Best sports biographies according to redditors

If I were hiring for this position and you had a strong resume, I would be nervous about your lack of domain knowledge -- but that's something that software engineers are expected to pick up! So I would go in with:

• I know my role (SWEng) and I'm excited to learn more about the sport ... that's normal in software engineering, and you can expect me to be up to speed by the start of the season.
  
  Now, you can also cram. Read this Wikipedia article to learn the names of the positions and formations. Make flash cards! Study hard! Then dive into any of the following books:
  
  
• Take Your Eye Off the Ball - how to watch the game to learn more than a casual fan does
  
• The Art of Smart Football - big-picture strategic writing about how coaches and QBs plan for games
  
  A reasonable bar for a non-casual fan would be to be able to answer questions like:
  
  
• (Casual / Bare minimum) Discuss the recent history of the team you're visiting, and the recent strengths and weaknesses of their division rivals.
  
• (Casual / Bare minimum) Explain the three choices that a coach has on fourth down, and discuss recent (>2005) changes in attitudes toward that decision.
  
• (Casual / Bare minimum) Explain why a "nickel" or "dime" defense is a reasonable choice against a "two-minute" offense.
  
• (Casual / Bare minimum) There are five offensive linemen, usually divided into three position names. Name the positions and the differences between their skills. Explain why having a good offensive line is critical.
  
• (Moderate) Describe the set of games that makes up a team's schedule. Can you, as a SWEng, quantify which games have the most impact on a team's playoff chances?
  
• (Moderate) Outline rule changes over the last 15-20 years surrounding the concept of the "extra point" including the 2-point conversion.
  
• (Moderate) If you analyze the play-by-play data, you might notice that when a QB has many negative-yardage plays it correlates with losing, but when a QB has exactly three negative yardage plays, it correlates strongly with winning. Why? How could you adjust your software to remove this weird bias in the data?
  
• (Moderate) The Ravens have two victories in the last ten years that were both secured by deliberate late-game safeties -- that is, giving up two points to the other team. Explain how and why that strategy worked, and why it isn't viable anymore.
  
• (Moderate) Explain how player salaries are determined. Explain what someone means when they say "he's on his rookie deal" or "we can't cut him because of the dead money" or "they tagged him". Explain, using examples from around the league, what makes someone a "franchise QB" and what the reasonable market value is for a better-than-average QB.
  
• (Advanced) Read this three-part study and then discuss how you, as a SW engineer, can help me (the GM) select the best offensive line talent.
  
• (Advanced) A few years ago, in a NE@IND night game, everyone assumed New England would spend the evening passing the ball. Why? They ended up running the ball instead, and winning. What unusual wrinkle did they add to their offense that made it effective?
  
  Also... if the team you're applying to is the Ravens, I'll be happy to help you get up to speed.

Keep your eye off the ball NFL edition is good

Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629371696/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i.vWAbRA5EMJN

Also the art of smart football

The Art of Smart Football https://www.amazon.com/dp/069244825X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qawWAb8X0RP9W

how about a book?

these are pretty inspirational (Though UK centric)

• normal guy rides round coast of uk (5000miles)
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Man-Bike-Mike-Carter/dp/0091940559
  
  
• a different normal guy tackles the route of the tour de france (perhaps relevant because he hadn't cycled for years)
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/French-Revolutions-Cycling-Tour-France/dp/0099433826
  
  
• adventurer breaks round the world cycle record while being thoroughly nice and pretty normal
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Man-Who-Cycled-World/dp/0593062337
  
  
  or is there a velodrome or bike race nearby you could go and see?
  
  
  regarding tech, it's a bit tricky. Maybe a gps cycle computer to track rides. or maybe pay for one of his bikes to get a service / tune up at a local shop?
  
  just send him the link to r/bicycling
  
  EDIT: another suggestion, why don't you start cycling as well?

Most of these are analytical:

Take your eyes of the ball by Pat Kirwan.


The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays by Ron Jaworski

War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team by Michael Holley


The Art of Smart Football by Chris B. Brown

For more a bit more insight into the defensive principles described in the article, I found the first chapter of Chris B. Brown's The Art of Smart Football a great read!

Goes into why Carroll prefers a one-gap defense. Also describes the reasoning behind his 4-3 Under and Cover 3 schemes.

I would recommend, in order:

Take Your Eye Off the Ball by Pat Kirwan

The Essential Smart Football by Chris Brown

The Art of Smart Football by Chris Brown

Blood, Sweat, and Chalk by Tim Layden

Kirwan's book is an excellent introduction to the finer details of the game, but for broader strokes about scheme and particularly their history and how they came into fashion I have a pair of other recommendations -

Sports Illustrated's Blood, Sweat & Chalk: The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today's Game

and

Chris B Brown's The Essential Smart Football, and really everything on his website http://smartfootball.com/

I thoroughly enjoyed both, they were as much entertaining as educational and easy reads. I've been waiting for Brown's new book to come out on the e-readers, and if doesn't soon I'll probably buy a hard copy.

Also a shout out to /r/footballstrategy - there are some smart cats on that sub who are always happy to answer questions

edit: If you're interested in web articles instead also check out Matt Bowen's Football 101 series that he wrote for Bleacher Report (I wish he'd come back, most of his content is behind ESPN's paywall now...), he broke down a lot of broad principles with some nice diagrams http://bleacherreport.com/users/2822152-matt-bowen/archives/newest?rel=nofollow

It's being translated into other language right now, at least Dutch
(2) at least dutch is there, so I would be surprised not to see other languages as well, but it all depends on publishers and writers in other countries.

Take your eye of the ball Quick read. Good explanation of everything related to the NFL that the common fan probably doesn't know.

Education of a Coach a Biography of Bill Belichick. Really good but a little out of date now. Still it's current up till 2004 or so and most of BB's life took place before that.

This is a pretty similar story from one of Senna's team mates in the junior formulae. Great read - https://www.amazon.com/CRASHED-BYRNED-GREATEST-RACING-DRIVER/dp/1848310285

I picked this up during the offseason and it helped level up my understanding quickly. Maybe a Xmas gift to yourself candidate:

The Art of Smart Football

These are some books I bought a few months back as a recommendation from someone on this sub and they're fantastic.

[Take Your Eye off the Ball 2.0] (http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-4&keywords=smart+football)

[The Art of Smart Football] (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Smart-Football-Chris-Brown/dp/069244825X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+football)

[The Essential Smart Football] (http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Smart-Football-Chris-Brown/dp/1470125595/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-2&keywords=smart+football)

A lifelong Hibs fan did the same, switching allegiances and supporting Hearts

I don't know too much about this myself, but I found "The Art of Smart Football" by Chris B. Brown (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Smart-Football-Chris-Brown/dp/069244825X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/258-9038664-6346904?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4YW2R5VT4YR69EQDD7Y4) very enlightening.

Websites (Most are not active):

• Inside the Pylon - Videos may not load embedded, but you can copy the url. Pretty good look at base plays, position responsibilities, and other terms you run into.
  
• Breakdown Sports another place for looking at the above, less available though covered deeply. See article on Cover 1 for example.
  
• Football Study Hall More on the statistics side of football (old stomping ground of Bill Connelly), a bit more all over the place.
  
• Dan Casey's Twitter If you want to see clips of fun and interesting plays past and present, he's a good'un.
  
• Playbooks - Historic coaches' playbooks. You can get a pretty good understanding of things like read progression and play goals from these, as well as what the purpose of each player on the field for each play by reading through some of these.
  
  ---
  Books: These are the books most people recommend starting from.
  
  

1. David Seigerman's Take Your Eye Off the Ball This is a really good book for understanding the game holistically. From positions to managing a season to how you can pay attention to a play, a drive, and a game.
   
2. Chris B. Brown's The Essential Smart Football and The Art of Smart Football (read in order of printing) Fantastic book set for anyone ready to dive a deeper into how the game has and could develop. Seeing everyone raving about the wildcat is always a chuckle though.
   

• Tim Layden's Blood, Sweat & Chalk. Definitely worth the the purchase. Would recommend the above first, but this is a great go for the stories behind the plays. How they came to be and why.

Patrick Barclay's and Luis Lorenco's books are pretty good. Lorenco's book obviously has more in-depth history, "life' of Mourinho kind of fee, Barclay's book is more of a journalist's perspective with interesting tit-bits.

Red's Story by Red Storey

Not entirely about the CFL, but Red Storey played for the Argos, won two Grey Cups, played pro hockey and lacrosse, and reffed in the NHL for almost 500 games, including seven straight Stanley Cup finals. It's a great read.

King Of The World by David Remnick

I really liked the spotlight on Adams in Education of a Coach, a biography of Belichick.

Training a Tiger https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062702289/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_aYQLxbB8S0ZQF


Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061339202/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hZQLxbR6ZVBTN

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand ( link )

Never Stop Pushing: My Life from a Wyoming Farm to the Olympic Medals Stand - Rulon Gardner ( link )

Often Wrong, Never in Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel Within - Donny Deutsch ( link )

It's True! It's True! - Kurt Angle ( link )

Everyone Else Must Fail: The Unvarnished Truth About Oracle and Larry Ellison - Karen Southwick ( link )

Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days - Jessica Livingston ( link )

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality - Scott Belsky ( link )

Kick Your Own Ass: The Will, Skill, and Drill of Selling More Than You Ever Thought Possible - Robert Johnson ( link )