1968 begins in the men's room of an exclusive Columbus restaurant and ends two years later in The Rose Bowl, an unwitting but flawless metaphor for Ohio State University's rise to the pinnacle of college football. Between these two events occurs one of the great adventure stories in the history of the sport.Against a backdrop of national turmoil and international crises, Coach Wayne Woodrow Hayes uncharacteristically brings into his lagging program new young coaches and an impressive bunch of extraordinary kids, including the first significant number of African-Americans. There is an irreverent military school lineman who begins the school's lifting program by bringing his own weights, a Brooklyn fullback who can't believe Ohio's open spaces, a running back with New Jersey street-gang cred, and a homegrown quarterback with a bad back and an unassailable talent.All of them labor under the shadow of Hayes, the promethean figure who would leave an indelible legacy as one of the century's great coaches--sly, mercurial, pugnacious, and maddeningly contradictory, a larger-than-life figure who carries the football ambitions of an entire state on his beefy shoulders.1968 is a rich tapestry of scenes and stories throughout an incandescent season, including some of the best football dialogue ever written. In scene after scene, the raw intensity of an unforgettable season pulls the reader along to its breathless climax in Pasadena when the Super Sophs take on one of college's greatest running backs.It's a story that has everything--great drama, achievement, colorful characters, and the complex unfolding of Woody Hayes's multifaceted personality.Near the end of a chaotic decade, the Buckeyes provide a badly needed feel-good lift to an entire state. And just as Woody predicted, they found themselves a large, inextricably bound family, tied forever by the commonalities of blood--literally theirs--sweat, tears, laughter, and, of course, their near-miraculous season.
This was all news to me when I started out as a broadcaster , but my friend Lance Barrow changed all that . Golf fans may recognize Lance as the golf producer for CBS Sports . When I first met Lance he was a spotter for my partner ...
Aside from Manning's interloping Volunteers, once again, the top 5 was dominated by Osborne, Bowden, and Spurrier. As had become the norm, fans immediately looked at the schedule to circle the one date that had served as a de facto ...
"The five years between the Browns' upset of the Baltimore Colts on December 27, 1964, for the team's last NFL Championship and the very first Monday Night Football game on September 21, 1970, when the Browns beat Joe Namath and the New ...
... 78, 79, 114, 116, 147, 152, 170, 175, 185, 190, 291, 302 Newhouse, Robert, 252 Newland, Bob, 167, 180(n7) Newman, Karen, 103 Newman, Paul, 41 New Orleans Saints, 17, 92, 142, 167, 178, 246 New York Giants, 19, 37, 51—52, 204, 217, ...
The thrilling behind-the-scenes account of how the NFL's most sensational scandal culminated in sports history's greatest comeback, featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with Patriots players -- including Tom Brady himself....
Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football 1999
There may be over three million steroid users in the United States today--teenage athletes, TV wrestlers, police, many others--and most of them acquire the drug on the $4 billion a...
Long-time sports writer Bill Chastain examines every details about the beginning, heyday and end of the Steelers mid-1970s run of winning four Super Bowls in six years, a feat that...
What does it take to succeed? Bill Parcells knows. As head coach of the two-time Super Bowl-winning New York Giants, and now as head coach of the resurgent New England...
When did Michael Jordan become "Air Jordan"? How did Earvin Johnson come to be known as "Magic"? Why is Juan Rodriguez called "Chi Chi"? These questions are answered in this...