By Kim J. Harmon

There is a lot to look forward to in 2007, not the least of which is new tales of heroes, heroic teams and bitter rivalries to sink our teeth into.

In the next couple of months, keep on the lookout for ...

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich (©2007 by Mark Kriegel, The Free Press, 368 pages, $27) – He was the most prolific scorer in the history of college basketball, a legend that soon found the pressure and expectations of the National Basketball Association unbearably suffocating Kirkus Reviews writes, “Pete Maravich, born in 1947, was groomed from birth to be the best basketball player of all time. His father, Press, was his coach and taskmaster; the pair functioned as extensions of each other. Kriegel  begins by expounding at length on Press’s hardscrabble youth, when basketball became his salvation and his life.”

As his father instilled in him his ambition, Pistol Pete perfected the skills that would make him great – seamlessly melding flawless fundamentals with spectacular showmanship. After scoring more than 40 points a game for Louisiana State University, he entered the NBA with great fanfare but the weight of all the loft expectations – and his mother’s 1974 suicide – smothered his spirit.

Pistol Pete walked away from the game in 1980 after 10 seasons, fatefully telling friends he didn’t want to be playing basketball until he died at 40. But during a pickup match, at age 40, Pistol Pete had a heart attack and died.

For anyone who thrilled at the exploits of Pistol Pete, this is sure to be an enthralling account of his life.

Year of the Dog: One Year, One Team, One Goal (©2007 by Kurt Voigt, Stephens Press, 192 pages, $24.95) – For lots of folks, the passion of high school football is unsurpassed. For Springdale High School in Arkansas, that is certainly true.

Year of the Dog captures one incredible football season at Springdale High School and author Kurt Voigt examines it by getting close to the players, coaches, fans and family members and witnessing the success of quarterback Mitch Mustain, a highly sought after recruit of Notre Dame and the University of Arkansas (Mustain eventually signed with the Razorbacks).

Any lover of high school football should enjoy this chronicle of Springdale High School.

Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball (©2007 by Michael Litos, Sourcebooks, Inc., 272 pages, $22.95) – Remember what George Mason did in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last March?

Mid-major college basketball has been on the ride for years, with teams like George Mason and Drexel making a push for elite status in the NCAA and author Michael Litos takes a closer look at that rise, and the impact of the mid-major programs, on the college basketball landscape.

To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever: A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry (©2007 by Will Blythe, HarperCollins, 384 pages, $14.95) – Even this far north, in UConn territory, we can find fans of Duke and North Carolina basketball. And Duke versus North Carolina.

According to the publisher, “It is a basketball rivalry that simply has no equal. Duke versus North Carolina is Ali versus Frazier, the Giants versus the Dodgers, the Red Sox versus the Yankees. Heck, it’s bigger than that. This is the Democrats versus the Republicans, the Yankees versus the Confederates, capitalism versus communism. Is that big enough?”

Simply put, the basketball rivalry between the two schools may be the biggest in college athletics and author Will Blythe examines the history of this feud by examining the history of family, loyalty, privilege, and Southern manners. According to the publisher, “As the season unfolds, Blythe, the former longtime literary editor of Esquire and a lifelong Tar Heels fan, immerses himself in the lives of the two teams, eavesdropping on practice sessions, hanging with players, observing the arcane rituals of fans, and struggling to establish some basic human kinship with Duke’s players and proponents. With Blythe’s access to the coaches, the stars, and the bit players, the book is both a chronicle of personal obsession and a picaresque record of social history.”

The Bill James Handbook 2007 (©2007 by Bill James) – Literally and figuratively, Bill James wrote the book on the baseball.

At least, he wrote the book on the statistical analysis of baseball now referred to as sabermetrics – “the search for objective knowledge about baseball.” In his handbook, James will try to answer objective questions about baseball – such as “which New York Yankees player was the most valuable offensive player?” using statistics that go beyond batting average and runs batted in.

Sabermetricians like James call into question traditional measures of baseball skill – like batting average – which makes reading his handbook most interesting and provides a fertile ground for fierce baseball arguments.

If this decidedly statistical analysis of major league baseball doesn’t help with your rotisserie plans for the upcoming season, then grab the Baseball Register and Fantasy Handbook 2007 Edition: Complete Guide to Major League Players and Prospects (©2007 by The Sporting News, 712 pages, $24.95). It will help you decide which shortstop to pick in the late rounds or which middle relief pitcher could help bolster your bullpen.

Happy reading.