Physical Fitness In America

Americans today are living in the generation of big screen TV’s, the all you can eat buffet and armchair quarterbacks. Finding ways to accomplish things with as little physical work as possible has become revered and take out pizza has replaced mom’s home-made lasagna. With the fast pace at which Americans live and the desire for everything to be easy and fast driving many individuals it is no wonder that America is loosing it’s battle against disease and obesity. During a 2006 study the National Center for Disease Control determined that the percentage of adult’s age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese was an astounding 67 percent. As if that were not bad enough, it showed that the lack of physical fitness leading to obesity was affecting not only the adults, but their children as well. The numbers for adolescents age 12-19 were 18 percent, children age 6-11 were 15 percent and children age 2-5 had an overweight or obese percentage of 11 percent. These percentages are shown to have been on a steady incline since their studies in 1971. Aside from obesity, afflictions that have been linked to poor physical fitness and obesity such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes took the lives of over 1 million people in 2006 alone. In America 1 The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland released data that showed when looking disease (such as cardiovascular and heart disease, cancer and diabetes) mortality rates before age 75, America came in dead last out of the 19 nations studied. Americans have abandoned hard work and nutrition for convenient and fast. Many American families no longer have a sit down dinner prepared at home. When Americans choose to grab fast food instead of a home cooked meal they are subjected to high levels of hydrogenated vegetable oils and preservatives. Portion sizes that have become “the norm” in America are two to three times the size of normal portions in other countries. The thought of “bigger is better” has caused Americans to keep super sizing their way to an ever increasing waist line and fatal diseases. Along with the lack of proper nutrition, Americans have become lazy. Going to play basketball has been replaced by playing a basketball video game. The importance of daily physical activity has been lost. Even the schools that are in charge of educating the population have reduced physical and nutritional education, along with taking away the time children have to run and play outdoors. In America 2 Although the detrimental changes to physical fitness in America have been taking their toll on all ages, it can be reversed. Nutritional changes may be difficult for many people to make at first. Bodies become mentally “addicted” in a sense to fatty, sugar packed and over processed food. But after just a few short weeks of beginning to eat healthier, the body begins to crave the new healthier foods much more. Adding between 7 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day to the American diet can help give a person the required nutrients and fiber their body needs to begin functioning properly. Reducing intake of animal fats, drinking between 90 and 100 ounces of water a day and reducing sugar intake may seem like an impossible task considering how much of the American food choices consist of all the negatives and little of the good. When choosing to prepare fresh food at home, however, you can monitor the amounts of sugar or fats that are going into your dinner, making it much easier to make these changes. Diet alone is not enough, however, to get Americans physically fit. It will take hard work. Exercise and physical activity is essential to a healthy body. The National Institute of Health recommends at least 30 to 45 minutes of continuous physical activity every day at the very minimum. Adding weight training to exercise can help your body to burn excess fat better, and aid in overall body strength. This will help you to enjoy more strenuous activity without becoming quickly exhausted. In America 3 Although Americans have fallen into a lifestyle that promotes ill health and disease, a few simple lifestyle changes can help to turn around this trend and get Americans back to being lively and physically fit. Copyright © 2009 PhysicalFitness.com - All rights reserved. Website Privacy | Terms | Contact

Agility training: how to develop an athletes reaction time

A training programme to improve your reaction time Objective: to improve reaction, main focus on whole body response. Suitable for: a variety of field and racquet sport players. Can also be used by sprint and other power athletes, as a means of improving their general reaction and coordination. Many of the drills require acceleration and agility plus reaction, which makes them particularly relevant to sport. Reaction is obviously crucial in numerous sporting situations, for example, for a football defender reacting to a striker who is turning to try to spin past them. If the defender is able to 1) react, and 2) crucially position their body in the most efficient position to turn and accelerate, then they will be all the more likely to dispossess the attacker of the ball. Time in the training year: all year round – the drills can be incorporated into sports specific warm ups after body temperature has been increased by relevant CV exercise and preliminary dynamic mobility drills and sports specific practices have been performed – see dynamic warm ups A bit more on reaction Top sports coach Brian McKenzie defines reaction as follows: ‘Reaction time is the interval between the presentation of a stimulus and the initiation of the muscular response to that stimulus. A primary factor affecting a response is the number of possible stimuli, each requiring their own response to those that are presented.’ Basically Brian is saying that the more factors that could influence a decision, the longer the response may be. These are the types of situations that occur in field sports games, where a defender will perhaps not only have to ‘mark’ the player nearest to him, but will also need to adjust to his fellow defenders and the movements of other opposition players. Although beyond the scope of this PPP workout it should be noted that experience and being able to ‘read the game’ and visual acuity are also key determinants of reactive ability and are applicable to numerous sporting situations. (Ref: www.brianmac.co.uk/reaction.htm) Although reaction to opponents or team-mates or both is often dependent on anticipation in sports such as football and basketball, it can be improved through sport specific practices and drills. It is also important that the sportsman or sportswoman is ‘in the zone’ and concentrating when they train for reaction, otherwise responses and training transference will be reduced. 1) Kneeling to sprint 10–20m Purpose: to develop acceleration – great for rugby and football players who will find themselves on the ground during match play. Equipment: cones to mark the finish. Description: kneel on all fours. On a command given by the coach or training partner react quickly and sprint 10m. Technique tips: encourage the first step from the kneeling position to be made with the stronger leg, whilst maintaining a low driving position during acceleration. Variation: include a sports specific skill, for example a rugby player could have to run into a tackle bag. Do: 4 repetitions. 2) To the left or right reaction drill Purpose: to develop change of direction reaction and acceleration – particularly relevant to all sports and field sport players. Equipment: tape/cones. Description: mark out three lines, each 10–15m apart. Straddle the centre line, assuming a ready stance with feet shoulder width apart and facing to the front. On the coach’s command ‘left’ or ‘right’, react, turn and sprint in that direction Coaching points: although this drill is fun, stress the importance of quick pushing strides to accelerate rapidly, after dropping the centre of gravity by bending the knees and pushing off from the turning foot . The accelerative strides should be made with the legs pushing behind the body. Variations: change the commands of ‘left’ or ‘right’ to a clap and whistle – having informed the performer which sound indicates left or right Do: 10. 3) Ball drop reaction drill Purpose: to develop reaction and explosive first steps – suitable for all field and racquet sport players and sprinters. Equipment: football. Description: you’ll need a partner to do this drill. They should hold the ball at shoulder height and out to one side of their body and then drop it. You will need to react, accelerate and attempt to catch the ball before it bounces for a second time. Trial and error will be needed to establish the ‘right’ distance to make the drill most effective. Coaching points: stress a snappy first step, with a dynamic leg drive and head up position. 4) ‘Falling’ starts over 10m Purpose: to react in order to achieve a technically correct quick get away – suitable for field and racquet sport players and sprinters. Equipment: cone. Description: stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then, keeping your body straight, start to lean forwards to lose balance. When you reach a position when you would fall, quickly advance one leg dynamically forward to ‘catch’ yourself and accelerate away. Try not to advance this foot too far in front of you as this will block your fall and slow the acceleration – learning to ‘catch’ the fall and initiating the drive from the same leg can give a footballer, for example, an extra half-yard on their opponent by teaching a smooth transition from a falling/ standing position when acceleration is needed. The acceleration movement should be made with the legs working ‘behind the body’ pushing against the ground. The movement should be initiated from the hip flexors – the muscles at the top of the thighs. Coaching points: confidence is required for this drill and it should be progressed slowly whilst this gained. The aim is to achieve a fluid ‘fall and sprint’. Discourage a ‘step and sprint’ movement. During the acceleration phase a forward lean of the body should be maintained past the finish line at 10m. 5) T drill with ball catch Purpose: to develop agility plus hand eye and body coordination – particularly relevant for cricketers, racquet sports players, rugby and basketball players and football goalkeepers. Equipment: 4 cones, ball (rugby, cricket, football, basketball depending on sport). Description: use 4 cones to mark out a T shape (the base of the T should be 3m long, as should the bar). From the bottom of the T, sprint to the mid-cone in the bar of the T, drop into a squat type position and then sidestep to the left end cone and across to the right end cone, back to the centre cone and then back pedal to the start. The coach should stand in front of the T holding a ball. At any time whilst the athlete is performing the drill they should throw the ball for the athlete to catch. Depending on the sport, the ball can then be passed back (for basketball, for example) or held until the drill is completed. The drill could be included in a circuit or repeated 4-6 times with, for example, 30 seconds’ recovery between efforts. This would introduce fatigue, which is something that may lead to the break down of both the agility and reaction and catch aspect of the drill. Repetition would therefore develop specific endurance, which would reduce the potential of this occurring in a match situation. Coaching points: remain light on your feet throughout the drill and make short dynamic steps. You will need to keep your head up in order to watch for the ball being thrown to you. Do: 2-6. 6) Heads up – ball reaction drill Purpose: to develop hand eye coordination, particularly relevant for field sport players. Equipment: netballs, basketball, rugby balls, reflexive of the sport. Description: players stand in a large circle approximately 3m from each other. Two balls are passed around the circle. In response to the coach blowing a whistle the direction of the pass is altered. Coaching points: players should pass to the players’ chests and have their hands up and ready to catch. They should also communicate with each other, as they would in a game situation, in order to ready each other for the catch/catches Variations: introduce more balls dependent on the number of players in the circle. Using two balls pass one anti-clockwise and the other clockwise. Players should not throw the ball into the back of one of their colleagues who may not be facing the pass (!) – rather, if this situation seems likely they should call out the player’s name to alert them and pause before passing. Players may also have to ‘think’ to slow down the passage of one or both balls in order to prevent them catching up with one another which in would in all likelihood lead to the practice breaking down. Source : http://www.pponline.co.uk ©P2P Publishing Ltd. No material may be reproduced without permission.3

http://www.medicinenet.com

10 Tips to Prevent Motion Sickness Motion sickness , sometimes referred to as sea sickness or car sickness, is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion. In addition to sea travel, motion sickness can develop from the movement of a car or from turbulence in an airplane. The symptoms of motion sickness are nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, and a sense of feeling unwell. These symptoms arise from the inner ear (labyrinth) due to changes in one's sense of balance and equilibrium. While it may be impossible to prevent all cases of motion sickness, the following tips can help you prevent or lessen the severity of motion sickness: 1. Watch your consumption of foods, drinks, and alcohol before and during travel. Avoid excessive alcohol and foods or liquids that "do not agree with you" or make you feel unusually full. Heavy, spicy, or fat-rich foods may worsen motion sickness in some people. 2. Avoiding strong food odors may also help prevent nausea. 3. Try to choose a seat where you will experience the least motion. The middle of an airplane over the wing is the calmest area of an airplane. On a ship, those in lower level cabins near the center of a ship generally experience less motion than passengers in higher or outer cabins. 4. Do not sit facing backwards from your direction of travel. 5. Sit in the front seat of a car. 6. Do not read while traveling if you are prone to motion sickness. 7. When traveling by car or boat, it can sometimes help to keep your gaze fixed on the horizon or on a fixed point. 8. Open a vent or source of fresh air if possible. 9. Isolate yourself from others who may be suffering from motion sickness. Hearing others talk about motion sickness or seeing others becoming ill can sometimes make you feel ill yourself. 10. The over-the-counter medication meclizine (Bonine, Antivert, Dramamine) can be a very effective preventive measure for short trips or for mild cases of motion sickness. Your doctor also may choose to prescribe medications for longer trips or if you repeatedly develop severe motion sickness. One example of a prescription medication is a patch containing scopolamine (Transderm-Scop) that often is effective in preventing motion sickness. Remember that scopolamine can cause drowsiness and has other side effects, and its use should be discussed with your physician prior to your trip. ©1996-2011 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use. MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.

http://www.stretchingworld.com

Dynamic Stretching Routine and Tips While static stretching basically means no movement, dynamic stretching equates to actively stretching through a range of motion. Scientific studies have actually shown static stretching’s negative affect on performance. It is almost as if static stretching puts the muscles to sleep. To perform optimally in your given event or exercise program perform dynamic stretching before you go into your sporting event or exercise program. This in essence will wake up the muscles. This article will help you maximally perform dynamic stretching. What Dynamic Stretching is not? Dynamic stretching is not ballistic stretching. Ballistic stretching has a couple disadvantages according to Allen Hedrick: “1) There is an increased danger of exceeding the extensibility limits of the tissues involved. 2) Activation of the stretch reflex.”(4 ) What is Dynamic Stretching? It utilizes active movement to take the body part through its range of motion. This active movement prepares the muscles for exercise. Examples of dynamic stretching include: walking lunges with upper body twist, walking knee hugs and much more. It is used to both wake up and warm up the body along with stretching it. Why Develop Balance-One great although less mentioned benefit of dynamic stretching is its development of balance. Many of the exercises are done standing and often require you to be on one leg at a time. Various exercises like the superman (see below), leg cradles, knee hugs are one leg exercises. Wake up the Muscles-Static stretching in essence puts the muscles to sleep (I want to point out that asleep is more of a metaphor). So immediately after performing static stretching dynamic stretching should be implemented as a way to wake up the muscles and prepare them for the exercise or event to come. Make you stronger-Certain Dynamic stretches will actually make you stronger. According to Core Performance, “As opposed to a traditional warm-up, movement prep actually makes you stronger…”(3) Specific way to prepare the body for exercise or sport-According to Allen Hedrick, “Dynamic flexibility provides a more sport-specific mode of stretching than does the other more commonly used stretching techniques..” I would add that it also provides movement specific warm up to everyday fitness people as well. Just because an athlete uses Dynamic flexibility does not mean that you cannot reap the benefits as well. (4) Performance Enhancement- There is some evidence to suggest a performance enhancement with dynamic stretching. One study suggested that dynamic stretching enhanced muscular performance. (2)Another study compared static stretching, dynamic stretching with front squats and dynamic stretching. The study showed a dynamic warm-up produced greater sprint and jump performances compared to a warm-up consisting of static stretching. (1) Warm Up the body-Dynamic Stretching will also warm up the body and the working muscles to prepare for activity. Reduce Injuries-Because of the nature of dynamic stretching, injuries rates can go down. One person tested this on a softball team and found injury rates lower for the dynamically stretched group compared to another team on a static stretching based program. When is the best time to perform Dynamic Stretching? The best time is immediately before exercise or a game. After you do dynamic stretching you should then go into your exercise program or sport, ready to perform. Where dynamic stretching should be done? Dynamic Stretching is performed at the location of your exercise or game. If the stretching and warm up routine are done too far from your exercise location your muscles could cool down. Then you would need to go through the routine again. Dynamic stretching requires more room than static stretching. Because of the nature of the stretches, movement will be required. Preferably you would want about 5-10 yards at least to be able to do your stretches. For athletes this is typically not an issue. Who Athletes, weekend warriors, and everyday fitness individuals can do dynamic stretching, unless it is contraindicated. Certain dynamic exercises could possibly cause grave damage if done under the wrong circumstances. If you had any major injuries or surgeries please consult with a doctor before you do these types of stretches. If you are elderly dynamic stretching could cause a fall risk. Consult with a doctor in this instance too. Certain types of dynamic stretches require shoulder and arm strength. If you struggle with shoulder stability or arm strength you may be unable to complete all dynamic stretches. How-Dynamic Stretching Routine Dynamic stretching utilizes gravity, body weight and the muscles to achieve the proper warm up and dynamic flexibility. You will stretch the muscles used in your workout dynamically, or with movement. Design your dynamic stretching routine around the activity or sport you are doing. A swimmer's warm up routine will be different from a soccer player's. WIth that as a background lets get into routine design. How many Repetitions? The first measure is do you feel warmed up. There are general guidelines out there but ultimately you want muscles and a body that feels warmed up to the point where you can compete. Your objective is to warm up the muscles and wake them up. You should shoot for approximately 5 to 10 repetitions (3) of each exercise in your dynamic stretching routine. You will find that 5 repetitions per exercise might suffice if you are quite out of shape. As you progress forward shoot for 10 repetions or maybe more if you are not warmed up. A word of warning. Many of the exercises involved in dynamic stretching can be very difficult to do. So start slow and learn the movements first before increasing the number of repetitions. Dynamic stretching exercises can be viewed under the purple bar titled "Dynamic Stretching by Muscle" on the Dynamic Stretching homepage. References * 1. RA, N. (2009). The acute effect of different warm-up protocols on anaerobic performance in elite youth soccer players. J Strength Cond Res. , 2614-2620. * 2. Yamaguchi T, I. K. (2005). Effects of static stretching for 30 seconds and dynamic stretching on leg extension power. J Strength Cond Res , 677-683. * 4. Hedrick, A. N. (October 2000). Dynamic Flexibility Training. Strength and Conditioning Journal , Vol 22, Number 5, pages 33-38. * 3. Performance, C. (n.d.). Movement Prep. Retrieved from Core Performance: http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/training/movement-prep.html Stretching World © 2010 | Privacy Policy

http://www.antaranews.com

RI assured of one champion`s title at Indonesia badminton open Samarinda, East Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Indonesia is now assured of a champion`s title with the victory of its men`s single player, Taufik Hidayat, over China`s Zhengming Wang at the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open Grandprix Gold badminton tournament here on Friday. Taufik beat Zhengming Wang in a straight set 21-17, 21-15. With Taufik`s win, Indonesia will field four men`s single players in the semifinals on Saturday, namely Taufik, Tommy Sugiarto, Alamsyah Yunus and Dionysium Hayom Rumbaka. Tommy Sugiarto advanced to the semifinals after beating Kwong Beng Chang of Malaysia 21-15, 21-19 while Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka defeated Takume Ueda of Japan 21-14, 21-16. Alamsyah Yunus also qualified for the semifinals following his victory over Misbun Ramdan Mohme Misbun from Malaysia 21-16, 21-14. Other semifinalists from Indonesia are Anneke Feinya Agustin and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari in the women`s doubles. They are to meet China`s eighth-seeded Bao Yixin/Qianxin Zhong. Anneke Feinya/Nitya Krishinda won a spot in the semifinals after defeating compatriots Vita Marissa/Nadya Melati 21-13, 21-11. Indonesian mixed doubles players Nova Widianto/Vita Marissa meanwhile would meet China`s fourth-seeded Chen Ju/Jin Wa in the semifinals. In the men`s doubles event, Yohanes Rendy Sugiarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan gained a place in the semifinals after subduing Yao Ha Ow/Wee King Tan of Malaysia 21-19, 21-17. Yohanes Rendy Sugiarto/Afiat Yuris Wirawan will meet seventh-seeded from Japan Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa. (*) Sumber: * www.antaranews.com * Copyright © 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org

BWF World Championships From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Official logo until 2006 The BWF World Championships (formerly known as IBF World Championships, also known as the World Badminton Championships) is a tournament organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to crown the best badminton players in the world. The tournament started in 1977 and was held once every three years until 1983. However, the IBF faced difficulty in hosting the first two events as the World Badminton Federation (which later merged with the IBF to form one badminton federation) hosted the same tournament a year after the IBF World Championships with the same goals. Started 1985, the tournament became bi-annual and played once every two years until 2005. Starting 2006, the tournament was changed to an annual event on the BWF calendar with the goal to give more chances for the players to be crowned as official "World Champions". However, the tournament will not be held once every four years to give way to the Olympic Games. Location of the World Championships The table below gives an overview of all host cities and countries of the World Championships. The most recent games were held in London. The number in parentheses following the city/country denotes how many times that city/country has hosted the championships. From 1989 to 2001 the world championships were held immediately after the Sudirman Cup at the same location. Past winners Main article: Gold medalists at the BWF World Championships So far, only 17 countries have achieved at least a bronze medal in the tournament: nine in Asia, five in Europe, one in North America, South America, and Oceania. Africa is the only continent that has not won a medal. [edit] Successful players & national teams [edit] Successful players Several players have won gold medals in more than one category in a World Championship; this includes: * Denmark Lene Køppen, 1977, mixed doubles and women's singles * Indonesia Christian Hadinata, 1980, men's doubles and mixed doubles * South Korea Park Joo-bong, 1985, men's doubles and mixed doubles, 1991, men's doubles and mixed doubles * China Han Aiping, 1985, women's singles and doubles * China Ge Fei, 1997, women's doubles and mixed doubles * South Korea Kim Dong-moon, 1999, men's doubles and mixed doubles * China Gao Ling, 2001, women's doubles and mixed doubles From 1977 up to 2001, the medals were usually divided among five countries, namely China, Korea, Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia. However, in 2003, the winners included seven countries and in 2005 the medal board contained a record high of ten countries. Tony Gunawan also bears the distinction of winning a gold medal in Men's Doubles, representing two different countries, 2001 partnering with Halim Haryanto for Indonesia and in 2005 partnering with Howard Bach to give the United States its first medal in the competition. The 2005 edition also brought new faces in the mixed doubles event which had been dominated by China and Korea since 1997. With the retirement of defending champions and two time winners Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyung-min (Korea), Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir won Indonesia's first mixed doubles gold since 1980 when Christian Hadinata/Imelda Wiguna won it last for Indonesia. Below is the list of the most successful players ever, with 3 or more gold medals.[1] Rank Player MS WS MD WD XD Total 1 South Korea Park Joo-bong 2 3 5 2 China Gao Ling 3 1 4 China Lin Dan 4 4 China Cai Yun 4 4 China Fu Haifeng 4 4 3 China Ge Fei 2 1 3 China Guan Weizhen 3 3 China Han Aiping 2 1 3 China Huang Sui 3 3 South Korea Kim Dong-moon 1 2 3 China Li Lingwei 2 1 3 China Lin Ying 3 3 MS: Men's singles; WS: Women's singles; MD: Men's doubles; WD: Women's doubles; XD: Mixed doubles [edit] Successful national teams Below is the gold medalists shown based by category and countries after the 2007 BWF World Championships. China has been the most successful in the World Championships ever since its inception in 1977. They were the only country ever to achieve a shutout of the medals which they did in 1987, 2010 and 2011. They are followed by Indonesia and Korea with Denmark being the leading European country in the winners list. Rank Country 77 80 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 06 07 09 10 11 Total 1 China 2 3 5 4 3 1 1 3 21 3 3 22 4 3 4 5 5 53 2 Indonesia 1 4 1 3 2 1 2 22 2 18 3 Denmark 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 4 South Korea Korea 2 1 2 1 21 1 9 5 England 1 1 1 3 6 Sweden 1 1 2 7 Japan 1 1 United States 1 1 BOLD means overall winner of that World Championships ^1 China and Korea are tied with two gold medals. However, Korea won two silver medals and China won none, thus Korea became the overall winner. ^2 China won on superior of silver medal of four silver medals to Indonesia one, thus, China became overall winner. * This page was last modified on 15 October 2011 at 08:22. * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. * Contact us

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Wales bow out of World Cup with pride intact after defeat to Australia A tournament that promised so much for Wales a week ago, with talk of new dawns and horizons, ended in the stale familiarity of a narrow defeat to a Tri-Nations side, their second of the World Cup. Australia left with the bronze medal, but what meant far more to them than a symbol of failure was an end to a 25-year sequence of defeats in Auckland. The play-off is a scrap for a prize no one wants. There is an element of cruelty to it, forcing players whose minds had drifted elsewhere the week before to rouse themselves for a battle they do not have the heart for and Wales suffered a marked drop in the intensity that had characterised their previous six matches in the tournament. They even conceded points in the final quarter for the first time since their opening group game against South Africa, and for all the gains they have made in the World Cup in terms of conditioning and a varied tactical approach they have still to find a way of defeating sides above them in the world rankings. They have played the Tri-Nations teams 45 times in the professional era and won on three occasions, while they have prevailed against France in seven of the last 34 meetings. The combined margin of their defeats in this World Cup to South Africa, France and Australia was five points, missed kicks costing them each time. Wales missed three kicks against Australia, including a penalty from James Hook, a player who is struggling to find his instinctive touch, and while their kickers found their range against Namibia and Fiji, matches where the result was never in doubt, when the pressure was on they became inaccurate. Since the group stage they have missed 10 attempts at goal out of 17. Australia not only had a better strike-rate in the play-off but they were more accurate in their passing. Their defence, the staple of their campaign, was rarely stretched as Wales reverted to the predictable and even though the Wallabies lost Kurtley Beale, who aggravated a hamstring injury, and Quade Cooper, who twisted his knee as he tried to jink through the Wales defence and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, leaving them with just five of the players who had started the semi-final against New Zealand, they were largely in control. It was a miserable end to the tournament for Cooper, who insisted on limping off rather than risking being jeered by the crowd as he lay on a stretcher, and his departure had a material bearing on the outcome. He attended the presentation ceremony on crutches, with his right leg immobilised, and it was when Berrick Barnes moved to outside-half that the Wallabies started to flummox Wales. Cooper had tried to bedazzle defenders with his footwork but did not riddle them with doubt. Barnes was more understated, bringing his outside backs into play early, kicking when nothing was on and breaking when he saw space. It was the sort of performance Rhys Priestland had given for Wales before injuring his shoulder towards the end of the quarter-final against Ireland, and while Wales missed the prop Adam Jones, surprisingly vulnerable up front, and the flanker Sam Warburton it was Priestland's absence they felt most acutely. Wales conceded a soft try on 11 minutes when Cooper fed Barnes from a scrum and the Welsh midfield became distracted by a decoy run made by James O'Connor coming in from the right wing. Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies looked at each other as Barnes touched down underneath the posts and their game deteriorated into a series of kicks downfield. "We made too many silly mistakes," said Roberts. "Defeats at this level come down to a missed kick or a missed tackle. It is brutal." Wales did haul themselves back with Shane Williams's 56th international try after Hook's only decisive contribution with the ball in hand, even if there was a forward pass, but two breakdown offences allowed O'Connor to restore his side's lead and Ben McCalman's try five minutes from time sealed a comfortable victory. Wales clambered off the floor to put together a 31-phase move that ended with Leigh Halfpenny ensuring they had the last word. It was a tribute to their endurance but a tournament record of four victories and three defeats seems an indifferent return for a side that was within one kick of making the final. "We were not quite up for this game emotionally as we were in the others," said the Wales coach, Warren Gatland. "We can take a lot from this tournament and the players will be stronger for this experience." It was left to Stephen Jones, a veteran of four World Cup campaigns, to sum up a campaign that held little in the way of expectation outside the squad at the outset but which gradually generated a momentum that left many here feeling they were the main threat to New Zealand: "We have put a lot of pride back into Welsh rugby and that is of huge importance. We now have to become more ruthless." Wales Halfpenny; North, J Davies (Scott Williams, 69), Roberts, Shane Williams; Hook (S Jones, 50), Phillips (L Williams, 63); Jenkins (capt), Bennett (Burns, 69), James (Bevington, 63), Charteris (AW Jones, 52), B Davies, Lydiate (Powell, 63), Faletau, R Jones. Tries S Williams, Halfpenny. Con S Jones. Pens Hook, S Jones. Australia Beale (Horne, 9); O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper, Barnes, Ioane; Cooper (A Faingaa, 20), Genia (Burgess, 63); Slipper, Polota-Nau (S Faingaa, 53), Ma'afu (Alexander, 60), Horwill (capt; Samo, 69), Sharpe (Simmons, 45), Higginbotham, Pocock, McCalman. Tries Barnes, McCalman. Con O'Connor. Pens O'Connor 2. Drop goal Barnes. Referee W Barnes (England). Attendance 53,013. * Print thisPrintable version * Send to a friend * Share * Clip * Contact us * larger | smaller Sport * Rugby World Cup 2011 · * Wales rugby union team · * Australia rugby union team · * Rugby union More match reports See also * 21 Oct 2011 Rugby World Cup 2011: Wales denied once more as Australia take third * 20 Oct 2011 Rugby World Cup 2011: Wales look for consolation with a bronze finish * 4 Oct 2011 Rugby World Cup 2011: Northern soul is the top draw this weekend * 11 Sep 2011 The best of the Rugby World Cup action – in pictures * Print thisPrintable version * Send to a friend * Share * Clip * Contact us * Article history Ads by Google * Offshore Savings Compared We Can Find You The Very Highest Offshore Savings Rates. Enquire Now www.OffshoreInvestmentDesigner.com * Rugby Shirt Customize you own rugby shirt Order online get 20% discount www.playmore-sports.com * Rp 300.000 Free on Google Advertise On Google And Gain New Customers. Sign Up Today! www.Google.com/AdWords3 * © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport

Football League accepts big clubs' academies plan By Jack Pitt-Brooke Friday, 21 October 2011 * Share The Independent Close o DiggDigg o del.icio.usdel.icio.us o FacebookFacebook o RedditReddit o GoogleGoogle o Stumble UponStumble Upon o FarkFark o NewsvineNewsvine o zYahooBuzz o BeboBebo o TwitterTwitter o CommentsComments * Print * Email Sponsored Links Ads by Google Microscope Photometer Fluorescence Simultaneously w EPhys Ca++, FRET, NA++, pH, Add-On www.obb1.com Auto Imaging Microscope Image & Analysis of Particles and Cells with FlowCAM - Learn More! www.fluidimaging.com Leica Microsystems Total Digital Pathology Solutions for Health, Research and Education leica-microsystems.com Expatriate Savings Advice £25k-£1m Or £250+ Regular Savings? Find The Best Interest Rates Today! www.OffshoreSavingsDesigner.com The Football League yesterday voted to approve a controversial new set of rules over the status of young players. The Elite Player Performance Plan, backed by the Premier League and the Football Association, will abolish the tribunal system for setting fees for the transfer of young players, as well as removing restrictions on top academies' recruiting of young players. At a meeting in Walsall, the 72 Football League clubs voted 46 in favour and 22 against, with three no-shows and one abstention. If the vote had been defeated, the Premier League would have withheld the £5.4m portion of its annual solidarity payment to the Football League which is set aside for youth development. Under the new system, Football League clubs will receive more funding for youth football over four years, but may lose out in other ways. It is no surprise the Premier League is so keen on the EPPP: they wrote it. Members and employees of six Premier League teams (including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea) drafted the document. The EPPP creates four categories of academy and those which qualify as category one – with an annual budget of £2.3m and at least 18 full-time employees – will reap the most benefits. The leading academies will no longer be prevented from signing under-16s who live more than 90 minutes' travel time away from their clubs (or an hour's travel for under-12s). This means clubs no longer need to focus on their immediate locality but can cast their nets across England for the best youngsters. Such transfers of young players would traditionally have seen fees set at a tribunal. Under the EPPP, though, selling clubs will receive only set payments: £3,000 per year for every year of a player's development between nine and 11, and between £12,500 and £40,000 per year between the ages of 12 and 16. There will then be mandated add-on payments, from £150,000 for 10 Premier League appearances up to £1.3m for 100 appearances, and 23.5 per cent of a transfer fee if he is sold on within England. While these will reward clubs selling players who go on to be successful, they mean much smaller initial payments, thereby encouraging top clubs to gamble on signing as many youngsters as possible. The EPPP will also remove restrictions on top academies in terms of the amount of time they can spend with their youngsters. They are currently only allowed 90 minutes' coaching per day, while Barcelona's academy is effectively a full-time boarding school. With the EPPP in place that gap will narrow. The Peterborough director of football, Barry Fry, condemned the changes. "The Premier League wants everything and they want it for nothing," he said. ©independent.co.uk Terms & Policies | Privacy Policy | Email newsletter | RSS | Contact us | Syndication | Advertising Guide | Subscriptions | Jobs | Evening Standard | Homes & Property | London Careers | Novaya Gazeta (English)

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AB Newswire Home • Account • Search 11 Thursday, October 20, 2011 Study Tracks Head Impacts in Youth Football Emily Attwood — AB Associate Editor A first-of-its-kind study by Virginia Tech could have a significant influence on the future of youth football helmet design. Working with a local youth football team comprised of children between the ages of six and eight, researchers used helmets equipped with sensors to track data on location, severity and frequency of head impacts. Since 2003, Virginia Tech has used similar technology to track data related to head impacts in its collegiate team, developing the National Impact Database to catalog the information. The data was used to develop a safety rating system for adult helmets known as the STAR Evaluation System. Using the information gathered from their ongoing youth study, researchers plan to develop a similar rating system for youth helmets. The results of the 400 impacts recorded thus far in the youth team show that head impacts are generally less severe compared to adults, but while fewer severe impacts have been recorded overall, the hits were harder than originally thought, on par with the intensity of concussion-causing hits in adult players. Quantifying the characteristics of head impacts in youth football will not only allow for better evaluation of current helmet effectiveness but give manufacturers of helmets the information they need to improve design. Currently, youth helmets follow the same standards as adult helmets. The findings of the study will also have applications on head protection design for other sports. © Athletic Business Publications Inc. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Hole Game

To add a bit of levity here at work, we have a persistent gag game we play called "The Hole Game". It basically consists of people making a hole with their thumb and pointer finger and enticing other people to look at it. Generally you hold the hole about waste high, and say, "Hey look at this," and see who you get. There are lots of variations on the standard sucker and the rules are created on the fly Calvinball style. The only immutable rules are that the hole must be made before the enticement, and that the hole cannot be hidden. My best get so far was in a meeting with a couple of clients and a coworker. My coworker was sitting across from me, and we'd talked during a break about how the client was constantly scratching his nuts during the meeting. The client started scratching, I made the hole, and slightly motioned over toward the client with the tip of my head. As my coworker scanned over to look at the client there was the hole halfway between. My coworker seized up desperately trying to suppress a laugh, excused himself and left the meeting to ROTFL in the bathroom. This page courtesy of The Everything Development Company. All content copyright © original author unless stated otherwise.

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Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good? From boosting your mood to improving your sex life, find out how exercise can improve your life. By Mayo Clinic staff Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. And the benefits of exercise are yours for the taking, regardless of your age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing to exercise? Check out these seven ways exercise can improve your life. No. 1: Exercise controls weight Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. You don't need to set aside large chunks of time for exercise to reap weight-loss benefits. If you can't do an actual workout, get more active throughout the day in simple ways — by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or revving up your household chores. No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls. No. 3: Exercise improves mood Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. No. 4: Exercise boosts energy Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores. No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep Struggling to fall asleep? Or to stay asleep? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to fall asleep. No. 6: Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise. No. 7: Exercise can be fun Exercise and physical activity can be a fun way to spend some time. It gives you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting. So, take a dance class, hit the hiking trails or join a soccer team. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. If you get bored, try something new. The bottom line on exercise Exercise and physical activity are a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns. © 1998-2011 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All rights reserved.

http://www.thejakartapost.com

14 soccer clubs threaten to ditch Indonesian League The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/14/2011 11:26 AM Fourteen soccer clubs have threatened not to take part in the upcoming Indonesian League competition unless its organizers, the Indonesian Soccer Association (PSSI), repeals a decision to include 24 soccer clubs first before officially launching the league. “We don’t understand why the PSSI is so persistent with such a problematic decision,” Persisam football club chairman Harbiansyah Hanafiah said Thursday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. Harbiansyah urged the PSSI to start the competition with the 14 clubs that had already agreed to play.They are,Swiwijaya FC,Persidafon,Persiwa Wamena,Persela,PSPS,Pelita Jaya,Semen Padang,Deltrans Sidoarjo,Persisam,Mitra Kukar,Persib Bandung,Arema and Persiba. Harbiansyah also criticized the schedule for the competition, slated to commence on Oct.15, as being unrealistic. Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.

20 Great uses of social media in sports

Even in its relative infancy, social media has already proved itself to be an effective tool to boost fan interaction, forge connections between teams and leagues and their fans, sell tickets and merchandise, and help drive TV viewership.

But there remains nothing close to a one-size-fits-all approach for effectively leveraging social media. Rather, many different strategies have been pursued by sports properties, often in concert with traditional media extensions.

What follows is a snapshot of 20 effective uses of social media within sports over the past year, from properties to personalities, illustrating some of the ways the industry is finding traction.

SnappyTV gets the picture

If Mike Folgner, chief executive of San Francisco-based startup SnappyTV, gets his way, “snap” will be a social media verb in the same vein as tweet.

Folgner’s company is trying to create a niche in which its technology is used to take clips of live online video, usually one minute in length or less, and post them on Twitter and Facebook. SnappyTV’s near-realtime distribution of video highlights, what it calls “snapping,” is done in full cooperation with partner networks and is positioned as a powerful, social media-based marketing vehicle for boosting viewership of the live content.

“Quite simply, the best ad for watching a game is the game itself,” Folgner said. “Our technology helps make that happen.”

A test conducted in May with Tennis Channel for the French Open generated more than 2 million views of snapped video clips. One clip, in which a ballboy accidentally interfered with a point during an Andy Murray match, generated more than 400,000 video views through SnappyTV. The company is now aggressively targeting college football networks for additional deployments, and is seeking to develop an advertising-based revenue model around the snapped clips.

“We’ve got great evidence that we can drive tune-in,” Folgner said. “So we believe we’re resonating with rights holders and can begin to grow very quickly.”


Cleveland Indians Social Media Suite

The Cleveland Indians wanted to participate in the local social media conversation around the team rather than just be bystanders. As opposed to simply credentialing bloggers and other active social media participants with press box access, the club last year opened the Social Media Deck in the bleachers of Progressive Field. Seating 10, outfitted with wireless Internet access, and sponsored by Time Warner Cable, the section helped build good will for a club coming off a 97-loss season.

CLEVELAND INDIANS The suite at Progressive Field has built a waiting list of more than 200 people.

The Indians built upon that success this season by expanding the Social Media Deck into a 12-seat luxury suite at the ballpark. Still administered on an invitation-only basis, the Social Media Suite this season has built a waiting list of more than 200 people and is almost fully subscribed for the rest of the season. The move comes in concert with several senior club executives, including team President Mark Shapiro, activating Twitter accounts.

“This has given us a tangible platform to show our commitment to the social media space,” said Curtis Danburg, Indians senior director of communications. “We’re creating new brand ambassadors who are then going out and talking about the Indians experience and are in essence spreading our message. It’s hard to fully quantify the effects of that, but we know there’s been incremental lift [in ticket sales and attendance].”


MLB’s All-Star performance

MLB’s All-Star fan voting process is already the largest of its type in pro sports. But balloting this year soared to a record 32.5 million, 36 percent above the prior mark of 23.9 million ballots set in 2009, thanks in part to an aggressive Twitter hashtagging effort concentrated on several key positional races.

MLB Advanced Media, overseeing the online balloting, pushed out several designated hashtags, such as #voteavila and #votemartin for a close battle between Detroit catcher Alex Avila and New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin.

The All-Star Game social media blitz continued during the July 11 Home Run Derby during which 23 players, including Toronto slugger and Derby participant Jose Bautista, tweeted and posted to Facebook during the event under the coordinated hashtag of #HRDerby. Those 23 players collectively gained more than 121,000 new Twitter followers in the 18 hours following the event, and more than 18,000 mentions back to their accounts. The event peaked at 4,995 tweets per second, good for the eighth-highest such figure in Twitter’s five-year history.

MLB encouraged player tweets and Facebook posts, even setting up social media stations near the Chase Field dugouts.

“It’s one thing to have a TV analyst talk about how a David Ortiz did at the plate in that last round,” said Andrew Patterson, MLBAM manager of new media. “But to have Ortiz himself go right on Twitter and do it, that’s very compelling.”


Twackle measures up

Octagon Digital began Twackle in early 2009 as a consumer-facing Twitter aggregation engine. It has since morphed into a social media-powered news analytics engine aimed primarily at publishers and other business-to-business clients. Twackle now primarily tracks which news stories are shared the most on Twitter, and, in turn, are most likely to go truly viral.

With a variety of analytics that include heat maps, geographic clusters and detailed sharing patterns, Octagon Digital has now positioned Twackle closer to Google Analytics, comScore and other third-party measurement outfits. The strategic shift holds the promise of more revenue for Octagon Digital, but more broadly, many publishers are frenetically searching for ways to gauge the performance of their content within social media.

“We’re basically train spotting,” said Jim DeLorenzo, Octagon Digital vice president. “But we now have tools in place where content can be measured and evaluated in real time.”


Red Sox ask for advice

Construction of the master MLB schedule is a complex affair that involves months of work and endless compromise to balance many competing interests. But the Boston Red Sox this spring, during the playoff run of the neighboring Bruins, went to Twitter and Facebook to conduct real-time crowdsourcing about a game time change under consideration for June 4.

The club quickly received more than 4,300 Facebook likes and 650 Twitter responses from fans overwhelmingly voting in favor of moving the game against Oakland from 7:10 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. The shift enabled fans to watch the Bruins in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final that night. In addition to the club’s own social media channels, the Red Sox used sister company and regional sports network NESN to alert fans to the polling. Two weeks later, after the Bruins won the Cup, the city of Boston requested a similar switch to accommodate the hockey team’s championship parade.

The polling initiative came as part of a heightened use of Twitter overall by the Red Sox during games, such as Tweet Your Seat merchandise giveaways and Tweet Your Tunes, in which fans request songs to be played in the ballpark during rain delays.


Turner buddies up to fans

Through services like NASCAR.com’s RaceBuddy and TNT’s Overtime, Turner uses social media applications as a companion to its broadcasts. These applications use alternate camera angles and chat rooms to attract online viewers while Turner Sports’ events are being telecast.

“There’s a lot of social activity happening along a given sporting event and we wanted to capture that,” said Matt Hong, senior vice president and general manager of sports operations for Turner Sports. “The metrics have all been positive. We’ve seen no decrease in TV ratings as more people consume the digital product.”

Hong pointed to RaceBuddy as an example. Turner saw TV ratings for its six races in 2011 jump for the first time in three years, averaging 5.125 million viewers. It also saw online activity around RaceBuddy increase. The social media platform saw a 76 percent increase in viewership, averaging 936,000 streams per race.

— John Ourand

Women’s World Cup sets mark

The current record for most tweets per second isn’t held by the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA or NHL finals, or even the men’s World Cup, but rather the July 17 Women’s World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan.

GETTY IMAGES The final set a record for tweets.

Even as women’s soccer faces an uphill climb for commercial success in America, the Women’s World Cup distilled a potent combination of nationalism, large-scale international competition, and dramatic back-and-forth lead changes that caught fire on Twitter. The presence of Japan, Twitter’s most fertile territory in Asia, also was crucial.

But unlike many other league-coordinated social media efforts, the Women’s World Cup frenzy on Twitter was essentially all organic and fan-driven. Even U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted 13 times during the match. The match’s 7,196 tweets per second beat out not only every other sporting event in tweet volume, but other major news events such as the Japan earthquake and the death of Osama bin Laden.

Individual stars for the U.S. team saw their own social media lift, as well. Goalie Hope Solo entered the tournament in late June with fewer than 10,000 followers. She now has more than 244,000.


JetBlue flies with Twitter

JetBlue Airways, only 12 years old, is an airline born in the digital age. It also is by far the most followed airline on Twitter, with more than 1.6 million followers, and is widely praised as one of the most active consumer brands of any type in social media.

Social media is a prime component of activating its sports partnerships, including ones with the New York Jets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and many others. Announcements of such deals are heralded with special airfare offers distributed to Twitter and Facebook followers and fans. The airline also directly engages on Twitter and Facebook with fans of its partner teams who are traveling on its planes to upcoming games.

In January, JetBlue Chief Executive Dave Barger conducted a Twitter challenge with Doug Parker, his counterpart at US Airways and a Pittsburgh Steelers sponsor, over the AFC Championship Game. After some friendly back-and-forth on Twitter and a Pittsburgh victory, Barger made good on his bet and posted a picture of himself wearing a Steelers jersey and US Airways hat.

“This is all about having a direct dialogue with our customers,” said Morgan Johnston, JetBlue manager of corporate communications and head of the company’s social media efforts. “Sports is obviously a big part of our marketing efforts, and our customers are clearly passionate about sports. So that is an important part of the conversation, too.”


This is Mission Control

The concept behind the New Jersey Devils’ “Mission Control,” a social media hub housed within the club’s Prudential Center home, is strikingly simple: Who better to engage the club’s fans on social media than the fans themselves?

PRUDENTIAL CENTER Fans volunteer to staff the New Jersey Devils’ social media hub.

A group of 25 fans, dubbed “generals,” volunteers by taking turns manning the Mission Control office, monitoring social media conversation around the team and relaying information to other fans.

Inspired by other brands, such as Dell and Gatorade, that have built similar on-site social media centers, Mission Control is staffed about six hours a day during the offseason, and as long as 12 hours on game days. Since Mission Control launched in February, the Devils’ Facebook following has nearly doubled to more than 192,000 fans, and the Twitter audience has grown to more than 28,000 followers. Two ticket promotions that were run through Mission Control sold more than 850 tickets and generated nearly $18,000 in incremental gross revenue.

Among the elements under exploration for Mission Control during the next hockey season are an expansion into location-based social media and daily online deals for tickets and merchandise.

“This new social media platform gives our fans the opportunity to get even more deeply invested in the team they love,” said Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek.


ESPN goes virtual

It wasn’t much of a surprise when ESPN launched its second Farmville-style game last month. “Sports Bar” feels a lot like its first social media game, “College Town.”

ESPN executives say the performance of “College Town,” in which users build virtual campuses, convinced them that a second similar game will work.

“‘College Town’ has been our biggest social media business success to date,” said Patrick Stiegman, ESPN.com’s vice president and editor-in-chief. “We’ve seen a lot of stickiness with fans. And they’ve spent a fair amount of money to purchase upgrades.”

ESPN launched “College Town” in September 2010 and says more than 582,000 monthly users still are logging in to play. Up to 60,000 people still interact with the game every day. ESPN has seen more than 7 million total downloads, with users spending about 70 minutes per session.

“Activity has leveled out a bit,” Stiegman said. “But the amount of money people are spending on it is increasing.”

— John Ourand

NBA players hold court

The NBA is well-known for its strong social media position within the sports industry, with a combined Facebook and Twitter following of more than 23 million at the league level. The NBA conducts daily social media strategy sessions and is as aggressive as anybody in the space.

But what truly fuels the league’s presence in these forums are the players. No other property has as many of its highest-profile superstars prolifically and skillfully tweeting and posting on Facebook as the NBA.

Shaquille O’Neal (see related item) staged an early foothold on Twitter and remains a force there. But he is joined by a legion of other current megastars, including Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Boston’s Paul Pierce and Phoenix’s Steve Nash, among many others.

NBA-related entities occupy 10 slots in the 500 most-followed Twitter accounts, far more than any other sports property.


Social Bowl XLV

Super Bowl XLV this past February quickly became known in some circles as the Social Bowl, as many of the game’s advertisers debuted their spots and conducted supplemental contests and fan activities on Twitter and Facebook.

The shift dramatically changed the time-honored playbook of corporate marketing in and around the game, and

Volkswagen’s ad went viral before the Super Bowl.

effectively extended the advertising window for companies well beyond their 30- and 60-second spots.

Among the Super Bowl advertisers most active on social media were Volks-wagen, which leaked its Star Wars-inspired ad several days before the game and saw it go viral with more than 12 million views by Super Bowl Sunday; and Lipton Brisk, whose animated ad featuring Eminem pushed viewers to the company’s Facebook page. There, consumers found additional videos, and could submit their own stories and enter to win an Xbox 360.


Shaq touts his future

Legendary NBA center Shaquille O’Neal often has had a keen sense of the moment, and he showed it again in June when he announced his retirement from the league. O’Neal did the customary press conference, but he first broke his news through Tout.com, a startup, real-time video messaging service.

O’Neal saw an opportunity to break new ground with Tout.com, and reached out to the San Francisco-based outfit. After a series of negotiations, Tout.com had a major news event to boost awareness in the market, and O’Neal gained an undisclosed equity stake in the company.

O’Neal’s 15-second retirement video on Tout.com gained more than 500,000 views in the first three hours after it was posted, and he has since made numerous additional videos for the platform. Tout remains in an early developmental stage, but has raised $2 million in venture capital funding.


Dana White gets punchy

UFC President Dana White is widely known as a brutally candid, outspoken executive. Those traits have lent themselves powerfully to social media, where the league has more than 6 million fans on Facebook, and White himself has 1.5 million Twitter followers.

Like many other sports entities, the UFC employs help from social media consultants, and the UFC itself works with

GETTY IMAGES The UFC president is known to hit back via Twitter.

Phoenix-based agency Digital Royalty. Specific social media-fueled initiatives for the mixed martial arts property include streaming live undercard matches on Facebook, and rewarding fighters a total of $240,000 in cash for creatively tweeting and building larger followings.

But the centerpiece of the social media initiatives is White himself, who has been known to use his Twitter following to excoriate high-ranking executives such as EA Sports President Peter Moore and respond to some fan questions with a terse, “Total BS.”

The approach at once fits the graphic, confrontational nature of the sport and removes any sort of public relations veneer.


NHL heats up Winter Classic

The NHL for years has boasted a fan base younger and more technologically adept than many other properties, making its full-throttle entry into social media over the past several years a natural extension of what had already been happening on its various digital platforms.

For its midseason showcase, the Winter Classic, the league in January partnered with NBC to conduct a Watch-and-Win promotion on Facebook, blending social media with the traditional on-air broadcast.

Fans were asked to register at the league’s Facebook page. During the game, names of selected winners would appear on the TV screen. Those fans would then receive phone calls from NHL staffers with questions related to the Winter Classic game. Prizes including a Honda CR-Z and a trip to the NHL All-Star Game were awarded for correct answers.

The effort helped boost awareness and usage of the NHL’s Facebook page, now with more than 1.7 million fans. The game on TV also grew to an average audience of 4.5 million viewers, the largest draw for a regular-season NHL game since 1975, though a rain-delayed shift to a prime-time window also played a key role.


Speed slows down for questions

Many networks in recent months have sought to boost interaction between broadcasters and fans during telecasts, such as answering questions on air submitted via Twitter and Facebook. Speed is the latest to pursue such a strategy, employing the Speed Social Tracker for the Sprint All-Star Race in May at Charlotte.

The effort involved a social media dashboard featuring more than 20 network personalities answering fan questions, including Kyle Petty and Darrell Waltrip, and posting analysis of the race on Twitter and Facebook.

Coordinated under several hashtags, including #sprintallstar and #speedQA, the dashboard also pooled all other driver and fan comments on the event. The Speed Social Tracker generated more than 67,000 views on the day of the race, and helped boost Speed’s Facebook page by 54 percent during the month.

Ratings for the race on Speed grew 1 percent overall, and by 58 percent among men ages 18-34, helping amplify a broader resurgence for the sport on TV.


Shaun White works some corporate magic

Champion snowboarder Shaun White appeals strongly to a younger demographic fully engaged with social media.

GETTY IMAGES The action sports star has found ways to give exposure to his many sponsors..

White boasts vibrant followings on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and one of the largest sports Q Scores for any current or former athlete. Where White particularly excels in social media is integrating his battery of corporate sponsors.

Companies such as Oakley, Stride and BF Goodrich are given exposure on his social media channels without crossing over into blatant and constant commercialism.

During a recent promotional trip to New York, White gave away free Oakley sunglasses to Twitter and Facebook followers who came to the company store armed with a code word.


EA’s gaming turns social

There’s little debate in the industry that gaming is a red-hot segment of social media. Until recently, the space has been dominated by smaller entities, many of which did not have any licensed intellectual property within their games. But now the major players are taking notice.

EA Sports, after several initial efforts around Facebook-based gaming, is applying a broad social media element to “FIFA 12,” the upcoming version of its largest-selling title. The EA Sports Football Club, a free service included in the purchase of the game, will inject real-world happenings in soccer into the game, allow users to conduct challenges against others, earn experience points and share accomplishments on external social channels.

The effort seeks to blend all the interaction of social media with a full-featured gaming experience not possible on Facebook.


Pedal power

He’s now retired from cycling competition and probably will always be under suspicion that he used performance enhancers during his run of seven straight Tour de France titles. But few current or former athletes aside from Shaquille O’Neal have adopted social media as early and readily as Lance Armstrong.

With nearly 3 million Twitter followers, 1.8 million Facebook fans and an active channel on YouTube, Armstrong aggressively uses the platforms to promote his Livestrong Foundation and global health causes.

After a most recent set of doping allegations in May on “60 Minutes” from former teammate Tyler Hamilton, Armstrong posted on Facebook, “20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case.”


My tenant hits .300

In the lower reaches of affiliated and independent minor league baseball, housing can sometimes be a big challenge for players. With call-ups, trades, injuries and outright releases all constant threats, signing leases for rental property can be a difficult proposition for players earning minimal salaries.

For many collegiate summer baseball leagues, where the only income for players is typically outside odd jobs, the

GARY SOUTH SHORE RAILCATS Host families pose with their RailCats players.

housing issue is even more pressing.

As result, many individual clubs and leagues have successfully turned to Facebook to find host families to provide places for players to stay for the summer, relying on the viral nature of the platform and the ability to reach fans where they are spending significant time as opposed to more static forms of outreach.

The Gary (Ind.) South Shore RailCats of the independent Northern League were one team that recently went to Facebook, under the front of its mascot Rusty, to find player housing from local fans.

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