The Sports Archives – New Technology Aims For A Better World Cup!

Posted on June 26, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Big Brother has finally been introduced to football (soccer).  Technology has made a huge impact to sports like baseball, hockey and American football and now it has made its presence known at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Graphic of Cairos Goal Line Technology SystemThere will be no more controversy as to whether the ball has completely crossed the goal line or not like there was during the 1966 World Cup when England’s Geoff Hurst thrilled the home crowd and sent the West Germans home with a goal off the crossbar.  New goal-line technology in soccer consists of a total of 14 cameras mounted on the roof of the stadium; 7 of which are pointing at each of the goals.  The ball is photographed in three dimensions and when the entire ball passes over the goal line, encrypted signals are sent to the referee’s watch which indicate that a goal has been scored.    The cost is approximately $260,000 for each stadium.

A new watch isn’t all that was awarded to referees.  They will also carry a can of vanishing spray housed in a holster attached to their shorts which will be used for marking proper ball placement and for staking the line not to be crossed by defenders who are lined up as a human wall on set plays.  The spray foams up like shaving cream and lasts between 45 seconds and 2 minutes before dissolving harmlessly into the pitch.  The invention of the spray can be attributed to Argentine journalist Pablo Silva after he was ejected from a 2002 match played with some old school friends.  Angered that defenders kept encroaching on his free kicks, he decided to team up with a chemistry engineer to develop the vanishing spray called 9:15, (9:15 expresses in meters the 10 yard distance allowed on free kicks) which became widely available and used by Argentine leagues in 2008.  Most referees agree it was the holster that allowed for the use of the spray technology!

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The Sports Archives – The Desegregation of Major League Baseball

Posted on June 24, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Jackie RobinsonWhen Jackie Robinson was recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, National history was made. Until this point, American sports were largely segregated for a great variety of reasons; while there were no legal laws against such a thing, to sign colored players to the roster of major league baseball teams with an expectation of any measurable success was unthinkable! Despite all of this, however, Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey assigned Robinson to first base, and during his debut on Ebbett’s Field in April of 1947, Robinson contributed to the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory, effectively getting his foot in the door, not just for himself, but thousands of other major league colored players in the decades to come.

Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919. The youngest of 5 siblings, Robinson was raised primarily by his mother, as his father left the family when he was 1-year-old. Following the departure of his father, Robinson’s family moved to Pasadena, California, where they encountered, but endured, racial prejudice. Robinson’s involvement in sports began during his high school years, in which he successfully played a role in baseball, football, basketball, and track at John Muir High School. Robinson continued to follow his passion for sports at Pasadena Junior College. Despite a generally amiable, lively nature, however, Robinson held a short temper towards racial intolerance and antagonism. This temper would become a significant obstacle for him in the years to come.

Robinson’s professional baseball career began in early 1945 when the Kansas City Monarchs issued him a written offer to play in the Negro leagues. Accepting the offer, Robinson began his career in professional baseball. While he was paid $400 a month, Robinson was simultaneously disgusted by the disorganization of the Negro teams in comparison to the structured college environment to which he was accustomed. Robinson played a total of 47 games with the Monarchs as shortstop.

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The Sports Archives – The 4 Top Sports Stars You Should Never Mess With!

Posted on June 19, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Goal NetNo doubt you’ve seen boxing and MMA on TV, and thought to yourself that these people aren’t the sort you’d like to rub up the wrong way. Indeed, participating in martial arts requires a high pain tolerance, excellent conditioning and a willingness to inflict damage on your opponent.

But, although they don’t demand the same type of aggressive physical contact, there are a number of other sports in which a hard-nosed attitude can stand you in good stead. Football, rugby and hockey are just a handful of contact sports in which having a heavy-hitter on your defensive line can make all the difference to your team’s success. Unfortunately, some have been known to take things too far, causing pain and injury to themselves and others off the pitch on occasion – leaving at least one person in need of serious relief.

So, boxing and MMA aside, who are the hardest sportsmen in history? Here are our picks for the top four:

Duncan Ferguson

Duncan Ferguson 2013The big man striker was known for his presence on the pitch. But he also made his presence known to an intruder who tried to steal from his home in 2001. The burglar required treatment in hospital after Ferguson apprehended him and took him down. This wasn’t the first occasion on which this had happened either – two years earlier, Ferguson tackled two men who tried to break into his home, and managed to hold one until police arrived. So, burglars beware, Big Duncan isn’t a man to be messed with.

Roy Keane

Roy KeaneThe Irishman’s reputation as a defensive enforcer was no secret during his late 1990s and early 2000s heyday. But someone who will probably never forget the United captain’s take-no-prisoners approach is Alf-Inge Haaland. Known as the ‘horror tackle’, Keane took out Halaand with a savage challenge in 2001 which effectively ended the Dutchman’s career. And all allegedly because Haaland had criticised Keane for feigning an injury during a game some four years previously.

Wayne Shelford

When it comes to hard men, there are few rugby players whose reps can stand up to Buck Shelford’s. The All Blacks enforcer during the 1980s, Shelford even attempted to finish a game once after receiving a kick on the pitch which ripped open his scrotum. After literally being stitched up, Shelford finally had to call time on the game that day when a further blow gave him a concussion.

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The Sports Archives – A Brief Overview of the FIFA World Cup!

Posted on June 17, 2014 by thesportsarchives

2006 English National Football TeamJune of 2014 has brought with it the 20th FIFA World Cup – a fierce competition in which nations from around the globe compete for the champion title in one of the most popular sports in the world: football. No, not the American sport which involves tackling opponents from the enemy team into submission! Rather, the focus of the FIFA World Cup is traditional European football, popularly known in America as soccer. The 2014 competition marks the 20th anniversary in the history of FIFA’s internationally-beloved tournament, revealing a long history of champions and triumphs, as well as a lasting impact on the popularity and legacy of football in human history.

History

Since its debut in 1930, FIFA has held a competition every 4 years (with the exception of 1942 and 1946, due to complications of World War II). The most recent format of the FIFA World Cup includes 32 teams competing for the title at the host nation’s designated stadium; this is the stage that is known publicly as the finals. Prior to this, however, a qualification phase takes place in order to determine the competing teams in the finals – this process currently takes 3 of the 4 years in between the World Cup finals. Ironically, the most hyped portion of the competition, in proportion to the qualification stage, takes up ¼ of the duration of the full competition. The qualification round was not a component of the original 1930 FIFA World Cup, but was later implemented when “thinning out the competing parties” was necessary for the organization and stability of the competition itself.

2014

The 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals, which began on June 14th, is a competition between the qualifying 32 nations; among the ranks of this year’s competitors are Spain, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Germany, Portugal, England, Italy and the United States. Of the diverse collection of nations that make it to the finals every competition in the past 84 years, only 8 nations who have ever competed in the World Cup have actually won the champion title; Brazil takes first place having won the title 5 times; Italy has won 4; West Germany has won 3; Uruguay and Argentina have each won twice; Spain, England and France have also taken the title.

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The Sports Archives – What Children Enjoy The Most About Soccer Camps And Clinics!

Posted on June 13, 2014 by thesportsarchives
World cup countries best results and hosts

World Cup Countries Best Results and Hosts

The upcoming world cup in Brazil, gives children a fantastic reason to be enthusiastic about the game! Simply watching players from different countries play soccer, fight it out in the field, and win or lose, has a tremendous impact on children of any age. With champion teams displaying their superior soccer techniques and challenger teams putting in their all to outperform them, the soccer fest definitely captures the imagination of little kids. Little wonder then, why most children are so excited about getting enrolled at soccer camps!

A Soccer Camp Provides the Perfect Platform for Kids to Make Friends

Want to know another reason that energizes kids when it comes to going to soccer camps? Ask any child and he/she will tell you, that the prospect of making new friends is a very important motivational factor to join a soccer camp. During long summer vacations, when children are at home, sometimes they can feel restless being away from their school pals. Soccer camps make it possible for children to interact with other children and make new friends.

Children Like Channelizing their Energies Here

Soccer camps provide the perfect platform for kids to use any energy that gets built-up during the vacations. While in school, kids find an outlet for their energy by playing games with other children, during holidays, this energy just keeps piling up! A soccer camp provides the perfect place to spend this energy. Instead of wasting their time watching television or playing games on their Xboxes, children like going to soccer camps, because these help tire them out! The fatigue that comes after roughing it out in a game of soccer is actually very satisfying for men and children alike. A soccer camp benefits children, by also aiding their physical growth, mental robustness and social skills.

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The Sports Archives – A History Of Rugby League!

Posted on June 10, 2014 by thesportsarchives

RugbyWith the First Utility Rugby Super League in full swing, the centuries old debate concerning the differences between Rugby League and Rugby Union again comes to light. So, why do two versions of the same sport exist and what are the fundamental differences?

Conception

Rugby League came about when clubs in the North of England broke away from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in 1895. The clubs wanted to compensate their working-class players for time spent away from work because of rugby tours and injuries. When the RFU refused, the Northern Union (NU) made changes to set itself apart from rugby union. Similar schisms occurred later in Australia and New Zealand in 1907.

First match

The first international Rugby League match took place in 1904 between England and an Other Nationalities team, mostly made up of Welsh players. The Northern Union initially stuck to RFU rules but the first change, awarding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on, came into practice during the first season of the new game.

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The Sports Archives – There’s Software For Coaching Now!

Posted on June 6, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Half of everything is luck, and this is no different in coaching.  You can be the best coach in the world, but sometimes, something is wrong, and you can’t always out your finger on it, and I am sure everyone can understand the frustration that such a scenario brings about.  Sports coaching is a lot like owning a car; everything can be great on the surface – the headlights are working, the engine’s running soundly, and the tires are so full of air that they’re practically bouncing… but for some reason, you’re still leaking oil whenever you put the clutch down.

Sometimes it’s the problems that you can’t see that are causing you the most drastic problems.  Whether it’s something going on deep within the engine that only a particularly sharp-eyed mechanic could understand, or just the tiniest screw that needs tightening, sometimes there’s just no way of telling!  And here’s where coaching software comes in.

Optimisation of particular athletes’ abilities

Gretl ScreenshotCoaching and performance software has the ability to tap into a huge central database of tens of thousands of athletes worldwide, from a whole host of different disciplines.  It’s not that simple, though; the software logs more than physical information; it also logs ability and performance, which is then cleverly collated with factors such as age, physical features – everything right down to their date of birth.  The software then feeds back with information sourced from tens of thousands of different places, to accurately pinpoint exactly what you could do to make the most of the abilities of each of your individual athletes.

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The Sports Archives – The Ultimate Motorcyclist Jargon Buster!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by thesportsarchives

When learning to become a motorcyclist, you need to master more than your theory and driving. The motorcycle world is its own community, and with it comes a lot of jargon that can be difficult to understand.

No, they aren’t talking in another language, it’s just terms that one day you’ll be chatting too. But to help you overcome this apparent language barrier, we’ve come up with an ultimate motorcyclist jargon buster that covers the key things you should know.

(Image Source: Renjith Sasidharan)

Kitting Yourself Out

Gore-tex isn’t the name of the latest sci-fi movie hitting the cinemas, it’s the only waterproof fabric you’ll need to stay warm and dry whatever the weather. High quality and breathable, it’s designed to be comfortable and practical. Invest in some gore-tex gear before you take your motorcycle test, oh and don’t forget a skid lid or a brain bucket…. That’s a helmet to you.

You should wear ATGATT when riding a motorcycle, an acronym that means all the gear, all the time. So purchase your helmet, gloves, vest, trousers and boots when learning to drive a motorcycle. Drivers who don’t wear their gear are known as squids or worse, organ donors.

Want to look the part when out on your bike? If you become part of a biking community, you’ll inevitably end up with patches sewn onto your jacket, whilst those cloth head coverings that so many motorcyclists wear are known as do-rags.

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The Sports Archives – Longtime Sports Rivals That Fans Love To Debate!

Posted on May 30, 2014 by thesportsarchives

Babe Ruth Steel CardIt is not unusual to find rivals in sports. Most of the time it is between teams, such as the long-standing rivalry between the NFL’s Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, the MLB’s New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, or the NHL’s Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.

But rivalries are not limited to professional leagues. One famous college rivalry, “The Iron Bowl”, takes place any time the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers go head to head. When it comes to World Cup soccer, the USA and Ghana are long-time rivals.

Sports Rivalries Exist on All Levels

From little league to college teams to professional leagues to the Olympic Games, any time there are two sides competing there is a chance of a rivalry. Generally this takes place when competitions or games are widely broadcast between two teams that meet on a regular basis.

However sometimes sports rivalries are less generalized, and take place between to specific players. Individual rivalries have existed for as long as people have been playing sports. With so many rivalries associated with athletics, of course fans find some more appealing than others.

The Most Notable Rivals in Sports

Sports rivalries can turn otherwise mature adults into something similar to children on a playground. Here are seven of the most notable rivalries in sports history across a wide range of athletic events and competitions.

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The Sports Archives – New Soccer Ball For World Cup 2014!

Posted on May 29, 2014 by thesportsarchives

The 2014 World Cup will be starting soon and with it comes a newer and better ball from the folks at Adidas.  If you remember, players were not too happy with the 2010 World Cup ball called “Jabulani”.  The new ball is named “Brazuca”, a term used to describe the Brazilian national pride and Brazilian way of life centered around the game of football.   The name is a symbol of Brazilian emotion and goodwill to all which Pele himself could have been a spokesperson for and fits perfectly for the host nation, Brazil.

Physics

The physics of a soccer ball in flight, like any other object, is subject to the amount of drag it experiences.  The less interaction of outside forces, the more aerodynamic the flight of the ball.  Similar to cars and planes aerodynamically designed for better performance due to methods used to reduce friction, Adidas has crafted a new ball that has been tested to outperform its predecessor.

Jabulani Failure

2010 JabulaniThe Jabulani which could have been called the Jabu-land-anywhere was composed of eight panels (six less than the ball used in 2006 World Cup) that were thermally bonded and three-dimensional.  The surface was smooth and textured with grooves designed to improve aerodynamics.  Herein lies the problem, the smooth surface allowed air to break away from the surface in such a way that any wind would greatly impact the ball trajectory.  Many players complained of how the Jabulani would break unpredictably in the air.  Players of the likes of Luis Fabiano, Lionel Messi, Robinho and even Argentina Coach Diego Maradona had harsh criticism of the Jabulani.  However Portugal Coach Carlos Queiroz stated how much he loved the ball after his team’s pounding of North Korea 7-0 in the second round of the group stage!

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