Download or read book The Extra 2 written by Jonah Keri and published by ESPN. This book was released on 2011-03-08 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when three financial industry whiz kids and certified baseball nuts take over an ailing major league franchise and implement the same strategies that fueled their success on Wall Street? In the case of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays, an American League championship happens—the culmination of one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. In The Extra 2%, financial journalist and sportswriter Jonah Keri chronicles the remarkable story of one team’s Cinderella journey from divisional doormat to World Series contender. When former Goldman Sachs colleagues Stuart Sternberg and Matthew Silverman assumed control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005, it looked as if they were buying the baseball equivalent of a penny stock. But the incoming regime came armed with a master plan: to leverage their skill at trading, valuation, and management to build a model twenty-first-century franchise that could compete with their bigger, stronger, richer rivals—and prevail. Together with “boy genius” general manager Andrew Friedman, the new Rays owners jettisoned the old ways of doing things, substituting their own innovative ideas about employee development, marketing and public relations, and personnel management. They exorcized the “devil” from the team’s nickname, developed metrics that let them take advantage of undervalued aspects of the game, like defense, and hired a forward-thinking field manager as dedicated to unconventional strategy as they were. By quantifying the game’s intangibles—that extra 2% that separates a winning organization from a losing one—they were able to deliver to Tampa Bay something that Billy Beane’s “Moneyball” had never brought to Oakland: an American League pennant. A book about what happens when you apply your business skills to your life’s passion, The Extra 2% is an informative and entertaining case study for any organization that wants to go from worst to first.

Download or read book Fantasy Football For Dummies written by Martin Signore and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-25 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Packed with expert advice and timely tips The fun and easy way to guide your American football team to glory in fantasy football Fantasy football can be an addictive hobby. But if you've never played American football before, how do you start? Have no fear! This friendly guide explains the game to you from start to finish -- from scouting and drafting your players to building your coaching skills to planning your strategy. And who knows, perhaps even to tasting victory in your league championship! Understand the basics of the game Pick the league right for you Assemble your dream team in the draft Develop your in-season management skills Know which quick fixes work and what common mistakes to avoid

Download or read book Fantasy Sports and the Changing Sports Media Industry written by Nicholas David Bowman and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-03-17 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited collection examines how fantasy sports play has established a prominent and promising foothold in the larger sports ecology. Often considered an isolated activity for the hardcore sports fan, fantasy sports play have since been incorporated into sports broadcasting and editorial coverage, sports marketing and promotions, and even into the very sports themselves with athletes and teams using the activities to draw fans further into the sports experience. This edited collection invites leading scholars and sports professionals from several different fields to share historical and emerging perspectives on the importance of fantasy sports as an artifact of theoretical and empirical importance to larger issues of sport and society. \

Download or read book Win Daily written by Jason Mezrahi and published by . This book was released on 2019-04-12 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you just discovered the world of daily fantasy sports (DFS)? Have you been playing DFS, but not achieving consistent wins? Do you want to master key DFS strategies? Are you ready to embrace a Win Daily mindset? In Win Daily, Jason Mezrahi demystifies the DFS industry. He knows the ups and downs of the game and the persistence it takes to ride out the defeats and earn another victory. He gives you an insider perspective on playing daily and shows you how to increase your competitive advantage so that you can become a winner. Jason has spent years developing his strategies, and here, he shares them with you. Learn how to* Pick players for optimal lineups in MLB, NFL, and NBA DFS.* Separate the important statistics from all the numbers and noise.* Strategize gameplay and player combinations.* Understand the impact that weather, injuries, or matchups have on your lineups.See how a perfect combination of sports enthusiasm and financial independence can combine for the ideal DFS player. Jason's unique history as an athlete, who was trading stocks by the age of thirteen and organizing poker tournaments by twenty-one, taught him strategies and skills that prepared him for a successful DFS career. Read how Jason won his first major online DFS tournament. Get an inside glimpse on DFS championships where the big hitters come together to compete for million-dollar prizes. Learn how the DFS industry treats their winners as Jason travels to batting practice at AT&T field and walks the grounds of the Playboy Mansion.Win Daily demonstrates how to achieve DFS milestones, but it also gives important advice to master a winning mindset. Re-examine your approach to* Winning and defeat.* Balancing your risks and rewards.* Choosing your lineups.* Meeting adversity with persistence.* Making smart bets and avoiding tilt.* Taking care of your mind and body so that you're always prepared to win big.This book takes you on a journey through the world of DFS so that you can reap the benefits of an insider view and learn how to Win Daily!

Download or read book Fantasy Football Guidebook written by Sam Hendricks and published by Sam Hendricks. This book was released on 2010-03-20 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to Play, Enjoy and Win your Fantasy Football League Every Year! A handy, concise and informative source book. Expertly organized and full of hard facts, helpful tips and valuable strategies. This guidebook is for the novice or the expert who wants to learn more about how to play and win fantasy football. It is your single source for every strategy, tip, rule or league variation available. It is the best book of its kind. Includes: - The history and administration of Fantasy Football - Types of leagues, scoring systems and drafts - How to rank players - Draft day tips, theories and advanced strategies - Roster Management skills (trades, add/drops, start/bench decisions) - Auction, Keeper and IDP leagues - Interview with Lenny Pappano (co-founder World Championship of Fantasy Football and draftsharks.com) - Psychology of Fantasy Football - Injuries - And much more!

Download or read book Forever Odd written by Dean Koontz and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2007-06-29 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. You’re invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

Download or read book Billion Dollar Fantasy written by Albert Chen and published by Mariner Books. This book was released on 2019 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author reveals the story of the rise of daily fantasy sports and the brilliant entrepreneurs disrupting the way fans consume sports.

Download or read book Dueling with Kings written by Daniel Barbarisi and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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?

Download or read book The Baseball 100 written by Joe Posnanski and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Winner of the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year “An instant sports classic.” —New York Post * “Stellar.” —The Wall Street Journal * “A true masterwork…880 pages of sheer baseball bliss.” —BookPage (starred review) * “This is a remarkable achievement.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) A magnum opus from acclaimed baseball writer Joe Posnanski, The Baseball 100 is an audacious, singular, and masterly book that took a lifetime to write. The entire story of baseball rings through a countdown of the 100 greatest players in history, with a foreword by George Will. Longer than Moby-Dick and nearly as ambitious,? The Baseball 100 is a one-of-a-kind work by award-winning sportswriter and lifelong student of the game Joe Posnanski. In the book’s introduction, Pulitzer Prize–winning commentator George F. Will marvels, “Posnanski must already have lived more than two hundred years. How else could he have acquired such a stock of illuminating facts and entertaining stories about the rich history of this endlessly fascinating sport?” Baseball’s legends come alive in these pages, which are not merely rankings but vibrant profiles of the game’s all-time greats. Posnanski dives into the biographies of iconic Hall of Famers, unfairly forgotten All-Stars, talents of today, and more. He doesn’t rely just on records and statistics—he lovingly retraces players’ origins, illuminates their characters, and places their accomplishments in the context of baseball’s past and present. Just how good a pitcher is Clayton Kershaw in the 21st-century game compared to Greg Maddux dueling with the juiced hitters of the nineties? How do the career and influence of Hank Aaron compare to Babe Ruth’s? Which player in the top ten most deserves to be resurrected from history? No compendium of baseball’s legendary geniuses could be complete without the players of the segregated Negro Leagues, men whose extraordinary careers were largely overlooked by sportswriters at the time and unjustly lost to history. Posnanski writes about the efforts of former Negro Leaguers to restore sidelined Black athletes to their due honor and draws upon the deep troves of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and extensive interviews with the likes of Buck O’Neil to illuminate the accomplishments of players such as pitchers Satchel Paige and Smokey Joe Williams; outfielders Oscar Charleston, Monte Irvin, and Cool Papa Bell; first baseman Buck Leonard; shortstop Pop Lloyd; catcher Josh Gibson; and many, many more. The Baseball 100 treats readers to the whole rich pageant of baseball history in a single volume. Engrossing, surprising, and heartfelt, it is a magisterial tribute to the game of baseball and the stars who have played it.

Download or read book Final Fantasy XIII 2 Fragments Before written by Jun Eishima and published by Yen On. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the fall... Serah remembers everything from the day Cocoon fell. She remembers waking up from her long sleep and learning the truth of the crystal pillar that saved everyone. Most of all, she remembers her joyful reunion with Snow and Lightning-and setting out on a new journey with the two she loves most at her side. So why isn't that how it happened? Don't miss this short story collection bridging the gaps between Final Fantasy XIII and its sequel!

Download or read book Here and Now written by Paul Auster and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] civilized discourse between two cultivated and sophisticated men. . . . It’s a pleasure to be in their company.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018. After a meeting at an Australian literary festival brought them together in 2008, novelists Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee began exchanging letters on a regular basis with the hope they might “strike sparks off each other." Here and Now is the result: a three-year epistolary dialogue that touches on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, literature to film, philosophy to politics, from the financial crisis to art, death, eroticism, marriage, friendship, and love. Their high-spirited and luminous correspondence offers an intimate and often amusing portrait of these two men as they explore the complexities of the here and now and reveal their pleasure in each other’s friendship on every page.

Download or read book Captain Barbosa and Pirate Hat Chase written by Jorge González and published by Graphic Universe ™. This book was released on 2019-01-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this wordless graphic novel, Captain Barbosa sails the seven seas with his trusty shipmates: a fly, an alligator, and an elephant. A seagull steals his treasured hat, and Barbosa and his crew give chase through a nasty storm. When Barbosa reaches the seagull's island, he finds the hat—along with a nest of baby seagulls—and decides even pirates can forgive and forget.

Download or read book Daily Fantasy Sports written by Jay Correia and published by . This book was released on 2016-04-23 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The businesses of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association have helped propel one of America's most beloved pastimes into a 26 billion dollar industry. The advent of daily fantasy sports has created thousands of jobs, raised millions in tax dollars, and has given consumers endless ways to play fantasy sports. Unfortunately, all that may be coming to an end if the government and special interest groups have their way. Daily Fantasy Sports, the book, explores the impact of fantasy sports in America today. Take a stroll in fantasyland and discover everything there is to know about daily fantasy sports. Learn about the legal challenges, how we got in this mess, and what choices the industry now faces in order to save fantasy sports. The author helps you connect the dots, all while keeping you entertained with thoughtful quotes, tips on how to play, and more.Chapters include:Chapter 1 - "It's a Game of Skill" - explore how daily fantasy games are truly are a game of skill.Chapter 2 - "Las Vegas & The Silver Bullet" - see how Vegas is responsible for the legal mess.Chapter 3 - "The Sharks & Players" - numbers, demographics, and the shark problem.Chapter 4 - "It's the Economy Stupid" - how the government can't get out of its own way.Chapter 5 - "The Technology Cat Mouse Game" - predictions about the future and how DFS will evolve.Chapter 6 - "The Types of Daily Fantasy Games" - learn about all the different gameplay styles.Chapter 7 - "How to be Good at Fantasy Sports" - tips, insight, and advice on how to up your game.Chapter 8 - "Behind the Scenes Magic" - explore the businesses that make fantasy sports what it is today.Chapter 9 - "Thoughts from the Industry" - see what industry insiders have to say about fantasy sports.Chapter 10 - "Freedom with Responsibility" - why free market principals are all we need.Chapter 11 - "Keep Fighting the Good Fight" - what we can do to combat the downfall of DFS.The author's collective knowledge of the fantasy sports industry is virtually unparalleled, giving readers an in depth look at daily fantasy sports they won't find anywhere else. His involvement with a variety of industry operators, attorneys, and FSTA businesses places him in a net neutral position that allows readers to see the industry for what it really is. Fantasy sports players and industry insiders alike have sang high praises about this one of a kind book on daily fantasy sports.

Download or read book Fantasy Baseball written by Alan M. Gratz and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-03-17 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wizard of Oz meets America's favorite pastime! Alex Metcalf must be dreaming. What else would explain why he's playing baseball for the Oz Cyclones, with Dorothy as his captain, in the Ever After Baseball Tournament? But Alex isn't dreaming; he's just from the real world. And winning the tournament might be his only chance to get back there, because the champions get a wish granted by the Wizard. Too bad Ever After's most notorious criminal, the Big Bad Wolf, is also after the wishes. And anyone who gets in his way gets eaten! From beloved baseball author Alan Gratz comes a novel in which classic literary characters are baseball crazy, and one real-world boy must face his fears and discover the surprising truth about himself.

Download or read book Ready Player Two written by Ernest Cline and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The thrilling sequel to the beloved worldwide bestseller Ready Player One, the near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST • “The game is on again. . . . A great mix of exciting fantasy and threatening fact.”—The Wall Street Journal AN UNEXPECTED QUEST. TWO WORLDS AT STAKE. ARE YOU READY? Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance. Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.

Download or read book Trick Play written by Eden Finley and published by . This book was released on 2021-10-21 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Matt: Want to know the fastest way to get screwed out of a football career? Get photographed in a compromising position in a gay bar. Yep, welcome to my life. My agent says he can fix my image. He wants me to become the poster boy for gay football players. Me? I just want back on the field. I'll do anything to play for the NFL again, even pretend to have a steady boyfriend. If only my fake boyfriend wasn't Noah Huntington III - the most arrogant, entitled rich guy in the world. Noah: Pretend to be Matt Jackson's boyfriend, my best friend said. It'll be fun, he said. What Damon neglected to mention is Matt is surly and bitter. Being his boyfriend is a job in itself. From his paranoia over being constantly photographed to his aversion to PDA, being with Matt isn't the care-free fake relationship I expected when I signed on to do this. It's supposed to be a win-win. I get to stick it to my politician dad who thinks no one is good enough for the Huntington name, and Matt's reputation of being the bad boy of football dies. What I don't expect is to start caring for the guy. That's not part of the plan. Then again, neither is fooling around with him. Oops.

Download or read book Essential Strategies for Winning at Daily Fantasy Sports written by Kevin Bonnet and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-04-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Daily fantasy sports is significantly different than traditional fantasy sports and requires unique strategies and skills. This comprehensive strategy guide covers the essential strategies, thought processes, and math used by top daily fantasy sports players. Learn how to accurately project player fantasy scores and use those projections to draft an optimal fantasy team. Understand the different types of fantasy leagues offered, which ones will work best for you individually as a player, and how to adjust your fantasy team based on the size and type of league you are entering. Discover how to increase your profitability through advanced opponent selection by specifically targeting weak competition. Find ways to minimize website fees by understanding how rake is calculated and taking advantage of freerolls, overlays, bonuses, and promotions to increase your profitability. Learn how to keep records of your play so you can measure your success, systematically improve your skill, and manage your bankroll. Sport specific strategies for fantasy football, baseball, basketball, and hockey are also covered. Nothing is held back in this ultimate strategy guide from the founder of the first modern daily fantasy sports website.