Football

Patrick Omari asked:


Ask anyone what the hardest job in football is and you’ll get a myriad of different answers. Maybe it’s being a goalkeeper or a manager, perhaps the chairman is the hardest job? Well without doubt the hardest job is that of the referee. It has been said that the best referees will go unnoticed as the game is played, and there is certainly a grain of truth in that statement.

Do your job well and people will be talking about the match rather than about your performance. However if you make even one mistake then expect abuse, bad press and even punishments. It is a fine balancing act and without the advantage of slow motion replay and time to ponder a decision the referee must make the right call in the heat of the moment. While pundits have the opportunity to look over an incident in slow motion from a multitude of angles, the referee does not have this chance, making his job all that more difficult.

Given the fine line between making the right decision and making a bad one in football it comes as no surprise that sometimes the referee gets things hideously wrong. While there may be an excuse for a bad decision sometimes the one given by the referee just can’t be explained. This article looks at some of the worst decisions ever made by football referees and should give some backing for calls of video replays being used during games to aid the officials.

Diego Maradona’s second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup is often hailed as one of the greatest goals of all time. His first goal has become known as one of the most bizarre. As the ball was played high into the penalty area the diminutive Maradona managed to out-jump England keeper Peter Shilton and put the ball into the net.

Television replays clearly showed Maradona using his hand to beat the goalkeeper to the ball. The goal should never have stood and England were beaten 2-1 and knocked out of the World Cup with Argentina going on to win the tournament, showing just how much a bad refereeing decision can impact a team and a competition.

Generally regarded as a good referee, if a little prone to errors, Graham Poll committed one of the strangest refereeing mistakes in recent memory at the 2006 World Cup. During the match between Australia and Croatia Poll booked Josip Simunic twice without sending him off, eventually giving him his marching orders for a third yellow card at the end of the game. The mistake would see Poll sent home from the World Cup and his eventual retirement from tournament football, stating that this incident was his reason for stopping.

Standing out among all others as the strangest decision a football referee has made is the goal that Reading scored against Watford in 2008. The ball was hooked wide of the goal, but cleared away from the area. The linesman and the referee somehow gave a goal, despite the ball being a foot wide and never even touching the net.

The referee, Stuart Attwell, later claimed that it was an optical illusion that made it look like the ball was inside the goal. Illusion or not, it is one of the most bizarre goals ever awarded and will surely be remembered for many years.

Another goal mouth incident is next up and it’s almost a direct opposite of the Reading incident. In 2005 while playing for Tottenham Pedro Mendes hooked the ball from the half-way line into the Manchester United goal. Goalkeeper Roy Carrol fumbled the ball before clawing it out from behind the line. The ball was over by about a foot but the officials said that it was not a goal.

Television replays confirmed that the goal should have been allowed and Spurs should have won 1-0 and taken three points from the game. The disallowed goal sparked a debate over whether replays should be used to aid decision-making and based on this game it certainly has a strong case.

These are some of the worst and the strangest decisions that I can remember, and they present a strong case for the addition of television replays to help officiating top-level matches. It must be remembered, however, that for the most part referees do an excellent job and games pass by with barely a mention of the man in the middle.

It is just an unfortunate situation that any error can so drastically change the course of a game, and even a season. Using replays to help the referee seems like a reasonable idea and in most cases wouldn’t slow the game down much at all. Surely it’s much better to get the right decision than save thirty seconds?



Clint

David Walker asked:


Outright Odds: 1500/1 Group B Winners: 50/1

Trinidad & Tobago will be looking to cause a few upsets after qualifying for the World Cup finals for the very first time at the eleventh attempt. The ‘Soca Warriors’ beat Bahrain 2-1 across a two-legged play-off to reach Germany but also beat Mexico, ranked seventh in the world, along the way.

Dennis Lawrence headed in the decisive goal in Bahrain but it was the final North, Central American and Caribbean Zone group match against the 40/1 (Bet365) Mexicans that will be best remembered.

Trinidad & Tobago needed a win in order to beat Guatemala to the precious play-off spot but fell a goal behind and even missed a penalty before a Stern John double turned the match around to ensure a fourth-placed finish in the group.

Bustling striker John will play in attack with veteran striker Dwight Yorke. The former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker is nearing the end of his career and will be 35 in Germany. He came out of international retirement in 2005 to give it one last go, and although he is no longer the same player who helped United to complete their magnificent treble in the 1998/99 season, qualification is the final reward for a long and frustrating career for his country.

Yorke was part of the team that almost qualified for the 1990 finals and needed just a point against the USA to book a place in Italy. However, the United States scored a last-gasp winner to qualify themselves at Trinidad & Tobago’s expense.

Manager Leo Beenhakker, formerly of Holland, Real Madrid and Ajax has worked wonders for this tiny country with a population of just 1.3 million - the smallest competing nation in the finals. He has managed to get the best out of a limited pool of players, many of which play at a low standard for the clubs.

However, there is a strong “British contingent” that will make watching Trinidad & Tobago interesting for UK audiences. As well as Yorke and John, the starting XI includes Kelvin Jack (Dundee), Brent Sancho (Gilklingham), Marvin Andrews (Rangers), Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham), Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton) and Carlos Edwards (Luton).

Being thrust onto the world stage is a big ask for some of the players but they need to look at Jamaica in the 1998 World Cup for inspiration. If they can beat either England, Sweden or Paraguay, that would go down as the country’s greatest result in history.

BetBonus.co.uk Recommendation: Trinidad & Tobago’s best chance of success could come in the final group game. If Paraguay are out of the reckoning, Trinidad & Tobago could battle their way to a draw at tempting odds.

Paraguay vs Trinidad & Tobago draw @ 13/5



Gabrielle

Gerry McDonnell asked:


The wife is easily influenced by the mainstream media. Ever since the BBC first aired ‘Heroes’, she believes she has supernatural abilities. I’ve tried to explain that ‘sensing’ I’m not in a romantic mood does not equate to a ‘power’; she’s merely deduced that I haven’t been drinking heavily.

I, however, have a genuine gift. I can make kitchen appliances spring to life just by talking to them. Just last night, I switched the oven on by staring it and growling, “Cook…Cook now…Cook now or else.” It was a pressure cooker.

Tal Ben-Haim definitely has a unique ability, he can run in slow motion in real time. The plodding defender will become a bona fide English hero if Israel snatch a result against Russia.

The Russians have been priced up at 8/15 for the match, and that’s shorter than Paul McCartney’s arms. Only Croatia have won a competitive international in Israel over the last eight years; while France, England and Spain have all fell considerably short. The Israelis are a must-bet at 9/5 to avoid defeat.

If I had the choice of a new power to acquire, it would definitely be the ability to afford copious amounts of alcohol without the need for employment. Only the rich and the Scottish can currently pull this off.

The Jocks are one win away from arguably the greatest shock in international football since Ryan Giggs played two consecutive games for Wales. I can’t see the Italians surrendering, but 10/3 about the Sweaties is verging on tempting.

Peter Reid, Terry Venables and Ron Atkinson have all been linked with the vacant managerial hotseat with the Republic of Ireland. Even after 400 years; we never tire of stitching up the Irish.

Ireland may be rudderless, but they face a Welsh team with even less direction. Wales have definitely gone backwards under John ‘one good decision’ Toshack; his penultimate game in charge may well end in a draw at 9/4.

Many people are under the false impression that it was the English who invented the beautiful game. It’s a little known fact that it was actually an Irishman whose potato was too hot. I think we all know that Denmark are too strong for Northern Ireland at 5/4.

For a modern day footballer, a healthy diet is absolutely essential - so I’m guessing that Sir Alex Ferguson is far from happy with Ronaldo. The orange winger is quoted as saying, “I dated a girl from Manchester, and she showed me that steak pies and chips are very good.” I was left flabbergasted by this revelation: Ronaldo dated a girl. Portugal are the weekend banker at 1/12 against Armenia.

The more I think about it, the most useful super-power to possess would definitely be X-ray vision. Imagine the possibilities: you could wander around the streets at night, checking for fractured metatarsals. I can see right through the 1/2 for a Czech Republic win over Slovakia.

When angry, I am blessed with super-human strength. All it would take for me to lift the wife clear up into the air is mild provocation and a forklift truck. Spain will run over Sweden at a hefty 4/5.

As much as I enjoy being able to pick up overweight women, I’d much rather be invisible; like the 1939 - 1945 chapter in a German history book. We won’t be seeing 1/6 for a Germany win over Cyprus for very long.

One often underrated power is the ability to absorb the strengths of those around you. I could meet up with Arsene Wenger and ooze intelligence, chat with Jeff Stelling and become cool, or sit down with Oliver Holt and write inane drivel. I’m definitely feeling the 5/4 for Norway against the soon to be eliminated Turks.

Time travel remains the ultimate goal for all sci-fi obsessed nerds. There’s no doubt that the world could potentially be changed for the better: we could eliminate the cause of wars, famine, decease and Frank Lampard. Nothing can stop Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and Norway from landing an 11/1 accer.



Cheyenne

Joseph Kenny asked:


Every four years a World Cup will come along and occupy a football fan’s thoughts and time for weeks. Game after game, the best footballers in the world will parade their skills in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching on the TV back in their homes.

Players

Players generally make the World Cup what it is. If there were not great players we would certainly not be watching this tournament in the vast numbers that we do. In previous World Cup finals we have seen the emergence of some great talents, talents that we would not normally be able to see.

History

Which players did the world discover after displaying their skills in previous World Cups? There would be far too greats many to be able to list in detail and there has always has always been heated discussions about who is the greatest player of all time, with two players always at the forefront of the debate.

Lets look at these players’ credentials.

Diego Armando Maradona [Argentina]

[World Cup Honours : 1982, 1986 (winner), 1990 (2nd), 1994]

Maradona is a flawed genius, no-one has ever had his sublime talents and been able to hit the self destruct button with such great effect. Never before has a player been credited with winning the World Cup trophy single handed as he did in Mexico 1986. Even in the infamous 1986 quarter final and scoring what is widely regarded the best goal that has ever been scored in the Finals. After picking the ball up in his own half he managed to dribble hi way through a quality England side before slotting the ball past Peter Shilton, the England keeper on the day.

The Argentinean team that he played with in this tournament were all excellent players but possibly not quite good enough to lift the trophy. However, with Maradona at the height of his powers there could only be one team that could possibly win.

Maradona also helped his nation to the final of the World Cup in 1990 in Italy and only lost to a German penalty scored by Andy Brehme.

However, after failing a drug test in 1991 his career was on a downhill path and then came his final appearance on the greatest stage in the game of football.

In 1994, the World Cup in USA when he scored in Argentina’s first game against Greece anyone that watched his celebration knew that it was not only adreneline that powered the little magician. Eyes glaring into the camera, the hearts of all Argentineans knew that drugs were fuelling their talismanic captain. A drug test followed and the inevitable positive result ended Maradona’s tournament and effectively his career.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Pele

[World Cup honours : 1958 (winner), 1962 (winner), 1966, 1970 (winner)]

The only similarity between Pele and Maradona is that they hail from the same continent. Pele was the original World superstar, enjoying a career that can be regarded as a being a model professional.

Pele’s credentials are there for all to see, he set up goals, he was an instrumental leader on and off the field and he also scored goals. In fact the amount of goals that he scored is a substantial feat in itself.

His record is phenomenal, scoring five goals in a game six times, four goals 30 times and three goals 90 times. These are numbers the modern player can never dream of matching. In his illustrious playing career he scored a stunning total of 1283 goals. In his international career he scored an amazing 77 goals in 92 appearances. However, there was much more to Pele than ‘just’ goals.

He will also be remembered as being the only player in history for winning the world Cup on three occasions, a feat that is unlikely to ever be repeated. Only an injury in 1966 in England stopped him from possibly winning the World Cup on four consecutive occasions, allowing a fine England side to become World Champions for the first time.

He was captain of the greatest team of all time, the 1970 Brazil side that won the tournament so convincingly in Mexico. Anyone who has watched the final game of that tournament, which Brazil defeated Italy by four goals to one, will be amazed at the skill and vision of the original total footballing side.

Given that Pele hung his playing boots up over 20 years ago and is still revered by football fans that never saw him in his prime is testament to the great man’s passion and skill for the greatest game of all.

Many others have graced the greatest tournament that is the World Cup, but both of the players named above are by far heralded as the greatest two. But who would make the top ten complete?

Gordon Banks, Eusebio, Puskas, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Garrincha and the Johann Cruyff to name but a few. In fact many modern day critics may have Cruyff as the greatest modern player, a player who helped to mould the game into the style of play that you see today.

Then there are players that did not manage to show their talents in the World Cup, the most notable being the late, great George Best from Northern Ireland. The other most notable absentee is Alfredo Di Stefano. There are actually many Latin Americans that would hail the ‘Blonde Arrow’ Di Stefano as the greatest player that the world has ever seen.

Among those still playing, Czech Republic playmaker Pavel Nedved, of Juventus, Manchester United’s Dutch predator Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ukrainian goal-machine Andrey Shevchenko, of AC Milan, would top the list. But all three will appear at Germany 2006, barring late injuries, and will probably write some new headlines too.

We look forward to this year’s event with great enthusiasm and hopefully it will be remembered as being one of the greatest tournaments of all time. Let us all hope!



Gavin

Roger Munns asked:


England’s Thierry Henry, the explosive striker for soccer’s beleaguered Arsenal team, has decided to cut ties and venture toward greener pastures with the Barcelona club. His recent decision has left fans disappointed but not surprised, as the deal for the move has dragged on for almost a year.

Of the move, Henry has recently been quoted as saying, “I have said so many times why I left Arsenal. I don’t want to go back to that, but it was hard to leave. I always said that if I ever left Arsenal, it would be to play for Barcelona.”

Well, now Henry’s wish has come true.

Since Arsenal’s 2006 loss for the Champion’s League to Barcelona, fans and those ‘in-the-know’ have believed that Henry would make the move to the team that beat them, but then Henry turned around and signed a new contract with Arsenal.

However, the marriage has not lasted long, and the deal has been struck. The lucrative deal between Henry and Barcelona will make the Frenchman a very rich man indeed. The 29-year-old signed a four-year contract, which also includes a release clause.

Thierry Henry has played with England’s Arsenal team since 1999, playing in more than 250 games and scoring almost 200 goals. However, he spent much of 2006 on the sidelines recovering from injuries incurred in March, which included hamstring, back and foot problems.

Nevertheless, during his illustrious career with Arsenal, Henry shot quickly to the top as the club’s leading goal scorer, and in the 2001-02 season, he netted 32 goals. The following season, he scored 42 goals and offered his best with almost two dozen assists. That year, the FIFA’s Technical Study Group also named him Man of the Match in three out of five matches for France.

In 2005, Henry rose to club captain, and that year also saw Henry become the club’s all time top goal scorer, and he followed that year up with another successful year at breaking records in 2006. Henry is the only player to win the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year three times, in 2003, 2004 and 2006 and has been awarded the French Player of the Year four times. But perhaps the finest validation for Henry came in 2004 when football icon Pele named Henry one of the top 125 greatest living football players.

Henry, born in Paris is 1977, grew up playing soccer and excelled at his game by the time he became a teenager. His first professional rights as a player were signed when he was merely 13 years old, by First Division Monaco, and he played his first professional game in Nice at the tender age of 17.

In 1996, he made the Europe junior team. As he made his way up the ranks, Henry played for Italy’s Juventus, though he found his stride with the Arsenal club in England.

His early days with Arsenal found Henry playing wing, but team adjustments placed him at the striker spot at center, where it soon became clear he was incredibly gifted. Henry did, and has continued to, impress fans around the world with his lightening quick speed and large dose of natural talent.

Whether Henry will find what he is seeking with Barcelona, a Champion’s League, remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: Arsenal will miss one of their most gifted players, and all eyes will be on Thierry Henry as he begins a new chapter of his life with Club Barcelona.



Noah

Jonathon Hardcastle asked:


Which is the greatest team sports’ event? For most US Americans the “Super Bowll” would be an easy answer. Others, mostly attracted by baseball, basketball, or hockey, would choose one of those sports’ finals or all-star games, but this is not the case for the rest of the world. Outside of the US when people say football they refer to the sport that is known as soccer in United States and which is by far the most popular sport in all of the five continents. The World Cup that takes place over a four-year period is considered as the most important athletic competition, being more widely-viewed on TV exceeding even the Olympic Games. In 2002, when North Korea and Japan co-hosted the World Cup the cumulative TV audience was estimated to be 28.8 billion, while 1.1 billion individuals watched the final match of the tournament between Brazil and Germany.

This year the World Cup takes place in Germany with the first mach between Germany and Costa Rica being scheduled on 9th of June and the last one, the final game which is going to take place one month later on the 9th of July in Berlin. Thirty-two national teams are participating in this great “party” of world soccer and they will play in a total of twelve German cities. Among the national teams, which participate 14 come from Europe, 5 from Africa, 4 from South America, 4 from Asia, 4 from North and Central America and 1 from Oceania.

Brazil is the defending Word Champion and one of the great favorites of wining the trophy this year. The Brazilians have already won the World Cup five times and are the most successful team in the competition’s history. This year, legendary coach Pareira has at his disposal some of the most talented football players of the world: Kaka, Adriano, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo and of course Ronaldinho the World Player of the Year for the last two years.

As strong contenders for the title are considered, by soccer experts and bookmakers, the team of Germany, which will play in front of its audience as the host-nation, and that of England, Argentina and Italy. In addition, the Brazilians, the French striker Thierry Henry, the Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, the English midfielder Frank Lampard, the German midfielder Michael Ballack and the new star of the Argentinean football Lionel Messi are players one will enjoy watching.

The United States’ national team is assigned in the Group E and will face Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic in the first stage of the tournament, giving its first game in Gelsenkirchen on the 12th of June against the Czechs. Coach Bruce Arena has his team believing that their mix of young talents such as DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan and old campaigners like Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride could be enough to go further than the quarter-finals where they reached in 2002.

There are many assumptions about soccer’s low popularity in the United States, but the most convincing one seem to be the fact that the American national team didn’t have any serious accomplishments during the last years in order to attract their country’s attention and interest. The boys of Bruce Arena will have their opportunity now inside the German stadiums.



Angela

Gerry McDonnell asked:


The FA cup final is a great British tradition, like a one shot tennis rally or stitching up the Irish.

This year, the top two teams in the country will go head to head in the greatest exhibition since Lady Godiva whipped out her milk dispensers in a brave bid to flee Coventry on the back of one on the Van Nistelrooy clan.

Most bookmakers are treating this year’s showpiece as a ‘Wolverhampton brother and sister match’, they just can’t separate them.

For my money, Manchester United have a definite edge. The Red Devils have looked hotter than a vindaloo-eating, three sweater-wearing, fever-riddled Anna Kournikova all season long; the 10/11 for United to lift the trophy is practically unmissable.

I refuse to shy away from the difficult questions. Why is it that Jose Mourinho can be arrested for harbouring a potentially dangerous dog, yet Lenny Henry roams the streets with impunity? There is no greater lover of dogs than Mourinho, with the possible exception of Park Ji-Sung. I find the 9/5 for a Manchester United win in 90 minutes completely barking.

Chelsea will have their supporters at 9/5, but the vibes emanating from the Bridge are far from positive. Uncertainty surrounds the future of Lampard, and John Terry’s contract talks break down more often than my old escort. I sometimes wish that Wayne Rooney had never given me her number.

Rooney, Ronaldo and Giggs are all match-winners on their day, but Paul Scholes holds the key to a United victory. Gattuso recently suggested that Scholes likes to take his little matter into his own hands; in fairness to Gattuso, it was an educated guess from the ginger evidence. The 14/1 for a Scholes opener is my best attempt at finding value in the first goalscorer market.

Chelsea’s injury crisis may well be a blessing in disguise. As Carvalho knows only too well, Wayne Rooney has previous for walking all over a Ballack. Correct score betting is always a tough nut to crack; I’ll take a small interest in a 3-1 win for Man U at 25/1.

Gary Neville looks likely to miss the match, so referee Steve Bennett may well be the busiest person on the pitch. Bennett once sent off Tim Cahill for lifting his shirt when celebrating a goal, Ashley Cole is said to be seething with the appointment. This match will be fiery; backing a red card to be shown may pay dividends at 3/1.

The new Wembley may well be pleasing to the eye, but their prices are an absolute disgrace. Cheeseburgers are £5 and a hot dog is £4; maybe Ashley was right all along. Bookies are offering odds on the first player to be carded; Ashley Cole is worth a small punt at 14/1.

The Scottish Premier league is not so different from its English counterpart, apart from the blood alcohol level of the supporters. The in form Hearts have peaked at the business end of the season; they look a great punt at even money to see off Kilmarnock.

I’ve promised the wife a curry if the weekend accer obliges, as long as she sits opposite Chris Tarrant. Manchester United, Hearts, Rangers and Real Madrid are the selections, the payout is a spicy 22/1.



Philip

Ed Bagley asked:


© 2008 Ed Bagley

It has now been 33 years since the untimely, tragic death of America’s greatest running legend and its greatest middle distance runner, Steve Prefontaine, and his legacy continues to grow as the void he filled remains open. It is rare but true to say that his legacy may never be matched again.

“Pre”as he would become known to the world beyond Coos Bay, Oregonwas not only unbeatable on American soil but he captured the hearts of runners and spectators. Fans still swear upon pain of death that many times when Pre would step onto the Hayward Field track at the University of Oregon, the sun would burst through the overcast skies, as if announcing that something great was about to happen.

And happen it did because Steve Prefontaine was there to not just win a competitive race, he was there to entertain his faithful, who could expect a superlative effort as well as a victory.

Pre never thought of himself as the fastest runner in the race, but there is no record of a runner who ever faced him that doubted that he was the toughest, most courageous runner ever. That list included some world-record holders and his most intense rivals.

Like a lot of 5-foot, 100-pound athletes who were 8th grade benchwarmers in the more popular sports like football, Pre turned out for the cross-country team as a freshman and discovered his place in the world.

By the time to graduated from Marshfield High School, he had won 2 state cross-country titles, won state track titles in the mile and 2 mile twice, run a 4:06.0 mile in the Golden West Invitational, and set the national high school record in the 2 mile with a sensational 8:41.5 time.

As an 18 year old he qualified to represent the United States on an international tour and finished 3rd in the 5000-meter run in Europe. His 13:52.8 time was faster than any ever run by the legend of the previous generation, the great Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia. He held his own against the world’s best, and had yet to begin his collegiate career at the University of Oregon.

In his first 3-mile race against Washington State in a dual meet at Eugene, Pre won in 13:12.8, the 7th-fastest time ever by an American and the fastest time by a U. S. runner in two years. After 21 straight collegiate meets without a loss, he was the hot-shot prodigy, on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a freshman. No one could have known that he was just getting started.

“A strange camaraderie grew up at the time among those of us who lost continually to Pre,” said Don Kardong of Stanford. “We were united in our belief that no one should have the success coupled with pride that Pre had. We really wanted, I think, to see the big tree fall.” But for Pre, his competitors seemed to not even be on his radar screen.

After his freshman year, Pre never lost a cross-country race, winning 3 individual NCAA championship titles. He would win 4 NCAA 3-mile titles in track, becoming the first runner to ever win 4 consecutive NCAA titles in the same event.

After his junior year at Oregon, he qualified for the U. S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters and would finish 4th in 13:28.3 as Lasse Viren of Finland won in 13:26.4. The field literally plodded through the first two miles and sprinted the last mile. Pre would take the lead at one point but could not hold it in the end.

In preparing for the Olympic 5,000 meter, Pre had run four 1320s and three 1 milers with decreasing times. His 1320 times were 3:12, 3:09, 3:06 and 3:00, then he came back with the cut-down miles. For sharpening, he ran a solo mile under 4:00; he just walked to the line in practice, got set, then clicked off a 3:39 mile with no competition. He was ready, but he was not as experienced as the world-class runners he was facing.

Because of his relentless front-running, Pre was non-stop, and many of his opponents set personal records in losing against him.

Think about his personal best times: a 1,500 in 3:38.1, a 3,000 in 7:42.6, a 5,000 in 13:21.9, a 10,000 in 27:43.6, a mile in 3:54.6, a 2 mile in 8:18.4, a 3 mile in 12:51.4, and a 6 mile in 26:51.8, all accomplished by 1975. At his best, Pre once held every America record in the middle distance events from 2,000 meters to 10,000 meters.

Alberto Salazar, the former American-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and marathon, had this to say about Pre: “He would not take second effortit was not acceptable . . . I think it comes down to pride in the end. Not proud, necessarily, that you are better than everyone else, but that you are tougher than anybody else. That if you lose, you are going to make whomever you are running against pay. And that is what Pre did.”

John Gillespie, a coach and fan, said “He had charisma. That wordthere is something about somebody when you tell people you are going to do something, and then you go out and do it. I know of no single person who could draw people like he did.”

Wendy Ray, the Hayward Field announcer for all of Pre’s races there, said “He just had whatever that isI don’ t know, actors have it. Singers have it. Some people have it, some people don’t. Most people don’t. He had a lot of it.”

Tom Jordan, a writer for Track &Field News in the early 1970s, said “Pre would fix you with a steady gaze and give the impression that you were the most important person in his life at that instant, and that the things he was telling you were known by few others.

“It was an enormously flattering and appealing trait,” said Jordan, “and contributed greatly to what came to be called his charisma.”

Pre ran every day of his athletic life. He was up at 6 a.m. and out the door, running again in the afternoon at workouts. Perhaps even more incredible than the records he set and championships he won was the fact that he never missed a single day of practice or a single meet during his 4-year career at the University of Oregon. He was a force that no one wanted to reckon with, or run against.

On May 30, 1975, 24-year-old Steve Prefontaine was killed in a tragic auto accident. A memorial marks the spot of his death in Eugene, Oregon, and attracts runners and admirers to Pre’s Rock, the roadside boulder where he died. Like a flame that refuses to be extinguished, Pre lives on.



Nicolette

Gen Wright asked:


NFL football matches, especially live on television, can be a very exciting experience. In almost every single match, there’s always that one of two very important moments where everyone just holds their breath and pray that the side that they’re supporting will come up with something magical. And with professional football matches, anything is possible.

There are 32 professional football teams in the NFL, and although it’s the greatest joy for any fan to see your team perform, it’s even more fun when you start to guess which side is going to win. Watching football is a tremendous social experience. So while watching matches with friends, always pick a side to root for. You don’t have to choose the same team that your friends have chosen. Here are some tips on how to choose the winning team.

It’s easier to do the guessing if you’ve been following NFL matches. As in all sports competitions, you’re start to know the game well, and learn all about the strengths and weaknesses of the different teams. When following team matches, try to focus on a few teams and learn everything about them. Who is the strongest center, offensive guard, fullback and so on. Before long, you should be able to pick up some patterns. For instance, you’ll start to have a good feel about which team is going to start off with a slow season, which team is running out of steam and so on. To make an accurate guess for the winning team, due diligence and a good feel for the team performance is critical.

But if you don’t want to spend such a long time following teams before being able to come up with accurate predictions, you can always fall back on the numbers. Statistics don’t lie, and most major sporting websites have a record of these numbers. The more detailed websites even have detailed statistics of individual NFL players. When looking at individual stats, remember to keep in mind the age of the player. Is he at the peak of his career? Of is the player going downhill with his performance?

Time spent on sporting websites will not only give you accurate and recent data, you can also read the latest tips from sports prediction experts. However, take everything you read with a pinch of salt as no prediction is a hundred percent accurate.

Learn to trust your own instincts, do your due diligence well, and you should be able to come up with accurate predictions in no time. You may want to keep records of your own predictions to see if you’re getting any better. If you’re following the tips you’re reading in this article, it’s only a matter of time that you’ll improve dramatically after some time. So be patient, and soon, your friends will be asking you what your predictions are.

Briana

Robert Riles asked:


The San Francisco 49ers, also known as the 49ers SF, the Niners , The Red and Gold or Bay Bombers are a professional American football team based in California. The team is a part of the Western Division of the National Football Conference. The 49ers SF, who started playing as a charter team of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946, became a member of the NFL with the merging of the AAFC into the NFL.

The team, which has had some of the best runs in football history, specially in the 1980s and 90s , has been going through a bad patch in its history since the year 2002, losing against weaker teams, having poor playing spells and being dogged by controversies both within and outside the club. However, the team still has a major fan following, owing to its past successes which include five Super Bowl victories, five NFC championships and seventeen Division championships wins. The San Francisco 49ers are the only NFL team, apart from the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers to have won the Super Bowl a record five times. On top of this, the Niners have also been responsible for giving American football some of its greatest heroes like Steve Young, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott.

Ever since their inception in 1946, the San Francisco 49ers have been based in San Francisco, playing all their home matches in San Francisco while having their club and practice sessions in Santa Clara. Unlike most football teams, the team has retained its first and only name, which is reminiscent of the California gold rush of 1849.

The 49ers had always been a mediocre team from the 40s till the end of the 70s, winning some matches while losing even more and their exploits were nothing much to either inspire a great fan following or to write home about. However, all this changed in the 1980s, when the team managed to win four Super Balls in one decade. Not only this, they missed the playoffs only twice during these ten years. It was during these golden years that the team also threw up a number of superbly talented players like receiver and quarterback Joe Montana, receiver Dwight Clark and running back Earl Cooper.

As of late, apart from being mired in a number of controversies ranging from long drawn out battles over ownership to leaking out of non public training videos, the team also has not been making any great waves in the championships arena. The last and most recent brick in the wall has been the team’s proposed move to Santa Clara for playing their games also. Around the end of the year 2006, negotiations that were on between the 49ers SF and the city of San Francisco regarding the building of a privately funded stadium came to an end with the 49ers management pulling out of the deal due to undisclosed reasons and deciding to move to Santa Clara for good. Last heard, plans were afoot to build a state of the art playing facility in Santa Clara, to be completed by the year 2012. This decision of the team management has delivered a further blow to 49ers SF fans in San Francisco.



Chandler