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12 really good new sports books

Here's a grab bag of a dozen new sports books.

6. 'Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas: A Year in the Life of Lone Star Football, from High School to College to the Cowboys,’ by Nick Eatman

  • By Ross Atkin

In an unusual approach to looking at the religion that is football in Texas, Nick Eatman writes a diary of sorts of the 2015 seasons of three teams: the Plano Senior High School Wildcats, the Baylor University Bears, and the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys (Eatman manages the club’s official website). The story that emerges weaves together the challenges these teams face both on and off the field.

Here’s an excerpt from Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas:

“In the early months of 1979, Bob Ryan at NFL Films was trying to write a unique opening for each team’s highlight video of the previous season. After watching clips upon clips of the Cowboys, two things became evident to the former editor-in-chief. Not only did the Cowboys have some of the NFL’s most recognizable players, but their fans extended far beyond the city limits of Dallas and even Texas.

“The opening script for the Cowboys’ 1978 highlight film, voiced by the legendary John Facenda, got straight to the point:

“ ‘They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movies stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys, America’s Team.’

“With that, the ever-popular moniker, ‘America’s Team,’ was born. It wasn’t created by the Cowboys, but of course the franchise didn’t hide from the distinction and actually embraced it.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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