India has come a long way in the field of cricket, an international outdoor game. Almost all Indian states have contributed immensely push India forward to international level in the world of cricket. On 25th October, Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat and president of Gujarat Cricket Association expressed his wish to elevate Gujarat to a hub of cricket. It is the only Indian state to be home to three associations of the game.

The only hub of three cricket bodies – Gujarat Cricket Association, Baroda Cricket Association and Saurasthra Cricket Association is the state of Gujarat. So the state possesses the potentiality to be developed and regarded as a hub of cricket in India. During a session of discussion on cricket-relate matters with Chirayu Amin BCCI vice-president and BCA chief, Niranjan Shah SCA secretary and Amit Shah GCA vice-president, Modi said, “Gujarat is only state in the entire country where three cricket associations exist and so there is every scope for developing it as a hub of cricket”.

The first ODI between India and Australia is the backdrop of this discussion on the role of Gujarat in the field of Indian cricket. The Gujarat Chief Minister has witnessed an ODI in Kolkata, the city that has been the host to international matches since 1983. The development of cricket has become a priority with Modi after he became the president of GCA last month. He wants a representative from Gujarat to be in the national team.

Sports are the best way to keep oneself fit and fine through some physical activities. It is the best option to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In today’s world, a man with a healthy lifestyle is the jack of all trades. Sports are not only meant for the trained or skilled persons who are involved in different kinds of physical activities. People take interest in sports for self satisfaction, competition, excitement, entertainment because some sporty activities are a source of thrills. Most fitness experts and health care professionals think that there is no alternative to sports in order to let us be on our feet. Sports activities make us strong not only physically but also mentally. It boosts out confidence and strengthens our stamina.

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A good health is desired by each and every person in the world. Sports teach us how to maintain health. Without good health, nobody can feel energetic and enthusiastic to participate in tiresome activities. It is very important for working persons to stay healthy because good health is the key to bearing the stress of professional life. You can engage yourself in sports like basket ball, volley ball, rugby, and football.  Though a lot of physical effort is needed in these sports, the sports bolster the overall function of the body mechanism. Good physical health is the secret to youthfulness of the mind.

The uniform of a sports team mirrors the identity of the team. Members of a team wearing a particular uniform that bears evidence to the identity of the team need no further introduction. Therefore, I suggest being selective while choosing a uniform for your team members. You can avail a wide range of custom sporting apparels at custom shops. You can have these sports apparels customized with the name and logo of your team or the names of the players. It distinguishes your team from other team at the very first glance.

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Color is the most important consideration while selecting a uniform for your sports team. Make a deliberate choice of color so that it can reflect the strength and spirit of the players. Sports accessories like gloves, caps, scarves and warm up suite should be in harmony with the uniform regarding color and style. The selection of caps for the team players is another measure to take into account. The caps with the team logo complement the look of your players. Keep in mind that a good-looking sports uniform will build the impressive image of your team in public.

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Technology has crept into almost all fields – education and entertainment, fashion and sports. It has become one with fashion to present not only fashionistas but also sports personalities with high-end wristwatches. Sports watches with lots of functionality are the latest offer of digital technology. They make it easy to read time distinctly even on the run and under extreme circumstances.

Designed exclusively for racers, runners and bicyclists, digital sports wristwatches embrace several highly functional features like stopwatches, international time, water resistance, lighting and others. Advancement of digital timepiece technology has brought sports timepieces alive as easy to use. The latest addition to the being of a high-tech sports wristwatch is GPS receiver.

GPS-enabled wristwatches are a great help for cyclists and bikers to keep a measure of their pace while in competition. They can keep track of the route to their goal with these watches on their hands. Calorie counters and heart-rate monitors are among other remarkable additions to digital sports wristwatches. They are strong in build and stylish design. Through sporty in look, these watches are slim and sleek in shape.

In this video you can see some pathetic sports injuries occurred in the field. If you have any good video about sports injuries please let me know.

bookie uncle sam

Is there really a difference playing the lottery provided by Uncle Sam or placing a bet with a bookmaker? It all started with the lotto in which the State government realized if you dangle a large prize in front of their respective population that they will jump at the opportunity to forfeit their hard earned money. The lotto is also commonly referred to as the “stupidity tax” because the odds of winning single State lotteries is about 18 million to 1 while multiple state lotteries have odds as high as 120 million to 1. While the odds of get stuck by lightning varies but it is roughly 3 million to 1, you do the math.

Now when a bookie wants to create interest and action he widens the scope of potential bets. The most popular is sports betting such as an NFL Monday Night Football game, MLB World Series, NBA Basketball Final or the NHL Hockey Stanley Cup Finals. If the sports gambling business hits a little dry patch a bookie may even dabble in PGA Golf for the Masters, NASCAR racing or even Major League Soccer. Bookies don’t typically get involved in sports boards or office pools because they gain an advantage by setting the sports betting lines. Bookies are no longer just the guy in the corner at some dive bar, it’s all about convenience now with online sports betting, and it’s all about accessibility.

Uncle Sam has learned valuable lessons from the local bookie. First of variety, the State lotteries offers standard lotto, mega or power-ball, Take 5, Pick 10 & Win 4 to attract more “players.” Not satisfied with that the New York State lottery added over 50 different “scratch off” games. To capture additional revenue state sponsor gambling increased it’s venues to include taverns and restaurants “Quick Draw” was born with an opportunity to gambling every 10 minutes to the patrons. The State of Oregon took it one step further for a few years and offered a sports promotion state run March Madness pool.

It is a common misconception half of all lotto proceeds go to education, for example in Colorado lotto money is used for endangered species and government owned parks and other infrastructure. Funds to address government infrastructure come from taxes by protocol but not here and unfortunately straying from this opens Pandora’s Box. The Sierra club (one of the largest environmental lobbyist group) now wants a hand in spending the lotto money. But I digress, bottom line no one really knows how much money is collected, how it’s used and what the real pay-out should be. On the flip side, when a gambler uses the service of a bookie or online betting site, the wager and the payoff are completely spelled out.

Now I ask which one seems seedier.

gambling

Betting and gambling has been part of our culture since man could utter a sound. I would be willing to wager one caveman man bet against another he wouldn’t eat a particular berry or couldn’t hit a mammoth with a spear. I am sure everyone can remember doing something on a dare simply because someone says “I’ll bet you ten bucks you won’t……….” Now couple this with State sponsored gambling in the forms of lotto, scratch offs and quick draw. There is a natural progression into other forms of gambling.

The most prevalent form of organized non-State sponsored gambling is “sports” betting. In the past if one wanted to place a bet and they were not in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, they would have to find a bookie. Bookies are often considered to be shady characters that break legs and hang out in dive bars. I guess this perception may have discouraged many from placing a bet. This creates a challenge in that its human nature to gamble on the outcome of an event and perception is quite the opposite. Couple this with the bombardment of the publication of sports betting lines in every newspaper and the mention of the Vegas line on sports shows. All this would soon change, now there is an abundance of venues for sports betting.

With the invention of the internet came an entire new and vast venue for online sports gambling. In this venue one can place on any sport: NFL Football, MLB Baseball, NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, PGA Golf or even NASCAR auto racing. There is an interesting twist when it comes to Soccer / FUTBOL, in England in that gambling is not only legal but mainstream. While the American football, the NFL, pretends to frown on gambling it also understands that it is an important piece of the popularity and in a way it feeds the (gambling) beast. Feel free to dispute this but first answer one question, “Why are there injury reports published in the newspaper?”

Last but certainly not least, is the most mainstream version it is sports boards and office pools, these are consider “social gambling.” Social gambling refers to 100% payout; where as the one running the pool or board gains no monetary advantage by running the sports promotion. These are found in the form of March Madness, Last Man Standing and Super Bowl boards. These have the advantage of being popular in the office, in bars and also a form of online sports betting. Sports boards have an additional advantage in that the participants need not have any knowledge of sports or the sporting event.

The popularity of sports betting grows every year due to demand and shows no signs of stopping. Regardless of your personal beliefs and viewpoint there is no disputing the draw of gambling.

Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympics has done it! He has smashed Mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals in the Olympia. In a very heated event he barely beat Milorad Cavic by a fingernail.

Just a mere .01 of second in the 100m butterfly on Saturday at the Beijing Olympics Water Cube.

Cavic’s team coach filed a protest after the race, according to NBC reporter Andrea Kremer, but FINA, swimming’s world governing body, refused to accept it.

Phelps, was trailing the race-he was second to last (7th out of 8 swimmers) at the first wall but made up for with a fast as lighting turn at the wall. His size 14 feet acting as flippers. Even with his fast turn he was still behind Cavic.

Then in the final meters he shot out and got to the wall first in 50.58 to Cavic’s 50.59. Just .01 seconds faster but enough to win his 7th gold medal.

Mark Spitz, as you know held the record after having won 7 golds at the Munich Games.

Phelps final event is the tell all. He will try to beat that record in the 4×100m medley relay Sunday in the final day of swimming in Beijing.

Cavis, who is a California-trained swimmer and who competes for Serbia, beat Phelps in the swim heats as the second-fastest man to swim the event. He almost ruined Phelps chance at making Olympic and swimming history.

Phelps was quoted as saying “Cavic’s words before the race fueled me.”

Phelps continued on saying “Cavic said it would be good for me and good for swimming if he won” Further he Phelps said “I’m at a loss for words. I had no idea the race was that close. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the wall first.”

Michael Phelps has set world records in every event except one. Crocker’s record, 50.40 set in 2005, is the only world record Phelps has not smashed in Beijing.

Phelps stated later that tying Mark Spitz’s record has been a long term goal of his. Well it seems that this young man has seen this goal/dream come true today.

“In my dreams I always wanted it,” he stated. “I thought in the perfect circumstances I could do it.”

Spitz marveled at the way Phelps has dealt with all the media attention and pre-Beijing hype since Phelps won six golds in Athens.

“I’ve always marveled at the fact that in the last four years, he has had to live with a lot more expectations and anxiety that I had to deal with,” Spitz stated.

It is safe to say that whatever happens – Michael Phelps has earned his place in Olympic history!

Want to learn more about Michael Phelps and his training program, Olympic Gold medals, girlfriend or any other Michael Phelps information?

The Big 12 has always lived in the shadow of the other conferences when it came to being the best in college football. They are ready to prove the everyone wrong in 2008 as the top these top 5 Big 12 schools have re-loaded and have their eye on the championship game.

Texas Longhorns: The Longhorns have been the victim of an up and down season in the past two years, losing to teams they should not have lost to. Colt McCoy needs to have an outstanding year and play up to his hype and have a better year than last year. The Horns brought in a new defensive coordinator to get the defense in line. This conference and perhaps even the championship will come down to the game against Oklahoma. Projected Finish: First in the South; 11-1

Oklahoma Sooners: Oklahoma has plenty to look forward to this year after winning the second straight title in the big twelve. The problem is they followed that up with a big loss in the bowl game where it seemed they didn’t even show up. Bob Stoops will have his team ready as he always does but getting by Texas may prove harder than it seems this year. The Sooners return eight starters on offense but just five on defense. That will lead to some growing pains and an up and coming Texas Tech will put the pressure on. Projected Finish: Second in the South; 10-2

Kansas Jayhawks: The surprise of the Big 12 is back again and ready to keep the momentum going off a great season. When you look at the Kansas defensive numbers they were staggering and they return a good chunk of starters that will make them the elite of the North. Todd Reesing returns as the gunslinger that put up career numbers and that will keep this team well balanced and ready to go to the post-season! Projected Finish: First in the North; 11-1

Missouri Tigers: Blaine Gabbert is a name that will be known all over the country and was one of the best recruits at the position and Missouri gobbled him up. Right now this team belongs to Chase Daniels and he will be back to lead a club that was one game away from the BCS championship game. The defense is there and they make another run. Projected Finish: Second in the North; 10-2

Texas Tech Red Raiders: The Red Raiders have always been proud of their explosive offense and this year it will have the same look and feel it did last year. This is mainly because the high octane offense returns ten starters from last year’s squad. Outstanding wide out Michael Crabtree will be back again to lead the offense and this team has huge momentum coming into this game on a come from behind bowl win. This is the year they make noise in the big twelve. Projected Finish: Third in the South; 9-3