The Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs - Hardcover

Berman, Len

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140227226X ISBN 13: 9781402272264

Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore, 2012

Synopsis

Everyone loves an underdog - and now you can experience and share the greatest upsets in sports history with The Greatest Moments in Sports: Upsets and Underdogs! This book plus audio CD is all about "the little guy," the athlete or team that seemingly has no chance. Any yet somehow they emerge victorious. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Greatest Moments in Sports comes this collection unlike any other. Through photos, facts, and thrilling stories, you'll uncover the greatest upsets the sports world has ever seen.

Why do so many people love underdogs? Probably because we've all felt like an underdog at some time or another. And discovering the stories behind the most unlikely heroes is sure to inspire the champion in you!

Hear the actual broadcasts:

·Buster Douglas knocks out undefeated Mike Tyson
·A dairy farmer defeats the "Russian Bear" in wrestling
·Injured Kerri Strug sticks a perfect vault landing
·and many more on an exclusive audio CD

Plus discover the amazing stories behind some of the most inspiring upsets ever:

·Doug Flutie throws the most famous pass in college football history
·Billy Mills becomes the only American to win gold at the 10, 000 meters
·Jim Abbott, the one-armed pitcher, throws a no-hitter
·University of Texas-El Paso upsets Kentucky to win the NCAA Basketball Championship
·and many, many more!

About this title

About the Author:

Len Berman hosts the popular Spanning the World segments on NBC's Today show. He is a former sports anchor at WNBC New York/ He has won eight local Emmy Awards and has been voted New York Sportscaster of the Year six times. His daily Top 5 email is featured in The Huffington Post and is received by thousands around the country.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Introduction

In sports, everybody roots for the underdog. They want to see the athlete or the team with no chance overcome long odds to emerge victorious. This isn't something new. It goes back thousands of years. It's right there in the Bible. Was the first upset David versus Goliath? It might have been. A small boy with a slingshot slew a mighty giant. And now, all these centuries later, when an underdog takes the field against a mighty opponent, it's still referred to as David versus Goliath.

That's what this book is all about-the little guy, the underdog, the team with no shot pulling a major upset against all odds. In fact, one story is about a horse named Upset. Upset pulled off one of the greatest upsets in horse-racing history―so great that some people mistakenly think his name is where the term upset comes from.

If the underdogs are not Davids, they might be Cinderellas. You know the story. Cinderella is treated poorly by her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. Thanks to her fairy godmother, she winds up at a beautiful ball but has to get home before midnight, when the spell will be broken. Stories of sports teams that far exceed expectations are often referred to as Cinderella stories. Their fans hope they can become champions before midnight strikes and the magic wears off.

In the following pages, you will read story after story of Davids and Cinderellas. Many of them read like fairy tales. And that's the best part about these events. They are not made-up Hollywood movies, although some of these stories served as the source of inspiration for great sports films. They are all true amazing stories of upsets and underdogs.

How amazing? Several of them are described using the word miracle. There's the "Miracle on Ice," the "Miracle of Coogan's Bluff," the "Miracle Mets"-and that's just for starters. Yup, many of these upsets are considered miraculous.

Maybe you feel like an underdog-either in sports or otherwise. Perhaps you think you won't be able to succeed. Well, don't give up. After reading this book, you just might believe that anything is possible.

And if you find yourself rooting for the underdog, you are not alone. Everyone does.

I'd love to know which is your favorite chapter. You can email me at www.ThatsSports.com and let me know why. I look forward to hearing from you.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 140227226X
• ISBN 13: 9781402272264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128