The long snapper is perhaps the most overlooked and underappreciated position in football. He spends a great deal of his career bent over a football, with a guy either kneeling seven yards behind him or standing back at 15 yards. In a sense, the long snapper has one job—to go unnoticed. If he is noticed, it probably means he’s flubbed a snap—and for a long snapper, a single mistake can mean instant unemployment.In Upside Down Football: An Inside Look at Long Snapping in the NFL, Te...

The inspiring story of Asian-American basketball player Jeremy Lin, who went from unknown underdog to rescuer of the New York Knicks in just a few weeks.

In 1987 the players of the National Football League went on strike, demanding better pay and the right to seek free agency. Determined to keep the league going, team owners pulled replacements from wherever they could be found, from the semi-pro leagues to bar stools, in order to create makeshift teams. For three weeks, “regular” men—truck drivers, school teachers, stockbrokers—were able to put on NFL helmets and jerseys, play in professional stadiums, and live their dreams. The replacemen...

Author Ted Kluck found, online, a community of computer nerds and football enthusiasts so rooted in the past and so uninterested in the future that they have created algorithms and computer software that can accurately simulate football games, seasons, and careers using fields of data that already exist on the thousands of players who have suited up in the National Football League. All of these players are now old. Some of them are now dead. But they became the object of Ted Kluck’s fascin...

There are books on how to worship God with our marriages, our money, and our sex lives. Books on how to “think biblically” about movies, television, and the arts. Books on how to vote Christianly and how not to vote Christianly. But there is little thoughtful, Christ-centered writing on the subject that drives most of men’s banter with each other and consumes the bulk of their free time- Sports.Written in the vein of Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated), Chuck Klosterman (...

Facing Tyson gives a ringside view of the world's most dangerous and notorious boxer. Brutal, controversial, and always newsworthy both inside and outside the ring, Mike Tyson remains a cultural icon to this day. Despite the personal, legal, and mental problems that have overshadowed his celebrated boxing career, he continues to make headlines as a fascinating, yet extremely flawed character. Several of the era's biggest names in boxing, including Pinklon Thomas, Tyrell Bi...

Robert Griffin III exploded onto the NFL scene with a style and flair anything but typical. With a Heisman Trophy on his mantel, RG3 entered professional football in 2012 under a spotlight that glowed beyond his own team, the Washington Redskins. Could the Baylor graduate electrify the NFL as he had the college game? Could he return a fabled franchise to the realm of elite Super Bowl contenders?Author Ted Kluck deepens the reader’s connection to a man who became the face of a rever...

"You can be young, passionate about Jesus Christ, surrounded by diversity, engaged in a postmodern world, reared in evangelicalism and not be an emergent Christian. In fact, I want to argue that it would be better if you weren't."The Emergent Church is a strong voice in today's Christian community. And they're talking about good things: caring for the poor, peace for all men, loving Jesus. They're doing church a new way, not content to fit the mold. Again, all good. But there's mor...

Sometimes, Church HurtsThe Church, the Bride of Christ. That description conjures up images of radiant white bride, eyes sparkling with peace and harmony, right? Maybe that’s why it’s such a gut-punch when that Bride behaves more like a grade school bully or a hot tempered drill sergeant.What do you do with that reality, a reality that sometime hurts? Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin aren’t interested in 140 characters of tweetable comfort. They’d rather share t...

From the creators of the popular Happy Rant podcast comes this collection of thought-provoking and often humorous discussions of Christian culture to help you gain valuable insight and clarity into the issues that frequently divide the church.Ted Kluck, Ronnie Martin and Barnabas Piper, hosts of the Happy Rant podcast, take their signature faith-based back-and-forth from the recording booth to the book page as they explore pastor trends, personality tests, politica...

From the hive mind behind the popular Happy Rant podcast comes this cornucopia of humorous and thought-provoking critiques of Christian culture. Come for the good-natured cynicism. Stay for the enlightenment.Ted Kluck, Ronnie Martin, and Barnabas Piper, hosts of the Happy Rant podcast, take their faith-based back-and-forth from the recording booth to the book page with this collection of insightful and often hilarious takedowns of pastor trends, p...

A Suburban Dad and an Ex Con Show What Discipleship Looks LikeTed is an educated thirty-something father of two who's been going to church his whole life. Dallas is a twenty-one-year-old former cocaine addict with a prison record who has recently become a Christian. When they agree to meet regularly for "discipleship," they know that chatting once a week in a coffee shop just won't cut it. Instead, they decide to get to know each other while restoring an old Triumph Spitfire. Fille...