News And Coverage For Basketball

Fans can find latest sports News, such as football and basketball scores as well as current events on the sports web sites. There is a long list of sports news sites. Now, people or sport lovers do not have to press buttons of TV remote to find out the various sports news, scores, and events at various news channels.

With the arrival of Internet, it has become possible for the sport lovers to get all the required information at their fingertips and that too within a matter of seconds. Readers can find the truth and rumors about basketball players and games through basketball news. Below is a description of certain well-known basketball news sources:

CNN sports web site provides the latest basketball news and basketball coverage. Fans can find top NBA stories through this site. They can find basketball coverage and news from renowned writers such as Marty Burns, Steve Aschburner, and Ian Thomsen. The web site also includes videos of the crucial match winning moments.

Fox sports web site displays score of current basketball coverage. It covers news for the basketball clubs such as Kings, Tigers, Bullets, Wildcats, Crocs, Taipans, Breakers, Blaze, 36ers, Razorbacks, Hawks, Singers, and Dragons.

WNBA web site covers the News and coverage of women basketball. Readers can find schedules of different matches on this site. The web site also includes basketball coverage and information related to players. The history column provides information on how the women basketball has shaped over the years.

Top 25 Basketball Teams:

ESPN has displayed the NCAA men's basketball rankings for the year 2008. The top 25 basketball teams are North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgetown, Duke, Stanford, Butler, Xavier, Louisville, Drake, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Washington State, Clemson, Davidson, Gonzaga, and Marquette.

Basketball enthusiasts may find best coaching and instruction information on most basketball web sites. They provide sources for basketball coaching sessions, basketball books and videos, basketball camps, and basketball equipment. They cover topics such as basics of basketball and motivational guidelines. There are chat rooms, where fans can discuss their favorite basketball players and teams.

Portable Basketball Goal

If there’s one sport almost every child loves, it’s basketball. It doesn’t matter how tall they are or if they can even make a basket, this sport is just plain fun. With a portable basketball goal a parent can give their child the opportunity to practice and play just about anywhere. Unlike a standard wall mount version, this goal can be moved from one place to another with relative ease.

Most parents of today were themselves struggling basketball stars back in their formative years. Many of us had a basketball hoop attached to our garage. If we didn’t there was usually a neighbor with one who would welcome the chance to play a game of one-on-one. Now, with many families living in smaller residences, there isn’t always a good spot for a wall mount hoop. With a portable basketball goal, worrying about a place to permanently mount it isn’t a concern.

Any well stocked sports store will generally have several different models of these to choose from. There are certain criteria that you’ll want the portable basketball goal to have. One is a very sturdy base. Many of the bases that are used with a portable basketball goal need to be filled with something heavy. Water or sand works well. This is a necessary step to ensure that the hoop stays upright and doesn’t topple over on a person playing with it.

The height is also a consideration and it’s advisable to purchase one that you can adjust the height on. This is especially important if you have smaller children. You’ll want to set the portable basketball goal on a lower setting for a ten-year-old than you would for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old. Having a model that allows for easier height changes is really the best as you don’t want to spend too long struggling when people are anxiously awaiting a chance to play.

Most can be left outside year round. There are some individuals who prefer to store the portable basketball goal in a garage or shed when the weather turns cold. This is obviously fine but it’s worthwhile noting that the plastic base and the other mechanisms are made to withstand both heat and cold, so it can certainly stay outdoors for use on a warm winter day.

As with any type of equipment you want to ensure that those who use it are aware of any and all safety guidelines. Don’t allow a curious youngster the opportunity to try and change the height on the portable basketball goal themselves. Also explain to any children planning on shooting some hoops that they can’t climb the portable basketball goal if the ball does become lodged near the basket. Once everyone understands the rules, it’s time to play some basketball.

The Daytona 500

The Daytona 500, which is commonly referred to as the Super Bowl of NASCAR, is held each year in February. Drawing hundreds of thousands of fans each year, with even more watching at home on television, the Daytona 500 is racing’s most anticipated event. The sports news media agrees with large press attendance and pre-event weekend coverage. It serves as the season opener for the new racing season, but now it serves as so much more. While sports news continuously surrounds the annual Daytona 500, it is now focused on a new men’s fragrance of the same name.

Elizabeth Arden, which is the #2 American perfume creator, will begin offering the “Daytona 500" men’s fragrance beginning in April 2006. In addition to being found at participating retailers, the Daytona 500 fragrance is expected to be readily available online. Elizabeth Arden believes that the scent “embodies the confidence, power and intensity of the men daring enough to race in the ultimate adrenaline rush.” And what a rush it is. The Daytona 500 is arguably the most exciting race of the year and is widely published in sports news publications, as well as sports news programs.

Jeff Gordon, four-time Cup champion and defending Daytona 500 victor, already promotes another product in the Elizabeth Arden fragrance line. “Halston,” which is also a men’s fragrance, is promoted by Jeff Gordon, who serves as product spokesman. When Gordon signed on as a representative in February 2005, Elizabeth Arden claimed that their sales increased by 30-40% from previous sales. It is this relationship that creates the preexisting association between Elizabeth Arden and NASCAR.

With the release of the “Daytona 500" fragrance, sports news will once again be swirling around the sport. But, by April, with the Daytona 500 competition long since past, the new Daytona 500 sports news will come in the form of a men’s fragrance. With this being the first racing-related fragrance, it is only fitting that it would be named after the first regular NASCAR sanctioned event. During it’s earliest days, racing at the beach in Daytona quickly became the base for which the sanctioning body of NASCAR was born.

5 top sports web sites

There are literally thousands of places on the web to get your sports news information. Whether you want the latest headlines, up to the second scores, editorials, or in depth analysis, there are a myriad of choices for you. While some sites only offer one or two of those things, there are several that offer all of those and more. My Top 5 are below:

5. Yahoo! Sports (sports.yahoo.com) - this site is all substance and no flash. It looks essentially the same as it did five years ago. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn't knock your socks off. Any information that you need is readily available and up to date. Columnists aren't as well known as the top sites, but they are solid.

4. FOX Sports (msn.foxsports.com) - a few years ago this site was a mess. It was the anti-Yahoo! - all flash and no substance. In the past few years they've toned down the flash and increased the substance. The live gamecasts at the top of the page are extremely innovative. For example, for a baseball game you not only see the score, but also an overview of the diamond and what runners are on base. If you are interested in a specific game you can roll your mouse over it and get more details. If FOX keeps innovating like that, they won't be number 4 for long.

3. Sports Illustrated (sportsillustrated.cnn.com) - this site excels in two things - editorials and rumors. They have THE best writers (they are Sports Illustrated after all) and they do an excellent job of providing tons of content. Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column is absolutely priceless. They also compile a 'Truth and Rumors' section for each of the major sports. It's essentially a compilation of all of the rumors from local newspapers across the country. The best part about it is it's free, unlike ESPN's rumors.

2. CBS SportsLine (cbs.sportsline.com) - everything is great about SportsLine - they are often the first to break news, gamecasts are innovative and effective, and for what it's worth the fantasy sports are the best on the web. Well, they are great at everything except editorials and analysis, and they are horrible at that. Tony Mejia, Dennis Dodd, Pete Prisco, and Greg Doyle are the worst group of sports writers on the web. Where are the editorials from their on-air personalities like Jim Nantz and Billy Packer? ESPN and FOX manage to get their on-air personalities to write, maybe CBS should consider it. Read the comments at the bottom of any article by any of the aforementioned writers and you'll realize that I'm not the only one that thinks they are horrible.

1. ESPN (www.espn.com) - they are consistently ahead of the curve in every one of the important aspects. They are the worldwide leader in sports and they show no signs of giving up that crown on the web. I commend them for getting their best personalities - John Clayton, Steven A. Smith, Barry Melrose, and Peter Gammons - to write consistently good articles. The only downside is that too much information is hidden in the 'Insider', ESPN's paid service. It's frustrating to read a headline, click, and then realize that you can't read the story because you have to pay for it.

Types Of Billiard Games

There are many different types of billiard games. The two most popular games in billiards are Eight Ball and Nine Ball. These are followed by Cut Throat and One Pocket. Snooker is up there pretty high as well depending on which country you live in.

There is another game played here in the US known as Straight Pool or Fourteen and One. This used to be the most popular game. This game takes a long time to play and involves clearing many racks to end one game. This could cause a game to last a very long time. (Especially if the players in the game miss often.)

I think Eight Ball became the most popular game because of the bar room tables. There are 15 balls and all of them are used in the game. A game consists of one rack and can be completed in a reasonable time frame. (I have seen some long games with players who can't make a ball.)

Nine ball is popular because it is fast paced and the game can be won with a combination any time during the game. I would have to say that Nine Ball is probably the most popular gambling game.

Serious pool players like to play One Pocket for money. This is definitely a game of strategy. The game uses all fifteen balls and each player has one of the bottom corner pockets. The game ends when a player legally pockets 8 balls in his or her pocket. You will usually see more defensive shots than offensive shots in One Pocket.

Straight Pool (14 and 1) is still a popular game with serious pool players. This billiards game will make a player out of you. Players shoot any ball in any pocket. (Call pocket, no slop) The last ball is left on the table and the cue ball stays in position. When a new rack begins, that last ball needs to be pocketed and the rack needs to be broken with the cue ball on the same shot.

There are many players who can run over 100 balls in Straight Pool. Willie Mosconi holds the record with over 520 balls pocketed without missing a shot. This includes breaking each rack while pocketing the last ball. No one has come very close to this record. John Schmidt (A current touring pro) ran 400 balls recently which is quite an accomplishment.

Cut throat is a game played by 3 players. One player gets 1-5, the second player gets 6-10 and the third player gets 11-15. The object of this game is to be the last player in with your balls on the table.

There are many other games in pocket billiards. You could visit Wikipedia and do a search for billiards game for a pretty complete list. You will find details and rules of every game.

Different Body Posture For Gymnastics

For athletes participating in sports like swimming and gymnastics, there is a need to assume a totally different body posture compared to other sports to be able to complete well. This posture can carry over to their personal lives as well, and one can easily identify a swimmer or gymnast by the particular way they stand, walk or carry themselves. While football and basketball are "leg based" sports, swimmers and gymnasts have assimilated a decidedly hunchbacked posture because of the "hand based" orientation of their particular athletic activities. The hunchbacked posture in gymnastics is part of the sport's proper form and is known as "hollowing out". Constant training in this posture can lead to the athlete's assuming the same form in the daily course of his or her life, which is potentially a cause for serious injuries in the knee, shoulder, neck and lower back.

The Fundamental Athletic position in most land-based sports requires the athlete to assume a medium stance with the hips back, and the chest and head aligned with the spinal curves. This posture enables swift movement forward, backward or sideways. It is the basic position assumed for squatting, deadlifting and executing Olympic lifts, as well as to maximize leg, hip and back power during leaps and jumps.

A gymnast assuming the proper position hollows out the chest, push the head forward, tucks the hips in and contracts the spine. The only instance when a gymnast takes on the fundamental athletic position is during landings or dismounts.

Athletes beginning their gymnastics training at a very young age while their bones are still undergoing growth and development will encounter problems with the gymnastic posture. This is especially true when they reach puberty and the end of their growth cycle. The "hollowing out" posture, and even the specific manner gymnasts are required to run, can become a fixed poste for young gymnasts, and this can cause serious and long-lasting side effects when they are older. Most gymnastics programs aggressively cultivate this peculiar posturing in young gymnasts. Strength and conditioning exercises have been geared to develop exactly that: training gymnasts in the required stance, thereby generating imbalance. This is a great disadvantage for female gymnasts who are made to forgo upper body conditioning altogether.

Former parallel bars gymnast, Mark Alexander, having worked with fellow athletes for more than 30 years, has observed that most female gymnasts from the Elite level are unable to perform push-ups or maintain a sturdy handstand. Most gymnastics clubs have misguidedly neglected to encourage flexibility exercises among their gymnasts, instead leaving them to fend for themselves.

Alexander's first sport was gymnastics, and at the age of 14 started a mostly skill-based training. He remembers having experienced mastering tricks before being aware of any inherent weakness, and without even attempting to develop basic strength. The sport principles require that a gymnast lands and remains grounded, or "stuck" in the same landing position. For this reason, most gymnasts executed landings with rigidly straight legs, bending only at the hips to establish balance. The result of this is an L5 - S1 fusion that could go undetected for a great number of years. Because of a lack of leg strength or proper lumbar curve positioning, dislocated knees were a frequent occurrence during attempts to "stick" a full twisting back.

As an analogy, consider gymnastics training as jumping off a roof and landing motionless with legs straight. Jump over and over, dozens of times each day, six days a week, over a period of several years. The impact generated by these landings are way beyond the gymnast's body weight. And the higher the altitude of the jump, the more force is involved. Landing mats are a mere token, and seldom help. Floors in gymnasiums act as mini-trampolines, allowing young athletes to soar to ill-recommended heights. Although there are foam pits available to cushion landings, they prevent the athlete from actually learning how to steady their bodies for actual competition.

Without the needed leg, hip and back conditioning allowing a gymnast to assume the correct position during landing, instead of diffusing, the impact is centered into the joints and bones. This is the explanation behind the never-ending injuries sustained by Elite and lower-ranked gymnasts. Most of these injuries last long into retirement.

Usage Of Drugs In Sports

Ok, an athlete is caught using illegal performance enhancing drugs and is banned for 2 years. His governing body has an official ruling that athletes who are found to have a positive drugs results from testing can return to athletics in 2 years and will not be permitted to qualify for or compete in Olympic Games.

The banned athlete returns to the sport after his ban and is aware that testing is going to be very stringent with him when he reappears on the circuit.

The media demonizes him and promoters bar him from attending further meets, even though his 2 year ban has expired.

This article is not in support or in any way condoning the use of chemical enhancements in sports - it is about overcoming the use of them and regaining what you never thought you could achieve without them and the mental state plus performance excellence you have to produce to do that.

Something which has not been explored nor commented on is what it has taken that athlete to return to the sport. Is that athlete not in fact and example to those who had thought about using performance enhancing drugs, because he was caught, is no longer using them and managed to produced and exceed his performance when he was using them? Is this not a clear message that there are ways of producing performance without needing to use them?

In my line of work I deal with many people over a number problems including sport performance. I teach how to elicit your optimal performance state from mental state base don the fact that your brain is in fact the one that produces the performance and the body, if mechanically able, will then follow suit. That is an extremely basic description.

Now lets take a look at this.

If an athlete has had success but seems to be hitting a barrier to just take his performance to the next and gold medal winning level, he has two choices at that time. He either looks at technique, form, mental state, mental blocks, barriers, natural ability OR he looks for a short cut.

Unfortunately, some people take the short cut and decide to use various forms of performance enhancement by way of chemical. If they continue to take them and increase results, it is difficult then for the athlete to tell what his real capability is, where his true ability level really lies.

Most of the performance drugs available increase protein synthesis and recovery, aiding the rebuilding of muscle tissue more quickly and stronger each time that athlete trains and breaks it down. There is only so far you can increase your performance based on purely a physical increase in power.

Where a lot of the increased performance lies is the continued learning of the rest of the body neurologically that it can perform at that level and build consistently on those new connections being built. As yet, there are not any drugs which can alter the chemical production in the brain NOR the new building of neurological connections with increased mechanical ability. This comes form a climbing self belief and confidence which also adds to the performance and the belief in their new found ability.

This is where I have problem with the current situation.

When an athlete makes a comeback from a time when they did use drugs, they are in fact coming back from a major disadvantage.

Firstly, many don't even attempt to compete again without chemical assistance as they do not believe they can reach the same level.

Secondly, if they do attempt it, they actually have no idea where their capability really lies so their confidence in what they can really achieve is seriously diminished. The mental side of competing is critical. If your mind set has any negative beliefs about your goals or ability, you will never achieve them. It your performance has any blocks or limiting decisions about what you can attain in terms of results then you will never make it.

Athletes are sensitive to pressure, environment and any self doubt can be fatal to the long term winning ability.

For an athlete to come back and surpass their previous results, this time without the use of chemicals is not only to be applauded, but surely credit must be given that they even tried especially as at that point you don't know if you will ever achieve what you have done before. Remember, for someone who was so publicly was banned, putting yourself on the line not knowing if publicly you will be seen to not reach the level you did before is a real career breaker or maker. Knowing that if you don't reach the same level or exceed it, it will mean public humiliation and the knowledge that you will be judged as not having the natural talent without the drugs. Now that is pressure.

From work with so many athletes and other clients with varying conditions and problems, I have seen repeatedly the improvements athletes can make by changing their mental state to unlock their real potential and until more education about our mental to physical connection and real performance ability is better publicized, performance enhancing drugs will always seem like a good option to those who don't believe they can do it without them and the elite tier will still be only people who have access to that information and coaching from people like myself.

So, before you criticize athletes like Dwain Chambers who come back after being banned, take a second to wonder what it has taken for him to return and where he has had to come from to make it back. Isn't he sending out a clear message saying that you don't need the drugs and he has learned from his mistakes and "look what he can do" with them?

We do not and should not condone drug use in sport, but until people can see what can realistically be done without them, how are those tempted to use them going to be able to see their alternatives and what can be truly achieved without them if we don't have examples?