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  Legends and Soles. Sonny Vaccaro with Armen Keteyian. The Memoir of An American Original.      As a Pittsburgh native, resident and longtime admirer and attendee of the Pittsburgh roundball classics, I have known of John “Sonny” Vaccaro, also a western PA native, for many decades.      Upon reading his recently published memoir, I, along with any potential reader, know considerably more about his background, upbringing and philosophy of life.      Not only that, though, the cleverly titled book, “Legends and Soles” provides insight into his love for gambling and how he used those skills to succeed in his business endeavors but also his interactions with basketball luminaries such as Michael Jordan, John Thompon or Business moguls such as Phil Knight at Nike.     The book starts predictably with a summary and account of Vaccaro’s family and his upbringing in mid-20 th century suburban Pittsburgh.  ...

  The Football Game That Changed America.     Dennis Denninger. How the NFL created a national holiday.       Author Dennis Denninger asserts that one football game in particular changed the United States of America.     While there is likely truth to this notion, we could argue that America changed the importance, interest and popularity of the nation’s most sought-after sport and its coveted championship game.     In February of 2025, America finished watching the 59 th super bowl where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs among a record crowd of patrons and television viewers, advertisers, social media content and just about any other connection that helped glorify this event towards a near national holiday.    Of course it wasn’t always like that.     Denninger, a professor at Syracuse in the Falk School but also a former award-winning sports television produ...