December 31, 2008
Tips For Good Golfing: It’s All In The Swing
Believe it or not, when one performs a golf back swing, it is not just your arms. It is also more about the golfer’s back as it turns away from the target. The club is more so as being put behind the golfer’s back than it is swung up towards the air.
The move backswing
If you look at it closely, the golf back swing actually works from up to down. The takeaway back swing begins from the top as you make the movement on your arms and follows as you do that turn on your shoulders. The movement then goes straight down towards the legs and the hips.
The golf back swing is primarily about how the body is being coiled upwards thus creating the needed tension in the muscles as well as torque to be able to let out that all powerful downswing. Particularly, that swing is created anywhere in between the golfer’s turning his or her upper body as well as shoulders and the turning – to a lesser degree – the lower body and the hips.
Relax
It is highly advisable that one should not do the swing in a hurried manner. If a back swing is in any way done in a hurry, the downswing does not become fast, actually it could do the opposite.
The backswing speed should be in a tempo that is steady and should neither be fast nor slow. Although some golfers have that tendency to go way faster than the regular. Anytime you catch or are aware of yourself doing this, try to slow it down a bit.
The move downswing
When you reach the downswing, all you really need to do is to just let it go. Let the downswing happen. However, this only applies if ever you were able to start with a golf stance, backswing and grip that is correct.
The downswing must be the organic result of all that went before it. If you were able to do your backswing in the correct manner, your body will unwind in itself thus releasing the club and striking the ball that will therefore result in a follow through that is balanced.
The follow-through move
A follow-through should be best seen as the feather in your cap move. The legs must be adequately straight and the hips have to form a straight line together with the legs.
This move will serve as the gauge of the whole swing you have just done. You know that you were able to pull a swing that is smooth and balanced if in the end you have a position that looks like the letter C only in reverse.
Edwin Shackleford has been helping individuals improve thier golf game for years. Visit His Site Today
www.improve-your-golf-game.com
December 30, 2008
UAVs and MAVs; How Small Can They Bee?
Can you imagine a UAV or unmanned aerial vehicle as small as an insect or Bee? It appears that the future there will be micro-air vehicles the size of insects, which will help our soldiers in the battle space. Imagine 1000 little micro-mechanical insect size flying MAV’s attacking each soldier of your enemy.
Obviously at that point your enemy will not be able to fight you, as they will be too busy fighting off all the micro-mechanical insects. Indeed as much as this sounds like science fiction this is the world we’re headed for in the new paradigm of the future battlespace. Perhaps not in this decade or the next, but within thirty years you will see micro-mechanical man-made insects swarming the enemy on the battlefield.
Now then, the question is how do you fight such an enemy that is so tiny if it comes after you? We will need to develop ways to fight off little tiny micro-mechanical MAVs of our enemy since they will go after our troops. Otherwise they will be rendered useless and unable to fight the enemy and therefore lose the battle or be defeated before they have a chance to actually engaged the enemy. How Small will these micro-mechanical insects become? Well, prototypes have already been designed to fly around under their own autonomous control that are the size of a bee. Consider all this in 2006.
“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
Today’s Golf Schools Bring In The Elements Of Instruction And Fitness
What comes to mind when you think of golf lessons through a golf school? Do you imagine hours of instruction on the range and putting green? Maybe the school teaching professionals will review the fundamentals and even include a playing lesson. While each of these elements has an important role in improvement of your golf swing, do you have any idea what might be missing? Today’s golf schools incorporate much more than a teaching lesson and round of golf. Today’s schools incorporate fitness as an integral part of the golf experience.
Why has fitness become a part of golf instruction? Golf professionals understand that fitness plays a critical role in word class golf. Fitness has a long list of benefits that aid beginning through advanced golfers. So it only makes sense to combine it with golf instruction for a more satisfying learning experience.
As you consider your various options for a golf school, be sure to check each one out thoroughly. The more innovative golf schools will have a fitness center and golf fitness specialist you can work with. Typically, a full physical assessment is performed by a qualified fitness instructor. Through various physical tests and assessments they can determine your strength, flexibility, endurance levels and nutritional needs for golf. This information is then shared with the instructor for the benefit of the golfer. Experienced golf professionals can also link faults in your golf game to areas for improvement in your fitness level. This helps to direct their instruction and personalize it to your game.
Competitive golf today has deemed fitness as a necessity. Golf schools have followed this lead and provide students with the fitness and golf instruction tools necessary to improve their game. Golf schools have become more robust and the benefits are yours for the taking.
Susan Hill is a nationally recognized fitness trainer, CHEK golf biomechanic and sports nutrition specialist. For more information on golf specific nutrition, exercises or stretches, visit http://www.fitnessforgolf.com
December 29, 2008
How to Pick & Use a Tennis Racket Like the Pros
Tennis is a great sport, especially if you don’t mind skinned knees, muscle spasms, and twisted backs.
We played tennis all summer when I was a kid. Our rackets were not of the rich kid variety. They were of the Hey! Look what I found in the garbage can variety.
We didn’t know that there were things to know to properly pick a tennis racket. It was more like the racket picked us. But I do remember that after World War II a local hardware store had a tremendous sale on tennis rackets.
You could get one for $5.00 if you could come up with the money.
Somehow we got the money and a number of the kids got new rackets. Surely we were all on our ways to the pros.
These rackets were not of the best quality.
One day a paste on label came off my racket. Under the label pressed into the wood above the grip was the word REJECTED.
Anything could set me laughing in those days.
While I was rolling around on the concrete of the tennis court a small crowd gathered around me. They soon figured out why I was laughing because I was pointing above the grip.
They pulled the labels off there rackets. Of course, they all were rejects. That’s why the strings came loose, they were warped, and the grip material was falling off.
We held an emergency meeting on how we could sue the sporting goods store, but we all knew how that would turn out. None of our dads were attorneys. They all lived on the east side of town.
Some of us went back to the store. The store played dumb! “Gee, we didn’t know that they were rejects!”
I like to watch the pros play tennis. But tennis is a game that you also can play even into your later years. Some tennis players are even older than I am and that is pretty darn old.
A Good Samaritan pig donated his aortic valve to me this spring and maybe I’ll take the game up again. That’s if I can get a gazelle to donate me a new set of legs.
Choosing a Racket
There are lots of sites such as http://www.tennisracquets.com that help you select a racket. The quoted items are from that site.
Grip Size
A too small grip can cause “injuries of wrist and elbow.”
A too large grip will make you “squeeze the grip tighter. That will put an extra tension on your arm preventing the relaxed swing.”
“There is a way to measure your grip size with a ruler. Your correct grip size basically is the distance from the tip of your ring finger to the farthest main vertical line in your hand. I would not advise to rely on the ruler in this case.
“The better way to determine the correct grip is to measure it holding the racquet. Hold the racquet with one hand and slide the index finger of the other hand in between the tips of your fingers and the base of your palm. If the grip is too small–there will not be enough room for the index finger. If there is extra room–the grip is too large. The correct grip is when the index finger fits perfectly.” (see the illustrations at http://www.tennisracquets.com).
Head Size
Starting from 60 square inches in wooden frames it could be as large as 145 square inches in some exotic frames. There is a legal limit of 135 square inches for playing Official Tournaments.
The “sweet spot” in a racket is larger if the head size is larger. That is where you get the most power. So what does that tell you?
Weight and Balance
Your frame can be head heavy or head light.
Remember this: the part of the momentum of the racket is transferred to the ball. The total momentum is the same before and after you hit the ball. Where do you want most of that final momentum to be? I would guess that you want it on the ball. But what good does it do you if the head is too heavy. You’ll probably miss the ball. The racket might spin you around into a tizzy.
Conclusions
• “Lighter and head heavy racquets are better for the slower game as they deliver more power. Heavier even balanced or headlight racquets are better for advanced players to have a faster game without injuries and to have more control.
• “Tour professionals use custom balanced and usually heavier frames.
• “Any frame could be made heavier and balanced the way you like with the lead tape, but do not forget to check the facts about stiffness and flexibility.”
Go to the site http://www.tennisracquets.com for more information and references.
Time to Get at the Meat of this Article
Here are some things that I’ve noticed the pros like to do with their rackets.
• The pros like to stare at the sweet spot in a manner of worship. Therefore you should have your favorite religious icon embedded in the strings.
• The pros like to throw their rackets across the court. Therefore you should have it designed by an aerospace engineer for smooth sailing and landing.
• The pros like to smash their rackets against the ground. You should have several rackets designed by a mechanical engineer that will take pounding against concrete, asphalt, or grass.
• The pros like to yell at the linemen. Therefore you should have a bull horn mounted on your racket so you can really tell him what for!
You might want to practice your tantrums in front of a full-length mirror. You don’t want to look bad on the court do you? That brings up the point of dress. Well, you’re on your own there. Try to smile when you are practicing that racket fling with your new aerodynamic racket!
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com)is a retired R&D engineer and VP of a Fortune 500 company. He is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering), poetry, etc. Former editor of international trade magazine. Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success.
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)
December 28, 2008
Procure Discount Cricket Equipment Online Today
When you are just about to start to play cricket it’s not always straightforward to choose what you should purchase. If you go into a sports high street retail shop & ask them what you require, you will finish up getting a great deal of gear. Therefore, it’s wise to work out what you will want ahead of you going shopping. That way you are a great deal more likely to get hold of what you need, rather than what the store landlord believes you require.
Below, is essentially a full cricket equipment list, you don’t require to get all the kit on this list, as lots of clubs will provide you kit particularly at youth level:
Cricket whites, cricket bats, balls, helmets, gloves, batting (wicket keeping) inner gloves, wicket keeping gloves, batting pads, wicket keeping pads, box, chest pad, arm guard, inner thigh pad, cricket boots (bowling boots; batting boots), box (groin guard), stumps and bails.
For the majority of sports games you partake in you will need to have your very own set of whites. Cricket whites contain white cricket trousers & a cricket shirt. It is therefore important that you buy a suitable set of cricket trousers & also a nice white cricket shirt & jumper as it can quickly turn pretty cold if you are standing out on the field for a long time particularly if you are playing in England (the start and end of the season are the coldest).
If you can not hire kit from your club the other most critical items of equipment are a cricket bat and box. An excellent cricket bat is critical if you aim to score lots of runs & is a very individual piece of cricket equipment, spend a great deal of time selecting your bat, if possible you should go to a shop & pick one up before you buy so you know how it feels to play with. As soon as you know what you want you can often acquire bats online cheaper). You need a good box to shield your groin from the ball, as getting hit down below’ is very painful, so investing in a good box before you start is a defiant must – you can’t play cricket without one. Find great offers on cricket hats.
Related topics of interest include: Formula 1 Merchandise & Discount Toys.
December 27, 2008
Does Your Junior Golfer Need A Sport Psychologist?
“My son gets so angry on the golf course that he cannot perform in competitions”. “My daughter gets so nervous when other people are watching her play that her game completely falls apart”. “My kid hits it so well on the range, and then hits it all over the map in a tournament”. These are the kinds of comments that I often hear from parents of junior golfers. Do these kids need a golf psychologist? No. Nobody needs training on the mental part of the game. I take the word need very seriously. I believe we need air and water and sleep and food. I certainly wouldn’t suggest that anyone needs mental training, anymore than I would suggest that anyone needs golf lessons or physical training. What I would say, however, is that I have yet to encounter any player who couldn’t benefit from proper mental, technical, or physical instruction. Thus, I believe any junior golfer could benefit from mental instruction. Most people simply don’t understand what this training is or how it works.
When I ask parents what percentage of their kid’s golf game is mental, I rarely get a number less than 75%. Conversely, when I ask those same people what percentage of their child’s training time is devoted to working on the mental game the answer is rarely greater than zero. And while parents see the “problem” with their child’s mental game, the young player doesn’t know how to work on the mental game and the parents don’t know where to look for answers to their questions.
“What exactly do you do?” Most people outside of sport have never heard of sport psychology, and many people in sport have little knowledge about the nature of the job itself. In a nutshell, golf psychology- or mental training for golf- is consultation and education that exposes a player to the requisite mental skills necessary to create an internal environment to enjoy the sport more and achieve excellence in performance. These skills are in conjunction with, but not contrary to, the mechanical and physical instruction that might be given by a swing coach or fitness trainer.
Here’s what it’s all about: Among other things, mental training for golf is to help:
Understand how to deal with lapses in concentration
Deal with situations of accumulating frustration
Develop coping strategies to deal with increasing anxiety
Improve decreasing motivation
Examine and reinforce slipping confidence
Create strategies to reduce breakdowns under pressure
Craft procedures to increase consistency of preparation and play
Generally the process first involves some type of assessment. Next, there is a period of education and skill development, followed by on-going follow-up and adjustments. The specifics of the actual mental training will vary from player to player, with the vast majority of interaction and consultation done via telephone, on the golf course, at the range, or on the putting green.
The added benefit for junior golfers is that the training typically also has positive life effects. Understanding the power of one’s thinking, learning how to differentiate those things over which we have control from those over which we do not have control, deepening an understanding of how to take responsibility for our actions and our reactions to events are among the many, many golf/life issues explored and addressed. Ultimately, the more the junior player knows him or herself, the more they understand the nuances of the game, and the more they have specific strategies to apply, the more they will be successful in golf and in life!
Jeff Troesch, MA, LMHC is an internationally recognized expert in the mental side of golf. As the former Director of Sport Psychology for the David Leadbetter Golf Academies, Jeff has worked with thousands of golfers nationwide and brings a wealth of experience to seasoned golf professionals as well as the recreational golf lover. You may contact Jeff directly through his website, http://www.fitnessforgolf.com.
December 26, 2008
Selecting A Golf Gift That No Golfer Will Forget
Even as you contemplate on getting a golf gift for a close friend or acquaintance, you may have heard other golfers complain on numerous occasions about how useless some golf aid equipment they spent a fortune on turned out to be.
This is not to say that golf products designed to improve golfer’s games do not work. They do and they are the perfect golf gift, if you can get it right.
The problems folks get with golf products in most cases is because of a failure to focus on the particular weakness that requires improvement and then doing your shopping with adequate knowledge so that you do not have to rely on the shop assistant whose work it is to sell you as much as they possibly can.
For example when considering a golf gift, it would be difficult to go wrong with a weighted club. This is the sort of golf improvement gift product that is very golf-specific. It works well to develop and condition all the muscles you use frequently in every golf swing you make on the course.
Exercise tubing would also make an ideal golf gift. The beauty of this product is that it allows you to break down the golf swing into the many different phases and thus allows you to make improvements to the various different segments of the golf swing. What is even more attractive about this golf gift is the price. It costs approximately $20-$25.
The stability ball is another ideal golf gift. Any golfer with a bad back should have one. With the right guidance and advice, you can do so many different stretches using the stability ball. It can even be easily used in an office to do the stretches in brief moments away from your work station.
In getting a golf gift you should also consider hand weights. And these are not for the purpose of developing huge muscles, there are golf-specific exercises that concentrate on “golf muscles” and can help improve anybody’s game. Hand weights cost only 50 cents a pound and are very portable.
In your search for a golf gift, you can even get more specific and select a training aid specific to the particular weakness of the golfer that you are targeting. For instance the Inside Approach is ideal in correcting the problems associated with slicers and would make for an unforgettable golf gift for a slicer.
About The Author: Mike Pedersen is the featured expert for Golf Magazine’s GolfOnline.com site, one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds and manual at his golf swing trainer site – Perform Better Golf.
Fasthosts warn that Old fashioned computing practices cost small businesses £18 billion annually
Small to medium size UK businesses are wasting money every day
and putting the future of their business in jeopardy through old
fashioned computing practices, which are costing them £18
billion annually. This is the conclusion of the Server Solutions
Study by Fasthosts, the
UK’s largest independent hosting company. Fasthosts
conducted a study into server computing solutions in SME
businesses. It examined the basic solutions needed to set up a
server securely in-house in comparison to using hosted services.
The study revealed that many small businesses in the UK host
their server in-house because of the out-dated belief that this
allows maximum access and security. Following an examination of
the SME server computing environment, the opposite was found to
be the case, as hosting a server within the company premises
requires careful consideration and preparation.
Analysis revealed that the minimum requirements for SMEs running
a server in-house are a power failure system to ensure the
server can be shut down safely in case of an emergency; SDSL
internet connection for maximum upload speed; a remote control
card for access to the server from outside the office; a
firewall for security and additional considerations such as air
conditioning; physical security and remote back up. The study
found that the cost for these quickly add up and on an ongoing
basis impact the bottom line. (Source: National Statistics and
Fasthosts’ Server Solutions Study, 2005) However, when
these systems are not in place the future of any small business
can be at risk. Especially small businesses in London have a
very low three-year survival rate at 62.8% in contrast to
Northern Ireland (72.4%), Wales (86%) and Scotland (65.3%)
(Source: Confederation of British Industry, 2005).
“In our experience many businesses are still stuck in 1980s
computing mentality,” comments Andrew Michael, CEO of Fasthosts.
“They need to move and embrace new computing practices. It is
impossible to put value on data so it needs to be kept under
maximum security – data is the lifeblood of any business. Only a
hosted environment offers the required security solutions in a
cost effective bundle, however the SME market remains largely
ignorant of this.” Fasthosts carried out the Server
Solution Study to analyse its dedicated
server offering and ensure it matches the needs of the
marketplace. Fasthosts offers hosted services for servers in a
highly secure, air conditioned data centre in the UK. The hosted
servers can be set up instantly online and come with a private
LAN, easy to use control panel, full remote control and
firewall. An SDSL connection can be added as well as secure
database hosting. The Server Solutions Study was
carried out in November 2005 and examined the costs of essential
solutions needed to host a server securely and safely in-house
versus hosting it at a remote data centre. The study examined
the UK SME server computing environment, including all factors
essential to secure maximum uptime and the security of business
critical data. Key solutions examined included air conditioning,
SDSL, UPS, firewall, remote control card which are provided by
most hosting providers as part of a standard hosting package.
About Fasthosts Since 1999, Fasthosts has
delivered market leading online services to the home, home
office and SME markets. The business has a successful track
record and proven business model in providing high value, award
winning products. Contact details: Ed
Johnson Ed.Johnson@fasthosts.co.uk Fasthosts Internet
Ltd. Discovery House 154 Southgate Street
Gloucester GL1 2EX United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)870
888 3600 Fax +44 (0)870 888 3838
December 23, 2008
Fantasy Football Success: Three Basic Rules
You can search the Internet or the newsstands in June and July, and you’ll find a wealth of information about fantasy football and fantasy football leagues. Most of it is statistics. Miles and miles of statistics. And most sites and magazines claim to offer more than all the others. What few offer, though, is sound advice on how to be successful every year. So, visit all the sites and magazines for your stats, but search no more for the secret to winning, because here it is.
I have played in extremely competitive fantasy football leagues for 15 years. I’ve missed the playoffs only twice, and I’ve been to three fantasy bowls. I won more games and scored more points than any other team in my league’s history. Now, I’ll give you my strategy, and it won’t cost you a dime. Here is the three-step formula for winning in fantasy football year in and year out.
The first step is to draft for depth. It sounds easy enough, but many people in my league focus on getting their starters, and the rest of the draft is nothing more than throwing darts at names on a stat sheet. I’ve selected players beyond the seventh round (we have 14 rounds) who have led my team in scoring. I didn’t even have them targeted as starters; I just saw the potential, through all of the research I’d done. For example, take special notice of second and third-year wide receivers. They often go overlooked, because their numbers are not spectacular. Receivers take a year or two, before they adjust to the NFL. Chad Johnson is a great example. Also, watch for rookies who may explode late in the season, once they’ve grasped a system. Lee Evans was a star after week nine this past season.
Step two is to manage your team every week, down to the most minor details. If you’ve drafted for depth, you’ll have lineup decisions every week, because you’ll have a team full of players scoring points. Check their histories against weekly opponents (a vastly overlooked strategy by novices). Some players simply flourish against particular teams, just as some teams tend to score differently against certain defenses. This can definitely affect your weekly lineup decisions.
The third step is to watch the waiver wire and make two key trades. No matter how well you’ve drafted, near the end of the season, you’ll need to make changes. It’s time to trade away your depth for stars. Also, watch for available players to pick up — even if they may only help you for one week. I drafted both Domanick Davis and Chad Johnson last season. Later, I traded both, so I could acquire LaDanian Tomlinson. This simplified my weekly lineup decisions, while giving me a player who would score at least one TD every week.
If you stick to this simple formula, no matter what type of league you play in, you’ll make the playoffs 85 to 90 percent of the time. That’s not bad in any league.
Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, the first work of fiction, based on fantasy football. Learn more about this suspense thriller and Mark’s other work at http://www.sportsnovels.com
How To Get Hold Of Detroit Pistons Tickets
Watching a National Basketball Association (NBA) game is an exhilarating experience, especially if you’re watching it live and especially if you’re watching one of your favorite teams, like the Detroit Pistons, play. You can witness intense hard court action right in front of you. But how can you get a hold of a ticket to a Detroit Pistons game?
A ticket to a Detroit Pistons game, as for any NBA game, is sold through many ways. There are several options for a Pistons fan. First of all, you need to know the game schedule so that you can then choose which game or games you want to attend. Do you want to go to a game located nearby or are you more concerned about who the Pistons will be playing? Then of course you’ll want to think about what section, row, and seat you prefer to sit in. You can purchase Premium Seats if you don’t mind spending a little extra money and want to get close to the action. Here, you can have your picture taken with your favorite player or even get a signed autograph.
There are also ticket packages. The Season Plan grants you access to every Detroit Pistons game of the season, while the Half Season Plan grants you tickets to attend less games – you can choose to attend 5 or 10 games in this case. There are also ticket packages for Preseason, Regular Season, Playoffs, and Finals. Then of course there are special discounted tickets for large groups.
You can purchase single tickets or subscribe to an aforementioned plan through direct sellers or retailers – and it is common for people to buy tickets via the Internet. Some websites even offer images of the stadium so a basketball fan can handpick the most ideal seats.
It is easy to purchase tickets online and some websites and dealers even offer memberships on top of normal ticketing services, which allow you to take advantage of special discounts and giveaways, especially during the holiday season. Another benefit of buying tickets through a website, is information regarding events, venues, dates, and times are easy to retrieve as well.
Be cautious though. You might inadvertently buy counterfeit tickets. The team’s official website will instruct you on how to determine the difference between authentic and fake tickets.
After you’ve purchased your tickets, the next step is to enjoy the game!
Jack Peterson has an interest in Sports related topics. To access more information on nba basketball tickets or on ncaa basketball tickets, please click on the links.