Monday, September 7, 2009

The Fun of Fantasy Football

Colorado State University quarterback Bradlee ...

Fifteen to eighteen million people play fantasy football every year-and the numbers are growing rapidly.

In fantasy football, you "draft" or auction an imaginary team composed of real-life football players (this can include NFL professionals or college players). They then score points based on their actual performance in real games.

Your fantasy tournament progresses in much the same way as the real football games. You go head-to-head, competing against another opponent each week.

If your team scores the most points by the end of the season, and has the best win-loss record, you win.

Fantasy football was invented by Danny Dulac, one of the organizers of the Raiders. He thought of it during a road trip to the east coast, and by the time he got back, he had fleshed out many of the rules and was "ready for kick off". Today, there are thousands of websites, magazines and software that are dedicated to fantasy sports.

This is how it works. You have a fantasy league with 8 to 12 teams, with players drafted at the start of the season. Depending on the league you join, you start with a clean slate every season or have a permanent partial roster (these players can't be included in the annual draft). Some leagues will have you keep the entire team and just draft rookies. At any time during the season owners can change their team by firing some players (that's life) and hiring free agents who were not drafted. You can also trade with other teams.

The scores are based on how the players do in their weekly NFL games. For example, a player gets 1 point for making 25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards, or 10 receiving yards. He gets a whopping 6 points for a touchdown (unless it's a passing touchdown, where he just gets 4). Errors can also affect your score. For example, every interception that is thrown subtracts two points. This also applies to fumbles.

Defensive scores are a little harder to compute, so some leagues opt to compute the scores primarily on yards. (They say it is more realistic and mimics the way an actual game works.) Defensive statistics such as sacks and fumble recoveries are then subtracted. To get the number of touchdowns, the total score is divided by a particular number (sometimes 80 or 100). Then any field goals made by placekickers are added to that score.

It's a very exciting game and adds a new dimension to the already popular game of football.

Author Bio
Resources.eu.com is an online resource centre that includes topics such as sports and fantasy football.

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Top 10 Dumbest Things Pro Athletes Do

By: Jason OConnor

There seems to be an endless stream of idiotic things professional athletes do. I guess if you put a bunch of young men together, give them a boat-load of money and lots of free time, what can you expect? When beautiful women, the media and the luxuries of life are thrown at them, their cockiness and stupidity are only amplified. Here are my top ten, but of course there are lots more. However, we must always remember, they are only human too.

1. Me Make Good Play!
Ever see NFL players beat their chest like a gorilla after they just made a good play? I guess it's a Tarzan thing or something, but they look kinda ridiculous. Maybe if I was out there on the field and I was a 170-pound kicker watching a defensive lineman beating his chest after a sack, I may be a little intimidated, but overall, they look really silly doing it. (I attended a professional all-women's football game this year and saw a 350-pound woman do this, which was particularly scary.)

2. The God Factor, Part I
I hate it when players point up to Heaven and thank God after a good play too. Bear in mind however, that I am not criticizing religion or anyone for having faith in God. But this just looks lame. It happens a lot in MLB for some reason. A strikeout will cause Pedro Martinez to do the chest-touch and double-index-finger-point to God as if he and God were chatting earlier about possible pitching strategies in the locker room, and the strategy they chose together worked, so he had to personally thank God using his direct line.

3. The God Factor, Part II
Locker rooms, sidelines, dugouts, bullpens, and court sides are often full of praying men. One question: "If you are praying to win, and your opponent is praying to win, who does God choose?

4. Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?
Why do pro jocks get arrested for drug and/or gun possession so much? Of course, lots of people do this one unfortunately, we just happen to hear about the famous athletes who do. C'mon guys, keep the drugs at home, stop driving while high, and for crying out loud, stop packin'! You don't need a gun. Who's going to harm you? You're six six and weigh 275 pounds!

5. It Wasn't Me!
Telling Congress you don't do steroids, then getting caught doing steroids is pretty dumb. I loved watching the clips where Rafael Palmero sat pointing a finger at the Congressional hearing stating with disgust and confidence, "I do not take steroids." And then the next clip showing him apologizing profusely for taking steroids.

6. I Love You To Death
Murdering ex-lovers doesn't happen very often fortunately, but my list wouldn't be complete without at least mentioning O.J.

7. Rabbits
It seems that there are a lot of NBA players out there who use the phrase, "My baby's mom" a little too often. And there's too many pro athletes' offspring introducing their buddies as "My brother from another mother." Ever hear of a condom?

8. How Much Bling Bling Do You Need!?
It's fascinating to watch professional athletes blow through all their millions in their first year or two and then have nothing left at retirement, which is usually only a few years later. How many fifty-year-olds are still playing pro sports? Not many (minus golfers of course, who will drag their canes and oxygen tanks with them on the fairway). So why don't pro athletes save a couple of bucks?

9. Love My Hog
It's not too smart to get injured off the job when you're a pro athlete. Cleveland Browns Kellen Winslow Jr. crashed his motorcycle recently and will now miss the 2005 NFL season. Jay Williams, a number one draft pick of the Chicago Bulls, also got into a motorcycle accident and has not played since. What's with motorcycles anyhow? Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

10. "When You Come To a Fork in the Road, Take It" - Yogi Berra
Saying really dumb things in the media seems to be a particularly easy thing to do if you're a professional athlete. I looked in a lot of places online to come up with a good list here. My problem was that there were so many good ones, I wasn't sure which ones to pick. But here are a few gems:

  • Paul Hamm, Gymnast: "I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father."
  • Baseball player Tito Fuentes, after getting hit by a pitch: "They shouldn't throw at me. I'm the father of five or six kids."
  • Football coach Ray Malavasi: "I don't care what the tape says. I didn't say it."
  • Baseball player Dizzy Dean, after a 1-0 game: "The game was closer than the score indicated."
  • Boxing Analyst: "Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious."
  • Soccer commentator: "Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field."
  • Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh Steelers coach: "We're not attempting to circumcise rules."
  • Jim Wohford: "Ninety percent of the game is half mental."
  • Joe Theismann: "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
  • Charles Shackleford of the NCSU basketball team: "Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious."
  • Shaquille O'Neal, on his lack of championships: "I've won at every level, except college and pro."

As I already asked before, what can we expect from professional athletes? They often reflect society as a whole. Too much time, money and fame at a really young age can augment stupidity, simple as that. We all say and do dumb things, but thankfully, we don't have microphones and video cameras pointed at us all the time. As Norman Einstein used to say, "Really smart athletes stay away from problems because they can predict the future with their ESPN."

Author Bio
Jason OConnor operates www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com and loves to attend NFL and MLB games.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Mental Discipline - Memory Retrieval

Being able to retrieve information from the mind quickly during a game is of utmost importance for a grappler or combat athlete. This is the information that you developed during training and preparation, such as

• your game plan
• strategies and tactics
• moves and grappling or combat athletics techniques that you want to use
• visual imagery of the moves

Memory retrieval techniques: There are innumerable memory retrieval techniques available that are used in diverse fields like business, financial planning, military planning, education, and so on. The techniques given below have been chosen because of their relevance for grappling and combat athletics and have been adapted to suit grapplers and combat athletes. The two methods can be used in friendly tandem for greater effectiveness, since they complement each other:

1) Image Cue Technique

Ideally a grappler or combat athlete should practice techniques innumerable times during practice and further rehearse them through visualization so that he/she develops an almost automatic retrieval process in his/her mind. But many athletes find it difficult to recall their moves. Memory retrieval of moves and techniques can be quite a quick process if you use certain cues. For instance, let's say if you are about to perform a certain takedown and you planned and practiced to execute it in a particular way during training. At the spur of the moment, you have to be able to retrieve this information. The method that you can use to retrieve the information is to give yourself a cue- at that point. This is called a 'context cue' since it is relevant in that particular instance. The minute you decide to use the move, the cue should be activated in your mind, and this will retrieve your technique for you. You can activate the cue using images stored in your mind during visualization.

Activating the cue using images

Quite simply you have to make an association between your moves and certain mental images of those moves. These image cues can be created during your visualization process in the days preceding the game. You will basically link certain situations in the game to mental images of relevant moves that you want to use. Retrieving image cues is ideal for a sport like grappling or combat athletics where grapplers and combat athletes do much of their strategizing through imagery.

For instance, the image of the first step in a certain takedown move can serve as an image cue to retrieve the technique for you. You can also build fluidity into your image cues to take you from one step to the next in sequence as you action your move. To create these fluid image cues, the process of visualization has to be extremely vivid so that the images stored in your mind are as comprehensible as possible.

2) Structured Memory Technique

The structured memory technique allows you to store your game plan in a structured manner, and the retrieval pattern will be based on that structure. The structure is based on different stages in a grappling or combat athletics encounter and can be decided by you based on the game requirements.

An example of a broad list of areas into which your game plan can "be classified to make retrieval from memory structured is presented next.

Stages in game

Memory retrieval

• Just prior to start of match
• At the start of the match
• Mind-game
• Opponent going on the offensive
• Defense
• Submission moves • Recall key points in your strategy
• Start moves: What moves will you begin with?
• What do you want to do as the game progresses?
• It's time for your most powerful moves
• What do you have in your arsenal to counter your opponent?
• Recall the alternatives stored in your memory and quickly choose the most suitable one

The Structured Memory Technique stores and retrieves information relevant to different stages of the game, while the Image Cue Technique helps retrieve moves and styles precisely the way you want to execute them. The two techniques can be combined to make the process of memory retrieval complete.

Method to improve memory function and retrieval for grapplers or combat athletes:

The capacity to link what we view with images stored in the brain gives us the ability to recall information in our memory. The human brain has 10-12 billion cells known as neurons. These neurons carry out the brain functions through electrical impulses that move from one neuron to the next. It is through this process of transmission that learning and memory occurs.

The brain actually has two hemispheres, the right brain and the left-brain. According to researchers, each hemisphere in the brain has different functions. The right brain controls mental imagery, creativity, perception and appreciation of art. The left brain is specialized in logic, mathematical calculations, writing and languages.

There are breathing techniques in yoga therapy that can assist the right brain function and help a grappler or combat athlete recall stored mental images easily. Slow inhalation and even slower exhalation is taught in this technique and the process has to be followed over several cycles. It can be learned quite easily at a yoga center or through a yoga practitioner.

About The Author

Lloyd Irvin is a martial arts coach. He holds the rank of 7th degree black belt in Thai Jitsu, 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 1st degree black belt in judo. In 2002 he was named The United States Judo Federation International Coach of the year. Lloyd's coaching experience includes having taught Secret Service, FBI & SWAT. Read more on: http://www.lloydirvin.com

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Running: Training Tips

How can I avoid turning an ankle during trail runs?

If you spend much time training on trails, wear shoes with thick soles and plenty of support, which will stabilize your footstrike and help prevent an ankle turn on rough surfaces. Trail shoes are designed for this; some running shoes will also suffice. You can check available sportswears online. Also, always keep your eyes on the trail immediately ahead so you can adapt your stride to any sudden terrain changes. And on the downhills, slightly shorten your stride. This will help you maintain better control and balance.

Can I count my bike time as training toward my running goals?

Generally you can, but you'll probably have to spend more time in the saddle to get the same aerobic benefits as running. Cycling is a good alternative the day after a hard run. It strengthens muscles neglected by running, like the hamstrings and glutes, without the impact of running. In terms of aerobic ‘training effect,’ roughly 6km of cycling equates to 2km of running at the same intensity. But if you're training for a race, no amount of cycling can take the place of running. Heed my friendly advice.

Is it okay to run in the morning if I also ran the night before?

Back-to-back workouts may be fine as long as both runs aren't too taxing. If your evening workout was a long run or included fast-paced segments, keep the next morning's run short and slow. Likewise, if you plan to do a long run or speedwork in the morning, keep your mileage the night before short and the pace easy. The key is to listen to your body. If you run in the evening and wake up feeling sore or fatigued, take the morning off or cross-train with some cycling or swimming. Many people, male and female athletes and enthusiasts, need a full 24 to 48 hours between runs to fully recover, so don't be disappointed if you can't pull off this night/morning combo. I have heard some of the older athletes in the club saying that they are doing less mileage with more rest and they are doing far better than they have in years.

Can I do better with less training?

When it comes to preparing for a race, the rule of thumb will be the more you train, the better you perform. Any athlete preparing for a race needs to establish a few ground rules: What are my goals? Do my goals match my ability? Do my goals match the time I have available to train? And do my goals match my time available to recover?

Once you have honestly answered these questions you can set up a program. The key elements for a successful program are: Give yourself enough time to build up slowly, ensure adequate recovery and push yourself at appropriate times. You need to get to your high intensity and long duration sessions feeling fresh. This is where your ‘older’ athletes have had to adjust their program. They need extra time to recover so that they can perform well when it is required. Monitor how you feel each day, your resting heart rate, how tired your legs are and how much sleep you are getting. As long as these aspects are monitored correctly then the adage ‘The more I train, the better I perform’ will become a reality. If you are not managing the above then you need to reduce your volumes or intensities, or both.

Author: Sandra Prior runs her own bodybuilding website at http://bodybuild.rr.nu

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Saturday, July 4, 2009

5 Empowering Questions for Attaining Excellence in Sports

Sports enthusiasts, athletes, trainers, coaches and even ordinary spectators all agree that proper behavior makes the sport better and that character matters. Today, there is a great amount of attention paid to ideals of sportsmanship, or positive relational character — respecting self, teammates, opponents, and the game. Yet, there isn’t a lot of consideration paid to the influence that an athlete’s or coach’s character actually has on performance. Aside from the gradual improvement on “sportsmanship” programs throughout the world, which are intended to heighten awareness about the realities of sport today, the relationship between character and performance is seldom addressed. Despite the rational link between character and performance, many coaches dismiss this as an intangible factor that can’t be measured.

Performance and relational character are not mutually exclusive. Performance character focuses on the diligence, perseverance, and self-discipline necessary to a commitment to academic, athletic, and other areas of excellence. Moral or relational character embodies the traits of “integrity, justice, caring, and respect – needed for successful interpersonal relationships and ethical behavior.”

Character strengths such as hope, perseverance, creativity, and zest are but a few traits which, when habituated, provide sport participants, men and women, the greatest opportunity to improve performance and enjoyment. Hope is about goal-setting and optimism, creativity is about finding alternative strategies to improve performance, and zest is about the enthusiasm that players and coaches bring to the field.

An athlete who has developed a strong character can call on a foundation of well-formed habits in aspiring to true excellence. The competition of the sports arena, together with a personal goal to optimize performance, challenges the athlete to continually stretch his or her abilities through deliberate practice, a focused and effortful rehearsal. We must will good habits and improved skills; we can’t just wish them to happen. What separates successful performers from others is the ability to make the most of what they can control in their aspirations for optimal performance. This doesn’t mean that anyone can become an elite athlete, but it does mean that athletes can strive to perform to the best of their ability levels – aspiring to excellence as individuals and as members of a team. The “physical genius” wills performance, rather than wishes it. Deliberate practice requires concentration and doing what needs to be done. This provides the athlete with the knowledge of what to do at the right moment on the playing field.

What sets physical geniuses apart from other people, then, is not merely being able to do something but knowing what to do – their capacity to pick up on subtle patterns that others generally miss. This is what we mean when we say that great athletes have a “feel” for the game, or that they “see” the court or the field or the ice in a special way. If you think of physical genius as a pyramid, with, at the bottom, the raw components of coordination, and, above that, the practice that perfects those particular movements, then this faculty of imagination is the top layer. This is what separates physical genius from those who are merely very good.

Marcus Buckingham and the late Don Clifton, authors of Now, Discover Your Strengths, have framed the development of good habits or strengths in what they call the “anatomy of a strength.” They ask five important questions:
  • What are your strengths?
  • How can you capitalize on them?
  • What are your most powerful combinations?
  • Where do they take you?
  • What one, two, or three things can you do better than 10,000 other people?
When athletes and coaches can answer these questions, it can be empowering for individual and team performance and enjoyment. By learning about character strengths and ways to build and apply them, coaches and athletes can be guided to acknowledge, own, and apply their own strengths, to value their authentic selves, and to increase both their collective and self-efficacy.


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Monday, June 22, 2009

The "Pacman" attracts more opponents due to big bucks.

The reigning best pound-for-pound boxer in the world is making a lot of fuss regarding his next challenger or opponents. Well-known foreign boxers who have already established their names in the boxing world are now dying to share the bucks with Paquiao who ranks 6th among the world’s highest paid athletes. Fixing their eyes on the chance to slug it out with the Filipino idol at the Madison Square Garden or anywhere else, internationally-acclaimed boxers are re-arranging their plans with their promoters, to get into the ring against Manny Paquiao. Whether to prove something to themselves and their fans or to get hold of the fat paycheck, win or lose, these boxers, their managers and promoters are pushing their luck towards Pacman. Press releases are now banging on the drums to attract followings and investments. Paquiao is now a hot item and its always wise to strike him while he’s hot.

Now, here’s a rundown of some of his prospective opponents:

Miguel Ángel Cotto (born October 29, 1980 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, Cotto represented Puerto Rico in the lightweight and light welterweight divisions at various international events including the 1999 Pan American Games, the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 1998 Junior World Championships where he won a silver medal.Cotto began his professional career in 2001, and on September 11, 2004, he defeated Kelson Pinto for the WBO junior welterweight championship. He defended the title successfully a total of six times, before vacating it when he ascended to the welterweight division. On his first match on this division he defeated Carlos Quintana for the vacant WBA welterweight championship. Cotto successfully defended this title against Oktay Urkal, Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Alfonso Gómez, before losing it to Antonio Margarito. On February 21, 2009, he defeated Michael Jennings to win the vacant WBO welterweight championship.
Miguel Cotto is about to get uprooted from his
comfort zone and thrust into a ring where Manny Pacquiao has scored his two biggest wins. With the Pacquiao-Cotto fight nearly reaching finality, the venue of the Nov. 14 blockbuster is also shaping up—and it won’t be at the Madison Square Garden in New York, where a large Puerto Rican community is always ready to support Cotto. Top Rank chair Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, said MGM Grand is going to be the site of the fight. The hotel’s Garden Arena hosted Pacquiao’s last two great victories— against Oscar De La Hoya in December and against Ricky Hatton last May.
Cotto’s last fight—an unconvincing split decision over Joshua Clottey last June 13—was held at the fabled Madison Square Garden and coincided with the Puerto Rican Day parade.

"Sugar" Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971) is a boxer from Pomona, California. He has won world titles in three weight divisions. He is the current WBA Welterweight Super Champion
Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:
· 1989 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight (132 lbs)
· 1989 World Junior Championships Silver Medalist in San Juan (PUR) (132 lbs)
· 1990 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight (132 lbs)
· 1990 Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist in Seattle (USA) (132lbs)
· 1992 United States Amateur Champion at Light Welterweight (139 lbs)
Sugar Shane started his pro career in 1993, By 2000 he had fought 38 fights to a 38–0 (36KOs) record, beating undefeated Phillip Holiday to win the IBF lightweight title. He made 9 title defenses and moved up 2 divisions to face Oscar De La Hoya for his welterweight title.
Mosley, meantime, has been vocal about his desire to fight Pacquiao. He even offered a 40-60 split just to face “the Pacman.” He stressed that his fight with Pacquiao will be a “bigg
er fight” than Pacquiao-Cotto. “We have the biggest names by far and Pacquiao’s legacy wouldn’t be damaged losing to me,” remarked Mosley. “I just want to tell Pacquiao to do the right thing for boxing,” he went on. “I don’t understand… well, I do understand what Bob Arum wants to do, but I wouldn’t understand why Pacquiao wouldn’t take the fight.
” He then suggested, “I think you guys should put a poll up and the Philippine fans vote which one they think would be a bigger fight and who they want to see Pacquiao fight next, Shane Mosley or Miguel Cotto!” “Let’s see who the Philippine fans want Pacquiao to fight next,” added Mosley.

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Joy Sinclair on February 24, 197
7), is an undefeated American professional boxer who has a record of 39-0 (25 KOs). He is the son of Floyd Mayweather, Sr., a former welterweight boxing contender.
From July 18, 2005 through June 2, 2008 he was rated by The Ring magazine as the number-one pound for pound boxer in the world. Mayweather has won six world boxing championships in five different weight classes; he is the former WBC welterweight champion, a title he vacated upon his retirement. He was named Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year in 1998 and 2007. ESPN.com listed Mayweather at #48 on their "50 Greatest Boxers of All Time" list.
Roger Mayweather, the uncle and trainer of former pound-for-pound ki
ng Floyd Mayweather Jr., thinks Miguel Cotto may pose problems to international superstar Manny Pacquiao because of his size. “Cotto is a little too physical for him, too strong,” said Roger. “Pacquiao is smaller.”
Roger said that even if Pacquiao and Cotto agree to duel in a catch weight, the Puerto Rican may still come in bigger come fight night. But he said a Pacquiao win will be good for his
ward. “If he wins, it’s better for me so he can fight my nephew,” said Roger. The elder Mayweather said the former world champion is currently taking the much-needed rest after sustaining an injury in his right rib cage.
Fight fans are eagerly waiting for a Pacquiao-Mayweather match up especially after the Filipino demolished Floyd’s erstwhile opponent Ricky Hatton in just two rounds.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, however, is pushing for a Pacquiao-Cotto match since a duel with Floyd could cause negotiation problems. Floyd was supposed to fight Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18. The fight was postponed after “Pretty Boy” sustained the training injury. “The fight is still gonna go on,” said Roger. “We are just moving it on September or October but it’s gonna happen.”

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