Don Yaeger

“Those kids are my heroes and by actively deciding to help them continue their fight with a little more hope, you’re one of my heroes, too.”—Michael Jordan, from the Introduction

Poignant stories from this nation’s best loved athletes include Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, John Cena, Bethany Hamilton, Danica Patrick, Tony Hawk, the New England Patriots, and many more.

Imagine a seriously ill child who

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Mike Pressler walked into the bottom-floor meeting room of the Murray Building and, as he had done hundreds of times over a sixteen-year career at Duke University, prepared to address his men's lacrosse team. Forty-six players sat in theater-style chairs, all eyes riveted forward.It was 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. The program's darkest hour had arrived in an unexpected and explosive announcement.Pressler, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year,...

This is the little-known story of how a newly independent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what happened when America's third president decided to stand up to intimidation. When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa's Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors...

November 21, 2010. U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter was posted atop a building in violent Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when an enemy grenade skittered toward him and fellow Marine Nick Eufrazio. Without hesitation, Carpenter jumped on the grenade, saving Eufrazio but sacrificing himself. Severely wounded, it took dozens of surgeries and almost three years to reconstruct his body-- yet his spirit was unbroken. This is Carpenter's story...

"Bubba Watson is known as the big-hitting left-handed golfer who plays with the pink driver--the small-town kid who grew up as a child golf prodigy before going on to win two Masters Tournaments, competing in the Olympics, and rising to be the number two golfer in the world. But every dream comes with a price. Feeling that he was never good enough, Bubba began to let the constant criticism from fans and commentators haunt his thoughts. Success in...

"Millions of people became part of Michael Oher's story when they watched a version of him on the big screen; read his memoir, I Beat the Odds; or cheered him on from the stands. After speaking to so many of them over the years, Oher knows that more than anything, people want to believe great things can happen, even when the situation looks bleak. His story of overcoming the toughest of odds serves as their hope. Oher's life has had a lot of unexpected...

The football star made famous in the hit film "The Blind Side" reflects on how far he has come from the circumstances of his youth. While many people are now familiar with Oher's amazing journey, this is the first time he shares his story in his own words.

"When Jason Camper launched Le-Vel with co-founder Paul Gravette, his guiding vision was to create a company, a brand, and a product line that had never been seen before. Over 10 million customers, approaching 3 billion dollars in sales, and 30 patents later, the inventor of the THRIVE premium product line has fulfilled each goal he set for himself, and he's ready for more. In THRIVIN': The American Dream, Camper gets personal, sharing the grit, grace,...

John Smoltz was one of the greatest Major League pitchers of the late twentieth / early twenty-first century-one of only two in baseball history ever to achieve twenty wins and fifty saves in single seasons-and now he shares the candid, no-holds-barred story of his life, his career, and the game he loves in Starting and Closing. A Cy Young Award-winner, future Baseball Hall of Famer, and currently a broadcaster for his former team, the Atlanta Braves,...

He's fiery, funny-and brutally frank. He's George Karl, head coach of the Seattle Supersonics, and one of the most outspoken men in professional basketball. Opinionated and always passionate about the sport, Karl cuts loose with controversial views on the NBA, the players, the media, sports agents, and the many other elements that make the game great-and sometimes screw it up...