The first in-depth biography of one of the most talented and infamous legends to play in the National Football League—the life and times of pro football’s first bad boy, famed Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler.Ken "The Snake" Stabler was the embodiment of the original Men in Black—the freewheeling, hard-hitting Oakland Raiders. The league’s first swashbuckling pass thrower, the mythical southpaw Southerner famous for come-from-behind drives late in the game, ...

“[Freeman is] an excellent storyteller.”—Sports IllustratedThe 1972 Miami Dolphins, under the expert leadership of legendary coach Don Shula, remain to this day the only team in the National Football League ever to enjoy a perfect season with no defeats and no ties. Now, 40 years after sports history was made, acclaimed sports writer Mike Freeman celebrates the Dolphins’ singular achievement in Undefeated. A riveting story filled with heartbreaking injuries, miraculous fini...

The life and career—including both the highs and the lows—of the visionary businessman who started the iconic supermarket chain.The grocery business began as a complicated service industry. Random pricing, inconsistent quantities and prescriptive salesmen made grocery shopping burdensome. It took one brash Memphian with uncommon vision and unbridled ambition to change everything. Clarence Saunders worked his way out of poverty and obscurity to found Piggly Wiggly i...

The first, definitive biography of one of the most important, controversial, and outspoken athletes of the 20th century.He intimidated people on and off the football field. He was brutal yet brilliant, narcissistic yet magnanimous, relentless yet unyielding. Most of all, he was the greatest football player of all time. He was Jim Brown. A legend in his own time, Jim Brown was revered as an athlete, actor, and unflinching symbol of black pride and self-reliance. In this moving book,...

An honest, uncensored look at the National Football League that captures the good, the bad, and the bloody. Award-winning sports reporter Michael Freeman goes were few civilians dare: inside the locker rooms, boardrooms, and everywhere in-between to offer an entertaining and provocative portrait of the National Football League.In Bloody Sundays he dissects the NFL, spotlighting the personalities and the politics that shape the game on and off the field, exploring how the game has i...

Bowden is the definitive biography of one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, Bobby Bowden, and the first family of football. Journalist Mike Freeman provides an in-depth and insightful look inside the life and mind of the iconic Florida State University coach and family man. Sweeping and emotional, Bowden not only highlights Bobby’s gridiron glory but also chronicles the family members’ very human events, including tragic deaths, criminal indictments, a...

A two-week canoe trip down the Hudson offers an opportunity to reflect on America's past, present, and uncertain future.This candid account of the author's two-week canoe trip down the Hudson River offers an introspective and humorous look at both the river and Recession-Era America. New to fatherhood and fresh from ten years in an Alaskan village, Mike Freeman sets out to relearn his country, and realizes it's in a far greater midlife crisis than he could ever be....

Having spent forty years harried by ageless questions of mortality and creation, Mike Freeman suddenly found himself a stay-at-home father in New York City after living for the last decade in Alaska. Unsure of himself as a parent, he reflects upon both his own upbringing and adulthood. While unraveling a lifetime fishing, birding, hunting, and trapping with his father, he realizes how fortifying the outdoors are to all relationships, secular and otherwise.Neither Mountain nor River...

For the first time, here is the full story of the NFL player protests that rocked a nation and turned our country upside down. This is the players' side, one that has largely been ignored by the media.On September 1, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee before a preseason game. Little did he, nor anyone else, know the ramifications from that decision. Since being exiled from the National Football League, Kaepernick has stood strong against all those who have attacked...

The first in-depth biography of one of the most talented and infamous legends to play in the National Football League-the life and times of pro footballs first bad boy, famed Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler.Ken "The Snake" Stabler was the embodiment of the original Men in Black-the freewheeling, hard-hitting Oakland Raiders. The leagues first swashbuckling pass thrower, the mythical southpaw Southerner famous for come-from-behind drives late in the game, Stabler led the R...

A book that explores the enduring legends of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders, Badasses is the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play old-fashioned tough-guy football. Peter Richmond, co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Glory Game, offers a fascinating look at the 1970s Oakland Raiders, led by colorful greats from another era: Ken Stabler, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, head coach John Madden, an...

A current pro player takes fans on a pseudonymous trip through one of the most infamous years of football—the very long, sometimes funny, often controversial 2013-2014 season—sharing raucous, behind-the-scenes, on-the-field, and in-the-locker-room truth about life in the National Football League.“Well, to hell with being safe. I’m going to be honest.”Johnny Anonymous' life goal was to be nothing greater or less than the Best NFL Back-Up of All Time™. For two years,...