Boston Red Sox

With 27 games to go on Sept. 1st, the Sox were in first place with a nine game lead over the Devil Rays; not making the playoffs didn’t even seem like a possibility.  Losing 17 out of 22 games will change any team’s fortunes; while they have suffered some injuries to their pitching staff, even with a patched together rotation they should have been able to win at least 10 of those games just with their very expensive and explosive lineup.  But so far that very expensive and supposedly explosive lineup has been nowhere to be found.   Years of relying on high prized big name free agents has seemed to catch up with the Red Sox as their lack of depth is hurting them when they need it the most.   Highly sought after free agents Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford have done little during September to ease the team’s slid; Carl Crawford may go down as one of the worst free agent signings ever as he is hitting only .255 this season with 11 home runs and only 18 stolen bases.  That is not a good sign for a player in his first of a seven year contract worth $142 million; imagine how productive he will be in four years once he has lost most of his speed.  Instead of blowing that money on Crawford they should have let him go to the rival Yankees and instead spend that money on some much needed pitching depth.  When a knuckleballer a few years past forty is your third best starting pitcher then you have some serious problems, it is amazing that they didn’t try to at least add more depth at some point, that would have come in handy about now. 

Mike Tyson

Tyson started to compete in amateur boxing at 15. Even at this early stage, he already showed some habit of knocking people out. He held the record of the fastest knock out win, ever: 8 seconds. At 18, he won the national Golden Gloves championship-heavyweight division. He turned pro at 19 and rocked the world of boxing right away. Thirty-eight wins in succession, all but 4 of them inside the distance. These four survivors, obviously, had the common sense of using their feet to run instead of their hands to fight.

On November 22, 1986, he became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. He wrested the title from Trevor Berbick, who couldn't take much more punishment from Tyson after 2 rounds. His knock out record of 44 out of 50 wins ranks at the top of the all-time list. It seemed the mere shadow of his glare could already stun his prey. Those who watched on TV his fight against Peter McNeely in 1995, for example, would recall the pre-fight ritual in the middle of ring where the referee mumbled the rules and asked the fighters to acknowledge each other with a glove shake. For a minute or two Tyson did not move a muscle except his eyes-they followed McNeely as he tensely shifted his body weight from left to right.

McNeely grinned for what the viewers felt was cover for fear. When the bell rang, he charged at Tyson and got himself tagged instead. He was out in the first round. There is another side of Tyson's story, however. Quite arguably still captive of his past, he easily got himself into trouble with the law. That kept him out of boxing at several points of his career, the longest period being the one in which he served time from 1992 to 1994 for conviction from charges of rape.

It was not good for his boxing career. After defending his title 11 times in more than 3 years before losing it to Buster Douglas in 1990, he did manage to recapture it from Frank Bruno 6 years later. But people knew that his time as a prizefighter was up. Seven of his last 12 fights ended either in defeat or no contest. After Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams and Kevin McBride beat him the way he beat the rest-by knock-out.

Boxing Bests

 The Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier match dubbed as "The Thriller in Manila" should be mentioned first for the top slot. Ali himself described this fight as one that sent him as close to death as he had ever been. Both men threw venomous punches which made the fight one of the best that boxing had ever seen. After the fight, neither man was ever the same.

There are at least several other Ali fights that would qualify as "best" but this one stands out. How about Sugar Ray Robinson's fights when he defeated Henry Armstrong, Jake La Motta, Carmine Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Carl Olsen, Randy Turpin, Rocky Graziano, Kid Gavilin and Fritzie Zivic? The long list tells why he deserves to be included. Defeating the best boxers is equivalent to fighting the best fights. This list includes a few of the many Hall of Fame Champions whom Sugar Ray fought against and defeated. Just pick any of these fights and you get the best.
Rocky Marciano achieved one of the best boxing knockouts when he smashed Jersey Jo Walcott to the canvas. In fact, had Walcott been an ordinary person, he would have been decapitated. Among other of Marciano's fights eligible to be considered best are his winning fights against Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore.
Add to your list of the best boxing knockouts the Diego Corrales vs. Juan Luis Castillo match. This fight, giving Diego Corrales the WBC lightweight crown in May 2005 was a full recipe of battering blows, lightning combinations and underhand tactics. What's amazing about this best boxing fight is the fact that Corrales had been knocked down twice and still won. He spat out his gumshield after each knockdown to gain additional recovery time. Corrales needed more rounds to deliver his so-called "perfect" right hand that sent Castillo down in Round 10.
Of course it would be unfair not to put the Mickey Ward vs. Arturo Gatti fight in the list. This match was considered one that brought back memories from a golden era of boxing. After a decade of controversies in the boxing world, this "Fight of the Century" helped revive boxing's flagging fortunes. This 2002 event sent the two fighters into a brawl that was so reminiscent of the old days, with Ward sending Gatti down in the ninth round with his ferocious left.
The Julio Cesar Chaves vs. Meldrick Taylor fight truly belongs to the "best" list, and truly astonishing at that! These two talented fighters went at it for almost the full twelve rounds. You were asking why almost? It is because Chavez, who was behind on points, was able to steal the victory over Taylor only in the last two seconds of Round 12. If this fight doesn't qualify for the best then what does?
The 1981 Las Vegas match between "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns deserves to be included in the row. Fighting for the welterweight title, the speed of "Sugar" Ray met the devastating power of the "Hit Man". In one of the toughest boxing fights ever, Hearns who had the advantage of his huge reach was well ahead of Leonard by the 12th round. In spite of having a badly swollen left eye, however, "Sugar Ray" got his act together and started to use the full advantage of his superior speed. In a battle of speed against power, Leonard cut loose in the 14th and won by a KO.
It would make the list incomplete if Manny Pacquiao didn't figure in here somewhere. Recognized as being the best pound for pound fighter in the world, any of Pacquiao's title fights would qualify for this list of greatest fights. It would be a pleasure to watch this Filipino lefty again as he defeats boxing greats like David Diaz, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar de la Hoya and his demolition of Ricky Hatton.
Many more could be added to the list, both from the "old" fighters and the newer ones. The best boxing fights are filled not only with a display of strength, power and tactics, they are also loaded with emotions that could stir hope, unite people, and open new horizons to peoples and races.
The great fights of the past bring back legendary names such as Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and even the daddy of them all, John L. Sullivan. Then onto Randolph Turpin, Floyd Patterson and the great Cassius Clay, soon to become Muhammed Ali. Then into the modern era. Who can say who was best or what fights were the best ever. There are too many great ones, and those mentioned above are just a very small drop in a large ocean, with everybody having their own favorites.

Treating Sports Injuries

Hundreds of athletes sustain acute injuries everyday while participating in sports. An acute sports injury is one in which there is a specific mechanism of injury (hit by ball, plant and twist, collision with opponent) and an immediate onset of symptoms including swelling, pain, bleeding, and possible deformity.
A number of types of sports injuries can be considered acute including:
• Sprains (injury to ligaments)
• Strains (injury to muscles)
• Contusions (bruise)
• Subluxation (partial dislocation that reduces itself)
• Dislocation
• Fractures
If there are signs or symptoms of a serious injury (deformity, severe swelling and/or pain), emergency first aid should be provided while keeping the athlete calm and still until emergency service personnel arrive on scene.
However, most acute sports injuries can be treated safely at home using the P.R.I.C.E. principle. The acronym stands for:
• Protection
• Rest
• Ice
• Compression
• Elevation
The principles of P.R.I.C.E. should be used for the first 48 - 72 hours immediately after the injury. The goal during this time frame is to control the amount of swelling to the injured area, prevent further injury, and reduce pain. Following these principles can effectively reduce the amount of swelling in an injured area thereby reducing the amount of time required for rehabilitation.
Protection The first principle is protection. The purpose of protection is to avoid further injury to the area by protecting the injured structures. The type of protection used varies depending on the injured area but may include an ace bandage, aluminum splint, sling, protective tape, or over-the-counter brace.
These devices are applied so that the injured structures are protected from further injury. For example, an individual who recently suffered an ankle sprain may initially wear an ankle brace. A good ankle brace should protect the athlete from movements of inversion (movement of the ankle/foot inwards) and eversion (movement of the ankle/foot outwards) because those movements could further injure the damaged ligaments, but would allow the ankle/foot to move up and down.

Sports Injuries

Sport injuries occur to players while playing the game. Many of the sport injuries may occur due to too much strain of the body parts while participating in the sports activities. For example you can hurt your calf muscle and can have a sprain in your thigh muscles when you do excess of running in the football. Injuries in sports like football, hockey and rugby are very high as it involves direct collision of players while playing the game.
The dynamic nature of these sports also accounts for more injuries to the athletes. Mostly these injuries are characterized by bruise, muscle strain, and ligaments tear. These injuries when not treated at the right time can end the career of the athlete itself, so proper precaution and preventive measures should be taken by the athlete both on and off the field. Some of the common sports injuries that occur to athlete involved in soccer, cyclist and tennis players are runners' knee that causes pain in the front of the knee. It damages the structural orientation of the muscles in the knee and ultimately leads to ligament tear in the knee region.
A comprehensive and effective treatment method called RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) has been developed to deal with the runners knee problem. The above mentioned RICE treatment method is also followed to treat various injuries. The treatment to the sports injuries will depend on the specific source of the person's pain. Injuries are common to professional sports persons, and most teams have professional medical staff or team physical trainer to help them out in dealing with their injuries.
The concerned medical staff takes decision that could help a player to prolong his career as an athlete in spite of his injuries. Sports injuries have became a common thing in the professional athletes' life and athletic trainers hired by the team devise a perfect training and warm up activities to prevent and recover from these injuries. An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of athletic training.
Every individual athlete is required to consult the athletic trainers to devise their training schedule so that they can avoid injuries and prolong their career. The athletic trainers' help out the athlete to remain in the best physical shape by organizing the right amount of training activity including a balanced nutritious diet require by the athletes.
Even though sports are exciting to watch and play, the right precautions and preventive measure should be taken to tackle these injuries.