Today marks the 1-Year Anniversary of "Blood and Guts"

Secure your manual for these difficult times in pro football.

The greats can’t keep quiet anymore. Even the quarterbacks. Both Tom Brady (on his podcast) and Brett Favre (at Go Long) have joined the chorus. Everyone sees this sport transforming into flag football.

Flags and fines have been particularly nauseating this season. At its core, each Sunday, football becomes something completely different. Rather than own its inherent danger, the NFL is dogged in its pursuit of finding a utopian middle ground that doesn’t exist.

But together, we shall persevere. Looking for medicine to soothe the soul? “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football” has officially been on the shelves one year today.

I’d love it if you gave my first book a read.

Very quickly, this project became something more than football. There’s a reason these red-blooded tight ends are so uniquely qualified to preserve the sport you love. All have overcome specific moments of trauma, and all had no problem reliving that trauma. From Dallas Clark’s mother dying in his arms to Jimmy Graham fighting for his life in a group home to Jackie Smith overcoming a Super Bowl drop that rocked his world more than anyone knew to Tony Gonzalez. As a kid, he was relentlessly bullied. As an adult, Gonzalez nearly threw hands with Mike Mularkey in the locker room.

Mike Ditka, the position’s founder, traces his roots back to Aliquippa, Pa.

Ben Coates, the son of a WW2 vet, played through excruciating injuries. Stories from Shannon Sharpe’s heyday in Denver remain hilarious to this day, and still have teammates in stitches.

Then, there’s Jeremy Shockey.

A few hours at the bar with Shockey went as you’d expect. What a wild man.

Then, there’s Rob Gronkowski.

He brings you right into his thunderdome of a basement as a kid.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read “Blood and Guts” and share the word with a friend. Below are links to bookstores, excerpts and stories we had from “Tight End Days” at Go Long one year ago.

If you’d like to purchase a signed copy, email me at golongtd@gmail.com.

All can purchase “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Save Football” wherever books are sold:

• Amazon

• Audible

• Barnes & Noble

• Target

• Walmart

• Books-A-Million

• Indiebound

• Bookshop

Book Excerpts…

• The unrelenting grit of Dallas Clark, Go Long

• Inside Jeremy Shockey’s wild Giants tenure: ‘This dude’s crazy,’ New York Post

• New School vs. Old. Glitz vs. Grunters. Tony Gonzalez vs. Mike Mularkey, Sports Illustrated

• How Mike Ditka changed football forever, The Dispatch

• The Rise of Gronk, Buffalo News

• Yo Soy Fiesta!, NBC Sports Boston

• Jimmy Graham becomes a Saint, NOLA.com

• Tears & Beers: How Jackie Smith found himself, The Read Optional

• The alter egos of George Kittle, Go Long

Stories and Q&As…

• Why Lee Smith is the Great American Tight End Story

• What's next for the NFL Tight End? That's up to Kyle Pitts...

• Juwan Johnson and the power of the mind

• 'It's a lifestyle:' T.J. Hockenson and why Iowa is the real Tight End U

• Frank Wycheck and an inside look at the 'Music City Miracle'

• Ranking the ten best tight ends in NFL history

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