September 5, 2008 - From Jack Falla, one of the sports world’s most celebrated hockey writers, comes a companion volume to the heartwarming collection of essays Home Ice. More than just a game, Falla goes beyond his backyard rink of Home Ice and explores the wider world of hockey in his new book OPEN ICE: Reflections and Confessions of a Hockey Lifer (Wiley; September 2008; Cloth; $24.95)
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Drawing on over 25 years experience as one of the top sports writers in North America, and over 50 years as a fan of the game, Falla’s intimate connection to hockey is evident in this new collection of essays.
Also available is THE ROAD TO HOCKEYTOWN: Jimmy Devellano’s Forty Years in the NHL (Wiley; September 2008; Cloth; $26.95) by Jim Devellano and Roger Lajoie. In this book, readers get a rare glimpse inside the world of hockey from an unusual perspective—through the eyes of one of the game’s greatest executives.
The architect of 13 championship teams, seven of them Stanley Cup winners, Jimmy D. has left his indelible mark on the game of hockey everywhere he has gone. Born in the working-class Cabbagetown neighborhood of 1940s Toronto, Devellano left school after ninth grade to start working. Working days and involved with hockey at night, Jimmy got his foot in the door with the NHL by offering to scout for the St. Louis Blues for free.
He never did play hockey, but has always had an excellent eye for talent. As a scout and assistant general manager with the New York Islanders, he helped build the team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1980s and choreographed the steady rise of the Detroit Red Wings from one of the NHL’s weakest teams into four time Stanley Cup champions.
About the Authors
Jack Falla is one of the top hockey writers in North America. He covered the NHL for Sports Illustrated for many years, and also covered professional and college soccer for SI. He has published articles in USA Today, Boston Magazine, The Hockey News, and USA Hockey, and has appeared on several ESPN biography features. Falla is the author of six books, including Sports Illustrated Hockey. He holds a masters degree from Boston University’s College of Communication, where he currently teaches a course on Sports Journalism. He lives in Natick, Massachusetts. His backyard rink, which he has built each winter for the last twenty-five years, is the setting for Home Ice and has been featured on Hockey Night in Canada and CBS News Sunday Morning.<
Jim Devellano is Senior Vice President and Alternate Governor of both the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. The first person hired by Mike and Marian Ilitch after they purchased the struggling Red Wings in 1982, Devellano built the team into a four-time Stanley Cup winning franchise as General Manager and then Senior Vice President in charge of hockey operations. Now entering his 27th season with the Red Wings and his 42th in the National Hockey League, Jimmy D. is one of the most accomplished and respected executives in the entire league. He is the proud owner of 13 championship rings: seven Stanley Cup rings (three with the New York Islanders and four with Detroit), three Calder Cup rings (AHL), two Adams Cup rings (CHL), one Riley Cup ring (ECHL), and one American League championship ring with the Detroit Tigers of major league baseball for whom he also serves as Senior Vice President.
Roger Lajoie is one of the busiest guys in sports media, operating Triumph Sports Communications and providing editorial, broadcast and public relations services to a wide variety of companies. He is best known to Toronto sports fans as a talk show host on The FAN 590, appearing most weeknights with Norm Rumack while also filling in on a variety of other shows throughout the year. As a North American sports correspondent for the Reuters News Agency, Roger has covered events such as the Stanley Cup finals, the World Series, the NBA finals, the NCAA Final Four, MLB’s All-Star Game, and the NHL, NBA, and MLB on a regular basis. Roger is the play-by-play announcer of all St. Michael’s Majors games on the Internet and does play-by-play of Oshawa Generals games and hosts Majors games on Rogers TV.
| For more information, contact: Mike Onorato 201 748 6361 monorato@wiley.com |
Open Ice By Jack Falla Wiley; September 2008; $24.95; Cloth 978-0-470-15305-9; Cloth 
The Road to Hockeytown |
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