In Going Bigtime, award-winning writer Marty Dobrow takes readers through one of the most compelling sports stories in recent American history. Using in-depth profile, revealing anecdote, and keen analysis, he chronicles the colorful University of Massachusetts basketball teams of the sixties and seventies that included legendary figures Julius Erving and Rick Pitino, then describes the eighties squads that plunged to embarrassing levels, only to be rescued by a charismatic coach named John Calipari. Ranked 259th of 267 Division I teams in the eighties, UMass rose to the top. The ascent culminated in 1995-96, a season in which the Minutemen reached the Final Four and spent most of the year ranked Number 1. Calipari earned national Coach of the Year honors, and star player Marcus Camby was tapped Player of the Year. UMass enjoyed the considerable spoils of its success, but also paid a price. During the Calipari years, the team was rocked by controversy: a much-publicized grades scandal, the infamous "John Chaney incident," and the dismissal of Mike Williams - a clutch player for the ages. Following the magical 1995-96 season, Camby made a wrenching confession about his illegal entanglement with agents, and Calipari took his resurrection act on the road, signing a fat contract to coach the New Jersey Nets. Dobrow provides the most penetrating profiles ever written about Calipari, Camby, and his UMass teammates, while at the same time exploring the complexities of an obscure program gaining fame.

GOING BIGTIME: the Spectacular Rise of Umass Basketball

Sports & Outdoors

Dobrow, Marty

Baseball

Summerset Pr

The rich slice of Americana found in minor league baseball presents a contradictory culture. On the one hand, the minors are filled with wholesome, family-friendly entertainment-fluffy mascots, kitschy promotions, and earnest young men signing autographs for wide-eyed Little Leaguers. On the other, they comprise a world of cutthroat competition in which a teammate's failure or injury can be the cause of quiet celebration and 90 percent of all players never play a single inning in the major leagues. In Knocking on Heaven's Door, award-winning sportswriter Marty Dobrow examines this double-edged culture by chronicling the lives of six minor leaguers-Brad Baker, Doug Clark, Manny Delcarmen, Randy Ruiz, Matt Torra, and Charlie Zink-all struggling to make their way to "The Show." What links them together, aside from their common goal, is that they are all represented by the same team of agents-Jim and Lisa Masteralexis and their partner Steve McKelvey-whose own aspirations parallel those of the players they represent. The story begins during spring training in 2005 and ends in the fall of 2008, followed by a brief epilogue that updates each player's fortunes through the 2009 season. Along the way Dobrow offers a revealing, intimate look at life in minor league baseball: the relentless tedium of its itinerant routines and daily rituals; the lure of performance-enhancing drugs as a means of gaining a competitive edge; the role of agents in negotiating each player's failures as well as his successes; and the influence of wives, girlfriends, and family members who have invested in the dream.

Knocking on Heaven's Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream

Biographies & Memoirs

University of Massachusetts Press

The rich slice of Americana found in minor league baseball presents a contradictory culture. On the one hand, the minors are filled with wholesome, family-friendly entertainment-fluffy mascots, kitschy promotions, and earnest young men signing autographs for wide-eyed Little Leaguers. On the other, they comprise a world of cutthroat competition in which a teammate's failure or injury can be the cause of quiet celebration and 90 percent of all players never play a single inning in the major leagues. In Knocking on Heaven's Door, award-winning sportswriter Marty Dobrow examines this double-edged culture by chronicling the lives of six minor leaguers-Brad Baker, Doug Clark, Manny Delcarmen, Randy Ruiz, Matt Torra, and Charlie Zink-all struggling to make their way to "The Show." What links them together, aside from their common goal, is that they are all represented by the same team of agents-Jim and Lisa Masteralexis and their partner Steve McKelvey-whose own aspirations parallel those of the players they represent. The story begins during spring training in 2005 and ends in the fall of 2008, followed by a brief epilogue that updates each player's fortunes through the 2009 season. Along the way Dobrow offers a revealing, intimate look at life in minor league baseball: the relentless tedium of its itinerant routines and daily rituals; the lure of performance-enhancing drugs as a means of gaining a competitive edge; the role of agents in negotiating each player's failures as well as his successes; and the influence of wives, girlfriends, and family members who have invested in the dream.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dobrow, Marty. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Dobrow, Marty

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dobrow, Marty. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

GOING BIGTIME: the Spectacular Rise of Umass Basketball

Knocking on Heaven's Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream

Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream