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July 2, 2008

Nitty-Gritty of On-Line Sport Bets

Filed under: Athlete's Lair, Bookmakers Stuff, Gambling Capers — admin @ 12:45 pm

Relate both of people’s most important interests and what you will find is something that’s commonly titled a sportsbook betting web property. Is there anything that could be more inventive… Imagine a party of sports enthusiasts applauding any favorite local lineup, and ceaselessly wagers are certain to be computed matching the turmoil. Wishing to get a share of the exhilaration, spectators customarily venture to figure out who is the likeliest to win the forthcoming tournament. At the end of the day, this eventually develops into a nice little tournament named sportsbook betting web property.

Admittedly it can seem addictive, note, however, that sportsbook betting is actually only diverting and to team up with fellow sports enthusiasts. Here, you’ll be able to wager a a piddling budget of coins and nonetheless have a extravagant time. Furthermore, here are a lot of guidelines to help you get started sportsbook betting.

In order to place any bet, we would advise you call on a sportsbook betting web property, i.e. a setup which tenders sportsbook betting web property. In the United States, there are no less than four states where to do sportsbook betting legitimately, but beyond legal you can try it anyplace assuming that you hunt out a bookie and happen to be of age. Among the sports competitions you can bet money on are pro aside from college basketball plus football, professional hockey and baseball, aside from dog and horse racing. Visitors may bet on the comprehensive combined score of a contest, when exactly a given competitor will be defeated, and even if a tossed coin in a contest will come out heads or tails.

The odds makers will depend on mere figures to help you judge which lineup you think is the likeliest to win. First, there’s the spread, meaning specific lead as expressed in points pertaining to the weaker party expected to be defeated by a set number points. Of Course, this constitutes the sportsbook company’s official fashion of organizing objective wagers for a Sportsbook. To take an example, you may choose to wager on a lineup expected to be defeated and and nonetheless win that wager assuming that the party does actually lose by a set number of points.

You’ll find plenty of varying classes of bets: straight bets, parlay lays, etc., the straight bets, where you merely choose the contestor you believe will make it or lose being the most typical in sportsbook betting.

Why not try it out, and entertain yourself all at once… Simply make sure that you won’t get unduly carried away and drain your entire retirement pension on a fancy… Because you will be sure to end up contrite till the end of your life…

Don’t miss the online sports book betting craze! Play online now!

May 30, 2008

Skate Bored?

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 6:38 pm

Though skateboards were around in the early 50’s and 60’s and actually very widely used back then they weren’t well made and so eventually died out. The early ones were basically just milk crates with roller skate wheels and maybe a handle. More like a scooter. The wheels were the big problem, being mostly of clay, and resulted in lots of accidents from slipping or breaking and causing a fall. Even with better boards the wheels still created difficulty, and the sport pretty well died out in the mid-60’s.

It wasn’t until the 1970’s that Frank Nasworthy, a surfer, developed a wheel made from urethane and then added precision bearings, and bolted them to a good quality board. The sport took off again.

The first skateboard parks from that time were mainly empty pools but lots of great moves and jumps were developed during that time, including the famous “ollie”, a no hands aerial. Accidents and then the ever-increasing liability insurance killed the sport a second time and by the 1980’s most of the parks had closed down.

In the 1990’s the sport regained popularity and though it has had some fluctuations since it has mainly grown and developed over the past few decades.

Over the years I’ve often heard it said that this sport wouldn’t last. It was just a fad. But it has developed from an activity into a relevant sport and now is widely followed around the world. The focus on tricks and jumps, great artwork on boards, clothing lines, shoes, skateboard posters, and even music has enhanced the image.

Throughout these years there have been increases in the quality of boards and wheels but mainly the concept didn’t change much, until now. Coming up are some radical new designs. The S-Board is a board that twists in the middle and has only a single front and single rear wheel. The ride is apparently very much like snowboarding.

Then there’s the Australian Bushpig, motorized skateboard (sort of), that does 20mph. Gotta get me one of those.

And the ultimate so far? That has to be Danny Way and his jump over the Great Wall of China. I wonder if his jump could be seen from space? hmmmm.

Philip G. Jones, Phil is a freelance writer and co-owner of www.artinspires.com His favorite print is “Seize The Day-Skateboarder” a motivational print

May 24, 2008

NCAA Weekly Dish - 01/14/06

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 6:55 am

With conference well under way, Matt Fargo takes a look at three
big games on tap that you cannot miss this Saturday.

UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies 4:00 PM ET

A 4-1 Pac Ten team takes on a 2-2 squad but those roles are
reversed of what most people would have thought. The Bruins are
off to a flying start in the conference despite injury problems
since practice started. This team has as many as four key
players on the injured list but isn’t letting that get in the
way. After an 11-0 start, Washington has dropped two of its last
four and it could be more as it finally takes to the road.

Washington played 12 of its first 14 games at home while those
other two games were on a neutral floor. Home losses to Arizona
in overtime and to rival Washington St. have dealt a small blow
to the Huskies although the conference season is just getting
underway. They are coming off a big road win at USC, their first
true road game of the season so this will be the first
experience of a back-to-back road set.

UCLA has won three straight after suffering a surprising home
loss to California at the end of last month. The only other loss
on the season was to Memphis in the semis of the preseason NIT.
UCLA is in sole possession of the conference lead and a win here
could give them a possible two-game lead. The Bruins have played
the 55th ranked schedule in the nation so they have been tested
against some of the best already.

Both offenses are shooting over 49 percent on the season even
though Washington is averaging more than 20 additional points
per game. That is due to an up-tempo offense, where the defense
allows more points, and also a schedule that is ranked 305th in
the country. The home team has won the last four meetings while
the Bruins have won seven of the last nine meetings and are
poised to continue that run.

Xavier Musketeers at Charlotte 49ers 7:00 PM ET

First place is on the line in the Atlantic Ten as two of the
four remaining undefeated teams in conference action take the
floor in Charlotte. Both teams come in red-hot, carrying
five-game winning streaks and offenses that have been on fire.
Xavier is averaging 78.8 ppg while Charlotte is averaging 80.4
ppg during those streaks so the defense that steps up likely
gets the W.

The Musketeers have lost only twice all season long and those
two defeats came by a combined five points to Creighton and
Illinois. Four of their last five wins have been by 17 or more
points while nine of the 10 wins on the year have been by double
digits. Xavier is third in the country in shooting margin at
+12.2 percent, trailing only Florida and Texas for the top spot.

Charlotte got off to a rocky start this year with a 1-3 record
but things are turning around for the 49ers. In addition to
their five straight wins, they have taken nine of their last 11
games including five straight on the road. The home floor has
been the issue however as Charlotte is just 4-3 at Halton Arena.
That includes losses to Mississippi St. and Valparaiso but
things have turned around with two straight home wins.

This is the 49ers first season in the Atlantic Ten and things
have gotten off to a great start but the Musketeers have a chip
on their shoulder. Xavier leads the conference in seven major
categories but playing a schedule ranked 197th in the nation has
definitely helped those numbers. The 10-2 start is Xavier’s best
since beginning the 2000-01 season with an 11-2 mark.

Syracuse Orangemen at Cincinnati Bearcats 8:00 PM ET

Two big time programs meet for the first time ever as Syracuse
heads to Cincinnati for its second straight road game. The
Orange can keep pace with West Virginia and Pittsburgh for the
Big East lead while the Bearcats could use the win to avoid
falling from 4th all the way down to possibly 12th in the
conference. Six Big East teams are ranked in the latest AP poll,
yet Syracuse, one of only three unbeaten conference teams, isn’t
one of them.

Syracuse traveled outside of New York for just the second time
this season and came away with a win over Notre Dame on
Wednesday. It was the Orange’s 11th straight victory and a win
over the Bearcats will no doubt vault them back into the
rankings. The offense has been hit or miss during the streak as
they have scored 80 or more points six times but have also
scored fewer than 70 points three times.

The Bearcats had a 10-game win streak snapped against the
Huskies as the offense failed to reach 70 points for the first
time in 11 games. Cincinnati is 8-2 at home on the season but
has won five straight games at Fifth Third Arena since losing to
third-ranked Memphis. Guard Armein Kirkland is out for the
season for the Bearcats as he suffered a torn ACL against
Connecticut in their last game.

Both offenses are high potent attacks, averaging a combined
157.2 ppg on the season. For Syracuse, it isn’t overly
impressive seeing that it has played a schedule ranked 242nd in
the country. The Bearcats have faced a slate ranked 20th in the
nation for their 80.6 ppg looks better between the two. Both
defenses allow less than 40 percent shooting from the floor
while Cincinnati has a +12.4 percent edge at the free throw
line.

May 16, 2008

4 Steps vs 5 Steps Approach to your Bowling Shot

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 5:25 am

You will hear people talk about your approach to the lane. This is a subject that people are always talking about. Do you use a 4 step or a 5 step approach? How do you decide which one is for you?

4 Step Approach

The 4 step approach consists of 4 steps (duh!).

The first step is the pushout. When you take this step, you push the ball out from its starting position towards the lane. This step is crucial for the stroke of the ball. If you push out in a downward motion, you will slow the ball down (see pendulum in next paragraph), if you push out in a upward motion, you will speed the ball up. Each of these could be done on purpose depending on what you are attempting to do with the shot. This step will also set the tempo of the approach. This is a vital part of your bowling shot. The speed of your approach will determine the speed of the ball going down the lane.

The second step is the beginning of the pendulum motion. The swing has to be a natural motion. It is important that you allow the ball to fall without forcing it into motion. On this step you will allow the ball to fall and begin a natural swing motion. The second and third steps kind of run into each other, and the pendulum can be different for everyone.

The third step is the continuation of the pendulum motion to the back and starting back towards the lane. It is important that you do this without speeding or slowing the ball down in any way (easier said than done!). Just allow the ball to flow with gravity and continue in a natural motion toward the lane.

The fourth and final step is the slide and follow through. You need to be especially careful to not overdo this step. If you throw the ball to hard, it will probably stay to the right of the head pin and you will probably leave pins. If you throw the ball to soft, it will probably end up on the left of the head pin, or worse, through the middle of the rack (a split, ahhh!). I can’t emphasize how important it is to keep the motion smooth and natural.

5 Step Approach

The 5 step approach consists of the 4 step approach with an additional step at the beginning.

The first step in the 5 step approach is a speed step. It is used to set the pace for the shot. Usually the ball doesn’t move during this step. This allows for one less thing to worry about in the first step of your approach (see first step of 4 step approach). A lot of bowlers use this step to setup the shot. It is a starter step that you can use to make sure that your speed is what you want it to be.

The other 4 steps of this approach are the same (more or less) as the 4 step approach outlined above. Some bowlers incorporate the fifth step into their approach and make the 5 step approach one smooth motion.

Which one should I use?

The 5 step approach is used by most higher average bowlers. This is not to say that you can’t be a higher average bowler if you don’t use it, but you will find most higher average bowlers do use it. That said, the 4 step approach is the one to start with if you are just beginning to bowl. The 4 step approach is used by just about every bowler when they begin to bowl. It is much easier to do than the 5 step, and you can always adjust to the 5 step approach when you feel more comfortable with your approach and are developing your own style (see my article, Improve Your Score With Style for more information on establishing your own style).

Keep bowling and having fun!

Mike Kolar - EzineArticles Expert Author

Mike Kolar
About the Author

My Website: http://www.BowlersEverything.com

May 14, 2008

World Series In Russia - Huh? What?

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 3:52 pm

As we watch the Astros choke or White Sox perform valiantly
depending on your point of view, I am reminded of my baseball
experience in Russia.

World Series

I always find it interesting that most of our professional
sports call the championship round the World Series or some
similar variation. Clearly, there are games being played
elsewhere, so how can it be the world championship? With
baseball, the arrivals of Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners
and Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox certainly suggest baseball
in Japan must be of a high quality. Perhaps more interesting is
the fact that some sports aren’t even acknowledged in other
countries as I found out in Russia.

Siberia does not have cable television nor can one pull up
anything other than CNN. This made watching the World Series a
bit difficult. Resorting to my usual tactic, I started hitting
up my students for inside information on any parents that might
own a satellite dish and could get the games. To my
astonishment, not a single person knew the World Series was on
or much of anything about baseball. Nobody had even heard of the
Yankees! A few students had heard of the Los Angeles Dodgers,
which was unbearable for a person from San Diego. It was time to
set these innocents right!

The classrooms I taught in were pretty large. Everybody stand
up! Desks were moved to the walls, books were placed in the
appropriate places and the rules were written on the board.
Forget constitutional law, we were going to play some baseball!

Institutions of higher learning are sacrosanct in Russia. It is
serious business where deep thinking occurs, everyone studies
like mad and the teacher is obeyed at all costs. For example,
the students all stand up from their desks when a teacher enters
and leaves the room. Serious stuff.

The game was proceeding nicely. Everyone was getting the hang of
it, the rolled up paper ball was surviving and the broken desk
leg would’ve put any bat to shame. And then the Dean walked by
the door. And stopped. And stared.

The University Dean, Tatyana, was a great person and I liked
here a lot. In turn, I am pretty sure she thought I was a raving
lunatic, but didn’t seem to mind since the students enjoyed my
classes. Alas, I thought I had crossed a line with the baseball
game.

The Dean opened the door and entered the room. Simultaneously,
students looked for places to hide and I tried to come up with
some reason why playing baseball was critical to the education
of future judges. Tatyana took the bat from the hand of a
student, looked at and stared at me. It was one of those stares
where you could tell she was considering sending me back to San
Diego. There would be no chance of explaining this one away.

After what seemed like minutes, but was probably five seconds,
she did the last thing I expected. She took her stance.

The game was on!

April 26, 2008

Top Motocross Psychology Tips for Entering the Zone

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 10:08 am

On the start line, you were so confident that day, you believed no one could race with you. On the track, racing felt effortless and smooth. You were in the flow on every jump, bump, and turn. Your rhythm was perfect in the whoops. Every section of the track was executed just as you saw in your mind. Your mind was so immersed into racing each section–one at a time–that you were oblivious to other racers. Today you were not checking to see who was behind you. Your motorcycle responded with ease to every thoughtit felt like an extension of you. The feeling of being in complete control of yourself and your emotions was awesome. It was so fun to race the track just as you have envisioned in your mind. Only after the moto did you realize that you raced the moto of your life and found an elusive state of peak performance called “the zone”.

Nothing is more exciting for athletes than performing in the zone. The zone is a peak performance state in which the mental, physical, and strategic parts of racing come together at once. When racing in the zone and going fast with ease, motocross is fun, immensely satisfying, and feels second nature. To get into a zone state, you must be focused on the task, very self-confident, race with trust and composure, and be decisive with your race plan. In this article, I will discuss the mindset of racers when in the peak performance zone.

“You can have a good bike and have all
the talent in the world, but if you don’t
believe in yourself and know that you can
win, you will have a hard time at the races.”
–Ricky Carmichael

Confidence is the first mental tool to entering the zone. You cannot race your best without a high level of self-confidence. You know the confident typethe James Stewarts of the Motocross world who have a total conviction and belief in their ability. Most racer’s confidence comes from success and winning, but how will you get onto the podium if you do not first believe you can win? Too many racers doubt their ability to race up front right at the wrong time. I teach racers to take responsibility for their confidence by fueling their confidence and teaching them how to battle those malicious doubts that pop into a racer’s mind at the wrong time.

“I try to visualize the entire race beforehand. As the actual races gets closer at hand, I start to focus more specifically on the start.”
–Rick Johnson

The second mental tool to getting into the zone is your ability focus the mind in the present moment, the so-called here and now. Most racers can concentrate, but may not focus on the right areas. Racing the track one section at a time and not getting ahead of yourself is the foundation of a zone focus. You can’t make yourself get in the zone, but you can train your mind to focus on the right areas so you are dialed in when the gate drops. In addition, coping with distractions are part of racing. The racer who learns how to ignore the distractions and focus on the task will beat most racers who get distracted.

The third mental tool to entering the zone is a racer’s ability to get into a “flow” on race day. Ricky Carmichael has a great work ethic and trains hard, but to win he must be able to rely on his training and get into a rhythm on race day. Some racers ruin their rhythm by trying too hard or forcing it on race day. The ability to perform effortlessly and trust your instincts is the foundation for getting into a zone state. My motocross students call this feeling as being “in the flow,” “in a rhythm,” “just reacting,” or “automatic.” You must be able to trust your practice and ability on race day do you can “just do it” and react to the track.

“Don’t try to blast your way around the track. Find a nice pace and stay with it. Relax. When you are nervous, your arms tend to pump up.”
-Jeremy McGrath

In pressure situations or in national events, the tendency is to tighten up, try too hard, and not trust you ability. Focusing too much on clutch release or body position for example upsets the natural rhythm and flow of riding because you are consciously forcing it and not letting it happen. This bogs down timing and throws off your natural rhythm. The purpose of practice is to make it feel reflexive when you perform on the track. When you race, let your instincts, built on a ton of practice, take over.

The fourth mental tool is composure. When performing in the zone, racers feel very much in control of themselves and thus their performance. Sports require a balanced emotional level. The key is to be excited to race but not over excited, intense but not too intense, ready to race, but not overanxious to race, and feel challenged but not anxious. Feeling pumped and excited can help you race better, but fear and anxiety ruin your mindset. I help my students find the balance between feeling excited and being over excited.

“Only race because you love it. Race because you can express yourself. Race because it’s the most fun thing you can do!”
–Rick Johnson

Lastly, you have to have fun with your racing to get into the zone. How could racing not be fun you ask? One way is if you put too much pressure on yourself to win or get on the podium. Another way is if you feel expectations from others such as your parents or manufacturers to win. These can cause fear, trying too hard, doubt, and tension, all mental breakdowns that will prevent you from entering the zone. Approach each moto like a fun game because you love the feeling of hitting that jump just right or hauling around a corner and you will be more likely to find your flow on race day.

EzineArticles Expert Author Dr. Patrick J. Cohn

Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is sports psychology expert and world-renowned mental game coach who works with athletes in all sports including national level Motocross racers, NASCAR drivers, and CART teams. For more information on his mental game coaching programs and developing a championship mindset, visit http://www.peaksports.com or call 888-742-7225.

April 22, 2008

Tennis Tips from a Former Instructor

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 1:52 am

Tennis may seem like a difficult game to master, but, as
with many sports, if you break down the shots you hit in
tennis into their basic forms, you will find that getting better
at tennis is not tooo difficult. What follows below is a “cheat
sheet” of sorts that will help you improve your tennis game.

GROUNDSTROKES (forehand and backhand):

1) Bring your racquet back as early as possible. Ideally, you
should have it back in a forehand or backhand position
before the ball even comes over the net.

2) As you get ready to hit the ball, make sure you are turned
to the side. A good test is to make sure you are facing the
side fence, 90 degrees from the net.

3) As you hit the ball, have your knees bent and keep your
head as still as possible, almost as if your body is on a
swivel with your head being attached to the court. And look
at the ball the whole way through the stroke.

4) You need to follow through completely on your stroke. A
good idea is to point your racquet toward where you want
the ball to go and hold it there for a second.

VOLLEYS (forehand and backhand):

1) When you are at the net, have your racquet upright and
out in front of you at all times. Dropping your racquet so that
the handle is above the head is one of the biggest mistakes
people make at the net.

2) When you hit a volley, your elbow should be tucked close
to your body and your grip should be tight. Do not not swing
at the ball. The volley is more of a punch rather than a
swing, with the wrist slightly back but firm.

3) Always volley in front of your body with the head of the
racquet above your wrist if at all possible, and watch the ball
at all times. Again, try to keep your head still.

SERVE:

1) It is all about the ball toss with the serve. Toss the ball to
the same spot everytime, and you will have a consistent
serve. Generally, the ball should be tossed straight up so
that it lands in front of you and to your right (to your left if you
are a lefty). It helps to toss the ball using an open palm, so
the fingers don’t make the toss go one way or the other.

2) Reach UP to the serve. That is, at the highest point of the
toss, you should be pushing up from your legs to reach the
ball with your racquet. And think of the racquet as a back
scratcher as you start the service motion. The racquet
should naturally drop down behind your back as you reach
up to hit the serve.

3) Don’t try to kill the ball. As in golf and many other sports, a
smooth, clean stroke will give you all the power you need.

4) Follow through, much like a pitcher does in baseball. If
you stop the service motion the minute you hit the ball, you
will lose both power and control.

Well, that wasn’t so difficult, was it? There are plenty of other
tips, too, but these are just some of the basics that can help
you become a better tennis player. Have fun!

Copyright 2005, Travel Guide of America. All Rights
Reserved.

Marc is a Boston-based writer who has helped create Travel Guide of
America,
a US travel guide that focuses on interesting cities, towns,
and villages that are vacation destinations. He has also
played a major role in Boston’s Hidden Restaurants, a local
Boston restaurant site. Marc played on the Tufts and Suffolk
University tennis teams, has played in several tournaments,
and has been an instructor for a club in the Boston area.

April 18, 2008

Golf Tip #6: Open Putting Stance - Against The Grain But Effective

Filed under: Athlete's Lair — admin @ 1:32 pm

I know…..I know this is not your typical mainstream tip. Just hear us out on this one. Do you want something that works or do you want something that looks good? And this really does work.

Ever feel like no matter what, you are just never going to be a good putter? Well dont feel so bad, a lot of people feel that way. We have seen so many people putting with a (Square Stance), that we just do not question it. And we say to ourselves. “Well if the Pros do it then so should we.” But if I am not mistaken the “Best Golfer of All-Time” until Tiger passes him putted with an (Open Stance). And if you ask a lot recreational golfers of his era they will tell you they too putted with an (Open Stance) back then. By the way we are referring to Jack.

So lets break down the putting stroke and why we feel it is better to putt with an (Open Stance).

Must Haves In A Putting Stroke

1. Square Shoulders to Line.
2. Eyes over ball.
3. Consistent take back and follow through along the intended path.

Disadvantages to Square Putting Stance

1. Lose sight of the intended path.
2. Does not allow arms to swing down the target line in a free manner.
3. Distances are harder to judge once you have lost contact with the hole visually.

Advantages to Open Putting Stance

1. Better sight line at address and during stroke.
2. Arms swing down the intended path more freely.
3. More comfortable.
4. Easier to judge distance control.
5. The list goes on……..and……on

If you go out and give this a try make sure to still keep your shoulders square. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you.

Adam Beach
Golfideas.com Owner
1.757.898.7344
http://www.golfideas.com
“Clone Or No Clone The Ball Doesn’t Care!!”