Feature Book of the Week #8 Underdogs by Mike Lupica

Tuesday, October 22, 2013


Feature Book of the Week

Underdogs
by Mike Lupica


Will Tyler may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in his hand, life can't touch him--his dad isn't so defeated, his town isn't so poor, and everyone has something to cheer for. All of which does him no good if the football season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a well-maintained playing field, with every other family moving to find jobs, there just isn't enough money or players for a season. It's up to Will to rally the town and give everyone a reason to believe.





About the Author


Mike Lupica is one of the most prominent sports writers in America. His longevity at the top of his field is based on his experience and insider's knowledge, coupled with a provocative presentation that takes an uncompromising look at the tumultuous world of professional sports. 

Today he is a syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News, which includes his popular "Shooting from the Lip" column, which appears every Sunday. He began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with the New York Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters. He also hosted his own program, The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2. 

In 1987, Lupica launched "The Sporting Life" column in Esquire magazine. He has published articles in other magazines, including Sport, World Tennis, Tennis, Golf Digest, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, Men's Journal and Parade. He has received numerous honors, including the 2003 Jim Murray Award from the National Football Foundation. 

Mike Lupica co-wrote autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells, collaborated with noted author and screenwriter, William Goldman on Wait Till Next Year, and wrote The Summer of '98, Mad as Hell: How Sports Got Away from the Fans and How We Get It Back and Shooting From the Lip, a collection of columns. In addition, he has written a number of novels, including Dead Air, Extra Credits, Limited Partner, Jump, Full Court Press, Red Zone, Too Far and national bestsellers Wild Pitch and Bump and Run. Dead Air was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Mystery and became a CBS television move, "Money, Power, Murder" to which Lupica contributed the teleplay. 

Over the years he has been a regular on the CBS Morning News, Good Morning America and The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour. On the radio, he has made frequent appearances on Imus in the Morning since the early 1980s. His previous young adult novels, Travel Team, Heat, Miracle on 49th Street, and the summer hit for 2007, Summer Ball, have shot up the New York Times bestseller list. Lupica is also what he describes as a "serial Little League coach," a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his four children, three sons and a daughter. He and his family live in Connecticut( retrieved from Amazon.com).

24 Delicious Comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! WILL WAS DEFINITLEY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!!!!! :) I love how Hannah was determined to play on the team despite the fact that she was a girl and everyone else on the team was a boy. She had a great talent too! I wish I could punt... :(

Anonymous said...

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! WILL WAS DEFINITLEY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!!!!! :) I love how Hannah was determined to play on the team despite the fact that she was a girl and everyone else on the team was a boy. She had a great talent too! I wish I could punt... :(

Anonymous said...

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! WILL WAS DEFINITLEY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!!!!! :) I love how Hannah was determined to play on the team despite the fact that she was a girl and everyone else on the team was a boy. She had a great talent too! I wish I could punt... :(

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

(That comment that started off: I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! WILL WAS...) was my comment...forgot to put the school...(hazelwood west middle) But seriously! That book was very good. I love spors books! :)
-Hazelwood West Middle

Anonymous said...

When I read this book I couldnt put it down. I like how he wrote it, and I realy like the plot. north middle school

Anonymous said...

I loved this book so much! Will and Hannah were so awesome and cool

~Hazelwood West Middle School~

Anonymous said...

Great book love all of mike lupica's novels

Anonymous said...

Great book love all of mike lupica's novels

Anonymous said...

Great book love all of Mike Lupica's novels


Wentzville Middle School

lmslibrary said...

I thought this book was pretty good. I am not a big fan of sports books though. It had a lot of detail and the plot was consistent. There was relationship which is always good and the girl was not afraid to show those boys!! I don't like how they made someone leave in the middle of the book. It really didn't make any sense. Overall it was decent.

Anonymous said...

I think Mike Lupica did a great job on this book. Although I am not a very big football fan I completely loved this book. It's about a kid named Will whose football team, The Forbes Flyers, doesn't have the money to save his team, but when he finds a sponsor who is willing to pay ten thousand dollars for the team to play.This book is AMAZING !!!!!!
-Wentzville Middle School

Anonymous said...

Underdogs is a great book by Mike Lupica I really enjoyed when he managed to form his own football team.
Wentzville Middle School

Anonymous said...

I REALLY NEED TO READ THIS!! AAAH! (Mike Lupica's books are just amazing! I have no idea why I haven't read this yet)

Anonymous said...

I thought that the book was okay. I mean, I'm not that really into sports, so I really couldn't get into it. But, I would recommend this book to someone else.

Hazelwood Southeast Middle School

Anonymous said...

Every time I see this book, I mentally scold myself, saying, "WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ THIS BOOK YET!? Whyyyy???" I love Mike Lupica's books. I'll be sure to read this soon! I'm excited :)

Hazelwood West Middle School

Anonymous said...

I really want to read this book!!

hazelwood west middle

Anonymous said...

WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:)

-Hazelwood West Middle

Anonymous said...

I just started reading this and its good so far!! :D

~Hazelwood West Middle School

Anonymous said...

Just a random comment: Why whenever I read the title of this book, it reminds me of that commercial about those shoes, while theyre running after the train thing? (The music in the background is like, "Uuuuuderdog!"

Hazelwood West Middle School

Anonymous said...

I thought this book was great! Also, HAH! I KNOW WHO THE FORBES FLYERS ARE!!!!! I FEEL ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!

-Hazelwood West Middle ED

Anonymous said...

This book is getting REALLY good! I'm loving it! :)

~Hazelwood West Middle School

Anonymous said...

Yay! I loved this book! Though I didn't really understand all of the football plays that they did, it was still a really good read! I'd recommend this to anyone, even if they don't like football! :D

-Hazelwood West Middle School

Anonymous said...

I kind of wish Will was a little more sensitive; all he ever seemed to think about was football, and his team, nothing else. Oh well, still a GREAT read!!! :)

~Hazelwood West Middle School

 
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