How To Find Trampolines That Will Suit Your Needs

It does not come as a surprise when you find numerous families with a trampoline in their household. These devices do not only provide them with the exercises they require, but it can also meet their needs in terms of recreation. Relationships with friends and relatives have been strengthened through this piece of equipment. It is possible because you are able to spend a good amount of time having fun with each other when jumping on trampolines. In addition to that, even athletes can benefit from it when they train on them prior a competition. There is even a category in the Olympics that is specially made for trampolines and athletes who use it.

However, you need to keep in mind that there are different trampolines for sale, which is why you need to carry out your research ahead of time before choosing one over the internet or in one of your local outdoor stores. These come in two variants; competitive, and recreational. Aside from that, you also have its size to take into consideration. It is not a joking matter when you are choosing one. If you want to guarantee the safety of your family and friends who will use it, you need to be serious with regard to the selection process.

If you are interested in it as a sporting event, or if you know someone in the family who needs one in order to train on it, you should research well with regard to a competitive trampoline. Doing so will enable you to find the appropriate one for the user. The same goes when you are looking one for the pure recreational value. Since these come in various shapes, you also need to take it into consideration. The rectangular variants are often used for professional purposes, while the circular one is for recreation.

Aside from finding the one that will fit your specific purpose, you should also see to it that you check out its safety features and durability of the equipment. You can also purchase additional accessories that will help maintain a certain degree of safety, while ensuring that anyone who uses it will still get to have a lot of fun. Safety nets are highly recommended products. These prohibit the jumper from falling off and from suffering any sever injuries. A lot of trampoline-related injuries have been reported, and some have even led to paralysis. Doing your part in inspecting the product and acquiring the needed safety gear is a must in order to avoid any serious problems.

How to Find a Professional Youth Basketball Camp?

Making it to a professional league, like the NBA or WNBA, is something that many young boys and girls dream about. However, making it a reality is something that will take careful planning and lots and lots of practice. Putting your child in the right place to be developed is important. One way of doing so is to put children into professional youth basketball camp. This is typically sponsored by the local basketball team, i.e. the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, etc.

What to Expect at a Professional Youth Basketball Camp

Youth basketball camps allow children to learn important aspects of basketball. It is more than just about shooting and dribbling. It's also about team compliance, leadership skills and strategizing. Depending on which camp your child attends, you can expect guest appearances from NBA players, autographed playing cards, jerseys, individual & team photos and awards and prizes. There is a lot to learn, so children who have never picked up a basketball or even those who are seasoned players can take something new home.

Where to Find out Youth Basketball Camps

Basketball camps can be found in almost every state. If there is a basketball team in your state, then there is likely a youth basketball camp that it sponsors. There are also others that tend to sponsor these camps, such as brands like Adidas andNike. The best source for finding anything is the Internet and the same goes for locating camps for youth basketball players. Just do a search for the term "youth basketball camps" + your city name and you should be able to come up with a list.

Check with Your Child's School

Some schools offer summer basketball camps that you can sign up for. Elementary, middle and high schools usually offer this to enrolled students. Community centers also offer summer sports programs. Some even offer them during the fall, while your child is in school. They make for great after school programs for parents who have to work.

How to Enroll

Once you have found a youth basketball camp that you want your child to attend, you will have to find out when the next enrollment date is, so that you can get your child signed up before the deadline. The rate for the basketball camps vary, but tend to be very affordable. This is good news if you have multiple children that you would like to sign up. Some even offer discounts for siblings. Each year, schedules and locations may change, so make sure to visit the Web site of the youth basketball camp or the location to find out if it will be around the following year.

These are great starters for AAU camps, which is like the big league of the youth camp industry. This is where scouts come to find potential basketball stars and follow them all the way through high school. This is how Lebron James and many others got the recognition they received.

What More Do You Want To Know About Video Games?

There are multiple options in video game choice these days. Most games will be made available to the various consoles and computers on the market. You can even get some of the titles for cell phones or tablets. We also have many options to learn more about gaming, and this article is a great place to start.

Buy used. Video games can sometimes be really pricey, sometimes more than 50 bucks. That's hard to handle if you buy a game and then find out you don't like it. You can save as much as 50% by purchasing used video games.

You should enjoy gaming with your child. This is a great way to learn more about your children and their interests. Sharing video gaming with your kids can help to strengthen your closeness. As an added bonus, you will also get insight into their development in how they handle losing and deal with others.

Stretch your body out every fifteen or so minutes while you're playing a video game. Repetitive movements involved in gaming can be stressful for your body. You need to keep your muscles active to avoid cramps and blood clots. It is something that is healthy to do.

Learn all you can about the gaming console's content and safety settings. You may find settings that allow you to block certain types of content from your kids. It is also sometimes possible to limit the settings on individual profiles, in order to access games you do not want your children to play.

Enjoy quality time with your children by engaging in games you both like. Children love to learn as much as they can from video games. There are many education-related games and titles that focus on hand-eye coordination.

Play video games together with your children. Learn about your child and their interests through this. A common interest can create a valuable bond between you and your child. They will also benefit from having you close by to see and aid in the progression of their developmental skills.

Make use of parent control settings on video games. You may want to see if this game can be played online. Should this be the case, limited Internet access may be in order. You should also verify their friend requests and make sure they do not play excessively.

Choosing which game system to buy can be difficult. You must consider everything from your own needs and preferences to the advanced features and capabilities of each system. Hit the Internet to do some research. Try reading reviews of systems by other gamers. Be informed before you buy your gaming console.

Video games can be a fabulous way to get exercise these days. Motion sensitive technology is making a big impact on the gaming industry. This means your body can be used to play the games for all types of things like yoga or sports. You can exercise and play at the same time.

Businesses that are closing sometimes have great deals on video games. A lot of rental stores aren't doing great and may be selling games for cheap. If you look, you might find a video store that is going to close soon and find some fantastic deals on games and accessories. Usually, you will find the discs are usable, but they may need a good cleaning.

Look for new games on online auction sites. You may be able to find great deals in video games by visiting auction websites. Click around online to ensure that you are getting the best deal out there. Then you just have to keep on bidding until you win!

Video games offer a great way to get yourself in shape. There is motion sensing technology that is growing in the industry. Ultimately, you use your body as the controller and play a wide variety of games from fitness to dance to sports. You can increase your fitness level at home.

Keep your body and posture in mind when gaming. While sitting at a video game, you might want to use a pillow or other device to support your spine. If you are going to be playing games in which you must be active, always take a break.

Hopefully you now feel more confident in ruling the gaming universe. You can conquer all of your competition now that you know a few helpful hints about gaming better. Just knowing a little bit can get you far in the world of gaming, even if it's just a hobby.

How An Overweight Athlete Should Diet

Anyone who's followed sports has heard about or encountered an athlete who gained a tremendous amount of weight in the offseason. Heck, some pros have even gotten heavier during the season. Since there's nothing worse than a point guard getting winded before tip-off on opening night, coaches like to focus on training year-round.

While there's no denying that the head coach may have ulterior motives where your conditioning is concerned, it's not just about being ready to win right away. Here's the truth: overweight athletes are at significantly higher risk of getting injured than their less hefty counterparts. However, a player can't diet like a regular person without repercussions. If you want to diet as an athlete, then you'll have to follow a few guidelines.

1. Just Say "No" to Fad Diets

The 7-day diet, the Atkins diet, the grapefruit diet, and the acai berry diet. Why do all these trendy diets keep gathering steam? At the end of the day, it's because they've helped a lot of people slim down quickly. That being said, fad dieting is risky under the best of circumstances and is an especially bad idea for an athlete.

Probably the biggest issue is that they're not sustainable. Sure you might lose weight successfully, but you'll be doing so at the expense of your proper nutritional intake. This can result in significantly reduced energy as well as health risks. No athlete wants to deal with that.

2. Focus on Fiber

It may sound cliché, but fiber is an absolute must in an athlete's diet. It'll make you feel fuller which in turn will make it easier to avoid junk food. While fiber has traditionally been associated with the aiding of the digestive system, it's also very useful for a player who wants to shed a few pounds safely. First, it helps keeps your blood sugar on an even keel. The second benefit of fiber is that it naturally burns calories.

3. Be Strategic With Your Protein

As an active individual, you've probably heard about the advantages of a protein-rich diet. Since it has to be done, what's wrong with taking all your proteins at once? Honestly speaking, your body can make maximize its nutrients if you take protein throughout the day. Having a peanut butter sandwich after you work out, for example, can aid in the repair and build-up of muscle. That's an opportunity that might not be available if all your protein comes from breakfast.

4. Put Down the Nutritional Drinks

All-in-one breakfast drinks are increasingly popular for on-the-go athletes. It's actually not just sports-oriented people who are taking them. Everyone from students to working professionals has probably taken a breakfast shake on a busy morning at least once. Despite what the labels say, however, many people don't realize is that you're almost always better off getting your nutrients "straight from the source". The next time you find yourself choosing between apple juice and strawberry-flavored shakes, consider grabbing an apple or a bowl of strawberries instead.

5. Don't Try to Lose Everything at Once

On the surface of things, it looks like an overweight athlete's main focus is to lose weight and lose it quickly. The key, so the wisdom goes, is to count your calories all the way to your goal. For athletes especially, this is bad advice. By slimming down indiscriminately, you'll lose the explosiveness and strength you need to perform. You need those muscles. Rapid weight loss will just exacerbate the problem

6. Eat Breakfast

Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain their weight loss. Explanations have ranged from the feeling of increased fullness to the extra boost of energy it provides, but in any case, one thing's perfectly clear: breakfast will help you reach your ideal body weight. While taking care to avoid processed foods and sugars, the first meal of the day's an excellent chance to start getting ahead on your daily intake.

7. Drink Lots of Water

This one should be obvious, but drinking water's another essential component of an athlete's diet. First of all, the last thing you want is to be fainting from dehydration as your sprint on a fast break. Secondly, water can be instrumental to your weight loss goals because you'll likely find yourself reducing your calorie intake. For all the flack calorie-counting strategies have gotten so far, it's still something to watch for.

Getting to your ideal weight as an athlete isn't rocket science. However, it does require a mental shift from "dropping those pounds" to "trimming down without losing muscle". To that end, athletes should avoid fad dieting, drink water, take protein throughout the day, lose weight responsibly, eat breakfast, and focus on proper foods. Try it out and see how much of a difference it makes.

Youth Training: Why Weights Are Your Friend

There has always been the common question posed to coaches and parents when should a child start weight training?

This has been debated quite a bit as some people believe a child shouldn't weight train until their 18 when they are finished puberty (for the majority of kids puberty would of stopped).

Some people say due to their sport they are introduced to weight training (at whatever age) so they can compete at a higher level/improve their performance.

Others when they hit a certain age such as 14 or 16 I have heard before. Just because a child or individual becomes a certain age they can just automatically be able to lift weights is just silly.

This is part article/part rant as I can't understand why more people take part in exercise to further increase their lives and live a better/easier life!!!!

Our bodies are excellent machines and are designed to become even better machines through physical activity. If a child does no weight training or physical activity.

The reason why we use weight training as it is an outside resistance to our bodies to work against. We use this resistance to increase our muscle mass and our strength, endurance or power. No matter what you are training for by doing some form of resistance training will reduce the chance of getting injured as it helps to improve our biomechanics.

1st Point:

Weight training doesn't stunt growth period!

In fact it does the opposite:
- strengthens ligaments and tendons
- increases bone density
- reduces the chance of osteoporosis in later life
- increase muscle mass
- increase in strength gains
- improved muscle tone/definition
- improved balance
- improved coordination
- improved functional movements/biomechanics
- reduce chance of injury
- increased strength of posterior chain

I have done weight training since 13 and swam since I was 7. I grew taller than my Dad and the majority of my family. I have gone on to do well in a range of sports and in each sport what was present some form of resistance training being water, body weight or barbells.

It isn't just weight training that promotes physiological/psychological benefits but regular physical activity does the following:

- improved sleep patterns
- increase self confidence
- increased life expectancy
- reduced chance of CHD (coronary heart disease)
- increase metabolism
- reduce body fat percentage and increase in lean muscle mass

This is just to name a few of the health benefits of exercising so why wouldn't we allow our children to exercise and to use the weights room?

Reasons why people are against kids using the weights room?

- Fear of injury well anyone who does sport or training there is always the risk of injury. The likelihood that you will injure yourself in the gym is smaller than playing any contact sport. You are more likely to injure yourself in a competition scenario as you are pushing yourself to your own physical limits. Whereas in the gym you are unlikely to reach that.

- Weight Training Stunts Growth

As I have mentioned above in my case it does not. Take a look at the Chinese and Russians. Serious training being done at a young age (think at primary school p6 and above) such as the Chinese and Russian weight lifters. Here is the successful Dimitri Klokov weight training in the sport of Olymlic Weight Lifting. Here is a video of him training when he was a kid

Hockey Coaching Volunteer Programmes in South Africa

As a sport, hockey is growing in popularity as more people begin to participate throughout the world. If you love hockey, you might have considered becoming a coach but aren't sure how to get the necessary experience to start your career. If you have participated in a college coaching certification, you might know of some local schools or sports centres that take volunteers, but for many people, finding the facilities in their local neighbourhoods can be challenging.

If you want to gain some initial hands-on experience, or want to supplement any experience you may already have, you should consider volunteering to coach abroad in South Africa in one of the structured programmes available. Programme length and activities vary, but volunteers get the chance to learn skills and develop a background teaching the sport, which will be invaluable to a future career in the UK.

Heading to South Africa

Those who decide to coach abroad on one of the volunteer programmes to South Africa will be working with children in local townships who might have little or no experience playing hockey. While this might seem like a huge task to take on, new recruits might work with more experienced professional hockey coaches to help introduce them to the necessary skills required for teaching. During the course of your stay you may get the chance to work with local kids to set up tournaments and develop training programmes.

The children of South Africa are, without exception, enthusiastic and grateful to the volunteers who coach abroad, because without them, they would not have access to the equipment and the fields to play hockey. These excellent projects benefit the coaches being trained and also the children who participate, making a genuine difference in the local communities.

Hockey in South Africa

Though most people don't think of hockey when they think of South Africa, the national team has actually shown great skill and talent at almost all levels, including at the Olympic level. Since South African hockey has been so successful at the Olympics, many South Africans have developed a passion for the sport, which unfortunately has not been matched by local and national funding initiatives. (Though many sports - such as rugby and cricket - aren't well funded, hockey is even less so.) This makes the volunteer programme even more important, since equipment can be expensive and access to the sport is almost impossible without volunteer projects like this.

Location

The volunteer programmes place people who want to coach abroad in the South African city of Port Elizabeth, which is on a beautiful coastal region near Algoa Bay. Here, visitors have access to the beautiful ocean, and many people take up scuba diving, snorkelling, or surfing in their free time. There are also wildlife parks and reserves, including Addo Elephant Park, where volunteers have the opportunity to see some of the spectacular native fauna.

Fishing - The Best Gift You Can Give Your Fishing Fanatic

The best gift you can give your fishing fanatic is a fishing trip with the least amount of hassles and stress. We fishing fanatics know all too well how much time and effort goes into planning one of these adventures on our own. Expert fishing business owners and guides have several types of packages they can offer. Why not purchase a packaged fishing trip that suits your needs? I have spent many hours arranging a fishing trip. Aside from taking my personal items and arranging my own transportation, I go with packages. Everything that I want has been ordered or arranged and when I arrive to cast that line, I don’t have to think about a thing.


Packages are designed to provide the fishing fanatic with every person’s situation and budget taken into consideration. There are many packages geared towards what you can afford. Packages often can include any or all of the accommodations and amenities you want. They are versatile and flexible to suit any fisherman’s idea of the “best gift I ever got”. Here are some examples of what packages may or may not offer.

Fishing packages can be for a half-day or full day. They can be tailored for fishing trips lasting up to seven days and more. Some may include lodging and meals. If you want to join your fishing fanatic, many packages are available for double occupancy. If you’re a single fisherman and want to go it alone, accommodations can be arranged for singles as well. Some packages won’t include charter fees or taxes. Some don’t include your transportation to the state or locale you are going to fish in so be sure to read everything that is offered in the package you choose.

Reputable people in the business of providing the ultimate fishing vacations or packages will offer this advice. A package is a better deal because you don’t have to provide all the stuff. Now, unless you just have to cart that favorite fishing pole onto the plane, fishing guide businesses will have all the fishing equipment you will need. A guide will also know the “fishing holes”. Traveling to an unknown locale to go fishing can end up with you not having caught anything. Your package and guide will be able to get you to the right fishing spots at the best times. Most of all, professional fishing business owners will always advise that you research the company you are going to purchase a package from. Know whom you are dealing with. Check their references and ask if they have insurance. Once you have found the package and the company you want, get ready for your fishing fanatic to say, “That was the best fishing I’ve ever done.” Packages are a great gift because you want the fanatic to have the time of their lives but a time that had little stress. Isn’t that what fishing is all about?

Electronic - Fresh Water Fishing: The Basics You Need To Know

Have you had the opportunity to fish in freshwater? While some find it to be a distant relation to other types of fishing, it is still one of the best ways to spend your time. There are hundreds of lakes out there that you can be enjoying virtually any time that you would like to. To learn more about it, take a look at your options here.


Fresh water fishing is done in lakes, rivers and streams that have minute quantities of dissolved salts. Freshwater sources are precipitation or melting ice and snow. There are many fresh water fish species, but some of the most important ones are bass, catfish, pickerel, pike sunfish, trout, salmon, muskellunge, sturgeon and walleye.

Equipment for Freshwater Fishing

What you’ll need for basic freshwater fishing equipment includes a fishing rod and reel, fishing line between 4 and 10 pound-test, a variety of sinkers, a variety of hooks (sizes 6 to 10), floats, bait and in most locations, a fishing permit or license. There are a variety of both live and artificial baits that work well for fresh water fishing.

Bait You’ll Need

Live bait works well for fresh water fishing. Freshwater fish feed on a variety of prey, including earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, chub, shad, crayfish and small fish species such as smelt. Freshwater fishing bait such as earthworms, crayfish, frogs, minnows, chubs and shads can be caught in its natural habitat. Look around piers and in shallow water. Freshwater bait can also be purchased from your local bait and tackle shop.


Artificial bait is manmade bait that attracts fish to bite or strike. It includes plastic worms, insects, flies, small jigs, lures, spoons, streamers, flies, spinners and more. Artificial bait can be purchased at fishing tackle and bait shops or online. Some anglers prefer to buy the supplies for these types of baits and make their own.

There are a wide variety of prepared baits that you can use for freshwater fishing. These include kernel corn, bread balls, cheese balls, egg bags, liver, cereal balls, chicken entrails. Here is just a short list of some freshwater fish and the bait that attracts them.

Catfish
earthworms, liver, chicken entrails, hotdogs, frogs, tadpoles, crayfish and most lures. At times you can even catch them on shiny hooks that have no bait.

Pike
earthworms, frogs, minnows, shad, all types of small fish species, crayfish, chub, spinners, spoons and egg sacs.

Bass
earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, crayfish, spoons, Mepps, spinners, artificial worms, jigs, streamers and spinners.

Salmon
flies, spinners, spoons, egg sacs, shrimp and large plugs.

Sunfish
earthworms, bread balls, kernel corn, insects and insect larvae, as well as small, shiny lures.

Pickerel
earthworms, insects, insect larvae, frogs, minnows, crayfish, spoons and Mepps, spinners, artificial worms, jigs, spinners and streamers.

Walleye
shad, frogs, real or artificial minnows, worms, maggots, spinners, spoons, jigs, plugs and small fish species.

Trout
earthworms, flies, insects, insect larvae, kernel corn, egg sacs, crayfish and minnows.

Muskellunge
small fish species, frogs, Mepps, spinners, jigs, minnows, plastic trailers and rapalas.

Sturgeon
frogs, freshwater clams, lamprey, eels, smelt, salmon eggs, shad, shrimp, egg sacs, yarn flies, brilliantly colored and silver lures.

Go ahead and give it a try. If you would like to learn more about this type of fishing, you need to talk to someone that is a professional that can show you just what you need to do, where to go and what to use to be successful at freshwater fishing.

Electronic - The Basics Of Fly Fishing: Getting It Right

You take the time to get into just the right location in that great stream that your friend told you about. You have been waiting for so long to enjoy this time, alone, fishing to your heart’s content. There are many amazing moments in life but fly fishing is one of your favorite. You’ll get into the waders, getting into just that right location so that you can cast.


The tip of your rod should be in the four o' clock position with 20 feet (6 meters) of line extended beyond your rod's tip. Trap the line between the rod handle and your index finger. To begin the back cast, bend your elbow, raise your forearm and move the rod tip from four o'clock to eleven thirty and lift the line from the water. Pause for a moment at this point to allow the line to extend behind you before casting the rod forward. Allow the rod to follow through as the line extends to its full length in front of you. Then continue to work the line in this manner. A fish strikes. The fight is on and you successfully land the fish. This is fly casting.

Fly fishing is an old method of angling. It was primarily developed to catch trout and salmon. Today, it is still used to fish these species, but is also used to catch bass, carp, pike and a wide range of saltwater fish. The difference between casting and fly fishing is that in casting you use the weight of your bait, sinker and bobber to propel your cast. In fly fishing, the weight of the line propels your line forward and puts your fly into position. The fly cannot do this, as it is essentially weightless. The goal in fly fishing is to present the fly gently and to always be in control of it.

When you fly fish, you need special fishing equipment that includes a fly rod and reel, a special fly fishing line and artificial or live flies. These are tied onto your hook with feathers, fur, thread or other materials in colors and sizes that represent natural prey. The key to successful fly fishing is balance. The rod, reel and line, as well as the tippet all have to match in order to have a positive fly fishing experience.

Rod, Reels and Lines
Fly fishing rods are lightweight and long. The line provides the casting weight and is heavy. It can be of differing density, depending on whether you want the fly to sink or float. Line is matched to your rod by weight. Look near the fly rod butt to find out what line weight must be used. Graphite rods are best because they can produce any action that you wish to use. If you are a beginner, buy a basic and moderately priced rod, or borrow one from a family member or friend.

Flies and Leaders

Flies weigh very little. The fly is usually attached to the line by a leader that is two to three meters in length (6 to 9 feet). The leader often tapers to a fine end. This is called a tippet. Tippet size range from 8X, which is the smallest, to 0X, which is the largest. Tippets are set in units of .001 inches. To match the tippet to the fly, you must subtract from eleven and multiply by .001.

For example to find the diameter of a 4X tippet, you would subtract four from eleven. That equals seven. Now, multiply by .001. This size would be .007. What if you have a # 18 fly? How would you calculate tippet size? You would put eighteen over four and calculate. The answer would be 4.5. Since there is no 4.5 X tippet, you would move to the next largest size, which would be 5.

Types of Fly Fishing
There are two types of fly fishing - dry and wet. Wet flies are fished beneath the water surface and are divided into several types, including live wet flies, lures and nymphs. Dry flies float on the water surface and are coated with a substance called, 'floatant' to make this possible.

If you are interested in fly fishing and can't decide which equipment you need to have a positive fishing experience, ask an experienced angler for help. This can be a family member, friend, someone from the local angler's club or a staff member of the local fly fishing shop. Fly fishing is not as hard to learn as it appears to be. Have fun and enjoy that big catch.

The best way to enjoy your catch is to take the time to enjoy the many wonders that the fishing experience offers. No matter what that first adventure turns out to be, you can make it amazing by spending some time learning the skills from an experienced fisherman.

College Football; Nba; College Basketball - The Biggest Rivalries In Sports

From college football to Major League Baseball, rivalries between teams have always added excitement to fan experience. Many teams are old rivals, while others have developed a competitive intensity more recently. What teams have been fighting it out for some time? Rivalries are at the center of many fan’s lives. Here’s a quick look at some classic ones.


College football has some of the most talked about rivalries in all of sports. To begin with, you have the heated battles between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners. Being in neighboring states, they compete for regional bragging rights and often the same recruits. Over the years, there have been many classic match-ups between the two teams.

One of the biggest rivalries in college football history is between Big 10 powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan. These teams, that are usually nationally ranked, are so well matched and competitive that the winner is often determined in the final minutes and sometimes the final seconds of the contest. Consequently, when these two teams play, the game often determines which remains in the National Championship picture and which is out.

The South features the tough competition between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. From the days of Alabama’s legendary coach Bear Bryant this has been one of the most talked about match-ups on the gridiron. Both schools are in the same state and are highly competitive with each other year in and year out. There have been many close, tight-knit games over the past century to prove it. The Tennessee Volunteers also have an active rivalry with these two teams but nothing compares to the legendary hard fought battles between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide.

On the west coast, there is the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) rivalry. This competition has been dominated recently by the success of Southern California and the strong teams they have produced over the last couple of years. Recently USC has taken to the field with Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinhart and Reggie Bush, giving the Trojans the edge. This next year we may see a shift in power with UCLA coming to the forefront.

The National Basketball Association has had the classic battles of the Lakers and the Celtics. For decades these two teams fought back and forth to determine who would take home the NBA crown. There were the great match-ups in the 60’s and 70’s of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, which are legendary in the history of the NBA.


The 80’s hosted memorable post-season contests between the Lakers’ Magic Johnson and the Celtics’ Larry Bird. Their respective teams, with Bird running the court and dishing off to Robert Parrish for a slam dunk or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar working the ball inside only to pass back to Johnson for three, produced some of the greatest moments in NBA history and will be talked about for decades to come.

The meetings between the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks produced another fine rivalry. Michael Jordon with his extreme athletic ability was the catalyst for tough contests in which the Knicks sometimes surprised the team from the Windy City; although the majority of the time Jordan and company were on the plus side in these contests.

Every season a tandem of college basketball teams always stand out as among two of the best in the nation. In North Carolina both on and off the court, one college basketball rivalry dominates the region. The University of North Carolina and Duke, both members of the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), are located only 8 miles apart. Both schools possess myriads of faithful fans that have traveled Tobacco Road year after year to see their teams fight for victory.

Since 1990, the two clubs have a combined for a total of eleven Final Four appearances. Those who follow the ACC certainly recognize the high profile contests that have defined their rivalry. The Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels are synonymous with big name games, some of which they have won and others they’ve lost.

Off the court, these two teams also battle it out by attempting to recruit some of the most talented players in the nation. The Tar Heels and Blue Devils often court the same players, with coaching staffs jousting with each other for the finest players available. NCAA National Championships are the hallmark of both these schools. If you enjoy excitement and hardcore college basketball at its best, Duke and UNC are your ticket.

In Major League Baseball, there is perhaps the greatest rivalry of all sports. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have battled each other on the diamond since the early twentieth century. The rivalry became heated in 1920 when the Red Sox sold the game’s greatest player, Babe Ruth, to the New York Yankees. From that point on, the Yankees dominated the rest of Major League Baseball, going on to win 26 World Series; while Boston, after Ruth departed, was unable to capture a single crown.

Some people began to call Boston’s championship drought the “curse of the Bambino.” The trade of Babe Ruth, who was also known as the “Bambino,” was supposedly the reason why Boston couldn’t win a championship. But that all changed in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox were able to come back from three games down in the American League Championship Series and defeat the New York Yankees, and then go on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

This was what Red Sox fans had been waiting for, and now they’re hopeful that they will never have to hear about “the curse” again. This has been one heck of a rivalry over the years and odds are that it will continue to be one of the best in sports.

When there’s an intense rivalry between two teams it’s always magnified by fan enthusiasm. The fans are what make two teams want to compete harder against each other, but it takes exciting, hard-fought games to get the fans interested. Most great rivalries are not built on one or two good contests, but over decades of excellent games.

There is no set number of games that teams must play in order to generate a rivalry. The fans and players together are the ones who decide what makes an ongoing, classic rivalry. But one thing is for certain, there is nothing better than watching two, evenly matched rivals battle it out until only one is left standing.

Raft - The Basics Of Rafting The River Rapids

Rafting the river rapids is a major adrenaline rush. If you are going to hit the rapids, you need to know some of the basic language thrown around in the sport.


The Basics of Rafting The River Rapids

As with any sport, it helps to have a basic understanding of the tools of the trade, techniques and such. Not only does this help you sound like you know what you are doing, but it actually gives you some insight into the process. Let’s take a look at some of the key components.

Dry Bag – A dry bag is a waterproof bag you can keep things in on the raft such as wallets, keys and such. Water is going to get all over the boat, so consider yourself warned. Most whitewater rafting companies provide them with trips.

CFS – This abbreviation refers to cubic feet per second, a measure of the speed and ferocity of the current. The more cubic feet of water moving per second, the more aggressive the rapids and, in my humble opinion, the more fun!

Eddie – An eddie is an area where the current stops or heads back up stream. This typically occurs on the down current side of boulders. It can be a good place to collect yourself for the next rapids.


Gradient – This term refers to the general verticality of the river. The higher the gradient, the “steeper” the river is. This higher gradient means faster water and typically a more exhilarating ride.

Hydraulic – Also referred to as a hole or various cuss words, a hydraulic is an area where water is super turbulent and can suck your raft under if sufficient in size. It is typically found at the bottom of a fall or behind a large obstacle where the gradient is high and the CFS is large.

Rapid – This is why you live to whitewater raft. Rapids are turbulent areas of the water which gives the sport its name. You pop in, out, over and every which way through them.

Life-Jacket – A flotation device. Wear them always. Don’t try to be cool. If you get thrown from the raft, which can happen, these will save you. This is particularly true if you smack your head on something.

This short list of terms should give you a head start on enjoying your trip. Get out there and fling yourself down one of Mother Nature’s roller coasters.

Electronic - The Humminbird Matrix 20 Helps You Find Your Favorite Fishing Hotspot

Imagine yourself getting out on the lake, the river or even onto the saltwater and taking along your Humminbird Matrix 20. You will easily find out where you are when you plug into the GPS guide. It will help you find your favorite hotspot. Then, you can use the sonar to give you a great picture of what’s down below the surface. You see your fish. You know where it is and where it is heading. You can land your line right where it is and within minutes be reeling him in. If you didn’t have the Matrix 20, you would still be trying to find that hotspot!


The Matrix 20 is a great fishfinder because it is portable. It is easily moved from one location to the next making it easy for you to fish no matter where you are. Besides this feature, the Humminbird Matrix 20 offers several other features. Let’s take a closer look at how and why this fish finder will help you see clearly where your fish are hiding.

First off, the Matrix 20 uses a single beam, 24 inch sonar. It is capable of going down 800 feet. That’s 800 feet of clear viewing for you. You’ll know what’s floating down there, where it is, and then you’ll be able to plan your course of action.

You will also find that the Matrix 20 is GPS ready. You can connect your hand held GPS to it and benefit from the easy reading ability that the Matrix 20 offers.

It also features a water temperature gauge. This is helpful if you know your fish. Some fish prefer certain temps to swim in. If you are not in warm or cold enough water, they are likely not to be either.

You don’t need to worry about the Matrix 20 getting wet out there because it is waterproof and you’ll not need to worry about it falling. It is impact resistant. This is great especially when the boat gets a little too rocky!

Cancun - Cancun Travel - The Best Vacation Of Your Life

Cancun, South East Mexico. A tropical place of beauty, history and relaxation. Located on the Yucatan Peninsular in the state of Quintana Roo, Cancun is very different to the rest of Mexico and is split into two main areas - Zona Hotelera (an 18km long island) and Ciudad Cancun (the mainland.) Both of these areas are connected together with a causeway, making access very easy via taxi, bus or even just walking.


Zona Hotelera faces the Carribean on one side and has a lagoon (the Laguna Nichupte) on the other. Most of the people live on the mainland (Ciudad Cancun) which is also where the hotels and resorts are located. This has meant that the Zona Hotelera hotel is quite free from mass commercialization in many respects. Cancun also offers some of the best diving and snorkeling spots in the world, which includes the fifth largest coral reef in the world (The Belize Reef) that has black coral (coral lovers will know that black coral is quite rare.)

There are also plenty of water sports for the person who enjoys a vacation with a bit more action. The selection of excellent resort hotels, classy restaurants, local pubs and bars and a large night-life with clubs makes for a great holiday spot for all kinds of people. Shoppers will enjoy the shopping facilities (five large shopping centers, or street shopping.) For those who want to relax a little more, Cancun's lagoons, sandbars, mangrove swamps, cenotes (waterholes) and beautiful beaches are what you would be looking for.

But you could probably get a lot of the above (besides the coral reefs etc.) at most other places in the world. One of the things that sets Cancun apart are the Maya sites and ruins nearby. These ruins are fascinating in every respect - full of mystery and history. Coba nearby boasts of the largest pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula, and the ancient sites of Uxmal, Ruta Puuc and Merida are highly recommended. All of the ancient sites are very well kept, and will pique even the interest of those that don't enjoy history.

Cancun is also a great place for a vacation in the sense that it can cater very well for all kinds of budgets. Although the mainland has many top class hotels, there are also smaller resorts or places where you can stay if you are on a cheaper budget. Transport is easy in and around the city as well, and there are many tourism operations offering you transport to the ancient sites or several islands which lie offshore nearby.

The only drawback to Cancun, as with a lot of popular tourist destinations, is that if you're the kind of person who wants serious quiet and relaxation, Cancun can be quite busy with its 'party' sort of atmosphere. But if you're looking for a place where there is lots to do, see and enjoy, Cancun will be a very good choice.

Camping - Make Your Hiking Tour Unforgettable With Great Camping Supplies

In the United States today, there are thousands of people who thrive in the outdoors. They love to camp on the weekends to relax and get away from everyday life. There are however specific supplies that you have to bring in order to survive your weekend.


What you supplies you need is determined by where you are camping and how long you will be there and how avid a camper you really are. Some people think that camping is renting a cabin in the woods with indoor plumbing.

The tent

The first thing that you will need is a tent. If you are not camping in a cabin, then this item is a necessity. There are different styles and size tents that are available so you want to make sure the tent that you purchase will be big enough for everyone. Choose a good quality sleeping bag, and if you like your comfort, bring along an air mattress so you won't be sleeping on the hard ground. It is important to remember that the temperature changes drastically at night, and additional blankets may be necessary depending upon the time of year that you decide to camp out.

Change of clothes

You need to bring several changes of clothes. It is important to pack shorts and tee shirts, however it is equally important to pack warmer clothes. Even in the summertime, higher elevations can be quite chilly at night. Make sure that you bring a few towels so you can dry off after a swim in a mountain lake.


Try to fit everything into one or two backpacks. If you are hiking in the woods, the last thing that you want is to drag along a big suitcase. There are many different styles to choose from, and one of them can accommodate everything that you bring.

Food

If you are camping for a weekend, bringing a cooler full of food is not a problem as long as you have enough ice to keep it from spoiling, or if you have a cool place to store it. Most people do not live off the land when they camp, they simply bring items that can be reconstituted in water. Powdered eggs and milk can be mixed with water to cook what ever you want as long as you do not forget to bring the pots and pans. Cast iron is the recommended cookware for campfires because the fire cannot harm it. Canned beverages are recommended when you are camping because you can put the unopened can in cold water to keep them cool.

Flour, sugar, and spices can be packed into Ziploc bags for easy transportation, and there you have it, the ingredients for a great meal cooked on an open campfire.

Safety

When you decide to go camping, the old adage 'there is safety in numbers' holds true. It is not recommended that you camp out by yourself. Even if you take just one more person, there is someone there should something happen and you need medical attention.

Camping can be a fun and exciting way to relieve the stress from the everyday workweek. It can be a wonderful way to commune with nature and to gain peace of mind before you have to go back to the real world and do it all over again.

Paintballs - Various Types Of Paintball Guns

Paintball is a sport that has grown - and is growing - significantly since it's humble beginnings in the seventies. Paintball markers (or guns) originated from gas-powered guns that the forestry industry used to mark trees and trails, or farmers used to mark cattle. These markers were redesigned for speed and safety, and began to be used for recreation.


Since then, it has developed into a highly competitive, professional sport that takes place outside, inside or in many other forms. According to insurance statistics, paintball is surprisingly one of the safest sports to choose from. In this article, we're going to be taking a brief look at paintball guns - their types, advantages, and where paintball guns are going technologically wise.

Paintball guns (known as 'markers' in many circles, but in this article we will refer to them as 'guns') began with the conventional pump action gun. These needed to be manually cocked, and provided a significantly slow game. Because rate-of-fire (speed and amount of paintballs released) became (and still is) important, and the need to progress into a faster game arose, paintball guns evolved from the pump action to auto-cocker guns, capable of delivering more paintballs at a greater speed.

Since then, the guns have evolved into automatic and semi-automatic categories, as well as Sniper rifles and electronic guns. The barrel of the guns have been significantly elongated, to allow for more accurate shooting. They also come in many different colors - either camouflage (for the purist) or various other colors.

Many paintball gun manufacturers have begun to manufacture military replica's - which is ideal for the real combat enthusiast. The gun's accuracy, weight, speed, rate of fire and gas usage are all necessary pointers to look at when purchasing a gun, and mostly depend on the kind of game you prefer, but these essentials are important in all kinds of paintball guns.

Semi-Automatic and Automatic paintball guns have highly sensitive triggers, and are mostly recommended for the more serious player. The speed of an automatic paintball gun is incredibly fast, and some are capable of releasing 20 balls a second. If you're just starting out, a cheaper gun with the capability for upgrades and cosmetic add-ons is the best choice.


Many of the paintball guns are capable of being upgraded - adding a double trigger, or a bigger 'hopper' (where the paintballs are loaded) or better gas-usage. You can also add some aiming cosmetics - a laser, or just better gun sights, to add to the accuracy of the gun. This is an inexpensive way of improving your gun while you improve, and discovering your game and the way in which you play best.

Paintball guns have begun to move into the electronic era now, with hair triggers, more accurate velocities, programmable firing modes and low gas pressure. Some guns even have LCD panels. These guns are for the serious, professional competitor. They are very expensive, but the advantages these guns bring to your game are exemplary. There are manufacturers which claim that their electronic guns are capable of releasing 30 balls a second - an unbeaten statistic.

When you play paintball you need something reliable, durable, and capable. From semi-automatic, to automatic, to electronic, you have a great choice of paintball guns to suit your level of play.

Recreation - Weekend Equals Recreation

After Friday's lunch-brake, millions of working individuals around the world are checking their office clocks counting the minutes before it is officially allowed for them to go home, relax with their family and friends and put their minds at ease. After all, it is weekend time! But wait, if you think of it again, I believe it slowly comes into focus that weekend time equals "free" time and "free" time means time for recreational activities. What a bummer!


You now seem disappointed to leave the office, which looks like a secure environment, and to be forced to go out, have fun, do shopping, meet people you haven't seen for at least a week, take the kids to that theme park you have promised at a moment of weakness, clean the house, do the laundry, organize the garage, join your sport club, watch the game from your special reserved seats, organize that barbecue everyone has been waiting for, and so on.

Well, I might have been carried away, since some of these activities cannot be considered recreational, but a lot of others, even if not included in this list, are. Before turning back to reenter your office premises, try to maintain your optimistic side alive and realize that yes, weekends are short, but they are still your chance to elude and experience in full the recreational activity of your choice.

You have been waiting for the right time to announce to your folks that you are ready to join your friends and begin those scuba diving lessons you wanted for so long. When you actually managed to convince them that you will be careful and that sharks cannot be found anywhere near your instructor's pool, you have to squeeze the classes into your busy weekend schedule and still manage to do all the other things you have been postponing for a while. Cut yourself some slack here!

You are an energetic individual that has lots of things to worry about during the week. Don't add to you worries the fact that you will not be able to go out with your female friend and help her select a new set of curtains to match her recently acquired living room leather couch. You hate promising and then breaking a promise, but if you are honest with yourself, your needs, and with your friend, it is more likely that she will forgive you this time.

Just don't make it a habit. What I am trying to say here is that you should put some priorities in your life and select which recreational activity to do when, depending on your needs and wants. You should not become an egoistic person that never considers other peoples' thoughts and feelings, but at the same time you should not forget that your own time is your own to invest where you see fit. Try to find the balance between what you need for yourself, what others need from you and what you want to succeed at the end of the day; much like the office deal you know how to handle. Guard your weekend time as your precious time to do the things you want the most.


Multitasking and over-committing yourself is a habit you should quit, since it is not healthy for you to always be on the run from errand to errand, visit to visit, promise to promise. Your weekends should be a time of relaxation, rejuvenation, and pleasure, and not a time for you to go crazy for the things you did not manage to complete in less than 48 hours! Nobody should blame you for investing in yourself. Even those who will attempt should know better. Teach them what it is like to lie down on Sunday night feeling confident with yourself and proud of weekend's recreational accomplishments.

At Merion, smaller may not be better

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Reason No. 317 we all love Merion but won't ever be coming back for another U.S. Open: Thomas Gravina came downstairs Thursday to find a bunch of golf pros eating muffins in his living room.

Because Merion is the size of a casserole dish, the Gravinas' kitchen, living room, dining room and library are now the U.S. Open Player Hospitality Center, which means he can walk in his front door nearly any time of the day and find Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or some other touring pro loitering around his house.

[+] EnlargeMike Weir
Rick Reilly/ESPN
Mike Weir answers questions in a backyard that's been turned into an interview area for the U.S. Open at Merion.
"I'm sitting there eating breakfast this morning with some guy's kid," says Mike Weir. "He was sitting on the couch, eating, oblivious to us even being there. Their dogs are running around. The guy's wife is coming in and out. We're watching "SportsCenter" and the kid changes over to the Golf Channel. I start to say, 'Hey wait a minute, kid … ' and then I realized, oh, yeah, this is his house."

The Gravinas' backyard? It houses the giant tent that is serving as the Player Locker Room. Why can't they just use Merion's actual locker room? Because it's the size of a U-Store-It (Reason No. 117).

There's no room at Merion for anything beyond 18 holes and a putting green, and even that gets tromped on by groups trying to get to the 14th tee. This course is so small you have to leave the property to sneeze.

David Martinelli's front yard looks like the scene of a daily tractor pull, since all the vans that drop off players at the 14th hole (yes, the 14th hole) drive over his lawn to do it. It's a hole now.

"People see what a wreck our yard is," says Christine Martinelli, David's wife, "and they're like, 'Oh, my god!' But, really, when you think about it, if somebody is going to wreck your grass, who else would you want fixing it than the USGA?"

All these people turned their lives upside down (for no money), so the USGA could shoehorn one last U.S. Open into this little jewel box. But this is getting ridiculous.

The Martinelli back yard is the Volunteer Hospitality tent. The neighbor's backyard and driveway is where the media interview the players. I have never interviewed U.S. Open combatants next to a kids' playhouse before.

There's so little parking, fans have to be bused in from 18 miles away. They're calling 526-yard holes par-4s just to keep the red off the scoreboard. And yet the rest of the course is so short, they've had to make the fairways as narrow as sidewalks.

The whole thing is just, quirky, right?

"Quirky doesn't even begin to cover it," Jay Don Blake said Thursday.

How small is Merion?

Merion is so small that to get from the media center, which is near the 16th tee box (yes, the 16th), to the Martinelli Family Interview Area, vans go through a guy's gate, down his driveway and out the other side. (Reason No. 256). One woman from the Philadelphia Daily News knocked on the people's door in hopes of using the restroom.

Merion is so small, only 25,000 people a day can come watch. At last year's Open, at Olympic in San Francisco, there were 40,000. That's 15,000 people who don't get to see it. The USGA will lose an estimated $10 million this week (Reason No. 118).

Merion is so small there is no decent practice area to speak of, so the players warm up right next to the Gravinas' house, at Merion's West Course, a mile away, or up to 30 minutes in traffic (Reason No. 22).

Can you imagine this in any other sport?

[+] EnlargeDavid Martinelli
Rick Reilly/ESPN
David Martinelli stands in the yard he has willingly let the USGA wreck to bring players in and out of Merion.
Announcer: Well, the Miami Heat seemed a little cold in this first quarter, possibly because they had to warm up at the Fort Lauderdale YMCA and then bus here.

And yet a very large space at Merion is mostly going to sit empty this week: the big interview room in the media tent.

Players won't be coming to be interviewed in it because to get to it requires Google Maps. Phil Mickelson, for instance, had a two-shot lead when he finished Thursday (after clearly earning a nomination for Father of the Year) and refused to come to the main interview room.

Why? Because he started on 11, finished on 10, had to walk another 1,000 yards to get to the Martinelli Family Scoring Tent and wasn't about to then get in a golf cart and ride 15 minutes to get to the interview room before he navigated the congested one-mile van ride back to the Gravina Family Player Hospitality Area and Locker Room.

Are you starting to see the problem?

Look, Merion is like playing in your favorite grandmother's attic -- the basket pins, the steep wooden staircases in the middle of holes, the giant rock walls that are in play. But it's a rotary dial phone. Ebbets Field was wonderful, too, but we had to give it up.

Trying to force a U.S. Open into the pillbox hat that is Merion is like trying to fit into the pants you wore in high school. We're splitting apart at the seams here.

So enjoy cuddly, furry, wonderful Merion for this one last week. Hopefully, after this, it goes the way of Old Yeller.

I of the Tiger

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Tiger Woods is very good at keeping secrets.

He keeps a secret like an Israeli spy. He keeps secret his workout routine, the houses he rents at tournaments, the schedule he'll play, the contracts he signs, the home he makes, the life he lives. You get more information out of a palace guard.

But why must his injuries be secret? More than that, why must he lie about them?

The latest is his left elbow, which, as it turns out, was not hurt Thursday at this U.S. Open. Turns out it was hurt weeks ago -- a rather important fact to know about the most important golfer in the world.

Check out how he told the world after his sweet 70 on Friday in the second round at Merion, a round that left him only four shots out with 36 holes to play, and yet a round in which he was wincing nearly every time he slashed out of the ankle-high rough here.

Q. You were clearly in a lot of pain yesterday. When did you hurt yourself?

Woods: A few weeks ago.

Q. How did you hurt yourself?

Woods: Playing golf at The Players.

Q. Where did you hurt yourself at The Players?

Woods: One of the rounds.

That's it. That's all we got. The man makes a Bill Belichick news conference look like a Senate filibuster. What does he think is going to happen to him? Does he think Phil Mickelson is going to jump out of the bushes and tackle him in the elbow?

Maybe Woods doesn't talk about his injuries because he's got gold-medal downhill skier Lindsey Vonn waiting for him at home. It's a little hard to whine about your golf elbow when your girlfriend broke her leg and ripped her knee in two places going 75 mph down an Austrian ski slope.

Honey, my elbow REALLY hurts. Would you massage it?

[+] EnlargeTiger Woods
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
A rough day on the course was made tougher for Tiger Woods, who often grimaced in pain.
Or maybe he doesn't talk about his injuries because it's depressing to think about how many he's had. How many majors would he have won if he hadn't had a ripped Achilles, four surgeries on his left knee, a bad right ankle, a bad neck and a broken leg, just for starters? Twenty?

Or maybe he hides his injuries because it helps make him feel like it's Tiger against the world, that everybody's out to get him, that he can't give away anything, not a thimble, not a drop. Tiger Woods likes to pour you a nice full mug of shut the hell up. That's how Michael Jordan did it, and Tiger Woods idolizes Michael Jordan.

And it's not just the media. Rory McIlroy, who played with Woods the first two days in this Open, didn't hear Woods say a peep about his elbow.

Remember at Doral this season when Steve Stricker gave Woods a putting tip that changed his entire season? After he got it, Woods won three of his next four tournaments. Ever remember Woods giving anybody else a helpful tip?

No, the bear does not help the salmon. The bear eats the salmon. There's a reason Woods hasn't answered Sergio Garcia's note of apology that Garcia left in Woods' locker at Merion. Woods is quite happy to let those who offend him twist in the wind. Helps him see where the weather is coming from.

But before Garcia screwed the pooch with his colossally stupid "fried chicken" comment, he was actually getting to some not-often-discussed truths about Woods. He said Woods hasn't been telling the truth to the media for "15 years."

He's right. If you read Hank Haney's very revealing book about Woods, "The Big Miss," you know that Haney often noted how Woods lied to the media.

Haney wrote:

I would soon learn that what Tiger told the media about his round was way different from what he'd later tell me in private.

Forget the whoppers Woods told his now ex-wife. Woods has told some whoppers about injuries that were written, wrongly, into golf history for years. Such as how he completely tore the ligaments in his left knee in 2007. Woods told the world it was from jogging on a golf course. But Haney confirmed from two sources that he'd actually ripped it training at a Kill House -- an urban-warfare simulator -- used by Navy SEALS.

Like so many things about this man, good and bad, Tiger learned it from his dad, Earl, who taught him that transparency, openness and honesty are the enemy. Thus, when Tiger was a boy, he was drilled in the art of the shutdown.

"When's your birthday, Tiger?" Earl would say.

"December 30, 1975," the boy would say. "I was born in Cypress, California."

"Wrong," Earl would say. "I only asked you when your birthday is. You should've said December 30 and stopped. Only answer what you have to."

The pupil learned well. In Friday's tête-à-tête with the media, Tiger gave 20 answers. Seven of them were five words or fewer. Three were one word.

Nobody's asking him to change. What makes Tiger Woods one of the greatest sports champions in American history is his searing belief that he is surrounded on all sides. He is wholly and completely about winning, about dispatching everybody and anybody with extreme prejudice, be it the guy one shot ahead of him or 30 shots back. He is driven, focused and centered on himself and himself alone. This is why he's awful at team games, such as the Ryder Cup, and supreme at individual ones, such as U.S. Opens.

Elbow pain or no elbow pain, truth or lies, Tiger Woods has himself exactly where he wants to be once again in a major.

"Do you like your chances?" I asked him Friday.

"Yes," he said.

Somewhere, Earl must've beamed.

Sunday might never be the same

In 1997, Tiger Woods won his first major, the Masters. In 2008, he won his 14th at the U.S. Open. On Sunday at Merion, Woods finished at 13 over par, his worst performance ever at a major.
ARDMORE, Pa. -- It's crazy, but let's say Tiger Woods never wins another major. Let's say he is done at age 37. Let's say he stops at 14, four short of Jack Nicklaus' record.

How will history judge him?

As a colossus, the likes of which golf has never seen? Or as a colossal disappointment? As a brilliant star? Or a star that burned out halfway across the sky? As a great champion? Or a great tragedy?

Do you realize that this Tiger tailspin is older than his younger child? It's true: Sam is just about to turn 6. Charlie is 4. And Skid is 5.

Sunday at the U.S. Open marked five years to the day since his last major triumph -- maybe his best -- the one-legged legend of Torrey Pines.

Five years. He has gone through the Mount Vesuvius of sex scandals, gotten divorced, moved his home, had more surgeries than Bruce Jenner, fired a caddie and began dating a skiing goddess since he last held a major trophy.

Now there's this little mumbling you hear in golf circles that (pssst) Tiger might have (keep it to yourself) lost a little of his (gulp) nerve. The scandal, the surgeries, the slow sucking of time might have turned him a little (cough-cough) scared.

How else do you explain a guy who wins all kinds of minors (13 during the streak) but no majors?

Before this year's Masters, he had won three tournaments of his past four, then he finished a quiet fourth in Augusta. Two starts before Merion, he won The Players, then pfffffft. In the 16 majors he has played in this five-year nuclear winter, he has won his last start before a major eight times. Yet never the major itself.

Even more telling, he's often been The Old Tiger in majors when the pressure was off (Thursday and Friday) and The New Tiger when the pressure was on. Did you ever think you'd hear that? His 76-74 weekend at Merion gave him his worst four-round Open ever. He hasn't had a weekend round in the 60s since the 2011 Masters. With all he has lived, he's 37 going on 57. Things fray.

So what about it? If he's done winning majors now, what should be his legacy?

Well, if Tiger Woods is really done, I think he would go down as the most gifted golfer in history and the golfer who wasted the most gifts.

To win 14 majors in only 13 years, then to never win another? That would be like swimming the English Channel and then drowning in the hotel pool.

If Tiger Woods is really done, he'd be remembered as a strong man who wrecked his career with his own weakness. He'd be thought of as an immortal and an immoral. After all, Ben Hogan might have been hit by an out-of-control bus. Tiger Woods was hit by an out-of-control Tiger. He'd be lumped with Mike Tyson, two men whose hunger for greatness was sunk by their hunger for lust.

If Tiger Woods is really done, he would be remembered among the three greatest who ever played: along with Nicklaus and Bobby Jones. All three of them owned not only golf but the entire American sports landscape for a time. All three won tournaments at a dizzying rate. Yet neither of the first two could touch Woods, who won four professional majors in a row, a feat unlikely to be topped.

[+] EnlargeTiger Woods
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tiger Woods at a news conference sparked by the attention generated by a scandal in his personal life.
If Tiger Woods is really done, his social impact would be world-changing. He'd be placed alongside Arnold Palmer, who brought golf to the truck drivers and the waitresses. Woods brought it to people of color.
If he really is done winning majors, Tiger Woods will go down as a god who walked among us. The figure he cut, the violence he swung with, the withering glare, the huge smile, the touch, the power, that all makes him the most magnetic player the game has ever seen. He is Kobe Bryant in long pants: awesome and feared and perhaps best viewed from a distance.

Even today, after all the unsavory reports about his private life, he remains the undefeated champion draw in golf. Do you realize that in the Merion media center, Tiger Woods had his own leaderboard? There was only one name on it: his. America might pull for Phil Mickelson, but it will never fail to watch Tiger Woods.

Lastly, and this is unfair but no less true, but if Tiger Woods never wins another major, he'll be remembered not for what was but what could have been.

When he was a young man, I can remember thinking, "This kid could win 30 majors!" My God, he had eight majors by the time he was 26. Even if the next 15 years of his career was going to be only half as good, he'd end up with 20, wouldn't he?

If Tiger Woods stopped winning majors now, it would make him a ghost walking among us, a living, breathing cautionary tale.

Fun things to do in Muirfield

Augusta National is the St. Patrick's Cathedral of golf. The U.S. Open is its Abu Ghraib. But the British Open is its batty and beloved old aunt.

The British Open -- oh all right, the "Open Championship" -- begins Thursday at grumpy, gorgeous Muirfield near Gullane, Scotland (population: 3,783).

This will be my 27th, but you need to get to at least one before you die. On the course, off the course, there's nothing in the world like it.

In fact, you need to get on a plane tomorrow. And when you get there, you HAVE to …

• Get your picture taken next to a flagstick. You'll feel like Shaq.

• Watch Phil Mickelson hit a 100-yard 8-iron and then go chase his hat.

• Bet your buddy 5 pounds he can't find the sign at Muirfield that says "Muirfield." There isn't one.

• Walk through rough so high you could misplace Danny DeVito.

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Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Mike Macara plays from the rough, which gets pretty deep at Muirfield, during Final Qualifying for The 2002 Open Championship.
• Try to catch ruddy-faced, helium-voiced first-tee announcer Ivor Robson taking a bathroom break anytime during his 10-hour day. He won't.

• Take off your shirt and be the tannest person on the entire grounds.

• Take tea at Greywalls, the fabulous old stone-and-roses hotel on the course. Suddenly, it's 1903 and Old Tom Morris is telling you about a cracking cleek he hit.

• Play unforgettable North Berwick and hear your caddie say, "Ya see Fife across the Forth? That'll be yer line for yer fifth."

• Order the full Monty Scottish breakfast, say hello to the Page 3 girl and delight in tab headlines like "Three Battered in Fish Shop."

• Speaking of fish shops, order like a local. "Once" means you want one fish 'n' chips. "Twice" means you want two. When the shopkeeper holds the package open, he is waiting for you to season it with salt and vinegar, as you like.

• Have a Bushmills with Darren Clarke and commiserate on what happened to him. Won the Claret Jug in 2011. Played as if he were drunk on claret ever since.

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Courtesy of Rick Reilly
Rick Reilly thinks everyone should attend the British Open once. Here, he took his sons, Kel and Jake, to the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole at St. Andrews.
• Wait for the wind to stop and watch the bobbies tip over.

• Stay at a B&B with a front door so small you have to stoop to get through it. Then see whether you can find the shower. At last year's Open in Lytham, Tom Weiskopf had to turn sidewise and inhale to get into his. Ask him.

• Watch Tiger Woods hit knockdown stingers that would go through a tunnel without hitting wall or ceiling.

• Eat a jacket potato with baked beans and cheese from the on-course potato van. Follow that up with an ice cream flake. Just do it.

• Get out your brolly and your Wellies and go out into the teeth of the shutter-slammer storm that always blows into Muirfield during the Open. Then see for yourself how Woods came to Muirfield in 2002 -- as the Masters and U.S. Open champion -- and shot his worst round as a pro that Saturday: 81. Next day? Sixty-five.

• Which is every bit as good as Jack Nicklaus' 1981 Open, at which he shot 83 at Sandwich one day and 66 the next.

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ESPN Illustration
An aerial view of the par 4, 10th hole, left, with the par 4, 18th hole on the right. A little confusing!
• Play golf at Crail, carefully: some of the fairways cross. Hey, when it was designed, featheries didn't hurt much.

• Figure out why Muirfield's first nine goes clockwise, second nine goes counterclockwise and decide whether Old Tom, the architect, was a genius or just dizzy.

• See whether Lee Westwood can make it 0-for-62 in majors.

• See whether Sergio Garcia can make it 0-for-60.

• Play chicken with cars at 30 mph, also known as a roundabout.

• Play the oldest-played course in the world, Musselburgh Old Links, and have the caddies show you the Musselburgh Skitter. It never gets higher than a can of Pringles. Useful.

• Watch three poor bastards tee off at 4:21 in a major.

• Sit at a pub, drink Belhaven -- made right up the road -- and relish the no-tipping-the-bartender policy.

• Stand on the third tee at Prestwick and ask your caddie, quite seriously, "Where's the fairway?"

• Stop into one of the betting shops that sprinkle every block like Starbucks and get a quid or two down. You can even make a bet pretending that Tiger Woods isn't entered. Phil Mickelson is the co-favorite in that one, at 16-to-1. Story of his life.

• Visit the Pimm's tent.

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Oli Scarff/Getty Images
A delicious glass of Pimm's is a standard cocktail at The Open Championship.
• Drive down single-lane roads with walls so high on either side you can see nothing but.

• Play the par-3 15th at Cruden Bay and ring the bell when you leave the green. If you don't, the group behind you won't know it's clear to hit.

• Hope for a playoff. It's four holes, best total score. Best system of any major.

• Tell Greg Norman how much the four-hole system sucks. If it had been sudden death in 1989, the way it is at the Masters, his 3 at the first hole would've won it. Instead, Mark Calcavecchia did.

• Learn to speak Scottish. That way, if a Muirfield member approaches you in the pub and says, "Were ya a bampot as a bairn? Wheesht, ya blootered goon," then you'll know he's saying: "Were you born as an idiot? Quiet down, you stupid drunk!"

• Play Lufness, make a lot of doubles, then order a bunch of singles. Single malts, that is.

• Play nearby Dunbar and have your picture taken next to the 15-foot-high flagstick on the hole called Pot. You'll feel like Mini Me.

• Stay to the end and watch them present the silver medal to the low 72-hole amateur. Doesn't happen every year. From 1974 to '78, nobody won it.

• Most of all, marvel at golf where it was invented and let it occur to you: They've been playing this game over here longer than people have been playing the piano.

He admits that telling people he is a golfer isn't as macho as being a boxer

He admits that telling people he is a golfer isn't as macho as being a boxer.

"I don't get as much respect as I used to," said Anglin, who boxed at 165 pounds in the welterweight division. "That's OK, though. The competitive drive is still there. I still hate to lose."

Walker referred to his victory as his "second best all-time event."

"I would say this is up there with getting married, not quite that high," said Walker, 30, of Fort Lauderdale. "It is just an incredible experience. As far as golfing accomplishments, this is right up there with any of the collegiate wins I had. It is the most gratifying golf tournament that I have ever won."

Walker entered the final day with a three-shot lead over Jason Dollard, 33, of Delray Beach, and Chris Carlin, 20, of Davie. Walker closed out his round with a downhill 20-footer for birdie on No. 18 to clinch the title.

Walker finished with a 76 that round for a three-day 217

In a show called Voyagers

In a show called Voyagers! on the Sci-Fi Channel recently, a boy whose mass of curly hair suggested he was from the 1980s traveled in time to the Titanic. "We can change what's wrong," he cried. "We can make it like it never happened!''

That's also the point of Quantum Leap, the clever time-traveling show in which a guy named Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) lands in various historical moments and averts disasters in ordinary people's lives.

The Sci-Fi Channel, which is owned by the USA Network, may attract mainstream viewers who want to see Star Wars for the hundredth time. But it is characterized by shabby syndicated series, combining instant nostalgia and escapism.

Among the most popular shows is the late-1980s series Friday the 13th, about a trove of cursed objects. And She-Wolf of London is preceded by the label "Sci-Fi Series Collection. Aired in Syndication October 1990-March 1991," turning a brief career into a campy honor.

Like armchair travelers, viewers of the TV Food Network are often looking for vicarious couch-potato thrills - entertainment rather than the practical recipes they can get for a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

The Essence of Emeril is a cooking show with Emeril Lagasse, whose regular-guy personality is part of his appeal. He sounds more like a New York hot dog vendor than a proponent of haute cuisine.

For relief from all that instruction

For relief from all that instruction, look for the block letters that spell out Cartoon Network, a fantasy land of wall-to-wall cartoons, most of them much older than their viewers.

All three of these cable channels cropped up in the past few years, part of an explosion based on the idea that every interest deserves a channel all its own, the less varied the better.

Some are as well-known as Court TV and others as obscure as the Golf Channel, which features tournaments, playing tips and interviews. And more are on the way.

Nickelodeon, which began as a channel of children's programming, has been so successful with its "Nick at Nite" block of aged sitcoms like Bewitched that in a couple of months it will start a channel called TV Land, showing only old series like Gunsmoke and Hill Street Blues.

Whatever their stated purpose and audience, though, all these channels tantalize with visions of escapism and vicarious living. Heading to outer space is one way to escape; so is nostalgia. And if watching someone make raspberry chocolate almond tart from scratch isn't living vicariously, it's hard to say what is.

The effect of watching these channels for too long would be numbing, but only fanatics would do that. Seen in smaller doses, they are strangely hypnotic. Peeking at an all-nostalgia, all-science-fiction or all-food channel is like stumbling into a suburb of The Twilight Zone where everyone in town has the same face.

There is a reason for the proliferation and success of these narrow channels: they are cheap, at least by television standards. And this makes them big business. The Cartoon Network is owned by Ted Turner and was created to use what Turner Broadcasting has in its vaults: the Hanna-Barbera and MGM cartoon libraries and pre-1948 Warner Brothers cartoons, among other things.

That means the channel has everything from classics like Bugs Bunny to oddities that are amusing for five minutes, like James Bond Jr., a short-lived show featuring animated teen-agers with the worst fake-English accents ever.

Its most popular series include those old standbys The Jetsons and The Flintstones, so it shouldn't be a surprise that a third of its audience is made up of adults, presumably reliving their pasts.

In fact, specialized channels rely so heavily on old shows that they could be lumped together and called the Retread Network. And most often the shows are popular not because they're great but because they're so comfortable and comforting, a quality that even lesser shows can share.

He turned to video games to pass the time and fell in love with a new sport

He turned to video games to pass the time and fell in love with a new sport.

"I was a boxer my whole life," Anglin said. "I got hurt and played Tiger Woods golf one day on Xbox and thought it would be really fun. So I went out and played [on an actual course] and kind of got good at it quick."

So good, in fact, that Anglin recently placed fifth in the annual Broward County Amateur Men's Golf Tournament at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation. His three-day 221 (74-72-75) was just four shots off the pace set by Fort Lauderdale's Jeffrey Walker.

"This is what I do," said Anglin, who started playing golf just over three years ago. He said he shoots in the 50s in the video game and is a 4-handicap in real life.

This was the sixth tournament appearance for Anglin, who works at Heron Bay and spends a lot of time on the course. He qualified for the Florida Open and made the cut and competed in the Florida Mid-Amateur and made it to match play.

"I had never picked up a club before," Anglin said. "I really love this. I never stop watching The Golf Channel now. From boxing my whole life, I never had a chance to play golf. It has changed my whole life."

Danny Howard, head golf pro at Jacaranda, said attendance was up about 20 percent this year. There were 64 golfers in the tournament, and he hopes for a full field of 120 next year.

"It gives us a chance to show off our course, the facility and how nice it is," said Howard, whose club has hosted the tournament since 1999. "It also gives us an opportunity to support amateur golf in the county and to put Jacaranda on the map in Broward County golf."

Anglin said boxing and golf are vastly different.

"The biggest difference was when I was in a boxing ring, it was always about reaction, always self defense, almost instinctive," Anglin said. "In golf, you have this little golf ball ... and you have to make everything in your body work to make it go where you want it to go. I visualize more in golf now than I did in boxing."

Anglin suffered his share of injuries. He had a herniated lower disc along with all the broken hands.

"I just got overwhelmed and tired of boxing," Anglin said. "I was playing golf a little bit while I was boxing, and I found that I loved golf more. I just felt it was for me."

House Improvement Tips That Are Sure To Work

You may think that home improvement is outside of your realm. Rest assured that there are many easy projects that even a novice can master. Read on to find out how to get started.

Crown molding makes a huge difference to your walls. If you have plain walls, the molding will add a bit of style to them. These dramatic results can be achieved with a minimal expenditure of money and effort.

Put in a light outside that includes a motion detector, so you can cut down on the cost of your electric bills. There are options as far as sensitivity and turning on the light manually if those options are important to you.

Many people feel that low ceilings are too constricting. Fortunately, window treatments may add a much-needed makeover with color and the illusion of larger square footage. Position your drapes and valances higher on the wall to elevate the look of your ceilings.

Don't get too crazy with color when painting. Neutral colors make rooms look larger. To make your room appear larger, add baseboards that are big and broad. These are two low-cost options that will make your home look much better.

Many people find that a little music relieves the monotony of yard work or other outside chores. Headphones should be avoided, however, so that you are fully aware of what is going on around you, for safety purposes.

If your roof has any small cracks, you can use some aluminum tape from a three inch wide roll to fix them. To use the tape, simply remove the paper backing from the tape and apply over the crack. The tape covering the cracks creates a waterproof seal that will keep the rain out.

Some people believe that high ticket items like radiant heating under the floors or central vacuum systems will add value to their homes. In the meantime, they neglect to freshen the house's exterior paint or fix crooked shutters. Potential buyers will notice everything and might consider the house a fixer-upper. Keep in mind that a first impression is critical when it comes to your house.

When considering any home improvement project, it is important to evaluate whether you can do it yourself, whether you can afford the costs, and whether the results you will achieve are worth it. If you take good care of your home, it will serve your family well for years to come.

The Easy Way to Show Off Your Six Pack Abs - Lose Your Belly Fat

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Santosha, the 2nd observance, is contentment or contentment. What is the biggest obstacle to contentment? Why is pleasure so illusive for so several men and women? Let's look intently at this quite important Niyama.

To some men and women, happiness is a fantasy. This sort of contemplating is what can make contentment so challenging for some of us to find. You need to 1st see the illusion of life: Everything that provides genuine contentment is right in front of us. Our family, close friends, husband or wife, wellness, expertise, and expertise, are all near at hand.

But, we want glitz, content, shallow relationships, electrical power, riches, and fame. In existence, genuine contentment or gratification, need to have a goal. When we locate our true, and noble, goal (Dharma) in life, we are filled with gratification.

Our genuine goal, in daily life, can be sensed from inside of our soul. Natural or "God given" capabilities will usually open up doorways to our true destiny. Abilities and functional software are a strong mixture.

All the riches, in the entire world, have no purpose, if we do not set them to excellent use by aiding other folks. If we consistently invest money on "toys," we will still be unsatisfied, till the up coming new toy is developed. The short term sensation of contentment evaporates once more, simply because this is just superficial contentment.

This is the carrying on with cycle of unhappiness we can easily observe in some of the "rich and famous." The a lot more substance a individual acquires, the more frustrated he or she becomes with daily life. Complete contentment is no cost for any person to decide on, but you can't get it.

Funds and strength are not evil. Both can be used to gas worthy brings about, feed the hungry, treatment disease, stop violence, and protect the planet. Worthy brings about breed true contentment.

Having a flat belly (the so named 6-pack) is a dream that most grown ups would like to obtain. If you have had a handful of too several massive macs or beers more than the years, or if you have been pregnant at some position you are most likely to have a spare tire that you would gladly get rid of. So what is the truth about stomach fat?

Aim Of Different Drug Addiction Treatment Centers

The treatment process brings about ready to face the planet along with brand new determination along with high heart.

There are numerous kinds of drug treatment plans used in various medications centres all over the country. Many of these stores their very own web sites on the net which make it quite simple to get all of them and pay attention to more about the particular programs they provide. Those who are dependent on medicines and even obtain taken care of as a way to take up a brand-new existence can easily make contact with these kinds of therapy facilities.

The majority of the fans along with their members of the family arrive at your addiction rehab center using a wish within their coronary heart how the addicted individual are certain to get treated. Just like additional ailments, dealing with this particular wish with their individuals could be the major goal of the therapy stores. Just before an individual concerns a new rehab heart, they often attempt to deal with his or her addiction difficulty on their own. Nearly all of their tries, even so, are unsuccessful. Substance abuse is really a significant condition having the two both mental and physical aspects and the easiest way of all concerns regarding it is through seeking specialist help. For this reason having it . an addiction dilemma ought not hold off however provide his or her troubles into a suited drug abuse rehab facility in the first.

Researches reveal that whenever someone takes in drug treatments more than a long period, the particular purpose of their marbles becomes transformed with the compound styles receiving altered. Your modified styles within the mental faculties result in the alteration of actions of the individual that also includes addictive yearning. The changes continue in mental performance with the addict even though they provide way up medicines and begin top a clear lifestyle. These kind of modifications have to be solved by means of appropriate medication and also treatments in order to achieve for your personal an intensive along with comprehensive recovery from drug addiction.

Your plans available from the therapy centres encourage the addicted person to live a nice as well as successful lifestyle following restoration. The principle is designed in the treatment tend to be pointed out below:

• It helps your dependent person to get over obsession with the particular substance. The treatment is targeted on treatment of obsessive actions as well as the physiological addiction they have produced on the compound. The primary reason for this system is usually to heal the particular abuser coming from both both mental and physical injury experienced by these.

• The procedure pertaining to double diagnosis can also be supplied by just about all centers over the programs they offer. Any time a person is addicted to alcoholic beverages in addition to a medication, they're furnished necessary answer to this complaint.

Apply These Tips To Your Food Preparation And Enjoy

Cooking does not have to be an obligation. You can make it fun. Anyone may cook with good advice. You will be able to find some advice that can help you in this article.

Hold off on using too many spices until your meal is served. Spices like pepper, salt, cayenne, and garlic powder are all great seasonings. A lot of people have different preferences in taste when choosing spices. Instead of including these spices during the cooking process, make them available afterwards so people can customize their meal. This way, everyone can adjust the flavor of their meals as they please.

Dry your own tomatoes. You can use Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise, or ripe tomatoes sliced about a half inch thick. Place on a cooling rack, cut-side up and lightly salt them. The next step is to put the rack on an old cookie sheet and then place in an oven set at 190 degrees for at least 10 hours. They can then be stored in plastic freezer bags in your freezer. You can also pack dried tomatoes in a jar with some fresh herbs and olive oil. This jar should be used within 2 weeks and kept refrigerated.

If you're using wooden skewers to cook, try soaking them in water for half an hour first. If you do this, the skewers won't burn on the grill. You can make sure that food stays on your skewers by skewing the food with parallel skewers.

A good piece of advice you can observe when cooking with oil is to pour it down the sides of the hot pan. When the oil reaches the food in the middle, it will already be hot. This ensures your food's flavor is maximized when finished.

It's great to cook with a brine. In order to maximize the flavor of your poultry recipes, let your turkey, duck, chicken or goose sit in a brine solution prior to cooking.

To give your pasta some added zip, save the water you use to boil the pasta. Set aside around a quarter of a cup of water. When you are going to mix your pasta and sauce together, add some of the saved water. The water from the pasta contains starch, which can thicken your sauce.

If your burgers tend to stick to your grill, it might be hard to cook them while preserving their shape. Brush the grill with oil so that food does not stick to it. Vegetable oil works great and will not make your grill greasy.

These tips are all you need to instantly improve your cooking expertise. With applied effort and new skills, you can quickly come to appreciate flavorful, healthy meals that also improve your finances. Homemade meals also promote healthier eating habits for the entire household. Take the leap and use these tips to become a happier, healthier cook.

Purchasing HUD Homes For Sale With $one hundred Down Payment!

If the foreclosed assets is not sold inside of the offer you period, bids will be recognized during any enterprise day.

Unlike short income and foreclosures, HUD homes are relatively hassle-totally free. Buyers do not have to soar by hoops, which is a fantastic matter. Authentic estate agents are usually notified in 48 hrs if your bid is approved.

The Obtaining Course of action

HUD households that are up for sale are shown on the HUD web site. Only actual estate agents are allowed to enter bids so you have to make use of one if you are fascinated. He will established up and submit your bid for you.

If your bid does get accepted, your true estate agent will enable you by means of the method. A settlement day is set generally with just one to two months. To include even additional financial savings, HUD generally pays for the seller's commission, like all other profits commissions for up to six percent.

Take note that priority is supplied to owner-occupants for outlined qualities inside of the 1st 10 calendar days. All bids obtained inside 5 times of this time period are reviewed on the sixth day. The best bid from the net proprietor-occupant bidder wins. If there are no delivers inside of this period, bids will be recognized each day from buyers, among other folks. Only immediately after the 10-day interval will presents from investors will be viewed as.

All over thirty,000 single-relatives properties are in HUD's inventory from all across the state, such as territories such as the Virgin Islands, Guamand Puerto Rico.

With the new housing market crash and the credit score crunch the options for buying a property with no or lower payment has been fairly significantly wiped out. But there is one particular fantastic selection nonetheless offered in some parts of the nation and that is buying HUD homes for sale by working with the HUD $a hundred Down Payment Plan.

First, we want to talk about what a "HUD home" is. A HUD residence is a house that has been foreclosed on that initially utilised FHA insured financing to purchase the house. The property owner could not make the payments for whatsoever reasons and the financial institution foreclosed on it. HUD then reimburses the loan company for what is owed to the loan provider and HUD requires ownership of the residence.

The moment HUD normally takes ownership they will begin the advertising procedure by assigning the home to their Asset Manager in the district that the assets is located. The Asset Supervisor will secure the assets and assign it to a Field Manager. The Area Manager will then put together the property for sale. It is then shown with a neighborhood HUD-authorized Real Estate Broker. This is when the house is produced available to the community for sale.

Okay, now to the great component, the HUD $100 Down Payment Method. To be in a position to just take advantage of this fantastic method you will have to use FHA financing to invest in the property. The typical down payment for a FHA house mortgage is 3.five%. The principal motive HUD provides the $a hundred down payment method is to provide HUD foreclosed homes fast and also to get proprietor-occupant into the households.