The Sixth Man

Ever since the first caveman picked up the first rock and tossed it to the first caveson, sports has forged a powerful link between generations of men. And ever since the advent of the sports page, those experiences have been lovingly chronicled by exceptional writers like poet laureate Donald Hall, Pulitzer prizewinner Buzz Bissinger, and classic American author Norman Maclean.

In Fathers & Sons & Sports, ESPN collects the very best of those stories: page after page of unforgettable tales about fathers sending their sons off to battle, sons who dared to challenge their fathers in competition, boys and men finding a common language in a shared passion. From the Little League diamond to the local fishing hole to the high school wrestling mat to the collegiate gridiron, from the backyards of America to the most famous stadiums in the world, these stories all share one thing: breathtaking insight into what makes sports an essential part of life.

This book is a testament to why and how men bond over sports-a stunning mix of observation and discovery, humor and pathos, literature and journalism-introduced by best-selling columnist Mike Lupica, who just so happens to be a father and a son himself.

	Fathers & Sons & Sports Great Writing by Buzz Bissinger, John Ed Bradley, Bill Geist, Donald Hall, Mark Kriegel, Norman Maclean, and others
	Mike Lupica
Ever since the first caveman picked up the first rock and tossed it to the first caveson, sports has forged a powerful link between generations of men. And ever since the advent of the sports page, those experiences have been lovingly chronicled by exceptional writers like poet laureate Donald Hall, Pulitzer prizewinner Buzz Bissinger, and classic American author Norman Maclean. In Fathers & Sons & Sports, ESPN collects the very best of those stories: page after page of unforgettable tales about fathers sending their sons off to battle, sons who dared to challenge their fathers in competition, boys and men finding a common language in a shared passion. From the Little League diamond to the local fishing hole to the high school wrestling mat to the collegiate gridiron, from the backyards of America to the most famous stadiums in the world, these stories all share one thing: breathtaking insight into what makes sports an essential part of life. This book is a testament to why and how men bond over sports-a stunning mix of observation and discovery, humor and pathos, literature and journalism-introduced by best-selling columnist Mike Lupica, who just so happens to be a father and a son himself.

About the Author A nationally known columnist for the New York Daily News, Mike Lupica has written books for both fathers and sons. His first two novels for young readers, Travel Team and Heat, reached No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list. Lupica is also a Sunday-morning regular on ESPN's The Sports Reporters. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife, Taylor, and their four children.