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The Breaks of the Game
- Narrated by: Brian Troxell
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
A New York Times best seller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions.
More than six years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his groundbreaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them best sellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves.
The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans, and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars - all presented in a way that puts the listener in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own.
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The record-holding two-time National Basketball Association champion reflects on his work ethic, his on-the-court friendships and rivalries, the great teams he's played for, and what it takes to have a long and successful career in this thoughtful, in-depth memoir. Playing in the NBA for 18 years, Ray Allen won championships with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat and entered the record books as the original king of the three-point shot. Known as one of the hardest-working and highest-achieving players in NBA history, he was legendary for his sharp shooting.
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It wasn't bad, but I thought it would be better
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-18
By: Ray Allen, and others
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War Room
- The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team
- By: Michael Holley
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Bill Belichick is one of the titans of today's game of football. Now, sports commentator and best-selling author Michael Holley follows three NFL teams - the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and Atlanta Falcons - from training camp 2010 through the Super Bowl and into the April draft, opening a new window into Belichick's influence on the game. This one-of-a-kind exploration takes football fans behind the scenes of the most popular sport in America, with unprecedented insider access to the head coaches, scouts, trainers, and players.
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Narrator choice - HUH?
- By Ryan Mullaney on 03-25-18
By: Michael Holley
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Showtime
- Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Best-selling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end - marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV - Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
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Offended at the style used to voice black characters.
- By NP on 01-15-22
By: Jeff Pearlman
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Scribe
- My Life in Sports
- By: Bob Ryan
- Narrated by: Bob Ryan
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ever since he joined the sports department of the Boston Globe in 1968, sports enthusiasts have been blessed with the writing and reporting of Bob Ryan. Tony Kornheiser calls him the "quintessential American sportswriter". For the past 25 years, he has also been a regular on various ESPN shows, especially The Sports Reporters, spreading his knowledge and enthusiasm for sports of all kinds.
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No my idea of a memoir
- By Michael Friedman on 12-19-14
By: Bob Ryan
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Dream Team
- How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Changed the Game of Basketball Forever
- By: Jack McCallum
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.
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Great insight into the great basketball team ever.
- By James O'Brien on 09-04-12
By: Jack McCallum
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Furious George
- My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection
- By: George Karl, Curt Sampson
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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A man of deep passion and intensity, George Karl earned his bad boy reputation while playing at the University of North Carolina, a rap that continued through the five years he spent with the San Antonio Spurs - and long after he stopped playing. Karl's beery nights, fistfights, and barking followed him into a 35-year coaching career. In a game defined by big stakes and bigger egos, rabid fans and an unforgiving media, Karl was hired and fired a dozen times.
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Pathetic little black book.
- By Brad Howard on 04-20-20
By: George Karl, and others
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When the Game Was Ours
- By: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jackie MacMullan, Larry Bird
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s - Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness - together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships and six MVP awards.
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Great story; stilted delivery
- By Amazon Customer on 08-07-15
By: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and others
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Junior Seau
- The Life and Death of a Football Icon
- By: Jim Trotter
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau is widely considered one of the best linebackers ever to play the game. A 10-time All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowl selection, Seau was picked for the NFL's All-Decade Team in the 1990s. His incredible career spanned two decades, during which time he played for the Chargers, Dolphins, and Patriots. In 2012, at the age of 43, Seau committed suicide with a gunshot wound to the chest. News of his death sent shockwaves through the NFL.
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Outstanding Book!!!
- By Sherry Jones on 01-08-16
By: Jim Trotter
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The Missing Ring
- How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Across a wide swath of the last century, the tradition-rich Crimson Tide has claimed twelve national championships, captured 25 conference titles, finished 34 times among the country's top ten, and played in 53 bowl games.
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Fantastic
- By John Rogers on 03-29-18
By: Keith Dunnavant
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Barca
- The Making of the Greatest Team in the World
- By: Graham Hunter
- Narrated by: Graham Hunter
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Barcelona is the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation, and possibly the greatest of all time. This is the untold inside story of how the best and most loved football team in the world came to redefine how the game is played. We start with the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, the game that ended the debate about whether Barcelona was the greatest team in the world and began a new one: are they the best ever?
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In-depth analysis of the greatest team ever
- By Michalis Petrou on 01-09-18
By: Graham Hunter
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The Legends Club
- Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: John Feinstein
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends - University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano - by the king of college basketball writers, number-one New York Times best seller John Feinstein.
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An absolute must for college basketball fans
- By Hebern on 12-12-18
By: John Feinstein
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Rising Tide
- Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter
- By: Randy Roberts, Ed Krzemienski
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The extraordinary story of how Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, his star quarterback at the University of Alabama, led the Crimson Tide to victory and transformed football into a truly national pastime. During the bloodiest years of the civil rights movement, Bear Bryant and Joe Namath - two of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports - changed the game of college football forever.
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Love Alabama football? Read this!!
- By Miss Faulk on 07-16-15
By: Randy Roberts, and others
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Paterno
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Joe Posnanski's biography of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno follows in the tradition of works by Richard Ben Cramer on Joe DiMaggio and David Maraniss on Vince Lombardi. Having gained unprecedented access to Paterno, as well as the coach's personal notes and files, Posnanski spent the last two years of Paterno's life covering the coach, on (and off) the field and through the scandal that ended Paterno's legendary career.
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WoWoWoWoW
- By JA Hartman on 08-27-12
By: Joe Posnanski
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Robot Narration with Clueless Word Emphasis
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The Boys of Summer
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Classic book!
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Sweetness
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At five feet ten inches tall, running back Walter Payton was not the largest player in the NFL, but he developed a larger-than-life reputation for his strength, speed, and grit. Nicknamed “Sweetness” during his college football days, he became the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing and all-purpose yards, capturing the hearts of fans in his adopted Chicago.
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Honest Accounting Of A Fascinating Life
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Basketball
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Underwhelming
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What listeners say about The Breaks of the Game
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- James E McCormick
- 06-02-20
A look at the past in the NBA
Great look at the Blazers and the NBA era in the late 70s. Halberstam weaves in interesting stories on some famous and not so famous players while illustrating the challenges the league had prior to Bird and Magic coming into the league.
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- Jack M
- 05-10-22
Loved it!
Brought back so many memories of that era and watching these players as a young fan. Really enjoyed both the story and the excellent narration.
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- Ray Shaka
- 11-28-22
Fifty-five 5’s
Great analysis of the building and breaking of a great team and the league in transition.
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- Ed
- 03-11-16
Truly one of the all time great sports books
The fact that Halberstam, a world renown American historian, put as much effort into chronicling an era of the NBA as he did with wars and presidential administrations makes this a must read for any sports fan, even if basketball isn't your thing.
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4 people found this helpful
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- vn
- 11-28-21
Great!
A classic from David halberstam. Takes you back to the days of the early NBA what a great read!
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- LARRY DINKIN
- 05-12-20
The best book about pro basketball
Great behind the scene story of pro basketball in the Walton era. The portraits of the players and coaches are revealing.
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- Michael D. Morris
- 12-05-23
Patience
It starts out a bit slow, but builds in interest and story telling until you get to the point that you’re sad the book is about to end.
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- Mark Davidson
- 04-24-21
Early NBA Lore
Loved the book, especially the parts about Walton and the San Diego Clippers. I was first introduced to basketball in San Diego in late 1978 as a first grader. Was obsessed with the sport especially the high scores and the even taller players. Brought back excellent memories of my early years of fandom.
The writing was excellent and the back story on the players and the league was phenomenal.
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- Books
- 11-19-23
The NBA of 1979-1980
David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game joins Terry Pluto's Loose Balls as my favorite books about basketball, and my favorite portraits of professional sports leagues. They also benefit from having excellent audio productions.
Breaks does so much well, and it's interesting to read about the successes and anxieties of the time. Interesting to see which successes and anxieties of the league remain the same & which successes and anxieties remain different.
If anyone is hesitant to read because of the fact that this book is about a team that ultimately limped into the playoffs in 1979-1980, I would tell you to put your concerns down, because the 1979-1980 Portland Trail Blazers, while clearly being the focus of this book, ultimately serve as a vehicle that tells the story of many. You get portraits of rookies such as Magic Johnson & Larry Bird, the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Marvin "Bad News" Barnes, Dennis Johnson, the early 1970s Knicks, and how some thought they would eventually be the next dynasty after the Celtics of the 50s & 60s, and so much more.
Time Well Spent.
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- Kyle
- 06-13-18
This book is a must read for all NBA junkies.
This book is a must read for NBA junkies. This covers an in-depth look of the Portland Trail Blazers from 1977-1980. Led by Bill Walton, the '77 Blazers thrilled many basketball purists with their unselfish style of play. Following the '77 season, injuries and chemistry problems led to decline of the team and their unsuccessful pursuit of a potential dynasty.
More importantly, the story also tackles many topics such as race, racism, contract disputes, loyalty, television advertising, team chemistry, team politics, Bill Walton, corruption in college basketball (this is in the 70s which is crazy!), college vs. pros, the Blazers making one of the WORST trade of all time by trading Moses Malone to the Houston Rockets for a bag of chips, a player by the name of Marvin Barnes who could've been the GOAT but ruined his career by doing drugs and many more.
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4 people found this helpful