Friday, September 5, 2008

Jumping

Easy Steps to Stop Your Dog from Jumping on You


When you bring home that adorable puppy her dog behavior is so cute. She puts her feet up on you to get your attention, jumps in your lap, jumps up and down on her hind legs begging to be picked up.

And what do you do? You reinforce all those dog behaviors. Give her attention, pick her up, make sure she’s comfortable on your lap. Then, lo and behold, she grows from 15 pounds to 75 pounds and is still jumping on you. That cute puppy behavior is now bad dog behavior. In fact, it’s downright maddening and you can’t get it to stop.

Humans often give dogs mixed signals -- telling them to do one thing, but reinforcing very different dog behavior. Or expecting dogs to read our minds -- is it ok to jump up sometimes but not others? Which is which? Dogs can’t figure that out.

You probably don’t even know you’re sending mixed signals.

Situations change throughout the day- you love that your dog jumps up on the bed to wake you with sloppy, wet kisses; it is endearing to have your dog greet your return with the big stretch to reach up so you will pick them up or love on them; it is helpful when the dog jumps up on a chair to help you put the leash on the collar.

It becomes a problem when guests come over and the dog jumps on them; when you are dressed up and now dirty feet have ruined your outfit; or when it is just simply not convenient.

STEPS TO STOP THE JUMPING

As humans, it’s our job to teach dogs how we want them to behave. Here are some easy tips to change that unwanted dog behavior.

1. BE CONSISTENT

Figure out what you want and then be consistent with what you desire. Do you want your dog to jump or not? Dogs don’t understand "sometimes".

If the answer to the question is, I want the jumping to stop, then take a look at your situation and ask yourself these questions:

When does it happen?
What are your various responses?
When are you consistent?
When are you not consistent?
How can you be gentle and clear with your responses?

2. DO NOT REINFORCE THE BEHAVIOR

This seems obvious. But oftentimes it’s not. You have to change your behavior before you can expect Fluffy to change hers.

3. GIVE AN INCOMPATIBLE BEHAVIOR COMMAND

The very easiest way to correct this behavior is to give an incompatible behavior. For example, Sit is a great choice. Most dogs know it and it is easy to put a dog into a sit if needed.

4. GO STIFF

When your dog begins jumping, stop your body movement and go stiff. Turn your back slightly. Give the new command "Rover, sit". Help Rover sit if needed.

Let this become your new response to Rover’s jumping. PRAISE the sit. If Rover pops up out of the sit and jumps up, start over. Go stiff, give the command (Rover, sit), help with the sit if needed. PRAISE (and treat if handy) the sit.

As you are consistent, your dog will comply with your new desires. PRAISE each time your dog sits. This is the new polite way of getting your attention. PRAISE whenever your dog comes and sits in front of you. This is the signal "please" for attention, outside, treat, etc.

Super-exciting times to a dog will probably result in the old jumping but be consistent and patient, and as you do this, you gain leadership respect from your dog.

CONCLUSION

Dog behavior modification can be done very quickly and your relationship will get better and better. Be patient, kind, loving and consistent. Your dog wants to make you happy. Use these few simple steps to STOP THE JUMPING!


the Bowler's Uniform

Bowling Shirt Completes the Bowler's Uniform

Most real player of bowling wears bowling shirt. This shirt is made from different fabrics like poly/cotton, 100 cotton. By the way, all these kind of shirts may or may not have prints. There are prints on the back, front, or on both sides, especially the customized ones in which their shirts have printed or hand-chainstitched logo. The logos can be a company or a team logo. Common style of these shirts have contrasting collar, button-up front, pocket in front (optional), and back pleats.

Bowling shirts should be comfortable to wear yet durable. It is best that you feel comfortable with what you wear in playing bowling so that you will not be distracted by discomfort while playing game because bowling requires concentration and coordination in order to win the game. Bowling shirts paired with comfortable jeans, and then you are ready to show what you got. This is just the right outfit for you. It is also important to choose the right fit for your shirt; it should be light- weight, not too loose, and not too tight.

If you are an amateur or professional bowler, you should have a bowling shirt. If you want to personalize you bowling shirt, it is possible. On-line stores have a wide variety of designs and styles for you to choose from. You can check out at any bowling related websites and you can find many choices of bowling shirts in different designs and colors. And if you are the type of person who prefers fitting an outfit to know exactly the right size and the right color (like me), you can always check out your local sports retail stores for your bowling shirt.

For you to be easily labeled as a bowler, wearing a comfortable bowling shirt will do. By doing so, each time you go bowling, you will be recognized as one right away. And besides, that should be the right outfit for you for better performance.

Shooting for the Stars

The magic of the camera in the hands of great directors makes kids all over the world dream of stardom. However, the world of cinematography is notoriously difficult to break into, but young, aspiring filmmakers take heart!

The Windy Hill Kids Film Festival, debuting this spring, is on a slightly smaller scale than the larger festivals in New York and Hollywood…for now. Opening in Menlo Park on April 9th, Windy Hill will showcase films by young film producers in 4th grade through high school. The festival organizers are expecting several films this year throughout the South Bay Area. And with inspirational leaders like its young founder, Shelby Rachleff, the sky’s the limit. Better watch out, Hollywood - this kid is dreaming big.

A 7th grader from Menlo School, Shelby has taken on no small challenge. Brought on by her love of the cinema, Shelby’s film festival will be the first of its kind in the greater Palo Alto San Mateo area. The festival will encourage dialogue between filmmakers and community members in a supportive setting.

Shelby first decided to organize a film festival after attending the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. “This summer, I went to see the Telluride Film Festival with my parents and was inspired to try to emulate what I saw,” said Shelby. “I thought there are so many of my friends who like to play around with Apple’s easy-to-use iMovie and digital cameras – if they could share their movies with other kids, it might inspire them while also being tons of fun!”

This future producer caught the bug for filmmaking at a young age. Even as a little kid, she would think of ways to translate her favorite books into screenplays.

“I’m a pretty voracious reader,” said Shelby. “I would make notes on which of the books I read might make great movies. I’d ask my parents how I could make a career out of that when I was older.”

In pursuit of this dream, Shelby attended iD Tech Camps, a weeklong summer technology program for students ages seven to 17 at Stanford University and other prestigious universities nationwide. At camp, Shelby took Web Design and Digital Video & Movie Production courses.

“At camp, I worked in a group to produce a movie. We edited it with help from our instructor,” said Shelby. “It was really exciting using professional products like Canon digital cameras, Adobe After Effects for special effects and Apple Final Cut Pro for professional movie editing. We had a blast , learned so much and were definitely inspired to produce more films. It was a great experience to get us started.”

Shelby’s exposure to cutting-edge movie software and hardware helped focus her interest in movie making and raised the bar of her expectations. After attending camp at Stanford University, she became inspired to try new things in her movies.

“Going to iD Tech Camps made me want to use Final Cut Pro to incorporate more awesome stuff into my movies to make them more sophisticated,” said Shelby. “It was my first real introduction to using specific techniques, such as imported sounds, different logos, and experiments with lighting. It has definitely spurred my interest in filmmaking.”

“But Shelby soon learned that running a film festival is more than just producing great films. As April approaches, she is busy calling schools to confirm their participation, sending emails about the festival, checking the sound system and viewing the entries. She is also preparing her welcome speech and her introductions of the various films. The guest speaker at the festival will be Gardner Loulan, a Portola Valley native and VJ for MTV’s mtvU show.

“Gardner is really cool and will be inspiring to kids,” said Shelby. “We wanted to make this festival really non-threatening for kids – even though there’s a judge, it will be really non-threatening and a supportive environment for kids of ALL levels to show their entries. The idea is to get everyone involved and hopefully build up momentum so we can follow up with this festival in years to come.”

The Windy Hill Kids Film Festival is off to a roaring start. And with up and rising film producers like Shelby leading the way, who knows? One of today’s entrants could be inspired to be tomorrow’s big star.

Boxing

How To Perform Cardio-Boxing For Super Fitness

Ever wondered why most sports scientists agree that cardio-boxing is one of the best forms of exercise, well it is because it conditions the total body and provides a complete workout for your cardiovascular and endurance systems. Lets have a look at the benefits:

The major benefits of cardio-boxing include:

· Increased Stamina
· Increased Strength
· Increased Speed
· Increased Coordination

Cardio-boxing also promotes a person’s well being by strengthening their self-discipline and combined with strength training it’s well and truly the total package for self-defence and fitness and usually consists of:

· Adjusted heart rate work
· Actual boxing techniques

The usual workout consists of the age-adjusted heart rate work starting with 10 minutes for beginners and leading up to 20 minutes for the more advanced. For the second part of the workout, you’ll need to perform and practice 20 minutes of actual boxing techniques.

Cardio

The best way to measure the effects of an exercise program on your body is to check your pulse.

The easiest way to check the pulse is to place your index and middle fingers on your carotid artery or the wrist. Immediately after the exercise, count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

You can also check your pulse during the exercise but with safety as a first priority. To get a more precise reading of your pulse rate, purchase an electronic device from any sports store.

Now you have your exercising pulse rate or heartbeats per minute. We’ll be concentrating at the upper end of your pulse region: the 50% - 70% ranges.

To figure this out, deduct your age from 220. Suppose your age is 40, deduct this from 220 and you get 180.

50% of 180 is 90 beats a minute,
60% of 180 is 108 beats a minute,
70% of 180 is 126 beats a minute and so on.

Don’t jump into 70% work straight away. Start with 50% and slowly work your way up to the 70% upper limit.

Start with no more than 10 minutes, and work up to 20 minutes. Once you’re comfortable with working out for 20 minutes at 70% then try to increase the heart rate up to 80%.

Mix up your cardiovascular activities in the gym. Use the treadmill, skipping, rower, climber, and bike and other equipment that might be available to you.

Boxing

The boxing stance is the posture a boxer takes before and after every action depending on whether you are left or right handed. We’ll be dealing with the most common; right-handed. For left-handed people, just reverse the instructions.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with your left foot in front of your right foot. Your right heel should be slightly raised with your left foot flat on the floor and toes pointing ahead.

Bend your knees a little and balance your weight comfortably and evenly.

Place your elbows close to your body with your left fist held at head height and in a position that corresponds to your left foot.

The right fist should be at head height also and guarding the chin, with both elbows protecting your body and both fists protecting your chin.

This is your defensive and offensive position after throwing punches, so please practice this before going any further. When moving forward in this boxing stance the left foot moves forward first and then the right follows.

When moving back, the right moves back and then the left follows. When moving sideward to the right, the right foot moves first followed by the left. When moving sideward to the left, the left foot moves first followed by the right.

Practice this moving forward, back and sideward in the boxer’s stance until it is done smoothly and quickly. Remember to keep your guard up and elbows tucked in to your sides.

Keep your head at eye level with your upper body leaning forward slightly. In boxing it is important that punches are thrown quickly and then bought back quickly to assume a defensive posture.

Punching

A left jab has many uses, it can be used for both offensive and

Defensive actions. From the set stance the left arm is pushed quickly and forcefully forward, the weight is shifted to the front foot. The fist moves in a straight line and straight back again for defence.

At the moment of impact the back of the hand and the lower arm are in a straight line. Keep the right fist in the defensive position and elbow tucked into the body during the movement.

The straight right is also known as the punching hand and can be thrown with considerable force. The arm moves straightforward from the chin, the body weight is shifted to the front foot with the ball of the foot of the back leg pushing into the floor for more power.

The back of the hand is straight and pointing up at the moment of impact. The arm is then immediately pulled back for protection after the hit.

The left hook to the head and body is an effective punch for closer range work. From the set stance turn your left shoulder quickly and move your elbow up to shoulder height. The fist moves in a circular motion to the target, with the elbow bent.

Rotate your hip and body whilst pressing your front left down keeping the back of your fist pointing up and in a straight line with the lower arm. The left hook to the body is similar to the above but increases the rotation of the body

The right uppercut is also carried out at close range. Drop the lower part of your punching arm until the lower and upper arm is at right angles to each other. The back of your hand should be pointing away from you, now thrust your arm forward and upward to your target.

Shift your body weight to your front leg and rotate your hip and shoulder on the same side. Remember to keep your left fist guarding your chin during the entire movement. Now practice all your punches until they are done quickly and smoothly.

To develop speed and endurance, try punching straight left and right combinations into the heavy bag. The duration of the exercise period is the same as the rest period i.e. 10 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds exercise, 20 seconds rest, and so on. Move up higher as your condition improves.

Believe me after you start applying Cardio–Boxing to your regular fitness workouts your cardiovascular and endurance systems will thank you for it.


Hockey Skates

6 Things To Know Before Buying Hockey Skates

Here are six of the most important points to consider before you buy your hockey skates, including common misunderstandings and frequent mistakes. If 'skate comfort and performance' really matter to you, then you need to read this!

Buying the top manufacturers model of skate may not be the best choice of skate to buy, for you.

Manufacturers make several models of skates to accommodate different levels of skating and the different physical sizes of skaters, as well as to cover many price points. The higher the model of skate, the more expensive it is and the stiffer it is.

If you're not physically heavy enough to deal with the stiffness of the skate it won't matter how much money you pay, your skating performance will suffer. Skates that are too stiff for a skater means no knee bend. Very often, it also means long-term discomfort.

Be honest with yourself when it comes to your skating ability and physical size. Purchasing a model of skate that matches those two criterions, can dramatically increase your skating performance, and save you money.

Fitting hockey skates like shoes.

Skates and shoes do not fit the same. A rule of thumb to use is that a skate will always fit a size, to a size and a half, smaller than your shoe size. Depending on how you fit your running shoes, a skate may even occasionally be as much as two sizes smaller.

If your skates are currently the same size as your running shoe? they are too big. For example if you wear a size 10 running shoe start with trying on a size 8-? hockey skate. If you generally wear an extra wide shoe, start with a 'D' width skate.

The ideal fit, length wise, has been achieved when you are standing in a skate that is laced up. The longest toe of the foot should, in fact, feather the end of the toecap. When you bend your knees slightly (like when you skate) the toes will pull completely away from the front of the toecap. If they don't pull away, then go up half a size. If you need growing room, then go up half a size.

Trying on a pair of skates and not lacing them up.

This is one of the most common reasons skaters end up in skates too big. Hockey skates are, by design, meant to fit when they are laced up. As the boot is laced up, the foot will draw into the back of the skate. A skate that ultimately fits properly will, more often then not, feel small when the foot is placed in the boot prior to lacing it.

Trying on a pair of skates without lacing them up is like trying on a button shirt without buttoning it? both are meant to fit when they are done up. So?when you put the skate on, be sure to give your heel a good kick into the back of the boot and then lace it up.

Buying the same make and model of skate that that the pro's (NHL) have.

This can be a tough one because the younger skaters want what their favorite player is wearing. The bottom line with this is that the skates that the general public is able to buy off the shelf, are not the same as what an NHL player is wearing.

The Bauer Vapor XX or CCM PRO or what ever the model might be, is not the same skate as what the general public are able to purchase. The pros are wearing custom made boots from the manufacturer. The NHL is a great marketing vehicle for the skate manufacturers. Consumers need to be aware of this fact.

Buying a longer length to try and accommodate a wide foot.

If your foot is wide and the skate is tight then buy a wider skate not a bigger length. The really big skate that feels good in the store, will come back to haunt you almost every time.

A skate has a very specific shape that is relative to the length of the foot going into it. If you purchase a skate that is the wrong length, nothing about the shape of the foot will line up with the boot. For example; the widest part of the foot comes back into the narrowest part of the boot. The arch of the foot no longer lines up with the arch of the skate. None of that will bother you in the store, but get out skating and it will show up.

Not setting enough time aside to properly fit the skates.

It can take time to fit a skate for comfort. Wrapping a very stiff piece of material around the foot can sometimes be a challenge.

How a skate fits in the first few minutes of putting it on compared to how it fits after spending some time to warm the boot up can make a dramatic difference. Give yourself at least an hour, so you can walk around the store and get a feel for the boot as well as warm it up. Also you may want to take the time to try more than one manufacturers skate and model.


Thursday, September 4, 2008

Polo


Polo is a team sport played outdoors on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Riders score by driving a white wooden or plastic ball (size 3–3.5 inches, weight 4.25–4.75 ounces) into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet. Goals are only valid if the scoring rider is mounted. The traditional sport of polo is played outdoors, and each polo team consists of four riders and their mounts.

The modern indoor variant is called arena polo. In arena polo, there are 3 instead of four players on each team and chukkers (periods) are 7 1/2 minutes in length. The playing area is 300′ x 150′.[1]

Another modern variant is snow polo, which is played either outdoor or indoor on snow on a frozen ground or ice. Each team generally consists of three players and also the equipment differs from the sport of polo. Other variants include elephant polo, bike polo and Segway polo. These sports are considered as separate sports because of the differences in the composition of teams, equipment, rules, game facilities etc.

History

Polo was first played in the Persian Empire (modern day Iran) at dates given from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD.[2] Polo was at first a training game for cavalry units, usually the king's guard or other elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen, who played it with as many as 100 to a side, it was a miniature battle.[2] In time polo became a Persian national sport played extensively by the nobility. Women as well as men played the game, as indicated by references to the queen and her ladies engaging King Khosrow II Parviz and his courtiers in the 6th century AD.[3] Certainly Persian literature and art give us the richest accounts of polo in antiquity. Ferdowsi, the famed Iranian poet-historian, gives a number of accounts of royal polo tournaments in his 9th century epic, Shahnameh (the Epic of Kings). In the earliest account, Ferdowsi romanticizes an international match between Turanian force and the followers of Siyâvash, a legendary Persian prince from the earliest centuries of the Empire; the poet is eloquent in his praise of Siyâvash's skills on the polo field. Ferdowsi also tells of Emperor Shapur II of the Sassanid dynasty of the 4th century who learned to play polo when he was only seven years old.[4]

Valuable for training cavalry, the game was played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages. Known in the East as the Game of Kings.[3] The name polo is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "pulu", meaning ball.[5]

The modern game of polo, though formalized and popularized by the British, is derived from the princes of the Tibeto-Burman kingdom of Manipur (now a state in India) in the southeastern Himalayas, who played the game while they were in exile in India sometime between 1819 and 1826.

The princes were on the run from the Burmese who had overrun their kingdom during what was called the Seven Years' Devastation. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam, India, in 1834.

The origins of the game in Manipur are traced to early precursors of Sagol Kangjei. [6] This was one of three forms of hockey in Manipur, the other ones being field hockey (called Khong Kangjei) and wrestling-hockey (called Mukna Kangjei). Local rituals such as those connected to the Marjing, the Winged-Pony God of Polo and the creation-ritual episodes of the Lai Haraoba festival enacting the life of his son, Khori-Phaba, the polo-playing god of sports. These may indicate an origin prior to the historical records of Manipur, which go back to the 1st Century A.D.

In Manipur, polo is traditionally played with seven players to a side. The players are mounted on the indigenous Manipuri pony, which stands less than 13 hands high. There are no goal posts and a player scored simply by hitting the ball out of either end of the field. Players were also permitted to carry the ball, though that allowed opponents to physically tackle players when they do so. The sticks were made of cane and the balls were made from the roots of bamboo. Colorful cloth pom-poms dangle at sensitive and vulnerable spots around the anatomy of the ponies in order to protect them. Players protected their legs by attaching leather shields to their saddles and girths.[7]

In Manipur, the game was not merely a "rich" game but was played even by commoners who owned a pony.[5] The kings of Manipur had a royal polo ground within the ramparts of their Kangla Fort. Here they played Manung Kangjei Bung (literally, "Inner Polo Ground”). Public games were held, as they are still today, at the Mapan Kangjei Bung (literally "Outer Polo Ground”), a polo ground just outside the Kangla. Weekly games called Hapta Kangjei (Weekly Polo) were also played in a polo ground outside the current Palace.

The British are credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Military officers imported the game to England in the 1860s. The establishment of polo clubs throughout England and western Europe followed after the formal codification of rules.[7] The 10th Hussars at Aldershot, Hants, introduced polo to England in 1869. The game's governing body in the United Kingdom is the Hurlingham Polo Association, which drew up the first set of formal British rules in 1874, many of which are still in existence.

This version of polo played in the 19th century was different from the faster form that was played in Manipur. The game was slow and methodical, with little passing between players and few set plays that required specific movements by participants without the ball. Neither players nor horses were trained to play a fast, nonstop game. This form of polo lacked the aggressive methods and equestrian skills to play. From the 1800s to the 1910s, a host of teams representing Indian principalities dominated the international polo scene.[7]

Polo found popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico,Pakistan and the United States of America.[8][9][10]

James Gordon Bennett, Jr. organized the first polo match in the United States at Dickel's Riding Academy at 39th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City. During the early part of the 20th century, under the leadership of Harry Payne Whitney, polo changed to become a high-speed sport in the United States, differing from the game in England, where it involved short passes to move the ball toward the opposition's goal. Whitney and his teammates used the fast break, sending long passes downfield to riders who had broken away from the pack at a full gallop.

The oldest polo ground in the world is the Imphal Polo Ground in Manipur State established by the British in India. The history of this pologround is contained in the royal chronicle "Cheitharol Kumbaba" starting from AD 33. Lieutenant Sherer, the father of modern polo visited the state and played on this polo ground in the 1850s. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India visited the state in 1901 and measured the pologround as 225 yards long and 110 yards wide. The oldest royal polo square is the 16th century Gilgit Polo Field, Pakistan, while the highest polo ground in the world is on the deosai Plateau Baltistan, Pakistan at 4307 meters (14,000 ft). The oldest polo club in the world still in existence is the Calcutta Polo Club (1862).

Polo is an equestrian sport with its origin embedded in Central Asia dating back to 6th century BC. At first it was a training game for cavalry units for the King's Guards or other Elite troops. To the warlike tribesmen who played polo with as many as 100 players to a side, it was a miniature battle. It became a Persian national game in the 6th century AD. From Persia, the game spread to Arabia, then to Tibet, China and Japan. In China, in the year 910, death of a favourite relative in a game prompted Emperor Apaochi to order beheading of all players.


A Brief History Of Baseball

A Short Baseball History

The game of baseball is said to have begun in the early 19th century, but that's just half the truth. The game was played much before but the first baseball clubs were formed around that time. An Englishman named Alexander Cartwright in the year 1845 devised the first set of rules baseball. In fact, many of the rules listed out then are still used in the game.

In the year 1858, a group of amateur players came together to form the first baseball league - known as the National Association of Baseball Players. Right from the first year, the National Association of Baseball Players began charging for admission to baseball games.

At the turn of the century, the American League of baseball came into being and began playing in 1901. The game of baseball was still very much a game of strategy. The game depended on bunting, base stealing and contact hitters. With the invention of the cork centered baseball, all that changed. Because the new baseball allowed for more home runs baseball's popularity took off--and so did the cost of admissions.Throughout the early 20th century, the game of baseballrelied more and more on the hitting of home runs, and lesson strategy. This was thanks to great baseball players like Babe Ruth, who completely revolutionized the game with hisprowess at hitting home runs. It is largely due to the "Babe" that baseball became one of the most popular sports in America. And it didn't hurt future baseball players that people were willing to pay to see Babe Ruth play.

Even as late as 1960, rival leagues tried to make their way into American baseball. All of them failed to leave any significant mark, and the game is still ruled today by the National and American leagues. And throughout the last part of the 20th century, baseball became both a game of strategy and hitting. Pitching and home run hitting, though, are the baseball benchmarks of today. Baseball teams are either big winners or big losers, depending on the strength of their bullpens and their home run hitters. And the cost of admission still continues to rise.

In the early 20th century the concentration was more on hitting the home runs. Babe Ruth changed the course of the game with his magical abilities to achieve home runs. It was due to sportsmen like Babe Ruth that baseball achieved the levels of popularity that it did. The popularity of Babe Ruth also helped in improving the money in the game, since people just went to watch Babe Ruth in action.

Rival leagues kept trying to break into American baseball even as late as 1960. Of course, they all failed to leave any significant mark, and could not challenge the supremacy of the National and American leagues that rule the game till date. Baseball became a game of strategy and hitting throughout the last part of the 20th century. However, pitching and home run hitting are the baseball benchmarks of today. Depending on the strength of their bullpens and their home run hitters, baseball teams are either big winners or big losers. The one thing that is consistent is that the cost of admission still continues to rise.

Cricket

Cricket is a global bat-and-ball team sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries. A cricket match is contested by two teams, usually of eleven players each [1].

A cricket match is played on a grass field in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground 22 yards (20 m) long called a cricket pitch. A wicket, usually made of wood, is placed at each end of the pitch and used as a target.

The bowler, a player from the fielding team, bowls a hard leather, fist-sized, 5.5 ounces (160 g) cricket ball from the vicinity of one wicket towards the other, which is guarded by the batsman, a player from the opposing team. The ball usually bounces once before reaching the batsman. In defence of his wicket, the batsman plays the ball with a wooden cricket bat. Meanwhile, the other members of the bowler's team stand in various positions around the field as fielders, players who retrieve the ball in an effort to stop the batsman scoring runs, and if possible to get him or her out. The batsman — if he or she does not get out — may run between the wickets, exchanging ends with a second batsman (the "non-striker"), who has been waiting at the opposite end of the wicket. Each completed exchange of ends scores one run. Runs are also scored if the batsman hits the ball to the boundary of the playing area. The match is won by the team that scores more runs.

Cricket is essentially an outdoor sport, certainly at major level, and some games are played under floodlights. It cannot be played in poor weather due to the risk of accidents and so it is a seasonal sport. For example, it is played during the summer months in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, while in the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh it is played mostly during the winter months to escape the hurricane and monsoon seasons.

Governance rests primarily with the International Cricket Council (ICC), based in Dubai, which organises the sport worldwide via the domestic controlling bodies of the member countries. The ICC administers both men's and women's cricket, both versions being played at international level. Although men cannot play women's cricket, the rules do not disqualify women from playing in a men's team.

The rules are in the form of a code known as The Laws of Cricket [2] and these are maintained by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), based in London, in consultation with the ICC and the domestic boards of control.


Volleyball


Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of six active players (five normal players and one 'libero'), separated by a high net, each try to score points against one another by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.[1]

The complete rules of volleyball are extensive, but in general, play proceeds as follows: Points are awarded as follows: If the ball touches the ground outside the court area, the team which made contact with it last loses the point. If the ball touches the ground on team A's side of the net, team B is awarded a point, and vice-versa. The ball must be hit over the net to get a point.The team who wins the point then serves. The first team to reach 25 points wins the set and the first team to win three sets wins the match.[2] Teams can contact the ball no more than three times before the ball crosses the net, and consecutive contacts must be made by different players. The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short contact) the ball with any part of the body.

Through time, volleyball has developed to involve common techniques of spiking, passing, blocking, and setting, as well as specialised player positions and offensive and defensive structures. Because many plays are made above the top of the net, vertical jumping is an athletic skill emphasised in volleyball. This article focuses on competitive indoor volleyball, which is carefully regulated and played indoors. Numerous variations of volleyball have developed for casual play, as has the Olympic spin-off sport beach volleyball.


Golf


Golf is a sport in which a player, using many types of clubs including a driver, a putter, and irons, hits a ball into each hole on a golf course in the lowest possible number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not use a standardized playing area; rather, the game is played on golf "courses", each one of which has a unique design and typically consists of either 9 or 18 holes. Golf is defined in the Rules of Golf as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules."

The first game of golf for which records survive was played at Bruntsfield Links, in Edinburgh, Scotland, in A.D. 1456, recorded in the archives of the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society, now The Royal Burgess Golfing Society. The modern game of golf spread from Scotland to England and has now become a worldwide game, with golf courses in the majority of countries.

Golf competition may be played as stroke play, in which the individual with the lowest number of strokes is declared the winner, stableford points play (as devised in 1931 by Dr. Frank Stableford of the Wallasey & Royal Liverpool Golf Clubs), in which the individual with the highest points score is declared the winner, or as match play with the winner determined by whichever individual or team posts the lower score on the most individual holes during a complete round. In addition, team events such as fourball have been introduced, and these can be played using either the stroke, stableford or matchplay format. Alternative ways to play golf have also been introduced, such as miniature golf, sholf and disc golf.

Golf has increasingly turned into a spectator game, with several different levels of professional and amateur tours in many regions of the world. People such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Lorena Ochoa, Padraig Harrington and Annika Sörenstam have become well-recognized sports figures across the world. Sponsorship has also become a huge part of the game and players often earn more from their sponsorship contracts than they do from the game itself.

History


Golf is a game the exact origins of which are unclear. The origin of golf is open to debate as to being Dutch[3] or Scottish. However, the most accepted golf history theory is that golf as practised today originated from Scotland in the 1100s.[4]

A game somewhat similar to golf was first mentioned in Dōngxuān Records (Chinese: 東軒錄), a Chinese book of 11th century. It was also mentioned on February 26, 1297 in the Netherlands in a city called Loenen aan de Vecht. Here the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. Whoever hit the ball into a target several hundreds of meters away the most number of times, won.

Modern golf is considered to be a Scottish invention,[5][6] as the game was mentioned in two 15th century laws prohibiting the playing of the game of gowf. Some scholars have suggested that this refers to another game which is more akin to modern shinty, hurling or field hockey than golf. A game of putting a small ball into a hole in the ground using clubs was played in 17th century Netherlands. Flourishing trade over the North Sea during the Middle Ages and early Modern Period led to much language interaction between Scots, Dutch, Flemish and other languages. There are also reports of even earlier accounts of a golf like game from continental Europe.[3]

However, these earlier games are more accurately viewed as ancestors of the game we call golf, as the fact remains that the modern game of golf we understand today originated and developed in Scotland: The first golf club memberships were formed in Scotland. The earliest permanent golf course originated there too, as did the very first written rules, as did the establishment of the 18-hole course. The first formalized tournament structures also emerged there and competitions were arranged between different Scottish cities. Over time, the modern game spread to England and from there to the rest of the world. The oldest playing golf course in the world is The Musselburgh Old Links Golf Course.[7] Evidence has shown that golf was played here in 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.

As stated, golf courses have not always had eighteen holes. The St Andrews Links occupy a narrow strip of land along the sea. As early as the 15th century, golfers at St Andrews, in Fife, established a customary route through the undulating terrain, playing to holes whose locations were dictated by topography. The course that emerged featured eleven holes, laid out end to end from the clubhouse to the far end of the property. One played the holes out, turned around, and played the holes in, for a total of 22 holes. In 1764, several of the holes were deemed too short, and were therefore combined. The number was thereby reduced from 11 to nine, so that a complete round of the links comprised 18 holes. Due to the status of St Andrews as the golfing capital, all other courses chose to follow suit and the 18-hole course remains the standard today.[8]

The major changes in equipment since the 19th century have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball designs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of steel and then titanium to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of "graphite" (also known as carbon fiber) were introduced in the 1980s. Though wooden tees are still most popular, various designs of plastic tees have been developed in recent years, and the synthetic materials composing the modern ball continue to be developed.[9]

Golf balls are famous for "dimples". These small dips in the surface of the golf ball decrease aerodynamic drag which allows the ball to fly further.[9] Golf is also famous for the use of flags. These show the position of the hole to players when they make their first drive and are too far away from the hole to aim accurately. When all players in a group are within putting distance, the flag is removed by a "caddy" or a fellow competitor to allow for easier access to the hole.


Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Tennis


Tennis is a sport played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt (most of the time Optic Yellow,[1] but can be any color or even two-tone) over a net into the opponent's court.

The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as "lawn tennis" and had heavy connections to the ancient game of real tennis. After its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population before spreading around the world. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs. In the United States, there is a collegiate circuit organized by the National Collegiate Athletics Association.

Except for the adoption of the tie-breaker in the 1970s, the rules of tennis have changed very little since the 1890s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of "instant replay" technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the official call of a point.

Along with its millions of players, millions of people worldwide follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments (sometimes referred to as the "majors"): Australian Open, Roland Garros (French Open), Wimbledon (UK), and the U.S. Open.

History

Tennis as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets similar to the game of Poona or Badminton many British soldiers brought from being stationed in India and the Basque ball game pelota, which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham, England.[2][3] In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club in Leamington Spa.[4] The Courier of 23 July 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall.[5]

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed a similar game — which he called sphairistike (Greek σφάίρίστική, skill at playing at ball), and was soon known simply as "sticky" — for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan, Wales.[6] He based the game on the newer sport of outdoor tennis or real tennis. According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game.

The first championships at Wimbledon, in London were played in 1877.[7] On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions.[8] The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island.[9] The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887.[10] Tennis was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891.[11] Thus, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis.[7][12] Together these four events are called the Grand Slam (a term borrowed from bridge).[13] The comprehensive International Lawn Tennis Federation rules promulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tie-breaker system designed by James Van Alen.[14] The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900.[15]

In 1926, promoter C.C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with a group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences.[12][16] The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen.[12][17] Once a player turned pro he or she could not compete in the major (amateur) tournaments.[12]

In 1968, commercial pressures and rumors of some amateurs taking money under the table led to the abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the open era, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis.[18] With the beginning of the open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its upper/middle-class English-speaking image[19] (although it is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists).[19][20][21]

In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island.[22] The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honoring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Each year, a grass-court tournament and an induction ceremony honoring new Hall of Fame members are hosted on its grounds.



Surfing


Surfing is a surface water sport in which the participant is carried along the face of a breaking wave, most commonly using a surfboard, although wave-riders may make use of kneeboards, body boards (aka boogie boards), kayaks, surf skis, and their own bodies. Surfing-related sports such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kitesurfing and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves.

Two major subdivisions within contemporary stand-up surfing are reflected by the differences in surfboard design and riding style of longboarding and shortboarding.

In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave surfing), a surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, such as a jetski, generally because standard paddling is often ineffective when trying to match a large wave's higher speed.

Origin


According to the website for a commercial documentary[1]surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture, and the chief was the most skilled wave rider in the community with the best board made from the best tree. Moreover, the ruling class had the best beaches and the best boards, and commoners were not allowed on the same beaches, but they could gain prestige by their ability to ride the surf on their extremely heavy boards.According to the same website, surfing permeated ancient Polynesian society, including religion and myth, and Polynesian chiefs would demonstrate and confirm their authority by the skills they displayed in the surf.

The art of surfing was first observed by Europeans in 1767, by the crewmembers of the Dolphin at Tahiti. Later, Lieutenant James King, wrote about the art[1] when completing the journals of Captain James Cook upon Cook's death in 1779

Hydrodynamics

Swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area of open water, called the wind's fetch. The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind, the length of its fetch and its duration. So, surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.

Local wind conditions affect wave quality, since the ridable surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions. Ideal surf conditions include a light to moderate strength "offshore" wind, since this blows into the front of the wave making it barrel or tube.

The factor which most determines wave shape is the topography of the seabed directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave. The contours of the reef or sand bank influence wave shape in two respects. Firstly, the steepness of the incline is proportional to the resulting upthrust. When a swell passes over a sudden steep slope, the force of the upthrust causes the top of the wave to be thrown forward, forming a curtain of water which plunges to the wave trough below. Secondly, the alignment of the contours relative to the swell direction determines the duration of the breaking process. When a swell runs along a slope, it continues to peel for as long as that configuration lasts. When swell wraps into a bay or around an island, the breaking wave gradually diminishes in size, as the wave front becomes stretched by diffraction.

For specific surf spots, the state of the ocean tide can play a significant role in the quality of waves or hazards of surfing there. Tidal variations vary greatly among the various global surfing regions, and the effect the tide has on specific spots can vary greatly among the spots within each area. Locations such as Bali, Panama and Ireland experience 2-3 meter tide fluctuations, whereas in Hawaii the difference between high and low tide is typically less than one meter.

In order to know a surf break, one must be sensitive to each of these factors. Each break is different, since the underwater topography of one place is unlike any other. At beach breaks, even the sandbanks change shape from week to week, so it takes commitment to get good waves (a skill dubbed "broceanography" by a few California surfers). That is why surfers have traditionally regarded surfing to be more of a lifestyle than a sport. Nowadays, however, surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology, whereby mathematical modelling graphically depicts the size and direction of swells moving around the globe.

The regularity of swell varies across the globe and throughout the year. During winter, heavy swells are generated in the mid-latitudes, when the north and south polar fronts shift toward the Equator. The predominantly westerly winds generate swells that advance eastward. So, waves tend to be largest on west coasts during the winter months. However, an endless train of mid-latitude cyclones causes the isobars to become undulated, redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.

East coasts also receive heavy winter swells when low pressure cells form in the sub-tropics, where their movement is inhibited by slow moving highs. These lows produce a shorter fetch than polar fronts, however they can still generate heavy swells, since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular wind direction. After all, the variables of fetch and duration both influence how long the wind acts over a wave as it travels, since a wave reaching the end of a fetch is effectively the same as the wind dying off.

During summer, heavy swells are generated when cyclones form in the tropics. Tropical cyclones form over warm seas, so their occurrence is influenced by El Niño & La Niña cycles. Their movements are unpredictable. They can even move westward, which is unique for a large scale weather system. In 1979, Tropical Cyclone Kerry wandered for 3 weeks across the Coral Sea and into Queensland before dissipating.

The quest for perfect surf has given rise to a field of tourism based on the surfing adventure. Yacht charters and surf camps offer surfers access to the high quality surf found in remote, tropical locations, where tradewinds ensure offshore conditions. Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows. So, the swells arrive in pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a couple of days between each swell. Since bigger waves break in a different configuration, a rising swell is yet another variable to consider when assessing how to approach a break.


Basketball


Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.

Points are scored by shooting the ball through the basket above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (fouls) is not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).

Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.

While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations have become exceedingly popular as an outdoor sport among both inner city and rural groups.

Football


Football is the word given to a number of similar team sports, all of which involve (to varying degrees) kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports world-wide is association football, also known as "soccer" and most commonly just "football". The English language word "football" is also applied to gridiron football (which includes games like American football and Canadian football), Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby football (rugby league and rugby union), and related games. Each of these codes (specific sets of rules, or the games defined by them) is referred to as "football".

These games involve:

* two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players. Note that versions of the base games with fewer players have varying degrees of popularity:
o Six-man, eight-man, and nine-man football, derived from American football, are also played mainly at scholastic level in less-populated parts of the United States. Small schools in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan also play nine-man football, derived from the country's own code.
o Rugby sevens, a version of rugby union with seven players per side instead of 15, is especially well-developed, with its own World Cup, a prominent annual international competition, and an entrenched position in the Commonwealth Games.
o Although the sevens format also exists in rugby league, a different abbreviated format, rugby league nines, is more popular.
* a clearly defined area in which to play the game;
* scoring goals and/or points, by moving the ball to an opposing team's end of the field and either into a goal area, or over a line;
* the goal and/or line being defended by the opposing team;
* players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by kicking, carrying and/or hand passing the ball; and
* goals and/or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts.

In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of players offside, and players scoring a goal must put the ball either under or over a crossbar between the goalposts. Other features common to several football codes include: points being mostly scored by players carrying the ball across the goal line and; players receiving a free kick after they take a mark/make a fair catch.

Peoples from around the world have played games which involved kicking and/or carrying a ball, since ancient times. However, most of the modern codes of football have their origins in England.

Monday, September 1, 2008

The fantasy element


Some sports games are based on fictional sports, usually of a fantasy or science fiction nature. One of the most notable examples of this is the Speedball series; Speedball 2 was a huge success, particularly on the Commodore Amiga. Bearing some similarities to Team handball, the game introduces a number of futuristic gadgets that affect the gameplay immensely. Brutality is permitted; it is considered legal and acceptable to bash opponents with a metal ball. A number of sports have received the sci-fi treatment over the years, most frequently in the racing genre. F-Zero popularized the futuristic racing genre, and was followed by a number of sequels.

A number of games introduce fantasy elements to existing sports, subtle or otherwise, to add comedic effect to a game, such as Brutal Sports Football, released by Millennium in 1992. Like Speedball, the game was inspired by American football, but placed a larger focus on injuring, maiming, and even killing opponents. It is possible to win a match by simply decapitating the entire opposing team.

In some titles contained within this extended genre, the fantasy element is less prominent, particularly in titles such as Ready 2 Rumble and Outlaw Golf — games that, while strategically true to the sport, introduce comedy elements that would not realistically be seen in a serious simulation. For example, in Outlaw Golf, the choice of characters includes a stripper, a rapper, a Latin American Casanova-style figure and a mad scientist. Golf balls leave trails of smoke and fire when hit hard and the game features an over-enthusiastic and sarcastic commentator.

Sports games today


The sports genre is currently dominated by EA Sports and 2K Sports, who hold licenses to produce games based on official leagues. EA's franchises include the FIFA Soccer series, the NBA Live series, the Madden Football series, the NASCAR series and Tiger Woods series. All of these games feature real leagues, competitions and players. These games continue to sell well today despite many of the product lines being over a decade old, and receive, for the most part, consistently good reviews. EA Games' Need for Speed series continues to be one of the best-selling in the racing genre, although it is not based on a license.

With EA Sports' domination, the market has become very difficult to enter; competing games in any of the above genres, with the exception of racing games, tend to be unsuccessful. This has led to a sharp drop in sports-themed titles over recent years. One of the most notable exceptions is Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series, which is often hailed as an alternative to the FIFA series, but does not contain as many licensed teams, players, kits, or competitions. Racing games, due to the variation that the sport can offer in terms of tracks, cars and styles, offer more room for competition and the selection of games on offer has been considerably greater. Sports management games, while not as popular as they used to be, live on through small and independent software development houses. Management titles today have transitioned to the very popular fantasy sports leagues, which are available through many websites such as Yahoo.

Nintendo has been able to make an impact upon the sports market by producing several Mario-themed titles, such as Super Mario Strikers and Mario Tennis. These titles sell respectfully, but are only available on Nintendo's video game consoles, the GameCube, Nintendo 64, and Wii; in 2006, they launched Wii Sports for Wii, which uses the Wii Remote to simulate movement.

sports games


Arcade

Sports games have traditionally been very popular arcade games. The competitive nature of sports lends itself well to the arcades where the main objective is usually to obtain a high score. The arcade style of play is generally more unrealistic and focuses on a quicker gameplay experience. Examples of this include the NFL Blitz and NBA Jam series.


Simulation

In comparison to arcade sports games, the simulation style of play is a usually a more realistic rendition of the real-life sport it emulates. Examples include the Madden NFL series and the NBA 2k series.


Management

Sports management games put players into the role of team manager. Whereas fantasy games are often played online against other players, management games usually pit the player against AI controlled teams. Players are expected to handle strategy, tactics, transfers, and financial issues. Examples include Football Manager, Front Office Football, NFL Head Coach 09 and WhatIfSports.com's SimLeagues.


Fantasy

A Fantasy sport is a game where fantasy owners build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams of a professional sport. Fantasy can also refer to fictional sports, see The fantasy element below.


Sports RPG

Sports Role-playing games are games which combines RPG elements into any sports genre. Level-5's upcoming Soccer RPG game, Inazuma Eleven, is one of the many sports RPG's that define the sub-genre. Namco's racing RPG game, Final Lap Twin, is another game which defines the sub-genre. Camelot's GBC versions of games such as Mario Golf and Mario Tennis also has RPG elements in its single player modes. Smash Court Tennis 3 for PSP and Xbox 360 contains very deep RPG elements such as leveling up abilities and purchasing and unlocking new shots and skills.


Games and televised sports

More and more, video sports games are starting to look and act like their TV counterparts. Additionally, televised sports, namely American football, have added Madden-style cameras to their coverage, further blurring the line between fantasy and reality. Sports commentators will often play a game of Madden Football before a big game (such as the Super Bowl), to help gain insight on the outcome.

History

Beginnings of sports games

Tennis for Two

One of the first video games in history, Tennis for Two (1958), was a sports game.

Computer games prior to the late 1970s were primarily played on university mainframe computers under timesharing systems that supported multiple computer terminals on school campuses. The two dominant systems were the Digital Equipment PDP-10 and the Control Data Corp. PLATO System. These systems displayed no graphics, only text. In the early 1970s they printed the text on teletype machines and line printers, but by the mid-seventies the text printed on single-color CRT screens.

Highlights of this era in sports games include:

* Baseball (1971 — Written by Don Daglow at Pomona College, Baseball was the first computer baseball game, now recorded in the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He continued to expand and refine Baseball throughout the 1970s, and its sabermetric approach provided the foundation for Daglow's later commercial games Intellivision World Series Baseball (1983, with Eddie Dombrower), Earl Weaver Baseball (1988, also with Dombrower), Tony La Russa Baseball (1991 through 1996) and Old Time Baseball (1995).

In the late 1970s arcade games began to appear, and sports were a popular genre. Highlights of this era include:

* The first racing game was Night Driver (1976).

* Atari Golf (1978),


1980s

Pole Position

Between 1980 and 1984 Atari and Intellivision waged a series of high-stakes TV advertising campaigns promoting their respective systems during the first round of console wars. Atari normally prevailed in arcade games and had a deeper installed base due to its lower price, while Mattel's Intellivision touted its visually superior sports games. Sports writer George Plimpton was featured in the Intellivision ads, which showed the parallel games side by side. Both Atari and Mattel fielded at least one game for baseball, football, hockey, basketball, auto racing and soccer.

* Activision Tennis (1981)

* Track & Field (1982)

* Pole Position (1982).


In 1983 EA produced their first sports game Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One by Eric Hammond, which was also the first licensed sports game based on the names and likenesses of famous athletes. The game was a major hit.

In 1983 Mattel released Intellivision World Series Baseball by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower, the first game to use multiple camera angles to show the action. Games prior to this displayed the entire field on screen, or scrolled across static top-down fields to show the action. IWSB mimicked television baseball coverage by showing the batter from a modified "center field" camera, showing baserunners in corner insets, and showing defensive plays from a camera behind home plate. It was also the first sports game to introduce players with spoken words (as opposed to text) using the Mattel Intellivoice module. It received limited distribution due to the video game crash of 1983, and today is one of the most rare and expensive Intellivision cartridges on the collectibles market.

In 1984 game designer Scott Orr founded GameStar, a game publisher specializing in Commodore 64 sports games, and served as lead designer. GameStar was the most successful sports game company of its era, and Orr sold the company to Activision in 1986. The company's titles included:

* On Court Tennis (1984)
* Championship Baseball (1984)
* GFL Championship Football (1985) -- American Football
* Star Rank Boxing (1985)
* Gamestar Basketball Association (GBA) Championship Basketball - Two-on-Two (1986)
* Star Rank Boxing II (1987)
* Top Fuel Eliminator (1987)
* Face Off! (1987)

In 1988 EA released Earl Weaver Baseball by Don Daglow and Eddie Dombrower, which for the first time combined a highly accurate sim game with a high quality graphical action-style game. This was also the first game in which an actual baseball manager provided the computer AI. In 1996 Computer Gaming World named 'EWB to the #25 position on its list of the Best 150 Games of All Time, the second highest ranking for any sports game in that 1981–1996 period (after FPS Sports Football).

In 1989, Anco published Kick Off; it was immediately considered the pioneer of computer soccer games due to its many original features.


1990s

16-bit systems

The Creation of EA Sports -- In 1989 EA producer Richard Hilleman hired Gamestar's Scott Orr to re-design John Madden Football, then a disappointing Apple II game, for the fast-growing Sega Genesis. Orr and Hilleman together developed the game that we still recognize today as Madden Football, the best-selling title in the history of games in North America. They focused on producing a great head-to-head two-player game with an intuitive interface and responsive controls. When the game shipped it immediately became a major hit.
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer

Orr joined EA full-time in 1991 after the success of Madden on the Genesis, and began a ten-year period of his career when he personally supervised the production of Madden Football. During this time Hilleman, Orr and their EA teams also created the following EA Sports hits, each of which was updated annually:

* NHL Hockey
* NCAA Football
* Andretti Racing
* NASCAR Racing (later called NASCAR Thunder)
* Knockout Kings

Sensible Software's Sensible Soccer (1992) still retains a cult following today. The 16-bit era also saw the launch of many of the EA Sports sports franchises, including the FIFA, NHL, NBA Live and Madden NFL series.

32-bit / 64-bit systems The arrival of Sony's PlayStation and 3D graphics cards on the PC enabled sports games to make the leap into 3D. Actua Soccer was the first soccer game to make use of a 3D engine.

On PC


* In 1995 Sierra released FPS Sports Football. The next year Computer Gaming World named it to the #12 position on its list of the Best 150 Games of All Time, the highest ranking for any sports game in that 1981–1996 period.

Comodore Amiga Cinemaware TV Sports Basketball 1990


Extreme sports enters into the mainstream

In the beginning of the 21 century extreme sports entered into the mainstream with games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater, SSX and Supreme Snowboarding. They popularised sport games like skateboarding, snowboarding, trickbikes, and so on. They affected on sells of other sport games lifting sells overall and inspiring new wave of games.


Sports gaming becomes big business

On 13 December 2004, Electronic Arts began a string of deals that granted exclusive rights to several prominent sports organizations, starting with the NFL.[1] This was quickly followed with two deals in January securing rights to the AFL[2] and ESPN licenses.[3] This was a particularly hard blow to Sega, the previous holder of the ESPN license, who had already been affected by EA's NFL deal. As the market for football brands was being quickly taken by EA, Take-Two Interactive responded by contacting the Major League Baseball Players Association and signing a deal that granted exclusive third-party major-league baseball rights[4]; a deal not as restrictive, as first-party projects were still allowed. The NBA was then approached by several developers, but declined to enter into an exclusivity agreement, instead granting long-term licenses to Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Midway Games, Sony, and Atari.[5] In April, EA furthered its hold on football licensing by securing rights to all NCAA football brands.[6]

Sports game


A sports game is a computer or video game that simulates the playing of traditional sports. They are extremely popular, the genre including some of the best-selling games.

Almost every familiar sport has been recreated with a game, including baseball, association football, American football, boxing, wrestling, cricket, golf, basketball, ice hockey, tennis, bowling, rugby, hunting, fishing, etc.

Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (such as the Madden NFL series), while others emphasize the strategy behind the sport (such as Championship Manager). Others satirize the sport for comic effect (such as Arch Rivals). This genre has been popular throughout the history of video games and is extremely competitive, just like real-world sports.

A number of games series feature the names and characteristics of real teams and players, and are updated annually to reflect real-world changes.

The genre is not to be confused with electronic sports, which is used to describe computer and video games which are played as competitive sports.

Types of Sports


Football
Basketball
Hockey
Gymnastics
Rugby
Soccer
Tennis
Skiing (Snow)
Table Tennis (Ping Pong)
Ultimate Frisbee
Track and Field
Volleyball
Swimming and Diving
Triathlon
Football (Australian Rules)
Softball
Cycling
Running
Boxing
Badminton
Baseball
Bowling
Cross Country (running)
Skateboarding
Skating
Martial Arts
Rock Climbing
Fencing
Lacrosse
Wrestling
Snowboarding
Sumo Wrestling
Surfing
Billiards
Curling
Rowing
Racquetball
Hang Gliding
Auto Racing
Cricket
Dodgeball
Windsurfing
Bobsledding
Vaulting
Waterskiing
Fishing
Weightlifting
Water Polo
Squash
Archery
Golf
Equestrian
Skydiving
Ulama
Rodeo
Sailing
Jetskiing
Wakeboarding
SlamBall
Motorcycle Racing
Shooting
Cheerleading
Polo
Heli-Skiing
Fox Hunting
Bullfighting