How Fantasy Sports Explains the World

How Fantasy Sports Explains the World
Author: AJ Mass
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2013-07
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1620876035

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Shows how skills and information learned from life, literature, history, and popular culture are used in fantasy sports.

How Fantasy Sports Explains the World

How Fantasy Sports Explains the World
Author: AJ Mass
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2013-07-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1626364761

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The world of fantasy sports is no longer the purview of nerds and stat geeks. In fact, versions of the game are currently played by tens of millions of people worldwide. But while fantasy sports may have begun as a light-hearted diversion, to many of its participants winning or losing is no laughing matter. And as a professional fantasy sports expert who doles out advice on a daily basis for ESPN.com, author AJ Mass has learned one basic and inescapable truth about his job: people take what he says very seriously. When asked whether Player X or Player Y would be better to place in their fantasy lineup on a given day, what makes his recommendation of Player X carry so much weight is, more than anything else, he is simply not afraid to voice that opinion. How Fantasy Sports Explains the World is an entertaining, anecdotal exploration of how the skills used in evaluating fantasy sports talent are one and the same with those skills we all use every day of our lives, in all manner of everyday situations. It takes the reader on a journey from the casinos of Atlantic City to charred Connecticut campgrounds, from the Last Supper to the Constitutional Convention that started our country down the road to democracy, from the back rooms of Wall Street to the jury rooms of our judicial system. In doing so, the author demonstrates that winning fantasy advice can come from anyone and be found almost anywhere - the wit and wisdom of William Shakespeare, the scientific genius of Stephen Hawking, or the futuristic whimsy of a galaxy far, far, away.

Fantasy Life

Fantasy Life
Author: Matthew Berry
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2013
Genre: Fantasy sports
ISBN: 1594486255

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An inside look at the world of fantasy sports from America's most trusted name in the industry. Berry explores the increasingly ubiquitious world of fantasy sports. Every year, millions of people spend their time assembling, managing and obsessing over fantasy teams.

How Soccer Explains the World

How Soccer Explains the World
Author: Franklin Foer
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0061864706

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“An eccentric, fascinating exposé of a world most of us know nothing about. . . . Bristles with anecdotes that are almost impossible to believe.” —New York Times Book Review “Terrific. . . . A travelogue full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence. . . . Foer’s soccer odyssey lends weight to the argument that a humane world order is possible.” — Washington Post Book World A groundbreaking work—named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by Sports Illustrated—How Soccer Explains the World is a unique and brilliantly illuminating look at soccer, the world’s most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy. From Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye-opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it’s terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam—issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.

Dueling with Kings

Dueling with Kings
Author: Daniel Barbarisi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2017-03-07
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 150114619X

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In the spirit of Bringing Down the House and The Wolf of Wall Street, “an engrossing and often hilarious behind-the-scenes look at the characters, compulsions, and chaos inside the fantasy sports gold rush. It’s the perfect meld of a sports and business book, engagingly written like a fun, page-turning novel” (The Wall Street Journal). Daniel Barbarisi quit his job as a New York Yankees beat writer and began a quest to join the top one percent of Daily Fantasy Sports (“DFS”) players, the so-called “sharks,” in hopes to discover the secrets behind this phenomenon—and potentially make some money along the way. DFS is fantasy sports on steroids. It’s the domain of bitter rivals FanDuel and DraftKings, online juggernauts who turned a legal loophole into a billion-dollar industry by allowing sports fans to bet piles of cash constructing fantasy teams. Yet as Barbarisi quickly realizes, what should have been a fun companion to casual sports viewing was instead a ferocious environment infested with sharks, a top tier of pros wielding complex algorithms, drafting hundreds of lineups, and wagering six figures daily as they bludgeon unsuspecting amateur “fish.” Barbarisi embeds himself inside the world of DFS, befriending and joining its rogue’s gallery as he tries to beat them at their own game. In a work equal parts adventure and rigorously reported investigation, Barbarisi wades into this chaotic industry at the very moment its existence is threatened by lawmakers sick of its Wild West atmosphere and pushy advertising. All their money made FanDuel and DraftKings seem invincible; but, as Barbarisi reports, they made plenty of dubious—perhaps even scandalous—moves as they vied for market supremacy. In Dueling with Kings, Barbarisi uncovers the tumultuous inside story of DFS, all while capturing its peculiar cast of characters, from wide-eyed newly minted millionaires, to sun-starved math geeks, to bros living an endless frat party of keggers and Playboy Bunnies. Can he outwit them all and make it to the top?

The Book of Basketball

The Book of Basketball
Author: Bill Simmons
Publisher: ESPN
Total Pages: 754
Release: 2010-12-07
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0345520106

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The NBA according to The Sports Guy—now updated with fresh takes on LeBron, the Celtics, and more! Foreword by Malcom Gladwell • “The work of a true fan . . . it might just represent the next phase of sports commentary.”—The Atlantic Bill Simmons, the wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining basketball addict known to millions as ESPN’s The Sports Guy, has written the definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA. From the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time, Simmons opens—and then closes, once and for all—every major pro basketball debate. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball. Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.

Fantasy League

Fantasy League
Author: Mike Lupica
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0147514940

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of HEAT, TRAVEL TEAM and MILLION-DOLLAR THROW comes a story of every football kid’s dream come true. 12-year-old Charlie is a fantasy football guru. He may be just a bench warmer for his school's football team, but when it comes to knowing and loving the game, he's first-string. He even becomes a celebrity when his podcast gets noticed by a sports radio host, who plays Charlie's fantasy picks for all of Los Angeles to hear. Soon Charlie befriends the elderly owner of the L.A. Bulldogs -- a fictional NFL team -- and convinces him to take a chance on an aging quarterback. After that, watch out . . . it's press conferences and national fame as Charlie becomes a media curiosity and source of conflict for the Bulldogs general manager, whose job Charlie seems to have taken. It's all a bit much for a kid just trying to stay on top of his grades and maintain his friendship with his verbal sparring partner, Anna. Like the best Disney film in book form, like Moneyball for kids, Fantasy League is every football kid's dream scenario. “Lupica is the greatest sports writer for middle school readers.” –VOYA

Jewish Jocks

Jewish Jocks
Author: Franklin Foer
Publisher: Twelve
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2012-10-30
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1455516112

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A collection of essays by today's preeminent writers on significant Jewish figures in sports, told with humor, heart, and an eye toward the ever elusive question of Jewish identity. Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame is a timeless collection of biographical musings, sociological riffs about assimilation, first-person reflections, and, above all, great writing on some of the most influential and unexpected pioneers in the world of sports. Featuring work by today's preeminent writers, these essays explore significant Jewish athletes, coaches, broadcasters, trainers, and even team owners (in the finite universe of Jewish Jocks, they count!). Contributors include some of today's most celebrated writers covering a vast assortment of topics, including David Remnick on the biggest mouth in sports, Howard Cosell; Jonathan Safran Foer on the prodigious and pugnacious Bobby Fischer; Man Booker Prize-winner Howard Jacobson writing elegantly on Marty Reisman, America's greatest ping-pong player and the sport's ultimate showman. Deborah Lipstadt examines the continuing legacy of the Munich Massacre, the fortieth anniversary of which coincided with the 2012 London Olympics. Jane Leavy reveals why Sandy Koufax agreed to attend her daughter's bat mitzvah. And we learn how Don Lerman single-handedly thrust competitive eating into the public eye with three pounds of butter and 120 jalapeño peppers. These essays are supplemented by a cover design and illustrations throughout by Mark Ulriksen. From settlement houses to stadiums and everywhere in between, Jewish Jock features men and women who do not always fit the standard athletic mold. Rather, they utilized talents long prized by a people of the book (and a people of commerce) to game these games to their advantage, in turn forcing the rest of the world to either copy their methods -- or be left in their dust.

Fantasyland

Fantasyland
Author: Sam Walker
Publisher: Viking Adult
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2006
Genre: Fantasy baseball (Game).
ISBN:

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Recounts the author's experiences with playing a season of fantasy baseball against a host of armchair contenders, during which he researched the activity's popularity as well as the factors that contribute to winning fantasy teams.

The Fantasy Sport Industry

The Fantasy Sport Industry
Author: Andrew C. Billings
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2013-07-24
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1136318046

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Fantasy sport has become big business. Recent estimates suggest that there as many as 33 million fantasy sport participants in the US alone, spending $3bn annually, with many millions more around the world. This is the first in-depth study of fantasy sport as a cultural and social phenomenon and a significant and growing component of the contemporary sports economy. This book presents an overview of the history of fantasy sport and its close connection to innovations in sports media. Drawing on extensive empirical research, it offers an analysis of the demographics of fantasy sport, the motivations of fantasy sport players and their significance as heavy consumers of sport media and as ultra-fans. It also draws cross-cultural comparisons between fantasy sport players in the US, UK, Europe and beyond. The Fantasy Sport Industry examines the key commercial and media stakeholders in the production and development of fantasy sport, and points to new directions for the fantasy sport industry within modern sport business. It is therefore, fascinating reading for any student, scholar or professional with an interest in sports media, sports business, fandom, the relationship between sport and society, or cultural studies.