Celebrating more than twenty-five years of the most eye-popping, mind-blowing, jump-off-the-couch-worthy sports highlights from the network that made them famous in the first place Every week for twenty-five years, ESPN's SportsCenter has collected seven days worth of the most extraordinary (or sometimes boneheaded) plays, controversial calls, last-second miracles, and strangest fans in action. Each highlight clip with its commentary is a mini-story about a game, a player, or a season. A few of the best of the best: Michael Jordan's take off from the foul line in the 1988 slam-dunk competition; Derek Jeter's foul-ball dive to help defeat the Red Sox in 2004; Christian Laettner's buzzer beater against Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA Championship; Dwight Clarke completing "The Catch" in the 1982 NFC Championship; Brandi Chastain's bra-bearing victory celebration following the 1999 World Cup; and, of course, Dennis Rodman's hair. All of the trademark humor that makes ESPN the first stop and the last word for fans everywhere: razor-sharp commentary, infectious catchphrases, and unrepentant nicknaming. ESPN Plays of the Week is the first book ever to bring the nightly excitement of the most popular highlight reels in the world to the printed page.

This book traces the development and popularity of the sportscast highlight--the dominant news frame in the crowded medium of electronic sports journalism--as the primary means of communicating about sports and athletes. It explores the intricate relationships among media producers, sports leagues and organizations, and audiences, and explains that sportscast highlights are not a recent development, given their prominent use within a news context in every medium from early news film actualities and newsreels to network and cable television to today's new media platforms.

This expanded second edition traces the development and popularity of the sportscast highlight--the dominant news frame in the crowded medium of electronic sports journalism--as the primary means of communicating about sports and athletes. The book explores the intricate relationships among media producers, sports leagues and organizations, and audiences, and explains that sportscast highlights are not a recent development. They were often used within a news context in every medium--from early news film actualities and newsreels to network and cable television to today's new media platforms. New to this edition are three chapters that explore developments in sports media from cultural, economic and technological perspectives. An obsession with highlights has seen video replay increasingly used to adjudicate sporting events, marking a new level of reliance on technology. The media's quest for greater certitude and integrity corresponds with the rise of sponsorship of pro teams by gambling operators--with sports betting ads and on-screen odds now routinely appearing in sportscasts. Long-form sports documentaries have become popular, often highlighting a fascination with "firsts"--rooted in notions of human conquest over nature--that has remained an important source of sports mythmaking.

Art directors need to balance both the creative and business-oriented aspects of their role to be truly successful. This book provides an inspirational and creative 'skill set' path for designers who wish to take their careers to a more ambitious level.

hen ESPN went on the air in September 1979, the company believed that there was room on television for dedicated sports programming. At the time, sports programming was considered a risk, and ESPN a maverick. Twenty-five years later, ESPN is the leader in sports, influencing the way we think about sports, the way the media covers sports, and how we perceive athletes. ESPN has grown from one cable station into a sports empire. ESPN25, the book, celebrates the people behind ESPN, the sports they cover, the athletes that play their hearts out, and, of course, the fans who care. The book includes the Best and Worst of Everything in Sports Over the Past 25 Years, an illustrated foldout of the Top 35 Athletes of the Past 25 years, the funniest sports quotes of the past 25 years, the DVD, an intro by Berman, Chuck's essay on the Highlights Culture and how it has changed the world of sports over the past 25 years. Bound into the book is a free DVD containing the ever popular, and now classic, ESPN SportsCenter commercials. Beginning in May '04 and running through September '04, ESPN will feature special 25th Anniversary programming, including television and radio specials, magazine features, and website contests. Perfect for both the serious and casual sports fan, ESPN25 relives some of the greatest moments in sports on each and every page.

This guide is truly the ultimate source for pro football trivia, esoterica, curiosities, stats, anecdotes, rivalries, facts, quotes, and recaps; just about what you'd expect from an ESPN publication. Arranged by team, each section lists the most notable games, players, and coaches in team history, and then asks intriguing questions such as: "Is Dan Marino or Bob Griese the best Miami Dolphin quarterback of all time" Marino by a hair. The Ultimate Pro Football Guide also tells you where to score the best eats and drinks in the respective teams' cities and provides such minutiae as what locals wear to game day, how many times your team has appeared on The Simpsons, and which local columnist you should read on game day. You can't ask for more from a football guide; it makes every team the home team. --Tod Nelson

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