Football

Rick Grantham asked:


College football attracts millions of fans nationwide, especially come football season. Rivalries between schools are fierce, with a lot of school spirit and thrashing and bashing between students broadcast live on national television. This is why watching the game and keeping updated about football matches excites a lot of viewers especially the alumni and those who associate themselves with a particular school, usually the one that represents their state. College football is almost as exciting as the National Football League (NFL). As with professional football, everyone has their own favorite team. Throughout history, however, there are undoubtedly better teams than others who have played their way to the top. After all, football can be measured objectively through scores and points just like most any other sport. When it comes to greatness, the stats say it all. Below are some of the greatest football teams in college football history.

1971 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The 1971 Cornhuskers are considered to be one of the best college football teams to ever exist. There is little disagreement on the greatness of this team, just looking at its offense which averages more than 39 points a game and surrenders only 8.2 points a game. Led by kick and punt returner Johnny Rodgers, who not surprisingly won the 1972 Heisman Trophy, the 1972 Cornhuskers won over Oklahoma who was ranked No.2 at that time with a record of 35-31 during Thanksgiving Day. The 1972 Cornhuskers-Oklahoma game has been dubbed as the “Game of the Century.” The Cornhuskers finished that season with a record of 13-0 and a 38-6 drubbing in the Orange Bowl against Alabama.

1972 USC Trojans

When the 1972 season ended, the USC Trojans finished with an incredible 12-0 record, which just shows how successful this team was. They defeated Ohio State in the Rose Bowl with a score of 42-17 under the guidance of head coach John McKay. That season, the Trojans were named No. 1 in all media polls and ballots.

1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The 1995 Nebraska had it all, a great offense and a great defense. It was no wonder that they were able to defeat four teams in the Top 10 by no fewer than 23 points. They also had an impeccable running attack in Lawrence Phillips and Ahman Green. The 1995 season was their second straight national championship, winning the Fiesta Bowl against Florida with a 62-24 score.

1945 Army Black Knights

That year, the Black Knights teamed up with the armed services and the Allies to win World War II and went on to a fall campaign with tailback Glenn Davis and fullback Felix “Doc” Blanchard. Both players won the much coveted Heisman Trophy, Blanchard in 1945 when he ran 718 yards and 19 TDs, and Davis in 1946. The Army finished the season with a 9-0 record. They defeated Notre Dame with a 48-0 score and trounced the Pennsylvania Quakers by 61-0.

2001 Miami Hurricanes

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes had unbelievably good players who were all first-draft selections in the 2002 NFL Draft: All-American quarterback Ken Dorsey, offensive tackle Bryant “Mount” Mckinnie, running back Clinton Portis, cornerbacks Mike Rumph and Phillip Buchanon, wide receiver Jeremy Shockey, and safety Edward Reed.



Casey

Kadence Buchanan asked:


Born on February 10, 1883, American William Tilden II or “Big Bill” Tilden, as he was more popularly known, was the first great tennis superstar. He was the number one player in the world for seven years and reigned the courts until the age of 38.

Tilden was the most dominant tennis player in the world in the 1920s and 1930s and is now considered by many as the single most influential person in the history of the sport. His raw physical power and unbelievable skill and quickness on the tennis court did much to change the image of tennis from that of a “sissy” country-club sport played by rich white people in long white pants to that of a major sport played by world-class athletes.

In 1920s America, sports was a huge thing for the public and Tilden was one of five sports figures who loomed as larger-than-life superstars at the time. The others were baseball’s Babe Ruth, football’s Red Grange, golf’s Bobby Jones and boxing’s Jack Dempsey

From 1920 to 1955, except for an extended period in the 1950s, Tilden thoroughly dominated tennis in a manner that left little doubt that he was the greatest player that ever lived. There has never been a single player who dominated an entire era of tennis as Tilden had during his prime. For seven straight years in the 1920s, he never lost a single important match, especially when the Davis Cup was at stake. He claimed the United States amateur championship six times in succession and seven times overall. He also led the United States to seven consecutive Davis Cup victories from 1920 to 1926, a record that is still unmatched today.

A stunning revelation surfaced later on that added even more mystique to the Tilden legend. It was revealed that during the mid-1920s, Tilden’s middle finger on his playing hand had become infected and was subsequently amputated. But he still kept on playing and still kept on winning after that.

Today, Tilden is not that widely remembered despite his almost iconic renown. But in his prime, he was a flamboyant character who was always in the public eye, even acting in some movies and stage plays. In 1950, an Associated Press poll named Bill Tilden as the greatest tennis player of the half-century by a wide margin.



Jordyn

Duke Clarke asked:


Copyright (c) 2007 Good News Publications

I want to explain one of the greatest life lessons you will probably ever hear. It was brought home to me again last Friday night in an unusual way.

For 16 years I coached High School Football in Eastern Virginia. That’s the 757 area code of Virginia. If you know anything about College Football, you will recognize that area code as one of the most talented areas in the country.

But our school was small in number, in fact for the past 16 years we had to apply for an exception to the rule in order to play AA football because we were a single A sized school. This meant we never had the numbers (most of our varsity teams never had over 25 players, so our kids had to go both ways all season). We rarely had outstanding talent and if we did it was one or two players every five years or so. This means we were always out-numbered, the players rarely got a rest, a lot of them played hurt and to top it all, we played in a District where a team went to the State playoffs every year.

So how is it with so many disadvantages, we sent players on to college football at every level almost every year?including both of my sons? Not only did we send them, but our players were successful. The old coaching staff and I got together after the game and counted up 9 Championship Rings that our former players had won at the college level from Division III all the way to a National Championship in Division 1AA and an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in Division IA, with our former player being named ACC Player of the Year.

How could such a small school with an unimpressive win/loss record have such successful players? Because we coached these young men to love the game, give all they had all the time and never, never waste an opportunity when it is given to you.

I was reminded of this last Friday night when I saw the team play once again. We were playing the cross town team who had already won the District Championship with a 9-0 record and we were their last game.

Once again we were outnumbered, outsized and outplayed. By half time we were down 37 to nothing. The game finally ended 44 to 0. Our school was in a down cycle to say the least. With a miserable 3-7 record and only 21 players on the team you would think that a 44-0 loss on your last game would be so hurtful you would want to just leave and go home.

But after each game, down on the field the coaches talk to the team and let the players talk about the game. This was the last night of the season and the last night for the seniors, so the head coach let all the seniors talk. There was no finger pointing, there were no regrets, each one, to a man, talked about how much he loved the game and how much he loved his teammates and coaches. Tears flowing, hearts open, and these young men saw the game bigger than win/loss, bigger than points on the board, bigger than the final team record.

At one point during the game, the team we were playing broke through the line of scrimmage and took off on a 60 yard run to the end zone. We were already down by 30 points, but the middle linebacker chased this player down and tackled him on the 4 yard line. Two plays later the team scored anyway. But for that one moment, our player had the heart not to let his teammates down, not to let himself down and gave everything he had to stop that man before he scored. He had been playing both ways the whole game, but his team and the pride in himself came first.

No one would have blamed him if he only tried half-heartedly to stop him, we were already down 30 points, but that’s not what we teach!

After the huddle at the end of the game when we broke up, several of the seniors were hugging each other and crying. They were not crying because they lost; they were not crying because they had a bad game or a bad season. The reason they were crying was summed up in one player’s sobbing outburst?”It’s over!”

He and the others were crying because they would never again put on a uniform; never again walk on the field as a player, never again be a member of a team on the field pulling for a united goal?it was over.

I have seen seniors in the past go down to the end zone and just sit down as everyone left the field. They just sat there gazing at the field reliving every moment they could. The stands were empty, the field was empty but they just sat their not wanting to leave.

Of course they will go on to other things in life and hopefully carry this passion with them. But the life lesson that is so important to learn here is that we never allow time to pass us by, never take an opportunity for granted, before you know it, that window is closed and “It’s over!”

Live with passion. Love what you are doing or find something else to do. You only get one shot at life, make the most of if before?it’s over.



Terrance

Jim Brown asked:


Athletes for any sport cannot perform with his or her best without appropriate training. No matter how naturally gifted an athlete is at any game or sport, there is still an indispensable need to hone or improve those innate skills and acquire even more. Athletes for hockey are no different.

All the greatest players in the world underwent extensive training and incorporated their acquired skills with the talents they were endowed with. Simply stated, training is of prime importance. It cannot be ignored because there is always room for improvement in sports-related skills.

Flexibility is important, though it is admittedly overlooked in the physical grounding aspect. Some players give little importance to flexibility and treat this crucial facet as half hearted stretching performances after practicing on speed, strength and endurance.

For quicker and speedier movements and for stamina to sustain the hard skating in hockey, there is a need to condition the cardiovascular system of the body. Muscles should be conditioned to assist in the building up of power, endurance and strength. Focusing on power and strength in training routines is as important as paying attention to flexibility. Particularly, the step-up routine is an excellent training because it targets glut-hamstring groups of muscles that are essential for development of a hockey player’s speed. Additionally, the stick handling routine can improve speed greatly, just as it develops eye-and-stick coordination, timing, puck control, precision, and consistency.

Conditioning a hockey player’s strength is not to be overlooked either. Strength conditioning has been treated as a core factor training routine in hockey. Most hockey athletes find that it is a component of the training program and never miss this out in their routines.

Conditioning can be done through the incorporation of various exercises in the training sessions. A hockey player needs to focus on core strength and stability of posture. Similarly, strengthened abs plays an important role in improving explosiveness and power. Abs strengthening can be done with the use of medicine balls.

If a player opts to use weights for strength conditioning sessions, trainers recommend starting off with some light weights from which initial strength can be built. The hockey player can then proceed upward. A hockey player’s strengthened upper body allows him to shoot with greater power and do passes over greater distances.

While some body parts and specific results are aimed, playing hockey demands that players work their entire body. This calls for whole-body workouts to improving a player’s core strength.

Perhaps to most people, the training routine for hockey and all other types of sports can be tedious. This is where creativity should come in to make the sessions fun. For starters, having other hockey enthusiasts join and involve in the actual routines will be a good idea. Also, a trainee should make sure that his or her goal is fixed to develop the body for hockey or any sport for that matter.

Basic practice routines are easily applicable, but doctors and trainers advise that more in-depth sessions should be seriously considered by hockey players to help them work their way toward better and effective performance in the field.



Ariel

Al Terry asked:


The city of New York has nine teams representing the four major sports – baseball, basketball, football, and ice hockey. Two teams represent New York in ice hockey – the New York (NY) Rangers, and the New York Islanders. The NY Rangers are based at the Madison Square Garden, whereas the New York Islanders play from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale - New York. The NY Rangers is the older of the two teams and started playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926.

The NY Rangers came into being as part of a franchise granted the Madison Square Garden by the NHL during the 1926-27 season. As the then president of the Madison Square Garden – G. L. ‘Tex’ Rickard - was responsible for building this team; the team came to be known as ‘Tex’s’ Rangers. This is how the team later came to be named the New York Rangers.

The NY Rangers have won four Stanley Cups – the championship trophy of the NHL. The NY Rangers did what no other team has ever done since – win their first Stanley Cup in their sophomore year. They won this during the 1927-28 season and followed it thrice more during the 1932-33, 1939-40, and 1993-94 seasons. They won this last Cup in front of their cheering home crowd at the Madison Square Garden.

The New Yorkers are proud of their team, which has won the Prince of Wales Trophy three times. The Prince of Wales Trophy is the NHL trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff champions. The NY Rangers have also won the President’s Trophy twice. This is presented by the NHL to the team that finishes with the best record in the league during the regular season.

The Home Ground

The Madison Square Garden is home of the NY Rangers since 1926. That was the third Madison Square Garden, and since 1968, they have moved into the fourth Madison Square Garden. The Garden has 18,20 seats for hockey, and is unquestionably the most beautiful arena in the world.

The NY Rangers honors its greatest players by retiring their jersey numbers, never to be worn by any other Rangers team member. So far, the Rangers have retired four jersey numbers, and these numbers will hang – forever – from the rafters of the Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers Tickets

More than 25 home games are scheduled to be played by the NY Rangers until the first week of April 2007 at the Madison Square Garden. This is a great opportunity for the fans of the Rangers to watch their favorite team playing close up. With the games being played close to home, the NY Rangers tickets are definitely not going to be easy to come by.

With all the fans hankering to watch the games, the NY Rangers tickets would all have been sold out. It may already be too late in the day to expect to procure your NY Rangers tickets at the venue.

Your best option is the reputed ticket brokers, who have the resources to deliver your NY Rangers tickets to your door.



Vincent

Mr Walker asked:


If you are among those persons who are addicted or let’s just say extremely passionate to Watch Live Football matches, now, thanks to technological advancement you have the possibility to access the best live football matches broadcasted over the Internet. You also have the opportunity to take pleasure in watching all the major football events played anywhere in the whole world even if you don’t have a satellite connection or a cable one.

What can be more satisfying than watching live football, European cup games, and international matches with your favorite football stars? If the answer to this question is “nothing”, then you can count yourself among the numerous passionate football fans out there for sure. As most adoring fans of this sport you are thrilled to watch live football even if this means fighting with your wife over the remote control of your TV. Well this is not the case for you anymore. You don’t have to listen to sport comments on the radio and you can even watch live football at work without turning on the TV. How? Very simple: PC live football. You can watch it anytime and anywhere because live football matches are broadcasted on the Internet 24 hours a day.

The best thing of all, is that most of the matches come with an English commentary that doubles the pleasure and offers a tremendous entertaining experience for those who watch live football games. If you have made the decision that you do not want to miss another live football game, then don’t waste your time and quickly access the watch-football.net site from your computer. It will give you the opportunity any live football fan would like to have.

There are a few things that you will need in order to be able to watch live football matches:

First of all an Internet connection is necessary and, if it is a high speed one, then the live football transmission will be continuous and won’t be interrupted unexpectedly when you are about to watch the best and the most attention-grabbing part of the live football match

You also need a player that supports live streaming football. In this case the most common players are RealPlayer, Media Player and Winamp

The websites that provide football streams have a list with all the games taking place at the moment and all you need to do is to click on the game and the player will open for you to watch live football on your computer. It’s as simple as that!

You’ll have to go online to get the software, but the good news is that it’s free of charge and you won’t have to pay expensive cable or satellite fees either

Watch-football.net is one of the greatest streaming football sites with which you can watch live football from any part of the world. If you become a member, the site will provide the kind of software you need to watch live football and the advantage is that it is very easy to use. You will be able to receive the software through email and to install it is a matter of minutes. It’s not an US product only and it can be bought by anyone in the world. To watch live football will be very easy as the software doesn’t require any computer skills and can be set up in about 2 minutes. There are no hidden charges to fear and it doesn’t cost extra to watch live football on different channels. You shouldn’t hesitate and you should take advantage of this new technology that is offered to you and get ready for the best live football games that are about to come.

We are all aware that football is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is highly appreciated by the audience, but football fans don’t have the time or the money to manage to pay for the tickets of every live football game there is (not to mention the costs of the trips in all the countries in which live football games are being played). Taking all this information into account you should choose a cheaper and more enjoyable way to watch live football. You can watch live football from your office or from home anytime with the help of the Internet and for just for a very small fee. It’s a luxury that the modern world offers us and we shouldn’t say no to it.



Zachery

Chris Grisham asked:


When learning how to pick a fantasy football team you need to pay extra attention to what has gone on for the specific team in the offseason. Here are some questions to ask yourself about the team you are going to choose:

What offseason trades have happened to benefit the team?

Did your team have a good NFL draft?

Who is injured on your fantasy football team?

These 3 questions are vital in determining and choosing your next NFL fantasy football team. If you pick a team where they had no injuries and great offseason acquisitions you can expect to see your fantasy football rankings shoot through the roof. You can get the latest sporting news fantasy football updates right to your phone even, so there is no excuse not to be up-to-date when making your NFL fantasy football predictions. There are many players stocks rising and many players stocks falling dramatically. Sometimes you can catch a players stock falling almost near the bottom, draft them, and earn a huge return on a draft pick that low. These are your money maker picks right here and make up the difference between a winning fantasy football player and a losing fantasy football player. Knowing all your fantasy football player ratings will help you greatly on draft day. You can surprise all your friends by becoming the greatest fantasy football player to ever play the game if you do your homework and play your cards right. There are some steals out there on no name players ready to shine this year in the NFL. Your fantasy football draft has never been so better when you find standout players for cheap.

If you want to make some money this year on the NFL season, placing an NFL football bet will be your best bet by far. Take it from me; I have been making a stable income betting on sports for years! Last year I made a total of $120,000 betting on ALL sports last year. Out of that 120K I made last year, around 80k of it was JUST on FOOTBALL bets. The type of football bet depends on the NFL lines and who is playing who. The majority of the times if you can find a steal where the lines are great for a home team, take them.

A football bet tip you will always remember is to find a sports handicapper that spends 8+ hours a day researching each and every pick to give you guaranteed winners. You can find a professional handicapper for cheap, 50 dollars a month or less. Not only will you ONLY pay 50 dollars a month or less, if you do not profit for the month you are FULLY refunded. There are definitely companies out there that offer services like this, you just have to do your research and find one. Once you find one you will be able to quit your day job, buy a new house, a new car, and live a comfortable life just like I have been doing for years. I wish you the best of luck!



Gabriela

Pranay Rupani asked:


So you did not make the cut, it has to be one of the most disappointing moments for anyone who works hard and puts in their best effort. Try your best and success will follow, try saying that to the student who missed the university cut-off by half a point or to the hundred meters runner who missed the gold medal by 0.05 of a second or maybe even to the footballer who hit the post instead of the back of the net, rest assured it will not be a pleasant reaction. There are moments in life where you just miss it, sometimes by a whisker or by a lot. The work, the talent, you have them, so you deserve the best but it just does not happen. Let me say even the best have their worst moments and even the greatest of them just missed it. So the students, the sportsmen, do not lose heart there will be other chances, though sadly most sportsmen do not get their chance and all that is left is a longing, What If?

Here I refer to the near misses in the world’s most famous game football. Every footballer dreams of one day winning the world cup and dedicates his life to that purpose. That leaves little or no doubt of the commitment. Even the greats meet their match or they meet the greater. At that moment there is someone better or luck is on their side. Portugal’s Eusebio “The Black Panther” was undoubtedly the best footballer in Europe in the sixties, some argue even the greatest but then there was Pele. The stage was set, it was the 1966 world cup and Portugal was as confident as ever. The start was good, the magical Eusebio was at his best, and Portugal was in the semifinal against England and the favourites against a new English side. Eusebio played at his best but hit the goal post, and met his match in the form of the English great Bobby Charlton. Charlton scored, Eusebio hit the post and England went on to win the world cup. Eusebio never got his chance again.

Then there was Cruyff, the best footballer Holland has seen. He was a great leader and a terrific footballer. He led from the front and saw Holland through to the 1974 world cup finals. Cruyff knew he was up against a very tough opposition in Germany but he was the best and there was little doubt about the success of Holland. The match began and Cruyff hit the post not once but twice, the world cup belonged to Holland and they deserved it. Alas Cruyff met his match in the form of Beckenbauer and Germany took the 1974 world cup. Cruyff did not participate in the 1978 world cup in Argentina, because of a military coup that had taken place prior to the world cup, fearing security. Holland again finished runner up and this time to Argentina. I wonder what if Cruyff (their best player) had been there? How many times must Cruyff have thought the same, he missed his chance not once but twice, and this time there was no post. Only Cruyff and his decision not to play, seldom do we get the chance of realizing our dream again and he lost it.

Coming to the eighties there was the dazzling French footballer Platini, at the 1982 world cup France lost to Germany in what is regarded as the second best match ever in world cup history. Platini lost in what was a truly great game of football. Not to be undone Platini was back in 1986 and the ‘Les Bleus’ were at their best. Only to be ousted again in the semifinals by Germany, in a match which saw the best French penalty shot taker Platini miss a penalty. History seemed to repeat itself and that unfortunately meant the last chance for Platini was gone. Platini did score the most international goals for France. Germany did end up losing the finals on both those occasions (the irony of fate). At the very same world cups was the best team to have never won the world cup and they were Brazilian dream team of Coach Telê Santana, with players like Zico and Socrates. In 1986 they hit the woodwork twice and Zico missed a penalty which saw France through rather fortuitously. The best team ended up being the most complacent team and saw the world cup slip away.

There are a few players who deserved winning the world cup more than these greats but luck, over confidence, equally great players stopped them from doing so. Football like life also has its disappointing moments. Who can explain the irony, the student who missed the University cut-off, the hundred meters runner, or the footballer who hit the post? Quite a conundrum, even the best could not make it, and that even those who have been through the experience cannot explain.

ProVFX Visual Effects and Editing School has been written by Pranay Rupani who is a Freelance Writer.



Dominique

Audrey Nolan asked:


Tony Adams was selected as Portsmouth new manager and signed a two and half year contract with the club. This happened just two days after Harry Redknapp the club resigned to join the Tottenham Red Spurs.

Adams had been Redknapp’s assistant for the last two years and when he left the team last Sunday, Adams was appointed in temporary charge of the team.

He has stated that he is really pleased with the opportunity that the club is given him. He also added that this is the best job in the world and that he will never think on turning it down and he will do the best for the club.

“I am going to take this opportunity and risk, because Harry’s done a fantastic job for this club and is a hard act to follow. But I think it is my time, I think I am ready.” Adams said.

Peter Storrie, the executive chairman at Portsmouth, confirmed the information and explained that they think Adams has been doing a great work this past two years as assistant coach, and that after talking to him, they realized he deserved the opportunity of managing the club. Peter also expressed that Adams is very popular among the fans and the people working at the club, due to the fact that he is a recognized former player in Europe.

On the other hand, there have also been rumours about the club not doing good financially but about this, Storrie declared that the finances in the club are just fine and that he does not want to refer to that subject anymore.

There were some other candidates for the position that Harry Reknapp had as manager, but Tony got some extra points when Redknapp backed him up to take the position. There were also some rumours about Adams saying to people close to him that if the club didn’t give him the permanent position he would leave from Portsmouth, however, if the rumours were true or not, now it is irrelevant since he got the job.

Tony Adams started his career as a football player with the Arsenal at his early age of 17 years old in 1983 and he is still considered among the greatest players the club has had. He became a regular player of the team in season 1985-86. He also played internationally with the England’s national team. With Arsenal, he won four division titles, three FA Cups, two Football League Cups, a UEFA Winners’ Cup, and three FA Community Shields.

His fight against alcoholism and some injuries left him out of the football fields for some years in the early 90’s. With the great support given by Arsenal’s manager he was able to recover himself and kept playing with the team and England until mid 2002.

In addition, Adams started his managerial career in late 2003 with the Wycombe Wanderers. He stayed with them for 1 year and then resigned in 2004. On 2005 he took a trainee coaching position on a reserve/junior side team in the Dutch team of Feyenoord. Adams started his position as assistant in Portsmouth in June 2006 and at his first season, the club ended up in the ninth position of the Premier League; their best since 1950 and they also won the 2007-08 FA Cup.

This is a great opportunity for Adams at this early stage of his managerial career. Adams has expressed that he will dedicate all his experience and ideas to try to take the team to another level and be able to achieve great things for Portsmouth in the times to come.



Jessie