By Ryan McNeill

When I first read the email from Rus Bradburd offering me a chance to read his book “Paddy on the Hardwood” I was hesitant to give up a couple hours of my time to read a book that involved fiddling. Maybe it’s the Irish blood coursing through my veins but the fiddling stories grew on me and as I read through this book I quickly found myself captured in all the stories he told about his time coaching in Ireland.
Part of the reason why this book grabbed …

By Ryan McNeill

Rookie scribe Matt de la Pena has burst onto the writing scene with the literary equivalent of a slam dunk with “Ball Don’t Lie.” In his freshman novel he has combined his love for the game, his experiences as a former collegiate player and his Masters of Fine Arts degree to produce an epic novel that will enthral any basketball fan.
Matt’s unique writing style is reminiscent of someone reciting live poetry blended with the feel of a hip hop concert because his writing style provides the reader with …

By Ryan McNeill

A book that I would like to recommend for high school athletes is Elwood Scales book “Dual Role: A Success Plan For Student-Athletes.” This book gives high school athletes helpful tips on how to earn a college scholarship, ideas on how to impress coaches and ways to stay out of trouble on and off the field.
Scales motivation for writing this book stems from the fact that he is dismayed with the lack of direction given to high school athletes. In the introduction of his book he wrote that, …

“Hurley has sent more than a hundred players to full basketball scholarships, and five to the NBA as first-round picks, including his son Bobby. It stands as an odd juxtaposition: Hurley has stayed so that they can get out. Somehow, Hurley is still the biggest bargain in sports - $6,800 a season to win championships year after year, to mold men and raise the revenue to save the school and it’s student body, to save a way of Catholic school education that is fading in urban America.
To him there is …