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Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Thursday, August 25, 2011
2011 Marin Quad DH MTB
During a Canadian downhill race, it was publicly broadcast that the Marin DH took two wins along the way and just faded in hibernation. The Marin DH has been undergoing a lot of changes and development as far as engineering designs are concerned. Coming out of the blue, Marin has recently introduced the Quad DH 2011 at the Crankworx mountain bike festival in Whistler, Canada.
Appearing like a supercharged Quake, the bike is designed to survive and win world cup downhill races. Three years in development, born out of the efficient Quad linkage set up found on all other Marin bikes, the Quad DH bears a whopping 250mm of travel.
Instead of the straight 1.5in tube, its frame is hydroformed with a tapered headtube. It also features a modular replacement dropout system allowing you to fit any type of axle system of your choice and varied sizes are available.
The massive frame of the Marin 2011 Quad DH is made from a new forged and CNC machined narrow profile Y-Link front shock linkage. Aluminum shields hide and protect the high-load bearings.
Source : http://bikereviews.com/2010/08/2011-marin-quad-dh-mtb/
Lionel Messi Biography
Profile:
Full name: Luis Lionel Andrés Messi Birth day: June 24, 1987
Birthplace: Rosario, Argentina
Nationality: Argentinian
Other nationality: Spanish
EU passport: Yes
Height: 169 cm
Weight: 67 kg
Club: FC Barcelona
Position: Forward
Debut: 17 November 2003
Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24, 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine football (soccer) player.
Lionel Messi started playing football at a very early age in his hometown's Newell's Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as Lionel's parents were unable to pay for the treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain.
In the 2003-2004 season, when he was still only 16, Messi made his first team debut in a friendly with Porto that marked the opening of the new Dragao stadium. The following championship-winning season, Messi made his first appearance in an official match on October 16, 2004, in Barcelona's derby win against Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium (0-1).
With several first team players seriously injured, the services of several reserve team players were called upon, and Messi became a regular feature of Barça squads. On May 1, 2005, he became the youngest player ever to score a league goal for FC Barcelona - against Albacete when Messi was only 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old.
He was offered the chance to play for the Spain national football team, but declined, prefering to wait for the opportunity to play for the country of his birth. In June 2004 he got his chance, playing in a U-20 friendly match against Paraguay. Lionel Messi wearing FC Barcelona's colorsIn June 2005 he starred for the Argentina U-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship played in The Netherlands. Messi picked up the Golden Boot as top scorer with 6 goals, and the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Despite his youth, Lionel has already drawn comparisons with Diego Maradona, arguably the best football player of all time.
On September 25, 2005 Messi obtained a Spanish citizenship and was finally able to make his debut in this season's Spanish First Division. He had previously been unable to play because FC Barcelona had filled up all of their quota of non-EU players. Messi's first outing in the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp was on Sept 28 against Italian club Udinese. He impressed with some great passing and a seemingly telepathic relationship with Ronaldinho that earned him a standing ovation from the 70,000-odd Nou Camp faithful. On December of that year, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport awarded him the Golden Boy 2005 title for the best under-21 player in Europe, over Wayne Rooney and Lukas Podolski
In September 2005, Messi was given an improved and extended contract until 2014.
source: wikipedia.org
GNU Free Documentation License
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Kobe Bryant Biography
Basketball player. Born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named after a Japanese steakhouse, Kobe is the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. In 1984, after ending his NBA career, the elder Bryant took the family to Italy where he played on the Italian League. Growing up in Italy alongside two athletic older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, Kobe was an avid player of both basketball and soccer. When the family returned to Philadelphia in 1991, Bryant joined the Lower Merion high school basketball team, leading it to the state championships four years in a row. With an eye on the NBA, he also started working out with the 76ers.Though he boasted good grades and high SAT scores, Bryant decided to go straight to the NBA from high school. In 1996, he was picked by Charlotte in the draft and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his second season as guard he was voted a starter for the 1998 All-Star Game, becoming at 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history. Bryant went on to help the team win three consecutive NBA championships and was voted first-team all-NBA in 2002 and 2003. He also inked multi-year endorsement deals with Adidas, Sprite and other top sponsors.
Bryant married 19-year-old Vanessa Laine in April 2001. In July 2003, he was charged with one count of sexual assault on a 19-year-old female hotel worker in Colorado. Bryant said he was guilty of adultery, but innocent of the rape charge. The case against Bryant was dismissed in 2004, and Laine's civil lawsuit against the star player was later settled out of court.
After a few lackluster seasons, Bryant helped his team make it to the 2008 NBA Finals. The team was defeated by the Boston Celtics, but they returned the following year. In the 2009 NBA finals, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the championship title.
Shortly after the NBA Finals, Bryant was part of the memorial service to honor friend and music superstar Michael Jackson. He also announced his decision to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for several more years around this time.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
History of Skateboarding
The history of skateboarding from its first appearance in the 1950's to the present day.
The first skateboards were actually more like scooters, with the undercarriage consisting of rollerskate wheels attached to a two by four. Once the pushbar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born.
1950's
It wasn't until the 1950's, when the surfing craze was in full swing, that people realized skateboarding could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. This connection with surfing gave skateboarding a direction that would influence everything to come, from maneuvers and style, to terrain, fashion and attitude. It was during this time that modifications were made to the trucks making it easier to maneuver. By 1959 the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.
1960's
In the early 1960's companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha and Hobie Alter's Hobie began to mass-produce the first true surfing-inspired skateboards. Some of the early proponents of surf-style skateboarding included Bill and Mark Richards, Dannu Bearer, Bruce Logan and Torger Johnson. Skateboarding became very popular almost overnight, and companies were fighting to keep up with demand. Over fifty million skateboards were sold within a three year period, and the first skateboard contest was held in Hermosa Beach, CA in 1963. Then in 1965 a slew of so-called safety experts pronounced skateboarding unsafe - urging stores not to sell them, and parents not to buy them. The skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the sport entered its first slump. Skateboarding would experience other slumps in its history. This pattern of peaks and valleys would come to be known as the "ten-year cycle," although the slumps weren't exactly ten years apart.
1970's
It was during this first slump that Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail, and the first generation of skateboarders laid down the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still largely limited by equipment. Then in 1973 the urethane wheel was invented, revolutionizing the sport. The new wheels provided much better traction and speed and, combined with new skateboard specific trucks, allowed skaters to push the difficulty of maneuvers to new levels. Tricks at this time consisted of surfing maneuvers done on flat ground or on banks. Empty swimming pools and cylindrical pipes were exploited as terrain for the first time.
During the 1970's skateboarding experienced a large growth stage whish saw the construction of numerous concrete skateparks, a rank of professional skaters, magazines and movies. During this period modern skateboarding evolved to include vertical skating among its disciplines of slalom, downhill, freestyle and longjump.
Key advances in the sport included the aerial, the invert and the ollie, which may be the single most important trick in the evolution of skateboarding, next to the kickturn. This was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. The look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces. Near the end of the 70's, spiraling insurance and slowing attendance forced all but a few skateparks out of business and skateboarding entered its! Second slump.
1980's
In the 80's the plywood ramp and streetstyle revitalized skateboarding just as the urethane wheel had revitalized the sport in the 70's. Forced to take an underground, do-it-yourself attitude, skaters began to create their own wooden skate ramps in backyards and empty lots and turn previously unrideable street terrain, such as walls an handrails, into free-skate parks. Skater-owned companies became the norm and innovations in board and truck size allowed the trick envelope to be pushed even further. This generation had its own group of skate stars, some of whom still compete today including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's the focus shifted to street skating and Vert riding became less popular, it was the era of the first street stars like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Mike Vallely.
With all this grass-roots action taking place it was inevitable that skateboarding would go through another growth phase. This time the cycle peaked around 1987 after skateboarding had directly influenced international culture ranging from the hard-edged punk style of music that most skaters preferred to the baggy, earth-tone clothes and retro tennis shoes that skaters wore.
The current cycle of skateboarding has been fueled by many items including new companies, more varied and difficult terrain, a new, more hard-core, almost dangerous attitude, and most importantly by a new generation of kids who have discovered the exhilaration feeling of rolling along of a board with wheels. Some of the people who exert heavy influence on the sport are former pros who have started companies like Steve Rocco of World Industries. The ollie has come into its own as the foundation for 80% of street tricks and about 60% of vert tricks, with the focus being on more technical and larger tricks.
1990's
In regards to the "ten-year cycle," the sport once again started on an upward swing in 1995, due in part to exposure it received from ESPN's first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This served to bring skateboarding, which had long been viewed as a rebel sport, perhaps because of the danger and occasional illegality of the endeavor, a step closer to the mainstream. Many of the skaters who competed felt that ESPN's coverage of the sport raised skateboarding's overall image with the general public and is a good thing for the future of the sport. In 1996 the Extreme Games were again held in Rhode Island, once more exposing the sport of skateboarding to millions of people. Skateboarding was also included in the 1997 Winter X Games in the form of a CrossOver event that also included in-line skating, bicycle stunt, and snowboarding.
The impact of media coverage on skateboarding has moved it from an underground sport to a spectator sport over the last four years. It was brought an influx of companies and their advertising dollars, which had previously ignored skateboarding, as a vehicle for promotional purposes. Advertisers have seen that skateboarding has become a prime sport through which they can reach their favorite demographic: youth males.
Skateboarders have been present in campaigns for products from soft drinks to potato chips, candy to phone companies. Thus, most of what is happening in skateboarding today is coming not from the skateboarders themselves, but from corporate sponsors and the mass media. The primary focus of the sport remains on street skating, as can be seen throughout both the editorial and advertising pages of the major skateboard magazines, where street skating photos continue to dominate. However vert skating is making a comeback, due in part to the large number of new skateparks being built. These skateparks have also given boost to the skating community in many towns. The many different ramps, pipes and bowls present at these parks have led to a change in equipment. These technological changes applied to skate products have improved skateboarding hear steadily over the last two decades. While in the early 90's small boards and tiny wheel ruled, now there is a wide range of boards and wheels being seen under the feet of skateboarders. Wheel diameters are larger, deck width continues to grow, and longboards are gaining in popularity, especially in beach communities and among those that just want to use their skateboards to cruise or as a mode of transportation. Downhill skateboarding has also seen resurgence in recent years due in part to the visibility of the street luge.
One of the biggest trends at work is among softgoods. In the past, clothing fashions have consistently reflected the changes influenced by those who skate. Footwear is currently getting all the attention. According to the Transworld Skateboarding Business Summer 1998 Retailer Survey shoes represented 26.5 % of the market share, followed by decks (26%), apparel (16%), trucks (11.5%), wheels (11%), and accessories (9%).
There have been many organizations and governing bodies for skateboarding throughout its history. The two main organizations today are the IASC (International Association of Skateboarding Companies), and World Cup Skateboarding, which is the leading competition organization. World Cup Skateboarding is run by former NSA (National Skateboarding Association) president Don Bostick, with competitions featuring Street and Vert disciplines. Competitors are usually on factory teams, rather than national teams. This is due to the growth of sponsorship and sponsorship dollars put into events, which has changed the face of competitive skateboarding tremendously. Skateboarding is beginning to earn respect as professional athletes and are receiving greater amounts of purse money from contests.
2000's
"Today a pro can make anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 a month," says Danielle Bostick of World Cup Skateboarding and the X Games. These earnings are based on winnings, depending on how well a skater places in any given competition and how many competitions a skater competes in during any given month. Most skaters who are sponsored also earn a monthly salary from one or more companies, which sponsors them as team riders. This is a considerable change from the past when pro skaters had to work a regular job as well as compete according to Bostick.
Skateboarding can be enjoyed by kids as young as two years, but the majority of pro skaters' range from early teens to early twenties. Most skateboarders don't train in any usual sense of the word, and they don't even think about their diet. Skaters just do what they love to do: skate, all the time. Skateboarding is fun, and when having fun is the goal, it never seems like training. Of course many skateboarders do other things for fun as well, such as surfing and snowboarding, which is actually extreme sports cross-training.
Source : http://www.skatelog.com/skateboarding/skateboarding-history.htm
The first skateboards were actually more like scooters, with the undercarriage consisting of rollerskate wheels attached to a two by four. Once the pushbar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born.
1950's
It wasn't until the 1950's, when the surfing craze was in full swing, that people realized skateboarding could recreate the feeling of riding a wave. This connection with surfing gave skateboarding a direction that would influence everything to come, from maneuvers and style, to terrain, fashion and attitude. It was during this time that modifications were made to the trucks making it easier to maneuver. By 1959 the first Roller Derby Skateboard was for sale.
1960's
In the early 1960's companies such as Larry Stevenson's Makaha and Hobie Alter's Hobie began to mass-produce the first true surfing-inspired skateboards. Some of the early proponents of surf-style skateboarding included Bill and Mark Richards, Dannu Bearer, Bruce Logan and Torger Johnson. Skateboarding became very popular almost overnight, and companies were fighting to keep up with demand. Over fifty million skateboards were sold within a three year period, and the first skateboard contest was held in Hermosa Beach, CA in 1963. Then in 1965 a slew of so-called safety experts pronounced skateboarding unsafe - urging stores not to sell them, and parents not to buy them. The skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the sport entered its first slump. Skateboarding would experience other slumps in its history. This pattern of peaks and valleys would come to be known as the "ten-year cycle," although the slumps weren't exactly ten years apart.
1970's
It was during this first slump that Larry Stevenson invented the kicktail, and the first generation of skateboarders laid down the foundation of tricks and style. However, they were still largely limited by equipment. Then in 1973 the urethane wheel was invented, revolutionizing the sport. The new wheels provided much better traction and speed and, combined with new skateboard specific trucks, allowed skaters to push the difficulty of maneuvers to new levels. Tricks at this time consisted of surfing maneuvers done on flat ground or on banks. Empty swimming pools and cylindrical pipes were exploited as terrain for the first time.
During the 1970's skateboarding experienced a large growth stage whish saw the construction of numerous concrete skateparks, a rank of professional skaters, magazines and movies. During this period modern skateboarding evolved to include vertical skating among its disciplines of slalom, downhill, freestyle and longjump.
Key advances in the sport included the aerial, the invert and the ollie, which may be the single most important trick in the evolution of skateboarding, next to the kickturn. This was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. The look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces. Near the end of the 70's, spiraling insurance and slowing attendance forced all but a few skateparks out of business and skateboarding entered its! Second slump.
1980's
In the 80's the plywood ramp and streetstyle revitalized skateboarding just as the urethane wheel had revitalized the sport in the 70's. Forced to take an underground, do-it-yourself attitude, skaters began to create their own wooden skate ramps in backyards and empty lots and turn previously unrideable street terrain, such as walls an handrails, into free-skate parks. Skater-owned companies became the norm and innovations in board and truck size allowed the trick envelope to be pushed even further. This generation had its own group of skate stars, some of whom still compete today including Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero. Towards the end of the 80's the focus shifted to street skating and Vert riding became less popular, it was the era of the first street stars like Mark Gonzales, Natas Kaupas and Mike Vallely.
With all this grass-roots action taking place it was inevitable that skateboarding would go through another growth phase. This time the cycle peaked around 1987 after skateboarding had directly influenced international culture ranging from the hard-edged punk style of music that most skaters preferred to the baggy, earth-tone clothes and retro tennis shoes that skaters wore.
The current cycle of skateboarding has been fueled by many items including new companies, more varied and difficult terrain, a new, more hard-core, almost dangerous attitude, and most importantly by a new generation of kids who have discovered the exhilaration feeling of rolling along of a board with wheels. Some of the people who exert heavy influence on the sport are former pros who have started companies like Steve Rocco of World Industries. The ollie has come into its own as the foundation for 80% of street tricks and about 60% of vert tricks, with the focus being on more technical and larger tricks.
1990's
In regards to the "ten-year cycle," the sport once again started on an upward swing in 1995, due in part to exposure it received from ESPN's first Extreme Games in Rhode Island. This served to bring skateboarding, which had long been viewed as a rebel sport, perhaps because of the danger and occasional illegality of the endeavor, a step closer to the mainstream. Many of the skaters who competed felt that ESPN's coverage of the sport raised skateboarding's overall image with the general public and is a good thing for the future of the sport. In 1996 the Extreme Games were again held in Rhode Island, once more exposing the sport of skateboarding to millions of people. Skateboarding was also included in the 1997 Winter X Games in the form of a CrossOver event that also included in-line skating, bicycle stunt, and snowboarding.
The impact of media coverage on skateboarding has moved it from an underground sport to a spectator sport over the last four years. It was brought an influx of companies and their advertising dollars, which had previously ignored skateboarding, as a vehicle for promotional purposes. Advertisers have seen that skateboarding has become a prime sport through which they can reach their favorite demographic: youth males.
Skateboarders have been present in campaigns for products from soft drinks to potato chips, candy to phone companies. Thus, most of what is happening in skateboarding today is coming not from the skateboarders themselves, but from corporate sponsors and the mass media. The primary focus of the sport remains on street skating, as can be seen throughout both the editorial and advertising pages of the major skateboard magazines, where street skating photos continue to dominate. However vert skating is making a comeback, due in part to the large number of new skateparks being built. These skateparks have also given boost to the skating community in many towns. The many different ramps, pipes and bowls present at these parks have led to a change in equipment. These technological changes applied to skate products have improved skateboarding hear steadily over the last two decades. While in the early 90's small boards and tiny wheel ruled, now there is a wide range of boards and wheels being seen under the feet of skateboarders. Wheel diameters are larger, deck width continues to grow, and longboards are gaining in popularity, especially in beach communities and among those that just want to use their skateboards to cruise or as a mode of transportation. Downhill skateboarding has also seen resurgence in recent years due in part to the visibility of the street luge.
One of the biggest trends at work is among softgoods. In the past, clothing fashions have consistently reflected the changes influenced by those who skate. Footwear is currently getting all the attention. According to the Transworld Skateboarding Business Summer 1998 Retailer Survey shoes represented 26.5 % of the market share, followed by decks (26%), apparel (16%), trucks (11.5%), wheels (11%), and accessories (9%).
There have been many organizations and governing bodies for skateboarding throughout its history. The two main organizations today are the IASC (International Association of Skateboarding Companies), and World Cup Skateboarding, which is the leading competition organization. World Cup Skateboarding is run by former NSA (National Skateboarding Association) president Don Bostick, with competitions featuring Street and Vert disciplines. Competitors are usually on factory teams, rather than national teams. This is due to the growth of sponsorship and sponsorship dollars put into events, which has changed the face of competitive skateboarding tremendously. Skateboarding is beginning to earn respect as professional athletes and are receiving greater amounts of purse money from contests.
2000's
"Today a pro can make anywhere from $1000 to $10,000 a month," says Danielle Bostick of World Cup Skateboarding and the X Games. These earnings are based on winnings, depending on how well a skater places in any given competition and how many competitions a skater competes in during any given month. Most skaters who are sponsored also earn a monthly salary from one or more companies, which sponsors them as team riders. This is a considerable change from the past when pro skaters had to work a regular job as well as compete according to Bostick.
Skateboarding can be enjoyed by kids as young as two years, but the majority of pro skaters' range from early teens to early twenties. Most skateboarders don't train in any usual sense of the word, and they don't even think about their diet. Skaters just do what they love to do: skate, all the time. Skateboarding is fun, and when having fun is the goal, it never seems like training. Of course many skateboarders do other things for fun as well, such as surfing and snowboarding, which is actually extreme sports cross-training.
Source : http://www.skatelog.com/skateboarding/skateboarding-history.htm
Saturday, August 6, 2011
FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking
This is 10 best Fifa World Rank
July 27th, 2011 - August 24th, 2011
July 27th, 2011 - August 24th, 2011
1. Spain
2. Netherland
3. Germany
4. Brazil
5. Uruguay
6. England
7. Portugal
8. Itialy
9. Croatia
10. Argentina
Friday, August 5, 2011
Exclusive Michael Jordan
Oh yeah, one of the legend player MICHAEL JORDAN
and this is with his team Chicago Bulls
and this is with his team Chicago Bulls
He used #23
Professional basketball player, Olympic athlete, businessperson, actor. Born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Considered one of the best basketball players ever, Michael Jordan dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He led the Chicago Bulls to six national championships as well as earned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award five times.
Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a competitive edge at an early age. He wanted to win every game he played. As his father James later noted, "What he does have is a competition problem. He was born with that...The person he tries to outdo most of the time is himself."
Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school's basketball team. His team won the NCAA Division I championships in 1982 with Jordan scoring the final basket needed to defeat Georgetown University. He was also singled out as the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and in 1984. During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first appearance in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. basketball team, which won the gold at the games held in Los Angeles. Later Jordan helped the United States bring home the gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Jordan left college after his junior year to join the NBA. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he soon proved himself on the court. He helped the team make it to the playoffs and scored an average of 28.2 points per game that season. For his efforts, Jordan received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was selected for the All-Star Game.
In 1985, he finished his bachelor's degree in geography and continued to play basketball professionally. While his second season was marred by injury, Jordan was breaking new ground on the court during the 1986-1987 season. He became the first player since Wilt Chamberlin to score more than 3,000 points in a single season. The following season, Jordan received his first Most Valuable Player Award from NBA—an honor he would earn four more times in 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998.
By the late 1980s, the Chicago Bulls was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Jordan was an instrumental part of the team's success. The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1990 and won their first NBA championship the following year by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. A rising NBA superstar, Jordan became known for his power and agility on the court as well as for his leadership abilities. He eventually landed several endorsement deals with such companies as Nike, which further pushed him into the spotlight.
In 1992, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers to win their second NBA championship title. The team took their third championship the following year, dominating in the basketball world. Jordan, however, had other things on his mind. He lost his father, James, to an act of violence after the end of the 1992-1993 season. Two teenagers shot James Jordan during an apparent robbery and were later convicted of the crime. In a move that shocked many, Michael Jordan decided to retire from basketball to pursue baseball. He played for a minor league team, the Birmingham Barons, as an outfielder for a year.
