1. LOVE OF THE GAME 2
Roger Maris and Me Andy Strasberg 2
Stadium Nights Bob Greene 7
Thanks, Mom! Steve Young 11
If It Makes Him Happy Roy Firestone 13
A True Champion Carole Yamaguchi as told to Anita Gogno 15
Mister D s Boys William G. Tapply 17
What Sports Is All About William Wilczewski 21
You Were Great, Dad Barney Cohen 24
A Twenty-Four-Karat Friendship David Wallechinsky 30
Reach for the Stars Brian Holloway 32
I Will Be There for You Zoe Koplowitz with Mike Celizic 37
2. DFINING MOMENTS 37
The Magic Bat David Meamor 42
Sofa Soccer Dave Barry 47
Whatever Works Grady Jim Robinson 50
The Winner Sharon Jaynes 54
The Great Potato Pickoff Play Mark Bowden 58
Fair Play Ed Marion 65
The Price of a Dream Ricky C. Hunley 67
Living to Ride Dave Kindred 69
A Championship from the Sky Jeff Kidd 73
When Baseball Grew Up Donald Honig 78
3. HIGHLIGHTS AT ELEVEN 86
Across Home Plate Sharon Landeen 86
Truly a Baseball Immortal Craig Neff 89
Joe DiMaggio Made My Day Walter W. Laos, D. D. S. 95
Give Me a Break! Gene Doherty 99
Nowhere Eles to Go Jim Nantz 100
He s Gonna Do What? Jim Tunney 104
The Ultimate Passport Lesley Visser 107
The Champion Paul Winick, M.D. 109
Chicken Soup to the Rescue Bernie Kish 112
She Dares to Race the Iditarod Susan Butcher 115
4. ON TEAMS AND SPORTSMANSHIP 124
Once a Cougar Tim Palesky 124
The Day Lisa Lost Michael T. Powers 128
Phil Esposito s Wild Ride Brian McFarlane 131
It s How You Play the Game Larry Baltz 133
Making a Point J. Michael Key 137
One Morning in May Ellen E. Hyatt 140
When Silence Is Golden Joey Crawford 144
Let s Keep a Date Mark H. McCormack 146
Teammates Are for Life Jim Brown 147
What Goes Around Comes Around Dan Clark 149
5. INSIDE THE GAME 153
My Life in Pro Ball Bill Bradley 153
A Chance to Say Thank You Bart Starr 160
The Good Side of Fear Joe Theismann 162
Playing the Cart Man Lee Trevino as told to Charlie Jones 163
Crucial Simplicity Dan Fouts as told to Charlie Jones 165
I Did Not Know That Chris Myers 167
When Your Back Is Against the Wall Pat Riley 169
An Important Phone Call M. G. Misanelli 173
The Concession Stand Ernie Witham 174
Steal What? Cary McMahon 179
A Classy Guy Jim Tunney 180
Unforgettable Jim Valvano Dick Vitale 182
6. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES 188
Advantage: Courage Monica Seles With Nancy Ann Richardson 188
You Make the Difference Jack Hannah 196
Lyle s Second Go Tom Flores 201
Race for Love Judge Keith J. Leenhouts 203
A Perfect Skate Nancy E. Myer 208
The Greatest Baseball Story Ever Mack R. Douglas 211
A Simple Kindness John Gross 213
Albino Power John A. Walsh 216
Heart of Gold Chris Tamborini 218
The Kid Who Would Be Coach Jim Tunney 220
Rules of the Game Laura Ishler 224
Bad Hop Steve Smith 227
7. FAMILY DAY 232
Best Seats in the House Barney Cohen 232
She Made a Memory Cary D Amato 238
My Son, My Enemy Leonard Pitts Jr. 242
Baseball Fever Ken Swarner 246
Encouraging Words Barbara Johnson 250
A Lesson in Love William Plummer 252
Two Dimes The Christian Athlete 256
We Walked off the Field Together Darlene Daniels Eisenhuth 257
My Favorite Baseball Card Scott Nicholson 260
Play Catch with Me, Dad Tom Krause 263
I ll Get Another On David Wallechinsky 264
Everything Counts Scott Adamson 265
8. WISDOM OF THE GAME 270
The Wizard of Westwood Terry Paulson, Ph. D. 270
There Should Be No Grimness Rafer Johnson 273
The All-Leather, NFL Regulation, 1963 Chicago Bears-Inscribed Football Tom Payne 277
A Parent Talks to a Child Before the First Game Steve Jamison 279
Strike Out or Home Run? Harriet May Savitz 282
A Letter to a Coach Anita Gogno 285
The Inspiration of the Football Huddle Jack Kemp 287
The Cure for Disappointment Clay Larson 291
The $500,000 Baseball Cards Thomas Boswell 293
Can I have Your Autograph? Roger Angell 299
50 Ways to Get the Most Out of Sports Mark and Chrissy Donnelly 302
We Remember Lombardi Jerry Kramer 305
9. ROAR OF THE CROWD 311
The Perfect Day Phillip M. Hoose 311
Now! Brian D. Biro 316
The Day the Goal Was Scored Paul Henderson and Mike Leonetti 321
Nixon, Arizona Bonita Laettner 326
Give the Kid the Ball! John J.Healey 329
Secretariat William Nack 332
Beyond Race Meadowlark Lemon 336
Heart of a Champion Patrick L. Busteed 339
Knowing the Score Tommy Ehrbar 343
A Cowboy s Last Chance Dirk Johnson 348
A Fragile Hero Bob Costas 353
Funny You Should Ask Rick Reilly 359