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The Chicago Bears will open up their season on September 11 on the road against the Washington Redskins. If the roster doesn't undergo any significant changes in the next 11 days, then rookie Kyle Orton will be the starting quarterback. After projected starter Rex Grossman was sidelined with a broken ankle in one of the Bears' pre-season games, Chad Hutchinson was given the opportunity to assume the starting role. Hutchinson botched his chance with two poor performances, which basically forced the hand of coach Lovie Smith. Orton will be the 20th quarterback to start a regular season game for the Bears since 1990.

Orton played at Purdue University last year, where he led the Boilermakers to a 7-5 record. He showed flashes of brilliance along the way, like when he passed for 522 against in-state rivals Indiana. But he also had his problems, such as when he got pulled from the Northwestern game because he had largely been ineffectual. Orton has gotten significant playing time in the Bears' last two pre-season games, and definitely outshone both Hutchinson and veteran backup Jeff Blake. Those performances boosted Orton from third on the depth chart right into the starting job. Blake will assume backup duties. As for Hutchinson, he went from being an NFL starting quarterback to not even being on a roster or practice squad all in the span of a couple of weeks.

I have been a Bears fan ever since I can remember. I grew up watching football, and never cheered for any team other than the Bears. I have largely stuck by them through thick and thin, which has been increasingly difficult in the past 10 years or so. Gone is the Monsters of the Midway reputation. Instead, the Bears are now known as a team that consistently struggles on offense. It's a running joke among Bears fans that we know exactly which play will be called because the Bears do the same thing in nearly every series. It's no wonder that they have so many 3-and-outs in each game.

Since 1994, we've entered each season with high hopes. That year, the Bears drafter Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam, and it looked like the team was finally going to get the offensive help they needed. When Salaam failed to make a lasting impact, Bears fans waited patiently for the next big draft pick. We then watched as Cade McNown, Curtis Enis, David Terrel, and now Rex Grossman first raised our hopes, then sent them crashing back to earth. I'm not sure how much more of this we can be expected to take.

I always look forward to NFL Opening Day. Right before kickoff, you get the feeling that this just may be the year. Your team still has a chance to go 16-0 and win the Super Bowl. Every fan should have the luxury of feeling that kind of excitement. But I'm afraid that's not going to happen for me this year. As much as I want to, I can't stir up any interest when it comes to the Bears. I'm writing this season off before it even begins.

Two innings into last night's game, Curt Schilling and the Red Sox were down 5-0 and the bloggers were on in full force. What were the Sox doing? How could Sox management allow Schilling, he of the 7.00 ERA, to continue to pitch in the midst of a pennant race? How could the team justify using the stretch run as spring training for the former number one Sox hurler?

Four innings later, the game at 5-4 Tampa Bay, Schilling exited. The big right-hander had thrown four successive shutout innings but still the critics ranted. How could the Sox be taking a chance with Schilling on the mound with the hated Yankees just a game and half back?

Youthful general manager Theo Epstein may be taking some heat as the Red Sox allow Schilling to effectively rehab during a pennant race but it is easy to see why he is giving the ace the time to work out his kinks.

The team's pitching in 2005 has been horrendous. With a team ERA of 4.87, the Sox rank 11th in the American League and 24th overall in baseball. Though the Sox are 23 games over five hundred in the band box of Fenway Park, the team is a game under five hundred on the road, the place where a team's pitching staff best reveals its overall talent.

The bottom line is that the Sox are going no where unless Curt Schilling returns to the form that made him the ace of the Boston staff in 2004. Epstein realizes that this team will not make it through the playoffs and compete for another World Series title unless Schilling returns to his number one status level.

The team has four decent starters and those four have put Boston in a position to compete down the stretch for the Division title. In Matt Clement, the team has a decent number two starter and in David Wells, an OK number three guy. With Bronson Arroyo and Tim Wakefield, the Red Sox have above average fourth and fifth guys.

But that foursome pitches in that order only if Schilling is the number one guy. Without Curt, Clement would have to be the go to man in the playoffs and he just isn't that caliber. Wells is no longer a number two guy and Arroyo is barely average at number three.

Epstein understands this completely. A year ago a struggling Sox team was totally shaken up when Epstein shocked the baseball world by trading Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs. With Garciaparra a fan fixture in Boston, the Sox GM took an enormous chance.

In taking that chance, Epstein proved he was not content with just winning during the regular season. The blockbuster trade served as the catalyst that jump started a sputtering Sox team and propelled them to their first World Series title since the early nineteen hundreds.

So upsetting fans in an effort to bring home a title is nothing new for Epstein.

Though the team is still loaded with hitting talent, the post season could be cruel to a Sox team without a number one starter. The Sox need Schilling, the man who became a legend in Boston in 2004 with his gutsy performances, to be the Schilling of last year. Otherwise their chance of repeating is nil.

Epstein understands this completely, so the Sox will risk the pennant race in return for a real shot at winning another a title. After winning a title, you perhaps have even more moxie, but then again, anyone with the courage to trade Nomar Garciaparra at the time the shortstop was still a Boston folk hero has shown he has the courage to handle the critics.

And Epstein took full notice of the fact that Schilling pitched four consecutive scoreless innings as the Sox came from the 5-0 deficit to win in the bottom of the ninth, 7-6. The bloggers be damned.

Could Allen Iverson be the dose of family values the NBA needs? The man considered by many to be the bad boy of the current hip hop-driven NBA became a father for the fourth time Monday, August 15. Unlike many of his colleagues, though, the mother of Iverson's new daughter is his wife, Tawanna.

Over the past few years, the number of illegitimate children sired by professional athletes, particularly those in the NBA, has been at the center of various controversies. Some players have more children by more women than any two or three other men do. Shawn Kemp, whose basketball playing never quite lived up to expectations, has fathered seven children with several women. Even basketball legends who played in the days before the all-glory athletes of today, players like Larry Bird, have children who are not part of their lives.

Sports commentators and sociologists who study this trend have argued that this trend is more prevalent in the National Basketball Association than other sports for two reasons. First, basketball players, who do not don pads or helmets or facemasks on the court, have a much higher profile than other professional athletes. Second, basketball players on average make more money than athletes in other sports.

Iverson, though, has four children all with his wife. This newest addition, Messiah Lauren, joins a sister, Tiaura, and two brothers, Allen II and Isaish, in the Iverson mansion north of Philadelphia. Iverson married his high school sweetheart in 2001 after they had two of their children. Despite the turmoil and media scrutiny that followed them through the first years of their marriage, the Iversons have remained together and from all outward appearances very happy.

During this past July, Iverson sponsored his nearly-annual celebrity softball game along with a number of other charity events in his native Virginia. Iverson's Crossover Foundation had an unlikely co-sponsor for this event, the National Fatherhood Initiative. While Iverson doesn't seem a likely spokesperson for this group, he is, in fact, the type of fatherhood role model much of America needs.

Hailing from the city streets where more black men are killed or in prison than go to college, Iverson represents the potential for this segment of America. It is not his job and money that make him stand out; it is his place in his children's lives. Iverson spoke at his charity event of the importance of fathers being in their children's lives and of how special each of his children is to him.

He spoke then of the impending birth of his second daughter and of how exciting this time in his life is. Any parent knows how much anticipation fills the days before the arrival of a new person who will bring so much joy to your life.

This sentiment is not often shared by his on-court buddies or the men like him on the streets. In a world where fathering children is often free of any responsibility, Iverson stands up to the challenge of being a powerful force in his children's lives. And they will be better off for it.

by Julia Mercer

If you are new to college football watching or only a casual observer, you probably have come across the term "BCS." The BCS causes conflict, you understand, but why? Why don't they just get rid of it if there is that much of a problem?

Well, it is a bit more complicated than that. Let us start with the basics. First, BCS stands for Bowl Championship Series. It is the brainchild of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the governing body for college sports. The BCS came from good intentions.

During the course of college football, two major polls cropped up. The first is the Associated Press poll; the second is the coaches' poll. These polls are voted on by people invited to participate. The problem is that they are subject to human decisions, and the voters don't always agree. Because of this disagreement, the 1980s and 90s saw a large number of split championships. Who, indeed, should decide who the national champions are?

The NCAA's BCS is an attempt to remedy this problem. It uses the two polls as well as various complicated computer formulas, strength of schedule, and other factors. The BCS standings are subject to much scrutiny. They have produced split national champions - and even more controversies over the champion - as the previous system.

Instead of declaring a definitive winner, the way the system works allows for dispute.

The BCS requires an agreement from the four major bowls: Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, and Rose. Each year, the national championship game, played between the number 1 and number 2 teams in the final BCS release, rotates between the four bowls. The other three bowls get top 10 teams based on conference, record, and desire.

This system, though, cannot solve one of the major dilemmas of college football. Without a playoff, three or more undefeated teams are a possibility. What do you do then?

How do you decide that one undefeated team deserves a national championship shot over another undefeated team, especially since the way the calculations are done favors pre-season top picks over surprise teams?

There is no answer to this dilemma. The leaders of the NCAA change the BCS frequently. They have added a new poll this year and subtracted the AP poll. They will begin a five-bowl series in the future where numbers 1 and 2 play and numbers 3 and 4 play. Then the winner from each game will play each other for the national championship.

This decision is only a band-aid over the wound. Auburn fans, players, and coaches will not soon forget that they were looked over largely because they, unlike Southern California, play in the toughest football conference in the nation. Teams who finish in the Top 5 but are denied major bowls because of small fan bases do not find the system just.

Still, it does create rumbling and discussions among the die-hard fanatics. These football fans will sit and complain and plan their own systems. But in the end, they will still watch, making football a very popular American sport.
by Julia Mercer

If you are a parent who is overworked, especially if you did not play sports yourself, then it is likely that you do not understand your child's desire to enjoy the sport of the day, whether it is soccer, (American) football, basketball, hockey, or any other sport. When you are too busy to think, you cannot imagine adding another set of errands to your plate.

You should reconsider, however. You can start by looking at what we know sports provides for children who play. The first lesson sporting teaches children is that you must trust and depend on others. You, too, must be trustworthy because your teammates depend on you. Playing a team sport like baseball encourages children to play together. In addition to depending on the dynamics of teamwork, children must play their position, teaching about boundaries and sharing.

Sports also can be an equalizer. A brilliant student in the classroom may not be the All-Star athlete on the court. The reverse, of course, is true as well. Sports allows children to explore their abilities in a new way, a way that you cannot get in the classroom or in a home-school environment. Allowing your child to play sports means that he or she will learn how to appreciate different ideas.

Playing a sport can enhance an understanding of academic subjects as well. Trying to explain trajectory based on angles and velocity in a physics class will leave many students glazed. Try explaining that these principles explain why some baseballs are homeruns makes the students more interested.

Another important reason to let your child play sports is because it encourages good choices in other areas of life. Study after study has shown that children tend to perform better in the classroom and make more ethical decisions in proportion to the number of adults who support them. A slew of coaches and other team parents adds a modicum of support for children. They will be less likely to jeopardize playing the sport and disappointing other parents, their teammates, and their coaches.

Sports playing also builds self-esteem. If you allow your child to begin playing at an early age and continue through high school, chances are that she will have a higher self-image than other students. I say "she" only on purpose. While the confidence-boosting nature of sports is true for boys as well, it is particularly apparent in girls. Teenaged girls who play sports are less likely to become pregnant, to develop an eating disorder, or to engage in other harmful behaviors that plague the lives of teen girls in the United States.

Sports, of course, teaches responsibility as well. You must show up. You must play your best. You must remember what your coach taught you. These benefits of sports are worth consideration for any parent. You can go a long way in teaching your child about life by allowing him to participate in a sport. If this activity is one your child enjoys and one which teaches valuable life lessons, then it is definitely one that is worthy of your time.
by Julia Mercer

Baseball likely is the simplest sport to understand, in terms of learning the positions of the players and watching the game. In other sports, such as hockey and basketball, the players move constantly, making it difficult for the casual observer to understand what role each person plays. In football, the players are huddled closely together, and you cannot always make out what is going on. Baseball, though, allows you the opportunity for a couple of quick lessons before you are game-ready.

There are 10 players always on the baseball field. Nine of those players are on the defensive side of the ball. The easiest positions to understand are the pitcher and catcher. Baseball is one of the only sports where the team that is playing defense tries to get the ball. By definition, the offensive team is trying to score. In baseball, the pitcher is always on defense. He throws the ball over home plate where the catcher stops it.

The batter, who is playing offense, is at home plate. The batter may be the only offensive player on the field. The others, if there are any, would be on the other bases.

Each base has a baseman. The job of these basemen is to get a runner out at his respective base. The third baseman, then, always will "cover his base," meaning while he may attempt to catch a fly ball or field a grounder, his first job is to stay on third base to tag out a runner. The pitcher, catcher, and basemen make up five of the nine players.

The other in-field player is the shortstop. The in-field is the area between the bases and only a few feet behind. On the modern baseball field, it is easy to recognize the in-field because it is dirt while the outfield is grass. The shortstop covers the ground between second and third bases. He may cover one or the other base if the baseman cannot. The shortstop works harder than any other in-fielder in terms of ground to cover.

The final three players are the left, center, and right fielders. If you are standing at home plate, the left and right are determined as you are looking out at the field, so the left fielder is roughly behind third base and the right fielder behind first base. Most fly balls that reach the outfield land in left field. Each of these players has significant ground to cover as he must be prepared to run to catch balls in one third of the outfield area as well as to cover for other outfielders and to be the cut-off man. The cut-off man catches a very long throw from the outfield that will not make it all the way to the in-field on its own.

It is simple to understand the positions that make up a baseball team because you will find that the players each cover a certain area of the field and that it all. They do not move back and forth around each other. It makes the game much easier to learn because you can tell the players apart easily.

by Julia Mercer

For football fans, the most sacred weekend of the year is coming up. Football season comes every year with the arrival of Labor Day. College football fans across the nation will be planning their partying. You can make entertaining for the sports fans in your life a cinch with these quick and easy plans.

The first step is to get an idea of how many people you may be expected to entertain. While you likely will not have an exact count, you should be able to get a general number. You will need to make sure that you can fit those people - and do not be afraid to cut it off if you cannot - in your home comfortably. Plan to bring in lawn chairs and other seating if need be.

You and your partner should get the television and sound ready the night before. If the television is in a corner, you may want to move it to a more central location in the room. Get this part done and check to be sure it works on Friday evening.

If you have special rules, decide to enforce them beforehand. While you should not be a stickler for the rules during an entertainment gathering, do not let your house get trashed. If no one can wear shoes inside, say that. If you prefer that everyone uses only the downstairs bathroom, make that clear.

Make the clean up for your football-watching buddies - or your partner's football-watching buddies - simple. Put a large trash can with extra bags in a main gathering area. You should get plenty of napkins, plastic utensils, and paper plates. Make sure you purchase drinks in cans so that they can be tossed when they are empty. Do not burden yourself with more than you have to by having ice and drinks in 2-liter bottles. Make the gathering easier, and the day will be smoother.

If you are providing food, then you should consider simple solutions. Chips and dip, bagged popcorn, and even pizza are great choices. They are foods that either come in single servings or your guests can pick up in handfuls. You do not have to worry about serving utensils or cooking. Less work in preparation for the entertaining will make the event far more fun for everyone involved.

Although it should go without saying, be sure to keep an eye on alcohol consumption. If someone is getting really out of hand, cut him or her off. Do not be afraid of the confrontation or "embarrassing" that person. The drunken rampage is embarrassing enough.

Even if you do not stop someone from drinking, do not let anyone drive home if he or she has been drinking too much. Legal issues aside, you are putting lives in danger. You will feel awful, as will everyone else involved, if there is an accident that stems from your party. Instead, offer to let friends stay over or to give them rides home if need be.

Once you have everything taken care of for the party, sit back and relax. And enjoy the game!
by Julia Mercer

Soccer is quite different from many sports in the world. Instead of just competing with teams within your own country, soccer seeks to destroy borders and bring together teams to play on an international level. There are a wide variety of championships throughout the world where the best seek not only to bring home a trophy but bring home a world championship to their country.

International Competitions
When it comes to championships, nothing beats the World Cup. Every four years, over 180 national teams come together to vie for a spot amongst the world's best for the ultimate trophy and status. Thirty-two teams fight for the World Cup that rotates countries every cycle in more than four weeks of heart-breaking competition.

Since 1900, the summer Olympic Games has also played host to a soccer tournament designed to also bring out the best in national teams. Originally, the Olympic tournament was for amateur players only, but since 1984 professionals have also been allowed in a limited number. The men's tournament is played at an Under-23 age level. The women's tournament made its debut at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia; the women's tournament has very few restrictions and has no age limit for players. Many would argue that a gold medal for women at the Olympics in soccer is more important than winning the World Cup; the exact opposite can be said about the men's tournament.

Confederations Competitions
FIFA regional divisions also play at an international level as well as playing in national leagues. Each confederation has their own championships during specific intervals:

North America, Central America & the Caribbean: CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup
South America: Copa America and Copa Libertadores
Europe: European Championship and UEFA Champions League
Asia: Asian Cup and Asian Champions League
Africa: African Nations Cup and African Champions League
Oceania: Oceania Cup

The soccer cap is a long-standing tradition in the sport. In the beginning, it referred to an appearance by a given national team during a match; later it began to represent individual player appearances in a game. Those who have a high amount of caps have played in the most games.

Usually the term is only used in Great Britain; however, over the last 10 years, it has begun to be used all over the world to refer to appearances by international players. Originally, the term cap referred to an old United Kingdom practice of rewarding every player to play in an international game a cap as a symbol of the accomplishment. Nowadays caps are purely the terminology used to keep tally of the number of international appearances though many leagues also use the term to keep track of the number of games each player plays in during a season.

Currently, the United States has the highest number of players with more than 100 appearances in international matches. The following statistics are for the 2004 FIFA calendar year for the most appearances in international matches by both men and women; the latest statistics for 2005 have yet to be released.

Men
Claudio Suarez, Mexico (172)
Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabia (166)
Adnan Al-Talyani, United Arab Emirates (164)
Hossam Hassan, Egypt (163)
Cobi Jones, United States (163)
Lothar Matthaus, Germany (150)
Sami Al Jaber, Saudi Arabia (149)
Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi, Saudi Arabia (143)
Thomas Ravelli, Sweden (143)
Marko Kristal, Estonia (142)

Women
Kristine Lilly, United States (282)
Mia Hamm, United States (266)
Julie Foudy, United States (262)
Joy Fawcett, United States (239)
Tiffeny Milbrett, United States (199)
Fan Yunjie, China (186)
Hege Riise, Norway (186)
Zhao Lihong, China (182)
Brandi Chastain, United States (182)
Liu Ailing, China (173)

Gabriel Batistuta is known as the highest scorer in the history of the Argentine national soccer team. He spent most of his career playing for Fiorentina, as opposed to his childhood when it looked like he would be playing basketball instead of soccer. Soccer came naturally to the atheltic young man and eventually he became one of the greatest soccer players in the world, even being named to FIFA’s Top 100 players list by Pele, the great, himself.

Internationally, he began to play for the national team in 1991 in the Copa America cup race. That year, not only did Argentina win the Copa America tournament but he also came home as the top scorer with six goals during his time on the pitch. It was because of that tournament Batistuta gained a spot on Fiorentina and despite their rocky relationship with going back and forth between the second and first divisions; eventually Fiorentina became one of the best teams in the country. Batitutsa flourished at Fiorentina and crafted his skill as one of the most versatile players on the field. Disappointment at home gave way to new confidence and spirit from Batitutsa that helped him with continued success in Italy.

His first World Cup competition came in 1998, and most of his time in the qualification tournament was spent on the bench. However, when Argentina made it into the official tournament, Batistuta scored five goals before his national team lost to Netherlands in the quarterfinals. This disappointment was almost a time-honored tradition for Argentina, and Batistuta was beginning to shop around for a club that would bring home a championship. Batistuta was out for blood. He wanted to taste the sweet victory of winning the World Cup for his home country. Unfortunately, Argentina just wasn’t ready skill-wise to be a big contender at the World Cup, yet. His talent flourished on the field, but it just wasn’t enough to bring home a championship.

Batistuta transferred to AS Roma for more than $30 million after the 1999 – 2000 season. Despite injuries, he scored 20 goals in his first season and finally earned a championship in the form of the Italian scudetto giving AS Roma its first championship since 1983. For someone who was prone to injury and prone to being a disappointment, Batistuta proved himself worthy of that $30 million under the circumstances. His talent, skill and leadership on the field gave him the courage and understanding to help guide you and old players alike on their quest for championship, glory and all things in soccer history. Batistuta is the stuff legends are made of.

He traveled to the 2002 World Cup with the Argentine national team and after being thrown into what some dubbed, “the group of death,” Argentina was sent home in the second round. After returning to AS Roma, defeated, Batistuta lost his edge and was eventually loaned to Internazionale. From there, not the player he once was, he was traded to Al-Arabi in Qatar where injuries forced his career to an end in March 2005.

This is the final part of our series on breaking down soccer positions for the beginner player.

Full Backs
Full backs play on the opposite side of the pitch from one another. They are purely defensive and cover a wide range of ground; they are the first line of defense on the field because often they play towards the top of the goal box. If they have to chase down a player, they will do so if they feel it will make a difference or give their team a chance to make a player.

At other times, they will fall back and wait for the opportunity to kick a ball up field to their offensive team mates when the rest of the defense goes after the ball or their man-to-man coverage. The main goal of a full back is to prevent an opposing team from crossing the ball into the penalty box which is a sure-fire way for them to score or create some sort of opening to take a good, clean shot at the goalkeeper.

A few decades ago, many full backs were stereotypically clunky and muscular. They used their strength to overcome forwards who were trying to take a shot. Nowadays, however, full backs are often smaller, quicker and have more skill with the ball. This allows for them to not only keep up with forwards but also outplay them when trying to take away the ball. Often, you'll find full backs sweep in from behind to snatch the ball from unsuspecting feet. Full backs are one of the only positions on the pitch that allow for an almost instant change of pace when it comes to turning over the soccer.

Striker
A striker is a type of center back. This particular type of center back plays a more middle-man roll. They are expected to take chances offensively and defensively. More often than not, they're responsible for going after the ball when it's been kicked into the corner or other undesirable areas down field by their own goal. They then launch the ball with a powerful kick midfield or further to garner some action from the offense.

Strikers have more movement and freedom on the field, and while they will cover positions like their center back counterparts, they are usually the ones who will cover a gap should one occur in a defensive formation if a player managed to make a break for the goal.

Fast, agile and skilled with handling the ball, the striker will sometimes start out as a midfield but find that they are better suited for a purely defensive position. These are also often the players who take corner kicks and throw-in the ball down field towards their own goal. Often, strikers will also send the ball back to the goalie for them to get a better shot at punting the ball up field to the offense.

Such strikers as Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer are renowned for their skills on the field as offensive playmakers and defensive play breakers. Not many players have come and gone since their days on the pitch that have matched their level of play and attitude for going after the ball and taking a risk at changing the focus of the match.

Wing Back
In the beginning of soccer, the wing back position had yet to be fully developed. Instead, the wing back was a take off of the full back, but not by much. The wing back has always more or less had the same goals as the full back, except, eventually those goals evolved into a more offensive attitude on the pitch.

Usually, the wing back is part of the midfield, on the modern soccer field. While there, they can run up field and downfield as the ball dictates to either chase down a would-be scorer or assist a forward in creating an opening to score. Depending on the flow of the ball and how easily it moves up and down the field, the wing back's job can change with less than a second's notice.

This means that a wing back has to be quick on their feet and fast as lightning to chase down an opportunity at any moment. They have to be agile, have excellent intuition and be willing to put their body - particularly their shins and feet - on the line to steal the ball and get it up field to a center back.

During the length of a match, wing backs are expected to not only change with the movement of the ball which in-of-itself can often be tolling on the stamina of the player in question but also support the center backs in their attempts to cross the ball and score. Since their primary focus is supposed to be on providing assistance to the center backs, this separates the wing back from its full back family member.

Teams also have a captain who serves as the primary leader on the field during a match where a coach's words might not always be heard during the game. The captain is typically the player that shows the most on and off the field and who represents the team well in all aspects. In some cases, the captain is also determined by their seniority on the team and in the game.

This is the second part of a four part series on breaking down soccer positions for beginner players.

Goalkeeper
Some would argue the goalkeeper is the single most important defensive player on any club's roster. The goalkeeper is the last ditch effort for any team to stop the offense of their opposing team from scoring a goal. When defenders fail, or the offense creates an opening, it's the sole responsibility of the goalkeeper to ensure that the other team doesn't score a single goal for the duration of the entire match.

Everyone knows the goalkeeper is the only player on the pitch who can touch the ball with their hands. However, only recently have new rules been added that stop the goalkeeper from handling the ball when it's passed back to them. While this may seem irrelevant, it's very easy to mishandle a ball especially when under the pressure of being goalkeeper. This new rule has added the possibility that a single wrong step could lose a game for a team; thus, the goalkeeper has to be extra careful when put in a position when they cannot handle the ball with their hands.

Not everyone is made out to be a goalkeeper. The intense pressure of the position is enough to scare anybody for life from ever stepping foot on the pitch. Physically, most goalkeepers keep to a strict formula. Tall, muscular and quick. They must be able to snap at a moment's notice in any direction -up, down, left or right -and stop the ball from going into a net that for some stretches to the end of the universe for some on the field.

Free-for-all
The free-for-all, while stereotypically considered an offensive position, is sort of an overall position for players of high caliber both offensively and defensively. Normally, a player in the free-for-all is stationed somewhere between the midfield and the offensive side of the field for their team. The goal of the free-for-all position is that they are capable of both creating openings for the center forward or scoring themselves from openings created by other.

Teams facing a player in the free-for-all position can expect to be put on their toes for the wfree-for-all game. That's the point of being the free-for-all. It's being able to shake up things on the defense who will often not know how to defend against such a multi-task player on the pitch. This confusion from the defense can create space and time for spectacular openings that lead to even more spectacular goals. Since there is no defensive position quite like the free-for-all, often, a defensive player assigned to the free-for-all will also be covering another player full-time during a game. This spreads the defense thin allowing for the free-for-all to do what they do best: Create action.

While every team tries to find a player to be the free-for-all, it's very hard to actually find a player capable of filling the shoes of the position. Such players as Dennis Bergkamp, Mark Hughes and more recently Ronaldinho have been able to not only wear the shoes of the free-for-all but also show why the position is one of the deadliest for defenses all over the world.

This is the third part in a four part series on breaking down soccer positions for beginner players.

Outsiders
Outsiders have long since been dead. Ever since England won the World Cup in 1966 - without the help of a winger in their win the position has since been absorbed by the midfield into a more forward midfielder. Originally, the winger was responsible for making sure that crosses were passed to strikers who had a better shot at scoring a goal in the penalty box when things were crowded. With the advent of midfielders who do more work and forwards who are more skilled, the winger has fallen to the wayside and is mostly seen on amateur teams.

Most outsiders were fast and expected to have impeccable dribbling skills. They were also expected to be able to anticipate where the ball would go and act on their intuition in order to make plays. In the modern sport of soccer, many midfielders act in a capacity as outsiders without officially being called them. They share the same skills, goals and aspirations on the field as outsiders did when they were on the pitch.

Outsiders were often much faster than defenders. This allowed them to catch up to a defender that gained a few steps on the field towards the goal, pass them and make a play to take change position. Today though most players are expected to do the job of the winger from wherever they are on the pitch and the extra duties expected of their assigned position and offensive or defensive specialty.

Center Forward
The center forward is one of the most important positions on the offensive side of the field. The main goal of a center forward is to score as many goals as possible while on the pitch. This means being able to not only read the defensive nature of players around them on opposite teams. It also means being able to take the ball, create an opening and take the shot to score. Center forwards play under the highest pressure and are often relied on for taking the "winning shot" during a particularly hard match.

A center forward is further broken down by a defensive coach as a target or a link. Target center forwards are often taller than their link counterparts, they have good handling skills and often a very powerful shot from far beyond where an average player can score. Link center forwards have similar goals but most often than not assist the target by securing the ball and searching for openings to make a pass. While links are also more than capable of scoring, their main goal is to get the ball to the better shooter.

Normally, a team will play with at least two center forwards, one in the target position and one in the link position. However, depending on the formation the team also chooses to play in during the game, this can change. Defensively, a team will typically have one defender on each center forward as well as a second defender that will cover two or more forwards at a time depending on how the match plays out.

A soccer team is generally made up of 11 players. They are each given one position, and in most cases, it is either an offensive or defensive position. In some cases, due to fouls or injuries, a team may play a match that's already started with less than 11 players on the field. However, most teams also make sure to have well above 11 players on their team to ensure they are never short-manned during a match.

Center Backs
Center backs are the heart and soul of the defense; there goal is to stop the offense from scoring. Many teams have three to four defenders on the field at a time. This allows for the defenders to cover a wide range of ground as well as cover ground in order to prevent openings in the defense for the offense to take advantage of and score.

Most center backs focus on two different types of strategy: One is the zonal and the other is the man-to-man. Man-to-man marking is when a center back covers one particular player for the duration of the match. This often occurs when the underdog team is pitted against a stronger offensive team, the defensive coach will often rely on their best center back to keep forwards at bay for a match. Zonal defense occurs when center backs are given a particular portion of pitch to cover during the game; this means that one center back will be responsible for anybody who enters their area. It doesn't stop other center backs from coming to their aid, it just gives them more ground to cover when the two teams are more evenly matched.

Center backs are also less likely to score. They are mainly opportunity makers, whereas they kick the ball down the field after stealing it from the offense. Sometimes a good kick down the field leads to an even greater shot by a forward who an score when the defense of the other team is still trying to follow the ball up the field.

Center Midfielders
Center midfielders are the all-around players on the pitch. They play a variety of roles on the pitch, both offensively and defensively, and these roles change every second of the game. When the opposing team is in control of the ball, they must be able to defend when the ball comes towards the half-line. Then, when their team gains control of the ball from their own goal, midfielders are the link between connecting that ball from the midfield to the opposing side's half of the field.

Being in the center of the field gives them the chance also to view what is going on at all times. Since most midfielders stay in the same area for the entire game, they have a unique perspective on the overall picture of the flow of the game. This gives them the chance to spot openings before anybody else does and it also enables them to guide other players into how they should respond to such openings.

Midfielders control the game. No matter whether a team is playing offensively or defensively, the midfielders can always change the flow of the game by one simple kick, steal or punt of the ball. Once they have control, from their vantage point, they are the single most powerful force on the fluidity of the game. As you'll often see at the end of a match, if a team is ahead, they will often stall the ball in the middle of the field passing it between each midfielder in order to run out of time and keep the opposing team from gaining the opportunity to change the score.

University of Georgia fans are a breed apart. The Dawgs do not draw the national fan base that teams like Notre Dame enjoy. Instead, citizens of Bulldog Nation mostly come from the Peach State itself. But they are rabid.

The traditions of Georgia sports, especially football, go back more than a century. Knowledge of those traditions are second nature to any good Georgia fan. In case you are new to the Nation, here are a few of the better-known traditions.

UGA's mascot is Uga. An English Bulldog, the current Uga VI belongs to a line of bulldogs from Savannah. They have been Georgia's mascots since the 1943 Rose Bowl. Uga is one of the country's most well-known mascot, and he can be seen hanging out in his house or sitting on a bag of ice watching the games on hot Athens Saturdays. Uga V made national sports news when he jumped to take a bite out of an Auburn player running to the goal line.

Next to Uga, the Silver Britches are one of the staples of the UGA football scene. The Silver Brithces, which are silver pants with a stripe down the side, became part of the uniform in 1939. They left when legendary coach Vince Dooley changed the uniforms to have white pants in 1964. Dooley reinstated the pants in 1980, however, and the Silver Britches became a symbol of UGA football when the players wore them during their run for the national championship.

If you happen to be on campus for a game, you will no doubt here the famed chapel bell. The bell-ringing tradition lends credence to the idea that football is religion in the Deep South. In the late 1800s, upper classmen forced freshmen to ring the bell. Today, though, frat boys, boosters, and townsfolk alike run to the bell after a UGA victory. The bell can be heard throughout Athens for hours after a Georgia win.

Do not forget the band as real Georgia fans do not. Instead of an afterthought to cheerleading, the Redcoat Band is an institution itself. One of the top-rated marching bands in the nation, the Redcoats lead the traditional walk through the crowds on Saturdays. The heart of Bulldog Nation, the Recoat Band leads the fans in a number of chants every week including the slightly irreverent and always rambunctious "Glory, Glory." Modeled after the hymn "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," Georgia fans sing a rousing chorus aimed at that week's opponent.

The Battle Hymn was used in the late 1800s but became more popular through the twentieth century. The current chorus goes: "Glory, glory to ole Georgia. Glory, glory to ole Georgia. Glory, glory to ole Georgia and to h*** with Florida."

Now that you know about some of the traditions, you can comfortably sit back and watch the boys play between the hedges. The hedges are English privet hedges that surround Georgia’s field. First planted in 1922, the hedges have grown to be a popular symbol of Georgia football, even after players destroyed them in celebration a few years back. Today, the hedges are back to form and Georgia players are once again keeping their opponents "between the hedges."

By Julia Mercer

Most men would love to have a girlfriend who grabs a beer just as the game is beginning and sits down to enjoy it with them. Most women, though, feel alienated by the whole sporting world experience. While women tailgate, throw Super Bowl parties, and dress up to support their teams, few of them actually enjoy the game itself. Some women absolutely refuse to watch any game with their partners - ever.

If you are a man in this situation, there are ways you can help bridge this gap between you and the one you love. Follow this guide, and you will be discussing the games together in no time.

First, start off alone. Do not invite your buddies over. That is asking for trouble. If your girlfriend or wife has never been into games, she likely has questions that are pretty elementary. You understand that, but if your buddies are there, they, and by extension you, will feel more likely to laugh or ridicule the questions. To allow for a healthy atmosphere, the two of you should watch a couple of games together.

Second, be a teacher. Explain the basic rules. Do not use jargon and make sure she follows you. There is no need to get into shotgun formations or pick and roll offenses. There should not be any talk about the top of the key or the job of the nose tackle. Keep it simple. That guy, number 3, is the quarterback. His job is to direct the team when they have the ball. Go from there taking her cues.

Third, make it fun. Think about it this way. If you went out with your girlfriend to see her friends, and you found yourself discussing the finer points of cooking or fashion or makeup or whatever her interest, you would zone out – and quickly. She feels the same way, which moves us back to the first step in the guide. Once the two of you have a few games under your belts, she probably will feel comfortable enough to watch games with others.

If you walk into Mike's house, though, and everyone starts talking about the 1921 World Series, she is going to want to bolt. Who could blame her? She has just found out that she signed up for four hours of discussion in which she cannot participate. Instead of these situations, try going out to a sports bar or a restaurant. That way, there is more to do. Also go to sports-watching parties where there will be other women.

Finally, go to a game! Do not be content just to watch it on the tube; get out and see the action. Any avid sports fan can tell you in depth about the sights, sounds, and smells of the ballpark or stadium or arena on game day. It has an atmosphere that is otherworldly. The lady in your life needs to have this experience to fully understand. Being in the middle of 80,000 screaming college football fans is an unforgettable experience. It is tough to feel the excitement and not join in.

So make it a date. Chances are it won't be your last to a sporting event.
by Julia Mercer

The Cincinnati Bengals and their first-round draft pick David Pollack are still at odds. Only those involved know for sure, but the rumor is that they are apart on guaranteed money and the escalators in Pollack's contract. The Bengals management and coaches are saying that do not need Pollack. They can move on. They have other linebackers.

While they certainly do have other people to plug into the equation, should the Bengals make it without Pollack?

Anyone who has watched the Bungles over the past fourteen years, which have come and gone without a winning season or playoff berth in Cincinnati, will tell you they need heart. When Chad Johnson joined the team and decided in 2003 that he would push the Bengals by good-natured trash-talking, promises to fans, and various antics on the field, Cincinnati's stock rose.

People like to see Johnson. They like his brashness and his confidence that the Bengals can be a source of pride for the people of Cincinnati. Still, though Johnson provides a spark on offense, the defense is lacking. In spirit and performance, they are the weak link in the Bengals game. They gave the offense few breaks during the 2004 season. They did little to stop opposing teams. They did little to excite the crowd.

David Pollack, though, could do those things. Anyone who saw him play at the University of Georgia, where he became a three-time all-American and UGA's all-time sacks leader, knows the kind of spirit and determination he has. One wave of Pollack's hands could have Georgia's fans on their feet. One look at him barreling toward a defender leaves no doubt that he can plays with heart.

And Cincinnati needs heart. The team has had little since their unsuccessful Super Bowl run in January 1989. Only their second Super Bowl appearance, it did not signal the beginnings of a franchise known for winning. Instead, it was the beginning of a sad era in the history of the Cincinnati Bengals, one that the people of Cincinnati would love to see end.

The beauty of Cincinnati's fans is that they are there rain or shine. They cheer for the Begals. They even cheer for the Reds. Their sports franchises do not give them much hope; yet they are there year after year willing the team to win for them.

David Pollack gives the Bengals this choice. Though he will be moving from defensive end to linebacker, Pollack's aggressive, leave everything on the field, play makes him what Cincinnati's fans and team want - and need. He is a playmaker, and they need that.

From a football standpoint, the Cincinnati defense could use someone like Pollack. Few players bring something the fans need, too. They do need a reason to keep hoping. The 2003 win over the then-undefeated Kansas City Chiefs made football watchers take notice of the Bengals. Was there finally something special there?

The 2004 season came and went. It was an even 500 year, which should be enough to make Bengals nation proud. Still, they had expected more. The 2003 season had promised them that.

Could 2005 be the year? Bengals fans hope it is - finally. Without David Pollack, though, that is unlikely.

by Julia Mercer

It seems that every year at around this time, the old debate about whether or not college athletes should be paid resurfaces. That's because football, along with basketball, are some of the biggest moneymakers for the NCAA. It's said that between the regular season and bowl games, football teams generate millions of dollars for their universities from ticket and merchandise sales, as well as television broadcasting rights. Those who support paying salaries to college athletes often point out that it would only be fair to give college athletes a portion of the millions of dollars in revenue that they help generate. They claim that simply getting a full scholarship is not compensation enough. I happen to think that college athletes should not get paid. Here's why.

First of all, I believe that a full scholarship is indeed enough. Full scholarships are often all-inclusive. That means not only is tuition paid for, but so is on-campus room and board. At top universities, this can amount to more than a $20,000 annually for four or even five years. That means that an athlete who does well enough to keep his or her scholarship essentially earns $80,000 or $100,000 plus a college degree. I think that is pretty fair compensation for the athletes.

People go wrong when they look at the overall dollar figure generated by the sport and try to base salaries on that. Things don't even work like that in the real world. For example, Microsoft Corporation earns billions of dollars in revenue every year. But if I worked for Microsoft, does that mean that I would automatically be entitled to a six-figure salary just because I am contributing to that revenue stream? Of course not!

A second reason that some people think athletes should get paid is that they are risking serious injuries. An injury to a pro-caliber player can ruin his earnings potential and devastate his hopes for a professional career. While I agree that this can indeed happen, that's unfortunately just a part of the game. Even so, players who are "sure things" for the professional ranks often have insurance policies in place to protect their earnings potential. For example, USC's Matt Leinart opted to stay in school to play out his senior year rather than declare for the NFL draft. There's a very real possibility that he could get hurt, so he has an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London. The policy is reportedly for around a million dollars and would kick in if something happened to make Leinart fall below the 15th pick in the first round. Sure, not every athlete would be able to have this kind of policy -- but it does happen.

Another thing that I would like to point out is that for many athletes, playing college sports is the only way to gain exposure. Professional teams will always send scouts to cover the biggest players, but every year it seems that a few relatively unknown college players have breakout seasons. Fortunately for them, TV crews are there to capture everything even when scouts aren't.

Overall, I think getting scholarships and having a college experience that is a cut above everyone else's is definitely compensation enough for these athletes.

It was just three years ago that Maurice Clarett was on top of the collegiate football world. But the former Buckeye hero once again failed miserably to right his football career and become an NFL player.

This week, the Denver Broncos cut the former Ohio State star as NFL rosters were pared to the 65 player threshold. The early cut comes in great part due to Clarett's inability to play in the preseason due to injuries. But it also comes amidst accusations that he failed to make the effort to recover from his early season physical problems.

Many arm chair quarterbacks as well as the self-proclaimed pigskin experts were surprised that the Broncos had made Clarett the final selection on the first day of the draft. In spite of the critics, the Broncos obviously thought the risk one worth taking.

Denver then positioned themselves well when they negotiated a contract that left the running back without a signing bonus. Signing Clarett to an incentive-laden deal that could have earned him up to $7 million over four years, the Broncos put themselves in a strong position when it came to making a decision on the former collegiate star.

The roster cut came roughly two years after Clarett's first attempt to seek entry in the NFL. Back in September of 2003, Clarett was charged with a misdemeanor for the falsification of a police report regarding the value of items stolen from a car he had borrowed from a local dealership.

Earlier that summer, Clarett had publicly acknowledged that he had exaggerated his initial theft report. At the time, he had stated that items valued at more than $10,000 had been taken from the vehicle.

After suspending Clarett indefinitely, Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel cut ties with the star that fall as Clarett faced up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for his actions. As he was being charged for the falsification, an internal investigation by Ohio State officials also revealed that Clarett had apparently received thousands of dollars in extra benefits.

All the off-field woes contrasted vividly with his prior on-field success. Clarett was coming off a record setting freshman season in 2002, a season in which the Buckeyes became National Champions. Clarett set Ohio State freshman records with 1,237 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. One of those TD’s proved to be the winning score in the Buckeyes' double-overtime, National Championship game victory over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

But that one season would be all the football Clarett would play in college. The legal problems that led Ohio State to break ties in turn led to Clarett making accusations that NCAA violations had been committed by the school and the coaching staff.

Later that September, in an effort to be eligible for NFL considerations, Clarett then filed a lawsuit against the National Football League. The NFL had negotiated a rule in the collective bargaining process that prevented players from being eligible to enter the NFL Draft unless they had been out of high school for three years. At the time, Clarett was still only one year removed from high school.

The suit sought to have the rule overturned and make Clarett eligible for the 2004 draft, or require the NFL to hold a special supplemental draft sooner to allow him entry into the league. In the suit, the running back also sought damages for being held out of the 2003 NFL Draft, claiming he would have made millions had he been a first round draft pick.

Clarett's suit failed, leaving the former collegiate star with no option but to wait for the opportunity to turn professional in 2005. When the former Buckeye finally become eligible for the NFL, the tailback attended the professional scouting combines in an attempt to wow the professional scouts. In very late February of this year, after being out of football for two seasons, Clarett clearly was a shell of the player that had performed so well at Ohio State. At the combine he posted two times in his forty yard dashes of 4.82 and 4.72 seconds, only incrementally faster than the offensive linemen that had been clocked that day at times between 4.9 and 4.97 seconds.

In spite of what appeared to be a lack of physical ability commensurate with the NFL, the Broncos decided to use one of their coveted draft picks on a chance that once in a football camp again, the talent and quickness Clarett displayed in college would re-emerge. But then came a groin injury and then missed practices, leading teammates to questions Clarett's commitment to rehabbing his injury.

As the missed practices piled up, the patience of coach Mike Shanahan waned. The decision to release Clarett appeared to be an easy one as professional football organizations know one thing for certain. The failure of a lost draft pick cannot be compounded by giving an unworthy player a coveted roster spot.

Meaning that the sad saga of Maurice Clarett may be over, once and for all.

With the NCAA Football season opening up this week, sports talk inevitably turns to two subjects: first, who will win the National Championship? And second, who will win the Heisman? Each year, the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best college football player in the country. It is a very prestigious award, and significantly increases a player's chances at being a high selection in the following NFL draft.

Many former Heisman Trophy winners have gone on to have outstanding careers in pro football. Players such as Barry Sanders, Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, and Vinny Testaverde all lived up to the potential they showed in college. However, drafting the Heisman winner doesn't always guarantee teams a star player. There are many former winners who simply don't cut it in the NFL. Let's take a look at a few of them.

Rashaan Salaam
Salaam was the 1994 Heisman winner and was selected in the first round by the Chicago Bears. He actually had a pretty good rookie season, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. But the "Sophomore Curse" seemed to set in the next season when he gained less than 500 yards. It was all downhill after that, with Salaam eventually turning to the now-defunct XFL in a comeback attempt in 2001.

Gino Toretta
Toretta played quarterback for the University of Miami, and led his team to the championship game in 1992 (where they lost). He was one of the few Heisman winners that didn't even seem to generate a blip on NFL teams' radar screens. In fact, he didn't get drafted until Minnesota took him in the seventh round. He barely got any playing time in his career, and was cut by teams more often than he made them.

Andre Ware
Ware set all kinds of passing records for the University of Houston en route to his 1989 Heisman trophy. He was then drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round. However, he never made the hoped-for impact in the big leagues. He had a four-year NFL career, and then moved to the CFL for another 3 seasons. He didn't really accomplish much in either league.

In more recent years, former Heisman winners Ron Dayne (Wisconsin '99) and Chris Weinke (Florida State '00) are fighting for backup jobs. Weinke is Jake Delhomme's backup in Carolina, while Dayne is with the Denver Broncos after signing as an unrestricted free agent. The verdict is still out on Ricky Williams (University of Texas '98). He has shown flashes of brilliance, but also brings an element of instability to the table, as evidenced by his one-year retirement from the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, Eric Crouch (Nebraska '01) and Jason White (Oklahoma '03) are already out of the NFL entirely.

Last year's Heisman winner, Matt Leinart of USC, has chosen to remain in school and play out his senior year -- a decision that not many players would make. That means we will have to wait and see what the future holds for him. Given the history of past winners, anything can happen!

As the 2004-2005 season came to an end, the Celtics brass had to make a decision about Gary Payton, the veteran point guard who helped develop the new up-tempo game that Doc Rivers sought to implement. Though Payton no longer was the defensive juggernaut that once earned him the nickname, "The Glove," he proved to be a solid floor leader that helped stabilize a young Celtics team.

But in the off season, Celtics leadership seemed to lose interest in the free agent, at least when it came to contract considerations at a salary that Payton was interested in. As training camp looms, the C's have decided to bring in five different players who will all seemingly compete for Payton's position.

The heir apparent to the job appears to be Delonte West, a rookie in 2004-2005 who showed enormous poise. West proved that he could shoot the ball well and that he had three point range. He also showed that he knew how to take care of the basketball and that he has the toughness to play defense at the NBA level. Unfortunately, West missed significant time during his rookie year with a series of injuries, leading many to wonder if the youngster will be injury prone throughout his career.

The year before, the Celtics drafted the super quick Marcus Banks, hoping he would be the answer to their point gurad woes. Banks has utilized his quickness to become a defensive demon and has shown signs of being very tough to guard when he is in transition and in the open floor. But Banks decision-making ability has caused the coaching staff fits, causing him to slide behind West on the depth chart.

To add more competition, Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge decided to bring in Dan Dickau formerly of the Hornets as well. Dickau started for nearly half the season durinthete second half of 2004-2005, proving to be a decent scorer and passer with an ability to also play up-tempo basketball.

With the draft, the C's also took Orien Greene, a tall point guard with great defensive ability, but who also had a history of injuries while in college. They then added a fifth point guard, Will Bynum of Georgia Tech as a free agent signee. Bynum impressed Ainge and Rivers with his play during the Las Vegas Summer League games.

The 2005-2006 season will mark 20 years since Larry Bird led the Celtics to their 16th NBA Championship. Bringing in five point guards for preseason will certainly create competition for the starting job but it also clearly indicates that Celtics are not anywhere's near the level of play that will have them seeking that 17th banner.

With two of the world's top three players expressing concern about the length of the PGA Tour season, Commissioner Tim Finchem is feeling enormous pressure to examine the current PGA schedule.

Currently, the PGA season starts in Hawaii in early January, then moves to California and Florida in late winter, then meanders across the country, following the warmer weather. The traditional high points are the four major championships that begin in April and finish in August. The current schedule concludes with the Tour Championship in November when the Tour's top money winners compete for some serious prize money and the chance to be PGA Player of the Year.

The current set up has served the Tour extremely well. Whereas total prize money was a solid $56 million in 1994, the PGA has continued to grow and will surpass the $250 million mark during the 2005 season. Already this year, fifteen players have passed $2 million total in earnings, and three of the players in that group have yet to win even one tour title on the season.

But TV ratings continue to depend on the game's most popular player. When Tiger Woods is in contention the ratings sky rocket. Commissioner Finchem knows that the key to continued growth lies in his ability to negotiate a new television contract, so when he hears of the concerns of Woods and Mickelson, the game's third rank player, that the current season is too long, Finchem knows he must carefully examine the schedule.

Finchem has seen the NFL negotiate a new television deal and he knows that NASCAR is next. With those developments, the Tour's Commissioner is carefully examining the schedules of these top sports to glean any ideas he can to improve the Tour’s chances of getting a top flight new TV deal.

For casual television golf fan, interest in the golf season begins with the Pebble Beach Pro Am on the gorgeous Pebble Beach Golf Links in February, and continues through the four majors that are completed in mid-August. However, with the start up of the football season, Saturday's become the focus of NCAA collegiate football and Sunday's the focus of the National Football League. With interest in football growing yearly, the end of the PGA season is not known for drawing a strongtelevisionn audience.

The PGA Tour definitely needs to inject some late season enthusiasm if it is to continue its current schedule. But earlier in the year, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson independently expressed their concerns about thelengtht of the schedule, indicating that the season was much too long. Indeed, most golfers opt out of several tournaments during the season, mostly because of a desire to remain fresh during what amounts to an 11 month competitive schedule.

Finchem has responded positively to the concerns, noting that it is important for Tour leadership to also challenge itself yearly. Though the Tour is at an all-time high for prize money,Finchemm believes that the Tour will likely see some changes in the next few years.

Look for Finchem to try to generate greater interest at the end of the year. The World Golf Championships that began in 1999 were designed to address that very issue with the season ending American Express Championship, to be played the week after the US Tour Championship and the season-ending Volvo Masters on the European tour. The concept was an attempt to create back-to-back weeks of big tournaments as the season came to a close, tournaments that could compete with a formidable television football audience.

But the concept did not draw the game's best players so Finchem has had to oversee a different year end schedule. And if the Commissioner decides to tweak the current PGA schedule further, he will need to have the support of Tiger Woods. Given that Woods is the No. 1 attraction in golf, any year end event will need his blessing if it is to draw a national television audience. The fact that Woods must agree is not lost on Finchem who has already met at least twice with Woods.

Only three years ago, Finchem negotiated a four-year U.S. TV contract that approached the $1 billion mark. He then spent 2002 scrambling to replace nine corporate title sponsors that declined to continue with the Tour after the attacks of 9/11.

Look for Finchem to try once again to bring a greater climax to the PGA season, perhaps doing so in October instead of November so as to respond to the concerns of Woods and Mickelson. With Bridgestone signing up as title sponsor of the World Golf Championship at the Firestone Country Club through 2010 and 20 other title sponsors secured through the length of the next U.S. TV contract, 2007-10, Finchem has some great options to play with.

But of course the greatest challenge will be to figure out how to create that late season interest and do so by ensuring the game's best players choose to compete.

In a year when many of the game's best players have climbed the career statistical charts, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa hit another major league milestone Thursday night when the Cardinals topped the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The victory was the 2,195 of the illustrious Cardinal manager's career, a number that now places him third on the career win list for major league skippers. The win moved La Russa one win ahead of Sparky Anderson and left him trailing only the legendary Connie Mack and John McGraw.

La Russa has moved rapidly up the ladder in 2005 as the Cardinals appear to have the best team in major league baseball this season. With more than a fifth of the season left, La Russa and the Cards have more than 80 wins on the season. That win mark has allowed La Russa to pass some the game's other illustrious managers, Bucky Harris and Joe McCarthy, earlier in the season, before topping Anderson on Thursday night.

But the Cards manager will have some work ahead to pass the game's best as he still trails John McGraw's victory total of 2,763 by more than 500 victories and the incredible mark of Connie Mack by more than 1500 wins. Mack finished his successful career with 3,731 major league victories.

The Atlanta Braves skipper Bobby Cox is the only other active manager in the Top Ten all-time and stands seventh with 2,074 wins. Perhaps most notably, only nine major league generals have topped the 2000 win mark in baseball history. Los Angeles Dodger manager Walter Alston won 2,040 in his long career, the Cubs Leo "The Lip" Durocher 2,008.

The 60 year old La Russa is in the midst of his 28th year as a head coach. From 1979-1986, he managed the American League Chicago White Sox to 522 victories in 1032 games. He then spent ten years as skipper of the Oakland Athletics, earning 798 wins and finishing with a winning percentage of .542. In this, his tenth year with the Cardinals, La Russa has earned another 875 wins.

La Russa is considered one of the game's great strategists but continuing at his current winning percentage, La Russa would still need another seven years to top McGraw's mark, passing him sometime during the 2012. Given the respect he has earned, if La Russa stays healthy he should become the game's second best ever.

But to top Connie Mack, La Russa would need an additional ten years, managing until 2022, and that is provided his teams continue to win at the same rate. At that time, he would be managing a major league ball club as he approached his 78th birthday.

Given those facts, Mack's record appears safe but when La Russa calls it quits one day, his name will no doubt be equated with the legendary duo of Mack and McGraw, the two best managers in baseball history.

If you've ever wanted to join a fantasy football league but haven't done so because you don't know how some of the games work, then you'll appreciate the information in this article. I'm going to tell you about a great alternative to the sometimes complicated, always time-consuming rotisserie leagues that many hard-core players prefer. I'm talking about salary cap fantasy football leagues.

Salary cap fantasy football is a fun game whether your are a beginning player or an expert. The basic premise of the game is that you have a certain amount of money to spend on "purchasing" players to make up your roster. Different leagues have different salary caps, but a common one that I've seen is $30 million, so that's the number I'll be using as an example throughout this article. You also have to fill certain positions on your roster. Again, this varies from game to game, but a general example for a roster consisting of 11 spots would be 2 quarterbacks, 3 running backs, 3 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 kicker, and 1 entire team defense (e.g. Chicago). You'll also get a limited amount of trades each week that you can either use right away to make roster changes or save for later.

Once NFL game days start, you'll earn points based on how well the players on your roster do. Your particular league will designate points for different scoring criteria. For example, you might be able to earn, say, 1 point for each passing yard, 2 points for each rushing yard, 50 points for a touchdown, and -30 points for an interception. So if you had Peyton Manning as one of your quarterbacks and he throws for 312 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions, he would earn you 412 points for the week. Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it? That's why a lot of beginners prefer to start with a salary cap league.

Even though this type of league probably won't take up as much of your time as a roto league, you probably won't do consistently well if you just log on 30 minutes before game time on Sunday morning to tweak your roster. You've got to really pay attention to injuries and bye weeks. For example, if you have 3 Indianapolis Colts players on your roster and they've got a bye week coming up, you better have 3 trades available to use or you're going to have some big fat zeroes on your score sheet Monday morning! Same thing with injuries. You don't want to be stuck with an injured player on your roster because you know there's no way he's going to score any points for you. Once you spend some time making picks and roster changes, you'll get the hang of it. You'll really start to see which players turn in big performances week in and week out, as well as the ones that disappoint you too often.

There are plenty of free salary cap fantasy football games out there, so you can play without risking anything. There's no better way to learn than that!

Fantasy sports have been around since the early '80s, but I didn't start getting into them until just a couple of years ago. I began with fantasy motocross, then moved on to fantasy baseball, and then fantasy football. Now, I can't imagine going an entire football season without playing along in a fantasy league or two. Don't get me wrong; I don't take the games too seriously. For example, a lot of fantasy football players spend hours and hours analyzing stats and thinking about the roster moves they will make for their various teams. I don't do any of that. I just pick a few players and hope for the best. If you're new to fantasy football, here's a quick overview of how most regular leagues work.

There are lots of different types of games out there, but I'm going to talk about rotisserie (roto) leagues for now. In a roto league consisting of 10 teams (you plus 9 other "managers"), you'll usually start things off with an actual draft. Since most fantasy leagues are played online these days, you'll just meet in the draft room (actually a chat room) on the website that hosts your league (like ESPN.com, sportsline.com, etc.).

Before the draft, you will be told which manager gets the first pick, second pick, etc. This is important because you'll be on the clock when it comes time for your pick. You'll only get about 60 seconds to make up your mind, so you can't go in there expecting to get LaDanian Tomlinson if you have the 7th pick. Serious players will actually rehearse the entire draft by putting themselves in their opponents' shoes and selecting the best players available throughout all the rounds of the drafts. They'll have contingency plans for each pick also, in case one of the managers does something totally unexpected.

Once draft day is finished, you'll have a certain number of players on your starting roster and a certain number of reserves (the actual number varies from league to league). In order to get an entirely new player, you'll have to claim them from your league's waiver wire, make a trade with another manager (subject to approval from the league commissioner) or pick them up from the free agent pool. As you can probably tell by now, this type of game sounds pretty realistic since that's basically what real teams have to do.

Now it's time to play. Your team will score points based on 8 or 10 different categories. For football, the categories are usually things like total rushing yards, total receiving yards, total passing yards, etc. Your players' points in each of these categories is tallied up after their games. Then, your cumulative scores in the categories are compared to the cumulative scores of the other managers. Whoever has the highest score in a category will receive 10 points (the same as the number of teams in the league). The lowest score in the category gets 1 point. Then your scores are compiled for the whole season, and the manager with the highest point total at the end of the season obviously wins.

Remember, this is just an overview. Every league has its own rules, so be sure to check everything out before you join. Good luck!

If you are fan of the old American classic sport baseball, then you have probably heard the word knuckleball thrown around. To many baseball fans, a knuckleball is just one of many pitches a pitcher can throw in an inning, but to an actual baseball pitcher, a knuckleball is so much more.

Knuckeballs are not common, even in the big leagues. While every Major League pitcher can throw a fastball, only a select few, such as Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox can successfully throw a great knuckleball.

First off, the definition of a knuckleball in baseball is a ball that is thrown by the pitcher, but fails to spin a lot during its flight. Instead the ball pretty much just floats (hopefully) towards the catcher. Along the way, knuckleballs will move in erratic patterns due to the fact that the air flow is going right across the smoothness and the ball and other the stitching of the ball. While a normal baseball spins a lot when thrown, spins is kept to a minimum when a knuckleball is thrown. It is important for the ball to have a slight amount of spin, so that more erratic patterns can be established.

As mentioned before, only a few major league baseball players consider the knuckleball to be a part of their pitching rotation. Not only is throwing a knuckleball incredibly hard to master, but there are some other problems that occur when a knuckleball is pitched.

First, knuckleballs are not thrown very hard, or fast. Because the ball is actually being pushed more so then being thrown directly relates to the ball traveling somewhat slow. Typically major league pitchers can pitch a knuckleball anywhere between thirty to fifty miles an hour.

Next, knuckleballs are impossible to fully control. Once the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, then its pathway to the catcher's mitt becomes erratic due to the drag caused by the air flow going across the non-spinning baseball. The ball will move in an erratic pattern even past home plate sometimes. Because of this, batters may be hit by pitches, while runners on base may easily be able to steal the next bases.

The knuckleball pitch has been around since the early 20th century, although the usage by pitchers has gone down quite a lot since the 1940's. This could also be a direct result since other pitches based on the knuckleball, such as the dreaded spitball have been banned from usage in the Major Leagues. This is due to the erratic patterns the balls make towards home plate, and as one such pitch actually killed a major league baseball player in 1920. Following the incident, the spitball as well as similar pitches based on the knuckleball have been banned from used in major league baseball.

So the next time you are watching a baseball game on the television, or listening to one on your radio and hear somebody talking about knuckleballs, then raise your ears. Knuckleballs are a rare thing in today's game of baseball, however if you ever get to see a knuckleball pitcher, such as Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox, then you will be in for a real treat.

I have been a sports fan my whole life. Until recently, I have pretty much lived and died with Chicago teams such as the Cubs, Bears, and Blackhawks. When I was younger, I watched all the games that I could and I took losses so seriously that (especially in the case of the Bears) they put me in a bad mood for days on end. It seems silly now, but I think a lot of kids are like that if they are diehard sports fans.

Another thing that stands out in my memory is how much I disliked opposing star players. For example, former NHL great Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers and then the L.A. Kings and New York Rangers, always seemed to have his best games against the Blackhawks. To my 12-year-old self, it was practically torture to watch Gretzky come into town and destroy my beloved hockey team. Now that I've gotten older, however, there has been a noticeable change in the way I watch sports. While I still love my Chicago teams, I have a greater appreciation of athleticism in general. Let me explain.

Anyone who pays attention to NFL football knows that the Bears and the Green Bay Packers represent one of the most legendary rivalries in the league. The Bears had a good decade or so against the Packers in the '80s, but then when quarterback Brett Favre came along, things started to change. The Packers were suddenly dominant in the NFC North and handled the Bears with ease. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think Favre has only lost 3 or 4 games against the Bears in his entire career.

When Favre first burst onto the scene, I didn't like him. I couldn't even stand to watch any Bears-Packers games because it was just so frustrating to see Favre march up and down the field seemingly at will and to make amazing passes time and time again. Now that I am older, I actually enjoy watching Favre play.