"He's Coming Around the First Turn"

Hey, guys, I have a few minutes for a quick post. I was up this morning at 6:00 and got right down to reading. My first book was Black Diamond: The Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick McKissack, Jr. It was very interesting. Reaffirmed my belief that, in the early days of baseball, the players were larger than life. Especially when they had to deal with all the racism. After that, I started on Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preuss. It's based on a true story of a teenaged Japanese boy who was stranded on an island and rescued by American whalers. Was very absorbing. I'm a slow reader and didn't finish it when I had to stop at 11:00 am. The rest of the day was spent in taking care of obligations (and, as I said last year, REAL MEN take care of their obligations!) But now I'm back and should finish the book tonight. The good people who run the Challenge let us spend an hour looking at other blogs in the Challenge for every 5 hours that we read, so I'll do that and then crack the books. Don't have time to give full reviews right now--maybe I'll do that later in the week. In the meantime, if you want to see some good books with diversity that have appeared on this blog, take a look at Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (the first book I ever reviewed here), the Alvin Ho books by Lenore Look, the Gabriel's Horses trilogy by Allison Hart, the Tiger's Apprentice trilogy by Laurence Yep, and Ice Drift by Theodore Taylor and The Basket Counts by Matt Christopher, both of which I read for last year's Challenge. Hey--I read two books on diversity last year. As always, the Iron Guy is ahead of his time! (You can click on the tabs under this post to see reviews of those books)
PS--I almost forgot one of my very favorites--The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill.

Basketball!

The Iron Guy loves sports, especially when it takes an epic turn like the 2013 NBA playoffs. I have no idea

who'll win tonight but you just gotta love the thrill of the game! Basketball is a high-speed, high-intensity game that is just right for GUYS. So, in the spirit of the roundball, here are basketball books that are just right for GUYS!

Fundamental Basketball by Jim and Mike Klinzing and

  Basketball Step-by-Step by Brian Burns and Mark Dunning

These are good, basic books about how to play the game. Fundamental Basketball covers everything from the history of the game to how to shoot jump shots to the size of the backboard! Basketball Step-By-Step also covers the basics of scoring, equipment, players and court and the different team positions. But, more importantly, it shows how the techniques of offensive and defensive play by giving multiple photographs that demonstrate each move step by step.Both would be useful for the novice player or the veteran looking to sharpen his (or her) skills. Really recommended.

Derrick Rose by Michael Sandler

Here's a story about one of the good guys of basketball. Nothing could keep Derrick away from the roundball as a boy, playing even after sundown when there were no lights or after breaking his arm climbing a tree. He went to the University of Memphis and helped the Tigers reach the 208 NCAA championship game. That was also the year the Chicago Bulls drafted him as the # 1 pick. But even with all his success, he remained humble and did good things, like helping kids in his old  poverty-stricken Chicago neighborhood or donate money for earthquake victims in Haiti. (he once pledged to donate $1000 for each point he scored in a game and raised $32,000!) This is a good, quick and inspirational read and a good book for anyone who loves sports or stories of the good guys. (The only problem is that it came out in 2012 and doesn't mention the last year he's been out with his injury--but don't let that stop you. It's still a good read)

The Basket Counts by Matt Christopher

Matt Christopher wrote a lot of books about sports and every one I've read has been good. This one is about a middle school basketball team. Mel Jessen is new to the school. He's also one of the few African-American kids in the school. One of the other kids won't pass to him even when he's in the open. This team has a good chance to win the season--will this other guy get over it for the good of the team? And will the coach intervene or just ignore the situation? This is another good quick read. Matt Christopher makes every game exciting, especially the season's final game. And this book was written way back in the day when prejudice was more common. It's hard to believe now that it was such a problem--or is it still a problem? Have any of you reader guys encountered it? Or do you see it on your teams?

OK, guys (and Heat and Spurs), play hard and let me know what you think about these books!