The Breaks of the GameA New York Times bestseller, 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 bestsellers. 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 reader in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own. |
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Page 173
... rebounds , Kermit had 25 points and 14 rebounds , and both were exhausted after the game . Kermit was sitting by his locker talking about Moses : " Most basketball fans , " he said , " see Moses , and they all think , look how tall he ...
... rebounds , Kermit had 25 points and 14 rebounds , and both were exhausted after the game . Kermit was sitting by his locker talking about Moses : " Most basketball fans , " he said , " see Moses , and they all think , look how tall he ...
Page 207
... rebounding . In the last game of his senior year he was on the edge of becoming only the seventh player in the country to average 20 points and 20 rebounds for his entire college career . He had to make 39 points to do it and he had ...
... rebounding . In the last game of his senior year he was on the edge of becoming only the seventh player in the country to average 20 points and 20 rebounds for his entire college career . He had to make 39 points to do it and he had ...
Page 297
... rebounds and he was teasing Tom Owens . They had had a bet on who would get more rebounds . Lucas , already fully dressed , popped quietly into the locker room to get his bag , then slipped away . Ramsay followed him into the hallway of ...
... rebounds and he was teasing Tom Owens . They had had a bet on who would get more rebounds . Lucas , already fully dressed , popped quietly into the locker room to get his bag , then slipped away . Ramsay followed him into the hallway of ...
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Abdul Abdul Jeelani Arledge asked athlete Auerbach ball basket basketball player began believed better Bill Walton Billy Bates Billy Ray Bates Blazers Bobby Gross Brewer Buckwalter Calvin Natt career Celtics championship season coach contract court Culp deal draft choice fans felt Fleisher friends going gone guard high school Jack Ramsay Jeelani Kareem Kelley Kermit Washington knee knew Knicks Kunnert Lakers Larry Weinberg later league Lenny Wilkens Lionel Hollins locker room looked loved Luke Malone Marvin Maurice Lucas Moses Malone Mychal Mychal Thompson Natt never Newell night once Owens owners pain play playoffs Portland professional basketball Ramsay's Ransey rebounds rookie salary San Diego score scouts Seattle seemed shot Silas Slusher small forward star Steve Stu Inman sure T. R. Dunn talent talk teammates television thing thought told trade Twardzik UCLA wanted watch young