The main professional American football association is the National Football League. The championship game of the National Football League is the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the most watched American broadcast. Most of the popular singers and musicians perform during the game’s pregame and halftime ceremonies. The day of the SuperBowl game is known as Super Bowl Sunday and is considered a de facto American national holiday. After Thanksgiving, SuperBowl Sunday is the biggest food consumption day in the United States.

Exclusive television broadcast rights for SuperBowl Sunday rotate among the major US television networks. Commercial airtime for the SuperBowl cast is the most expensive due to its high viewership. Companies periodically develop the best and most expensive advertising for this program, since it costs them the most. Another significant aspect of the event is the viewing and discussion of the broadcast commercials.

The SuperBowl was started as part of the merger agreement between the NFL and the American Football League on January 15, 1967. There was a contract between the two leagues that they would play in an AFL-NFL championship game until completion of the merger. Each league became a “conference” after the merger of the two leagues in 1970 and the game was played between the conference champions. The name SuperBowl was coined by Lamar Hunt, the former owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and a founding member of the American Football League. He named it after watching his children play with a Super Ball. Each game in Super Ball is identified by Roman numerals instead of the year in which it takes place. In 1967, SuperBowl I was held to decide the 1966 regular season champions, while Super Bowl XLIV will be played to decide the 2009 regular season champion in 2010.

The Dallas Cowboys hold the honor of having appeared in the most Super Bowls, eight times. It is the Pittsburgh Steelers who have won more Super Bowls than anyone else. They credit six victories in their graph. Of the 32 NFL teams, seventeen have won at least one SuperBowl. Among the 32, 5 NFL franchises have not appeared in the SuperBowl. These five are the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. But the Browns and Lions were the champions in the pre-Super Bowl era. After the start of the Super Bowl era, the Jaguars, Saints, and Texans were associated with the league.

The 44th annual Super Bowl in professional American football is Super Bowl XLIV. Its headquarters is Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is the tenth time that South Florida has hosted the Super Bowl. Five of the ten games were played at Dolphin Stadium, while the remaining five were played at the Orange Bowl. The championship will be on February 7, 2010. The game will be broadcast on CBS in the US with coverage of its 50th NFL season.

New York’s only representative in the 2006 Home Run Derby was fan favorite David Wright. After a rush of sixteen home runs in the first round, Wright was only able to hit six more home runs over the course of the next two rounds, eventually falling to Ryan Howard of the Phillies 5–4 in the finale. Fortunately for the Mets, this will be the only time this season that the Phillies will win anything. Sitting 12 games behind the division-leading Mets, Philly Faithful may not have much to remember this season except for Ryan Howard’s home run derby title. Howard and the Phillies snap back to reality on Thursday, but for one day at least, they’re the champs.

Howard put in a big push to reach the final round, hitting 10 home runs in the second round for a two-round total of 18, tying Wright and beating David Ortiz and Miguel Cabrera. Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Howard was one of three players to hit a ball on a fly into the Allegheny River. Howard looks like he’ll be one of the league’s big hitters for a long time, as he’s hit 28 home runs during the All-Star break. As badly underperforming as his team may be, at least Howard and his teammate Bobby Abreu can take solace in the fact that they’ve won the past two home run derbies.

Although David Wright did not win, he did have a memorable experience at PNC Park. Wright’s 16 home runs in the first round were the third-most of any round in the derby’s 21-year history, though that was eight shy of Bobby Abreu’s record 24 last year in Detroit. Wright got to savor the experience with catcher Paul Lo Duca, as Wright selected Lo Duca to pitch for him. It marked the first time in derby history that a player selected a fellow All Star, and teammate, to pitch for him in the home run derby.

Tomorrow we have the American League and National League All-Star Game, where the National League looks to end the dominance of the American League for the last decade or so. I’m a little nervous about Kenny Rogers starting in the American League, as I think even a lower National League hitting lineup will hit him pretty well. I’m looking for the National League to take an early lead against the AL, but the AL players will eventually pull away in the middle and late innings.

Professional baseball unofficially begins with the annual spring training camps. The regular baseball season does not officially begin until Opening Day, which usually occurs the first week of April; however, leading up to that iconic day, there are usually six weeks of training that help determine what the official season of baseball will look like.

Spring training typically lasts six weeks, from mid-February through opening day. The first players to report are pitchers and catchers because pitchers benefit from a longer training period to warm up their arms and get into a rhythm. They usually get a few days ahead of the rest of the team before team practice begins.

Major League Baseball teams conduct their spring training in cities other than their home base. Since 2010, the 30 major league teams have been split with half in Florida and half in Arizona. Teams that hold spring training in Florida are called “Grapefruit League” teams; teams that practice in Arizona are called “Cactus League” teams.

Teams training in Florida will play their exhibition games against the other teams training in Florida regardless of their league affiliation during the regular season. The same goes for teams that hold their workouts in Arizona.

During this time period, teams may play college teams, minor league baseball clubs, intersquad games where one of the major league teams is divided into two groups and play against each other as if they were two separate teams, and split -Team games where the team splits into two and only half of the players will play that particular game.

Although statistics are recorded during spring games, they are not combined with statistics from regular season games, and any record-breaking performances during regular seasons do not qualify if accomplished during spring training. However, these statistics are often evaluated when teams look to assign starting roles and roster spots for the start of the regular season.

Below is a list of Major League Baseball teams and where they are currently holding their spring training.

Florida (Grapefruit League)
Atlanta Braves in Orlando, Florida
Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota, Florida
Florida Marlins in Jupiter, Florida
Houston Astros in Kissimmee, Florida
Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida
New York Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida
Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Florida
Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Florida
St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida
Washington Nationals in Viera, Florida
Arizona (Cactus League)
Arizona Diamondbacks in Tucson, Arizona
Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona
Colorado Rocky Mountains in Tucson, Arizona
Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix, Arizona
San Diego Padres in Peoria, Arizona
San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Arizona

A lot of fans enjoy coming to spring training games because it seems to be a bit more of a casual environment and you get to see teams play each other that they wouldn’t play each other in the regular season. Players are also more open to meeting fans and signing autographs. The atmosphere is relaxed and everyone seems to be able to kick back and enjoy themselves during spring training, players and fans alike.

It’s probably no coincidence that both states hosting spring training camps are warm-weather states. Fans love to attend not only for the relaxed atmosphere where they can see their favorite players up close; they can also enjoy the weather and other touristy things to do while there. However, be prepared to shell out some cash, because these games are not free to play, and parking is often paid for as well.

If you’re a baseball fan and can’t wait until the regular season, these spring training games and practices are a wonderful way to get involved in the big game of baseball.

The dance competition industry has reached a height of technological innovation in recent years. Dance competitions have always been a place for dancers and studios to come and show off their skills and passions. That being said, just like any performance medium and art culture, there is a great deal of organization and preparation behind the scenes. Traditionally and only until recently, all the organization, preparation, registration and programming of dance competitions has been done manually and manually. Doing the job by hand was the most efficient way for a long time, but also the only way we knew how. Registration forms would be typed and printed, collected, mailed, downloaded, reprinted, etc., etc. Any industry that has based its services on this type of business model has to adapt to the times or suffer conscience. People today want to be able to complete tasks at exponentially faster rates than ever before, and the longer it takes, the more unhappy we become. Since the inception of the Internet, our ability to send and receive data wirelessly has flourished. It makes sense that the dance competition industry would also flourish.

There are numerous technologies available today that benefit dance competitions throughout North America.

Online registration systems

Dance competitions now have the ability to use online registration systems that are built into their websites. These systems allow studios to create an online profile. These profiles will contain all the studio information and all the dancers, teachers, choreographers in that studio. The studio can then; Register students for different competition locations, register desired routines for students, and then pay instantly online. The entire process has gone from potentially taking weeks to minutes.

Automated scheduling and tabulation systems

In addition to being able to migrate all of the registration needs of a competition online, we are still left with all of the scheduling and scoring tabulation that takes place within the dance competition industry. Today, without a software system, things are again mostly done by hand using programs like Excel. Excel has been a great support for competitions when it comes to programming, but when you have hundreds of routines to program and you have to manually make sure there are no repeat dancers, all the timings are correct and things are exactly perfect, everything can add. to a great nightmare. There are now automated scheduling and tabulating systems available for dance competitions. These systems sync up with the current Online Registration System that the competition is using to get everything back; registration, location and study information. At this point, programming becomes a breeze. The competition can now easily design and maneuver the schedule for each location. Never worry about dancer conflicts again as the color codes will automatically alert you if a dancer has their back turned. Now just save and print. Again, new technology has allowed dance competitions to reduce the process of scheduling an event that could have taken days to minutes.

The way competitions tabulate and award prizes is always unique and the prize structure is often the defining characteristic of the competition. With an Automated Scheduling+Tabulation System, the unique character and culture of a competition is catered for, while the ability to tabulate scores is made quick and easy. The judges’ scores are now delivered to the tabulator which has a computer running Automated Scheduling + Tabulation software, then the scores are entered into the system and instantly calculated with the specific award assigned for that point range. Tabulating has never been better!

Automated scheduling and tabulating systems can also create custom reports that fully reflect all aspects of the reports a competition may have been using!

Video

Getting affordable, high-quality professional videos of a dance competition hasn’t been easy. But with advances in camera technology and multimedia integration with the Internet, solutions are emerging quickly. Dance competitions can now film high-quality footage of their competition and routines that can be sorted and organized by routine and uploaded to the competitions website. No more outdated DVDs and VHS tapes. All video of a competition along with audio from the judges will be available on your own website with the ability to sell or give away as the competition sees fit. Never before in history have dance competitions been able to share their show and performance with a global audience with such ease and brilliance.

It is always vital that companies that design and develop these types of systems and software can do it all. There have been many companies that are tackling one aspect of the dance competition industry, but it is rare that one company offers solutions for the full range of the dance competition industry. Dance Comp Genie has done just that. Dance Comp Genie is a software development company that has created solutions to all of the above with their state of the art systems designed specifically for dance competitions.

History of the curling iron Is there such a thing or is the curling iron just a modern invention? Every generation is the same. We think we have invented something new when perhaps all we have done is modify “old inventions” by applying modern technology. Let’s start digging into the history of the curling iron, or as it’s also known, the curling iron.

Let’s start with the definition of a curling iron. It is a tool, a cylindrical metal apparatus, used to change the structure of the hair by applying heat to a strand that has been curled around it. It is natural to think with a modern mind and assume that heat is generated by electricity. However, the curling iron dates back long before the introduction of electricity.

We only have to look at the carvings of the ancient world to see that people cared about the style of their hair and that a popular style was to create curls. Babylonian and Assyrian men dyed their hair and square beards black and curled and curled them with curling irons. Persian nobles also curled their hair and beards, staining them very often.

Egyptian noblemen and women kept their hair close-cropped, but later, to maintain coolness and cleanliness in their hot climate, they shaved their heads. On ceremonial occasions, to protect themselves from the sun, they wore wigs. Wigs would be short and curly or long and full of curls or braids. The Science Museum has an example of the curling tongs used by wealthy Egyptians to prepare their wigs.

In classical Greece it is known that the upper classes used curling irons.

Many methods have been devised over time to curl the hair and hold the curl in place. For example, in 1906 Charles L. Nessler, a German hairdresser working in London, applied a borax paste and curled hair with a flat iron to produce the first permanent waves. This expensive process took twelve hours. Eight years later, Eugene Sutter adapted the method by creating a dryer that contained twenty heaters to do the job of crimping more efficiently. Sutter was followed by Gaston Boudou, who modified Sutter’s dryer and invented an automatic roller. By 1920, Rambaud, a Paris beautician, had perfected a system of curling and perming hair for softer, looser curls using an electric hot-air dryer, an innovation of the time by Racine Universal Motor. Company of Racine, Wisconsin. A significant breakthrough came in 1945, when the French chemist Eugene Schueller of L’Oréal Laboratories combined the action of thioglycolic acid with hydrogen peroxide to produce the first permanent cold wave, which was cheaper and faster than earlier processes. in hot. To control the amount of curl, variable diameter winding rods were used. Technology for holding hair in place advanced in 1960 when L’Oréal Laboratories introduced a polymer hairspray to serve as an invisible net.

The curling iron has remained a favorite tool despite all the chemical inventions. We have moved on from metal rods heated by insertion into hot coals or heating on gas or electric stoves. Without control of the heat of the iron, there must have been many instances of singed hair, not to mention burned fingers and scalp! Today’s styles demand more control and flexibility of styling hair with loose hair rather than “glued in place.” Electric heated and electronically controlled irons and flip flops are now available. The barrels come in different sizes that allow for finishing tight or loose curls. Some have a smooth, easy-glide ceramic barrel to create a super-smooth finish, and you can also buy curling tongs with a cone-shaped clip to create loose waves and tousled curls. The fluctuation in hair styles from curly to straight and back means manufacturers will continue to dream up new innovations to appeal to both professional stylists and the consumer.

So who “invented” the curling iron? You will inevitably find many references to “invented” and “patented by” or “introduced by”. The original inventor is lost in the mists of time, but examples of the above award are:

In 1866, Hiram Maxim, who designed the machine gun that bears his name, applied for and was awarded the first of many patents at age 26 for a hair curler.

Four years later, in 1890, two Frenchmen, Maurice Lentheric and Marcel Grateau, used hot air dryers and heated tongs to create deep, long-lasting Marcel waves.

However, the straightening comb is credited with being first invented by the late 19th century French hairdresser Marcel Grateau, who also invented the curling iron, the permanent wave, and later the Gillette safety razor, which became popular in Germany after World War I.

In related developments, Rene Lelievre and Roger Lemoine invented an electric curling iron in 1959.

Theora Stephens patented the curler/presser on October 21, 1980.

In August 1987, the Wahl Clipper Corporation introduced the ZeeCurl to the professional market. This flat barrel curling iron gave stylists a tool to create new hairstyles with Z-curls, adding texture and body to all hair types. In 1988, FrenZee, the consumer version, was added.

There is no doubt that fashion will demand and dictate new innovations to ensure the continuation of the curling iron story.

Rodger Creswell

During the 1970s and 1980s, Topps and O-Pee-Chee were the only kids on the hockey card block. Topps first entered the hockey card market with the 1954-55 series. Between 1951-52 and that set, Parkhurst was the only manufacturer to provide the product. The two would run together for over a decade, splitting the six-team league down the middle. Parkhurst featured card players from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Montreal Canadiens. Topps featured players from the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers. In 1963-64 Parkhurst produced its last series. O-Pee-Chee had originally produced cards in the 1930s and 1940s, but went on hiatus until resurrected in the 1960s.

Besides the obvious, like labels on the back indicating who the manufacturer was, there are a number of ways to tell a Topps card apart from its O-Pee-Chee counterpart in an era when the two were basically clones of each other.

Topps hockey cards were printed on slightly different paper or card. Topps generally had darker colors at the back. Topps cards were also prone to what I call ‘Topps blemish’. The greasy fingerprints were quite prominent and permanent on the back of the Topps cards. Topps’s card fronts seemed to be shinier than his cousin’s cards.

The 1971-72 series is a radical exception to the rule. The fronts are the same on the Topps and O-Pee-Chee cards, but the reverse is quite different. Topps have a green and yellow colored reverse and are oriented with the print at the shortest width. OPC hockey cards face opposite on the back and are pastel green and black.

The number of cards is much higher in the O-Pee-Chee series. This is understandable given that O-Pee-Chee is a Canadian company that sells products to the hockey-hungry Canadian market. The reciprocal was in effect for baseball cards during the same era, and the Topps games were much larger than the OPC series.

One major difference that makes the difference between Topps and O-Pee-Chee identifiable unmistakable is the language on the back of the card. The informational blurb on Topps cards is in English only, while OPC is in both English and French. Interestingly, on the O-Pee-Chee cards, sometimes the information was different in English than in French.

Topps is currently off the market. O-Pee-Chee exists but in name only, really. Upper Deck is behind the OPC brand now and the cards are no longer produced in London, Ontario, Canada.

Who will forget Sandra Bullock’s constant complaining to coach Burt Cotton in the Academy Award-winning film The Blind Side? The story of Michael Oher and his journey to the NFL is a moving one, and now it might be time to start a sequel. Coach Cotton in the movie is actually Coach Hugh Freeze, a Mississippi native who landed his dream job today when he was named the new head football coach at the University of Mississippi.

A 1992 Southern Mississippi graduate, Freeze landed his first coaching job at Briarcrest Christian School (the real name of Wingate Christian School from the film) that same year. He was the team’s offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach before being named head coach in 1995. Freeze won two state titles (2002 and 2004) at Briarcrest and was named Region 8-AA Coach of the Year five times and Region 8-AA Coach of the Year. Associated Press of the Year six times.

Freeze then followed his standout offensive lineman, Oher, to Mississippi where, in 2005, he became assistant athletic director for football external affairs. The next season he would become the tight ends coach and scouting coordinator, positions he held until 2007 when then-head coach Ed Orgeron was fired. In 2008, Freeze found himself coaching at NAIA Lambuth University (TN), where he went 20-5 in two seasons, including a perfect 11-0 regular season in 2009. The school went to its first playoff game in 11 years. and finished the year at 12.-1 and the sixth ranked team in the entire NAIA.

In 2010, Freeze joined the Arkansas State coaching staff as offensive coordinator and after Steve Roberts resigned at the end of the season, Freeze was named the new head coach. The Red Wolves have thrived under Freeze’s potent spread offense, but, surprisingly, they’ve also been very good on defense, ranking 15th in the country in scoring defense at 19.3 points per game.

Freeze inherits a team that didn’t win an SEC game this year, going 0-8 in conference and 2-10 overall, one of the wins against FCS (formerly Div. I-AA) of the South. Illinois. With a defense ranked near the bottom of FBS in several categories and an offense that isn’t much better, the task ahead will be mighty, but Freeze has won everywhere he’s been. He is busy assembling his staff, and his receiving coach Grant Heard and defensive line coach Chris Kiffin will reportedly follow him from Arkansas State to his new home in Ole Miss.

The Ballon d’Or is an award given by UEFA and France Football magazine, while “The Best” is awarded by FIFA, the ethically questioned referee of the world’s most popular sport. Though prestigious as degenerates, both awards are nothing more than tangible accolades from the writers and pundits (confederation administrators, coaches, soccer team captains, fans, etc.) whose opinions and votes were solicited. At present, both awards have become a selfish first beyond the post, as no one embodies the toxic and political nature of both awards than the recipients of the past decade. Comparisons of soccer players between and within soccer leagues (for these awards) is a guilty pleasure for fans. Like most sports awards, fans will always root for their favorites, but unlike many others, it’s hard to make a statistical case that one player is more valuable than another. The point is that computers are like machines. One part, important as it is, cannot function properly without the other. That makes the award merely a measure of prolific goal scoring, but as any coach will tell you, that’s probably not enough to run a successful soccer team. Comparisons between football players are essentially what makes trading cards, trading cards and fantasy football so popular, but there should be no place for them in an official capacity. And how can we improve what we currently have? The basic truth is that we cannot, unless the awards are suspended due to the following reasons:

Soccer is a team sport – the debate about individual soccer players among soccer fans is fun, but in a team sport with so many leagues, such individuality is impossible to accurately measure. Soccer (as we all know) is a team sport where eleven men from two separate squads of players compete against each other for a trophy or, in modern times, to get a paycheck at the end of it all. All soccer teams require world-class goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers (with supreme talent) to excel and win at the national level. [EPL, Serie A etc.]continental [CAF, UEFA Champions League] and intercontinental [FIFA Club World Cup] trophies No player or position is expendable or superior to the other as all must work in unison to achieve a common goal. Most of the great attackers of today (and of yesteryear) would probably make terrible defenders and goalkeepers and most of the great defenders and goalkeepers could be terrible attackers and midfielders in the game. It feels wrong to constantly elevate a particular set of soccer players over their teammates because of their position on the field of play. Soccer games are taken ‘in first place’, by the goals scored by the forwards, midfielders, defenders of a team and ‘in second place’, by the (potential) goals of the opposition saved by the defenders and the goalkeeper of that same team. No player really wins a game without anyone’s help, except playing all positions simultaneously, being in their penalty area defending and deflecting opponents’ shots on goal and at the same time running to score all kinds of goals in the box. rival penalty. Most FIFA and UEFA singles winners perform brilliantly when their team’s style of play and passing is tailored to them, giving them freedom like no other team could. Most coaches strive to fit 11 players into the best team instead of having to fit the best 11 players into one team. There is a reason why world-renowned coaches like Arsene Wenger and José Mourinho have categorically scorned and criticized such individual awards in a team-based sport.

Attacking bias: FIFA and UEFA award winners (currently and in the past) are (almost) always players who play close to the opponent’s goal, such as forwards and attacking midfielders, allowing them to score a lot of goals while they rely on their teammates (defenders and goalkeeper) to prevent the opposing team from scoring and winning the match. In football it is widely known and accepted that the attack wins matches but the defense wins titles and trophies. Very few defenders and goalkeepers are recognized for their performance on the pitch and the dirty work they do (so that their attacking teammates in the opposite goal can get the ball to score). It’s pretty disheartening that attackers are so much better paid than defenders and goalkeepers. Goalkeepers are often the least paid on a soccer team, even with the alarming level of scrutiny directed at them, which raises the question of why anyone would choose to be a goalkeeper. No one has really found a way to compare the value of goalies to outfield players, to the detriment of goalies. Should a goal saved by a goalkeeper be treated as a goal scored by a striker? How much should quality defenders influence our judgment of a goalkeeper and how much should quality midfielders influence our judgment of a forward? There is no denying the fact that some players improve the overall quality and effectiveness of certain teams, but even then, such extraordinary players could not win anything for their respective teams if, for example, the goalkeeper spills every shot thrown at him. does the opposition. The beauty of modern football is such that each player (except the goalkeeper) is minimally obliged to score goals at any time, in any way and when it pleases him or (to a certain extent) his coach, which makes the fact The fact that individual awards are only given to offensive players does a lot of damage to their teammates and the sport.

There are no specific criteria in the delivery of prizes: There are no specific criteria in the delivery of individual prizes to players by UEFA and FIFA in the soccer competitions played. Most fans and administrators don’t know which competitions: the domestic league (EPL, La Liga, Serie A), the continental leagues (UEFA Champions League, as all individual FIFA winners are based in Europe) or international tournament (FIFA World Cup) – Player performances have top priority when compiling nominees for FIFA and UEFA individual awards. Although most of the nominees and winners of these awards play for soccer teams that are champions in their national leagues or champions in the UEFA Champions League or champions in the World Cup (in a world cup year) with their countries, some winners of such awards play for clubs and countries that were not champions in national, continental and international tournaments. Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or in 2010/2011 (because he scored 91 goals in one year) without winning the Spanish League or the Champions League with Barcelona or the World Cup with Argentina, surpassing other serving players who won at least one of the mentioned competitions

It Breeds Individualistic and Selfish Footballers: In the pursuit of individual FIFA awards, some players forgo teamwork and effort, preferring to play alone on the pitch, to show off (as the fans would say), to the detriment of the team. These players don’t care if the team is winning or losing a game, as long as they score goals, increase their goal tally, and compete for prizes by shooting on goal instead of passing the ball to a higher-ranked teammate, taking each set. -piece – free kicks, penalties, corner kicks – awarded in a game even when they have bad records taking such a set piece. This creates instances where a player wins Ballon d’Or or player of the year awards because he has the most goals in the football season plus 5 or 6 man of the match performances and some impressive ones. Highlight the season reels as your team finishes that season trophyless and second in the competition finals.

In conclusion, if there are to be individual awards (for whatever odd reason), they should be based on objective criteria such as number of goals scored (best striker), number of saves (best goalkeeper) or number of tackles made (best defender) etc. Even that wouldn’t make much sense because, again, scoring a goal is a team effort. No player can score a goal without the help of his teammates. And yes, even solo goals require team efforts. Therefore, it becomes unfathomable why the governing body of soccer, FIFA, would hand out these awards that are destructive to the very nature of the sport that it is supposed to regulate. FIFA shouldn’t lend its name to a beauty pageant.

The NBA All-Star Game has slowly become one of the most popular contests. If you haven’t seen it, here are the starting lineups and reserves for the NBA All-Star:

West:

Starters: PG Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
SG Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
SF Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
C Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)

This:

Starters: PG Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics)
SG Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)
SF Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
PF Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
C Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Allen Iverson (Philadelhia 76ers)

And here’s a list of the players with the top votes behind them:

Guards / Equipment / Vows
Vince Carter Orlando Magic 1,048,977
Ray Allen Boston Celtics 710,045
Derrick Rose Chicago Bulls 571,911
Gilbert Arenas Washington Wizards 545,860
Joe Johnson Atlanta Falcons 496,255

Forwards / Team / Votes
Chris Bosh Toronto Raptors 1,164,007
Paul Pierce Boston Celtics 525,677
Josh Smith Atlanta Falcons 475,671
Andre Iguodala Philadelphia 76ers 313,827
Danny Granger Indiana Pacers 309,808

Centers / Teams / Votes
Shaquille O’Neal Cleveland Cavaliers 856,056
Al Horford Atlanta Falcons 270,532
Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors 265,024

Other players receiving votes (West)
Guard Team Votes
Chris Paul New Orleans Hornets 1,055,789
Tracy McGrady Houston Rockets 1,022,492
Aaron Brooks Houston Rockets 591,930
Jason Kidd Dallas Mavericks 523,708
Manu Ginobili San Antonio Spurs 465,211

Forwards / Team / Votes
Dirk Nowitzki Dallas Mavericks 1,093,005
Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers 1,051,784
Kevin Durant Okl City Thunder 870,567
Trevor Ariza Houston Rockets 645,937
Luis Scola Houston Rockets 580,243

Centers / Teams / Votes
Andrew Bynum Los Angeles Lakers 981,355
Nene Denver Nuggets 364,543
Marc Gasol Memphis Grizzlies 353,155

Ok, now does my title make sense? Obviously, for media, tickets and television, this makes sense because people choose who they want to see. However, it is also quite stupid. Here is the definition of Athlete: it consists of athletes chosen as the best in their positions from all the teams in a league or region.

So how does a player like Iverson get started? I really like Iverson, he’s by far one of the best point guards ever, but not this year. How can he be the starting PG with stats like this: 14.4 PPG, 4.4 APG, only 19 total games played and his team is 14-28? Yes, he’s good, but there’s no way he deserves to start.

I’m still not convinced this is a popularity contest, look at T-Mac’s votes. He is my favorite player in the NBA, but it would be a terrible joke to say that he deserves to be on the list. To make matters worse, T-Mac outvoted Nash until last week. T-Mac has played in 6 complete games this year, averaging just 7.7 min in each of those games, going 3.2 PPG and just 1.0 APG.

And there are other examples of players who are also up there because they are more popular than others. So ask yourself: is it fair that these players who were great a couple of years ago are pushed ahead of the players who have earned it this year? After all, isn’t it a game to reward the players who have played the best this year? Otherwise I think next year I could vote for Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley.

History was made last weekend when both the South African teams, namely the Durban Coastal Sharks and the Pretoria Blue Bulls, won their semi-final matches against the two New Zealand teams, the Auckland Blues and the Canterbury Crusaders respectively. It doesn’t matter if the Bulls or the Sharks won the final game, the cup would still stay in South Africa. Well, they forgot to tell the crazy South African rugby fans. All 54,000 tickets for the game in Durban were sold out in a matter of hours on Monday and the whole country was divided between Sharks fans and Bulls fans.

The week was full of excitement and enthusiasm, and this was without a doubt the biggest rugby coup since 1995, when South Africa reached the World Cup final against New Zealand. We won that match and again, it looked like SA couldn’t lose now either. But, tickets were being sold on the black market, competitions were held with prize tickets, TV and radio stations were fixated on the Saturday game and urging the rugby public to phone in to the shows. Newspapers and magazines were full of rugby trivia and in pubs across the country the only conversation going on was about rugby. The whole country was in an uproar in the run up to the big game on Saturday.

Thousands of people took a day off from their workplaces to prepare and arrive early in Durban. Accommodations in hotels, hostels and bed and breakfast establishments were fully booked days in advance. Both supporters’ clubs made forecasts, posed challenges and prepared cars, clothing and everything that could be adapted to the official colors and symbols of the teams. On Friday, traffic fever began to descend on Durban. Cars with streamers, ribbons, flags and other paraphernalia were seen. Bottle shops and butcher shops were hard-pressed to keep up with the demand of aspiring partiers and braaiers. The big day had arrived.

The bookies had the Bulls slightly ahead as favourites, but the locals had nothing to do with it and the odds swung back and forth. Every pub, hotel, club and home in the country was packed with rowdy rugby fans. At 3:00 p.m. the whistle blew to start the big game, the clash of the titans.

The game was fast, hard, furious, aggressive, loud, heartbreaking, frantic, sizzling and any other adjective to describe the perfect conditions. The weather was glorious, the country united in its love of rugby, but divided into two very clearly defined camps of supporters.

Throughout the game, the Sharks seemed to be the better team, they were only a few points up, for most of the game, but it was always anyone’s game, since the scores were so close and as they say, “it’s not over until that the fat lady sings”. No one could have realized how prescient this harmless adage would turn out to be.

A fast, furious and frenetic game built to the most dramatic climax imaginable when, with just three minutes remaining, it looked as if the Sharks had clinched a victory against all odds when Albert van den Berg scored his second try, to put the Sharks up. 19 and the Bulls at 13. With just seconds left, the Sharks supporters came to life in a cacophony of congratulatory applause, but little did they realize they were about to change history.

Because of all the noise, no one heard the final horn, not even the referee. Play was allowed to continue an extra minute and a half. The Sharks had almost stopped playing, when the Bulls hit the ball, in an error not seen by the referee. He allowed them to continue and the Bulls caught the Sharks off guard and Bryan Habana scored a try for them. The scores now stood at 19 for the Sharks and 18 for the Bulls. The Sharks and all their supporters seemed stunned, shocked, incredulous and upset by this unfortunate event and almost begged and wished the ref would stop the game, disallow the try or at least consult with the tomo and match officials but to no avail. . He allowed the attempt.

The Bulls now had a chance to kick for the pole, for another 2 points and win the game. The stadium fell silent, everyone in attendance trying to grasp the magnitude of what was happening. At best, the Bulls could falter, forcing a draw and playing 20 more minutes. Please, miss, was the thought of half the country. Please get over it, were the thoughts of the other half of the country. Well, the Bulls did it, they won the game and they stole the trophy. The Bulls and their fans were absolutely delighted with the result, while the Sharks and their loyal fans were devastated. Many people were seen crying, some with joy, others with misery. That was it. Was over. Bulls fans rushed in for another celebratory drink. The Shark’s faithful followers stood still, their heads in their hands.

Actually, something strange happened after the match. The country was united in glory, with Bulls and Sharks supporters hugging and shaking hands and sharing braai fires across the country. Sharks fans admitted that the Bulls had won and Bulls supporters felt sorry for them and admitted that they were very lucky to have stolen the trophy in the dying seconds of the game. The important thing is that although the trophy will be held in Pretoria and not Durban, it will still be held in South Africa. You can not lose. It belongs to the whole country. The Super 14 tournament is considered the toughest and most physical rugby in the world and is a long tournament, lasting 16 weeks on 3 continents. The future also looks very bright. With rugby’s high standards and opposing provincial teams coming together so close to the World Cup, in a couple of months, this can only bode well for the Springboks. Will we take home the ultimate rugby trophy?

Game Cycle (taken from SA Rugby website)

Habana’s knockout was even more devastating for the Sharks, because even the Bulls and their staunchest of fans would have recognized that the home team had deserved to win a

epic match, worthy of the first final in South Africa. Not expected to face the blue bulldozer for the entire 80 minutes, the Sharks played with amazing passion and focus to get the Bulls out of their rhythm. John Smit and his men were literally like sharks in a feeding frenzy when it came time to break down; swarming in greater numbers and routing aggressively, to deny the Bulls the compelling momentum they like to rack up.

Sharks manager Dick Muir had clearly encouraged his charges to go for it, with the Sharks willing to go for it, from anywhere on the pitch and it almost worked, as the home team went ahead in front of one side of the Bulls, forced. in making mistakes.

The Bulls, having had the brunt of the first ten minutes, had scored an impressive try, through Pierre Spies, in the 12th minute, following a penalty into touch, a strong drive and a clean shot from Victor Matfield , but the threat of the ease with which it was scored soon dissipated, as Spies made a critical mistake, to leave the Sharks in front.

The Sharks intended to put pressure on the injured Fourie du Preez, through Ruan Pienaar and Butch James, and a heavy strike from the latter at scrum-half saw Spies panic and try to get a 50/50 pass to Akona Ndungane. . the ball went to JP Pietersen and the tournament’s top try-scorer picked up the pace to beat the wrong-footed Bulls to the goal line, 50 meters away.

Although Percy Montgomery missed the conversion, it was 8-7 after the first quarter and the flow was with the Sharks.

A eddy wind made conditions difficult and with Johan Roets and Percy Montgomery nervous under the high ball, it looked as if mistakes, as often happens in finals, would have a bigger influence than constructive plays.

Montgomery kicked a penalty to make it 11-7, but Derick Hougaard reciprocated to reduce the lead to one point (11-10).

An up-and-down paid dividends for the Sharks, as JP Nel was caught offside playing the ball after Roets hit him and Montgomery’s kick put the Sharks up 14-10 for good, after 34 minutes.

This was still the score at halftime, a point reached with the Sharks attacking hard, but in the second period, momentum began to turn the Bulls’ way. Hougaard missed a knockdown, then came up short with a long range penalty and a sharp break brought on by Gary Botha and followed up by Pedrie Wannenburg, was snuffed out right in the corner.

Ball possession and field position were beginning to favor the Bulls, but an excellent piece of recycling fell through when James made a hard tackle on Wynand Olivier, while he

crashed inside Matfield.

However, the Sharks were forced to concede a penalty and Hougaard stepped up to make it 14-13, early in the fourth quarter.

However, the Sharks’ tackle was nothing short of heroic, with the Bulls tending to put the ball away too quickly, plus Jaco van der Westhuyzen missing an easy 10-metre drop attempt and Butch James getting off scot-free with a cruel Knock-on behind his own line, as the bouncing ball sailed away from him, the crescendo rising from the ramparts of King’s Park signaled that most fans were beginning to feel a night of celebrations, in the biggest braai of the world.

This confidence was not misplaced. The Sharks had put their well-trained pick-and-go back to work and a touch penalty allowed Johann Muller to claim the lineout and launch a potent attack. The Sharks were stopped, once, twice and then Albert van den Berg, instead of Johan Ackermann, reached that springy body of his, over the side and squeezed the ball over the line.

There might have been doubt as to whether Van den Berg had placed or rolled the ball over the line, but not in the minds of referee Steve Walsh (who, it must be said, had an excellent game) who raised his hand to concede a try.

The score was 19-13 and with Montgomery replaced, he fell to Francois Steyn to try to add the two extra points that, with three minutes to go, would have put the Bulls two points behind.

But, Steyn missed and that meant the Bulls could still win, with a converted try, but to do that they had to maintain ownership of the ball and the problem was that the battered latex oval was with the Sharks.

But then James, followed by Steyn, made crucial mistakes, failing to get the ball in contact on panicked punts and with Van der Westhuyzen and Ndungane making spirited runs, the Bulls stormed into the red zone.

In a ruck, it looked as if the Bulls had the ball taken from them, but somehow it emerged from their side and frantically passed from hand to hand, appearing to pose no real threat, before a speculative wide pass to the right. , from Adams, arrived in Havana and the fast winger fell back from the 5-meter dotted line, crossed the 15-meter line, and then suddenly straightened with his left foot, to cross and fly over the line, with the clock marking 81 minutes and 36 seconds.

Hougaard had yet to secure the conversion, but although the Sharks charged, were stopped by the ref and stood idling in front of the kicker, Pretoria’s ‘Liefling’ did not miss, to give the Bulls the most unlikely of wins. and provide a home for the Super 14 Trophy in Pretoria.