Book Description
When American sportswriter Andy Mendlowitz took a summer vacation to Ireland, his itinerary included visiting medieval castles and drinking dark beer. He soon discovered a world where big-time sports aren't yet a business, but still a game. Ireland's rough-and-tumble pastimes of hurling and Gaelic football attract crowds of up to 80,000 fans a contest. The high-profile players, though, are amateurs. They train as professionals but must work fulltime jobs to pay the bills. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) also lacks free agency or trades-you simply play for your hometown team, even if you move away.

Amazed by this concept, and burned out at work, Mendlowitz quit his job and moved to Ireland for eight months His aim was to get excited again by understanding what drives these athletes. Along the way, he met interesting characters and learned how the sports intersect with the ancient Irish language, burgeoning economy and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

From big cities like Belfast, Dublin and Cork to tiny rural parishes, Mendlowitz paints a vivid picture of Ireland and the joy of competing.

Customer Reviews (2)

Hurling & Gaelic Football
Reviewed by Richard Blake for Reader Views (2/08)

To get background information and interviews for his "Ireland's Professional Amateurs," award-winning journalist, Andy Mendlowitz toured Ireland for eight months to observe and record the story of a sport season at it its purest.

This is a behind-the-scenes story of The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), of Gaelic Football, a combination of the elements of soccer and rugby, and the game Hurling.Hurling is an Irish sport played with a stick similar to ice hockey.Andy described the game this way: Gaelic football was physical and with the players not wearing pads, trouble followed. Hard shoulder-to-shoulder contact led to violent collisions. Heads banged and bodies got slammed to the ground.

These games often attract crowds as large as 80,000. The athletes train as professionals but maintain full-time jobs outside of the sports arena to pay support their families.According to Andy, GAA both created and reflected community.GAA fans had two loyalties-- to the club team and to the inter-county squad. Mendlowitz provides several enlightening references within the various chapters of the financial underwriting of the GAA organization and their investments.

From the early playoffs in February through April to the finals in September and October, Andy followed the teams from Clare, Mayo, Leitrim, Kerry, and Galway Counties to Derry in Northern Ireland and the cities of Cork and Dublin.

I personally enjoyed Andy's word pictures and colorful detailed descriptions of the Irish countryside as he traveled from the rural parishes to the large cities of Belfast, Dublin, and Cork. I was fascinated as he gave me a new appreciation of Ireland's culture, folklore, superstitions, history, and economics. He also gave me a new understanding of the difficulties being faced in Northern Ireland.

To provide the background information Mendlowitz wanted for his story he stayed with players and their families. He became involved in their personal lives and identified with the loyalty they feel for their teammates, their fans, and their country.

Mendlowitz writes in a fast-moving, journalistic style that reveals his own passion for sports, his fascination with the sports, the games themselves, with the individual team members, their coaches, and their fans. His love for travel, new adventures in learning and a love for life all come through in "Ireland's Professional Amateurs."This is sports writing at its finest.

Compare to Grisham's They Play for Pizza
What John Grisham does for American football in Italy in They Play for Pizza, Andy Mendlowitz does for Ireland's national sports, except that Andy's Ireland's Professional Amateurs is non-fiction.

This book is an account of the author's eight months in Ireland following the Gaelic football and hurling seasons.He traveled to a dozen cities, lived in players' family's homes, shared successes and losses, and soaked up the nationalistic feelings the games brought to the teammates, their county and the many enjoying enduring fans.

Irelans's Professional Amateurs is more than a sports book - it is also a travel log of Ireland's rich culture, and a history book of the great country.

Andy tells a story of the pride and joy of the fans in watching the distinctively special Irish sports and how it transcends the sports playing field to the pride in their local county and their Gaelic background.

The players are all amateurs practicing hard and heavy after work so they could win the Sunday game for their county.And then they are back at work on Monday at their jobs as teachers, accountants, lawyers, civil servants and factory workers.No time to recover from their injuries which seem more plentiful than they should be for an amateur sport, to back to their planning and practices for the next weekend's game.

The book is written in a fast paced journalistic style that grabs your attention from the first page to the last.It draws out individual stories of many players and the pride and sacrifices they make to play the game. ... Read more

Book Description
First issued in 1986, this volume and its companion on professional sports leagues were soon recognized as "one of a kind . . . an ideal source for the sports law practitioner." Now, the editors provide a thoroughly revised and updated version. The volume identifies the most significant and current cases in amateur sports (and overlap areas in professional sports, such as tort liability and criminal law). It provides extensive analysis and interpretation of each case in clear, readable, and lively style. While designed as a text in sports law and sports management, the volume also serves as a comprehensive handbook for professionals in law firms, the leagues, associations, and among agents. ... Read more

Book Description
Chicago Amateur Boxing looks at the rich history of the Chicago Golden Gloves and Catholic Youth Organization boxing tournaments that were so popular in the mid-20th century and sent so many local fi ghters up the professional ranks. The Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions produced future world title holders such as Joe Louis (1937, 175 pounds) and Ernie Terrell (1957, 175 pounds), both of whom went on to win the world heavyweight championship. ... Read more

Book Description
In this thoroughly revised Second Edition, Glenn Wong updates and adds to his already highly successful First Editon. He addresses the significant changes that have come about in amateur sports law and administrative practice over the last several years. These changes impact amateur athletic associations; athletes' rights; administrative procedures; and the liability of sponsoring organizations. Issues of special topicality and importance, including women's sports, drug testing, and the issues involved in the change of status to professional, are closely examined. Amateur sports have expanded rapidly, as have legal issues and ramifications concerning them. Wong's careful, detailed, and clear exposition and analysis both organizes and clarifies fundamental principles affecting athletes, associations, and management in the category of amateur sports. This is an indispensable text, resource and guide. ... Read more

Book Description
Do you know…

• Which exercises cause unnecessary wear and tear on your body?
• What to do during the first critical few seconds following a sports injury?
• When an off-the-rack arch support can be as effective as a $200 custom-made orthotic device?
• How to keep in condition during rehabilitation?

Customer Reviews (6)

yeah it's okay
This book is a step up from common sense in that it has a few more details when dealing with certain injured body parts.But unless you're going to be in the middle of nowhere doing extreme sports, you probably don't need this book.If you hurt yourself, the procedure is pretty much the same for everything: rest and professional help when you need it.

running with scissors
I took this book with me to my Doctor and said see this is what I am talking about and finally he ordered an MRI and it revealed much more than he claimed I was suffering from.I fell in my own home, running in my own house.Now what were we told as children and what do we tell our kids and grandchildren? I have no one to blame but myself, and I wished I had been more proactive as a patient instead of letting the doc do everything!

A Bit Weird in Spots...
I just got this book today.It's a great idea, a sports injury handbook organized by bodypart **and** sport, but right off the bat, while browsing, I notice a few oddities: on page 221, Dr. Levy claims "exercise machines require you to lift too much weight," which is weird because one can certainly adjust the resistance on most any exercise machine out there -- and he makes that statement while advising free weights!Any bodybuilder or powerlifter knows that it is typically harder to use free weights than a machine: for example, dumbbell curls are much harder than machine biceps curls at the same weight.Also, on page 17 there is an illustration of the behind-the-neck pull-up, which is potentially more dangerous for some people than the regular front-of-the-neck type of pull-up.That's a very strange thing to see in a book on sports injuries!Though it's not exactly a dangerous movement, it does place the rotator cuff at greater risk of injury, especially for people who might have weak muscles and tendons there to begin with.The regular pull-up works the same muscles just as well, but without that slightly higher risk of injury.

I hope I don't find any other strange advice or illustrations in this book....

Appropriate to the athlete
I have not read this book, but the reviews indicate it is for the current athlete with an injury.One reviewer unfairly slammed Marilyn Moffat's book since it was not right for him.I read and evaluated her Physical Therapy book from the library as a guide for my 84 year old father.He was a super fit elderly sculler who wore out his beach volleyball playing granddaughters double sculling for 2 hours at a shot, and was in the hospital for 14 months recovering from surgery to reduce intracranial bleeding, which was followed by seizures, pneumonia, and kidney failure. He essentially woke up a year later a live but terribly weak shadow of himself.He needs rehabilitation from, literally zero strength. He is learning to walk, talk, and eat, and more.He's gone from feeling like 40 to feeling like a hundred, but with no long slide of good memories.Very discouraging.Her book will help me start him back to a pleasant final years, from a zero base. I will buy that book to help him.I may be able to use this book for myself, but he could not.

Exactly what I needed . . .
An excellent book. At the age of 40 I pay for my active lifestyle with some aches and pains; this book is helping me live pain free. Unlike many PT type books, Levy is specific with his advice, not making you waste your time on dozens of stretches and exercises. He'll lead you directly to what you need to know to fix the problem. Other books seem shy about recommending specific exercises for specific problems; Levy's not. I ordered several of these types of books at once and eventually resold all the others. This is the one I kept. ... Read more

Book Description
This is the first comprehensive record of amateur sports in Hong Kong. It tracks Hong Kong's sports pioneers through the early days of club and university sports, to the establishment of the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, to Hong Kong's first participation in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, and eventually to winning gold in the Olympic Games, as well as recent developments.

Interspersed in the text are historical documents and photos, anecdotes, personal success stories, and reports. The invaluable efforts of individuals and groups to promote and participate in amateur sports in Hong Kong, and the encouragement their example gives to athletes after them, are all recounted here. This is the story of Hong Kong's quest for gold. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 742 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Foursome sits atop Mid-Am field.(Sports)(Amateurs: Stroke play continues today at Eugene Country Club.)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: D3

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 26, 2004. The length of the article is 943 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ridnour, Jackson named top amateurs.(Sports)(The two collegians are among the honorees at the Oregon Sports Awards)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 26, 2004
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: E1

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Tax Adviser, published by American Institute of CPA's on July 1, 1995. The length of the article is 761 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The IRS should clarify the issue of whether Olympic and other sports organizations qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) treatment despite the fact that athletes participating in such events are not longer exclusively amateurs. The definition of amateur in the tax code has never been clear, and regulations have not been revised since the Olympics relaxed the standards for athletes. This issue is of relevance to both the organizations and individuals that support these organizations with charitable donations.

Citation Details
Title: What is "amateur" sports competition? (tax-exempt organizations)
Author: Charles T. Crawford
Publication: The Tax Adviser (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 1995
Publisher: American Institute of CPA's
Volume: 26Issue: n7Page: 407(2)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Wind Speaker, published by Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA) on March 1, 1998. The length of the article is 474 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Aboriginal athletes and coaches to get boost (federal government injects $50 million into top-level amateur sport).
Author: Paul Barnsley
Publication: Wind Speaker (Newsletter)
Date: March 1, 1998
Publisher: Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA)
Volume: 15Issue: 11Page: 23

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Book Description
If you are exposed to or involved in amateur sports, you need to read this short book.A former coach with 20 years of baseball and 18 years of hockey tells it like it is - both good and bad.Whether you agree or disagree with his ideas, you will be intrigued.A mixture of boys and sports is all here! ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on June 22, 2003. The length of the article is 932 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Hanna, Hughes capture titles in Oregon Amateur.(Sports)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: June 22, 2003
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: D7

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Product Description
This book is a classic on drug use and detection by athletes, and over the years has become a collector s piece. Although published over two decades ago it is still accurate and timelyIt was written by one of the foremost experts of the past three decades in drug testing and ergogenic aids in order to educate people about drug use in sports.This book acts as a source of information on drug use by athletes, and the drug testing protocols and procedures used in both amateur and professional sports to detect the use of banned drugs. This book is in new condition and comes from the original batch of books published back in 1984. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on July 20, 2004. The length of the article is 756 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Hastings, Johnson claim berths at U.S. Amateur.(Sports)(Oregon sophomore-to-be takes medalist honors with a 1-over-par 145 at Emerald Valley Golf Course)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: July 20, 2004
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: E1

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Customer Reviews (1)

In Spite of US
The review printed by Amazon that accompanies the advert for the book is clearly written by someone who has never worked in the amateur sports arena as Dave did. There are many of us who work as paid staff or as a professional/volunteer (someone who does not get paid but is expected to perform as if he/she did and maintain another career and family life at the same time)in a similar role to that of Dave with members of a Governing Body whose motives are either self preservation because it looks good on a CV or who, in spite of their considerable talents, spend their time fighting for their personal little issues or simply micro-manage. The book should be compulsary reading for anyone wanting to join or be elected to a sports NGB or who is simply going through the motions as a Board member.
Fortunately sport is changing, albeit slowly because its 'customers' are more demanding and more enlightened now than 20 years ago - they are less prepared to be seen as somewhere down the pecking order of priorities after the elected officers and in some cases staff too.
For anyone who wants an emotional journey in this amateur sports world which still exists - told in an honest but dramatic way (which makes it easy reading) then this is the book - it is also worthy of re-printing and free distribution in the wider context of organisational change and governance/management issues. ... Read more