Author Archives: Paul Knepper

https://newbooksnetwork.com/mind-game In growing numbers, athletes are speaking up about their struggles with mental illness—including high-profile stars such as Michael Phelps, Kevin Love, Simone Biles, and Naomi Osaka. More disclosures are surely on the way, as athletes recognize that their openness can help others and inspire those around them. In Mind Game: An Inside Look at theContinue reading “Podcast with Julie Kliegman about her book Mind Game: An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/pipeline-to-the-pros Jeff Van Gundy. Brad Stevens. Frank Vogel. Mike Budenholzer. Tom Thibodeau. Sam Presti. Leon Rose. Before you knew his name, before he drafted your favorite player, before he guided your team to a championship, he had a playing career of his own at an NCAA Division III college. He didn’t play for fortune –Continue reading “Podcast with Ben Kaplan, author of Pipeline to the Pros: How D3, Small-College Nobodies Rose to Rule the NBA.”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/a-baseball-gaijin Like many American boys, Tony Barnette yearned to one day make it to “The Show,” playing baseball professionally. The Arizona State pitcher was drafted in 2006 by the in-state Diamondbacks. Gradually ascending the minor-league ladder, it looked like this was the beginning of a blessed life, where he could play the game he lovedContinue reading “Podcast with Aaron Fischman about his book A Baseball Gaijin: Chasing a Dream to Japan and Back”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/kings-of-the-garden In Kings of the Garden: The New York Knicks and Their City (Three Hills, 2024), Adam J. Criblez traces the fall and rise of the New York Knicks between the 1973, the year they won their last NBA championship, and 1985, when the organization drafted Patrick Ewing and gave their fans hope after a decade ofContinue reading “Podcast with Adam Criblez about his book Kings of the Garden: The New York Knicks and Their City”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/big-cat Johnny Mize was one of the greatest hitters in baseball’s golden age of great hitters. Born and raised in tiny Demorest, Georgia, in the northeast Georgia mountains, Mize emerged from the heart of Dixie as a Bunyonesque slugger, a quiet but sharp-witted man from a broken home who became a professional player at seventeen,Continue reading “Podcast with Jerry Grillo, author of Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-wingmen It was 1953, the Korean War in full throttle, when two men—already experts in their fields—crossed the fabled 38th Parallel into Communist airspace aboard matching Panther jets. John Glenn was an ambitious operations officer with fifty-nine World War II combat missions under his belt. His wingman was Ted Williams, the two-time American League TripleContinue reading “Podcast with Adam Lazarus about his book The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/roberto-alomar Roberto Alomar was not just a five-tool Hall of Famer; he was a magician on the diamond, a generational talent whose defensive wizardry left teammates and opponents breathless. Yet, despite his twelve All-Star selections and ten Gold Glove awards, he has remained one of the most contentious and enigmatic characters in baseball’s history. RobertoContinue reading “Podcast with David Ostrowsky, author of Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer.”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/when-the-game-was-war Four historic teams. Four legendary players. One unforgettable season. The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season wasContinue reading “Podcast with Rich Cohen, author of When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season.”

https://newbooksnetwork.com/marty-glickman For close to half a century after World War II, Marty Glickman was the voice of New York sports. His distinctive style of broadcasting, on television and especially on the radio, garnered for him legions of fans who would not miss his play-by-play accounts. From the 1940s through the 1990s, he was as iconicContinue reading “Podcast with Jeffrey Gurock about his book Marty Glickman: The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend”