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Wise, sarcastic, hilarious and memorable quotes from larger-than-life stars of professional sports.

What do you get when you put the world's best hockey players, baseball players, basketball stars, football players and golfers along with their coaches and bosses together in one book? A cornucopia of funny and witty observations that fans will love.

Big Book of Sports Quotes is a celebration of the wit and wisdom of big-league sports, where eccentric characters are cherished in a wild world of media hype. Some selections are current and relate to today's headlines, while many others are from famous athletes of the past. Every sports fan, whether they're an aspiring athlete or an armchair wannabe, will be entertained, no matter what their favorite sport is.

• "I'm just glad it wasn't Machete Night."
  -- Ranger Bob Froese, after fans threw plastic mugs onto the ice on Mug Night

• "Nobody ever remembers who finished second at anything."
  -- Jack Nicklaus

• "Playing middle linebacker is like walking through a lion's cage in a three-piece porkchop suit."
  -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Cecil Johnson

• "Finish last in your league and they call you idiot. Finish last in medical school and they call you doctor."
  -- Famed NCAA coach Abe Lemons

• "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take."
  -- Oiler Wayne Gretzky

• "Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck."
  -- Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula

• "Trying to hit him was like trying to drink coffee with a fork."
  -- Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame slugger Willie Stargell, on facing Los Angeles Dodgers star Sandy Koufax

There are 1,000 amusing quotations and 100 matching photographs of great stars from each sport. From inspiration and insights to insults and inanities, The Big Book of Sports Quotes will have readers laughing and groaning.

Eric Zweig is an author and journalist who writes for the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun.

Chris McDonell is the author of Hockey's Greatest Stars and For the Love of Hockey.