Teams Books

Johnny Pesky says this book is for "real Red Sox fans". I say it's for everyone. I learned some fascinating things from this book that give me a whole new perspective on the team. Herb Crehan's talent for telling a story makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Herb Crehan has put together a magnificant collection of interviews and through his eyes/prose has made a Red Sox fan out of me. I began reading the book to my seven year old son in an attempt to relate to his young boy's passion for the team. What a wonderful way to spend time together and I highly recommend this interesting and insightful read to those of any age.

Of all the baseball books on the market, this one is a gem. For Red Sox fans in particular and all baseball fans, this book gives an inside view of the players on and off the field. Herb Crehan has done an outstanding job of showing the reader the real world of baseball.

This is wonderful reading. The book is a collection of articles on former Red Sox players that should interest both Red Sox fans and baseball fans in general. Mr. Crehan obviously loves baseball and this love is evident in his writing.

The 2nd book and it showed all the suspense and action of the first. The action is well told without seeming over the top and the author goes a long way to show that everything isn't easy for these men.

Opening scene is great, remainder is less
exciting. There isn't as much technical
detail as in Direct Action.
Still a great book in an excellent series!

Specter did not have the pace of the first book, although it is still excellent. I enjoyed the first scene of the book, in Bosnia. But, the rescue at the castle was too much of shoot out for me. This is still better than anything out there.

The scene in the book where the SEALs do a HAHO parachute jump in the middle of the night over Lake Ohrid was so well written, I thought I was there! Characters are realistic and action is non-stop. Would love to see this story hit the big screen! Keith, you've done it again! Best SEAL Series out there. For a hoo-yah good time, you'll find it hard putting this one down.

This is a highly entertaining, funny, and tightly written memoir. Anyone interested in ghostwriting should read this book. Taylor Branch does a wonderful job with structure, with each chapter reading like a thematic essay, rather than a chronological depiction of events. I couldn't put the book down.

Russell is a wily and stubborn yet unconventionally thoughtful persona. Russell was an avid student and his opinions, while unorthodox, make a lot of sense, and thus are very humorous. His qualms with the idolization of sports stars, for example, manifest in funny anecdotes about fans seeking autographs and Red Auerbach trying to retire his jersey. And though Russell tries to depict his life in unromatntic terms - the final scene is of him giving up his clim of Mt Ranier - his story is inspirational. The path he takes from rural, segregated Louisiana - where his peers believe in ghosts - to media superstar is dramatic.

My favorite section in the book is the part where Russell describes Sam Jones's ability to take over a game, but Jones's refusal to do it very often. Jones didn't want the responsibility, he says, which confuses his teammates. The juxtaposition of Jones's great abilities to his listless and uncooperative sides was captivating. This is by far the best sports memoirs, and one of the best memoirs period, I've ever read.

Bill Russell takes you way inside to experience what playing in the NBA is all about when it works to the best it's able. A super fine book. I am glad it surfaced again in my archives. You really get the FEEL about playing a perfect game, especially as a TEAM.

This book is about life and the determination it takes to make it. It's funny yet it made me cry. It takes a boy from humble beginings to being on top of the world.

Bill Russell writes as he played; with controversy and excellence. As an N.B.A. All-Star and 11-time world champion, he knows about life and transfers this knowledge to the pages of his book. This is a book about life's victories and defeats and how to deal with them. Russell is entertaining, candid and controversial. He says what he thinks and has a great philosophy of life. This book was written in 1979, but is even more important today, as we are besieged with athletes with big salaries and even bigger egos. This book reveals a social as well as athletic history. If you can find a copy, it is well worth the reading.

The reviews here are from the earlier part of this decade, or the late' 90s, when the Raiders were heading upward under Al Davis, Bruce Allen, and Jon Gruden. So, it was easy at that time to pass this book off as good fun.

But now that the Raiders are coming off of a 19-61 record over the past 5 years, this book takes on a whole new life, and lacks only an update focusing on what happened between Al Davis and Jon Gruden, and the landslide this franchise has been on ever since.

This book is an excellent dissection of Al Davis and the stunts he pulls throughout his life and with the NFL. His battles with Pete Rozelle and the league are not much smaller than battles in a World War. From coaching at the Citadel to moving his Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. It goes through Al's boyhood life and his struggles to the top of the game with the Raiders. This is an excellent book, not only for Raiders fans but any fan of sports.

Well-researched, well-written, and fun to read, this book reveals the "Genius" in all his wretched squalor and details the steps he took to get where he is. Great sport!

If your looking to learn more on this football legend, then get a copy of this. Great research on a man obessed with being the best in pro football. Gives you the ups and down in his life.

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

Okay, now if you don't know much about Pittsburgh, but if you like football, this book will enlighten you. Whether you are a remaining native Burger or were born here and left, keeping your allegiance to the city(such as I), this book will open all your senses and you will recall the glory of walking duntown in a seemingly not too distant past where the Stillers were the lifeblood of the city. These were the days when the "legendary" performers were writing their part of history. If you want to read about mostly plays and scores, this may not be for you. If you have ties with either or both the city and the team, this may be the best thing out there. Do not miss it.

I must preface this review by saying that I am not a Steelers fan or even a football fan. Never the less I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was given to me by a Pittsburgh based friend who thought I would appreciate the writing and ( as a Cubs fan ) the 'lovable losers' quality of the early Steelers. My friend was right.
This is indeed a terrific underdog story. With a founder/owner straight out of Damon Runyon and a record of only eight winning seasons between 1933 and 1971 this team was the doormat of the NFL. Then with Franco Harris's Immaculate Reception in 1972 everything turned around. The Steelers became the dominant pro football team for the rest of the '70s with eight future Hall of Famers and nine visits to the playoffs.
The writers assembled to tell this compelling story are first rate. This book is required reading for Steelers fans, but I would recommend this book to all football fans or fans of good writing.

I was thirteen years old on December 23, 1972 when, on a small black-and-white television in our half-finished basement, my buddy and I watched Jack Tatum viciously pop Frenchy Fuqua on a play that should have ended the game and season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. What happened moments later and still burns in memory is just one of the many stories wonderfully captured in THE STEELERS READER, a must-read for any thinking sports fan with or without connections to the city and people of Pittsburgh. Although this collection covers the 70-year history of the team, for me it's the great Steelers teams of the 1970s which are most vividly brought to life from a series of cultural, historical -- even geographical -- perspectives. This collection includes some great sports writing from Frank Deford, Roy Blount, Jr., and others, but best of all there are the characters and the folklore: the Terrible Towel, Three Rivers Stadium, Gerela's Gorilla's, Terry Bradshaw, Art Rooney, Mean Joe Greene, Ernie "Fats" Holmes, Chuck Knoll, Rocky Bleir, and Franco's Italian Army. If only my local sports section were this well written and fun to read!

The further adventures of Santini and his band, setting out to prevent problems with both band and incompetent superhumans. One interesting point is that he becomes more and more reliant on superhuman help himself, with a shapeshifter, for one, and even one of his own team, Jukko, is revealed to also be posthuman. It does not end there.

This isn't the typical comic book from when I was a kid. Stories that are actually interesting to grown-ups! The idea behind Stormwatch is that "normal" humans have developed a team to kill rogue super-powered beings that use their powers for evil. Stormwatch is the team of humans that hunt the baddies.

A good idea, that's been well executed.

Collecting Stormwatch: Team Achilles issues #7-#11 along with a bonus story.
This title is one of the best out there. A combination of all out action and strong characterization makes Stormwatch stand out from the rest of the herd. Highlights include issue #8 titled "The Winter War" and issue #10 titled "Run". They are polar opposites with "The Winter War" as a frightening cautionary tale of history repeating itself while "Run" is a laugh out loud parody of the JLA and the Avengers.

This volume does not contain a single story arc but is rather a compilation of stand alone stories, each focusing on a specific team member. Each story is interesting but the one that stands out is the one centered on Jukko's. Despite being a member that's tasked to hunt down rogue "post-humans", he himself has some superhuman traits. Micah Wright has intriguingly teased the readers that Jukko can have a stand alone comic of his own, since we see him doing bits of crime fighting in a big city like New York. The only complaint with this compilation, unlike Volume 1, is it ended with a cliffhanger, a blatant sales ploy so readers will be forced to buy Volume 3. Well, I'm not complaining about buying another Team Achilles compilation but they should do it real SOON!

I am a Baltimore Ravens fan but still a Baltimore Colts lover. I just finished reading my grandfather's copy of this and it was the best Baltimore Colts book and possibly the best book that I have ever read. The interviews are great and some entertaining. Every time I had extra time, I read some of this. So, if you are a passionate fan of Baltimore sports, GET THIS BOOK!

The Baltimore Colts are not really gone, not as long as we remember them. And more than twenty years after their last game in 1983, they live on thanks to Steve Sabol of NFL Films, broadcasters like Don Criqui, Dick Enberg, Mike Patrick, and Pat Summeral, authors like Tom Callahan, Frank Deford and William Gildea, Super Bowl III conspiracy blogs on the internet, and the fans who rub Johnny U's bronze toe for luck before Ravens games and still hate the New York Jets.

The Colts were the original America's Team. When Unitas passed in 2002, veteran sportswriters Mickey Herskowitz and John McClain were as moved here in Houston as anyone in Baltimore. In 2004, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered his staff to read Michael Maccambridge's America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation, which naturally featured Johnny U on the cover.

But if the national legacy of the team is inarguable, the best book about it, Sundays at 2:00 with the Baltimore Colts, is a local work of oral history. Rather than expound on the big picture, authors Vince Bagli and Norman L. Macht simply ask notable individuals to remember life before, during, and after they were Colts. The scope and span of the book are impressive: thirty people agreed to be interviewed, among them nine members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame such as Unitas and coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula. Other participants include NFL MVPs Earl Morral and Bert Jones, and fan favorites from the 1958-1959 NFL champions, Super Bowls III and V, and the 1975-1977 AFC East division champions. The result is a flood of memories and emotions, from both the Colts and the reader who holds them dear.

Yes, the big games are here, from the sudden-death 1958 championship over the Giants to the Super Bowl III upset loss to the Jets, as are heroes like Gino Marchetti and villains like Robert Irsay. Historians will enjoy the roster of every coach, player, and draft pick, but the real gem is the All-Time Results of every game in team history. Looking for memories among this wealth of information will keep you busy, and happy, for years.

Still, the book covers far more than football. The reader will find stories about the Second World War from Art Donovan, racial segregation from John Mackey, Lenny Moore, and Jim Parker, and labor unions from Mike Curtis. Who could ask for anything more?

For fans who loved the Colts, the best part of the book may be the relationships between the players, both good and bad. Here and there someone will call out a teammate, but anyone looking for bitter denunciations or hysterical rants will be disappointed save for a few about Irsay. Apart from him, the Colts Family is no myth.

Of course it might have been interesting to hear from Bubba Smith, who once accused his teammates of throwing Super Bowl III. Other strong personalities are missing, like Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks. Moreover, the book includes just one member of the last-ever Colts team, Nesby Glasgow.

But this is no problem: just bring on volume 2.

Sometimes very sad ... but more often, quite hilarious.

Each chapter profiles a different ex-Colt and prompts that player or coach for his recollections of & reflections on playing for what is perhaps the greatest franchise in the history of the NFL.

This is of "Hall of Fame" caliber, cover-to-cover.

If it wasn't for a dude named Vince Lombardi many of these former Baltimore stars would have had their hands full of rings -- as in Championship.

Targeted toward the old Baltimore Colt fans with some interesting interviews with players like Bert Jones, John Unitas, Art Donovan and more. Whether you are or were a big football fan some of the interviews conducted are very interesting. Well researched with some photographs and inside stories. An enjoyable read!

The author has a fast paced style in which he covers topics quickly and includes events and observations not strictly limited to the 79 Steelers. Not much depth on most subjects, however the Steelers poor drafting after the 74 bonanza is covered well (the 79 first round pick, Greg Hawthorne, had to resort to wearing pantyhose to avoid leg injuries later in his career w/Patriots, Wexell didn't metnion this). I like his writing style, covering so many players and topics make this a great book to reread in a couple of years.
Offensive lineman Steve Courson died when a tree fell on him in Nov 2005, his struggles with steriods-caused heart failure is mentioned here.
Chuck Noll's poor overall handling of Bradshaw is briefly mentioned, has been speculated they might have squeezed out one more Super Bowl win if Noll had been more responsive to the clinically depressed Bradshaw (his depression discussed in book). During the last half of the 80s Bradshaw said if he had been treated better he would not have retired after 83. Was surprised Lambert and others smoked.
Homeless, punch-drunk from football-related injuries to the head and dead from heart attack in his early 50s, Mike Webster,the workaholic center, barely mentioned. Defensive lineman Steve Furness also dead from a heart attack in his early 50s after being fired (and blacklisted?) by current Steeler Head Coach Cowher back in 94.
Even casual football fans, esp. in their 50s, will delight in this needed book.

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

The Steelers made their Curtain call on the NFL in 1979, and Jim Wexell's impressive, fast-moving chronicle of that season recalls the anecdotes (L.C. Greenwood's disdain for weight-lifting among the more interesting) while delivering a healthy amount of background on players you've long since forgotten about. Strengths are the candid interviews with the anonymous faces who ran the hugely successful drafts of the early 70s, explaining how they found guys like Stallworth and missed guys like Montana and Marino. Also, the quick-read vignette format is a big plus. Many players and coaches tell it like it was, but some obviously have been interviewed many times before and offer little here beyond cliched coachspeak. Weekly accounts of the games could be a bit beefier. But because it's such a fast read and contains so much background on long-forgotten role players, it belongs on the coffee table of anyone who lived and died with this team every Sunday in the '70s. Merits a 4.5-star rating, rounding up here.

Tales from the behind the Steel Curtain is a must read for Steelers fans who still bask in the glory of the 1970s as well younger fans who are interested in learning how the dynasty was built. Jim Wexell's book is written in short stories that makes it easy to read and thoroughly traces the 1979 season - the team's fourth Super Bowl title in an amazing six-year stretch - and the years prior. Some nuggets are how some Steelers scouts believed receiver Frank Lewis was better than Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, but was too shy to tell quarterback Terry Bradshaw to throw him the ball. Steelers coach Chuck Noll wanted to draft Stallworth - a small-college no name whom the team's scouts uncovered - in the first round of the 1974 draft, a draft landed the Steelers four Hall of Famers. It also focuses on the many unique personalities of the team's number of colorful characters, including Dwight White, L.C. Greenwood, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, etc. It's truly a book that will put a smile on the face of any Steelers fan.

The coaching techniques and examples provided in the book are outstanding. By applying these techniques to your everyday activities you will definately see a positive change.

I found the examples and exercises useful. A good and easy read. Should help me get better at giving and receiving feedback in a way that is constuctive and actionable

Placed in the leadership role for a high performance team undertaking a "McKinsey-ish" strategy study I found myself very challenged. Having spotted this book at an airport bookshop I read it on the plane. I put its suggestions into place, starting from the front of the book, and worked my way through the chapters as they were appropriate. I had it on my desk for the entire 4-month study. It bought immediate results for the team, and me by achieving greater cohesion of energy yet releasing greater diversity of thought especially during the inductive phase of the study. During the deductive stages it helped us focus on a team-based outcome without leaving people out of the decision-making process that had to be managed to a schedule. I firmly believe that without this book we would not have achieved the results we did - the pressure was intense and teams have a tendency to blow themselves apart after the final report is in. The team would not have continued to work as a coherent whole on subsequent phases of my study. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to lead a high performance team. Landsberg's@examples and his obvious experience come through well, and they gave me the courage to try what the book suggests with my team. Well worth the cost.

Max Landsberg succeeds in translating the essentials of coaching into a simple story and a few tables and graphics. It is easy to read, but once you've read it, the actual thinking begins. The somewhat unusual approach Landsberg takes introduces various aspects of coaching (such as receiving and giving feedback, overcoming coaching blocks) as elements of someone's career, providing the reader with instant examples.

This is a fantastic book for Team Leaders. I was hired to create a functioning team from a group of mis-fits. This book helped make this process happen. Fantastic book if you want to get more out of your employees or team members.

We used the MBTI from a company called KnowYourtype as talked about in the book. Great tool.

In this age of team oriented approach to products and customers, managing this approach is often easier said than done. Roadblocks can easily arise that can derail a team bound for success. In this book, the author presents some of the more common pitfalls for teams, including poor relations between teams and the customer, and the inability of teams to anticipate problems.
Robert W. Barnum presents both symptoms and treatments for problems that generally arise in these four key areas:

· Improving internal relationships by keeping minor conflicts between team members from escalating to major problems.
· Strengthen team focus by establishing and maintaining a clear sense of direction, minimizing change anxiety, and establishing and maintaining focused priorities.
· Dealing with the challenges of change by proper use of coordination and innovation. Team must be able to anticipate challenges, especially those that threaten the team directly. Some of these challenges can be viewed as opportunities for growth. The distinctions are important.
· Mending external relationships. Teams need to know who are their customers, as the customers are the team's reason for being.

Of these four key areas, the author focuses on the team's ability to anticipate changes by submitting eight steps to successfully creating a scenario forecast. These steps are:

· Identify influencing factors
· Rate influencing factors
· Identify key influencing factors
· Create alternative scenarios
· Combine scenarios
· Describe each combined scenario
· Assess probability
· Assess the implications.

Robert W. Barner has produced a remarkable resource. Lucid, organized, utterly practical and results-oriented, this cookbook for team builders and members belongs on every organization's bookshelf. Barner has condensed everything he has learned from two decades of consulting and team-building experience into a five-step process for improving team relationships and performance. He identifies the most common pitfalls for teams, and provides a kit of 51 tools designed for specific team-building or team-repair tasks. Neither abstract nor psychological in nature, this practical workbook describes proven techniques and strategies for quickly and effectively addressing a wide range of problems that frequently occur among teams. Bottom line: we from getAbstract consider this an essential resource for managers, team leaders and team members.

I am currently conducting team building activities for different organizations and Robert Barner's framework has given me a clear idea on how to diagnose team problems---and define interventions. Complemented with other management books, this book---but then, this is more than a book---this is a tool kit--- provides enough tools yet whets your appetite to crave for more learnings. Again, this book (and toolkit), will be a valuable addition to anyone whose passion for teams is unquenchable. Every manager serious towards improving himself and his team can use this toolkit from strategy formulation to program evaluation. Encompassing every team problem, I won't be surprised if this will soon become industry standard! This will practically change the way your organization address team problems. It provides long-term solutions to long-standing team problems.