Sports News Portal

In virtually all sports events, one competitor is the favorite, or the team most likely to win, and the other is the underdog. You also hear the favorite referenced as the betting chalk and the underdog as simply the dog. Prior to the launch of the internet sports betting professionals found the best value each week on betting the underdogs. There simply wasn’t enough data for bettors to improve their craft as betting articles were rarely found outside of Las Vegas. The recreational bettor in their journey from cities across the country into Las Vegas sportsbooks would usually bet on the favorites because they had little to no data to make educational sports betting decisions. The launch of the internet gave sports bettor’s valuable tools to aid their betting. Also the rise of sports betting radio saw professional sports bettors give outstanding betting advice to listeners and suddenly the sports betting public had become educated. Today’s bettors have been trained to look at the underdog first making sports handicapping a more challenging puzzle.

In order to make wagering more even, the linesmaker draws up an odds line, or the odds. Today’s professional Las Vegas and online sportbook bettors set their own pointspreads. Instead of looking at the underdog side at first glance, they make their own numbers and look for the greater variances between their numbers and the current betting line. Professional sports gamblers then circle games on their betting sheet with the greater variances and begin to do thorough research on the game. Sports betting professionals will sift through injury reports and individual teams websites to look for data to help support a cause to bet on the game that gives them the best value in the betting. Value is defined as the variance between the actual betting line and the line the professional bettor made based on their power rating. The side with the greatest positive variance for the sports bettor on the sports betting board would be the side possessing the greatest value in the betting. Let’s say the Eagles are playing the Cardinals and the current line shows the Eagles as a 5 point favorite. Based on the power rating of the professional sports bettor the Eagles are computed to be only a 1 point favorite. After putting in the research and in return it shows no impact injuries or bad weather the sports betting professional will then place a bet on the Cardinals. The size of the bet will vary but usually the greater the variance the bigger the bet.

Professional bettors make their pointspreads based on their own power rating. Tracked by computer programs professional sports betting professionals will input statistical data that they feel is the most important in determining the proper line of a game. Sports betting professionals will weigh variables such as run defense and run offense from NFL teams very heavily in their computer software program. Other key categories include home field advantage, passing offense and defense, special teams and turnovers.

In baseball, soccer and hockey betting moneyline odds are favored by American bookmakers and, therefore, are often referred to as American odds. With this format, the odds are quoted using either a positive or a negative number. A negative number indicates the favorite, and the odds show how much money you’ll have to risk to win $100. A positive number indicates the underdog, and the odds show how much money you’ll win on a $100 wager. When the odds are listed as EVEN, you’ll win exactly what you wager. A standard line, where the odds are -110 for both teams, indicates that neither team is favored to win. The best practice sports betting professionals follow are to create a percentage chance of victory for both betting sides and then comparing that with the actual current moneyline odds posted at a Las Vegas or online sportsbook. The betting professional will then look for the positive variances on the betting sheet and put in the research to help make a cause for a bet that gives them the best value in the betting.

There have been a lot of sports figures in the news recently as a result of drugs. Most recently, Alex Rodriguez has been accused of steroid use. This was a major story as he appeared to be one of only a handful of “clean” baseball heroes of recent times. Just prior to the Rodriguez scandal was the Phelps scandal. If you are one of the three people in the country that haven’t heard, he had been photographed smoking marijuana from a bong. And drugs and sports grabbing headlines doesn’t stop there, as recent articles on Fox Sports have discussed steroid use among the 70′s Steelers, and the recent arrest of Corie Blount, a former NBA player, who was allegedly caught with 29 pounds of marijuana. There was also the arrest of Jacksonville Jaguar former first round pick Matt Jones for cocaine possession early in last year’s football season.

An interesting article I read on the Phelps scandal was by sometimes controversial sports writer Jason Whitlock. In the article he challenges what some saw as a racial double standard, and even briefly discusses some of the issues with this country’s war on drugs. His article is related to some of the material I use in the course I teach on “The Psychology of Drugs and Drug Abuse.” I show highlights of a documentary called “American Drug War: The Last White Hope.” This film does a good job (although biased at times) of showing the dark side of this war on drugs.

As an example of America’s misperception of the drug problem, were you aware that tobacco kills more people than all other drugs combined, including alcohol? According to Hart, Ksir, and Ray, smoking is responsible for about 440,000 premature deaths per year. In comparison, alcohol is responsible for at least 20,000 accidental deaths per year, and up to 75,000 in this country when you combine accidental deaths (car accidents, boating accidents, falls, etc.) and deaths from the ill affects on the body (cirrhosis, heart disease, etc.). And these numbers far surpass the deaths from illegal drugs (10-20,000 per year). In fact, illegal drugs kill less Americans then the misuse of prescription drugs. (I had difficulty getting accurate data on prescription drug deaths as a result of misuse, but most articles and sources make it clear that prescription drug misuse causes more deaths per year than illegal drugs).

According to the documentary I mentioned earlier, some of the contributors to the war on drugs are the companies from the tobacco and alcohol industries. Additionally, this documentary uses interviews with former government officials to substantiate the claim that the war on drugs has been a colossal failure. Street drugs today are more plentiful, more pure, and cheaper. So what has the war on drugs accomplished? According to statistics, it has resulted in approximately 50% of the incarcerated population being jailed for non-violent drug crimes.

The point is that there are some real misconceptions about the substance abuse problem in this country. Perhaps we are paying attention to the wrong things. Rather than paying attention to cuts in funding for substance abuse rehabilitation, or to the incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, we seem much more concerned with our appointed heroes gaining an advantage in a sport they get paid huge amounts of money to play. Or in someone we have chosen to put on a pedestal, (a 23y/o at that) for letting us down by using marijuana at a college party. We are worried about street drugs, including marijuana, when prescription drug abuse is causing far more damage. And we wouldn’t think of making tobacco or alcohol illegal, despite the fact it causes far more health and welfare problems than illegal substances.

Don’t we contribute to the sports worship issue? Don’t we make sports figures heroes and role-models, perhaps even more so than more worthy role-models? Don’t we make sports the business it is today, by buying the jerseys, paying the ticket prices, watching the games on television, and making sports the market that it is? Aren’t we quick to dethrone someone who makes a mistake, as if perfection is the only standard we’ll accept?

I am not pro-drugs. I am not sure if I am pro legalization; I would have to give the issue more thought, and I’m not even sure I’m qualified to voice an opinion. But I am certain we are looking in the wrong directions when we look at drugs in this country. I am hoping it is time for a change: a change which finds all individuals seeking self actualization without the need for a substance; a time where compassion rules, rather than self-righteous indignation. I don’t believe many of us are going to get self actualized or become enlightened watching sports on television. But it is a nice distraction sometimes. How about that Superbowl?

It is always great to have a plan on which events you are going to attend in the upcoming year. I’d like to give you a short overview of major sport events which await you in 2010. This way you can think about them ahead of time, plan which of them you want to attend and get better seats for them.

The sports world every year has events that make people across the globe sit down to watch. Every year we have some very special which outshines everything else. And in 2010 we will have one of those special events that will get more attention than all. This will be the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The host city of the games in 2010 will be Vancouver which is located in British Columbia. No other event in the world has more participants than the Olympics. This brings out the competitive spirit out in all countries around the world. This will be the first time since 1988 that the Canada has had the Olympics.

If the Olympics are not enough for one year the FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa in 2010. While the Olympics brings out the world’s best the World Cup is as intense as any event. Qualifying for the World Cup is an ever going process for some countries. For many countries just to make it can be a task like no other. No matter if you call it soccer or football the game is the world’s favorite. This leads billions to watch each time the World Cup comes around. Will the usual powers remain supreme or is a dark horse ready to come to the forefront in 2010? Only time will tell.

In 2010 we will see Tiger Woods and his mission to tie Jack Nicholas for most majors ever won. This makes each major more special than many years. Throughout 2010 calendar the golf eyes of the world will focus on the Masters, British Open, US Open and the PGA Championship.

We will also see another Super Bowl and football National Championship to kick of 2010 to get us started for a great year in sports. Events such as Opening Day will also pass to keep the sports world alive and well.

I hope something from the list above caught your attention and you’re already looking for tickets to one of the exciting sport events in 2010.

If you are a medical student interested in sports then you can easily opt for sports medicine career. Many people are still in doubt thinking whether there are enough career opportunities in sports medicine, but there are excellent career options available if you are really interested in making a career in sports medicine.

There are two major areas in which you can make your career in sports. One is working with the athletes and people from other sports so that they can improve their fitness and performance. The second one involves curing the sports personalities from the injuries they suffer while playing. Depending on the options that you choose as your career, you can carry on higher education and degree courses on that or even go for the certification courses required for these fields. Here are some of the options that you can try out:

Athletic trainer: If you are opting for this career then you need to be a part of the medical team that treats sports persons who suffer from sports-related injuries. For this career you need to have an undergraduate degree from an accredited program and then need to sit for an examination to be qualified for the same.

Physical therapist: As a physical therapist, you are required to help people get cured from the injuries affecting their bones, muscles, joints or nerves. You can also opt the career of an occupational therapist for which you need to help those who suffer from any disabilities to perform properly at home or work. For both of these careers you need to have a master’s degree and then a specialized training.

Exercise physiology: In this career you need to study the physiological responses and adaptations of an athlete to various physical activities. Based on these studies you need to find out ways to improve the athlete’s performance and health and fitness. For this field you also need an undergraduate degree and then a certification.

Other than these you can opt for the career of a dietitian, rehabilitation specialist or strength and conditioning coach depending on your interest.

Let us start with the history of track and field. First race took place at the first Olympic festival in Rome in 776 B.C. All the track and field sports started with Olympics which takes place once in 4 years. Over the centuries new track competitions started taking place. In the beginning when Olympic festival was started it just had four track and field events like boxing, wrestling and foot races of varying length. It is heard that before eighteenth century track and field competitions occurred only in Olympics. After eighteenth century many schools and universities incorporated these events as daily exercise. Apart from Olympics the first track and field competition was held in oxford and Cambridge universities in 1864.

From early 1900′s various leagues and associations were formed. International and domestic leagues began and held the athletes amateur status so that they could compete in the Olympics. The first NCAA Championships was held in 1921. One of the most important events of track and field the marathon race was started from the Olympic stadium which was in Athens, Greece. Track and field sports events had various problems but only in 1970 it were given a professional stature where in athletes could compete annually in events and also get paid.

Some major track and field events are as follows:

Relays:

Two types of relays are 4×100 meter relay and the 4×400 meter relay. 4×100 meters relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 meters each. The 4×400 meters relay comprises of four runners in a lane where in each runner complete 400 meters or one lap.

Shot put:

Shot put means putting a heavy metal ball as far as possible. Competitors take their throw from inside a circle 2.135 m in diameter, with a stop board which is approximately 4 inches high at the front of the circle. The distance is usually measured from the inside of the circumference of the circle to the nearest mark made by the falling shot in the soil.

Discus throws:

Discus throw means an athlete throws a heavy disc – named as discus at a farther distance than his competitors. Men’s competition takes place every year since the first Olympiad in 1896. Women’s competition was added to the Olympic program in the 1928 games.

Javelin Throw:

This is a throwing event where the object to be thrown is javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. This event is for both men and women. According to IAAF rules there are certain rules that have to be followed by both men and women when they play this game. Men can throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 meters in length and 800 grams in weight and women throw a javelin between 2.2 and 2.3 meters in length and at least 600 grams in weight.

There are various other track and field games but if you want to win you need a lot of training which should start from a young age. Track and field sports event keeps your mind and body strong.