Posts Tagged ‘Sports’

While everyone within the organization of the NFLs Minnesota Vikings is putting on a grin and bear it face and trying to maintain the party line that there’s much rejoicing over Brett Favre being their QB this season, one former Viking great isn’t playing that game. NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, who has been critical of Favre’s act for awhile now, has described the whole scene surrounding his signing by the Vikings as a circus.

Tarkenton started his rant by suggesting that The Gunslinger had forever tarnished his legacy with his diva-like behavior:

“I really have no interest in what Brett Favre does. He kind of lost me a few years ago by retiring and unretiring and here and there. I asked a few friends here, maybe 10 or 12 people we were out with last night. I said, ‘What do you think about Brett Favre going back to the Vikings?’ You know who cared? Nobody. It’s good news for you guys. It’s good news for television and so forth but the last time I heard … football was a team sport, isn’t it? It’s not just about the quarterback.”

He later continued his criticism on ESPN:

“We have responsibilities we’re just not athletes that are in it all for ourself, football, is it not a team game? Isn’t it all about team … and here comes Brett Favre riding in on his white horse, doesn’t go to training camp, doesn’t come to offseason workouts and he’s gonna come on his white horse and bond with all these players.”

On a Minneapolis sports radio station Tarkenton continued his criticism:

“I think he has been a great flamboyant quarterback, but he has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback that I’ve ever seen. Look at his final game in a Packers uniform. He blew that game NFC championship against the Giants.

“I really think the whole Brett Favre saga of retiring, unretiring, three weeks ago saying ‘I can’t play,’ the Vikings said, ‘We’re moving on,’ it’s a circus. It’s an absolute circus, and it takes away from all the other things that are going on with the Vikings, with the NFL. We’re getting ready for a football season and this is a circus and I just have no interest in it.

“Wouldn’t you be upset if you’re a Packer fan? I think you’re going to have Packer fans burning the No. 4 Favre Green Bay jersey. I think the Packer fans have every right to be outraged.”

ESPN, in particular has turned on Favre, fomenting this sort of criticism after being the biggest perpetrator of the interminable will he retire or wont he talk starting last season.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and World Cup betting sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Minnesota Vikings have long been something of an afterthought whenever anyone talks of potential NFL Super Bowl finalists. To be sure, their offenses always rank among the top of the League in very year, and their defense is almost always at least average. They just never seem able to get it done on the field. By the numbers, however, most fans would be surprised to discover that the Vikings rank at number five in the NFL for all-time wins. Moreover, there was a period in the 1960s when they were clearly the cream of the NFL crop. Starting in 1969 – just eight years after they joined the League in the ‘61 expansion, the Vikings were the NFL/NFC representative in four of the next eight Super Bowls. Despite failing to win any of the Bowls they played in, that eight year period was clearly the Vikings Era.

The start of the run

It all began in the 1969 season. The Vikings managed to compile twelve straight wins during the campaign, and finished with a 12-2 record that propelled them into the postseason. After defeating the Browns of Cleveland to become the NFL titlist of 1970 – the final NFL title ever awarded, given that the AFL-NFL merger took place at the end of that season, the Vikings represented the League in its contest against the AFL title-winning Chiefs of Kansas City. The Chiefs won that Super Bowl, but the Vikings had clearly set the stage for the most prolific years of their franchise.

Seventies prominence

The rise of the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters defense in the early 1970s powered them to the playoffs in 1970 and 1971. The 1972 season was a seven and seven campaign, in large measure due to roster changes during the offseason (the Vikings had traded with the Giants to bring Fran Tarkenton back to the team. By the team 1973 rolled around, however, the Vikings were back in wining form and began the season with nine straight wins, finishing with another twelve and two record. They then lost Super Bowl VIII to the Dolphins.

The elusive Super Bowl win

Losing the Super Bowl seemed to be the Vikings’ destiny, as they returned in the following year, only to fall before the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl IX. After an easy divisional win in 1975, the Vikings surprised the football world by being defeated by Dallas in the playoffs. That was the game in which Staubach threw the now infamous Hail Mary pass that ended the Vikings’ season. Though they did not appear in Super Bowl X, the Vikings returned for Super Bowl XI. This time, they would face the Oakland Raiders – against whom they would once again fall short.

That made a total of three Super Bowl games within a four year span. It was also the team’s fourth appearance in eight years. The Vikings of that era should, however, be judged by more than the fact that they lost all four opportunities for the crown. That fact does not diminish in any way the sheer dominance that the Vikings exerted over the NFL during that period, even without winning it all.

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Georges St-Pierre was born May 19, 1981 in Saint-Isidore, Quebec, to Jim and Louise St-Pierre. St-Pierre had a difficult childhood, attending a school where others would steal his clothes and money. He started learning Kyokushin karate at age seven by his father and later by a Kyokushin Karate Master to defend himself against a school bully, Nikolas Mavrikos.

He took up wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his karate teacher died and also trained in boxing. Before turning pro as a mixed-martial artist, St-Pierre worked as a bouncer at a Montreal night club in the South Shore called Fuzzy Brossard and as a garbageman for six months to pay for his school fees.

St-Pierre has trained with a number of groups in a large variety of gyms throughout his fighting career. Prior to his fight with B.J. Penn at UFC 58, he trained at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City. St-Pierre received his brown belt in BJJ from Renzo Gracie on July 21, 2006. In September 2008, St-Pierre earned his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Bruno Fernandes.

St-Pierre began training with Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Keith Jardine, Donald Cerrone, and other skilled MMA fighters at Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting Gaidojutsu school in New Mexico. Some of Jackson’s students accompanied St-Pierre to Montreal to help prepare him for his fight at UFC 94 against B.J. Penn at the Tristar Gym, including Keith Jardine, Nathan Marquardt, Donald Cerrone and Rashad Evans. Georges’ strength and conditioning coach is Jonathan Chaimberg of Adrenaline Performance Centre in Montral. Georges’ Head Trainer is Firas Zahabi of Zahabi MMA, out of the Tristar gym. The two have cornered all of St-Pierre’s most recent bouts and remain as his close friends. Currently, St-Pierre trains in Muay Thai under Phil Nurse at the Wat in New York City.

St-Pierre had dreamed of becoming a UFC champion since watching Royce Gracie fight in 1993 at UFC 1. St-Pierre had his first amateur bout when he was only 16 years old. He said, “When I won my first amateur (MMA) fight, I was 16 years old and I beat a guy that was 25. I was only a Kyokushin karate fighter and the guy I fought was a boxer. At the time my ground skills were very poor, I didn’t know anything on the ground.” St-Pierre won his fight by knockout, going low with several leg kicks and then going high with a kick to the head.

St-Pierre’s pro debut was against Branden Macfadden and the fight ended in a first round to-knockout win by St-Pierre. In only his second fight, St-Pierre’s challenge for the UCC belt against Justin Bruckmann. He won by an arm bar in the first round. He then went on to defend his title twice. The UCC aka Universal Combat Challenge was then converted to TKO Major League MMA and he was named the champion. He fought on November 29, 2003 against Pete Spratt in a non-title bout at TKO 14. St-Pierre defeated Spratt with a rear naked choke in the first round. Following his second win in the UFC, he faced Matt Hughes at UFC 50 for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship. Despite a competitive performance against the much more experienced fighter, St-Pierre tapped out to an armbar with only 1 second remaining in the first round. The loss was the first of St-Pierre’s career and he has since admitted that he was in awe of Hughes going into the title bout.

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10 Things you may not know about the UFC.

1. Original promoters of a Ultimate Fighting Championship longed for to embody such marvellous side shows as alligator moats as well as electric fences surrounding a ring. UFC Doctors of march warned opposite them due to a dangers a fighters could face.

2. The UFC was founded by Rorian Gracie as well as Arthur Davie. It was combined to foster a Gracie family’s armed forces humanities school. Before a UFC a Gracie’s were well known for mouth-watering fighters of any character to contest opposite a part of of a family or a singular of their students to infer which Gracie jiu-jitsu reigned supreme.

3. Originally Semaphore Entertainment Group, a association which purchased a UFC, was usually starting to reason a singular UFC event. The eventuality was so successful they rught away began to devise some-more tournaments. Good thing it was so successful.

4. With a difference of UFC 9, each UFC up until UFC eighteen used a contest character format. UFC twenty-three additionally used this format. Eight fighters would contest to begin out a tournament. The 4 winners would afterwards contest in semi-final matches. The dual semi-final winners would contest for a championship belt. If a warrior could not go on at any indicate an swap was brought in to take his place.

5. Early on a UFC would reason events in states but jaunty commissions to equivocate regulations. In a commencement there were no judges either. When judges were combined in a future there were no transparent parameters on how to decider a fight.

6. For a initial integrate UFC events, a referees had really small power. They could not even stop a fight. There usually role was to have certain which a couple of manners which existed were enforced. The usually manners at which time were no biting, fish hooking, eye gouging or twist grip strikes. Fortunately after a initial couple of events refs were authorised to stop fights.

7. In 2000 SEG as well as a UFC roughly went under. The face which SEG marketed a competition as heartless as well as full of blood roughly led to a UFC’s demise. Luckily an pledge fighter as well as upholder declared Dana White assured a Fertitta brothers to buy a unwell organization. The UFC has given flourished to unimaginable heights.

8. Dana White managed Chuck Liddell as well as Tito Ortiz in a early days of a UFC. He additionally owned 3 gyms in a Las Vegas area.

9. After most years of “bad blood” Dana White as well as Tito Ortiz were starting to solve things in a ring with a 3 turn fighting compare on Mar 24, 2007. Surprise, warn a quarrel never happened as Tito Ortiz was a no uncover at a import ins.

10. In 2006 a UFC generated $222,766,000 in revenue, braking a PPV industry’s all time jot down for a singular year of sales, leading wrestling as well as boxing. The largest events reached scarcely 800,000 viewers.

I gamble we didn’t know a little of those facts!

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The Dallas Cowboys are settling into their new $1.15 billion dollar home stadium, but much of the talk in the NFL preseason has been about the massive video screen hanging directly over the field of play. There’s been a bit of a controversy about the height of the video screen, with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rebuffing suggestions that the board was hung too low.

On Friday, the NFL Rules Committee sided with Cowboys owner Jones, indicating that the board was of adequate height. It also clarified the procedure for kicks that hit the board during play.

Jones has maintained that much of the concern is due to the sheer size of the board, which was hung 90 feet off the field of play”5 feet higher than NFL mandated guidelines. Hes also suggested that Tennessee punters were intentionally trying to hit the board, requiring an effort to kick the ball almost straight up.

The NFL has ruled that if a ball hit the display during play, the clock will be reset and down will be replayed. The replay official will have the authority to review plays to determine if the board came into play during the last two minutes of a half, and the coaches will be able to challenge a play involving the video screen at other times during the game by throwing the red flag.

In a statement announcing the rules surrounding the video board, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the situation:

“We will continue to address the particular circumstances in Dallas, giving full consideration to the competitive, safety and fan experience issues involved. The Cowboys have been fully cooperative as we have addressed this subject, and we will continue to work closely with the club on a longer term resolution.”

On his weekly radio show, Cowboys owner Jones commented on the NFLs ruling:

“I don’t see it as ultimately an issue. You can anticipate the ball hitting the board from time to time. There’s no reason why this can’t be something for punters to deal with very similar to the way you’d deal with the wind in your face or with elements; rain, sleet or snow.”

Jones is hesitant to move the screen for, among other reasons, the huge cost of the engineering project”estimates suggest that it could cost as much as $40 million dollars to raise the screen. Former Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson has also made his opinion known, and he’s a big fan of the massive video screen:

“If there’s anything wrong, it’s that people are going to watch the video board and not the game. It is so dominating, but I think it’s so cool. I think it’s great.”

The Cowboys play their final preseason game at the new stadium this Saturday as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling 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, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

From poor ticket sales to a downright hostile German media, UFC 99 was one headache after another for Dana White and company. That was all forgotten thanks to an entertaining fight card highlighted by a 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. He did well to weather the storm and maintain control of the fight, but the uncertainty was enough to make the main event a very entertaining and exciting fight. Silva demurred on talk of retirement afterwards, though his tone gave some indication that hes leaning in that direction.

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). This caused him severe difficulty, but likely only hastened the inevitable Cro Cop TKO victory.

Perennial contender Mike Swick looked impressive as he defeated Ben Saunders via 2nd round TKO. After an uneventful first five minutes, Swick let his hands go and his impressive handspeed proved no match for his adversary. 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 experienced freelance writer who covers 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, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

The USA is definitely a “sports nation”, the top five sporting activities in fact are tremendous revenue earners and as drivers of allot of the US culture. Let’s look at just what these top five sports are.

1) Football. No not “soccer” at least not in the US. Football has been likely one of the most unique of all American athletics. Despite the fact that “American football” leagues already have popped up within Europe, however these are basically just subsidiaries among the American National Football League, the NFL. Usually, football isn’t really enjoyed anywhere besides the United States and Canada but within Canada there’s some contrasting guidelines, like for example the end zones being bigger, furthermore the game is just not as well liked over there. In the United States, football is mostly a Fall and early Wintertime obsession professionally and across the collegiate stage.

Throughout the United States, football is definitely a Fall and early Wintertime passion professionally and also at the collegiate level. coming from rugby, football at this time showcases the hugest single-day sports function throughout the world the Super Bowl, originally played in 1968. Football players as well as the coaches are quite often superstars, and furthermore football cheerleaders are ranked among the sexiest women in the world. The game’s Television viewings are made a great deal more popular because the fact that games are solely played one time a week throughout the season. When football season is in, each and every single game is frequently a great excuse for a get together. This sport’s blend of chess like strategy, high level athleticism, as well as violence help to make it an hard to beat indulgence for multitudes of sports addicts.

2) Baseball. Baseball is an American invention derived from Cricket. It’s older than football and continues to be labeled as the “American pastime” even when its popularity started to become surpassed by football in the seventies. A ball cap, mitt, and baseball bat are still staples of American youths. Being a effective baseball hitter is still known to be by many to be one of the most challenging athletic feats around the world, and amazing pitchers are still living legends. Baseball began to be eclipsed as the great American sport a few decades ago as a result of of its rather slow pace within the contemporary world and its persistent adherence to tradition in this time of advancing technology.

The players’ strikes of 1981 and also 1994 did not help matters with the sport, and even in these days instant replay is strictly limited. Critics among the game also think that the season is too drawn out and that, nowadays, the playoffs might be, as well. But yet when all is said and done, baseball is still the most attended American game, and it has developed to be an international sensation with tremendous followings in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and South America as well as having a professional Canadian team (there used to be two).

3) Basketball. Other than football, this is the biggest college sport throughout the US. A sport which is usually inexpensive to get involved with, basketball is in all probability these days the most international of all American sports. Hoops and school gymnasium and community courts are everywhere. Starting off in the mid 1960s basketball has evolved into a core facet among black American tradition, but since the mid 1990s the NBA has brought in lots of incredibly talented European basketball players also.

4) Ice hockey. Ice hockey is in fact more prominent all over Canada when compared to American football, baseball, and basketball combined, additionally, the game is also big within Western Europe. However, through its tempo, violence, and needed ice skating ability, ice hockey has developed large inroads in the United States since the 1960s. The National Hockey League is made up of an global variety of individuals it is undoubtedly the only American sport where the largest percentage of professional players consists of non-Americans.

5) Soccer. Referred to as “football” everywhere else around the world, soccer has slowly but surely formed significant inroads throughout the United States. Soccer might be the most common sports activity on the globe, which means it was merely a matter of time before it became big time throughout the U.S.

In the U.S., soccer is a sport fairly well liked among young boys and girls and also high school teenagers but struggles to compete against the other leading 4 sports in the collegiate and pro levels, quite possibly because it is the least American sport of them all. Within the pro level in the US, indoor soccer which definitely is faster paced, much higher scoring, and kind of a lot similar to ice hockey compared to its counterpart, is almost as popular professionally as regular soccer.

For additional content pieces about sports check out Sports Articles, Sports Recreation Hobbies is a free sports, recreation and hobbies Article and Video Resource site that’s growing every week.

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.

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. Baltimore’s has 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 his solid passing performance:

“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 quarterbacks 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.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and highly respected 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.

If you want to train your first marathon then it is critical you know precisely how you can train for it. The main reason for this really is you can harm your entire body should you start training for your marathon the wrong way. What most first time marathon runners do is over-train within the initial stages of their marathon preparation.

The main reason for this is that their motivation levels are usually very elevated and they believe that the way to get fitter is to go out and train lots of miles. Training a lot of kilometers will get you fitter than if you lay around the house and do nothing. Nevertheless there is a correct and a not correct way to get those critical miles into your legs.

If you are like most marathon runners who are training for their very first ever marathon then you’ll start training a lot of miles and wonder why you start obtaining niggling injuries. The main reason for this really is that your entire body is not yet ready to train a lot of kilometers. The best method to begin training for the marathon is to improve your mileage slowly. To do this you ought to begin to track how many kilometers you’re training every week. Then you definitely ought to increase your total weekly mileage gradually. For example if you have elevated your grand total weekly mileage to 25 kilometers per week then you should aim to train 26-27 miles within the following week.

The concept here is to just improve your mileage by around ten percent each 7 days. Should you follow this marathon training routine to gradually increase your total weekly mileage then you definitely may not get any debilitating injuries inside your marathon preparation. However, you ought to also split your training sessions into long and short runs simply because this is the most efficient way to put kilometers into your legs. What most marathon runners do is usually a long training session on the weekend. This is where you will get your greatest fitness and stamina from. This longer marathon training session should then be followed up by a rest day in order to give your muscles the chance to recover from the difficult session they have just carried out. You should also include a semi-long training session into your marathon training program. Most marathon runners do this session mid-week, typically on a Wednesday.

Either side of this semi-long marathon training session you ought to also do two shorter training runs so that you maintain putting critical kilometers into your legs. Most newbie marathoners who get past the first couple of months of running for their marathon also make the mistake of running straight up until their marathon race. Then they wonder why they feel tired and lethargic on the day of their race. A better way is to try to peak your marathon training around three weeks before your actual race. The reason for this really is so that you can then include a taper period into your training plan. Should you do this taper period into your running plan then you will be fully recovered after the months of marathon training which you have just completed. Some newbie marathoners believe the taper period isn’t worthwhile putting in their marathon training program.

Nevertheless it is close to impossible to get any fitter in the last month prior to your marathon. That’s why it’s important to put in a taper phase into your marathon training. It’ll leave your legs and entire body feeling fresh and rested around the day of your marathon race. By following a marathon running routine that’s specifically created for beginner marathoners then you’re giving your self the very best opportunity of finishing your marathon race. Obviously it will not guarantee you will cross the finish line, however if you are careful then you will most likely prevent getting injured in the build-up phase. This is the kind of marathon training program that most newbie marathoners tend to include into their training schedule. Nevertheless it is suggested to follow a beginner marathon running plan which is proven to work.

Pick up your marathon training schedule by clicking on the link. You will be taken straight to a marathon training page where you can find out more.

The South Carolina Gamecocks used a nasty defensive effort, combined with an efficient and mistake free performance from quarterback Steven Garcia to upset #4 Mississippi 16-10 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. The Gamecocks ended a 22 game losing streak against top 5 ranked teams, while Ole Miss saw their eight game winning streak come to an end.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the Gamecocks as +4 home underdogs were financially rewarded with South Carolina’s outright victory. After falling behind 3-0 after the first quarter, South Carolina led 6-3 at halftime and never trailed again.

The last time South Carolina had defeated a top five opponent was back in 1981, when they upended North Carolina. After the game, Gamecocks QB Garcia said that while it may not have been a game full of highlight reel plays, the victory was the important thing:

“It was a pretty ugly win, but a win and we’ll take it every time.”

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier expressed a similar sentiment:

“It was good to get a win when everybody watches. It was good for all Gamecocks. We thought we could beat them. Thought it was a toss-up game. But the way it turned out, the way our defense played, 16 points was enough.”

In particular, the defense completely shut down highly touted Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead. He made no excuses after the game:

“We really hurt ourselves and we continued to do it all throughout the game, into the last series. It’s tough.

Ole Miss entered the game with their highest national ranking since 1970, when Archie Manning prowled the Rebel backfield. Despite that, head coach Houston Nutt didnt sense any undue pressure on his team before the game:

“I never did sense that we were feeling a lot of pressure. Now it is what it is. You’ve lost your first conference game. You’ve got to work hard and win the next conference game.”

Rebel offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, meanwhile, contradicted his coachs observation with his clearly relieved postgame comment:

“I’m glad it’s over with so everyone can just stop talking about it.

The Gamecocks improved their 2009 college football record to 3-1 (1-0 SEC). Theyll host FCS opponent South Carolina State in Columbia next weekend before resuming their SEC schedule the following week against the University of Kentucky. Theyll take to the road on October 17th for what figures to be a tough game against the University of Alabama. Ole Miss is right back into SEC play next week, facing Vanderbilt on the road in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.