Stefan Fatsis's Books

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

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A Few Seconds of Panic

A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

An insightful and . . . amusing look at the inner workings of pro football" (The New York Times) from the bestselling author of Word Freak In Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis invaded the insular world of competitive Scrabble players, ultimately achieving an expert-level ranking. Now, in his new book, he infiltrates a strikingly different subculture-pro football. After more than a year of preparation, Fatsis molded his fortyish body into one that could stand up-barely-to the rigors of NFL training. And for three months he became a placekicker for the Denver Broncos. Making the most of unprecedented access to an NFL team and its players, and drawing on his own personal experience, Fatsis with wry candor and hard-won empathy unveils the mind of the modern pro athlete and the workings of a storied sports franchise as no writer has before.

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Page Count

376

Publisher

Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101097604

ISBN 13

9781101097601

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

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A Few Seconds of Panic

A Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

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376

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Penguin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1101097604

ISBN 13

9781101097601

Word Freak

Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

By: Stefan Fatsis

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Word Freak

Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

By: Stefan Fatsis

This “marvelously absorbing” book is “a walk on the wild side of words and ventures into the zone where language and mathematics intersect” (San Jose Mercury News). A former Wall Street Journal reporter and NPR regular, Stefan Fatsis recounts his remarkable rise through the ranks of elite Scrabble players while exploring the game’s strange, potent hold over them—and him. At least thirty million American homes have a Scrabble set—but the game’s most talented competitors inhabit a sphere far removed from the masses of “living room players.” Theirs is a surprisingly diverse subculture whose stars include a vitamin-popping standup comic; a former bank teller whose intestinal troubles earned him the nickname “G.I. Joel”; a burly, unemployed African American from Baltimore’s inner city; the three-time national champion who plays according to Zen principles; and the author himself, who over the course of the book is transformed from a curious reporter to a confirmed Scrabble nut. Fatsis begins by haunting the gritty corner of a Greenwich Village park where pickup Scrabble games can be found whenever weather permits. His curiosity soon morphs into compulsion, as he sets about memorizing thousands of obscure words and fills his evenings with solo Scrabble played on his living room floor. Before long he finds himself at tournaments, socializing—and competing—with Scrabble’s elite. But this book is about more than hardcore Scrabblers, for the game yields insights into realms as disparate as linguistics, psychology, and mathematics. Word Freak extends its reach even farther, pondering the light Scrabble throws on such notions as brilliance, memory, competition, failure, and hope. It is a geography of obsession that celebrates the uncanny powers locked in all of us, “a can’t-put-it-down narrative that dances between memoir and reportage” (Los Angeles Times). “Funny, thoughtful, character-rich, unchallengeably winning writing.” —The Atlantic Monthly This edition includes a new afterword by the author.

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Page Count

427

Publisher

HMH

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547524315

ISBN 13

9780547524313

Wild and Outside

How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland

By: Stefan Fatsis

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Wild and Outside

How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland

By: Stefan Fatsis

At a time of despair about our national pastime, the Northern League of Professional Baseball is a beacon of hope - an independent league, unaffiliated with the majors, where the games are for the fans and not between the owners and players. In his memorable debut book, Stefan Fatsis takes you inside the Northern League, and in the process discovers how very much baseball still means to America. Commentator Peter Gammons calls the Northern League "the past and future of grassroots baseball in America." Revived in 1993 by a group of minor league executives fed up with the politics of their sport, it has restored baseball to six communities in the upper Midwest and Canada, which have embraced their teams with a fervor any major league team would envy. More than that, the league has breathed new life into a game that, at the major league level, has lost its way and abandoned its fans. The Northern League's startling success has inspired a movement that could, in time, change the face of baseball, as other independent leagues are forming rapidly in its wake. Wild and Outside tells the Northern League's story, from the events that created it through its tumultuous and triumphant second season. Fatsis writes with the authority of a trusted insider, having closely followed the league since its inception. The result is a book as rich in insights into baseball's problems as it is full of indelible portraits of the people who make the Northern League special; a book that blends the texture and history of grassroots baseball with the many dramas of the league's 1994 season.

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Page Count

306

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802719511

ISBN 13

9780802719515

Fans of the World, Unite!

A (Capitalist) Manifesto for Sports Consumers

By: Stephen F. Ross,Stefan Szymanski

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Fans of the World, Unite!

A (Capitalist) Manifesto for Sports Consumers

By: Stephen F. Ross,Stefan Szymanski

Fans of baseball, football, basketball, and hockey have long been exploited and oppressed by the monopolistic practices of team owners. The time has come for a revolution in the organization of major U.S. sports! Fans of the World, Unite! is a clarion call to sports fans. Appealing to anyone who is in despair due to the greed and incompetence of team owners, this book proposes a significant restructuring of sports leagues. It sets out a rational program for a revolution that will serve the best interests of the fans and of the sport itself. But Stephen F. Ross and Stefan Szymanski are no Marxists: they show how a revolution in the organization of sports might even benefit the owners. By harnessing the power of markets, sports leagues can be made both more responsive to the needs of the fans, and more efficient. Ross and Szymanski have spent many years evaluating the ways in which leagues work across the globe. Drawing on their extensive study of leagues, the authors boil down their plan to two major reforms. Borrowing from NASCAR, they propose that team owners should not own sports leagues as well. Rather, league ownership should be separate. Their second proposal is drawn from soccer: introduce competition through a promotion and relegation system. In this type of system, the worst teams in the league are kicked out at the end of the season and replaced by the best performing teams in the next division down. This gives poor performing teams incentive to step up their game, and allows fresh blood to enter the leagues if the poor performers fail to do so. The main goal of these reforms is to align the financial interest of those who own the league with the best interests of the fans and the sport. Having laid out the problem and the solution, the authors skillfully address practical implications of introducing their scheme, suggesting how leagues might at least make some changes, if not all of those suggested. The time for change has come! Armed with this book, and with fairness on their side, fans can set forth to begin a revolution.

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Page Count

233

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

080476977X

ISBN 13

9780804769778

Second Row: American Rugby

By: M. Stefan Strozier

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Second Row: American Rugby

By: M. Stefan Strozier

Second Row is a story of a man trying to become a writer and at the same time learning the complex sport of rugby. It's an in-depth analysis of the game of rugby, history of the game, and coverage of key American matches, including at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. This story is written in a clear way so that a person with no knowledge of rugby will finish reading understanding the sport. Second Row is a story of a team of men who are a family.

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Page Count

169

Publisher

World Audience Inc

Published Date

ISBN 10

1494728982

ISBN 13

9781494728984

A Few Seconds of Panic

A 5-foot-8, 170-pound, 43-year-old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

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A Few Seconds of Panic

A 5-foot-8, 170-pound, 43-year-old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

By: Stefan Fatsis

Drawing on rare access to an NFL team's players, coaches and facilities, the author of The New York Times bestseller Word Freak trains to become a professional-caliber placekicker. As he sharpens his skills, he gains surprising insight into the daunting challenges--physical, psychological, and intellectual--that pro athletes must master--From publisher description.

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Page Count

340

Published Date

ISBN 10

110109463X

ISBN 13

9781101094631

Book's by Stefan Fatsis

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Few Seconds of Panic

Word Freak

Word Freak

Wild and Outside

Wild and Outside

Fans of the World, Unite!

Fans of the World, Unite!

Second Row: American Rugby

Second Row: American Rugby

A Few Seconds of Panic

A Few Seconds of Panic

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