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Offside

My Life Crossing the Line

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
Hockey's most polarizing figure takes us inside the game, shedding light not only on what goes on behind closed doors, but also what makes professional athletes tick.
As one of the NHL's most polarizing players, Sean Avery turned the rules of professional hockey on their head. For thirteen seasons, he played for some of the most storied franchises in the league, including the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings, and the New York Rangers, making his mark in each city as a player who was sometimes loved, sometimes despised, and always controversial.
     In Offside, Avery displays his trademark candor about the world of pro hockey and does for it what Jim Bouton's game-changing Ball Four did for baseball. Avery goes deep inside the sport to reveal every aspect of pro athletes' lives, from how they spend their money and their nights off to how they stay sharp and conditioned and employed. Avery also examines his singular career path–while playing the talented villain on ice, he skated out of character in the off-season, taking on unexpected and unprecedented roles: Vogue intern, fashion model, advertising executive, restaurateur, gay rights advocate, and many more.
     Rollickingly honest and compelling throughout, Offside transcends the sports book genre and offers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the world of twenty-first-century hockey through the eyes of one of its most original and memorable players.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 25, 2017
      An NHL bruiser fights for the right to be himself in this bare-knuckled memoir. Avery recounts his 12-year career with the Red Wings, L.A. Kings, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers as an “agitator” tasked with physically and verbally goading opponents to fight so that they would draw penalties or simply get rattled. His boisterous narrative details the strategy and tactics of trash talk and fisticuffs with rival players (“I get a good right hand in... and break the orbital bone of his left eye”), obnoxious civilians (“My right hand goes from hanging beside my waist to the dead center of his face”), and Paris Hilton’s entourage (“Her assistant open-hand slapped me across the face”). His activities resulted in fines, suspensions, and anger-management rehab, and precipitated trades imposed by coaches and league brass scandalized by Avery’s mouth and irrepressible individuality. Counterpointing the mayhem is the author’s blossoming as a Manhattan metrosexual, attending Met galas, interning at Vogue magazine, supporting gay marriage, and clubbing with Scarlett Johansson. Avery has a chip on his shoulder concerning his “hate-filled” reputation, and his anecdotes often skate around aimlessly without finding a point, but his voice is energetic and offbeat and his get-real revelations about drugs, team jealousies, and the lingering damage from a violent sport will hold readers’ attentions.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

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