Akron Public Library

Convicted murderer Melvin Mars is counting down the last hours before his execution, for the violent killing of his parents twenty years earlier, when he's granted and unexpected reprieve. Another man has confessed to the crime. Amos Decker, newly hired on an FBI special task force, takes an interest in Mars's case after discovering the striking similarities to his own life: Both men were talented football players with promising careers cut short...

Argues that not only is American football hazardous to players' health, and especially to their brains, but also that American support of the sport encourages violence, prejudices, and other ethically troubling behavior.

Examines how brain injuries in football affect individuals and society, investigates how people are working to avoid such serious injuries in sports, and analyzes the controversies and conflicting viewpoints surrounding the issue. --

" ... takes readers on a bone-crunching journey from football's origins to the latest research on concussion and traumatic brain injuries in the sport. Fourth down and inches features exclusive photography and interviews with scientists, players, and the families of athletes who have literally given everything to the game"--P. [2] of cover.

"The story of a young man from small-town Iowa who decided to take his own life rather than continue his losing battle against the traumatic brain injuries (CTE) he had sustained as a no-holds-barred high school football player, and at the same time a larger story about the hot-button issues that football raises about masculinity and violence, and about what values we want to instill in our kids"--

Football player "Ben Utecht has accumulated a vast treasure of memories: tossing a football in the yard with his father, meeting his wife, ... writing and performing music, catching touchdown passes from quarterback Peyton Manning, and playing a Super Bowl Championship watched by ninety-three million people. But the game he has built his living on, the game he fell in love with as a child, is taking its toll in a devastating way. After at least five...

"All American at Ohio State and All Pro linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Shazier has learned to live his best life, and come to terms with the game he loves and has given him so much. And as Ryan has also learned: success is no longer measured by tackles or sacks; it is measured by purpose and strength. WALKING MIRACLE is the story of this new definition of success. The narrative follows the arc from December 4, 2017 when Shazier was injured...