Posts Tagged hobbies
Denver Shuts Out Arizona In Battle Of Winless Teams
Posted by Ross Everett in Sports on June 20, 2010
The Arizona Cardinals haven’t looked anything like a Superbowl team in the NFL preseason. They entered their final exhibition contest against the Denver Broncos looking for their first win. The Broncos controlled the contest on both sides of the ball en route to a 19-0 shutout victory over the struggling Cards. Denver managed to improve their preseason record to 1-3, while Arizona ended the exhibition campaign winless at 0-4.
Arizona was installed as -3 road favorites, but NFL preseason bettors who backed Denver ended up collecting the money with the outright win. The Broncos scored 16 of their 19 points in the first half, and the eventual outcome”straight up or against the spread”was never really in doubt after that.
Denvers biggest issue has been injuries, with their starting QB Kyle Orton and backup Chris Simms both out of action. Orton is suffering from a cut and dislocated finger on his throwing hand, while Simms is recovering from a sprained ankle. That provided a great opportunity for rookie Tom Brandstater, and he may find himself playing next Sunday for real. Afterwards, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was full of praise for his young signal caller:
“For a rookie quarterback, and I’ve had a chance to coach a number of them, he’s really done a nice job. It’s not too big for him, the game’s not too big for him, the huddle’s not too big for him. He operated with that first unit pretty good.”
Brandstater is keeping it all in perspective:
“Things happen — just last week alone with the Kyle injury. That’s a pretty freak accident that no one can predict at all. I’m glad I got my shot and hopefully I did some good with it. I’m trying to make this team. I still haven’t guaranteed myself a spot in this team and I’m trying to do everything I can to make it just like every guy on the team is.”
Cards head coach Ken Whisenhunt tried to put a positive spin on a dismal preseason:
“We’ll clean it up. I still feel good about our football team and the way we’ve been working.
Kurt Warner, meanwhile, was just looking forward to starting the regular season:
“I never really felt like I got into a rhythm today for whatever reason. I’m looking forward to game-planning a team, putting in some plays and some things we’ve done in the past that we really haven’t done in preseason. I’m looking forward to all of that. But you still don’t leave preseason extremely excited about what we’ve accomplished.”
Arizona will try to put their dismal preseason behind them when they kick off the 2009 NFL campaign at home against the San Francisco 49ers. The Cards are a -6 point home favorite, with the total set at 46. Denver will play on the road against the Bengals at Cincinnati in their regular season opener. Cincinnati has been installed as a -4 home favorite with the total set at 43.
Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football 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, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Phillies Sign Ryan Howard To Hefty Contract Extension
Posted by Ross Everett in Baseball on June 20, 2010
Philadelphia Phillies’ slugger Ryan Howard has two years remaining on his current contract with the club, but the team had no interest in potentially losing him as a free agent. For that reason, the Phillies have worked out a hefty contract extension with Howard that will pay him an average $25 million a year for the next five years. The 30 year old Howard has played his entire career with the Phillies, leading the team to two consecutive World Series including a victory in 2008.
Howard spoke of his loyalty to the team as a primary reason that he jumped at the deal without hesitation:
“That wasn’t a very hard decision.”
“I tell you what, it’s a great feeling to have that security and know where you’re going to be. I feel what I’ve been doing over the last couple of years, I feel pretty confident that down the road, I’ll be right where I want to be and still doing the same things.”
He then threw in a playful jab at the notoriously demanding Philadelphia fans:
“Hopefully there’s no riots taking place back in Philly.”
Even Philadelphia’s GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. was in a joking mood:
“As part of this deal, he has agreed to buy a second home for me.”
He then gave a more serious take on Howard’s contract:
“We just felt it was good timing for us. We felt No. 1, he’s one of the elite offensive players in the game. We could have waited another year and a half or so and dealt with it later on, but the fact of the matter is we decided he is that important to our organization and to our club and to our future.”
Howard’s agent Casey Close was also upbeat:
“This is a very good contract for him. The reason he felt the time was right was he loves his teammates, he loves the city. He wanted to be a part of something special for a long time to come.”
As was team manager Charlie Manuel:
“This is absolutely great. We signed Ryan Howard quite a few years ago and that means we’re keeping him. He’s one of our guys, he is a Phillie. It’s big for our team. That’s what you set out for. He’s very worthy of it. He is a great player and he is going to continue to be a great player for a while. Everything about it’s good.”
There is some risk involved for the ball club-despite a team option for the 2017 season they’re banking that Howard will remain a high level offensive player. The size of the contract, if nothing else, would make him almost impossible to trade should the team decide to go in a different direction.
Ross Everett is a widely published 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 Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Guitar Instructional DVD Are Fun To Learn From
Posted by Joseph Anthony in Guitar on June 20, 2010
It may not work for everyone but being aware of your development can be a useful guide to your own sense of development. No matter how great a guitar you are, there is always likely to be scope for improvement and you should never stop developing.
Similarly, electric guitar lessons may prove to be the best form of learning for any budding rock and rollers out there. All of these different styles are all just variations of guitar playing but picking one that is close to your heart may allow you to learn faster.
That said, any beginner is recommended to examine popular guitar tabs and improving from there. There is a lot that can be learned from playing simple styles of music and it offers a strong base to develop from. Many people like to keep their easy guitar tabs for beginners as a way of remembering where they came from.
Once you have mastered the basics you can truly push on and learn new skills but you should never overlook the initial steps of the process. No matter how far you progress, easy guitar tabs for beginners should always be in the back of your mind and pushing you on to greater levels of guitar playing.
We are always interested to hear comment and feedback from our readers so if you have any stories, ideas or tips about learning to play guitar, please let us know. Whether you are a solo artist or you play in a band, tell us how you learned and what you think worked best for you.
Although many teachers and other guitarists may try to tell you to play a strict style, you can gain from trying different styles and methods. You may wish to broaden your skills through blues guitar lessons if that is something you would not normally play.
Equally, many people choose to try electric guitar lessons if it is not their usual method of playing. Anything which can teach you new things and enable you to strengthen skills is worthwhile trying and will hopefully enable you to become a better guitar player.
It is important to always keep learning and developing in life, not just with guitars. This is where popular guitar tabs can be a useful too to have as it will allow you to chart your progress from where you started out your lessons.
Joseph Anthony writes lots of guitar articles for Web sites that teaches to play guitar. For more of his useful articles on guitar instructional dvd and more fun and easy to play guitar lessons will help you take your playing to the next level.
David Beckham’s Recovery Behind Schedule
Posted by Ross Everett in Soccer on June 20, 2010
When David Beckham suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in a Serie A 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 to the media 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. 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 specializing in 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, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.
Edmonton Wins CFL Shootout Over Calgary
Posted by Ross Everett in Marketing on June 5, 2010
The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Ricky Ray hit Fred Stamps with a 23 yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds to play to earn the victory, erasing the lead that Calgary had earned with their own TD pass less than a half minute earlier. Edmonton improved to 4-3 with the win, while Calgary dropped to 3-4.
Winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed playing in the shootout:
“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”
Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:
“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”
Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year:
“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”
Both teams have a bye next week. Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton.
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 sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.