Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Cubs Nation 162 Games. 162 Stories. 1 Addiction. by Gene Wojciechowski Cubs Nation : 162 Games. 162 Stories. 1 Addiction. Better than season tickets to Wrigley Field, this behind-the-scenes, vibrant, entertaining chronicle of the Chicago Cubs’ 2004 season (as well a retelling of one of the most interesting histories in baseball) takes readers into the clubhouse, onto the field, and into the nostalgic richness of the team that epitomizes pure baseball. The Chicago Cubs inspire a rare kind of devotion, a never-give-up, wait-till-next-year enthusiasm undiminished by ninety-five years without a World Series victory. In this thrilling day-to-day account of the 2004 season, celebrated sportswriter Gene Wojciechowski captures the indelible spirit of a team—and its astounding fans. With full access to players, coaches, front-office personnel, groundskeepers, and almost everyone else connected to the franchise, Wojciechowski opens the door and presents an inside perspective that all baseball fans will relish. From Ernie Banks, the legendary “Mr. Cub,” to Sammy Sosa, today’s record-setting sensation, CUBS NATION traces the history of a team that often had everything going for it and yet was so hampered by losses that it came to define the term “lovable losers.” Wojciechowski conjures up the classic ivy-covered stadium, its fabled manual scoreboard, and the ”ballhawks” who have caught literally thousands of home-run balls on the streets alongside Wrigley. In a wonderful blend of exciting moment-by-moment reporting, revealing interviews, and nostalgic vignettes, Wojciechowski pulls back the curtain to uncover the fascinating inner workings of a storied Major League Baseball team—and he shows why the Cubs stand for everything that is good about baseball, win or lose. Versatile lineup takes a swing at baseball. Baseball, owing to its timelessness, has always invited its audience to think, to consider life's possibilities between pitches and other intermittent bursts of action. Mostly for that reason, it has long been considered sports' most fertile soil for the production of literature. John Updike, Roger Angell, David Halberstam and scores of other distinguished American authors have given elegant voice to our national pastime over the years. Four writers taking part in the Chicago Tribune's 21st annual Printers Row Book Fair are worthy exemplars of that tradition: Jean Hastings Ardell, H.G. "Buzz" Bissinger, Jonathan Eig and Gene Wojciechowski. They form a deep, versatile lineup any reader would appreciate, not to mention any baseball fan. `3 Nights in August' Bissinger, a former Tribune reporter, is best known as the author of "Friday Night Lights," a searing and poignant examination of Texas high school football as a cultural phenomenon. He was just as insightful in "A Prayer for the City," a richly detailed account of Mayor Ed Rendell's desperate attempts to pull Philadelphia back from the brink of bankruptcy and restore the fading city's vibrancy during his first year as its mayor. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is Bissinger's subject in "3 Nights in August," and theirs is a can't-miss collaboration. La Russa gave Bissinger total access to his team and himself for much of the 2003 season, and from that vantage point Bissinger recounts an emotionally charged late-season series between the Cardinals and the Cubs in vivid detail. If La Russa isn't baseball's best manager, he is no doubt the most intense, consumed by the game to the point of obsession, sometimes to the detriment of other aspects of his life. Bissinger's exploration of how his probing and ever-active mind works makes for fascinating reading. Eig's "Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig" is one of the year's most acclaimed sports biographies, and with good reason; Eig's exhaustive and insightful reporting uncovers a terrific story of an authentic American hero who remained a private man of quiet dignity, even while achieving icon status during the period when baseball was asserting itself as the national pastime. The title is from an unforgettable speech Gehrig gave in which he declared himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth" shortly after he'd been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the rare degenerative disease that would come to bear his name. Then, as now, incurable, ALS would end Gehrig's career at 31 and end his life at 33. The grace and courage with which he faced death is an apt summation of a remarkable life. Women in baseball. The surprise big hitter in the book fair lineup is "Breaking into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime," Hastings Ardell's account of the roles women have played in the game's evolution, from the field to the front office. Acceptance has never come easily for them at any level--it still doesn't--but there is no hint of bitterness in Hastings Ardell's engaging stories. She writes with an insider's knowledge and a true fan's passion, and her bona fides are in order: She is a recognized baseball historian who has written extensively on the game. Her husband, Dan Ardell, was an outstanding college player and a top prospect in the California Angels organization until his career was cut short when he was hit in the face by a pitched ball. In many ways, the star-crossed 2004 Cubs season was symbolic of the near-century of futility that preceded it, but throughout, true Cub fans retained their unwavering optimism, turning out at Wrigley Field in record numbers despite the occasional concrete shower. In "Cubs Nation: 162 Games, 162 Stories, 1 addiction," Gene Wojciechowski artfully explores the peculiar hold this famously unsuccessful team has on otherwise normal people. Last season was particularly hard on Cubs Nation because the unlikely success of 2003 spawned so much optimism. Not only did the 2004 Cubs fail to win anything, they failed ungraciously, engaging in petty feuds with umpires and broadcasters that marked them as churlish grumps. Not so the support personnel, the behind-the-scenes folks who help make a trip to Wrigley Field a unique baseball experience. No matter how the team is doing, they go about their business with a commitment to excellence the players would do well to emulate. It's their stories that give "Cubs Nation" its charm--both in real life and in Wojciechowski's delightful book. Gene Wojciechowski. Gene Wojciechowski is a sports writer, best known for his work with ESPN. Born in Salina, Kansas, Wojciechowski received a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism from the University of Tennessee and began his career as a sports writer covering college football and college basketball. His work has included stints with the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post and the Los Angeles Times; he became a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine in January 1998, having worked as a football reporter for the network since 1992. He was named a senior national sports columnist for ESPN in June 2005. Prior to joining ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, Wojciechowski was the national college football and college basketball columnist for the Chicago Tribune. He reported on the NFL for both the Denver Post (1983 -1984) and the Dallas Morning News (1984 -1986) before switching to back to college football and basketball for the Los Angeles Times (1986 -1996). Wojciechowski authored a novel, "About 80 Percent Luck," plus a non-fiction book, "Cubs Nation: 162 Games. 162 Stories. 1 Addiction," following the Cubs for a full season. He has also co-authored autobiographies with several sports personalities. These works include "The Bus: My Life In and Out of a Helmet" with Jerome Bettis; "I Love Being the Enemy: A Season on the Court with the NBA’s Best Shooter and Sharpest Tongue" with Reggie Miller; Nothing but Net: "Just Give Me the Ball and Get Out of the Way" with Bill Walton; and "My Life on a Napkin: Pillow Mints, Playground Dreams and Coaching the Runnin’ Utes") with Rick Majerus. "The Last Great Game: Duke vs. Kentucky and the 2.1 Seconds That Changed Basketball" by Wojciechowski was released by Blue Rider Press in 2012. He is also the author/co-author of nine books. All American Speakers Bureau is a full-service talent booking agency providing information on booking Gene Wojciechowski for speaking engagements, personal appearances and corporate events. Contact an All American Speakers Bureau booking agent for more information on Gene Wojciechowski speaking fees, availability, speech topics and cost to hire for your next live or virtual event. Cubs Nation : 162 Games, 162 Stories, 1 Addiction. Better than season tickets to Wrigley Field, this behind-the-scenes, vibrant, entertaining chronicle of the Chicago Cubs’ 2004 season (as well a retelling of one of the most interesting histories in baseball) takes readers into the clubhouse, onto the field, and into the nostalgic richness of the team that epitomizes pure baseball. The Chicago Cubs inspire a rare kind of devotion, a never-give-up, wait-till-next-year enthusiasm undiminished by ninety-five years without a World Series victory. In this thrilling day-to-day account of the 2004 season, celebrated sportswriter Gene Wojciechowski captures the indelible spirit of a team—and its astounding fans. With full access to players, coaches, front-office personnel, groundskeepers, and almost everyone else connected to the franchise, Wojciechowski opens the door and presents an inside perspective that all baseball fans will relish. From Ernie Banks, the legendary “Mr. Cub,” to Sammy Sosa, today’s record-setting sensation, CUBS NATION traces the history of a team that often had everything going for it and yet was so hampered by losses that it came to define the term “lovable losers.” Wojciechowski conjures up the classic ivy-covered stadium, its fabled manual scoreboard, and the ”ballhawks” who have caught literally thousands of home-run balls on the streets alongside Wrigley.