2013年9月26日

The Origination and Rise of American Basketball

Many people follow the sport of basketball without understanding of its rich history. Basketball, like all other sports, has a unique story of origination. James Naismith created this lively and active sport to provide adults and children with something to play inside during the cold winter season. James was working as a teacher in a Christian Association training school. While there, he was asked to create an indoor game that may be used for both entertainment and sport. He started his job in the winter of 1891 by comparing sports he played as a child. One game in particular became a major influence on what would later be called basketball. This game was called “Duck on a Rock” also it was made up of an individual guarding his “duck” from others. Naismith also took ideas from previous religious traditions created by the Mayans and Aztecs. These cultures used a rubber ball and a ring for just one of the inside games. The ring resided on a pole and shots were made vertically. After extensive studying, he formulated the new game of basketball.
Basketball originally had thirteen rules which were easy to understand and follow. The ball itself could be thrown multiple directions, batted, and was required to be held using the player’s hands. Players could not run around using the ball. It needed to be thrown from player to player. Dirty tricks for example tripping, pushing, and holding were not allowed. Fouls were understood to be violations of the above rules by using your fist to hit the ball from a player’s hand. Three fouls received consecutively by a team awarded the opponents one point. Baskets could be made by throwing the ball or by batting it from the player’s hand. An out of bounds ball would be thrown back to play and belonged to the first player to have connection with it. Umpires would observe fouls and judge the entire play of the whole game. Referees decided if the ball is in play, out of bounds, kept track of time, and determined which team had possession of the ball. Naismith organized time keeping as two halves lasting fifteen minutes a piece. A five minute break was allowed between halves. Whoever scored the most goals during this time periods was the winner of the whole game. Basketball still follows most of these same fundamental rules today.
The first game occured on December 29, 1891. A soccer ball and peach baskets were used for the game. Basketball spread in popularity throughout the world largely with the help of the US Army and schools. While Americans were fighting in Europe throughout the First World War, they picked up on the sport and started to play the game wherever they went. Sports and physical eduction teachers also started implementing basketball in their class courses and slowly the game became a common sport. The National Basketball Association wasn’t established until June of 1946. Many small championships and leagues were formed before this time, but most disbanded rapidly. Racial integration with the league began in 1942. Afterwards the sport became what we now see today.
In doing my research for this article, I found Leo Wells sport discussions on basketball to be an excellent source of information. Basketball is really a fun and an enjoyable sport that took many years to shape into its modern form.
When writing this article I found some other great stuff from Leo Wells. He has a sports blog named Leo Wells on Sports that is really well done.

Walter Camp: The Real Founder of American Football

Football season has begun and the sport is in full swing. Most sports fans love the ruggedness of American Football. It’s not a sport sought by the weak. Fans follow their teams and root them on at home, at games, and businesses. This is a little history to enhance the appreciation of the cherished American game. Rule changes in rugby football delivered present day American Football. Walter Camp instituted changes helped define the modern game. The rule changes instituted in 1879 gave football its start. College coaches also contributed to changes in action that helped football become a popular sport in the US. The popularity of school football is exactly what pushed the sports dominance within the Twentieth century.
Walter Camp grew up in Connecticut and studied at Yale. In the time of 1888 to 1914, Camp served as the main athletic director and head football coach for Yale University. He played football at Yale and started probably the most notable and renowned rule alterations in the game. Due to these significant rule changes, he is also known as the founder or father of American Football. Rules were revised from the popular games of rugby and soccer to produce a new set of standards for football. William Ebb Ellis also influenced these changes by running the ball in the middle of a rugby game in 1823. This was definitely an immediate breach from the existing rules and paved the way for more changes. A convention held in 1876 formed the first rules today’s football. Once the rules had been defined, Walter Camp continued to edit and change rulebooks until he handed it down in 1925.
Walter Camp contributed significant football adaptations that now make the game what it is today. He reduced the size of the team from fifteen to eleven. He made the line of scrimmage. A team was set to have undisputed possession until their own violations force them to give up the ball. Two new positions were created: quarterback and center. The forward pass also was introduced by Walter Camp. A typical scoring system and numerical scoring were outlined. Other noteworthy changes included safeties, interferences, and penalties. In 1888, above knee tackling was permitted. Then in 1912, touchdown and field goal points were changed to six and three points. All are very important changes that molded American Football into its modern day creation.
The nation’s Football League didn’t actually form until 1920. During this period, many teams dropped from the league and did not play their set schedules. An overall total of four teams played the complete season. One year later twenty-one teams became members of the NFL. Membership continued to grow and also the first playoff game was officially played in 1932. The NFL Players association and additional developments in the fifties helped stabilize the leagues presence over the next several years. Without the rule changes of Walter Camp, several advancements may have never happened . Thus we pay tribute to his dedication to this exciting game that people have all grown familiar with.
Walter Camp’s rugby rule revisions lead him to the most famous contributor to modern football. You’ll find much more of Leo Wells inspiring sport discussions at Leo-wells-on-sports.com.
When writing this article I found some other great stuff from Leo Wells Sports Blog. He has a sports blog named Leo Wells on Sports that is really well done.

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2013年9月25日

Which - Which Division Will Provide The Best Football Tickets In 2006?

Even though we are entrenched in the NFL’s “Age of Parity,” fans around the league still want to know what they’re getting when they buy their football tickets. As we look at the divisional breakdown, it becomes apparent that certain divisions are deeper than others. That’s why we’re going to break them down individually by way of “Divisional Power Rankings.” These rankings could change throughout the season, but now is a good time to take our first look.


1. NFC East

The NFC East, top-to-bottom, is the toughest division in football right now. Any one of the four teams could realistically qualify for the playoffs, and the final standings could shake out in just about any way and no one would be really surprised.

2. NFC South

The NFC South contains a Super Bowl contender in the Panthers, two solid playoff-level teams in the Buccaneers and Falcons, and perhaps the most improved team in the league, the Saints. This division will be brutal, and the winner will definitely be battle-tested.

3. AFC West


The AFC West is almost as difficult, as the Broncos have Super Bowl aspirations, the Chiefs are expected to at least make the playoffs, the Chargers are talented and the Raiders could be scary if they ever put all their talent together. The rivalries in this division also make every game a battle.

4. AFC North

The AFC North contains the defending champions, and they didn’t even win the division last year. The Bengals did, but they have question marks surrounding QB Carson Palmer and off-field distractions. Baltimore is much-improved and the Browns are getting better.

5. AFC East

The East has the rivalries, but only two good teams in the Patriots and Dolphins. The Jets and Bills, whether they admit it or not, are rebuilding. Regardless, fans of every team are extremely loyal, so football tickets sales will be high for any of these divisional battles.

6. AFC South

The South contains one potential juggernaut in the Colts, one fringe playoff team in Jacksonville, and two teams in the Texans and Titans that are in full rebuild mode. The Colts-Jaguars games will be entertaining, but the Texans and Titans are definitely a notch below as of now.

7. NFC North

The NFC North has one established playoff team in the Bears, one likely playoff team in the Vikings, one team that could be a surprise in the Packers and the Lions, who seem to constantly be rebuilding. The best thing going for this division is the level of intensity present every time any of these two teams meet.

8. NFC West

Yes, the Seahawks got all the way to the Super Bowl last season, but after that there isn’t much. The Rams could make a push this year, but they’re still a year or two away. The Cardinals could surprise as well, but they’ve been perennial disappointments, and the 49ers need time to restock their roster with talent, so they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. There are intense rivalries in the division, however, and football tickets are always hard to find for a Seahawks - Rams game.

Backgammon - Endless Possibilities In Playing Online Backgammon

The first online backgammon site was created in 1992, many years have past since then and the Internet has become much more advanced and online backgammon much more popular.
Unlike poker and other card and board games, backgammon on the internet has become popular just in the last couple of years.

There are numerous web sites offering playing internet backgammon, and once you found the backgammon website you want to join, you have to decide between playing against the site's computer and playing online backgammon against a human being from all over the world. The possibilities in internet backgammon are endless and diverse, including joining a league, playing a tournament, playing for cash prize and moving forward in the site's rank.
The First Internet Backgammon Server (FIBS) was created by Andreas (marvin) Schneider in 1992. It allows Internet users to play backgammon in real-time against real people (and even some bots). There are players of every conceivable ability logging onto FIBS, from absolute beginners to grand masters.
Online backgammon is offered by many sites, some of them widely known- YAHOO and MSN. With MSN, a player can choose playing backgammon online or any other online favorite game he wishes. Online backgammon is played in a variety of time and shape; friends can play against each other, or invite the computer for a match.
YAHOO offers many online backgammon rooms, with interesting and funny names where you can enter and find the level you want to play with.
Players are able to form their own online backgammon rooms according to their skill in backgammon.
There is also the option of the friendly online backgammon game, where players can chat with one another and meet new people. For an extra payment, the site can create leagues for backgammon, which only authorized members can take place and play with each other.
Before you invite somebody for a game of backgammon online, it's best to improve your playing techniques by following these recommended steps:
1. The basic rules and object of backgammon are simple and many sites offer explanations for free.

2. It's free and easy to download backgammon software to your own computer. The level of this online backgammon software is usually beginners to intermediate and therefore perfect for you to practice on, because you already can win some of the games.


3. When you have reached the point where you are constantly winning it's time to download the upgraded software. These programs have been developed and improved by playing against themselves and reached the very highest level, and are capable of being the world's best backgammon players.

When you have reached the stage where you can handle the advanced backgammon software, it's time for you to face a human rival for a game of online backgammon.

The Internet offers endless possibilities for online backgammon.

Online Casinos - 10 Reasons Why We Gamble

Gambling is defined by the Dictionary as the following:
* To play games of chance for money or some other stake, or

* To take a risk in order to gain some advantage.
People have been arguing for years whether the desire to gamble is good or bad. It is the view of many people that gambling is bad, this is especially true with the more religious people. Others will tell you that gambling is good and that without taking risk which is a form of gambling we would not have much of what we have today without people gambling and risking what they had to get more.


From the 2000 people surveyed we received over 400 different answers as to why they were gambling, but the top 10 reasons were:

Money problems:
It seems there are many people who believe they can fix there money problems with gambling. Most of the people who claimed that money problems were the reason for them gambling lost more money gambling then they originally owed and had they not gambled would not have been so bad off according to them. Of this group none said they had managed to win the money they needed.

To win and become rich:

Of all the people interviewed these people seemed to be the least crazy. They came to the casino with hopes of getting rich and being able to quit there jobs and live the good life, but they also know that the chances are good they would all have to get up Monday morning and return to work.

To have fun:
These people had the right idea. They only wanted to have some fun take a little trip to the Casino, have some free drinks, play some games and if they win, good and if not that’s ok also. These people came down with a certain amount they could lose and not be upset or broke and they stick to it. These people all seemed to be reaching there goal not one of them was complaining about how close they came to hitting big or what if they had just done this or that.

To get out of the house:
I noticed almost all of the people in his category were all males and were all married for more them 10 years and had kids. They said they like to come to the casino on average about once a month stay for a few hours, play some games and then head home.

This is how they make a living:
I found that these people and the ones who had money problems were extremely different. These people at least knew how to gamble, most of them had many years experience and some were regular tournament players with at least 1 win under there belts.

For a bachelor party:
From how high on the list these was it would seem that a trip to the casino on the grooms last nights of bachelorhood are becoming more and more popular.

For a wedding:
Apparently having a wedding at some of the larger casinos is Las Vegas or Atlantic City is becoming popular, apparently the casinos will give you an excellent price on the wedding hall and rooms for your guests, of course they do this with the knowledge that the guests will spend money in the casino so giving a good rate n the wedding is in there best interest

Conventions:
Many companies hold meetings and conventions in the casinos, because they give good group discounts, and the companies like it because their employees and do business during the day and relax and have some fun in their spare time.

To make a game more exciting:
Remember not all gambling is done in casinos. Sportbooks are becoming very popular and some people find putting some money on their favorites team make the game more exciting.

Vacation:
Las Vegas in the last 10 years has become a popular place to bring the family. Las Vegas has many attractions for family fun. And in the evening after the kids go to sleep there is also plenty of adult entertainment.

2013年9月24日

Final Score Bargains - Authentic Sports Collectibles And Memorabilia

The person that catches the winning game ball in a World Series will know that they have a piece of history in their hands. The game officials will determine the authenticity of that particular baseball because this particular ball has earned some people who have caught it a large sum of money. Authentic sports collectibles such as this are high-tax earners that force the owner to sell rather than keep the sports collectible stored away for many years.


The licensed tag that is sewn into the hem of each item might authenticate the sports collectibles and memorabilia that are worn by players during a championship baseball or football game. This label will serve as the certificate of authenticity if and when the item is ever sold. Some baseball and football collectibles that bear this label will be protected from abuse by glass that is part of a display case. All who view these items will know they are authentic because the label will be in clear sight.

The sports team logo could also be used to authenticate sports memorabilia and other collectibles that belong to a certain sports team. An online sports store might authenticate the authority to sell these items on the open mark by displaying the team logo on the home page of the retail website. The sports collectibles that fall into this category can be new or used and as long as the team logo is adhered to the article in some way, collectors are ensured of spending money on something that is certain to become very valuable one day.

Some collectors make sure that they have a chance to collect authentic sports gear and other pieces of memorabilia by subscribing to email updates that will keep them apprised of every authentic collectible that is added to a dealers website. Some of these items might be tickets to a game played many years before, or the updates could notify them that there are a limited number of tickets available to a highly sought after bowl game. These tickets will be authenticated at the gate and increase in value as the years go by.

Sports collectibles for the National Football League may be authenticated by the manufacturer's logo that can be seen on the side of an authentic football helmet. Riddell manufacturers all football helmets worn by professional football players, and collectors know to look for the official helmet of the NFL by using this method. The marketing techniques used for collectible helmets might advertise them as full-sized helmets or ones that are miniature. Both styles will bear authentic Riddell markings.

This type of marketing method will also extend to football jerseys, which are sold in replica versions and actual game jersey formats. Fans can review the certificate of authenticity that comes with each jersey or search for the NFL logo that has been sewn into the hem. The replica jerseys are usually worn by fans everyday but can be placed in a display case. The viewpoint on how valuable the item remains after such wear might change but the authenticity will never be in question.

Body Building Competition - Getting In Shape For A Body Building Competition

Body building competitions are a dime a dozen these days. A lot of people are interested in body building and it has become one of the most favorite interests of both men and women in the recent times. People love to build their muscles just of the sake of it and also for the sake of entering many a body building competition that take place all over the world.


A body building competition is the right place to show your body and get appreciated by tons of fans all over the world. In fact, it brings out the best out of you and makes you popular. It is the most rewarding experience a body builder can have and it is the ultimate dream for any body builder to enter a body building competition and win it hands down.

If you are an amateur body builder or a professional body builder, you can participate in such events in your area and slowly work your way up to the top events that take place in various parts of the world. You can start off with your place where local competitions are conducted and go on to become even 'Mr. Universe', the ultimate acclaim you can get in this field.

Such contests allow you to compete with other contemporaries who are looking forward for their turn to fame and recognition. In fact, the competition is a fierce one and it often motivates you to work out well, eat well, and get better results from your body to perform well in the competition. A few days before the competition, body builders will be extra special to make sure they present their body in the best possible manner. For this, they cut down the fat content from their food completely and work out for several hours a day in order to get that ultimate muscle tone and definition.

Also, the spirit of a body building competition is almost infectious and you can find it out the minute you step into the stage. The kind of recognition you get and the kind of support you get makes you forget all the toil you went through building all those muscles and makes you long for even more of that. You need to register yourself officially in order to enter most of these events and once you do well at the initial stage, you can always go places by entering bigger contests that are held all over the world.

Nbastore Discounts - Locating Sports Collectibles And Memorabilia

Part of what makes sports collectibles and memorabilia so interesting is the fact that people can find them in some of the strangest and out of the way places. Sports collectibles and sports memorabilia are fun items to amass over a lifetime and to own the rarest items in the sports collectibles world is a feat that very few people have the opportunity to do. Locating those items will require finesse and tenacity because people rarely put those types of collectibles up for sale.


Some families will routinely visit the local flea market to browse through the sports collectibles that are on display in shops. While gazing at these items, the sports collector will also be intent on going down each aisle and inspecting shops that have household goods in them or those items that are displayed in other stores. To a vigilant collector, a rare sport collectible might be in plain view but the true value of the item will not be known to the seller of that piece of antiquity.

When sports collector's visit an auction house they usually know which sports collectibles are being sold at auction and which day they will be placed on the auction block. These collectors are usually notified through regular or email notification methods because they have bought from the auction house on an earlier auction event. Locating the items up for auction is rather easy because the auction house will assign a number to the item and list the lot number on the auction sheet.

There are times when a sports memorabilia collector will have to monitor the number of items that remain in a collection. Sports posters are very collectible but are easily damaged over time if a sheet of glass and a sturdy frame does not protect them. Since most sports posters are signed by the athlete and numbered, it is easy to create a tracking system for those that are sold at retail shops across the nation. A collector can track these numbers on their own and have a good idea of what a sport collectible such as posters will worth if it is sold.

Locating some sports collectibles will be relatively simple because the collectible would be turned over to the athlete that caught it in a game or earned the title as Most Valuable Player. Sports collectors can assume that the item remains in the possession of that player because these items are news worthy and any sale of such item would be announced through an article in the daily newspaper. Some people locate newspapers, which have sports event results in color on the front page and these items are easy to locate in the future because the collector saved them.

Some people locate sports collectibles at the sports events held in their hometowns. The collectible item might be part of the locker room decor and has hung on the walls for many years. Other people find sports collectibles on the football field before, during and after the game, and can reap a piece of that collectible when fans tear down the goal posts at the end of a football game.

Baumhouse Deals - Selecting Sports Collectibles And Memorabilia

There is a wide selection of sports collectibles to choose from through licensed retailers and people who sell collectibles that they find through business contacts, sports events and yard sales throughout the local neighborhood. Every person will have to decide how collectible a sports item is and the price could differ among various sellers because some do not realize how collectible the item is.


Some collectible items will be placed in catalogs that millions of collectors consult at least once or twice a year. The value of these items will be open book to anyone who takes the time to browse through the pages and getting a bargain price for these collectibles will be hard to do. Some collectible memorabilia might only be valuable to a person that attended a sporting event, but if that item is stored away for a few years, the value could increase dramatically. This is why sports fans hang on to tickets, autographed photographs, and posters of sporting events.

Selecting sports collectibles and memorabilia might be hard for some sports fans because they might favor several types of sports. Sports memorabilia can be found for sports like racing, baseball, football, hockey, and the selection could be very detailed under each of those categories. A fan will have a huge selection to pick from that could range from jerseys, baseball cards and hats to photographs, which are signed and unsigned, and some sports items will be sold with or without frames.

A true sports collector will have several pieces from each category and will often place these items up for sale at one time. The vast size of the sports collection and the collectibles that it contains is what will usually drive up the price, if the lot is sold at an online auction or at an auction house. Most items in a sports collection will bear some type logo that can be used for authentication. The team logos can bear the sports team emblem or the name of the sports organization.

A licensed retailer should be able to answer any questions about the sports collectibles that are placed for sale in an auction but many sports collector's will generally know the history behind the sports collectibles and memorabilia that they are looking for. Some great buys can be found at estate sales where the owner is not present to notify anyone of the valuable sports collectibles that are in a collection. Selecting these items is one of the best choices an avid collector can make.

Some people are very careful about the sports collectibles they accrue over a lifetime. Some New Yorkers might amass a great deal of baseball gear over a lifetime but would never consider selling it. Certain stadiums are no longer in existence but nobody would think to sell a chair that they used to sit in for the home games they had tickets to.


When people go about selecting collectibles, they buy them because they are near and dear to their heart. The possible value of a collectible will be one of the last things that are considered and people will be very happy to take them home and enjoy them for many years to come.

Cage Fighting - Ufc Fight Gear And The Octagon

UFC and MMA fights are held in a cage which is an eight sided chain linked reinforced, heavily padded structure called the Octagon. As the sport has grown in popularity over the years, rules and regulations, according strict regulations concerning the type of fight gear that a cage fighter can wear during a match.


The Octagons unique shape and structure have become associated with the UFC brand name and the UFCs parent company, Zuffa. The Octagon is featured regularly on television and mentioned in the national media, adding to its brand recognition, so closely associated with the MMA and UFC in fact that it has become an iconic symbol of the sport since it was first featured in UFC events in 1993.

The UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, is currently recognized as the largest MMA promotion worldwide, is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and owned by Zuffa LLC. The UFC began as a tournament to find the best fighters in the world, and was based on the Brazilian vale tudo fighting style.

Originally, it was known as a no holds barred fighting contest, which eventually led to accusations of human brutality. After criticism reduced the UFCs visibility was diminished by these accusations, the organization reformed itself and adapted strict, athletic commission sanctioned rules, remarketing itself as a legitimate sporting event.

This idea of a tournament geared towards finding the best world fighter was that of Art Davie, a Southern California based advertising executive who developed this concept while researching marital arts for a client. Davie went on to become the student of Rorion Gracie, a teacher of mixed martial arts.

In 1992, Gracie, Davie, and John Milnus, a film director and screen writer, in addition to being a fellow Gracie student, developed a business plan to generate the initial capital required to start WOW Promotions in order to develop their tournament into a television franchise.


Fight gear for these events is restricted to regulation gloves and fight gear that includes only approved shorts, with no shoes or any type of foot covering allowed. Shirts, gis, and long pants, including gi pants, are also not allowed.

The gloves are required because they enable fighters to increase the strength of their punches, while at the same time providing greater protection against injury and breakage. In the early days, attire was unregulated, and many fighters opted for tight fitting athletic shorts or long, boxer trunks, and other wore tight wrestling suits and long pants.

Royce Gracie, multi-tournament champion, wore a jujitsu gi in all of his early UFC appearances. The regulations came after the move to take the UFC and the MMA fighting style into the mainstream.

Golf - What Defines A Top Golf School And How To Choose One

Its probably safe to say that most people want, at the very least, the quality of their experiences to match the amount of money they have to invest in them, and when it comes to choosing a golf school the concern should be no different. Attending a top golf school that provides quality instruction that meets your personal needs as a student is what any golfer should want.


But what defines a top golf school and how do we choose which one to attend? There are, to begin, a number of questions we should ask ourselves when looking into attending a top golf school. The first question, and probably most important in this day and age, is how much money am I willing to invest in my experience? This is going to eliminate some options right off the tee, because some schools start their instruction packages fairly high involving a several day commitment of training on your part.

If the short term is what you are looking for, however, there are schools such as Balance Point Golf Schools which offer half day packages starting under $100, and are still considered to be in the top golf school ranking.

There, however, other considerations that may outweigh cost which brings us to the next important group of questions. When considering education your personal goals for the experience are a highly important factor. Students need to do some thinking about their needs, and research whether a schools program is geared towards sensitivity to those needs.

Top golf schools such as Academy of Golf Dynamics in Colorado or Aviara Golf Academy in California have gained their rankings by taking in to account a students goals, as well as their skill level and personal learning style. Some schools such as The Butch Harmon School of Golf will even allow you to follow up with the instructor afterwards online.

Finding out a schools student to teacher ratio is also important. Most respected golf schools offer a low student to teacher ratio starting at 3 to 4 students to every 1 teacher on average. Knowing that you will have one on one time with your instructor will increase your confidence that you will get your moneys worth from the experience.


Make sure to spend some time researching the career records of the schools teachers. A school that considers itself a top golf education facility will boast career professionals and tour winners as their faculty; after all, if its just a good golfer you are looking for that might be your Uncle and you wont have to pay him to pick up a few tips.

Finally check out the facilities and local weather conditions. There are some beautiful golf courses to enjoy out there such as the Napa Golf School the home of the LPGA s Samsung World Championships, on the border of the Napa Valley.

Wherever you go make sure the course layout is sizeable and impressive and that the school provides other facilities to gain access to such as putting greens, hitting bays, post game video evaluation rooms, and for that extra pampering resort accommodations as well.

Cigars - Cigar 101: Terminology And Selection

Like any hobby, cigar smoking has its own special lingo. This can make cigar shopping intimidating for new smokers, or even for longtime but occasional indulgers. But pull up a chair - it doesn't take long to learn to learn the important terms that will put you at ease when talking with experienced smokers, or help you out at your favorite smoking bar.


One outward characteristic of cigars is the exterior wrapper color - an obvious identity marker that enables smokers to recognize their favorites at a glance. Wrapper color is associated with the kind of tobacco used, and also with cigar flavor, with the color of the wrapper generally implying the opposite of what it would mean for beer taste: lighter cigars tend to taste dry, while darker wrappers have a sweet tinge. The colors run from green to black, but here's a basic rundown:

Double Claro cigars, also known as "American Market Selection" (AMS) or "Candela" wrapper cigars, are green, dry-tasting, and generally hard to find today. Claro wrappers are light tan in color, also drier-tasting, and frequently use tobacco grown either in Connecticut or - oddly enough - tobacco from Connecticut seeds planted in Ecuador, while Colorado Claro, medium brown, uses tobacco grown in many countries.

Colorado wrappers are reddish - as the state was, according to post-election maps in 2000 and 2004. Colorado Maduro wrappers are slightly darker than Colorado Claro and are used, most of the time, to wrap African tobacco, or with tobacco grown from Havana seeds in Honduras or Nicaragua.

For a long time the darkest commercially-available wrappers of all were Maduro wrapper cigars, which use tobacco grown in Connecticut, Mexico, Nicaragua and Brazil; cigars at this end of the color spectrum tend to taste fairly sweet. Recently Oscuro-wrapper cigars - entirely black and also sweetish - have appeared on the market again after nearly disappearing during the 1990s.

Cigar sizes and shapes also have their own particular terminology. There are too many gradations to cover here, but cigars basically run a gamut from tiny cigarillos to panatelas (available in small, slim, short and long variations) to medium-sized coronas (ca. 6-7 inches long) to, at the larger end, popular Churchills (seven inches long and very thick), double coronas (slightly bigger than Churchills) and giants (nine inches long). The size has no relationship to taste; it does have implications for overall smoking experience. (Cigarillos are like a pop song, quick and light, while you can get lost in a Churchill as you would in a classic album.)


The shape of a cigar may seem like a fairly straightforward matter - literally. But specially-shaped cigars have gained in popularity in the last few years, including the Culebra (Spanish for "snake," so named because it's made of three small cigars twisted together into a snake shape), the Perfecto (with two tapered ends), and the Torpedo (a fat straight cigar with a pointed head). For shorter, thicker cigars, the name Rothschild or (though this is a misspelling) Rothchild was used for many years, in honor of the famous German banking family, but increasingly cigar manufacturers are renaming these stubby cigars Robustos. Adding to the confusion, some manufacturers use both names, labeling 5-5 1/2-inch 50-ring models "Robustos" and slightly shorter, same-width cigars "Rothschild"!

With these basic distinctions mastered, you can walk into a cigar shop and order a specialty cigar with confidence. But what helps most is experience. You can consult cigar specialty magazines for further information, and to keep up with the taste ratings of new cigars which will give you some idea what characteristics are most important to you.

Cigars - The Materials And Construction Of A Premium Cigar

cigars can come in any shape or size - it's the ingredients, and the way those ingredients are handled, that makes them good or bad.


Almost all cigars (except extremely thin models) are made up of three components: the filler, the tobacco at the center which is the most important ingredient; the binder, an elastic leaf that holds the filler in the center; and the outer wrapper, which contains and holds together the binder.

Perhaps the most important difference among cigars is the difference among fillers. Handmade cigars, considered the highest-quality kind, use entire tobacco leaves; this is called a "long filler." Machine-made cigars will combine scraps of various tobacco leaves into a homogenized tobacco product called "short filler," which can be rolled quickly into many cigars, with a corresponding loss of individual tastes and textures. Cigar aficiandos generally prefer long-filler tobacco. However, long-filler cigars can still vary in terms of the quality of tobacco used and the blend among different kinds of tobacco leaves.

Most fillers are made up of a blend of powerful ligero leaves (from the upper part of the plant, where they received the most sunlight), which are folded into the middle of the filler to ensure a long burn; milder-flavored seco leaves (from the middle of the plant); and faint-flavored, fast-burning volado leaves (from the bottom). These leaves, and the proportions in which they're mixed, determine the quality of the smoking experience.

Tobacco leaves, to be rendered smokable, go through two processes known as curing and fermentation, the combined result of which is to reduce the sugar and water content of the leaf without incurring rotting. "Curing" takes 25-45 days and helps to determine the color of the leaf. During fermentation, the leaf is assisted in, essentially, dying as gracefully as possible, so that it becomes ready to smoke without disintegrating (and thus losing flavor).

This controlled death of the leaf, if done right, brings out its essential flavor and aroma. After this dual aging process, the leaves are sorted - the best are used for filler, the rest for wrappers. Wrappers, however, influence the cigar's final flavor greatly as well, and their color will be used to describe the cigar in general.


Their colors run along a scale from light-greenish double claro (very light) to tan claro wrappers to natural (light brown), Colorado claro (slightly darker brown), Colorado (reddish-brown), Colorado Maduro (dark brown), maduro (dark brown) and oscuro (blackish). Color, for cigars, generally means the opposite of what it would mean for beer: lighter cigars tend to taste dry, while darker wrappers lend a sweet tinge to any cigar.

Hand-rollers then use a crescent-shaped knife, the chaveta, to roll the filler and wrapper together, being careful to ensure that the leaves remain slightly moist at all times, then store the freshly-rolled cigars in wooden forms, which give them that distinctive curved shape as they dry.

The ends are cut down to uniform size. At this point, the cigar is essentially complete; now its real journey begins, as the manufacturer ages it to taste (cigars can keep for decades if left undisturbed at close to seventy degrees farenheit and 70% relative humidity).

When the cigar is finally sold, the buyer is well-advised to keep it in a wooden box known as a humidor until it's ready to be smoked; these specially-designed boxes (which are often extremely visually attractive as well) help to prevent cigars from drying out.

Cigar manufacture is a laborious process requiring constant vigilance. For many years, for that reason, handmade cigar factories would employ a lector (reader) to keep the rollers alert and entertained by reading books to them. Audio books have partly eliminated this phenomenon, but some factories still use a lector - perhaps the best symbol of the constant alertness necessary to produce world-class cigars.

2013年9月22日

Chasing the Bear

This week's Open is a turning point in Tiger Woods' quest to win more majors than Jack Nicklaus.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- I used to think Tiger Woods would pass Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors like a highway rest stop, but now I'm starting to wonder. He has 14, but he's 34 and aging like the portrait of Dorian Gray. Headlines on TMZ.com and in the London Daily Mail will do worse things to you than whiskey and pork combined.

Most great players don't win majors past 40. Tom Watson stopped at 33. Arnie at 34. Nick Faldo and Greg Norman both stopped at 38. Hogan stopped at 40. The Golden Bear's last major would've been at 40 until all the stars and every planet aligned one last time at Augusta in 1986, when he won his 18th at 46.

"I still think he's got a 90 percent chance to do it," says Steve Stricker. "He's in better shape than Jack was."

But Jack didn't have a left knee like Tiger's. Any orthopedist will tell you that for a joint that's had four surgeries, the question is not IF it's going to get arthritis, it's WHEN.

"That's true," Stricker says. "OK, let's say 80 percent."

If we agree on the 40 thing, that leaves Woods with, more or less, five and a half years left in his prime -- 22 more majors. He's played 52 majors as a pro and won 14 of them, so that's about one in every four.

Twenty-two chances to win five? For the old Tiger, a bunny layup.

For the post-fire-hydrant, porn-star-plagued, gross-national-product-of-Peru-divorce-settling Tiger, a little harder. "I think the odds are more in his favor than not," says Phil Mickelson.

OK, but where will he get the five?

After turning 35 later this year, he's got five more cracks at Augusta, which is his happy place, if you can call a place where you get heckled by banner-towing airplanes happy. He's won four times there in 13 tries -- that's about one in every three -- although none in his past four appearances, his longest streak without somebody handing him a green jacket. Plus, the rest of the field isn't scared of him like it was before. Still, if he gets his life back in bounds, you've got to figure he'll get at least one of those. That leaves four.

He's got five more U.S. Opens in his prime, but no more at Pebble Beach or Torrey Pines, where he's won. And unless he and his driver start speaking to each other again, U.S. Opens to him are what ice caps are becoming to polar bears. There's just not enough room.

The next Open is at Congressional, where he finished T19 as a rookie. The one after that is at Olympic -- T18 last time. Two are at places he's never competed: Merion and Chambers Bay. But he gets one at Pinehurst, where he's come in third and second. That last one, in 2005, he would've won except for the out-of-the-blue, never-to-be-repeated performance of New Zealand's Michael Campbell, who will soon be around to take your drink order. So let's say he gets one of the five. That leaves three.

The next six PGA Championships don't set up well for him at all. Two are at Whistling Straits, the Royal County Down wannabe that will have rough you'll be able to hide a small cow in and is totally wrong for Woods' game right now. When he played there at the 2004 PGA, he finished 24th.

One's at Atlanta Athletic Club, where he finished T29 in 2001, and another's at Oak Hill, where he did even worse in 2003. His best chance will be at Valhalla, where he won by sheer force of will in his Tiger Slam -- anybody remember Bob May?

So maybe he gets one of those. That leaves two.

Which brings us to the nut graph. He's got six more British Opens, including this one at his beloved St. Andrews and probably another here in 2015. That's what makes this British Open so essential for Tiger Woods. Right now, he's stuck in golf and he's stuck in life. St. Andrews can be the defibrillator that kick-starts him.

Some golf rules are bunk

US Presswire, AP Photo, Getty Images
Dustin Johnson, Roberto De Vicenzo, and Michelle Wie have all been the victims of dumb golf rules.
Golf is the best game with the stupidest rules ever invented.

It is considered heroic to call violations of these rules on yourself, even when the rules themselves are as dumb as a box of hair.

For instance, Dustin Johnson just lost the PGA Championship (and at least $1 million) for grounding his club harmlessly in a bunker. He made a 5 on that 18th hole at Whistling Straits, putting him in a playoff, only to be told by a man in an oddly colored blazer that he actually made a 7, dropping him to fifth, and out of the playoff. He was rightly bent by it. If he could've stolen two beers and popped the slide, he might've.

Why Whistling Straits calls unkempt, unraked, shaggy pits of sand that spectators have been standing in, sitting in, sleeping in, eating in and smoking in all week bunkers, I'll never know. It's a local rule that makes no sense at a spectator tournament.

Of course, Johnson should've seen the rule posted in the locker room:

"All areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers (hazards), whether or not they have been raked."

Even the ones 50 feet outside the ropes. Fine. His bad.

But Whistling Straits was asking the players to treat these pits like bunkers when the course itself didn't treat them like bunkers. Whistling Straits didn't rake them, and didn't protect them from fans, footprints, strollers, beer cans or napping babies.

The reason you can't ground your club in a bunker is that you might (a) be able to move enough sand to improve your lie and (b) you might be able to "test the surface," i.e. figure out if there's a lot of sand under your ball, not much sand, soft sand, hard sand, rocks, etc. But when a bunker gets treated like a weedy bleacher, with thousands of people clomping through it, it's no longer a bunker, nor should it be played as one. It's not a bunker anymore, it's a dirt path.

Johnson in no way violated the spirit of the grounding-the-club rule. All he did was gingerly set his club behind the ball and swing. No advantage gained. Yes, he was stupid to violate the rule. But Whistling Straits was stupid to make it.

Let me ask you this: How was Johnson even supposed to know he was in a bunker? He's played golf most of his 26 years and never before has he come upon a bunker where a dozen people were standing in it with him. Has it ever happened to you? If Whistling Straits is so intent on playing a slab of trampled sand as a bunker, doesn't it owe it to the players to maintain it like one? Why didn't it have ropes around them if it was expecting players to have to play out of them with such tenderness?

Even the champion's caddy thought it was a joke. "It's a bit farcical," said Scotsman Craig Connelly, the caddy for Martin Kaymer. "You can't have bunkers that people are walking through and grass is growing out of. It is a pathetic ruling to say that was a bunker."

Golf is an ass sometimes.

To wit:

• Ball in a divot in the middle of the fairway. You can't move it. Congrats, you've just been penalized for hitting a fairway. You can get a free drop from ground under repair, a French drain, a staked tree, a man-made obstruction, a fence, a wall and a crane, but you can't get a free drop from some guy who swings like John Henry? It's man-made!

You have five minutes to find a lost ball. You can't have five minutes to find your scorecard and sign it? It takes a tiny mind to think up a rule that small.
• Tapping down a spike mark. Just before you try your 5-foot birdie putt, your 400-pound cousin walks across your line, leaving the Mt. Vesuvius of spike marks. The rules forbid you from flattening it out. Golf should never mean having to hook a 5-foot putt.

• Signing the card. Two summers ago, Michelle Wie turned in her second-place scorecard at the State Farm tournament and forgot to sign it until she'd left "the scoring area." Somebody chased her down and told her and she hurried back to sign it. Too late. She'd already been disqualified. She hadn't left the course, hadn't left the grounds, hadn't even left the clubhouse, but she'd left the roped-off "scoring area" around the scoring tent. Who decides what the "scoring area" is? You have five minutes to find a lost ball. You can't have five minutes to find your scorecard and sign it? It takes a tiny mind to think up a rule that small.
• Signing for a higher score. The famous Roberto De Vicenzo incident at the 1968 Masters. You sign for a higher score, you get that score. Makes absolutely no sense. Does Kobe Bryant have to keep the game score? Does he lose if he gets it wrong? Is math a golf skill?

• Wind. If the wind moves your golf ball and your club was near it, or addressing it, it's counted as a shot. That's not a shot, that's an act of God!

Golf is a gentlemen's game. It's just that the gentlemen who run it -- especially at Whistling Straits last weekend -- have too much damn time on their hands.

Waterlogged in Wales

Andrew Redington/Getty Images
The rain suits of the American Ryder Cup team were soaked through and through on the first day of the 38th Ryder Cup. That certainly was the case for Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar.
NEWPORT, Wales -- The Sun Mountain rain suits the USA team played in Friday at the Ryder Cup were three exits past awful. But they weren't as bad as the Belding bags.

Meant to look like the old leather bags of the 1970s, they repelled water like bags of the 1870s. Exhibit A: Steve Williams, Tiger Woods' caddie, was handed a new towel on the third tee box. He quickly zipped it into the side pouch. By the end of the third hole, it was sopping wet. That's how wet it got in one hole.

Same with the rain suits. I know. I held one of the jackets. It was literally dripping.

Hey, it doesn't say "Rain Mountain."

An hour into the rain delay, all the caddies and players had brand-new rain suits by ProQuip, purchased by the PGA of America from the merchandise tent, at a cost of £350 each (about $550). So now the PGA of America knows how we feel paying those prices.

Better yet, the new ProQuip ones don't have those bush-league names on the back.

"Haven't had my name on my back since peewee football," one player was heard to grumble while walking into the clubhouse during the rain delay.

Wonder what one of those babies would go for on eBay?

This whole team-uniform thing is confining, nonsensical and ruinous. If I were captain, as soon as I had my team, I'd have a list of everything the player wears week to week. I'd call those companies and have them send me a blank version of it -- the shirt, the pants, the rain suit, everything. Then you'd simply have your Ryder Cup staff fill in the USA logos.

By the way, that's what Tiger Woods thinks, too, and apparently has been saying since this Waterworld disaster began.

Why, you ask, hold the Ryder Cup in Wales in October, when the Farmers' Almanac tells you it's going to rain every other day, at least? Because when it was originally awarded to Wales, they were hoping to schedule it for early September. But then the four-week end-of-the-year FedEx Cup playoffs was invented, which pushed it back to October, which meant everybody was stuck.

"This thing might not end until Tuesday," I heard a fan say.

Not possible. It's in the captain's agreements that no hole may be started after sunset Monday. Any match not completed Monday will be considered a halved match and whichever team is leading at that point will be declared the winner.

Unless, of course, both captains agree to call it a draw.

That, of course, won't happen, even if the math works out to a tie. If it's tied, the USA keeps the Cup.

The PGA of America may have picked the world's dumbest rain suits and bags, but they're not that dumb. Are they?

The president of the Hole in One Club

Buzz Jordan at Cherry Hills Country Club with his sons Brooks (in green), Zack, and nieces Kate Jordan Little and Molly Jordan Little.
This is just a little story about friendship and holes-in-one and how death can remind you which is rarer.

It starts with a sports nut named Buzz Jordan, who was practically born at a football game. His mother's water broke at a University of Colorado game but since her husband was the namesake for the team MVP award -- Zack Jordan -- she didn't dare ask to leave.

Maybe that's why, later, one of Buzz's unbreakable rules was "Always stay to the end of the game!" When one particular game ended -- Colorado's 2001 stunner over Nebraska -- Buzz snuck up on CU's 1,300-pound mascot, Ralphie, snipped off some of his hair and kept it in his wallet the rest of his days.

There was also "You gotta learn to fall before you can get up!"

Which is why when Buzz taught you to ski, he pushed you down in the snow first, so you'd learn how to get up on skis. Buzz's goal in life was to match the first two figures of his salary to the number of his ski days in a year.

And of course there was "Call your mother!" Buzz did it religiously. His dad died young and Buzz felt he had a role to fill. In fact, when Buzz turned 18, he had his name legally changed to his dad's -- John Zack Jordan -- out of respect.

Buzz was not just an optimist. He made optimists look like hangmen. He was the kind of guy who's sure the IRS auditor is going to find mistakes in his favor.
Buzz was not just an optimist. He made optimists look like hangmen. He was the kind of guy who's sure the IRS auditor is going to find mistakes in his favor. That's why it figured that he'd convince seven of his childhood buddies to throw in $100 a year for a Hole in One Club. First guy to make an ace got the money. But there was a twist: One of the eight had to be a witness when it happened. Buzz figured that way, they'd all play together more often.

Well, 22 years went by -- from 1988 to 2010 -- and nobody cashed in. Not once. Not only did none of them ever make an ace around each other, only one of them ever made an ace at all.

Not that it mattered. The Hole in One Club stayed so close the guys started holding Hole in One Club tournaments together. They got sponsors and prizes and gave all the money to the American Cancer Society. Held it for 10 years and sent a meaty check every year. And then, in January of this year, cancer got Buzz. Throat and neck. Bad. Which was jarring, since Buzz had always been the fittest of the group. Of course, Buzz wasn't worried. For him, it only forced him to ask the big question, green wig or pink? (Even during chemo, Buzz skied in the green one.)

In fact, Buzz was so sure everything was going to be fine, the group decided to plan a big cure party. They would take all the money -- it was over $15,000 now -- and go to Pebble Beach for three days. Blow the money on a big Buzz Beats The Big C bash.

Buzz was one treatment away from Pebble when his heart just stopped.

The end of the game had come. It was June 21. He was dead at 49, the exact same age his dad and granddad died. The man who taught you how to get up was staying down for good.

Buzz Jordan
Jordan Family
Buzz Jordan's indomitable spirit will live on forever through his friends and family.
Rather than go to Carmel as planned, the seven resurrected the Hole in One Tournament, in Buzz's honor. They raised another $25,000, added that to the $15,000 hole-in-one kitty, and gave the whole bundle to Buzz's two sons, Brooks and Zack, for college.

And that was that.

But then, on Oct. 2, a very Buzz thing happened. One of the seven -- Scott Lasater -- decided to play golf with some buddies. Not easy, since an injury three years before had wrecked his right hand. He could hardly grip the club. Yet Buzz refused to let him quit golf, so he kept playing.

As Lasater was playing that day, he kept hearing the words Buzz used to yell at him on every par 3: "Come on Las! Let's get one here!"

And so it was he came to the seventh hole at his home club -- Lone Tree Golf and Country Club -- 152 yards. He hit a 6-iron that landed in the rough, left of the green. But the ball took a weird bounce dead right -- "sort of defying the forces of nature," Lasater says -- spun back down a little hill and trickled lazily into the cup for an ace.

Freaking, Lasater texted the news to one of the seven, who texted back: "Wow! And on Buzz's birthday, too!"

It had completely slipped Lasater's mind. Buzz would've been 50 that day.

Figures. Buzz always found the coolest gifts.

2013年9月20日

Furyk: No hard feelings about Presidents Cup snub

Jim Furyk
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Think Freddie wants to take back that Presidents Cup captain’s pick?

Not exactly, or at least that’s not the way Jim Furyk viewed his snub in the wake of his second-round 59 at the BMW Championship.

“You want a guy that’s playing well,” he said Friday, “but just because I shot 59 today doesn’t make me the best choice.”

A member of every U.S. team since 1997, Furyk will miss next month’s event after being passed over for Webb Simpson, who was inside the top 10 in points until the last qualifying day, and Jordan Spieth, the 20-year-old phenom who has a win and two other runner-up finishes in his first year on the PGA Tour.

BMW Championship: Articles, videos and photos

The decision was made on live TV last Wednesday, nine days ago, and only Thursday night did Furyk finally come to grips with the call.

“I was bummed about it,” he said, “but I’m not really like a spiteful person. I didn’t go out there with a chip on my shoulder to prove anything to anyone this week. I feel like my career has spoken for itself, and I really don’t have anything to prove to anyone.”

There’s a four-week gap between the announcement and the competition. Should the Presidents Cup decision be made later, so the best (and hottest) players are selected to the 12-man team? After all, Furyk has four top 10s in his last five starts, and now he’s tied for the lead at the third playoff event after only the sixth 59 in PGA Tour history.

Well, it’s not that simple, Furyk said.

Clothing has to be fitted and ordered. Programs have to be printed. Countless other behind-the-scenes chores.

“I hope to be a captain of a team one day, and I guess my selection isn’t going to come down to the last day and the last shot,” Furyk said. “I’m going to look at the guys that I think are the best players and that are going to give me the best opportunity to win the event. That’s what Freddie had to do, and he made his choice.

“I think the timing of it, though, the four weeks is probably fine. It’s probably needed, to be honest with you.”

C. Kim relishing being back at a major

Christina Kim
EVIAN LES-BAINS, France – Majors may be tough, but it is tougher being left out.

Just ask Christina Kim.

She is relishing being back in the major championship mix this week at the Evian Championship. She opened with a 67 Friday and followed with a 73 on Saturday, leaving her 2-under for the championship.

After qualifying for every major championship the first nine years of her career, Kim failed to qualify for the Ricoh Women’s British Open at the end of last year. She also failed to qualify for the Kraft Nabisco in the first major this year.

Evian Championship: Articles, videos and photos

What did she do the week of Kraft?

“I burrowed myself in a hole in my bedroom,” Kim, 29, cracked. “I wept for two days.”

Through injury and a battle with depression that she has openly discussed, Kim’s game slumped. A two-time LPGA winner, she missed the cut in all four majors in 2011. She slipped to 109th on the LPGA money list last year and found herself at LPGA Q-School looking to regain her status. Her climb back hasn’t been easy. She missed five consecutive cuts before teeing it up at Evian, but there’s something about this place that inspires her.

“I have some incredible memories at this golf course,” Kim said. “I’ve almost won it a couple times, came relatively close, within a couple shots.”

Kim tied for sixth at Evian in ’07 and tied for fifth in ’05.

With those missed majors behind her now, Kim is looking to build some new major memories.

“I’m back here, and that’s all that really matters,” Kim said. “Everything I went through just really helps me relish where I am now.”

Alfredsson, 48, officially retires after MC at Evian

Helen Alfredsson
EVIAN LES-BAINS, France – Helen Alfredsson might have led the LPGA in personality if there was any way to measure that kind of thing.

Alfredsson, or “Alfie,” as her friends call her, could light up a party as easily as she could light up a golf course. A self-professed Swedish wild child as a teen, she became a Parisian model, rode a Harley and gained a drag-racing license. Yeah, she likes to drive fast. She was once ticketed for driving 160 mph in her Volvo.

By the way, Alfredsson, 48, could play some golf, too. She won seven LPGA and 11 Ladies European Tour titles, including a major, the '93 Nabisco Dinah Shore. She also won the Women's British Open before it was designated as one of the LPGA's majors. She was the LPGA’s and LET’s Rookie of the Year. She played on eight Solheim Cups and captained the Euros in ’07.

Evian Championship: Articles, videos and photos

Alfredsson, however, won’t be adding to that resume. She is officially retired. When she holed out for a 76 Saturday knowing she would miss the cut at the Evian Championship, her professional golf career was officially over.

“This is it,” Alfredsson said. “I feel good about it, but I feel a little sad, too. You see everybody here knowing that you won’t be seeing them as much anymore, but I knew the time was going to come. It hit me last week that it was time.”

Alfredsson played in the LET’s Helsinborg Open in her native Sweden last week. She worked hard with the tournament’s founders to get an event back in Sweden, and she felt good about its debut.

“I don’t plan stuff ahead,” Alfredsson said. “It just hit me there last week, `This is it.’ I realize I’m not prepared to do what it takes anymore. I think it’s like that with all athletes. I still love playing golf, but travel? No thank you. And these five-and-a-half hour rounds? No thank you.”

What will Alfredsson do now?

“I’m going back to school, study sports psychology,” she said.

Alfredsson said she would like to help young players develop.

“I’ve always found sports psychology interesting, and I’ve played at every level, won at every level, in the majors and in Solheim Cups,” Alfredsson said. “So many sports psychologists don’t have that background. I think kids think too much, endure too much stress. They start so young and work so hard. It would be fun to go and help them.”

Alfredsson will also continue to devote herself to the charity tournament she hosts as a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s, the affliction that claimed her mother’s life.

Furyk's dialed in wedges, not distance, lead to 59

A day later, it’s one of the many aspects of Furyk’s historic round that lingers still.

On some holes Friday, the 43-year-old Furyk was outdriven by fellow playing competitor Woodland, 29, by more than 60 yards. But it rarely mattered, not when Furyk was so dialed in with his wedges on his way to shooting just the sixth sub-60 score in PGA Tour history.

Take the short par-4 seventh at Conway Farms, the group’s 16th hole of the day.

At 327 yards, it was reachable for Woodland, who pounded driver through the back of the green. Not surprisingly, Furyk, who is averaging a field-worst 260.9 yards off the tee, opted for a more conservative approach. He laid well back with an iron, leaving himself 122 yards for his second shot. Furyk then spun his approach to within 11 feet and made the putt, while Woodland played a beautiful pitch from over the back but missed the 4-footer for birdie.

For the day, Furyk carded 11 birdies and an eagle, hit every fairway and all but one green, and needed to make only three putts longer than 12 feet.


“It was just controlling your golf ball,” Woodland said, when asked what he could learn from Furyk’s game. “He landed his ball exactly where he had to land it. He was in complete control of the ball. He managed that golf course as well as I’ve ever seen.”


Making Furyk’s 59 even more impressive was this: He was six shots better than the next-best score, and the scoring average for the second round was 71.086. That nearly 12.1-stroke difference was second-best among the six players who have shot a sub-60 score on Tour: Al Geiberger (13.0), Chip Beck (10.5), David Duval (10.7), Paul Goydos (10.5) and Stuart Appleby (8.6).

2013年9月17日

Read These Tips To Plan Your Travels Efficiently.

Whether you are an experienced traveler or planning your first trip, there are unquestionably many decisions any prospective traveler must make. Luckily, you will find that it is much easier to go on a trip and travel if you know what to expect and you have an idea of where to begin. The information below has some great advice for anyone who may travel at some point in time.

Exercise before you get on the airplane. This will not only help you to work out pre-flight jitters, it will also warm up your muscles to help you avoid cramps during a long flight. Remaining in a stationary position can cause stiff muscles and cramps. Stretching beforehand, or doing some quick warm-up routines can help keep aches and leg cramps at bay.

Looking for tickets online when you plan on traveling to a particular location or attraction is an easy way to prepare in advance. In addition, you can print the tickets ahead of time. Sometimes you can get a good deal, or even if you don't, the small fee you pay is worth it, as you will get to skip the long admission lines. If the amusement park has a timed entry system, you can enjoy that benefit from buying tickets online.

Do not wrap presents before flying to avoid difficulties. TSA will randomly inspect packages thus ruining the nice wrapping job. Take wrapping paper with you, or buy some once you've reached your destination.

When traveling abroad, be on the lookout for criminals who may be posing as law or government officials. Don't give anyone your original passport, because this could set you up for theft. If they insist on transporting you to an office, walk with them. Perhaps the most important thing is to never allow yourself to enter a strange person's vehicle.

Be prepared before you go camping and/or hiking by obtaining maps of where you are going. And make sure they are with you at all times. You should also buy a GPS in case you accidentally get lost.

If you are going on a road trip, switch drivers often. Don't drive until the only other option is to sleep, as this will leave the driver the only awake person in the vehicle. If you are half-asleep, you've already driven too long. Switch drivers every few hours to give both time to rest. Being alert while driving is a must so use this tip to make sure all drivers are fresh when they are behind the wheel.

Candles are a nice touch to help a cheap hotel room look nicer. Candles can make a room smell better. It is romantic, relaxing and could help you sleep easily. Many candles now come in small sizes, and wax that melts away instead of creating a waxy drip.

Travel is an excellent way to educate your family members on the ways of the world. As long as you are careful, you should feel confident about visiting developing nations, as they can offer extremely enlightening experiences for your children and you. When you spend time abroad, you give yourself and your family a greater understanding of another culture and the world at large.

Getting ready to travel is intimidating, as was mentioned at the beginning of the article. However, with the right information and some good advice, you can plan a great trip with less stress. If you follow the guidelines from this article, you will be prepared to make simple and stress-free travel plans.

Higher Security In Playgrounds With Rubber Playground Tiles

Numerous of us grew up taking part in in playgrounds as youngsters. It was a various time then and in the summer time you could perform unsupervised from sunup to sundown, getting breaks only to grab a interesting consume of drinking water from a backyard hose. Factors are significantly various these times and one more of the adjustments in playground security in general.

Nowadays in excess of eighty% of public playgrounds have some type of protective floor around the tools. Yard playground are significantly various - only about 9% of property yard playgrounds have any sort of protecting surfaces, and most have only grass or dust.

According to the U.S. Shopper Products Security Commission (CPSC) this qualified prospects to about sixty nine% of the 50,000 annually injuries in a yard playground. These are mostly accidents that could be prevented by working with some type of playground tiles or other protective surface.

There are a lot of varieties of surfaces you can use to support guard your young children. Sand isn't suggested since kids can monitor it all more than and get rid of it from the devices spot as effectively as get it in their eyes. Wood mulch is far better but constant routine maintenance and replenishment of the mulch is essential, in any other case lower regions / bald places come about where little ones can get wounded.

Rubber mulch or rubber pellets are significantly much better in conditions of cushioning and protection, nonetheless these have the identical issues as sand or wooden mulch - they also can get tracked away from the products or hazard spot.

Possibly the greatest protecting area to use is rubber playground tiles, also recognized as playground mats.Rubber playground tiles are wonderful simply because you can get numerous various thicknesses, from 1" to 4 one/4". This is good simply because the CPSC has a statistic known as the "Vital Peak of Playground Equipment", which is the maximum point that youngsters can get to on any piece of playground devices. Once you know the vital height, you can figure out the thickness of playground tiles or mulch that is desired for that area.

The rubber playground tiles also have holes on the bottom of them so that they healthy on just about any surface. You can get diverse shades of tiles to in shape the colour scheme of the playground or make wonderful patterns. They're also environmentally welcoming and designed out of recycled rubber. They have interlocking edges so they're easy to put in and the rubber materials is breathable and resistant to hurt. Nonetheless, in the event that some tiles do get harmed or worn out, you can only change that tile or portion of tiles. When assembling the tiles, a smaller amount of powerful adhesive is utilised to connect them, that way young children cannot pry them apart. Drinking water dries on them swiftly because the drinking water does not pool up. And lastly these rubber tiles can be acquired in vibrant, key colors that quite a few children love.

This type of protective surfacing can tremendously reduce down on the quantity of scrapes, cuts, bruises and even the nastier accidents like damaged bones and concussions. For these reasons and several much more, you must test into protection playground tiles for your community or backyard playground!

There Are Many Ways To School Kids From Home

Homeschooling was not always talked about. Everyone attended public school, and nobody knew there was another option except for private school, and very few could afford that. With the magic of the Internet, learning about homeschooling is a simple process. Start with the following article.

You must be firm with your children while teaching them. Some parents let their children run wild in a home learning environment, and thus the children don't actually learn much at all. You must be adamant about enforcing rules and helping your child understand the importance of what you are doing.

Craft supplies are important to keep around at all times when homeschooling. When you are teaching one child, you can direct the other to do some independent arts and craft activity. Encourage your children to be creative with whatever they decide to make. Doing this is a great way to learn.

There are a variety of subjects to master, but the fundamental skills of reading and math are a foundation for all the others. Without those skills, students struggle in all the other subjects. Your child will not be able to learn if he or she cannot read or perform simple math. Because of this, you should spend additional time polishing up the reading and math skills of your child.

Don't forget you're dealing with kids that do better with breaks. Continuous studying can take away any fun associated with learning. Allow adequate time to get up and move around, or just to lay around and do nothing. Not only will this do them good, it will for you, too.

Write all of your reasons down. Writing down your reasons for homeschooling can really make things clearer for you and your family. Know what you hope to accomplish, so you can answer any questions that others may have about why you have not put your children in public school. You will make things much easier on yourself by doing so.

If there is a certain subject you just do not know enough about, don't shy away from hiring a mentor teacher, or tutor. This will come up frequently. When you can't figure it out on your own, seek someone who better understands it to help.

If possible, hire someone to assist with errands, household chores and meal preparation. Homeschooling can leave very little time for home maintenance and errands. You might want to teach the children and let someone else take over the household chores. When you allow others to help you have more time to dedicate to teaching.

Have fun while home schooling. You should always find out if there are things your kids want to learn about. Check out books at the library or use information found online. Use this information and give it to your child, they can use it in a lesson. This makes it a winning situation all around.

Venturing down the homeschooling route can seem daunting at first. This article should have helped alleviate some of that intimidation so that you understand what's ahead. With this information you can make the transition to home schooling a smooth one. Good luck!

Finding Ways To Get Your Nutrition In Check

Weight loss and dieting is what comes to people's minds when hearing "Follow This Advice To Improve Your Nutritional Intake.". But diet and weight loss programs are merely subtopics in the broad subject of nutrition. Nutrition encompasses a myriad of factors, like proper weight maintenance, getting adequate levels of nutrients, eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, and other things. Every type of body requires a different kind of nutrition. In this article, some basic nutritional tips are offered that are likely to make a positive difference for virtually anyone. Read on to discover a plan that works for you.

If you feel like giving up, then it is time to re-focus on your goals. Rekindling motivation will vary from person to person, but going back to your initial goals will help fire you up to achieving them.

Your physical and mental health are both dependent on good nutrition. When essential vitamins and minerals are lacking in your system, side effects can include depression and a low energy level. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the best way to prevent physical deterioration and disease.

A food with more than five percent fat, cholesterol or sodium is advisable to avoid, so pay attention to nutrition labels, and try to make good choices. Eating foods with high levels of any of these can put you at a higher risk for high blood pressure or diabetes.

Eat more slowly. Many people are often very busy and consequently, get in the habit of eating quickly. Take your time drinking your Eat Right For A Better You!. Be deliberate and savor the This Article Will Help You Make Better Eating Choices. You will have a fuller feeling quicker this way. Also, you probably will not continue to eat when you are full.

Prepared foods come with a nutritional label. Familiarize yourself with these labels and learn how to read them correctly. Just because something is labeled "reduced-fat" doesn't mean it is nutritionally sound. Often, they are loaded with unhealthy ingredients like sugar and lots of salt. Don't eat lots of processed foods if you want to lose weight. The label should be clear and easy for you to understand. Stay away from foods that have a bunch of artificial ingredients listed on the label.

Puree some pears, berries or peaches for a quick and delicious healthy snack. This sweet spread is ideal for anything from pretzel dip to pita chips. Explore all the creative ways to use fruit in your meals and snacks, to keep things interesting and flavorful.

Eat various kinds of protein during your week. Pick fish and skinless poultry. Eggs make a wonderful source of protein in moderation. Studies have shown that a single egg eaten daily does no harm. Have a meatless day at least once a week. Instead, try using nuts, peas, or even seeds in your food.

There are a lot of options on the market for products that help you workout at home. They can range in price from very expensive to quite reasonable. These products make getting into shape and staying fit a lot easier, so that your body can be in optimal condition.

Try eating a different kind of protein weekly. Opt for fish, skinless poultry and lean meats. Use eggs for protein. Research has shown that having an egg each day does no damage to your health. For one day of each week, why not try skipping meat? Good meat substitutes include seeds, peanut butter, peas, seeds and nuts.

Fueling your body with its needs is crucial for maximal health. Use the tips you've read to improve your overall nutrition. This can take quite a bit of work, or maybe a tiny bit, but it depends on how your diet currently is. Anyone can make a change for the better that will improve their overall health.

2013年9月16日

Quick And Easy Landscaping On A Budget

Keeping up with the latest trends can be hard at times, especially when it comes to a person's home. Even though it has an immediate impact and makes an impression on everyone who sees a home, many home owners do little or nothing to preserve and enhance their landscaping. Look through this guide to find out what you can do when it comes to your landscape.

Fall color should be taken into consideration as part of any landscape design process. Most people only concern themselves with spring and summer colors for their yards, but fall often provides a beautiful time of the year for your landscape if you plan it right. You'll be glad with your decision come October and your yard looks wonderful.

Curves look beautiful. Instead of rigid landscape borders, try designing your landscape with curved borders. Curves are more visually appealing and interesting and, moreover, curved borders give homes higher value than straight borders. Curved borders are not that hard to construct, and the results are worth it compared to typical straight edging.

When planning a landscape design, remember that plants will grow bigger over time; allow for this in your design. While a small tree might look amazing next to a house, you have to consider the growth of its roots towards your foundation or it's canopy into your eavestroughs. Keep in mind the plant's mature size to keep a good balance between all your plants.

Take care in considering the possible impact that some types of landscaping will have on both your home and property. If you are not careful, you can easily make mistakes that affect the use of your home. Consider these items carefully, and others like them, before deciding on a landscaping plan.

If you choose to landscape your property by yourself, sit down and figure out what the costs will be. To create an accurate list of costs associated with your landscape design, include plants, mulch and equipment. Then, figure out where you will be buying your materials. Remember, the costs of these items may differ quite a bit from area to area. Locate where quality materials can be purchased at the lowest price.

Don't overlook how some landscaping for your home and yard will affect your overall property. It's important to know how the roots of your plants and trees will grow so that they don't harm pipes below the ground. It's equally important to know how tall or wide plants will grow so they don't block important views. Consider all items carefully before determining your final landscaping plans.

When modifying your yard during landscaping projects, make sure you take existing structures into consideration before you ever touch your shovel to the dirt. Always take into consideration the location of various hazards in your landscape. These can include AC units, cables, sprinkler systems and even gutters. Do not impede these areas in your design. Also call your local municipality to come out and mark the underground wires before you begin digging.

Don't forget that you should have paths and walkways within your landscape. An old, cracked sidewalk can ruin the look of an otherwise perfectly landscaped lawn. Get creative and use stepping stones or some other fun material to make your walkways more appealing. Stepping stones and pavers come in a huge assortment of colors and patterns and are roughly the same price as old fashioned concrete.

When it comes to landscape design there are many elements to consider in addition to plants. When you're planning the landscape for a yard, it's easy just to focus on plants that grow well there. There are many non-living accent pieces that should be incorporated into a landscape design. A few examples include pottery, scattered rock, seating and bird fountains, all of which can give to your landscaping life no matter the season.

The information you've just read is filled with great advice that every homeowner should have. No matter which area you'd like to start with, or how you wish to change it, the information you've gained from this article will help you to finish the project simply and quickly.

Insanity Critique - Liquefy Fat And also Sculpt Your entire body Using Shaun T's INSANITY Workout

How can a speedy fat loss also be a healthier bodyweight reduction? insanity workout reviews, truthfully, if this is actually the believed on your thoughts, that you are miles ahead on the vast majority of people interested in fat reduction right now. insanity workout dvds The issue is absolutely everyone desires the outcomes, but isn't going to care about what they've to perform to obtain there. Much more importantly, they do not care with regards to the long phrase negative influences which will stick to their speedy bodyweight reduction. As a way to realize your nutritious weight reduction and for it to also be a quick weight loss, you have to make some fitness tuning alterations for your body.

Now that we've identified that your thoughts ought to be on how a brief weight reduction will have to also be a wholesome excess weight loss, let us get you there! We're going to handle various matters relating to your lifestyle and the way you live it. I'll provide you with the paths that you just should get so as for you to acquire to a wholesome fat reduction. Then you certainly will need to go down people paths, a single at a time. How very well and how focused that you are to accomplishing the completion of individuals paths will decide irrespective of whether or not you've a swift fat loss. I'll offer you the resources to make a balanced fat reduction also be a quick fat loss, but it's essential to use them, and use them correctly, for the healthful bodyweight reduction and brief excess weight loss to take place.

Phase a single, to achieve your healthier fat loss and swift bodyweight loss, are going to be to make some changes to your diet plan. It's essential to, and ought to choose to, commence along with your eating plan. If you are a person that has a minimum or non-existent quantity of work out accomplished every week, then endeavoring to tackle that step very first is usually disastrous. If you run into the health club, in advance of you correct your dieting deficiencies, you can truly feel an excellent deal of fatigue for the duration of exercising, and possibly faintness, dizziness, and extended muscle soreness and fatigue afterwards. To start your stepping into a balanced fat loss and brief weight loss, you need to initial get started with giving your system the nutrients that it wants. Otherwise, your quest in the direction of a healthier fat loss and swift excess weight reduction will be that a great deal far more hard, not to mention much less satisfying!

The dieting transform to start your wholesome excess weight loss and rapid excess weight reduction journey is your daily food consumption. You should have three meals each day, each and every containing a carbohydrate, a fruit or vegetable, as well as a protein. These products ought to also be evenly proportioned for each meal. You'll want to get a good amount of entire grains inside your eating plan, so make certain that your carbohydrate sources are entire grain as typically as you can.

Getting The Right Commercial Real Estate Information

Although you can make a lot from it, it is also possible to lose money a lot of money, also. Wise purchasing and funding decisions are essential if you are to profit. This article can help you with your property matters.

If you are presented with a standard commercial lease form, do not sign it immediately. Take your time. Big real estate companies will sometimes slip additional covenants or requirements into the lease document, which can at times be very long. By reading the document carefully, you can avoid the potential pain a standard commercial lease could cause.

Keep in mind the larger the better when thinking of a permanent location for a business. You won't have to upgrade in several years time if you invest in commercial property that will suit your needs now and as they grow.

Ask your real estate broker how they measure success and failure to determine if you have hired the correct one. Ask how they have measured their results in the past, and have them give you examples. Gain a clear understanding of their preferred strategies and methods. You and your broker need to agree on these ideas and how to make them work.

When selling a property, you should make certain that whatever price you set is realistic. There are a variety of different factors that go into determining a property's value.

You should try to purchase property which has a significant number of units. If there are many units, it would be easier for you to spread the income that you are getting from each unit. A lot of people buying property will not even consider anything with less than 10 units, and many people think that if the property has more units, it will generate more income.

One of the most critical considerations for valuing a commercial property is its physical location. Find out more about the neighborhood. Compare this neighborhood to the growth of other similar areas. What you are seeing now in terms of commercial potential might be very different a few years from now.

If you want to spend some money on commercial real estate, consider tax breaks you may get. As with home mortgages, the interest paid on commercial real estate loans is tax-deductible, as is depreciation. One side effect of investing is that sometimes investors receive income that can't be spent, because it's in an unspendable form, yet is taxed as income. Take this possibility into account when drawing up an investing plan.

The borrower needs to order an appraisal for a commercial loan. If someone else orders the appraisal, the bank cannot use it for the commercial loan. Be properly prepared by ordering the appraisal directly.

Commercial loans, as compared to residential ones, require larger down payments. Searching for a reliable lender and a good investment can lead you to find the commercial loan you need.

Have clear-cut goals for any commercial property you are looking at. Will you be utilizing this property for yourself, or do you intend on renting it out? Have some clear goals before you look for commercial property, it will save you time and a lot of work.

You must have the knowledge it takes to make sound decisions when it comes to commercial real estate purchases.

Take Better Care Of Your Locks With This Hair Care Advice

If you wonder what the secret is to great hair, look no further. People with perfect hair are not simply lucky; they use advice, like what you are about to read. The paragraphs that follow will give you some good advice on what you can do to have hair that others will envy.

Nevermind the old wives' tale about more frequent trims causing your hair to grow faster. Human hair grows at a constant rate, about 1/2 inch each month, no matter how much you cut it. It may grow a bit faster during the summer, but in the end, your hormones dictate how quickly it grows, rather than how frequently you visit your stylist. You can eliminate split ends with trimming though.

If you're not able to get your hair styled due to time constraints in the morning then try a jaw claw or a clamp. You can easily put your locks into many different, attractive styles within minutes. Use hair pins to tuck unruly curls or bangs.

Heat styling tools, such as curling irons and straighteners can dry and damage hair. So, make sure that you protect your hair follicles by using a serum or cream for your hair before you use any heated products. Such products place a buffer between your hair and the heat.

After your shower, do not be too rough when you are drying your hair with a towel. You can actually damage your hair this way. A different technique would be to gently squeeze your hair to let extra moisture out. Then gently pat your hair dry with a towel. Try using a soft towel instead of a rough one.

Use a different shampoo and conditioner every so often. Some products are better for certain hair types than others. If you notice that you are not getting the results you desire, consider buying another brand. If you have friends that has the same hair type which is shiny and healthy, try asking them what products they use.

Do not use a brush or a comb on wet hair. Your hair can be damaged the most when it is wet. Wait until the hair is almost at its driest to brush it. If you need to de-tangle it when it's wet, do so with a wide-tooth comb that has rounded tips.

Use shampoo and conditioner that are meant for curly hair. When you do this, you can feel confident that your hair is being cleaned and moisturized as much as it should be. This will help you avoid frizz, and it will give you beautiful curls that you can be proud of.

Just because your friend cuts her hair and you think that it looks good, do not rush to get it as well. You might find out that the particular style doesn't fit the shape of your face or maybe the cut takes time to maintain. The end result may be neglect of your hair. Consult a hair care professional to see which cut will flatter your face.

Don't abuse your hair using a towel if it is wet. This includes rubbing and tugging. Not only will this cause damage to your hair at the roots, but it will also stretch the hair and cause it become frizzy and thin. Instead, try to treat your hair gently by patting it lightly, squeezing it with ease or wrapping it in a cotton towel. Also, you should not use a brush or comb on wet hair, unless the comb is wide-toothed.

Anyone can have a head of beautiful and attractive hair. Once you become educated on the ins and outs of hairstyling, you can have perfect hair. as well. Use what you have learned today and get the hair you have always dreamed of. It won't take long for everyone around you to wonder what your secret is.