits there may be an overrepresentation of 1980s profiles, but, that could mean that there will be more TALES FROM THE BROWNS SIDELINE.

GOING LONG: The Wild 10-Year Saga of The Renegade American Football League In The Words of Those Who Lived It by Jeff Miller, (McGraw-Hill), More info: www.books.mcgraw-hill.com

In some parallel football universe Joe Namath sits in Cardinal red on a St. Louis bench, 49er Lance Alworth short slants on mere 15-yarders, Cowboys, Vikings, Saints, and Falcons can be found in just your Funk & Wagnells. What if the Other League had not come along? You can bet your Super Bowl the NFL would still be a 12-club conference fostering the ho-hum 3 yards and a cloud of dust gameplan before blackout home T.V. audiences. GOING LONG, Jeff Miller has put together an entertaining and comprehensive account of The American Football League.

Texas denizen Miller, sports editor for the Dallas Morning News, journeys back in this oral history featuring over 170 AFL & NFL voices to the colorful and outrageous days when the "Foolish Club" took on the Gridiron establishment. Led by Corporate Chieftain Lamar Hunt, Business Barons like Ralph Wilson, Bud Adams, Bob Howsam, and Barron Hilton, forged an 8-team circuit that challenged and became today's professional football league. Through their endeavors the upstart AFL gave us the West Coast Offense, TV network telecasts, and the Ultimate Championship Game of All-The Super Bowl. In 1958 Lone Star millionaire Lamar Hunt wanted to bring the pro game to his Dallas, but the NFL would not expand nor sell the rag-tag Chi-Cardinals. GOING LONG Hunt set in motion the AFL which in the words of Val Pinchbeck, AFL staff, "The idea was, 'We're going to whip the NFL. We're going to wind up as the better of the two leagues.'" And indeed they did.

In this David vs. Goliath saga the words of AFL heroes Joe Namath, Jack Kemp, John Hadl, Don Maynard, Gino Capelletti, Ron Mix, Keith Lincoln, Cookie Gilchrist, Wahoo McDaniel, Don Manoukian, makes one wonder. If the upstarts had opted not to merge would the AFL now be the single premiere establishment? Read GOING LONG and you will ponder that in some other parallel football universe Canton enshrined Roger Staubach is a KC Chief and Mike Dikta is a
Houston Oiler.





LEGENDS FROM THE BUFFALO BILLS by Randy Shultz,
(Sports Publishing L.L.C.) Visit:  www.sportspublishingllc.com

Hot, smooth, and cool, no we're not talking about spiced Buffalo Wings, but when you think Western New York and the Gridiron Game LEGENDS FROM THE BUFFALO BILLS will sate your football appetite. An American Football League charter franchise the Bills netted three Eastern Division titles, along with two AFL Championships during their decade run in the "Other League". Upon truce and merger with the NFL Buffalo gelled an unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances from 1990-93. But who extinguished the competition's heat and cooked up Buffalo's winning tradition? Randy Schulz lists thirty all-time LEGENDS FROM THE BUFFALO BILLS.

Author Schultz brings to the table over 28 years sport writing experience in covering the Bills and NFL for such publications as SHOUT!, New York Sports Scene, Football Illustrated. Topping Sport scribe Schultz's menu is initial and current owner Ralph Wilson. First course stars like Running Back Cookie Gilchrist, first pro sidewinder Kicker Pete Gogolak, and QB Jack Kemp cover Buffalo's early years. Naturally wrapped in the volume's heart are Hall of Famers O.J. Simpson and Jim Kelly. And without skipping a beat the latest Passing flavor Drew Bledsoe completes LEGENDS FROM THE BUFFALO BILLS.

Randy Schultz also salts away a number of memorable moments in Bills history. O.J. breaking the 2,000-yard rushing mark in '73 at The Big Apple. The greatest comeback an AFC wild-card game whipping of Houston 41-38 in overtime. A September 7, 1980 filleting of The Fish, that turned off Buffalos 20-game losing streak to Miami. LEGENDS FROM THE BUFFALO BILLS should be on your shopping list.




FIGHTING IRISH: The Might, The Magic, The Mystique
of Notre Dame Football by Ron Smith and Joe Hoppel,
Foreword by Joe Theismann, (The Sporting News),
More info: 1-800-443-1886 ext. 785 or www.sportingnews.com

One College Football Team has its own National Television Network. One College Football Team lays claim to 11 National Crowns and 7 Heisman Trophy Winners. One College Football Team epitomizes Saturday Afternoon Gridiron majesty as its Subway Alumni will pack any and all visitor's field to cheer the Blue and Gold. Now one book FIGHTING IRISH: The Might, The Magic, The Mystique
of Notre Dame Football captures all that athletic spectacle.

The 2002 Season showed a strong FIGHTING IRISH return to NCAA football Coach Tyrone Willingham inaugural year produced a 10-3 record, the first 10-win season since 1993. But tradition has to start somewhere and The Sporting News volume begins the ND timeline with 1887 and with 300 vivid photographs bring us to the present. The FIGHTING IRISH legendary skippers-Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine, Holtz are highlighted as well as the Unforgettables like Lujack, Horning, Montana, and Brown.

Win One for the Gipper! 'Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. Their real names Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden.' The Greatest Game Ever--1966 ND 10-Michigan State 10, these tales and more form the FIGHTING IRISH tradition. Lore means a lot to sport fans. As schools freely bounce to and fro conference to conference reading Ron Smith and Joe Hoppel's book you will have a greater appreciation of this timeless and proud Independent.





SUNDAYs HEROES: NFL Legends Talk About the Times of Their Lives by Richard Whittingham, Introduction by Pat Summerall, Foreward by Paul Horning, Afterword by Mike Ditka (Triumph) Visit: www.triumphbooks.com

FOOTBALL IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO GET RID OF
AGGRESSIVENESS WITHOUT GOING TO JAIL FOR IT.
-Heywood Hale Broun

Come Autumn Sundays Gladiators battle in fierce combat across the USA. Their weekly wars thrill thousands upon thousands who fill the numerous coliseums to personally cheer the violent spectacle. Millions at home and hearth glare at the electronic mirror imaging the gridiron soldiers. These professional fighters have a sporting heritage that spans over eight decades. Could their spirit, tales, and games very essence be told? Indeed author Richard Whittingham has successfully accomplished such in SUNDAYs HEROES: NFL Legends Talk About the Times of Their Lives.

Chicago denizen Whittingham has authored over 15 books on professional football. Some of those titles are definitive volumes on NFL charter clubs like the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Da Bears. But if you want the ultimate book on pro football then line up with SUNDAYs HEROES.

Who says the game has changed? Stories of mayhem, violence, and pain abound by those who wore strapless leather helmets or air-pumped, visor-masked headgear. Action photos, quotes, and accounts cross various eras from Madden to Halas to Grange to Butkus to Bradshaw and all will keep any fan spellbound. Now and then blend in a seamless mix. Johnny Blood McNally and Jim Brown bound from the backfield. Sam Huff and Refrigerator Perry form D-fence. And thats SUNDAYs HEROES key all generations will enjoy this work.

SUNDAYs HEROES Richard Whittinghams timeless NFL tribute is like an 80-yard open field touchdown run--a dynamic blockbuster.


PRO FOOTBALLS HEROES OF THE HALL by Ron Smith, Foreword by Dan Dierforf, (The Sporting News) More info: 1-800-825-8508 or www.sportingnews.com

You can have Canton on your coffee table. Kudos to The Sporting News for PRO FOOTBALLS HEROES OF THE HALL. All 221 members of the Gridirons Glorious Gallery are featured. Each Player, Coach, or Contributors career detailed with some great individual action shots.

Last year TSN published a similar volume about Cooperstown HEROES OF THE HALL (baseball). FOOTBALLS HEROES may help some reconnect with our first legends of the game. Ever an American Football League aficionado I found some real pleasant memories looking over those Other League Standouts enshrined in the Hall. In todays play we hear a lot about the West Coast Offense. No doubt one could confidently send Lance Alworth, Fred Biletnikoff, Don Maynard, or Paul Warfield on route. At the QB slot line-up Broadway Joe Namath, Len Dawson, or George Blanda. Need that Mid-field kick? Jan Stenerud can put the rock thru the goalposts.

With the current Salary Cap could George Allen field his ideal Veteran laden team using his The Future Is Now philosophy? Packer Jim Ringo got a representative. Lombardi got hot and traded the star center. Now with more agents than players would Vince Lombardi turn football operations over to someone else? These and other ponderables cross your mind upon turning the pages of FOOTBALLS HEROES.




UNDEFEATED, UNTIED, AND UNINVITED: A Documentary of the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons Football Team by Kristine Setting Clark (Griffin Publishing Group) Cloth,
ISBN: 1-58000-107-6 more info see: www.griffinpublishing.com

If we had an expansion franchise, I would start
it with just that team. They were so great!"
-Pete Rozelle,
former NFL commissioner

We need heroes. And out of honor and respect to those bold individuals their stories should and must be told. Kudos to Dr. Kristine Setting Clark for telling the story of one of the greatest college football teams to grace the gridiron. The 1951 University of San Francisco Dons enjoyed a perfect season. The squad had ten future NFL players, five future NFL Pro-Bowlers, and three future NFL Hall of Famers-a record for a single college team.

The 1951 Dons labeled by Sports Illustrated Ron Fimrite, The best team you never heard of, experienced one of the utmost snubs in college football history. Due to the team having two African-American star players in Ollie Matson and Burt Toler USF received no bowl game invitations. Oh yes, the Orange Bowl called but demanded the crew play sans Matson and Toler. As Dons DT, Gino Marchetti said,--We would have told them to go to hell, first. That's exactly how I feel.--

In the wake of 9/11, our nation needs lessons and examples of human integrity, determination, and commitment trumping negativity and darkness UNDEFEATED, UNTIED, AND UNINVITED clearly provides such a courageous record.

United We Stand was more than a mere slogan for these Magnificent 11. But, how would USF match-up against Bobby Bowden's Seminoles or Chris Simms & the Longhorns? Bob St. Clair replied, --I get questions all the time from people wondering how we would have fared in todays era. I like to turn that question around. I wonder if these candy asses today with their fancy equipment, specialization, etc.-could play in our era.--

UNDEFEATED, UNTIED, AND UNINVITED is an unparalleled chronicle of top-notch college football play and fascinating human events.




THE PROVING GROUND: A Season On The Fringe in NFL Europe by Lars Anderson (St. Martin's Press) 
In the tradition of tell-all sports classics steel yourself for a candid and detailed clubhouse view by Lars Anderson in THE PROVING GROUND: A Season On The Fringe in NFL Europe. Anderson, a Sports Illustrated journalist spent the 2000 season with the Scottish Claymores. From Training Camp, Orlando, Florida to their Frankfurt, Germany World Bowl appearance against Rhein Fire you will learn the Claymore game plan. Simply put the omnipresent design among Claymores and NFL Europe players alike, can be summed up as "no holiday, know my name." Here on the bubble from the Holy Grail of Professional Sports--the National Football League, athletes viciously compete not for the money, but for the videotape.

Pros Kurt Warner, Jon Kitna, Brad Johnson, Marcus Robinson, and La'Roi Glover played Europe. THE PROVING GROUND confirms those success stories are key motivation for the rosters in this last chance for stardom conferance. Observing the Claymores first orientation meeting Anderson writes, "More than anything though, what the players saw on the screen was hope-for their careers, their futures, and their bank accounts." Many had been on NFL practice squads or last-cuts. They had savored Major League sweetness, but had been cast our of Eden's Gridiron. Whether allocated to or a free agent in Amsterdam (Admirals), Barcelona (Dragons), Berlin (Thunder), Dusseldorf (Rhein Fire), Frankfurt (Galaxy), and Glassgow (Scottish Claymores)all were given a 10-game season to prove they belong on true NFL ground.

THE PROVING GROUND's foreward by Pro Bowl Defense Tackle La'Roi Glover reiterates the tale Anderson captures from this gritty season diary. Cut from the Raiders Glover got a second chance with New Orleans. Why? The Saints had seen NFL Europe film of Glover's handiwork as a Barcelona Dragon. As Glover says, "..your tape is your resume....If you don't have fresh tape you're going to have a difficult time making it in..(NFL)..."

THE PROVING GROUND ranks among sports books, like BALL FOUR, PAPER LION, and OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE. Those titles with their revealing tales had fans amazed and club officials dazed by disclosing what actually goes on in and around professional athletics. Anderson does not shy away from his journalistic duties. Drug use, racism and uncontrolled violence do these activities run about on NFL Europe's grounds? Judge for yourself.

Anderson relates the 2000 Claymore season from the Coaches room. Draftniks, wannabe GMs and armchair skippers, will truly appreciate the trials and tribulations of NFL Europe coaches. Scotland Head Coach Jim Criner foresaw the '00 season as the Claymores break-out year. We learn filling a strong NFL Europe roster calls upon a Coach's keen ability to get blue chips out of the over 140 player allocation pool. Team replacements? Well, you better move on to other grounds. THE PROVING GROUND notes how Coach Criner and his staff built a World Bowl contender.

NFL fans may be the greatest fans in the world. But THE PROVING GROUND in light-hearted fashion informs us the world certainly in those 10 European outposts of gridiron action loves the game.

THE PROVING GROUND: A Season On The Fringe in NFL Europe will be the center of your football book library.