March Madness: Cinderellas, Superstars, and Chapions from the Final Four [Hardcover]

National Collegiate Athletic Association (Author), John Wooden (Commentary), Pete Newell (Commentary)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

They’re all part of the greatest spectacle in sports, and they’re all inside March Madness: Cinderellas, Superstars, and Champions from the Final Four. Relive 65 years of college basketball’s most memorable championship moments, including:

· North Carolina’s triple-overtime victory over Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas team in 1957
· Texas Western’s watershed victory over Kentucky in 1966
· The Magic vs. Bird showdown of 1979, still the highest-rated national championship game
· Villanova’s stunning upset of Georgetown in 1985
· Pivotal moments with Clyde Lovellete, John Wooden, Lew Alcindor, Michael Jordan, Bobby Knight, and more . . .

DVD INSIDE—ARCHIVAL GAME FOOTAGE AND SUPERSTAR INTERVIEWS
Eight of the best championship games in history are highlighted on this spectacular DVD

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

College basketball’s "biggest stage" gets a year-by-year treatment in this coffee-table book and accompanying DVD. The book covers the wildly popular sporting event of March Madness from its inception in 1939 (when the Oregon Ducks beat the Ohio State Buckeyes) to the 2004 crown (when top-ranked UConn triumphed over Georgia Tech). Each year’s game summary is written by a different newspaper sports editor, and most writers are matched with years in which their home team won the tournament. They document upsets, spectacular performances and gaffes, simultaneously charting college basketball’s evolution from a money-losing venture (the first tournament lost $2,531) to a forum on race (in 1962, Mississippi State refused an invite to the NCAA Tournament because it would have to play integrated teams) to a showcase of supreme athleticism (which Wooden, former UCLA coach and winner of 10 NCAA championships, laments: "If I want to see showmanship, I’ll go see the Globetrotters"). Although stiff pages make the book difficult to page through and keep open, fans probably won’t mind; they’ll be sucked in by the stories and photos of drama on the courts. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This pictorial includes a DVD, making it an exciting multimedia slice of American sports and well worth its very reasonable price.From the NCAA itself comes a celebration of the Final Four, college basketball's most prestigious level of tournament play, in March Madness. Separated by decade and proceeding year by year, the book begins with the first Final Four showdown in 1939, which took place in Evanston, Illinois, and ended when Oregon beat Ohio State to become the first NCAA champions. The narration gives you not only the exciting action on the court but also the growing popularity of the tournament over time. What's interesting in looking back on great college ball is how many "regular guys" there were--great athletes who didn't go on to the pros, for whatever reason--standing shoulder-to-shoulder beside superstar athletes such as Russell, Chamberlain, and Jordan.

Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; Har/DVD edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572436654
• ISBN-13: 978-1572436657
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > College & University

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No question; March Madness is like a month of Superbowls., February 8, 2006

By 

StraightRazr.com: A Comprehensive Lifestyle C... (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: March Madness: Cinderellas, Superstars, and Chapions from the Final Four (Hardcover)

And this book/CD package is a terrific companion to track and follow the history of the tournament.

It's funny how college basketball has become even more popular than pro in some markets. Its a shame there aren't more books and media on the tourament. We expect that to change soon. Until then, these combo package is just the ticket to track the stats, rankings and history of some of the most colorful matchups and Cinderella stories.

- GiddyupGuy