AFL fan Mike Sniegowski gave me a heads up that some AFL 50th Anniversary Gear is still available.

AFL fan and author Todd Tobias sends the following:

"I hope all is well. I was wondering if you might mention something on your next broadcast email. I added a function to my blog that allows folks to be emailed each time I post a new article to Tales from the American Football League. All they have to do is go to the site and find the box at the top of the page to input their email address. They will then receive an email that tells them to click on a given link to confirm that they indeed want to receive updates when I add new content."

Bills' great Booker Edgerson commented on my page about AFL on-field officials, and says that AFL referee Hugh 'Sonny' Gamber actually worked Booker's high school football and baseball games in Little Rock, and his college games at Western Illinois University, in addition to many AFL Bills' games that Booker played in. I guess it was hard to pull the wool over Hugh's eyes after all that exposure, eh, Booker? Any other stories about the AFL officials would be appreciated.

Also, if you watched the game last night, you learned that Jack Kemp held a Pro Football record for 57 years ~ three touchdown passes in the first quarter of a game. Not only that, it was the first quarter of the first GAME of the season, 1964, when Kemp led the Bills to their first championship. Aaron Rodgers tied the record exactly: 3 tds in the 1st quarter of the 1st game.

Regards,

Ange Coniglio

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on June 18, 2010 on Joe Sixpack

PALE YELLOW lager - it's as ordinary as white boxer shorts.

Imagine telling that to the Munich brewers who gathered a few weeks after their beloved Oktoberfest in 1895 to gripe about this newfangled brew called Helles Lagerbier. That kind of talk would have had you facing the wrath of Hans and Fritz, clicking their heels and railing about the purity of their wunderbar dunkel beer.

"I take the view," spouted the owner of the Augustiner Brewery, as wonderfully related by the Bavarian Brewers Federation, "that the reputation of Munich beers has been greatly damaged by the brewing of pale beers, which has done nothing but to serve as an unnecessary advertisement for Pilsner beers."

Ah, yes, those blasted Pilsners, the plague of the Bohemians. Heading toward the 20th century, the crisp, refreshing golden lager was filling glasses in cafes across Europe. The Germans - traditionalists to a fault - believed at first that it was a passing fad. All they had to do was stand together, ignore the threat from the east and continue brewing the dark, fuller-bodied beers that generations of Munich brewers had perfected over three centuries.

But the ranks broke. In 1889, Eugen and Ludwig Thomas, both of whom had trained in Pilsen, had begun pouring something called Thomas-Hell ("hell" is German for "bright").

In the summer of '95, Spaten (the famed brewery of Gabriel Sedlmayr, who invented amber Oktoberfestbier) began pouring its own Helles Lagerbier.

This "unnecessary advertisement" would soon become its own, distinct style, one that would emerge as the world's most popular.

Munich Helles, at first glance, is almost identical to Pilsner. Clear and blond, they both sparkle with carbonation that rises to a creamy, white collar of foam. On a hot and muggy day, you just want to dive in and soak it up.

But a whiff and a swallow says you've got something different. Where Pilsner bites your tongue with the spice of Saaz hops, Helles fill your mouth with soft, mellow malt. Tettnang, Hallertau - they're in there, but only for balance, not bitterness, for Munich's water gives hops an overly harsh tang.

Peruvian prospects Maicelo, Zambrano & Zegarra featured on Live TV broadcast.

UNION CITY, NJ - 09/21/2010 - Dignity Promotions, in association with Peru Box Promotions and ATV PERU, proudly announced the inception of their highly anticipated “LOS CAMPEONES del MANANA” series, with their first event now set for Saturday, October 16th in Union City, New Jersey.

The main event, which will be televised live in Peru, is a 10 round lightweight matchup between the flashy and widely popular Jonathan Maicelo (13-0, 8 KO’s) and heavy handed Colombian Oscar Cuero (13-2, 10 KO’s).

Both promising fighters will be making their U.S. boxing debuts and are looking to impress, as well as broaden their fan base, outside their native homelands.

The two televised co-feature bouts will highlight the talents of decorated amateur champions Carlos Zambrano, now 11-0 (5 KO’s) since leaving his Chincha, Peru home to punch for pay, and power punching jr. welterweight Juan Zegarra (5-0, 5 KO’s) of Lima, Peru. Both undefeated “Campeones del Manana” Zambrano and Zegarra now reside in nearby North Bergen, NJ.

Several local fighters are also slated to see action:
Paterson Cruiserweight Elvin Sanchez (3-1, 3 KO’s), will be looking to rebound from a knockout loss in his last fight.
Newark Lt. Heavyweight Angel Concepcion (2-0) fights to keep his record unblemished.
Crowd pleasing super bantamweight Raul Lopez (4-1, 3 KO’s) fighting out of the Bronx will give scrappy Giraldo Rosas (0-1) a chance at revenge. Lopez earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over the debuting Union City fighter this past July in Vineland, NJ.
Union City’s own Juan “The Beast” Rodriguez (3-0, 3KO’s) will get the chance to shine in front of his hometown fans as the highly touted granite-handed welterweight fights in his own backyard for the first time.
All four under card bouts will be four-rounders.

“We are thrilled to be able to give this opportunity to these deserving local fighters,” stated Dignity Promotions president Mike Indri, “That is the concept and idea behind the “LOS CAMPEONES del MANANA” series.

To purchase tickets call (201) 741-4994 or visit www.dignityboxing.com.

by: Malcolm Snook

After World War Two a skydiving club was established at Thruxton airfield near Andover in Hampshire, southern England. The British skydiving Club used old (even then) Jackaroo biplanes, ex military parachutes and the club members were pioneers who would go on to found other skydiving clubs, become National Coaches and so on.

Today we're quite familiar with square parachutes that glide and perform like a hang glider, indeed it's possible to strap an engine to someone's back with a propeller in a cage, attach a modern square parachute to their shoulders and hey presto they can fly. We're also accustomed to the idea of buddy jumps where a would-be skydiver, or someone who just wants a one off experience can be attached to the front of an experienced jumper and do a minute's free-fall from twelve thousand feet on their first jump, often their only jump for the 'I've done that' box ticking character.

The buddy jump is only possible because these days reserve parachutes are worn on the back as well as the main parachute, which has traditionally been worn there, this in turn is a result of parachutes getting smaller and lighter, making it possible for two to be worn mounted one above the other in a tandem rig as they were originally called. No need to differentiate today, all kit is like that.

Not so long ago all parachutes were round, heavy and bulky and reserve parachutes were worn on the front of the body. Strangely parachuting as a sport may even have peaked in the nineteen seventies, when this was still largely the case. In the early nineteen seventies the Parafoil square parachute became available and even triangular parachutes based on the Rogallo wing were experimented with, whilst other companies developed the high performance round with an inverted apex, extended high pressure area and a myriad of slits, holes and control lines.

None of these designs was a hundred percent certain to open without malfunction, so skydivers used a plain round reserve that was more than ninety nine percent reliable! The first commercially successful square parachute was the Strato Star, later followed by a larger version, the Strato Cloud. Early 'Stars' had a reefing system using lines and rings around the periphery to control the potentially back breaking opening shock. This was also a complexity that could lead to a malfunction and it was ordinary sport jumpers who pioneered the use of a slider which slid down the rigging lines as the parachute opened to control the opening sequence.

The slider itself could cause a problem if too large or too small and sliders with holes in and various designs were experimented with until reliability was achieved. Today, sport jumpers use square reserves and are happy to wear them on their backs, where they cannot see them, nor reach them with their hands, so reliable has the equipment become.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on January 29, 2010 on Joe Sixpack

THE BEER in front of me was dark and strong . . . and totally illegal in America.

It was an ice bock, an old style that - thanks to one of those puzzling quirks in alcohol law - cannot be brewed in America and sold as beer.

I won't mention the brewer who made it because he could face criminal prosecution. This stems from some basic facts of physical science:

The freezing temperature of water, as any kid will tell you, is 0 degrees Celsius. The freezing temperature of pure ethanol, as Wikipedia told me, is -114 Celsius.

If you submit a batch of, say, double bock to subzero temperatures, the beer's water will freeze before its alcohol does. If you scoop away the ice, you'll be left with a denser liquid of concentrated alcohol and malt.

That's ice bock, and that's illegal, because the process is actually a form of distillation, not conventional brewing. In other words, the final product - in the eyes of the law - is not beer, it's hard liquor.

This hairsplitting is an offshoot of post-Prohibition laws that require distilleries to be separately licensed and their products taxed at a higher rate than beer. Even home brewers are forbidden to make ice bock, lest Uncle Sam's revenuers string 'em up like moonshiners.

You're scratching your head, I know.

What about Molson Ice, Bud Ice and all those other ice beers that were popular back in the '90s?

The feds created a loophole for them, reasoning that only a tiny (or, in bureaucratese, de minimis) amount of water is removed in the final product to produce a beer with about 5 percent alcohol.

By contrast, classic ice bocks lose as much as 50 percent of the water through freeze distillation to reach double-digit alcohol content.

So, what about those famously strong German imports, like Kulmbacher Eisbock and Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock?

They're legit because these arcane distillation regs apply only to domestic beer.

by: Stan Popovich

Many athletes sometimes get anxious when they play against a tough opponent. They get nervous on who they are playing and they get so worked up that they lose focus on playing their game. In the end, they make mistakes and end up beating themselves up if they do not win. As a result, here is a list of techniques that a athlete can use to help manage the stress of playing against the competition.

The first step is to learn as much as you can on your opponent. Although this may seem obvious some players may think they already know what they need to know. Remember there is always something to learn about your competition. Read the stats and reports about your opponent and watch him or her play. Try to figure out an angle on how you can beat your competition. The more you know about your competition the better your chances are you will win the game. This will also help to reduce your worries about who and what you will be facing in your next game.

Do not assume anything about your competition whether they are stronger or weaker than you. Every player has his good and bad games and just because you may be facing a stronger opponent does not mean that you will lose. Remember that before you start playing, you and your opponent both have an equal chance of winning. You are both starting from scratch. This should help you to give you confidence going into your next game.

Focus on how you can best strive for perfection in your own game instead of worrying about your opponent. For instance you are playing the number player in the tournament and you are nervous. Instead of focusing on how good your competition is, focus on how you can play your best game. Concentrate on how you can better play the game or how you can best improve on your problem areas. Focusing on your game will definitely help you when you are nervous in playing a stronger player.

Realize that you cannot win all of your games and that also includes your competition. You may be the best player in the world, however you will still lose eventually. No one player can win all of their games. Yes, they may have some winning streaks or win ninety percent of their games, but they will still lose some games. When facing a tough competitor, use this fact to your advantage. Even the best players will make some mistakes and lose.

It is not uncommon to get nervous when you play a better opponent. The key is not to psyche yourself out just because the competition gets tough. Remember that some games will be easy to play and some games will be more difficult. All you can do is to focus on your game and play the best you can. This will help you in the long run and will help you to stop worrying whether you will win or lose.

by: Stan Popovich

Sometimes, fear and anxiety can get the best of us in sports. The key is to know how to manage that fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that an athlete can use to help manage their fears and every day anxieties.

Occasionally, you may become stressed when you have to play in an important round. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you have to play in the championship golf game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that you are playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self-Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation.

Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could read the newspaper, listen to some music or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. This is a great technique to use right before your next game.

Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that you can carry around with you. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you. Whenever you feel stressed, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking.

In every anxiety-related situation you experience, begin to learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you need to improve on in managing your fears and anxieties. For instance, you have a lot of anxiety and you decide to take a small walk before your game to help you feel better. The next time you feel anxious you can remind yourself that you got through it the last time by taking a walk. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety the next time around.

Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help.

Remember that patience, persistence, and education will go a long way in preventing fear from becoming a factor in your game.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on February 10, 2010 on Joe Sixpack

IN 1852, the British government dispatched Royal Navy Cmdr. Edward Belcher and a fleet of five ships to the Canadian Arctic to search for the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. They came up empty, and four of Belcher's ships - including the H.M.S. Resolute - were abandoned in the ice.

Years later, the Resolute was discovered adrift, salvaged, returned to Britain and disassembled. Its timbers were used to craft a pair of matching desks for the queen of England and the president of the United States.

If the story sounds familiar, that's because you may have seen it in the Nicolas Cage movie "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets."

What you almost certainly have never heard, however, is the story of the ship's beer.

A Bethlehem, Pa., homebrewer with a thirst for history has unearthed that story and will attempt to re-create the beer this summer during his own Arctic expedition.

"I want to tell the world this great story," said Christopher Bowen, "because it really hasn't been told the way it should've been told."

The beer was Allsopp's Arctic Ale, a bottled barleywine brewed in Burton, England. Made with just under 12 percent alcohol so as to survive the frigid temperatures of the north, it was described by Belcher as "a valuable antiscorbutic" for its ability to fight scurvy.

With all that alcohol, it aged especially well.

In 1895, a British admiral who had carried bottles to the north during a separate expedition two decades earlier marveled at its staying power.

"The special qualities which rendered this ale so valuable for the purposes of the expedition were its strength and nutritive qualities," wrote Adm. A.H. Markham. "Its color is a rich brown and its flavor is suggestive of old Madeira. It is today as sound as on the day of its birth 20 years ago."

By Joe Toone for the extended Toone family.

Clown, Seminarian, Musician, Carnie, Hot Dog Vendor, Cop and Taxi Driver. Mike Toone dipped his toes in all these pools for years before settling in to the role that fit him best, family guy. (No, not the Peter Griffin type of Family Guy though both did share highly developed interests in sports and beer.)

Mike’s family was all-important to him - teens, babies, and everything in between. He loved them all and thoroughly enjoyed them hanging around the house. Long Sunday drives on twisty mountain roads were as much about the vistas as the talks that developed in the close confines. And as those who drove with Mike knew, being a taxi driver didn’t enhance Mike’s driving skills one bit!

Mike liked sports, but he was also a good sport. He attended toddler dance recitals and high school musicals with the same aplomb and genuine interest as he did St. Pat’s at the Hibernian Society.

Mike was even-keeled, literally and figuratively. He enjoyed renting a fishing boat on Brigantine Island and spending the day on the high seas though he had no experience with maritime matters and didn’t eat seafood. On land, Mike rolled with the punches be they physical (ah, those younger years with 3 brothers), emotional or financial and seamlessly tried alternatives to lessen his payload and bolster his family’s sea-worthiness.

Then there was Jersey Mike. Not the yummy sandwich shop Mike liked, but moving to New Jersey itself. After years of Pennsylvania living Mike decided to start anew in New Jersey and he loved it. He knew the history and trivia of the area as well as the present day bars and diners. Plus, he picked up the unique vocal cadence of the area in no time.

Most of all Mike liked people and chatting with them. Whether putting up the Big Top in a new town or meeting new neighbors, Mike truly enjoyed being around others and chatting about any topic available. All of this contributed to his enjoyment of Sports Lore so much. As Mike became more ill, the internet was a great place to chat with folks and Sports Lore provided topics all could enjoy.

Thanks Sports Lore for bringing so much enjoyment and fun to my brother’s life, particularly when he needed it the most.

By: NamSing Then

Archery – The skill of shooting an Arrow using a Bow was in the bygone ages a military weapon and also a hunting method before the invention of gunpowder. It is mainly confined now as a competitive sport used for target shooting.

A bow is a weapon that shoots arrows using the elasticity of the bow. The bow is made of a strip of flexible material with a cord linking the two ends of the strip to provide tension from which is propelled the arrow which is a straight shaft with a sharp point on one end or have flints and usually with feathers attached to the other end.

The modern day 'Target Archery' involves shooting arrows at a target from a pre-set distance. A Recurve bow is the only type of bow allowed to be used. Archery competitions may be held indoors or outdoors. Indoor distances are 18 m and 25 m. Outdoor distances range from 30 m to 90m depending on the seniority and 70 m is being used in the Olympic Games. Competition is divided into ends where an archer shoots either 3 or 6 arrows per end, depending on the type of round. There are 20 ends of 3 arrows in a round for indoor competition, but outdoor rounds generally involve more arrows per round. At the end, the competitors walk upto the target to score and retrieve their arrows.

Targets are painted with 10 evenly spaced concentric rings, which have score values from 1 through 10 assigned to them. Targets are colored as follows:

Outermost 1 ring & 2 ring - white
3 ring & 4 ring - black
5 ring & 6 ring - blue
7 ring & 8 ring - red
Innermost 9 rings & 10 ring - gold
There is an innermost ring, sometimes called the 10X ring or the Bull’s-eye.

The score for each arrow depends upon where it hits on the target. The highest score, a ten, is awarded by shooting an arrow into the two inner most circles. The bull’s-eye ring is typically as a tiebreaker with most X’s winning. Missing the rings on the target results in a zero score and in case of Line breaker where an arrow just touches a boundary line will be awarded the higher score. Scores are tallied at the end of each round or volley of arrows by summing the scores for their arrows which are recorded on a score sheet.

Archers have a set time limit in which to shoot their arrows. For indoor competition is 2 minutes for 3 arrows. Signaling devices such as lights and flags prompt the archers when it’s time to shoot.

Article Source: http://www.sportsarticlelibrary.com

NamSing Then is a regular article contributor on many topics. Be sure to visit his other websites Archery, Scuba Diving and One Stop Information