Posts Tagged ‘Sports’
Wisconsin Badgers Football – Barry Alvarez And The Badger Revival
The Wisconsin Badgers have, from the beginning, been a football program where success and failure have come in waves. Though the team’s overall 614-465 record is a positive one, it does not tell the entire story of Badger football – a tale that involves not only prolonged periods of success, but prolonged periods of failure as well. In the wake of their successful 1901 campaign, the Badgers went through a three and a half decade time of poor play that was only broken by their undefeated season in 1912. They nearly repeated that era of mediocrity with another after their defeat in the Rose Bowl of 1962 – another three decades of miserable results. However, the 1990 arrival of Barry Alvarez as Wisconsin’s Head Coach would signal the return of the Badgers to national prominence.
Alvarez the man
Wisconsin certainly thought they knew what they were getting when they hired Alvarez. With experience playing the game for Bob Devaney three decades before, and coaching experience at the high school and college level, he certainly had the right resume for the position. He had even served as an assistant coach under the great Hayden Fry of Iowa, whose assistants have landed head coaching jobs across the NCAAs over the years. His brief time at Notre Dame only served t put an exclamation mark on his record. When he came to Wisconsin, Alvarez might have been the only person who expected the Wisconsin team to turn their program around. His first three years as the team’s coach certainly offered little hope to any of the fans.
It’s never easy
As often happens with new head coaches, Alvarez found the first several years to be difficult ones. It takes time to rebuild a football program, and such was the case for the Badgers. Their first Alvarez-led campaign was almost winless, as they lost ten of their eleven games. While the team improved to five win seasons over the next two seasons, they still remained in the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Alvarez stuck to his plan, however, ignoring the many calls for his dismissal. His faith was rewarded in the fourth year of his coaching tenure.
Three Rose Bowls
During that 1993 campaign, the Badgers became the team to beat in the Big Ten Conference. After winning all but two of their games, the Badgers moved on to Pasadena to compete in the Rose Bowl, where their previous history had been less than successful – in three trips they had yet to win. This fourth trip to the Rose Bowl would prove to be the victory that had so long eluded Wisconsin. Along with that victory came the team’s final AP ranking of sixth in the country. The next season saw the Badgers in yet another bowl game, a clear sign that the program was back on solid footing. In Alvarez’ final eleven seasons with the team, his Badgers would post winning records in all but two campaigns, go to a bowl game almost every year, and win the conference several times. He even repeated the Rose Bowl win of 1993 by winning it again in both 1998 and 1999.
Barry Alvarez left the Wisconsin program in 2005 holding the record for the most wins best winning record of any Wisconsin coach in the school’s long history.
Freddie Brister is a big fan of Football check out his: Utah Watch
Patriots And Bill Belichick – Defying Parity
Parity has been a goal of the NFL since the 1960s, and was first made a priority by then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The late Rozelle made every effort to change rules and procedures in his never-ending quest to eliminate the gulf between the best and worst teams in the League. At the time, dynastic franchises such as Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and others held dominion over the NFL’s title, and it was just those kinds of dynasties that he tried his best to end. The institution of free agency, salary caps, and even the reverse order of the draft had the desired effect: over the last several seasons, most of the League’s teams have fallen into the 8-8 range. There has been a team, however, that has managed – in spite of the parity drive – to achieve a dynasty of sort. That team is the New England franchise known as the Patriots.
From 2000 until today
Over the last ten Super Bowls, only two teams have managed more than one win: the Pittsburgh Steelers who won two, and the Patriots who have won three. Since Bill Belichick took over the coaching duties of the Patriots, they have appeared in four Super Bowls, compared to the Steelers’ two and the Colts’ two appearances (For the record, the Steelers won both of their appearances, and the Colts won one and lost one). The true strength of the New England dynasty is seen in their accomplishments under Belichick: six division wins, four conference titles, and an overall record of 116-45. Moreover, the Patriots’ 2007 season was perfect throughout the regular season, falling short of complete perfection due to their loss in the Super Bowl.
System success
Some have attributed Belichick’s winning ways to what they say is an underrated quarterback in Tom Brady. Others simply believe they have benefited from an imagined decline in the across the board level of talent in the NFL. Most scoff at both notions. While Brady has been an effective field general for the team, there is no arguing with the fact that it is Belichick’s overall coaching and management system that has allowed the Patriots to prosper in the age of parity.
The system works
A look at the history of the Patriots over the last decade reveals a collective mindset that is centered around winning regardless of the players on the roster. While other teams look for star power and are willing to pay anything to get it, the Belichick system focuses on getting players who fill needed roles on both offense and defense. Belichick has engineered an ego-free environment at New England that has but one goal in mind: to win. Win each game; win the division; win the conference; and win the Super Bowl.
He has instilled this mindset within the halls of management and within the locker room, and has enabled the Patriots to rise above the mediocrity of middle-ground NFL parity and find a place among the few elite teams in the modern National Football League.
Freddie Brister is a huge fan of all sports and recommends checking out his New England Patriots Watch and Boston Red Sox watch at his shop.
Wooden Puzzles And Child Development
Have you wondered why children love teddy bears and animal cartoon characters? This is primarily because they love animals. Parents should not be worried about this inclination because it is normal, and more importantly, it can even help children in their learning and development processes.
Thus, here are a few five ideas how animals may help with the kid’s development. First of all, most details about the animals like where and how they stay appeal to kids and allow them to check out textbooks along with other sources. The spectacular variety of the kingdom of animals fascinates kids. They ask questions similar to, what do the majority of creatures feed on? How come some creatures fly and other swim? Every time a single query is clarified, a different issue stems out, thus, it’s indisputably an unending knowledge to the kids. Their particular sense of wonder is enormous and their interest for discovering makes them even more willing to obtain wisdom which excites them.
Subsequently, learning more about animals motivate small children to like words and photographs. They like noticing how animals’ respond and want to hear their specific sounds. The simple sounds like “quack,” “meow” and “moo” is relatively easy for them to copy. Obviously, imitating animal actions permits small children a chance for a healthy creative role playing.
In addition, telling fables tend to make youngsters empathize to the animals’ safety, specially, to the maltreated as well as the caged ones in the zoo. At the very early age, small children will definitely be starting to value them and for sure they’ll grow up by having great devotion not simply for creatures, but to people as well.
Fourthly, through counting the number of spider’s legs or the legs of the cow sharpens the mathematical concept of the child. The simple attempt of counting can hone the ability of the children to comprehend math problems in the long run.
Lastly, animal movements can enhance physical development of the children. When the children start to be curious about how kangaroo jump, or how fast the cheetah runs, they tend to be inspired by these characteristics of the animals.
So, consequently, to give books and to supply the small children wooden puzzles which are actually shaped in several animal patterns can possibly develop not merely their appreciation concerning animals, but their enthusiasm to understand basically. The books are perfect bastion of knowledge and even learning. Children can keep their fascination about animals and likewise, they’ll learn more advance information about them. Wooden puzzles, in addition, can also improve the visualization of the young people. Since they are much more intrigued on visual, the puzzles can offer young children the concept of how other less common animals look like. Aside from that, such puzzles can even be played by youngsters or grownup during free hours of the day. The game is definitely exciting and the same time challenging. Whether, you have fun with your little child, or he plays together with other youngsters, it does not change anything. They undoubtedly develop psychological alertness and sharpen people’s focus on details. The moment the kids start mastering them, learning and development become quicker.
Whenever you want a game that is full of excitement and fun, you should try kids wooden puzzles. It not only stimulates your brain, you have a time for bonding with family or friends. Or you may want to try wooden 3d puzzle.
Japanese Martial Arts Styles – How Do I Choose The Best One To Try?
For someone who wishes to master a martial art, there is a great deal to find out in regards to the countless different styles. Of course there is the question of finding the perfect martial art, which is a question a lot of people ask With so many martial arts styles to choose from, it can be very complicated to pick one to learn.
No matter you might hear or what other people have to say, it is quite difficult to name one style of martial arts as the ultimate best. Actually, there are several elements that come into play, which makes a statement about a style being the best impossible. Even though one style might beat another in a competition or a fight, doesn’t always mean that the winning style is the best.
Before choosing to rush out there and study a martial art, there are a number of things that you ought to conclude first. Martial arts are great to learn, no matter which style you decide on. A martial art can teach you self discipline, self defense, and several other traits that will help you no matter where you decide to go in life.
All over the world, there are a number of martial arts schools and dojo’s that highlight self defense a lot more than others. Schools that focus on kata, forms, or light sparring are less than likely to train you what you need to defend yourself on the street. If you are seeking for street self defense, then you’ll want a method that trains hard and doesn’t let up.
Even though martial arts can improve your fitness level, it isn’t the goal behind a lot of the martial arts styles. Quite a few styles, such as Tae Bo, are based purely on martial arts and doesn’t embrace a lot of physical fitness training. If you are looking for fitness as your chief goal, then you should be looking into something other than martial arts.
Fighting ability will vary amongst the many different martial arts styles. Self defense schools will most often take advantage of fighting skills, teaching you all you need to survive. Most martial arts styles are slow in theory, teaching you kata, movements, and forms. Self defense schools on the other hand, teach you how to inflict the most amounts of damage in the least amount of time.
Competition based martial arts are all on the subject of winning trophies and showing the world your method of martial arts. The competition that you have chosen, will to a great extent impact your type of martial arts. You’ll need to decide if you will be fighting or showcasing display kata, light or heavy contact, or focusing on grappling or striking.
Prior to you choose on a martial arts style, you should always investigate the schools and dojo’s in your vicinity and see what all they offer you. The best schools will permit you to take part in a few free classes, or offer you discount rates on your first few months. They will answer any questions that you have, and work with you to assist you learn as much as you can.
Martial arts can be a exceptionally enjoyable and exciting learning experience. There are thousands of different martial arts styles out there, even though you may be limited in choice, depending on what all is on hand in your region. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu and some of the most common types of martial arts, and normally offered just about everywhere. The more distinct styles, such as Kung Fu, Shootfighting, Kenpo, and Shaolin styles are a bit hard to difficult to find.
If you do your research on some of the styles that are offered in your region, you’ll come across one that best fits your reasons to study. Martial arts can alter your outlook on life – all you have to do it dedicate yourself to learning all you can about the philosophy of your martial art.
For lots more information on japanese martial arts styles visit our martial arts blog.
UFC 99: Franklin Beats Wandy In UFC German Debut
From a business standpoint, the UFCs first trip to Germany will clearly fall short of their success in the UK. From poor ticket sales to a downright hostile German media, its been one headache after another for Dana White and company. That was all forgotten thanks to an entertaining if somewhat uneven fight card highlighted by a spectacular main event between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. Franklin would ultimately win the unanimous decision victory, but the fight itself far exceeded the expectations of most fans.
For the most part, Franklin picked Silva apart throughout the course of the fight (to quote UFC color commentator Joe Rogan) and deserved the unanimous decision verdict. What made the fight exceptional were the occasional glimpses of the old Axe Murderer. Late in the second and third rounds, Silva tagged Franklin with hard punches that left him clearly stunned.
In the co-main event, heavyweight phenom Cain Velasquez survived a few nervous moments to put in a wall to wall domination of Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was rocked by Kongos punches early in rounds one and two, but quickly recovered to take the fight to the ground where he mauled the Frenchman. The result was an impressive victory for Velasquez over a top level opponent, but his struggles against Kongos standup game left several unanswered questions. The most compelling concern, of course, is that Velesquez might have a weak chin and simply not be able to take a punch particularly well. His problems could also be tactical or simply a case of not having enough patience”rushing his takedown attempts and eating punches rather than work for a less risky opportunity. In any case, his stand up defense needs to be upgraded significantly before he can think about competing against the likes of Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir.
The event also featured the UFC return of former PRIDE open weight GP champion Mirko Cro Cop. Cro Cop was making his return to action from knee surgery, and the Croatian striking machine got off to a slow start against overmatched Mostapha Al-Turk as he clearly sought to protect his rebuilt wheels. Of particular note was the fact that Cro Cop didnt throw a kick the entire fight”his bread and butter during his PRIDE dominance, which evoked the mantra right leg hospital, left leg cemetery. Once he let his hands go, however, he demonstrated emphatically that hes still got serious power. He ended the fight late in the first round by flooring Al-Turk with an overhand left followed up with some hammer fists on the ground. Al-Turk survived this onslaught, but when the referee returned the fight to standup he caught a poke in the eye (similar to the one suffered by Josh Barnett in his PRIDE OWGP Final matchup against Cro Cop).
In the opening match of the live PPV, Dan Hardy won a hard fought split decision over Marcus Davis. The two men had feuded back and forth in the UK media, and while the fight may not have settled their differences in a decisive manner it did provide a solid opener to the evenings fight card.
Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer experienced in travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Anderson Silva Smashes Forrest Griffin At UFC 101
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had lost a lot of his luster coming into Saturday nights UFC 101 matchup with former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin. He was undefeated in his previous nine UFC contests, but his last three victories had been far from impressive. Even Dana White criticized his recent effort and finally conceded that St. Pierre might, indeed, be the best all around fighter in the game.
There was none of that on display at UFC 101. Silva was simply dominant as he overwhelmed the naturally larger Griffin, knocking his opponent down three times before finishing the fight with a spectacular”yet almost effortless”straight right hand.
The live crowd in Philadelphia clearly favored the likable Griffin and gave him a huge ovation as he bounced to the ring to his trademark walk-in song Shipping Up To Boston by the Dropkick Murphys. Silva, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos as he confidently strode to the ring to the sound of Aint No Sunshine by rapper DMX. Silva displayed much more humility toward the fans than he has in his recent outings, bowing in all four directions after the entered the cage.
He displayed none of that courtesy toward Griffin once the fight began and was simply the wrecking machine that UFC fans had grown accustomed before his recent run of lackluster performances. Forrest came right at Silva, assuming that his natural size advantage would equate to a strength advantage as well.
The second knockdown clearly hurt Griffin, though he once again made it back to his feet quickly and landed a combination of his own. This was his best”and last”offense of the fight. Silva quickly floored Griffin with a left hand that left little doubt to the eventual outcome of the contest. The double tough Griffin made it to his feet again, and tried to land a leg kick”which Patrick Cote had used with some success in their fight.
Silva, backing up, landed a perfect and almost effortless straight right that sent Griffin down for good. The referee didnt even bother to count as he waved his arms over the prone fighter as Silva celebrated his win. Griffin quickly exited the cage and, reportedly, the arena.
Silva’s message in his postfight interview was simple: I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, I want to fight them. Though Silva didnt really affirm that hed be campaigning more at the heavier weight, that was the implicit message of his comment.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer experienced in travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Clippers Pull Plug On Dunleavy’s Coaching Career
In one of the stranger front office shakeups in recent NBA history, the Los Angeles Clippers have ‘relieved’ Mike Dunleavy of his head coaching duties effective immediately. He’ll remain on board as the Clippers’ general manager, and both he and the team cited the demands of the forthcoming trade deadline and free agent market as a catalyst for the change. Dunleavy leaves as the most successful head coach in the team’s less than distinguished history. With the Clippers, however, that’s not saying a whole lot.
Not surprisingly, there is much speculation as to the back story behind the move. Some with knowledge of the situation suggest that Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling wanted to fire Dunleavy altogether, but relented due to the $5 million the team will owe him in the final year of his contract next year. More recently, a bizarre rumor has been circulating that Sterling has approached Isiah Thomas about taking over Dunleavy’s coaching position and becoming team president.
Despite the diva-like drama, everyone is keeping up appearances in public. Dunleavy issued this statement, playing along with the team’s insistence that the decision to give up coaching was ‘mutual’:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the ideal time for me to direct my efforts toward the many personnel opportunities that lie before us, such as the trade market, the draft and the free-agent process. We fully expect to be active and productive on all those fronts.”
Team President Andy Roeser added:
“We fully agree with Mike that this is the right time to make this change. It just seems clear that the team needs a fresh voice and we hope that our players will respond in a positive way.As we approach the trade deadline, the NBA draft and the upcoming free-agent period, our team is very well positioned from a salary-cap standpoint. Mike’s experienced input will be vitally important as we continue to develop our young talented nucleus and shape our team’s future.”
Dunleavy’s agent Warren LeGarie continued the same theme:
“This is something we’ve been contemplating for some time. There’s a shelf life to coaching sometimes. So you constantly have to keep measuring whether [the team's inconsistency] is because of injuries, because of you, or something else. And at some point you have to make a judgment call about what’s best for the team, and that’s what Mike did.”
The Clippers have lost 7 of their last 10 games to fall to 21-29 on the year. They’re 17 games behind the Western Conference leading Los Angeles Lakers and 8 games out of the final playoff spot. The schedule won’t get any easier for the Clippers over the next week, as they host the red hot Utah Jazz on Tuesday and head into the All Star Break with a game on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
Ross Everett is a well known cheerleading coach and a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports. He provides Internet and broadcast media outlets with daily free sports picks when not working with Olympic bound ice skaters. He is a widely published writer specializing in sports handicapping, falconry, auto racing and wombat breeding. He lives in Southern Nevada with his houseboy, three dogs and a wombat.
Ravens Thump Chiefs In NFL Opener
The bad news for the Baltimore Ravens in their 2009 NFL regular season opener was that their vaunted defense gave up 24 points despite holding a decided advantage in every other statistical category. The good news was that their offense was more than up to the task, answering with 38 points and a franchise record 501 yards. All told, the Ravens opened their season on a winning note beating the Kansas City Chiefs 38-24. Quarterback Joe Flacco threw for a career high 307 yards and three touchdown passes in the victory.
NFL sports betting devotees who took the +13 points with the Chiefs as a road underdog were hard luck losers as the Ravens managed to cover the pointspread by a single point. The win evened Baltimore’s ATS record over the past three seasons at 18-18, while the Chiefs fell to 14-19 in the same timeframe. The 62 combined points scored easily exceeded the posted total of 37. Despite Baltimore’s reputation as a defensive powerhouse they’ve shown a decided bias to the OVER in recent years, with 22 OVER verdicts in their last 35 games.
Afterwards, Joe Flacco was clearly elated at being given the opportunity to throw the ball more:
“It’s awesome. It’s so much fun. As a quarterback, that’s what you want to do.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh expressed confidence in his offense’s ability to make plays:
“We’re going to throw more if it helps us win games. I think that we will be capable of throwing the ball more ways than we did last year. We have really good players that can make plays.”
Chiefs backup quarterback Brodie Croyle played relatively well in a losing cause. Filling in for the injured Matt Cassel, Croyle put up 177 yards on 16 of 24 passing and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. Cassel is still listed as ‘game to game’ with a knee injury suffered in preseason practice. Despite the solid performance, Croyle was in no mood to talk about his personal accomplishments in the wake of the loss:
“Play well, don’t play well — if you don’t win, you still have the same feeling and that’s where I’m at.”
In his post game comments, Chiefs coach Todd Haley gave credit to his quarterback and the Baltimore offense:
“I thought Brodie Croyle gave us a chance to win today and that’s all I’ll ever ask my quarterback to do. I got to give credit to Baltimore. They were a throwing machine today. They threw the ball probably a lot more than we anticipated.”
The Ravens now head cross country to take on the San Diego Chargers in southern California next Sunday. After that theyll return home the following week to take on the Cleveland Browns. Kansas City will host the Oakland Raiders next Sunday before heading to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles the following week. The Chiefs are hoping that QB Matt Cassel will be able to start against Oakland.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
NASCAR Legend David Pearson: The Silver Fox
South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway is an egg shaped terror that has become known as the track too tough to tame. If thats true, David Pearson came pretty close–during his illustrious career, he posted 10 victories and 12 poles at Darlington. These are both records for one of NASCAR’s most unforgiving tracks. Pearson’s ability at Darlington bordered on the unreal, and he was able to follow the conventional wisdom about performing well there better than anyone. The old saying is that you need to race the track, not the other drivers, but that’s a lot easier said than done. Pearson, however, made it look easy.
David Pearson was born on December 22, 1934 in Whitney, SC–a textile town near Spartanburg. Like most of the locals, his parents worked in the local cotton mill and did their best to provide. David quit school after the 10th grade and went to work in the mill. It wasnt long, however, before his love of cars and racing made him leave the mill life behind. He bought a car and began racing at short tracks in the upstate. He ran his first race on 9/19/52 in Woodruff South Carolina. Within a few years, he won his first championship at the Greenville/Pickens Speedway in’59.
Pearson never really sought much more than this local fame and success, but a couple of his friends and some fans had loftier ambitions”they began raising money to buy a car to compete in the NASCAR Grand National series (which was the forerunner to today’s Sprint Cup series). With the financial backing from friends and family, David began racing a limited schedule on the Grand National circuit and was named the’60 rookie of the year. In’61, he became the first driver to win on 3 of 4 superspeedways in the same year (Charlotte, Daytona, Atlanta). Success beget sponsors, whos dollars allowed him to afford better cars and crew. This brought about championships”he won three Grand National titles in’66,’68 and’69.
During the 70’s, Pearson specialized in superspeedway racing. Through the end of the’70s, Pearson won 43 races. In addition to his mastery of Darlington, he posted remarkable numbers all over the circuit. He is one of two men to have won more than 100 races, and his 105 is second only to The King Richard Petty’s 200 wins. Hes also second on career poles (113) to Petty. Head to head, however, he has a slight edge over NASCARs legendary King: in races where he and Petty finished 1-2, Pearson won 33 to Petty’s 30. His 11 consecutive poles at Charlotte is a feat that will likely never be matched. Another record that may never be broken is his’.29% winning percentage, as well as his record of starting from the pole in 20% of the races he ran.
In March, 2000, SC Highway 221 through Spartanburg County was renamed David Pearson Boulevard in his honor. He lives in Spartanburg to this day. Pearson still takes to the track occasionally–he and current NASCAR driver Carl Edwards were the first to race on the newly repaved Darlington Raceway last Spring. We should all hope to be able to run with a 20 something NASCAR driver when we’re in our mid 70’s. Incidentally, he got the nickname Silver Fox due to his prematurely gray hair and cunning style behind the wheel.
Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports and an expert on World Cup soccer betting. He has written extensively on sports betting, horse racing, travel, and fencing. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pair of racing wombats.
David Beckham Could Miss Entire MLS Soccer Season
When David Beckham suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in a Italian league game in mid-March, doctors gave him an outside chance of returning in time for the World Cup or at the very least part of the MLS season. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like either of these favorable scenarios will transpire. In a recent statement Beckham broke the news that his recovery is behind schedule and he won’t be able to resume playing soccer until November at the earliest.
This timetable does leave open the possibility that he could return to action should the Los Angeles Galaxy make the MLS playoffs. As far as a potential return to England’s national team the first realistic opportunity for Beckham to play would be in a European Championship qualifier against Wales in March 2011. He’s been assured that he’s welcome back at AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A league whenever he’s back in playing shape, though neither the team nor Beckham have indicated anything specific about his future with the team.
Beckham, who is still using crutches to get around, explained his recovery process:
“I won’t be running for another three months, so I will be playing again in, probably, November.”
“My mentality is to kind of push it and get moving and running and soon as possible. But it’s an injury that has to take time to heal. It’s frustrating. It’s obviously disappointing because I’ve been working for the last two years to get into the English squad [for the World Cup].”
“At the moment, it’s just getting the motion back into the ankle, the tendon, because it’s still repairing. I’m trying to get mobilization back into the ankle.”
Beckham also recalled the injury itself:
“It was like being hit by a hockey puck. I thought someone was behind me and kicked me. Obviously no one was there and I saw my foot hanging and then I felt down there and there was a hole.”
The former England captain would have likely served in a reserve capacity with the World Cup squad. Even without Beckham in the lineup and with lingering injury issues plaguing Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney soccer betting enthusiasts are bullish on England’s prospects this summer. The ‘Three Lions’ are currently the third favorite in World Cup future betting behind Brazil and Spain.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.