Peyton Manning

Following high school graduation, Manning decided to attend the University of Tennessee where he, once again, became a star quarterback for the team. While proving his skills on the field, Peyton Manning proved that he had equal skills in the classroom. Earning a BA in speech communication and graduating with honors was important to Manning, which is why he decided to put his football career on hold until he earned his degree.

As 1998 rolled around, Manning became a candidate for the NFL draft. The Indianapolis Colts welcomed Peyton Manning as their first pick in the draft and, as they say, the rest is history. Today, Peyton Manning is the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts where he has remained since his rookie season in the NFL.

On October 29, 2005, Manning's #16 University of Tennessee player number was retired as he, his mom, dad and wife were on hand along with a capacity crowd prior to the University of Tennessee Volunteers game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Everyone at Neyland Stadium watched as Manning's number was unveiled in the endzone. From 1994 to 1997, Peyton Manning played at the University of Tennessee where he broke nearly every passing record and led the team to 39 victories. Prior to the game, Peyton's PeyBack Foundation held a fundraiser, which raised over $12,000.00 to be used for funding grants and events involving disadvantaged youth in Knoxville.

On Friday, February 3, 2006, Peyton Manning was recognized as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. This award was named in recognition of the legendary Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton, who passed away in 1999. This award is the only one in the league to recognize a player's off-the-field community service in addition to his playing excellence. Connie Payton, the wife of Walter Payton, proudly presented the award. Fans around the nation celebrate Manning's accomplishments and achievements in football and in life.

When you think about Ervin "Magic" Johnson's game, you wonder how he could have been one of the best point guards in the history of the NBA. Magic lacked great speed his moves weren't exactly smooth or graceful, and he wasn't a great leaper. He wasn't exactly a great shooter as well. What he did do that was great, was play each moment of every game with one thought in his mind. He asked himself "What can I do, right now, to help my team win this basketball game?

During the 1980's nobody came up with the right answer more often than Magic did. 9 times in 12 seasons Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA finals. Five of those times the Lakers won the NBA championship. During three of those championship victories, Magic Johnson was awarded the MVP.

Interesting Facts About Magic Johnson:

One of Magic's most embarrassing moments was when he was leading the LA Lakers out of the locker room in his first basketball game ever as a Laker. He was so nervous that he forgot to tie the drawstring on his warm up pants, which caused him to fall flat on his face when he went out on the court to take his warm up shots. Every time that the Lakers played in Detroit, his mom made fried chicken and fixings for the whole team. Her sweet potato pie became tradition after the game. When Magic moved into his Bel Air mansion, the boy that lived next to him asked if Magic Johnson could play. The next thing the boy knew, Magic Johnson had grabbed a pair of shoes and was out shooting baskets with him!

Magic Johnson Timeline Biography

1980: Wins 1st NBA Championship trophy

1982: Averages an NBA best 2.7 steals per game

1987: Leads the league in assists for the 4th time

1991: Wins 2nd All Star MVP award

Other interesting facts about Magic Johnson:

As a child, Magic Johsnon belonged to the Boys and Girls Club in Lansing, Michigan. As an adult he supports their national organization and the Challenger Club of South Central Los Angeles. He also organizes a Mid Summer's night's Magic, a basketball game to benefit the United Negro College Fund. Since learning he was HIV positive back in 1991 he has set up the Magic Johnson AIDS foundation. Till this day Magic Johnson has done wonders for communities all over the world with his charitable efforts.

Pele

Soccer or football is a popular sport all around the world. One of the most famous players is from Brazil. He is known to millions of fans as Pele: the king of soccer or the soccer magician. Pele was born on October 23rd, 1940 in the city of Tres Coracoes.

Pele in his childhood practiced football tricks with a home made ball. He didn't even have shoes to play. He played with bare feet later. When he was eleven, he played for the team- Little America in Bauru. His team won the match because of a spectacular goal scored by Pele.

Pele was from a poor family. Therefore, he worked as a shoemaker at the railway station to help his family. Later, Santos team of Sao Paulo invited Pele to join their club when he was just fifteen. He played for Santos first team. Only in two months, he became so well known that he was chosen to be on Brazil's all star team.

Pele is the only player in the history of the game to have been a member of three world cup winning teams. He played for Brazil's All Star Team and won the World Cup for them three times in 1958, 1962 and 1970. No any player in the world has achieved this landmark. FIFA declared him as the greatest player in the history of the game alongside Diego Mara Dona in 2000. Pele has scored an amazing 1,283 goals which is the highest number of goals by an individual player till date.

Top dollar trading baseball cards

In the world of sports card and memorabilia collecting there are a few sought after pieces that hold a tremendous monetary and historical value to them. One of these cards is the T206 Honus Wagner vintage baseball card, considered to be the Holy Grail of all sports cards by some collectors. The main reason for this is due to the rarity and age of the card. It is rumored that there is possibly between 50 to 200 cards in existence only, and a few of them may still be lurking out there in the market place.

Honus Wagner, as depicted in the card itself, was a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates during what is referred to today as the 'dead ball" era. Considered to be one of the greatest players of the game, it is no surprise that between the years of 1909-1911 the American Tobacco Company (ATC) wanted to have Wagner's image put on a card as incentive for people to purchase their particular brand of tobacco. Wagner's picture was to be apart of the T206 series, but certain issues arose surrounding the authorization to use his image, which is what led to the low print numbers of his card.

There are two theories floating around that could explain the reason as to why Honus Wagner stopped production of his card. The first school of thought was based on Honus Wagner's personal ethical feelings about having fans that were children, purchasing cigarette packs in order to obtain his card; he did not feel that was right. The second school of thought has to do more with the fact that Wagner was said to be a very shroud negotiator and he did not like the compensation that was being offered to him by the ATC.

From January of 1909 the ATC looked for permission from the player themselves, in order to be included in the T206 series of cards, I believe the whole set had about 524 major league players at the time and roughly 76 of these players then went on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. The ATC was anxious to get Honus to be apart of their Ad campaign, seeing as he was rated one of the best players in the league at that time. Wagner had done previous Ad work with other companies such as, a gunpowder company, a soda drink company, as well as a chewing gum company. Whether it was his strong moral feelings, or his tough as nails negotiating skills, no one knows for sure why he actually put a stop to the printing of his cards, but it has kept his cards to a small number, which has now rocketed it's price value sky high.

One of the most notorious of all the Wagner cards has to be the "Gretzky T206 Honus" Card, mainly because of the story of how this particular card traded hands from an average collector, to a sports memorabilia shop, to a top sports memorabilia dealer; who later founded Mastro Auctions. The card then again changed hands to another prominent business man who was affiliated with George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees, long story short the Honus card ended up with a memorabilia collector named Copeland who eventually decided to sell off his entire personal baseball collection which consisted of around 873 pieces.

The Wagner card being apart of this collection, Mastro Auctions contracted Sotheby's New York, to take the collection on consignment. There was a lot of publicity surrounding this collection going up for sale, and it brought out a large number of hobbyist and curious a like. Many of the items that were up for sale went for much more than the estimated pre-auction price. The initial pre-auction price for the Honus card was set at around $114,000.00 but within minutes of the opening bid it had swelled to a whopping $451,000.00, which was paid by Mr. Wayne Gretzky and Mr. Bruce McNall who was the owner of the NHL team the L.A Kings, the pair purchased the card via phone in bidding. After this the card became known as the "Gretzky T206 Honus."

It was determined that the purchase of the card was orchestrated by Mr. McNall. He stated that if you purchase the best in the world, there will always be another buyer who would want to purchase the best as well, so it was bought as an investment for both individuals. Gretzky did eventually resell the card, and he of course made a profit, so I suppose in the end Mr. McNall's thoughts regarding the purchase of the Wagner card were correct. None of the other Wagner cards have been quite as successful in terms of having such a story to tell. The publicity that the Gretzky T206 drew to the existence of the card propelled the card even further into the collecting stratosphere. While the Gretzky card has great entertainment value, it is not the most expensive card to be sold. In fact, the most expensive card to be sold was indeed a Honus Wagner T206, and that took place on an eBay online auction put up by Robert Edward Auctions. The card sold for an insane $1.265 million! So in closing this card currently holds the world record for the most expensive baseball card

Golf

For the golfer, the simplest golf swing is the one that you have perfected. It may have cost you a lot of money to get where you are now, but the end result is satisfying. On the other hand, if you are new at golf, trying to learn how to swing a golf club with good results can be difficult. If you are teeing up, the best way to approach the ball is make direct contact with perfect body and eye coordination.

If you are amazed at the ability of Tiger Woods and other golfers who seem to have their swing down to a science, though you may never reach their ability, it is fun to keep trying. To have that great golf swing requires not only a lot of practice, but patience as well.

To hit the ball squarely on a consistent basis, a great deal of concentration is required. There will be times when everything seems to go right. Then for some reason, the very next time you are out on the course, it seems that every time you take a shot, it does not go where you had hoped. Such is the game of golf. They say that practice makes perfect, but in reality, knowing the proper techniques and practice would be more accurate to say. By repeatedly doing the same motions, you should be able to get to the point where you can be very competitive at the game of golf.

For the best results you should play the game of golf with those that are well experienced and well at the game. Rather than competing with them, you should be competing against yourself while at the same time asking for tips. The key to success is not to over-think the simplest golf swing. With consistent practice and reading articles, you will get the hang of it and eventually lower your handicap to an acceptable number

Tips for a Golf Beginner

Having great balance is a vital element in playing great golf.

The most important thing any pro will tell you about golf is that you need to achieve proper balance. It is immaterial whether you are putting or trying to drive 350 yards, you must maintain good balance. All good golfers have one thing in common. Great balance.

The usual cause of bad balance is over swinging or incorrect transfer of weight. Try and resist the temptation to over-hit the ball or swing for the fences. Allow your rhythm, timing and balance do the hard work. A good exercise is to stand on one leg with your eyes closed until you become unbalanced and then swap legs and repeat the process. If you can do this for one minute or more on each leg, you are achieving good balance.

Get a Grip on Your Grip

Having the correct grip gives you power and control over your golf shots. Many players who shoot in the eighties, nineties or beyond, do so due to a bad grip. They often have a good swing, lower body work and tempo but are flawed due to a poor grip. Often players know what a good grip looks like yet still hold the club incorrectly.

Most players fail to understand that the awkward position of the left hand is actually correct. If you persist and allow yourself to get comfortable with the proper position, your ball striking will improve dramatically. The amount of pressure you apply to the grip is also a key element. Think of the golf handle as a tube of toothpaste. If toothpaste would come out of it, you are gripping the club too tight.

Set Up and Posture Are Important Basic Elements In Improving Your Golf Game

As with balance and grip, set up and posture make a huge difference to consistently playing good golf. Without the correct shot set up and posture you will find it extremely difficult to improve your golf with any speed. Many players hunch over the ball and have a round in their back just as they may slump in a chair and this will not be helping their golf.

Your feet should never be wider apart than your shoulders. Your stance will change as you move through the clubs in your bag. This should only narrow as you play short shots closer to the pin. It is a good idea to practice by putting a club on the ground pointing to your target so you get a good grounding on where to aim. Proper alignment is part of the correct set up and will also help with your posture.

These tips are designed to give you an idea of how important it is to start with the basics and nail them first before getting into more advanced techniques. You really can save many hours of fruitless practice and frustration by following a well proven path. Importantly, you should try and gain some momentum now by using these tips to begin your journey towards more enjoyable and successful golf.

Of course these tips are just the tip of the iceberg, as it were. There are many more techniques and methods that need to be employed in order to fully master the game of golf. A complete training method is very important in order to gain consistency and accuracy in your game. Thankfully there are now professionally written programmes that are proven to work thanks to the professionals who have helped many thousands of enthusiastic golfers over many years and bought back the enjoyment and satisfaction of playing great golf.

Boxing Memorabilia

The Greeks originally introduced an ancient form of boxing into their Olympic games around 688 BC, although the sport only began to thrive years later in Roman times. Boxers in those days, or to be more accurate pugilists did not have access to gloves, head gear and other protective equipment as today's boxers do, the hand covering worn in those days consisted of leather hand straps later to be replaced with the boxing glove.

Boxing only began to become accepted in England in the 18th century when wagering on what was known as a working man's sport was rife throughout the land.

In the 1800th century prize fighting was prevalent there were no written rules, formal ring, weight divisions, timed round structure, or referee, this version of the sport was both a dangerous and uncontrolled activity where deaths sometimes occurred and it was not unusual for riots to break out.

As a result of a bout where he had killed his opponent in 1741 Jack Broughton introduced a more formalised structure which in 1743 became known as the "Broughton's rules". Mufflers were used for the first time these were supposed to provide some respite for the competing pugilists.

In 1788 the Prince of Wales was recorded as being present at a bout held at Smitham Bottom, Croydon, between William Futrell and gentleman John Jackson

So far I have been unable to find any authentic boxing memorabilia from this era.

London Pride ring rules were introduced in 1838 these were based on those drafted by Jack Broughton nearly a hundred years previously.

In 1865 the eighth Marquees of Queensbury John Sholto Douglas who is regarded as the patron saint of boxing drew up a new set of rules which became the sport as we know it today, some of the most significant changes included three-minute rounds, ring structure, no shoes or boots with springs and the regulated use of approved boxing gloves which must be fair sized, best quality and new.

The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry rules was Gentleman Jim Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in New Orleans in 1892.

In 1904 boxing was included in the St Louis Olympic games; this created a tremendous surge of worldwide interest in the sport.

The National Boxing association became the first authoritative organisation to govern over the sport in 1927. Fighters were ranked and matches programmed between champions and the most deserving challengers.

There are currently three recognised sanctioning bodies the WBC, IBF and WBA who are the only organisations whose boxing titles are formally recognised throughout the world.

Today boxing is divided into two divisions amateur and professional the former which is found mainly in schools, the forces, universities and the Olympics. The latter which is televised worldwide and still attracts a healthy interest from the many enthusiasts eager to wager on the outcome.

Collecting boxing memorabilia is a fast growing hobby/business with sale houses such as Bonham's in London and Knights Sporting Auctions in Norwich holding sales on a regular basis.

Collectors are always interested in posters, programmes, prints, photographs, magazines, gloves and attire, many which are signed by boxing legends are highly sought after. Examples of collectable boxers are shown below.

Jake La Motta, Joe Frazier, Joe Louis, Gene Tunney, Georges Carpentier, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali. George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Sir Henry Cooper, Ricky Hatton, Roberto Duran to name but a few of the iconic heroes.

Boxing History

The sport of boxing has been around in various forms for thousands of years. Mesopotamians enjoyed a sport where two men would box each other while sitting in chairs, and Egyptian tombs display wall paintings of boxing competitions. The Greeks added boxing to the original Olympics in 688 BC, and Roman audiences cheered on boxers in Coliseums across the civilized world. The pugilism of slaves who hoped to win their freedom became so popular that even aristocrats began to take part in the sport.
After the Romans outlawed boxing, the sport dropped out of public recognition for hundreds of years - although pockets of people, especially in England, still competed informally. In the early 1700s, English royalty began to encourage the sport by offering prize rewards.
Boxing before the 18th century was a brutal affair; there were few rules, and many participants were killed or maimed. It was actually a successful boxer, Jack Broughton, who organized protective rules after killing an opponent in the ring in 1743. Broughton's rules, which prohibited things like hitting a downed fighter and punching below the waist, were refined and replaced over time to make boxing a more fair and genteel sport. The Marquess of Queensberry rules, introduced in 1867, are still used today.
Boxing was also a rousing success in the United States, which became very instrumental in the boxing world during the early 20th century. Prizefighter Jack Dempsey earned a staggering $8.4 million dollars between 1921 and 1927, even though the heavyweight champ participated in only five matches. The simplicity and excitement of the boxing ring put it far ahead of other sports like football and baseball. A double feature with boxing was used to increase the popular appreciation of basketball.
It should be no surprise that boxing is so popular. Every boxer who steps into the ring is a triumph of courage over fear. Each blow is a test of willpower, each blow a testament to strength and skill. The final victory over the opponent is something that every one of us can understand on a primal level.
The stories of boxing's legends further enhance the sport, and help the audience connect to the fighters. Every American would have cheered for gold medal favorite Oscar de la Hoya in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but his story captured the hearts of watchers worldwide. Oscar de la Hoya's beloved mother died of breast cancer at the young age of 35 shortly before the Olympic event.
Oscar de la Hoya considered dropping out of the sport of boxing altogether, but his mother made him promise to compete in the Olympics. On her deathbed, Oscar promised to win a gold medal in her name - which he did, dominating competitor Marco Rudolph for three rounds before putting him down with a technical knockout. The victory was even sweeter for de la Hoya, since Marco Rudolph was the only fighter who had beaten him at that point in his career.
The story of boxer James J. Braddock is another one that caught at the hearts and souls of onlookers, and which was recently made into a move, "Cinderella Man." Braddock was the son of Irish immigrant and seemed to be poised to break out of Hell's Kitchen with a promising boxing career. A narrow 15-round defeat to Tommy Loughran, however, left Braddock physically injured and mentally crushed. As his boxing record faltered, the Great Depression hit, and Braddock and his family lost everything. The once-shining boxer was forced to work as a dockworker to keep his family fed.
Just when he seemed ready to be written off, James J. Braddock got the chance of a lifetime. There was a last-minute cancellation in one of the fights leading up to the heavyweight championship, and Braddock was asked if he wanted to fight John "Corn" Griffin. No one expected anything of the washed up boxer, but Braddock pulled off a stunning victory.
Braddock's star was on the rise again, and he rode it all the way to the top, defeating Max Baer for the heavyweight championship and continuing on for a successful and profitable career, despite arthritis.
The pageantry, courage, and triumph of the "sweet science" of boxing have inspired viewers for thousands of years, and continues to do so today. The touching stories of some of boxing's legends show every person what can be achieved if we refuse to give up on our dreams.

Some fun facts of pre 2012 Olympic Games

Afghanistan sent 5 athletes to the 1988 Olympic Games, which were held in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea...Afghanistan is one of the ten poorest countries in the world.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
The People´s Republic of China has won a gold medal in women´s volleyball two times at the Olympic Games:Los Angeles (1984) and Athens(2004).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Between September 15 and October 1, 2000, the Republic of Korea, or South Korea, delegation participated in the Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia, winning 8 gold, 10 silver, and 10 bronze medals. Overall the Republic of Korea team ranked eighth, after the United States, Russia, China, Australia, Germany, France...
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Ahmed Salah was one of the most famous runners in the 1980s. He was born in Djibouti, a small country in Africa. Ahmed Salah won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
The XXVI Summer Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), with 197 nations participating. Brazil sent 195 athletes to the Games. They returned to Rio de Janeiro with three gold, three silver, and nine bronze medals.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
India is the world´s second most populous country. However,India only won 1 bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Saudi Arabia sent 9 athletes to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Ghana won the bronze medal in soccer at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Pakistan won two gold medals in filed hockey in the Olympic Games history: Rome(1960) and Mexico City(1968).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
The people´s Republic of China sent 219 athletes to the 1984 Summer Olympics. In the end, China won 15 gold medals and 32 medals overall.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
The soccer, or football, is the national sport in Brazil.It won two silver medals in soccer in the Olympic Games: Los Angeles(1984)and Seoul(1988).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
The 1984 Olympic Games were not boycotted by 12 socialist nations, including Benin, Congo, China, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Romania, Yugoslavia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.Nicaragua sent 25 athletes to the XXIII Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles, California (USA).The Nicaraguan delegation had athletes competing in three areas:baseball (20),boxing (3),and weighlifting (2).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Peru competed at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.Peru was represented by thirteen sportswomen in Canada.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Panama sent 7 athletes to the 1972 Olympic Games, which were held in Munich,West Germany (currently Germany). The Panamanian delegation had athletes competing in four areas:track and field (1), boxing (2), wrestling (2),and weighlifting(1).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Argentina has competed in the Olympic Games 21 times and won a total of 15 gold medals.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Chile won the bronze medal in football in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney,Australia.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Uruguay has won a bronze medal in men´s basketball two times at the Olympic Games:Helsinki(1952) and Melbourne(1956).
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Taiwan won the silver medal in baseball in the 1992 Olympic Games in Spain.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
Nigeria sent 33 athletes to the 1984 Olympic Games. Nigeria finished 33rd position in the final medal rankings, with 2 medals overall

Some facts about Great Britains Olympic History

John MacGregor (Scottish) invented the kayak /canoe. In 1865, he founded the Royal Canoe Club. Kayak made its debut at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (Germany).
From 1896 to 2004, Great Britain has won 668 Summer Olympics medals, including 188 gold. The United Kingdom has more gold medals than Greece, Cuba, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and India combined...
Sebastian Newbold Coe was selected to carry Great Britain's flag during the closing ceremony at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games. From 1980 to 1984, he won four Olympic medals (800m and 1500m). Coe is an iconic figure in the world of sports.
Great Britain is the birthplace of table tennis. This sport was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Games and went on to become an "Olympic sport" in the Barcelona Games in 1992.
In the 1910s, Great Britain's national football team won its third-ever gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Stockholm (Sweden).
The United Kingdom has many famous sportspeople: Jonathan Edwards (athletics / England), Sally Gunnell (track & field/ England), David Wilkie (aquatics /Scotland), Sebastian Newbold Coe (athletics / England), Samuel Ferris (marathon / Northern Ireland), Allan Wipper Wells (athletics/ Scotland), Steve Michael James Ovett (track and field / England), Colin Ray Jackson (athletics/ Wales), Cris Hoy (cycling / Scotland).
Unlike Japan, West Germany, Canada and Kenya, Great Britain / United Kingdom did not boycott the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union. Margaret Hilda Thatcher ( Prime Minister of the United Kingdom / 1979-1990 ) did not support the boycott. GB sent 214 athletes to the Moscow Games (won 21 medals). Ironically, Bermuda, Cayman islands, Antigua-Barbuda and Hong Kong ( British territories ) boycotted the Games.
Kate Howey was the flag bearer of the British Olympic team at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Who is she? Kate was a judoka...
England dominated the medals at the First Commonwealth Games in 1930. But over the last three decades, England has been overtaken by Australia.
Glasgow (Scotland) will be host to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
The United Kingdom is the birthplace of boxing. London hosted the first boxing championships in 1867. James Figg and John Broughton were the first boxers in the history...
Linford Christie was one of the greatest sprinters in the past century. Great Britain's Linford won the gold medal in the 100m at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He was born on April 2, 1960 in Saint Andrew, Jamaica (Caribbean).
British boxers won all the gold medals in the Olympics in 1908. The champions were: Henry Thomas ( bantamweight / 54kg), Richard Gunn ( featherweight / 57kg ), Frederick Grace ( lightweight / 60kg ), John Douglas (middleweight / 75kg), Albert Oldham (super heavyweight / 91%2B kg).
The Montreal Olympic Games was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II ( Head of State of Canada) in 1976.
Great Britain introduced field hockey into India and Pakistan. This European country was the first ever men's field hockey Olympic champion (1908).
This country has hosted many international Games/ tournaments:
The 1897 Cycling World Cup-Glasgow, Scotland
The 1904 Cycling World Cup-London, England
The 1908 Summer Olympics-London, England
The 1934 British Empire Games-London, England
The 1938 Baseball World Cup-London, England
The 1948 Summer Olympics-London, England
The 1958 British Empire Games-Cardiff, Wales
The 1966 FIFA World Cup-London, England
The 1970 British Commonwealth Games-Edinburgh, Scotland
The 1975 FISA World Rowing Cup-Notthingham, England
The 1971 Cycling World Cup-Leicester, England
The 1986 Commonwealth Games-Edinburgh, Scotland
The 1991 World University Games-Sheffield, England
The 2002 Commonwealth Games-Manchester, England
Bermuda ( British territory / Caribbean ) won an Olympic medal at the 1976 Montreal Games. The medalist was Clarence Hills (boxing). It competed in the Summer Games 15 times: Berlin-1936, London-1948, Helsinki-1952, Melbourne-1956, Rome-1960, Tokyo-1964, Mexico City-1968, Munich-1972, Montreal-1976, Los Angeles-1984, Seoul-1988, Barcelona-1992, Atlanta-1996, Sydney-2000, Athens-2004. Bermuda has also competed in the Winter Games: France-1992, Norway-1994, Japan-1998, USA-2002, Italy-2006...
The United Kingdom has many foreign-born sportspeople : Tessa Sanderson (Jamaica / track & field ),Curtis Osano (Kenya / soccer), Blair Blenman (Barbados / weightlifting ), John Barnes (Jamaica / football ), Cliff Drysdale ( South Africa / tennis ), Fatima Whitbread ( Cyprus / athletics ), Bamlerdele "Dele" Adebola (Nigeria / soccer), Zola Budd ( South Africa / track & field ), Judy Simpson (Jamaica / athletics ), Eniola Aluko ( Nigeria /soccer ), Simon Lessing ( South Africa / triathlon ), Clive Longe (Guyana / track and field ), Natalie Steward (South Africa / swimming), Nedeum Onuoha ( Nigeria /soccer ).

Unknown Facts About Olympic Nations

Did you know...

The Central American country of El Salvador has never won an Olympic medal.

The Indian men's national field hockey team was crowned as the Olympic champions for 1964. The winners were: Syed Ali, Charanjit Singh, Darshan Singh, Shankar Lakshman, Rajendran Christie, Prithipal Singh, Dharam Singh, Gurbux Singh, Udham Singh, Mohinder Lal, Jagjit Singh, Rajinder Singh, Joginder Singh, Haripal Kaushik, Harbinder Singh, Bandu Patil and Victor John Peter.

Said Ahmed Farouck was the best sprinter of Comoros Islands -an ex colony French in Africa- in the 1980s.

Cyprus -a small island in the Mediterranean Sea- has competed in the Winter Olympic Games 8 times ( Lake Placid-1980, Sarajevo-1984, Calgary-1988, Albertville-1992, Lillehammer-1994, Nagano-1998, Salt Lake City-2002 and Turin-2006).

New Zealand won two gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne (Australia).

Letitia Vriesde was the flag bearer of the Surinamese team at the opening ceremony at the Olympics in 2004. Like Anthony Conrad Nesty (Olympic champion), she was one of the most popular sportspeople in Suriname and the Caribbean. She was born on October 5, 1964 in Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname,an ex Dutch colony in South America. From 1988 to 2004, she won several medals (Pan American Games, World Championships, Central American & Caribbean Games). Letitia won a silver medal in the 800m at the 1995 World Athletics Championship in Gothenburg (Sweden). Certainly, she is a heroine in her country.

Mathias Ntawulikura (Rwanda/ Africa) finished 8th in the 10,000m at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,USA.

Armenia -former Soviet republic- has had great athletes in the past century: Grant Chaguinian (gymnastics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1952), Albert Azarian (gymnastics/ Olympic gold medalist, 1956, 1960 & 1964), Vladimir Enguibariun (boxing/ Olympic gold medalist, 1956), Armen Nazaryan (wrestling/ Olympic gold medalist, 1996) and Armen Mkchyan (wrestling/ Olympic silver medalist, 1996).

Saudi Arabia has never won a gold Olympic medal.

Angola -African country- sent 39 Olympic athletes to the 1992 Games in Barcelona (Spain). The Angolan contingent participated in seven disciplines: aquatics (3), athletics (6), boxing (1), judo (4), sailing (3), roller hockey (11) and basketball (11).The basketball national team finished 10th at the Barcelona Olympics. Angola -African champion- produced a major surprise in defeating China 79-69...

Austria has many Olympic champions: Herna Bauna (track & field), Gregor Hradetzky (kayak), Christopher Sieber (sailing), Hans Haas (weightlifting), Elisabeth Theurer (equestrian), Peter Seisanbacher (judo) and Franz Andrisek (weightlifting).

North Korea has not won an Olympic medal for volleyball since the 1972 Olympics.

Alleyne Francique finished 4th in the 400m (44.66s) at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. This sprinter is the best sportspeople of Grenada.

Lebanon competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,USA. Most Lebanese athletes qualified for the Games in athletics, boxing, cycling, fencing, wrestling, shooting, swimming and weightlifting. This Arab country also competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Yugoslavia.

The Nigerian men's national soccer team won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics in 1996. Nigeria defeated Argentina 3-2 in the Olympic final. The Olympic champions were: TeslimFatusi, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amunike, Tijani Babangida, Celestine Babayaro, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeda, Dosu Joseph, Nwankwo Kanu, Wilson Oruma, Mobi Oparaku, Sunday Oliseh, Jay-Jay Okocha, Garba Nawal, Uche Okechukwu, Kingsley Obiekwu and Abiodun Obafemi.

Bangladesh is an Olympic member since 1980. However, it did not go to the Olympic Games in the USSR.

In the 1990s, Croatia had famous basketball players: Stojan Vrunkovic, Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic, Dino Rada and Franjo Arapovic.

Paraguay sent 10 sportspeople to the Olympic Games in the 1970s.

Taiwan sent 22 sportspersons to the Summer Olympics in 1972. It participated in 10 sports. Archery: Meei-Shya Shue. Track & field: Chin-Lung Chen, Ming-Chih Chen, Chung-Ping Lee, Wen-Ho Soo, Cheng Chi, Chiu-Hsia Lee, Chun Yu Lin and Yu-Chih Wu. Boxing: Chee-Yen Wang. Wrestling: Jine-Shiong Sheu. Judo: Ping-Ho Chang, Chi Hsiang Cheng, Jen-Wuh Juang and Jong She Wang. Weightlifting: Kue Sen Chen. Cycling: Ming Fa Shue. Sailing: Shiu-Hsiung Chen. Shooting:Tao Yuan Wu. Swimming: Tung-Hsiung Hsu, Yue-Yun Hsu and Yue Hwan Lie.

Mauritania competed at the Summer Olympics for the first time at the 1984 Games. This African country sent 4 wrestlers to the Olympics in Los Angeles,USA.

The Kingdom of Bhutan sent 3 sportswomen to the Olympics Games in 1992. They were: Karma Tshomo, Pem Tshering and Namgyal Lhama (archery).

Georgia -ex Soviet republic- is the birthplace of Viktor Saneiev, who won three gold medals at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics. In 1980, he won the silver medal in the triple jump at the Moscow Olympics. Like Joao Carlos de Oliveira (Brazil), Jonathan Edwards (Great Britain) and Mike Conley (United States), Viktor was one of the best triple jumpers of the 20th century.

Belarus won two silver medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway in 1994.

Talata Embalo was the flag bearer of the Bissau Guinean national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the United States. Embalo is the best weightlifter of Guinea-Bissau, an ex Portuguese colony in Africa.

Mongolia sent 4 sportswomen to the Olympics in West Germany in 1972.

Obadele Thompson is the greatest Barbadian athlete of the 21st century. From 2000 to 2004, he was one of the best sprinters in the world.

Date of birth: 30/3/ 1976

Place of birth: Saint Michel, Barbados (Caribbean country)

Education: University of Texas

Top performances:

1991: Carifta Games-1st 100m, 3rd 200m

1992:Carifta Games-1st 100m, 2nd 200m

1993: Pan American Junior Championship-3rd 100m, 2nd 200m; Carifta Games-1st 100m, 2nd 200m; Central American & Caribbean Senior Championship-1st 100m

1994:Carifta Games-1st 100m, 1st 200m; World Athletics Cup- 4th 100m

1995: Central American & Caribbean Senior Championship-1st 200m

1996: Olympic Games-12th 100m, 4th 200m

1997: World Athletics Cup- 6th 100m

1998: Central American & Caribbean Games-1st 100m; Commonwealth Games-3rd 100m; World Athletics Cup-1st 100m

1999: World Athletics Championship- 4th 100m, 4th 200m

2000: Olympic Games-3rd 100m, 4th 200m

2004: Olympic Games-7th 100m

 

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NY Rangers

One of the oldest team in the National Hockey League is the New York Rangers. They are one of the Original Six, the first teams in the league.The team was started in 1962. The New York Rangers is one of the teams to watch for. The first year the team played, they snagged the American Division title. Since then, the Ranger tickets have been selling.

The New York Rangers was the first team to have traveled by plane to go to their games. This was for their match with the Maple Leafs in 1929. The Rangers have four Stanley Cups that they can be proud of. They were the first American franchise to have won such an accolade. They won the first Cup in 1928. They bested the Toronto Maple Leafs for their second Cup in 1933. Despite having to travel abroad in 1940, the team managed to win their third Cup. The most recent win for the team was the Cup in 1994. With such performance, Rangers ticket sale has been unfaltering. Even if the games were held abroad, the fans never failed to show their support to the team.

The time between the third and most recent Stanley Cup win of the team was known was the Curse of 1940. It was believed to be the result of the action of the management in 1940. The mortgage on the Madison Square Garden was burned in the 1940 Stanley Cup. In so doing, many believed the disrespect on the Cup has placed a curse on the team. However, winning the 1994 has broken the Curse of the 1940. The Rangers fans never failed to support the team despite the losing streak that they suffered from. The continued to patronize the Rangers tickets and maintained their attendance in the games.

The Rangers surely have made a comeback since then. With improvements in the player roster as well as the coaching staff, the team managed to capture the attention of many. The unending support of the fans helped out as well. .

The fans are even more elated in watching the games of the Rangers when they have acquired some of the more known players in the league. Their rosters once held Wayne Gretzky, Theoren Fleury and Eric Lindros's names. The team has continued to show their potential on the ice. Fans and enthusiasts alike cannot wait to watch the team do their best on the ice again.

San Francisco Giants history

The San Francisco have a rich and storied history that is filled with many great moments and players, as they have five World Championships to their credit and have had such greats as Carl Hubbell, Bobby Thomson, Wille McCovey, and Juan Marichal.

The San Francisco Giants can arguably say that they have had the two best all around players to ever play the game with the great Willie Mays and the incomparable Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, Mays belted 660 home runs in his illustrious career and is thought of by many to be the best player to ever play due to his ability to be able to play every aspect of the game at a high level and possessing no weaknesses, as for Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants all hes done is his award winning career is win the National League Most Valuable Player award seven times, win eight gold gloves, twelve silver slugger awards, be voted to the National League all-star team thirteen times, and belt 708 home runs which is only 47 shy of Henry Aaron's all time mark of 755.

In the 1930s the San Francisco Giants would participate in three World Series, winning the 1933 World Championship, with NL MVP Carl Hubbell of the San Francisco Giants leading the way in an upset of the powerful Washington Senators, the San Francisco Giants pitching staff totally thwart the Washington Senators vaunted offense as they allow only eight earned runs all series long en route to a four games to one rout.

It would take until 1951 for the San Francisco Giants to return to prominence, as they qualified for the fall classic again but were denied by New York Yankees, but in 1954 against the Cleveland Indians the San Francisco Giants with Willie Mays of the San Francisco returning from his tour of duty with the US Army rout the heavily favored Clevealand Indians who won 111 games in the regular season, one play perhaps changed the entire complexion of the '54 World Series, as Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants made perhaps the greatest defensive play ever, tied with the Cleveland Indians a 2 in the eighth inning of Game 1 at the Polo Grounds and two Indians runners on base, the Hall of Fame center fielder made an over-the-shoulder catch of a 460-foot smash off the bat of the Cleveland Indians Vic Wertz, the San Francisco Giants went on to win 5-2 in ten innings, and the series turned into a runaway for the San Francisco Giants.

The San Francisco Giants made a World Series appearance in 1962 but were defeated by the New York Yankees in six games, and would not make the playoffs again until 1971 a year in which the San Francisco Giants did not have a pitcher who won 20 games or batter with a .300 average and were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Pirates, their would be a drought of 16 years before the San Francisco Giants would again make the playoffs, in 1987 they took the St.Louis Cardinals to a seventh game in the National League Championship series before succumbing, in 1989 the San Francisco Giants had a powerhouse squad led by NL MVP Kevin Mitchell who belted 47 HRS and 125 RBI and powered the San Francisco Giants past the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS and into the World Series against Bay Area rival the Oakland Athletics, who boasted a virtual all-star with AL MVP Jose Canseco and slugger Mark McGwire to go along with an award winning pitching staff, the San Francisco Giants were no match for the Oakland Athletics and were beaten in four straight games.

The San Francisco Giants would make the playoffs in 1997 and 2000 but lose in the opening round to the Florida Marlins and New York Mets respectively,in 2002 they would once again qualify for the National League playoffs, this time behind the mighty bat of Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants who batted .370 with 46 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 198 walks, and a on base percentage of .582, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves three games to two in the divisonal playoffs and went on to defeat the St.Louis Cardinals in the NLCS and earn the right to face the upstart Anaheim Angels.

The 2002 World Series was one for the ages as the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels dueled and battled to a seventh game, where the Anaheim Angels narrowly defeated the San Francisco Giants to win their World Series.

The 2006 San Francisco Giants will be a National League powerhouse with Barry Bonds and pitcher Jason Schmidt returning to health and newcomer OF Steve Finley adding punch to an already potent lineup, the off-season acqusition of P Matt Morris from the St.Louis Cardinals will be a major boost, one that could give the San Francisco Giants the dege in the National League West with many san francisco giants tickets being sold.

Great moment in team history

After trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by 13 1/2 games on Aug. 11, manager Leo Durocher's troops rattled off 16 straight victories and won 37 of their final 44 regular-season contests to force a tie with Brooklyn. The two teams met in a three game elimination to see who go on to the playoffs, the San Francisco Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers split the first two games setting a winner take all game 3 at the polo grounds, the San Francisco Ginats trailed the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-2 with two on and one out in the ninth inning when Bobby Thomson of the San Francisco Giants stepped to the plate, the rest is history, Thomson drilled an 0-1 pitch off reliever Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers to left field and jumped onto home plate to put an exclamation on "The Miracle of Coogan's Bluff," as called by legendary Giants announcer Russ Hodges.

Sports Trivia

Who is the only athlete to win multiple medals at both the summer and winter Olympics?

Answer: Clara Hughes

Clara Hughes was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the 27th of September 1972. Clara won her first two Olympic medals in Atlanta Georgia. She competed in the individual cycling road race and the individual time trial event. She was able to win bronze in both events.

Clara then turned her attention to the winter Olympics. She competed in the 5000m speed skating event in the games in Salt Lake City in 2002. She won a bronze medal for her efforts. Clara then continued and competed in the games held in Torino where she captured gold in the 5000m speed skating event. She also won a silver medal at the games in the team pursuit.

In 2010 at the Vancouver Olympic games Clara achieved a bronze medal in the ladies 5000m speed skating.

Clara is not only a decorated athlete but is a big supporter of the charity, "Right to Play". She has also been awarded the Order of Canada and the order of Manitoba. Clara Hughes is truly one of the great Olympians.

Who holds the record for the most gold medals at an Olympic games?

Answer: Michael Phelps

In 2008 at the games held in Beijing Michael was able to win eight gold medals. All his medals were in the pool. Michael won the 100m fly, 200m free, 200m fly, 200 m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 4x 100m freestyle relay, 4x100 medley relay and the 4x 200m freestyle relay.

Michael added these eight gold to the six gold and two bronze medals that he won in the games in 2004. Michael has won more gold medals than any other athlete in the history of the modern Olympics. His Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 medals that were won by Larissa Latynina the famous Russian gymnast.

Michael was born in Baltimore, Maryland on the 30th of June 1985. Michael was diagnosed at the age of seven with ADD. To help him burn off energy he was put into swimming.

Michael has founded the Michael Phelps Foundation, which is a charity that advocates swimming and water safety for children. He is also a co-founder of the Swim with the Stars program.

Who holds the record in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most versatile female athlete?

Answer: "Babe" Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias

Mildred was born in Port Arthur, Texas on the 26th of June 1911. She was one of seven children born to Ole and Hannah Didriksen. She would change the spelling of her last name when she was older. The name 'Babe' was a childhood nickname that stayed with her all her life.

Mildred was truly one of the greatest athletes of all time. In 1932, she went to the Amateur Athletic Union Championships. She won eight of the ten events that she competed in and won the team championship. Babe was the only person on her team.

In 1932, Babe went to the Olympics in Los Angeles. She won two gold medals and one silver. She won gold in the 80m hurdles and the javelin. Her silver medal came in the sport of high jump.

Babe's most recognized sports achievements would be in golf. In what was truly an amazing career Babe won 82 golf tournaments. She won the ladies Grand Slam of golf in 1950. Some of her records in golf have never been broken.

Sadly, Babe was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953. She underwent surgery and continued to play golf, although she limited the number of tournaments that she competed in. In 1955, the cancer returned and Babe died at the age of 45 in Galveston, Texas.

How to Learn Golf Fast!

This is one of the most commonly used keywords of people who would like to dabble in the sport called golf. This could begin as a mere curiosity to know facts and trivia about golf. But soon, these people become fully-interested in this sport, that they even go to the extent of dreaming of venturing into competitive golf, much like their idol, Tiger Woods. But of course, you will never learn how to play golf without actual experience in holding golf clubs and hitting balls. So you need to take lessons on how to learn golf.

Learning golf is relatively easy once you are able to find an excellent country club that offers golf lessons to the general public. But before you go on buying your golf paraphernalia, you need first to attend the first sessions for these golf classes. But why? Because the primary discussion on the very first meeting of these classes do not only focus on golf history, but also in the introduction about the main golf equipment and the materials from which golf clubs are made.

Knowing this will help you decide on what particular golf club material you will purchase so that you could be assured that it will be the most appropriate for your grip and stature, as well as your budget. Yes, golf equipment are very much expensive, thus you need to be guided properly by the lessons you will take on you how to learn golf classes, so that you could find the most economical clubs and apparel for your golfing needs.

The next important things you need to know are the goals, rules of the game, and rules of etiquette that golf players need to adhere to. These things dictate the proper conduct you should display while playing golf. Also knowing these things is important since they will guide you in understanding the do's and don'ts in golf, for you to be successful player in this sport. Yes, by undertaking lessons from how to learn golf classes, you could soon learn the right golfing tips and techniques really fast!

 

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Baseball stats

Ty Cobb

His lifetime batting average of .367 is awesome. It is downright baffling.
Year after year of hitting over .300. His first year was the only year he hit less than .300
Nine years batting .380 or higher.
Including and after age 40 he batted .343
When he finished the year he turned 22
he had 765 hits

Lou Gehrig

Knocking in over 150 runs in a year seven times.

Rogers Hornsby

Hitting over .400 for a five year period.
From 1921 to 1925 he hit .401
He even batted .424 in 1924

Cy Young

Winning 511 games or
Losing 316 times or having 815 complete games.
Or pitching 7354 innings in his career.
Imagine if he had a reliable bull pen.

Barry Bonds

232 walks in 2002 with 120 of them being
intentional base on balls. Maybe the opposition was
nervous about pitching to him.
He also has 604 lifetime intentional walks.
Hank Aaron is number two with 293 intentional walks.

Hank Aaron

755 home runs in his career
He never hit 50 in a season.
6856 total bases
Stan Musial is number two with
6134 total bases
1477 extra base hits - # one rank
This is 100 more extra base hits than
# 2 - Stan Musial

Alex Rodriguez

From 1998 to 2003 (six seasons)
281 home runs - average 46.8 home runs per year
762 RBIs - average 127 per year
1100 hits - average 183 per year
Plus every year he had at least 100 runs scored

Jimmy Foxx

13 straight years of at least 100 RBIs
Four years with at least 150 RBIs

Bob Gibson

1968 season
1.12 ERA, 13 shutouts
4 wild pitches, 28 complete games

Walter Johnson

110 career shutouts
11 years of at least 290 innings pitched

Warren Spahn

Won 21 games eight times
He had a total of eight wins by the time
he turned 25 years of age.
He wins 62 games from age 40 to age 42.

Babe Ruth

In 1920 and again in 1927
He hit more home runs than every
team in the American League.

Mel Ott

In the year he reached his 22nd birthday
Up to and including age 22
He had the most runs - 463
Home runs - 115
Total bases - 1233
RBIs - 485
Bases on Balls - 362
Times on Base - 1089
Extra base hits - 266

Hank Aaron

Hank Aaron is well-loved and known for breaking the home-run record previously set by the late great Babe Ruth. Hank streaked through with 755 homes (Ruth had 714) and set more than 10 records in the major league. He was known for his powerful slugs - during his career, he only batted one home run inside the park during a game with the Philadelphia Phillies. The first and only home run he hit that didn't leave the park. For his batting prowess, he earned the nickname 'Hammerin' Hank'.

Why he matters
Hammerin' Hank was born Henry Louis Aaron in Mobile, Alabama in 1934. He began playing professional baseball exclusively for black teams in both Mobile and Indianapolis, Indiana. At 18, he joined the major leagues. He played for the Braves from 1954 to 1974 with both the Milwaukee and Atlanta teams.

Aaron had a lifetime batting average of .305 and batted in 2,297 runs. He boasts a total bases of 6,856, had 3,771 hits and played in 3,298 games. For his speed, he stole 240 bases in his career. He was voted as the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1957 and won three Gold Glove Awards thanks to his fielding talent. He appeared in 24 All-Star games.

Aaron led the National League in batting average in 1956 and again in 1959. He was also a leader four times each in home runs, RBIs (runs batted in) and slugging average. He nailed a major part in baseball history by becoming the first baseball player to reach the 3,000th career hit mark and have 500 home runs. The Hammer joined the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Where to find a Hank Aaron autographed baseball
It's not difficult to find a hand-signed Hank Aaron baseball. The Major League Baseball website (www.mlb.com) posts authentic autographed baseballs, along with other sports items personally signed by Aaron. The baseballs are official MLB balls that are accompanied with a Certificate of Authenticity from Steiner Sports. There are also signed baseballs sold through EBay and QVC.

There is another way to get a Hank Aaron autographed baseball, but it is way more expensive. Aaron owns the Hank Aaron Automotive Group which has car dealerships in Georgia. Some of the car brands they carry include BMW, Jaguar, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Land Rover. Each car purchase comes with an autographed baseball.

How much a Hank Aaron autographed baseball will cost
The MLB website posts Aaron's hand-signed baseballs from about $330 to $350, although the price may be well worth it since each purchase comes with a COA, a reliable guarantee that what you're buying is actually a baseball held and signed by Hank Aaron himself. On EBay, the market value of a Hank Aaron signed and authenticated baseball is about $170 to $200, although you'll have to ask the seller if the item comes with a COA. If you're paying that much, you might as well be assured that you're not paying for a fake.

The History of Horse Racing In North America

While horse racing enjoys popularity the world over - and has for quite some time - the history of the sport in North America is particularly interesting. The first horse racing course in America was in what is now known as Hempstead Plains in Nassau County, New York. The course, Newmarket, opened its gates in 1665, and in doing so, it helped kick off the rich tradition of the horse racing sport in America. Due to the success of Newmarket, many other racing tracks were opened, including the Belmont track in New York.

Belmont is the largest dirt course in all of thoroughbred racing. It opened in May 1905, and continues to be one of the most popular venues for horse racing and is noted as "the big time" for many racers. It is owned and operated by the New York Racing Association, which also owns Saratoga and Aqueduct. The biggest race at Belmont is the immensely popular Belmont Stakes. A statue of the legendary horse, Secretariat, stands in the center of the track, as he set a world record for his 1973 race there [amongst other achievements over the course of his career.]

The three most important races in North American horse racing come together to form the "triple crown." Including the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Preakness Stakes. Beyond that, many racing enthusiasts enjoy the Breeders' Cup races. The former is held earlier in the year, and the latter, later. As such, different values are placed on the wins. While some prefer the classic triple crown to the new breed of race that is the Breeders' Cup, many like the new race and the way it is held at different tracks every year.

Interestingly enough, while gambling is generally frowned upon in the United States, horse race betting is regulated and sanctioned by individual states. As such, betting on horse races via legitimate channels is legal, whereas other types of sports bets aren't legal.

There are different types of horse racing that are popular in the United States. One way to differentiate is the type of track - dirt, polytrack, and grass are the most common surfaces, though some race types will incorporate more than one of these into the same track. Thoroughbred racing is the most common type of race - and the one most Americans are familiar with, though quarter horse racing and harness racing also enjoy their own popularity. Arabian horse racing is uncommon, but there are enthusiasts who enjoy that sort of racing.

Horse race tracks are all different lengths, depending on the type of race, the surface, and the style of racing/horses that will be participating. Interestingly enough, many horse breeders choose to raise their horses with specific types of races and courses in mind, choosing studs and fillies who have the proper genetic makeup to breed strong race horses.

There are differences in the races and how the horses are bred for specific races. For example, thoroughbreds are bred to run longer distances, while quarter horses are generally faster. As such, the two have different builds. Thoroughbreds are taller and leaner than quarter horses, who are bred to be shorter and more muscular. A quarter horse race is generally held on a straight track and is much faster with a different type of competition than a thoroughbred race. A thoroughbred race is held on something more like a car race track, and it is easier for a specific horse and jockey to break out of the back for a clear winner than in quarter horse racing.

As you can see, there is a diverse and solid history of horse racing in the United States. Although horses are not as popular as they once were for things such as transportation, show and sports horses are still incredibly popular and fascinating to Americans of all ages.

 

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Tebows thoughts

“Obviously, I’m someone who is very outspoken about my faith and I’ve never been ashamed of it,” Tebow said. “And always, any time I get the opportunity I always thank my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. But I don’t think all the attention I get is just because of my faith.
And as for the recent phenomenon that has come to be known as Tebowing?
“As far as ‘Tebowing’ goes, I’ve been doing that same routine for the last seven years, since my senior year in high school,” Tebow admitted. “It’s funny because all of a sudden it became a big story. We’re at a press conference for a football team, so it’s not exactly the kind of platform to get up here and share what you believe. For me, it’s about having a relationship with Christ, and that’s pretty much the basis of what I believe. It’s exciting for me to get opportunities to share it, but at the same time this is a press conference for the New York Jets football team.”

The History of Spring training

Spring training almost started at the same time as baseball itself. The first record spring training event occurred in 1870 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held camps in New Orleans. However, some believe the first spring training wasn't until the Washington Capitals had a four-day training camp in Jacksonville in 1888.
Either way in 1900 spring training was established as a ritual in baseball. During this time, most American and National League teams go out of town for players to train and mangers to evaluate the players. There are three distinct eras for spring training.

The first of these eras is the early years between 1901 and 1942. Before spring training was started many teams either trained locally or while they were on the road. This was because in the early years many baseball players had to work other jobs to support their family and could not travel out of town to train. In 1910 when spring training became an institution, most teams went east of the Mississippi River. This is when the Grapefruit League was founded.

A second era is the war years between 1943 and 1945. When World War II broke out many starting scaling back their use of various items. Therefore, baseball became a luxury. Baseball was allowed to continue because President Roosevelt felt it was important to homeland morale. However, travel to training camps became difficult. This is when the MLB commissioner developed a boundary that called for teams to train close to their home. Therefore, the Yankees held spring training in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

The third and final era runs from 1946 to our present time. Prior to World War II, many teams had spring training in California and Arizona. However, it wasn't until 1947 when the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians started spring training in Phoenix and Tucson that the Cactus League was formed. It was at this time spring training became a moneymaking institution that has grown into the large popularity we see today.

Pittsburgh Steelers Rivals of All Times

The Pittsburgh Steelers is an NFL franchise who found themselves having three primary rivals with all three playing in the same division as theirs. The team's rivals are the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens. Further, the team also have other rivals in the post season games namely the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and the Dallas Cowboys. An intrastate rivalry between the Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles also arose but they play against each other only once every four years as per scheduling regulations.

The rivalry between the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers started way back 1950 when they first played against each other. At the start of the rivalry, the Browns had the advantage over the Steelers who had a 9-31 record at that time. The Steelers continued to lose for 16 straight years. It was only recently that the Steelers took over the rivalry for the first time ever with a 17-3 record. It was during this time that the team won ten straight games. To intensify the rivalry, former head coach of the Steelers had actually coached the Browns earlier in his career.

On the other hand, the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens have a really bitten division rivalry evidenced by countless memorable match-ups between the two teams. Both teams caused each other's first loss in the home fields. The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first game at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and three years later, the Ravens crushed the Steelers in a game at the Heinz field. The rivalry between the Ravens and the Steelers is like a seesaw winning and losing against each other and serve as a great complement by showing their fans how they can field really strong defenses against each other.

The Cincinnati Bengals dates the rivalry with the Steelers from the 1970 season when the merger was completed. The most memorable game of their rivalry happened in the 2005 AFC Wildcard playoff game when the Steelers made a come from behind win over the Bengals to compete for a Super Bowl title. This particular win was partly due to the knee injury the Bengal's quarterback experienced and thus was forced to leave the game.

Rivalry between the Steelers and the New England Patriots started when the latter upset the Steelers in 2001 at the Heinz Field. Later, in 2008, the Patriots were accused of videotaping hand signals of the opposing team's coaches which added to more controversy. The rivalry between the Oakland Raiders and Steelers was most heated during the 1970's. While that of the Cowboys started with the team's first game as a franchise in the 1960's.

As a team, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have a lot to challenges to face, not just with their current rivals but with the new and upcoming teams of the NFL. Although the team have made their mark as one of the most competitive teams in the NFL, they still have to perform at their best to balance out every competitor they play against

Basketball - A Sport For Every Age

Even if you've never been a sports fan, you've probably still played a little basketball. It's a perfect sport, really, as basketball can be played by people of every age, in any part of the world, with just a couple of people or a whole group. You can even enjoy basketball by yourself if you want to. Obviously, you need quite a few people gathered together in teams to play an "official" game of basketball. But basketball can be enjoyed outside the b-ball court, as well, and can be a great way to simply get some exercise while honing basic motor skills and hand-eye coordination. These aspects make basketball a great sport to get your kids started in when they are very young. Don't limit them to waiting to try out for the school basketball team-you can get your kids started learning the skills imparted by basketball from the time they can walk; possibly even before that.

Backyard Basketball

The beauty of basketball is that you don't have to have access to a fancy court or expensive equipment, as you do with some other popular sports. All you need to enjoy a little basketball is a ball and a hoop. It doesn't even have to be a regulation hoop, unless you plan to use it for "serious" basketball games, as well. You can install a partial basketball court in your own backyard, or even simply install a hoop alongside your driveway. Don't have a way to install a permanent basketball hoop? No problem. Get a portable one. These come in a wide variety of styles and sizes. They're pretty budget friendly, too!

Once you've got your basketball hoop and surface established, simply enjoy it. You can shoot some hoops by yourself, with your kids, or even play a partial game with your pals. Casual basketball is so flexible that you can have fun with it in a variety of ways.

Start 'Em Young

Even little kids can play basketball, and they probably benefit the most from the skills utilized in the game. Start your kids out young by getting them a small, portable basketball hoop and practice simple skills with them like dribbling, passing and shooting. These basketball hoops are designed to grow with your child up to a point, so as your kids grow, the hoop can be gradually raised until they are ready to play basketball with full size equipment.

You can get your children started learning some of the important skills taught by basketball even before you get them a hoop. Motor skills and hand-eye coordination are developed by simply learning to handle a basketball.

Practice Anywhere

One of the greatest things about basketball is how versatile the game can be. Shooting skills can be practiced anywhere-even in the house. You can install small basketball hoops on the back of doors, etc. for casual shooting practice anytime!

The game of basketball has been around for more than 100 years. It can be played virtually anywhere, by just about anyone. So, get out there and shoot some hoops!

 

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History of Basketball

The history of basketball is much easier to trace than other sports. It is clear that Dr. James Naismith is credited with creating basketball and much of basketball history. Dr. Naismith, born in 1861 in Ontario, Canada first came up with the concept of basketball during his youth school days in the area where he played a game that involved knocking a rock off an object by attempting to throw another rock at it. The game obviously evolved from there and began the history of basketball.

Mr. Naismith taught at the YMCA School in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, where the sport of basketball was created. He was faced with a problem of finding a sport that could be played indoors during the harsh Massachusetts winters. He needed to come up with a game that could be played in and outdoors and one that adopted a sense of skill and not just brawn. He first developed the game by involving a soccer ball and two peach baskets, who would have ever thought basketball history, could come from a soccer ball.

In addition to creating basketball Dr. Naismith became a medical doctor focused on sports science and was a minister. Naismith watched his sport grow to become one of the world's most popular sports that saw its entrance in the Olympics in 1936 at Berlin and he fixed himself a spot in basketball history.

The history of basketball began with teams of five and was the sports standard by 1897. The sport became popular to both men and women and began to spread throughout Canada and the US. The US servicemen took the sport overseas with them in WWII and the history of basketball became global.

U.S. colleges accepted the game and began to have it as a standard college sport. College basketball history took off around the late 1890's and the first college game began at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Professional basketball history first began when the National Basketball League was created in the late 1800's around 1898. The league however did not last and was broken up after 5 years providing a rough start to basketball history. The break up just led to a number of random leagues forming themselves in the early 1900's and each was very loosely organized. Ironically enough the first super team was the Celtics but they were from New York City not Boston. The famous Harlem globetrotters were also founded around this time in 1927 and hold a place in basketball history as being the most entertaining of basketball teams.

It wasn't until 1949 that two professional basketball leagues the NBL and the BAA merged to create what we all know now as the National Basketball Association or the NBA. The Boston Celtics dominated the NBA from the late 1950s through the 1960s. By the 1960s, professional teams had formed throughout the United States and basketball was a mainstream powerhouse. Players such as Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russel and Kareem Abdul-Jabar all became household names that drew millions to watch them play as they all found a spot in basketball history.

National Basketball Association fell off the charts and was surpassed by football in popularity through the 1970's then got a resurgence from the popular Larry Bird and Magic Johnson era. Michael Jordan carried the league through the eighties and nineties and the torch has been passed on to Shaquille O'neal, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. The history of basketball has never been so fascinating and it is all thanks to Dr. James Naismith.

All about Magic Johnson

Born Earvin Johnson, Jr. on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan, Magic Johnson was a point guard for the NBA and widely revered as the best in basketball history. Having won championships in high school, college, professional, and international levels, his professional career ended after thirteen seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. During this stint, he won five NBA Championships and was named to the All-Star team twelve times. His induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame took place in 2002.

Magic Johnson is also well known as one of the first public figures to make public his HIV-positive status, which he uses to the advantage of others, promoting education and awareness of the disease and the truth about how it can be spread. His announcement took place on November 7, 1991, shocking Americans with this news and the combined announcement of his official immediate retirement from basketball.

Though officially retired and having not played a single game during the 1991-92 season, he returned to the sport to play a final All-Star game due to being voted to the team. Johnson's West team dominated and outshined the East with the final score of 153-113, Johnson scoring 25 points and nine assists. The game earned him is second All-Star Most Valuable Player Award, after which he continued his career by playing for the 1992 Olympic Dream Team with fellow superstars Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The team was undefeated, won the Olympic Gold, and is revered as one of the greatest collections of basketball talent.
Johnson announced his return to basketball for the 1992-93 season, though after practicing during the preseason, he opted out of seasonal play and went back into retirement. He made two other returns to basketball later, entering as a coach for the final sixteen games of the 1993-94 season in the stead of Randy Pfund. After winning only five of those games and not even leading the team into the playoffs, he chose not to coach the following season. Again in 1995-96, Magic returned to basketball as a player, late in the season. He played the final 32 games of the season, and, after the team lost the first round of the playoffs, he retired for the last time.
He continues to make charitable appearances on the court, and he's pursued the ownership of two basketball clubs, one Swedish and one Scandinavian. He's played a few games in the Summer Pro League (played just prior to the start of the NBA season and consisting mostly of NBA rookies and sometimes more well known players looking to get in shape), as well as a few games with the teams he owned, though he was injured in a game with his Scandinavian team and prevented from playing any more games.

Lucas Oil Stadium - Home of the Indianapolis Colts and the 2012 Superbowl

The 2012 Superbowl is played at the Lucas Oil Stadium. The stadium is a retractable roof stadium located in Indianapolis, Indiana which opened in the second half of 2008. The new stadium replacesd the RCA Dome which was the long time home of the Colts. This stadium was constructed in preparation for the Super Bowl XLVI to be held in 2012. Aside from the stadium, a new high-rise JW Marriot Indianapolis was constructed as part of the preparation for the Super Bowl.

The architectural firm behind the design of the new stadium is HKS, Inc. with Walter P. Moore as the structural engineer. Similar to other stadium, the Lucas Oil Stadium has a retractable roof and window wall which allows the Colts to play outdoors. The concept of kinetic architecture was utilized in the design of the stadium for it to be a multi-functional facility with the ease of conversion for an increased return of investment.

The rights to name the stadium was purchased by Lucas Oil for approximately $120 million for 20 years, thus it is fondly nicknamed as The Luke by some commentators. Despite the state-of-the-art facilities of the new home of the Indianapolis Colts, a retro look is inculcated in the design as a result of Indianapolis's liking of a field house appearance of sports venues which were popular a few decades ago. The construction of the stadium costs $720 million which was raised through a cooperative effort from the government of Indiana and the Colts.

The seating capacity of the new stadium for football games is 5,000 more than the old one. Now, 63,000 fans can watch from the sidelines during the game. In the event that Indiana will host the Super Bowl, this seating capacity can be increased to 70,000. For basketball games, the seating capacity of the facility can go beyond 70,000. Features of the new stadium includes two huge Daktronics HD scoreboards each measuring 97 feet wide and 53 feet tall and located in the northwest and southeast corners of the stadium.

The retractable roof of the Lucas Oil Stadium was designed by Uni-Systems. The roof divides lengthwise into two retractable panels, each sliding down the slope of the roof of the stadium when it is open. Each panel weighs 2.7 million pounds each. It takes nine minutes for the roofs to open, twelve minutes for it to close and is fully automated at that. What is unique about these retractable roofs is that it is the first ever roof that divides lengthwise. However, the entire stadium is not waterproof so the roofs remain close for most of the year.

A peculiar addition to the stadium's design is the large moveable window wall that allow additional light while closed and gives a more open environment when open. This is another first for that stadium since it is the largest movable glass wall in the world. The first NBC Sunday Night Football of the 2008 NFL Season was played in the Lucas Oil Stadium. Unfortunately, the home team wasn't able to grab the win.

 

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Super Bowl, Super Numbers!

In America we use almost any occasion or event to throw a party. The Super Bowl is one of the top party days of the year and who can blame us for wanting to live it up just before March Madness?!! Even the most passive NFL fans can take joy in celebrating the lifting of the Lombardi Trophy. This year's game takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana and unfortunately EVERY football fan in the country just won't fit into the place.

Even during a recession, NFL fans spare little expense when it comes to the food and snacks that are made available on Super Bowl Sunday. Last year, Americans consumed over 30 million pounds of chips, hot dogs, BBQ, dips, nachos, chicken wings and whatever artery-clogging product you can think of. And here's an example of just how much 30 million pounds of food is;

· 1 billion chicken wings
· 293 million miles of potato chips (if laid end to end)
· If you spread out guacamole dip on a football field the amount consumed would be nearly 12 feet high

And believe it or not we like to drink beer on Super Bowl Sunday. A lot of beer. Americans will consume over 320 million gallons of beer on game day. That's enough to fill almost 300 Olympic sized swimming pools. All that food and all that beer wind up causing seven million people to call in "sick" to work on the following Monday and the sales numbers for ant-acids jumps roughly 20%. Those are giant statistics and it goes to show just how enamored the populous is with the Super Bowl. According to statistics, the average Super Bowl party is planned over a month in advance, with over 20 million people attending those parties. With all that food, beer, and partying is it any wonder that only 5% of people who watch the Super Bowl watch it alone? And with all the people who are attending parties you know that many of them don't give a hoot about NFL football until the main event. 40% of the people who watch the game will have not watched the NFL during the regular season.

Since we are doing so many numbers, I'll give you a little more to ponder and be amazed with. The preparation of the 30 million pounds of food on Super Bowl Sunday takes approximately 10 million man-hours. That's a lot of time spent sipping beer and basting hot wings! And if you want to compare that with something for perspective, consider that it also took 10 million man-hours (over a span of four years) to make the Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar"!

 

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Indianapolis Colts History

 

Indianapolis Colts are also known as 'The Horseshoes' and their team colors are Speed Blue and White. The Colts resettled from Baltimore in th year of 1984 and started living in Indianapolis winning 90 of 228 games through the 1997 season. The figure also includes their 5 playoff games. The Indianapolis Colts Football team is the only the second in league history to win 12 games or more in four consecutive seasons. However, this happened since Jim Irsay assumed control of the franchise in the year of 1998. Its franchise history starts from The AAFC Baltimore Colts in 1940s

Since the day the team was formed, they have been struggling a lot in the game of football and they have won many important titles. The newly minted Indianapolis Colts struggled a lot on the field with 4-12, 5-11 and 3-13 records during its first three seasons. The latter, during the year of 1986, it began 0-13. The team was depressed and they replaced Rod Dowhower with former Patriots head coach Ron Meyer. This turned to be wise decision as the Colts responded by winning the final three games under his coaching.

In the 2006 season, the Colts lost three of the four games but before that, the Indianapolis Colts were the first team in NFL history to begin two consecutive season having won nine games. The colts finished the season with 12-4 record marking their fifth consecutive season with 10 victories or more.

Another most noticeable one was when The Colts defeated the Chicago Bears (29-17) on February 4, 2007 in Dolphin Stadium. The Indianapolis Colts team became the first 'dome team' to win Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium and they are the first to win in the rain.

The Indianapolis Colts are one of those few teams that has kept its logo and uniforms basically same since the team's debut in the year of 1953. As they are popularly known, the blue color logo of horseshoe is embossed on the white helmet. The blue jerseys have white shoulder strips and the white jerseys have blue ones. The pant that a player wears is white with blue strips along the sides.

The Indianapolis Colts had some noticeable players who performed their best. Some of those players include Raul Allegre, Ken Dilger, Rohn Stark, Marshall Faulk, Jeff George, Chip Banks and many more. The team is very famous for their game plans and their passion towards the sports. However, no Colt has won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

 

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Joltin' Joe DiMaggio - The Yankee Clipper

Joltin' Joe was surely the most complete baseball player of his generation. But he was more than that. Baseball has produced many sports legends but it has produced only one DiMaggio. DiMaggio proved to be iconic as much off as on the field, an lasting emblem of baseball excellence, loved and esteemed by Americans fully, half century after his ultimate game in 1952. A man of class.

Born of Italian immigrants, Giuseppe (Joe) DiMaggio, the eighth of nine children, was born Nov. twenty five, 1914, in Martinez a fishing village north of San Fransisco where his dad was a fisherman. The five DiMaggio boys worked with their dad fishing for crab. Joe did not like the work and tried to avoid it. Baseball eventually did the trick.

A new Yankees dynasty began with DiMaggio's arrival on the scene in 1936 following three years in the minors. With Joe at center field they were once again world champions that year. DiMaggio and the Yankees won the World Series each of his first four years in the majors and over his full career Joe won nine of a potential thirteen World Series. that's like batting.690!

When Joe appeared on the field for the first time, on May 3, 1936, thousands of flag-waving Italian residents of New York showed up to cheer him on.

DiMaggio soon became known as "Joltin' Joe" for the power of his bat and "The Yankee Clipper" for the speedy clippers that crossed the Atlantic Ocean under sail. DiMaggio hit a league leading 46 homers in 1936. Over his 13 year career the total was 361.

In 1937 DiMaggio batted an impressive.346, driving in 167 runs. The next season, 1938, DiMaggio hit.324, followed in 1939 with a.381.

In the summer of 1941, a nation had turned its eyes to him. DiMaggio began a fifty-six-game batting streak starting on May fifteen, 1941. He got a hit in every game Joe played until July 17, 1941. Everyone it seemed was following the streak be it on radio or through the newspapers, wondering how far he could stretch it out.

"Joltin' Joe DiMaggio " was a big hit on radio in those same days, as recorded by Lees Brown and his orchestra.

As if to prove it was not a fluke, Joe followed the great streak with a second one that lasted sixteen strait games.

During the 1942 season DiMaggio batted.305 before being drafted into the army and the Second World War. After serving three years in the army and World War II Joe returned to the Yankees in 1946.

1948 saw him back in full form winning three individual titles, homers with 39, batting average with.320 and RBI's with 155. Joltin' Joe was back!

When Joe retired in 1951, he had a lifetime average of.325, down from the.339 it had been before Joe served three years in the military during World War II.

After baseball came Marilyn Monroe, whom he met and married. He was 39, she twenty seven when they married on Jan. fourteen, 1954. They divorced nine months later but remained good friends. Joe took charge of everything after her tragic death in 1964 and was often seen placing flowers on her grave for decades thereafter.

His fame was recorded in song. Simon and Garfunkel wanted to express a longing for another gentler time in their big hit "Mrs. Robinson" and wrote, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you."

After DiMaggio retired Joe hosted pre-game TV shows, game shows and made numerous television commercials that Americans loved to see. Joe was elected to the Baseball Hall of fame in 1955.

On March 8th, 1999 DiMaggio passed away at his home in Hollywood Florida at age 95.

Joe was always a modest man and always worked to play his best game even when faced with health problems. The Yankee Clipper is remembered with admiration not only by sports fans, but by all who know his story.

A New York commentator may have put it best, "DiMaggio remains a living symbol of excellence, power and to be sure, gentleness."

 

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Buffalo Bills History Memorable and Unique

An interesting part of Buffalo Bills history is how they got their name; a naming contest resulted in naming the team after the AAFC Buffalo Bills. The Bills merged with the Cleveland Browns in 1950, part of the All-America Football Conference. The original Buffalo Bills were so named for the sake of William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The Bills official mascot is Billy Buffalo. Even though there are three New York teams, (the Bills, Jets, and Giants) the Bills are the only ones to actually play their home games in New York State. The Jets and the Giants both play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which is right outside of New York City.

Beginning with the 2008 season, the Bills team added one home game each year to be played in Toronto to their schedule. They are currently the only team to have two home stadium locations, and only the third in NFL history that has had more than one home site in a season. In the 60's, the Bills began playing as a part of the AFL. During 1960, the AFL and NFL merged, and created a new franchise for the Bills. The Bills first played at War Memorial Stadium, and then moved to Ralph Wilson Stadium in 1973. They have remained there ever since, although the Stadium was also known as Rich Stadium and Bills Stadium at some points through the years. As mentioned earlier, they now play one game each year at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Once they became a part of the NFL franchise system, the Buffalo Bills history became much more notable. They faced a 1-13 record in 1971, along with scoring a record least amount of points that season. Lou Saban was re-hired in 1972, and the team took a turn for the better. In 1973, the team began playing at their new stadium, and Joe Ferguson became their new quarterback. O.J. Simpson, Jim Braxton, Paul Seymour, and Joe DeLamiellure known as the "Electric Company". The "Electric Company" inspired a local hit in Buffalo Bills history, "Turn on the Juice". Electric Company allowed the team to make the playoffs in 1974, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. As part of Buffalo Bills history, this group of players has created many collectible and valuable memorabilia items in the market place.

The rest of the 70s and the 1980s was a rocky time in Buffalo Bills history. There were many ups and downs, and plenty of winning and losing seasons. However, in the 1990s, the Bills worked to change to a hurry-up offense, and brought themselves back to the spotlight. Two significant events in Buffalo Bills history are their trips to Super Bowl XXV, as well as Super Bowl XXVI. A third Super Bowl appearance was made in 1992, then another in 1993 making them the only team in NFL history to play in four consecutive Super Bowls!

Interestingly enough, there are three New York teams, (the Bills, Jets, and Giants) the Bills are the only ones to actually play their home games in New York State.

 

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New York Giants - The History

Based in New Jersey, the New York Giants have long represented the spirit of America through their perseverance, strong team leadership, and history of great football playing. The Giants currently rank third in the NFL franchises, and have seven NFL titles. 1927 was the year they took home their first title, and they haven't stopped since.

In its earliest years, the Giants progressed very quickly and were more than just a football team. They played numerous games to raise money for homeless and the unemployed. They saw numerous successes and proved the complete domination of pro football over college football, in a time when many questioned whether pro football was indeed more difficult. In fact, the Giants actually played a team made up of players from Notre Dame and essentially wiped the entire team into the ground.

In the following years until around 1979, the Giants started to flail. They continued to be a strong team, but saw fewer wins and "blowaway" games like the one against Notre Dame. This was mostly due to lack of powerful quarterbacks, strong unity, and some overall divisive drama that pervaded the team's character.

This huge change that returned the Giants to the strength of the NFL began in 1979. Phil Simms became quarterback and Lawrence Taylor joined the team in 1981. This player won several awards. The "Crunch Bunch" began, made up of several linebackers for the Giants who were exceptionally good players. Eventually Ray Perkins resigned as head coach and Bill Parcells took over as the coordinator of team defense. This was a huge change for the Giants and essentially marked their first steps towards returning as a top NFL team.

In 2004, Eli Manning joined the New York Giants. Eli Manning has a strong history of excellent football playing. It has been claimed that he is partly responsible for the strong victories seen by the team in recent years. Michael Strahan is also a very strong player for the team and had a single season record for sacks just in 2001 alone.

Since 1998, the team's estimated value has risen from around $268 million to $890 million. Most of the Giants' fans consist of players throughout the New York and New Jersey areas. They have had radio and television broadcasts since their earliest days. Marring the team, however, have been criminal and drug charges against several players.

The next years for the Giants may continue in the strong vein they are currently threading in, however. Eli Manning has been able to not only hold the team together but also push it forward into victory many times over. What will happen when he leaves is uncertain, but it is possible that as long as he remains with the team, they will stay strong and cohesive.

In the end, the Giants are not only a good football team, but also one with a rich and varied history. They do have fans all over the world even though most of them are based in New York and New Jersey. Because New York is such a big part of American history, the Giants represent America in many ways

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