In part three of our NFL week two preview, we will look at four NFL games. I’ll review the following games: Buccaneers at Falcons, Cardinals at Seahawks, Rams at 49ers and Chiefs at Broncos. There are some good matchups in this group. A couple of teams look to prove themselves this week. Let’s take a look.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

The Buccaneers failed to show up last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. This Sunday they will travel to Atlanta to face an inspired Falcons team. Atlanta got revenge on Sunday as they beat up division favorite Carolina. Vick is showing a tendency to pass first and run second even more this year so far. Will the Falcons have the motivation to fight against a Buccaneers team that’s trying not to go 0-2? History says no. Tampa Bay is 15-10 against the Falcons, including 3-0 over the last three meetings.

Pick: Tampa Bay Why? I look for them to get back on track.

Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks

Seattle had a good scare last week when they struggled against the Lions in Detroit. There was a moment in the 4th quarter where the Lions could have taken the lead and really put the pressure on Seattle. However, like a Super Bowl quality team, the Seahawks offense motored down the field and kicked a game winning field goal as time expired. The Cardinals showed improvement as they defeated the 49ers. They get their first real test of the season this week.

Pick: Seahawks Why? They always struggle in week 1 games on the road. They are much better than Arizona.

St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers

The Rams offense was suspect last week against Denver. They needed 6 field goals to get past the Broncos. The 49ers showed some improvement as their QB Alex Smith threw a TD pass. Why is this significant? Smith threw only 1 all of last season, which came in the last game of the year. For the Rams, it’s a simple game plan. Get Jackson to rush for 100+ yards and go home a winner. They are 38-0 when having a 100-yard rusher. The 49ers defense is too soft to stop the run.

Pick: Rams Why? I don’t see the 49ers stopping the run and I like the 38-0 stat. The Rams, while not a playoff caliber team, are much better than the 49ers.

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

It was a bad start for both teams. The Kansas City Chiefs got the worst of it. Not only did they lose to the Bengals, they lost their starting QB Trent Green. He could be out for the season after taking that nasty hit. The Broncos stumbled around in their first game, but that might have been expected. They did the same thing last season and look how they finished.

Pick: Broncos Why? The Chiefs are starting Huard and he could be mistake prone. It doesn’t matter though. The Broncos will get back on track at home. Plummer is already looking over his shoulder, as fans are getting antsy.

Tags: football, NFL, pro football, sportsfootball, NFL, pro football, sports

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History:

Though Karate is often associated with Japanese martial arts, its true origin dwells in Okinawan combat techniques and Southern Chinese martial arts. It is basically a fusion of both arts and was introduced to Japan only in 1921. During this period, Karate was simply known as “Te”, or hand, as called by the Okinawans. Chinese influence is evident in the original symbol for Karate - the “Tang Hand” or “Chinese Hand”.

There were no specified or concrete Karate styles in the early days and simply generalized as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te, named after the three cities in which they were formed. Each city had its own methods, principles, system and traditions of Karate.

The introduction, popularization and modernization of Karate to Japan are mainly credited to Funakoshi, an Okinawan master, venerably regarded by many practitioners as “The Father of Modern Karate”. Other prominent Karate experts in his time include Kenwa Mabuni, Miyagi Chojun, Choshin Chibana, and Motobu Choki.

Japan began introducing Karate as a subject in schools before the Second World War and soldiers in the army were often trained in the discipline. Competitions and different styles also started emerging as several universities started karate club programs during this period.

The popularization of Karate in the West has its roots in the American military occupation of Japan and Okinawa after the Second World War, and Japanese immigration to the United States.

Fundamentals of Karate:

Karate mainly stresses on volatile combat techniques such as punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open hand methods. Grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints, throwing, and vital point striking are also parts of this discipline.

Karate training is divided into three main sections -

Kihon refers to the study of basic techniques, movements and components

Kata or ‘form’, a fixed sequence of moves, is a series of movements and techniques linked together by the combatative principles that the kata expresses.

Kumite or ’sparring’ evovles from well-defined kata to open attack and defense.

The Uniform - Color of the Belt and Ranks:

The Karate uniform is white and comprised of the Kimono (shirt), Dogi or Keikogi (pants) and a belt (white or colored), a combination introduced by Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo. The color of the belt is dependant on the rank and expertise of a practitioner. In accordance with commonly held standards, white belts are for beginners, and black for the highest rank. This, howver, may differ from one organization to another. Each rank may also have subdivions of its own even if the color of the belt is similar.
Styles and Variations:

Karate styles can be broadly classified into Traditional and Full Body Karate. Traditional styles are those that developed in the early period of the 20th century and include variants such as Shotokan, Goju-ryu, Wado-ryu, Shito-ryu, Kushin-ryu, and Shindo Jinen Ryu. Full contact karate includes styles such as Kyokushin-kaikan and Kansuiryu. Many of the styles have offshoots that developed into styles of their own. Although the concepts remain universal, each representation differ from one another.

Martial Arts HQ http://martialarts-hq.com/ offers articles, tips and tricks about different martial arts.

Tags: karate, martial arts, Recreation, self defense, sportskarate, martial arts, Recreation, self defense, sports

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As we stand of the eve of another NFL season, let’s consider the efficacy of regular season overtime games in the league. They were first implemented in 1974 to greatly reduce the number of games that ended in a tie. Previously, overtime games in the NFL were reserved for the post-season. Ironically, the first ever regular season overtime game in the NFL, played in September of 1974 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos, ended in a 35-35 tie. Despite this anomaly, the regular season overtime rule has been very successful in eliminating ties.

In the 32 seasons that this rule has been in effect, there have only been 16 ties, exactly one every two seasons. But further analysis seems to show a trend toward fewer ties, as there have been only three ties in the last 16 seasons, compared to 13 in the previous 16 seasons.

Actually, ties seem to come in spurts, with long dry spells before and after. In 1997, there were ties in back-to-back weeks. However, during the seven seasons leading up to that one, there were none, and in the eight seasons since then, there has only been one. To look at it another way, there were only two tie games in the NFL during the entire decade of the 1990’s and they occurred on consecutive weeks in 1997.

However, what has been the major fallout of this scarcity of tie games? Curiously enough, it has led to more ties in the standings and has increased the need to utilize tie-breakers. It’s a matter of simple mathematics.

Since a tie has been virtually eliminated as a possible outcome of any given game, there are just two realistic possibilities left for any given team - a win or a loss. So, after game one, a team can have a record of either 1-0 or 0-1. After game two, a team can have a record of either 2-0, 1-1, or 0-2. Carried over 16 games, there are 17 possible records a team can have (always one more than the number of games they have played).

Now, let’s go back to the pre-1974 rules when a team faced three realistic outcomes as they stepped onto the playing field and imagine for a minute that overtime is not used in the regular season. After the first game, a team can have a record of 1-0-0, 0-1-0, or 0-0-1. After the second game, a team can have a record of 2-0-0, 0-2-0, 1-1-0, 0-0-2, 1-0-1, or 0-1-1. Notice a pattern? Instead of having the possible records equal to one more than the number of games played, it is equal to three times the number of games played. Carried over a 16-game season, that would be 48 possible records for any given team.

With only 17 possible records per team vs. the 48 it would be by allowing a tie as a realistic outcome, the possibility of two or more teams in the same division and/or conference finishing with the same record greatly increased when overtime became a part of the NFL’s regular season. In the NFL, ties in the standings are not broken on the field, but rather by somewhat questionable criteria, by which a team could be left out of the playoffs based on a point differential or even a coin flip. While no one likes tie games (as it is said, they are like kissing your sister), I would prefer tie games to ties in the standings.

Tags: football, sports, tiesfootball, sports, ties

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