Market Me Tweet App
August 3, 2010
If you run a sports website or any other for that matter you may be interested in a tool that I use for Twitter.
It is called MarketMeTweet. What is good with this is that you can have your sites link at the bottom of each Tweet.
You can also schedule posts so that you can always have tweets going to your followers.
If you are interested in Market Me Tweet just follow the link.
Uruguay and Ghana Advance to Quarter Finals
June 26, 2010
Uruguay and Ghana have defeated South Korea and USA respectively to move past the second round of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Uruguay got past South Korea with a 2-1 win after Luis Suarez scored in the 8th and 80th minutes. Lee Chung Yong got the South Koreans in the hunt after he scored in the 68th minute.
In the second match it took extra time for Ghana to get the better of USA. Kevin Prince Boateng got Ghana off to the perfect start when he scored a well taken goal after just 5 minutes.
The USA hit back in the 62nd minute after a Landon Donovan penalty.
In the first half it was Ghana who looked the better team and in the second it was USA who looked most likely to win. With the match going to extra time many thought the USA would run over the top of Ghana however it did not work out that way and a goal to Asamoah Gyan in the third minute of extra time was enough for Ghana to again knock out the USA.
Ghana had stopped the USA in 2006 at the group stage with a 2-1 win.
Now Uruguay and Ghana will meet each other in the quarter finals.
We now look ahead to the blockbuster match between Germany and England which is followed by Argentina v Mexico.
Magic Fighting Back In NBA Eastern Conference Finals
May 27, 2010
The Orlando Magic are fighting back from a 3-0 deficit against the Boston Celtics. They won game five 113-92 to take the series 3-2.
Dwight Howard scored 21 points to go with 10 rebounds. Jameer Nelson top scored for the Magic with 24 points. For Boston in was Rasheed Wallace leading the way with 21 points while Rajon Rondo contributed 19 points.
Orlando are looking to make history by becoming the first ever team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best of seven series. They are half way there but now must win in Boston to level the series. Game seven would be played in Orlando.
Are the Boston fans starting to worry that their team could let a 3-0 lead slip? The NHL team just saw a 3-0 disappear so Boston would be wary.
Security Slow to Act at Australian Open Tennis
January 29, 2010
Last night at the conclusion of the semi-final between Andy Murray and Miran Cilic a 22-year-old Croation fan made his way onto centre court at Melbourne Park.
As I watched on television I was amazed how he was able to get right to Miran Cilic. It was reported on the SMH.com.au site that security guards only acted after the match umpire Pascal Maria realised he was not authorised to be on court.
I don’t know what the security guards were doing but he obviously should not have been on court. The guy was wearing a red-and-white checked Croation shirt so he stood out like a sore thumb.
Luckily for the players he had no sinister intentions otherwise things could have been quite bad.
The SMH report said the man will be charged over the incident.
Nadal to Slip to Number 4 ATP Ranking
January 29, 2010
After his quarter-final exit at the hands of Andy Murray at the 2010 Australian Open tennis Rafael Nadal is set to fall to no. 4 when the rankings are released for 1 February, 2010. Nadal is the 2009 Australian Open champion.
Nadal fell from no. 1 to 2 in July 2009 after he could not defend his Wimbledon title. He dropped to no. 3 on 17 August 2009 but was back at no. 2 on 14 September 2009.
The last time Nadal was ranked lower than 3 on the ATP tour rankings was when he held fifth spot on 23 May 2005. Nadal first moved into the top ten when he hit no. 7 on 25 April 2005. He got inside the top 100 on 21 April 2003.
If Andy Murray wins the 2010 Australian Open title he will move to no. 2 in the rankings behind world no. 1 Roger Federer. Murray reached no. 2 on 17 August 2009 only to drop back to 3 after the US Open, then 4 in October. Murray dropped to no. 5 for a week starting 11 January 2010. That saw him seeded 5 for the Australian Open only to see his ranking to go back to four the following week.
A Murray loss in the final will see Novak Djokovic move to a career high no. 2.
Big Weekend in Aussie Sport – NRL finals and AFL grand final
September 25, 2009
This weekend is huge for AFL and NRL fans alike. Starting tonight we have the blockbuster match between Canterbury Bulldogs and the Parramatta Eels. The winner will book themselves a spot in the 2009 NRL grand final.
Then on Saturday afternoon the attention turns to Melbourne. Sports fans will get to watch the best two teams in the AFL this season battle it out for the 2009 premiership. St Kilda at one stage looked like going through the season undefeated, they face the 2007 premiers and last years runnersup, Geelong.
St Kilda are the sentimental favourites as if you ask AFL fans a lot of them see St Kilda as their second team. That and the fact that they have not won a flag since 1966 makes them the team people want to win. Geelong on the other hand need to win this grand final to be looked upon as a great team, rather than just a team that was pretty good. Like a lot of AFL supporters I will be going for St Kilda.
As if that is not enough on Saturday night we will see the Melbourne Storm up against the Brisbane Broncos to decide what will be the second team into the NRL grand final. Brisbane will be keen to erase the memory of their heartbreaking last second loss to Melbourne in last year’s finals series. Melbourne are a bit like Geelong. They have been in the last three NRL grand finals and have only managed one title. They will be seen as underachievers if they get in another one and fail again.
Getting back to Friday night, they are expecting a finals record crowd when the two Sydney teams face off at 7.30pm. The Parramatta Eels have momentum on their side after coming from close to last on the ladder to sneak into the top eight. They then toppled the minor premiers, St George Illawarra Dragons in week one of the finals before thumping the Gold Coast Titans last week.
The Bulldogs were equal top on points, this came after being the wooden spoon holders last season. Quite a remarkable turnaround. They have not set the world on fire over recent weeks. They lost the final game of the regular season before getting past the Newcastle Knights in week one of the finals. That win gave them a week off.
The toughest part of the weekend is watching as much sport as I can without my wife saying I watch too much sport.
I am tipping a Parramatta-Brisbane grand final for the NRL and a St Kilda win in the AFL. Enjoy your weekend.
Nadal Will Not Defend Wimbledon Title
June 19, 2009
World no. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal has announced on Friday that he is not going to defend the title he won in 2008.
This comes due to tendinitis he has been struggling with over recent times. He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps.
At a packed press conference on Friday evening Nadal said “”To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career.”
After his shock French Open loss to Robin Soderling, Nadal made it clear that he would not compete at Wimbledon unless he was 100% fit and now it has come down to the difficult decision he decided to make.
Nadal revealed that he has been playing with considerable pain and he was not able to say when he would return to tennis. He expects to fully recover from the injury.
Building the New York Yankees Dynasty
September 29, 2008
The Yankees are popular to be one of the best baseball teams there is. The team has the most number of championships in baseball history. They have earned thirty-nine American League banners and they also have a total of twenty-six World Series titles.
The team has a rich history before becoming one of the most envied teams in the Major league Baseball. It started when the National League hindered the American League from putting a team in New York. Because of this, the American League opted to establish the team in Baltimore instead. This gave birth to the Baltimore Orioles.
John McGraw was part owner of the Orioles. He was also assisting the Giants at that time and has slowly gained control. He caused conflicts when he started to raid for players, the American League has to look into the matter. In order to settle the issue, a conference with the National League took place. This led to an agreement that allowed the AL to have a team in New York. As a result, the Orioles moved to New York, thus the New York Highlanders emerged. However, the name New York Yankees would pop up from time to time until it became the popular name of the team.
After moving to New York in 1903, the team had several encounter with the AL pennant. However, it was not only in 1921 that they finally earned their first. This also marked their first World Series Appearance where they faced their rival, the New York Giants. The Giants took home the World Series. The same scenario occurred in 1922, again, the Yankees failed to win the World Series. They faced the Giants for the third consecutive time in 1923. This time, they successfully took home the championship. It marked the beginning of their domination.
Many take into account the success of the team to the purchase of one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Babe Ruth. The Boston Red Sox sold him to the Yankees in 1919. The sale has even given birth to one of the most popular sports curses, the curse of the Bambino.
Ruth has helped the Yankees travelled a successful route. Many would say that Babe Ruth is accountable for the building of the Yankee stadium since it was his impressive home runs that draw people to watch the game. Some would call the stadium as the House that Ruth Built.
However, no baseball team is a one-man team. Although Babe Ruth is very talented, his team should get credit as well. The Yankees team gave birth to the Murderer’s Row. This was a name given to the strong lineup of the New York Yankees led by Babe Ruth. Many said that their lineup in 1927 was the strongest in baseball history.
After Babe Ruth, several talented players played for the team. Some of them were Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra.
The team holds the records for the most number consecutive years of World Series won. This took place in 1949 to 1953.
Most of the greatest players in baseball history played with the team. No wonder why they keep on winning championship titles even after Ruth retired.
Rick Grantham is an expert on sports equipment, specially on New York Yankees Merchandise for more information on Major League Merchandise, visit BooYah Village.
American Football Is Chess On A Playing Field
September 26, 2008
The NFL season is now in full swing. Week four has just been completed. If you have some interest in American Football but just don’t what the heck it is all about read on. This article discusses the strategies employed in an American football game.
Cricket was once described as Chess on a Playing Field. Although they are two very different games, the same should be said of American football. This game is most often defined by the sheer physical nature of its play, but it is first and foremost a game of strategy.
Strategy is key to the game, both offensive and defensive. The entire focus is to outguess the opponent, thereby finding a weakness to exploit. Each team has its own style of playing, often determined by the individual strengths of its players. Some emphasize a defensive strategy while others accentuate the offense, which has two components, the running and the passing game.
The passing game strategy is currently more popular and quite often more spectacular for the fan. Each team develops a playbook of plays for different situations that they can execute well. These plays vary in the element of risk, from those that are very conservative and will reliably garner short yardage, by either rushing or a short pass, to high risk long yardage passes. Every playbook contains a version of the desperation play, the “Hail Mary” wherein every eligible receiver runs downfield and the quarterback throws the ball as close to the endzone as possible.
The players, with the aid of coaches, devise a gameplan for each different opponent. This is carefully formatted by reviewing hours of the team’s own games to determine which plays are working well, and hours of footage of the opposing team’s games to find a flaw in there defense. Rushing and passing plays are usually alternated and disguised to look like the other type of play to throw the defense off guard. However, the defense has a playbook all its own and will try to read the calls or guess the next play. When the defense perceives a pass, it will “blitz” or rush at the quarterback. The defense is not allowed to hit the quarterback while he is in the motion of throwing, the blitz often interferes with the time necessary for the receiver to get into place and the quarterback is unable to complete the pass. The best scenario of the blitz for the defensive team is when the quarterback is downed for a loss or yardage or “sacked”.
When all else fails the strategy in American football is to use the punt. It is used on the third down when the offensive team feels it cannot get enough yardage to secure a first down (teams need to advance 10 yards to get a first down) and decides to kick the ball downfield to salvage the situation and ensure their opponent’s offense will begin play deep in its own territory. It is becoming popular to line up as if to punt and then either perform a running play or an onside kick, both with the hope of getting the first down afterall. This is a risky strategy that heightens the game’s drama. When it works, it is brilliant. With failure, the opponent takes over the ball possession with very favorable field position and may even score.
The most time honored strategy in football is ball control and time of possession, both of which correlate highly with winning games. The best offense is a good defense, as the saying goes, and it is logical that if a team has the ball the other team cannot score. But this is being challenged by the newer styled, high-powered long pass offenses that can score a touchdown in virtually no time at all.
Hope this helps with your enjoyment of the game.
The Important Role of a Sports Coach
September 25, 2008
Sports Coaching is a rewarding experience. In the past I have coached at beach volleyball clinics and coached a junior girls volleyball team. More recently I have turned to coaching my daughter at tennis. It is a good feeling knowing you are helping others get enjoyment from sport.
Even though most state that sports coaching is simply to teach others how to play a game, it is much more than this. The effects that coaching can have on a young child or youth, can help them to gain some important tools that they can keep for the rest of their lifetime. The tools that you will be teaching to your players will help them to grow and flourish, no matter what turn they make in their lifetime.
The first major lesson that individuals can learn from playing on a team that you are coaching comes from the relationships that they build with each other. When one is able to work with a team, no matter what the project, and learn how to compromise and fit into the bigger picture, it makes it easier for them later on. The youth and children that are involved will grow up with ideas about what it means to help others as well as take on their own leadership roles. They will also be able to see these same relationship values coming from the leadership role that you present.
For the individual child, participating in sports can have the same major effect on them. This first begins with the child having the ability to understand the importance of health and exercise in order to stay at their best. Recent studies have shown that adults that played sports when they were younger are much more active and exercise as adults up to three times more than other average adults.
Beyond this, children and youth will gain insights into which they are as individual players. Not only does their physical health improve, but their mental health will as well. Once a child or youth understands the game and begins to get positive feedback from the moves that they make, they are likely to also get a good boost of self-esteem. This doesn’t just happen with self-esteem, but also with perceptions of themselves, such as body image. The attitudes that the children learn with positive outlooks on their mental and physical health, will eventually carry over into how they see themselves in the future and as adults. The foundation begins when they are young and playing on any type of field.
What does all of this mean to you as a coach? The basic rule is that you should have the ability to coach right. You are not just playing a game. You are also building a foundation for them. This foundation includes personal changes that are important to the child as well as a building of who they are mentally, physically and relation to others. If you want to play a good game as a coach, it means making sure that everyone starts off on the right foot.
If you are interested in becoming a coach or already a coach and want to learn more then the Australian Sports Commission is a good place to visit. They have many useful articles relating to coaching.
