Have you ever heard of "broomball?"

I never did before.  Another discovery from looking around Vermont. 

The following video clip is from the 1980s and is a championship match  - I believe Australia /Canada.  I thought it best showed what broomball could be.  It seriously is wearing shoes and using a stick with a flat plastic-like broom.

But all types of people play broomball...indoors and outdoors.  Adults, teens and kids. 

Here's an adult mens outdoor game.







Even women play broomball

The Central Vermont Women's Broomball
League took to the ice at the Central Vermont
Memorial Civic Center Sunday night. Broomball
isn't for the timid. It's a tough, competitive sport
that brings a whole new meaning to the word "broom."
Kyle Martel/Times Argus




MONTPELIER – The only cleaning up these ladies use brooms for is sweeping up the competition.

They play broomball, eight teams of women who use a hockey-stick-like "broom" to bash a hard leather or plastic ball down the ice and into a goal. They don't skate; they run in shoes with rubber soles that grip the ice, occasionally falling to their knees and sliding into a play.

Broomball is rough. Broomball is competitive. Broomball is not for the faint of heart.


Click to Continue

Guess what?  We have a broomball association in Wisconsin that plays in Pleasant Prairie.  Check it out here if you are interested:

Wisconsin-Illinois Broomball









 

It’s sweet and at the end, if you are human, should give you that little twinge in your heart.

And you’ve heard stories like it before.

But we need to hear these stories.

We need to know our children are doing what’s right.

It makes us realize that there are adults teaching them what’s right.

And that we can all be all-American.

Please read the entire story...you'll be glad you did...

NBCSports.com
By Alan Abrahamson

Even while losing, these kids learn to win
Manattan Beach, CA. 

"If this were a movie, Garrett Roth, who is 8 years old and autistic, would have stepped up for the last penalty kick in his youth-soccer league game, the Blue Lightning against Manhattan United, and knocked it home to deliver a playoff victory for Big Blue.

That didn't happen.

Life isn't a movie."

Click to Continue

 

 

Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders wear an Air Force outfit as part of an
Armed Forces appreciation day at the game with the Green Bay Packers.

I’m not that way…

Who doesn’t like watching cheerleaders?

But I suppose there are some of you who will enjoy checking out these ladies more than others.

Watch the slide show of NBA Dancers from MSNBC  HERE



Enjoy!

You’ve gotta love team mascots!

What would we do without Bernie Brewer?

And the Racing Sausages, though not official mascots, well, we love them.

But there are some teams across the nation who have mascots that you just love to hate.

Click on the group picture and check a slideshow of the Top 10 Weirdest Mascots from Real Clear Sports

Click for Larger Image

1968: Beamon breaks long jump record

"Bob Beamon broke the world long jump record in a crowded Olympic stadium in Mexico City today with a startling 29-foot 2 ½-inch jump. The previous world record was set at 27-feet 4 ¾-inch.

"Beamon's body formed in his unique jack-knife style and he hit the sand perfectly, falling forward and out of the pit," the Oakland Tribune reported on October 19, 1968. "

The Daily Perspective

This record stood for 23 years, until Mike Powell jumped 29-feet 4-3/8-inch in 1991, and is considered one of the finest moments in sports.



Beamon smashes record.pdf

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City Robert "Bob" Beamon performed a jump that would land him at a distance of 8,90 metres. He would hold this record for almost 23 years when Mike Powell reached a distance of 8,95 metres in 1991.

Three Balloon Incidents Reported Friday, Including Fatal Accident

So, were you there?

When I entered the stadium and was handed the thunder sticks I thought, "Oh, boy…these Brewers fans are not going to ever give the Phillies a moment of peace."  The amount of noise that can be generated from over 43,000 fans banging two of those thunder sticks together is unbelievable.  It is nothing like what is portrayed on television.  Another reason for me to cringe at the sight of little babies being carted around in the stadium…some who may have broken eardrums after today’s game.

Well, the thunder sticks generated support for our Brewers…and maybe rattled a few nerves at times for the Phillies, but you couldn’t tell.  I got a big kick out of the fans that sat over the Phillies dugout and pounded their sticks on top the entire game.  Those had to be the best seats in the house.  I hope they were cursing at our fans the entire game!

Why am I concentrating on the thunder sticks so much?

To keep my mind off of the actual game…and the very first home run...which quickly silenced the thunder sticks...for a little while.




If there’s one thing the Brewers had going for them this year, it was the fans…over 3 million attended the games.  We love our Brewers.

One thing you didn’t see on television that was flashed on the screen at the bottom of the 9^th inning…the scene from Hoosiers where Gene Hackman is in the locker room lecturing his team.  He tells them that no matter what the final score is, they’re all winners…well, sorry, guys…this wasn’t high school.  While the fans gave you a standing ovation, we didn’t win, and we could have done better in the series.  But…we still do love our Brewers.  (Imagine hearing 43,000 fans banging their thunder sticks). 

The end.

Photo/Benny Sieu

Guillermo Mota, Mike Cameron and CC Sabathia celebrate with fans on top of the dugout

This guy totally cracks me up...

"If you watched the Phillies demolish the Milwaukee Brewers in a 4-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park earlier this month, you were probably fervently wishing for what seemed like a long-shot back them, a first round playoff series rematching our Phillies with the Brew Crew."

Will Bunch...Attytood...Continued  HERE



No problem, Brewers....

How about some Philly Cheesesteaks?

Julia Ruth Stevens, the daughter of former New York
Yankee Babe Ruth, throws out the ceremonial first pitch
before the final regular season MLB American League
baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, September 21, 2008.
REUTERS/Mike Segar




Last night, September 21, 2008, was the final game at Yankee Stadium…




"They will never forget the time the Yankees opened the gates seven hours before first pitch and let fans walk around the field. They will never forget a 7-3 Yankees victory over the Orioles, a stadium retired on a five-game winning streak. They will never forget the time when the whole Yankees team did a lap around the field, waving their caps at fans who didn't want it to end. "


Stadium Leaves Night To Remember



But, I said this was about the Babe, so I’ll move on.  Babe Ruth’s daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, threw out the first pitch, well, barely.  But that’s okay.  It meant something to her and to the fans and players.  And it would have meant something to Babe Ruth, but not what you think…



"While it was fitting for the daughter of the greatest player in franchise history, Babe Ruth, to open the final game in the house her father "built," Ruth Stevens knew the Babe would have been amused by the sight.

"He knew I didn't throw very well," Ruth Stevens said with a laugh. "But I taught him how to bowl."

Taking the field, out of her wheelchair for a brief moment, Ruth Stevens felt a tremble throughout her body. She accepted the invitation to throw out the first pitch only a day before, and when the moment arrived, it brought upon her three predominant responses.

"Thrilling, exciting and scared to death," Ruth said.

Ruth Stevens still has memories of her father slamming long home runs, starting with 1927 in Yankee Stadium. And even though it's terrible to think the ballpark has reached its final days, she understands that this moment had to come at some point. "

Babe's Daughter Tosses Out First Pitch




Babe Ruth hit 665 of his 714 career home runs as a
member of the Yankees. (Harry Harris/AP)


Babe Ruth 1918  - the 1st year Ruth led the league in home runs.

Because I said this is about Babe Ruth (and not the Yankees), I’ve just got to throw this photo in because I think it’s interesting for those who may not have seen it…



George H. W. Bush, captain of the Yale baseball team, receives Babe Ruth's
manuscript of his autobiography which he was donating to Yale, 1948

If they aren’t wearing gloves.

Forensics, just like all aspects of science, are ever changing and improving.

There are new techniques out there for lifting fingerprints…even off of bullet casings.

That includes casings that have been wiped.




 

Various cases of assorted common calibers.

British scientists have developed a new crime-fighting technique that allows police to lift fingerprints from bullets even if a criminal has wiped down a shell casing.Authorities in Britain and the United States used the method to re-open three cold cases, including a U.S. double murder that police are now optimistic of solving, said John Bond, the physicist who developed the technique.

The conventional method of taking fingerprints has been around for more than 100 years and involves creating a chemical reaction with the sweat left behind on an object to produce an image police can use.

But if a criminal wipes away the sweat, there is little left to react with the chemical and regular methods are useless, Bond said in a telephone interview.

The new technique allows police to outwit a criminal and produce a fingerprint even if there is no sweat impression to work with.

Continued HERE

Do any of you remember duckpin bowling? 

At one time there were seven duckpin bowling centers in Wisconsin.  There is only one left now. 

You can view some duckpin bowling in action....all strikes:







Duckpin bowling originated in the East, in Maryland.  But because of Wisconsinites love for bowling, it migrated here. 

I found a New York Times article from 1992  that was about Connecticut duckpin centers still open, and it has some good insight on this type of bowling. 

Most duckpin bowlers say they are drawn to the game because they find it far more challenging than big pins.

"There's no comparison," said Mr. Lavers, who has been the nation's top-ranked bowler four times since 1982 and was named the best bowler on the duckpin professional circuit three times.

"A top duckpin bowler could give a leading big-pin bowler a good go in tenpins, but a big-pin guy couldn't compete with a good duckpin bowler."

Hurt by Property Values Why did duckpins lose ground in Connecticut, particularly Fairfield County?

"First of all, tenpin operators began putting up these beautiful bowling establishments that were family oriented," said Mr. Lavers.

"At the same time, a lot of the duckpin alleys had been allowed to deteriorate. Then property values began to soar, especially in Fairfield County, and many duckpin owners sold out to developers. Network television of the pro tour also gave the game tremendous exposure. And people liked the higher scores. Meanwhile, duckpin operators did nothing to market or promote our game."

A duckpin ball is only about 5 inches in diameter, and its maximum weight is 3 pounds, 12 ounces, compared with a tenpin ball, which is approximately 9 inches in diameter and weighs up to 16 pounds.

"It's almost impossible for a little kid to bowl a tenpin ball with three or four fingers in the holes of the ball," said Mr. Lavers, noting that duckpin balls have no holes. "

I remember duckpin bowling a couple times as a kid in Connecticut.  And went several times here in Wisconsin, I believe in the Mequon area.

Why am I bringing this up? 

I found an article on America’s Swankiest Bowling Alley’s.  I’ve never been much of a bowler…I like outside sports.  But the article just brought back some memories.

If you want to check out the only duckpin bowling left in Wisconsin, it’s at Koz's Mini Bowl/Bar, 2078 S. 7th Street  (414) 383-0560.

And now, check out the reason for this blog...


America's Swankiest Bowling Alley's

HERE

Brett Favre being sacked by the Patriots’ Adalius Thomas in the fourth quarter. Running back Leon Washington was unable to stop Thomas   By GREG BISHOPPublished: September 14, 2008

"If one play typified the game, it came when Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas chased down Favre, grabbed his new jersey and spun him toward the end zone like a bully torturing the new kid. Favre lost 20 yards on the sack."



The Cast Changes, But You Know The Ending





Jarrett Baker / Getty Images
Jets quarterback Brett Favre didn't have as good a day on Sunday as he did in New York's opener, getting sacked here by New England's Adalius Thomas in the fourth quarter of a 19-10 loss to the Patriots.

"At one point, they had a first and goal at the three-yard line, and -- instead of letting Favre pass -- the Jets ran it into the line three times and kicked a field goal. It was more than curious. It was crazy. Then again, Favre didn't question the decision."



Patriots Go About Winning Differently

Packers' Rodgers Beats Lions with 3 TDs

 

 

 

What's in a name? 

That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;      

                         William Shakespeare




Maybe They Should Name It Boomgaard…maybe not. 

But they may as well.

It’s another example of the backfired attempt of the Zizzo Group and the Franklin-Oak Creek 27^th Street Steering Committee to shove a moniker down the throats of the public without thinking of the overall reaction of who they are trying to attract in the first place…the public.

But this is so much worse.  This reeks of a lack of compassion and overflows with denial.

 

 "Football fans and Jewish groups are outraged over the prospect of a new Giants and Jets stadium being named for German insurer Allianz because of its Nazi ties in World War II.The company insured the Auschwitz death camp and had a chief executive serving in Hitler's cabinet. The company is on the short list of those vying to slap their name on the Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey via a lucrative sponsorship deal.

MYERS: JETS, GIANTS DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

The possibility of what some saw as a former Third Reich enabler getting its name on their ballpark has some Big Blue and Gang Green fans vowing boycott. "

Read about it HERE

and  HERE

 

"One thing is pretty certain: The NFL's next champion will be crowned on Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, site of Super Bowl XLIII. Beyond that, there are plenty of unanswered possibilities to ponder as the NFL's 89th season begins. USA TODAY tackles 10 questions … albeit without the help of a crystal ball. "





Aaron Rodgers during the 2008 preseason




Who will win more games in 2008? Jets QB Brett Favre, left, or his replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers?

Read USA Today's

What lies ahead in the NFL: Ten questions to answer in 2008


HERE






 

I’ll admit, I don’t know much anything about the Cincinnati Bengal's Chad Johnson #85 except for what I heard today, and that just made me say, whoa!

He has officially changed his name to Ocho Cinco?  I had to see what was up with that and found an article saying he had been trying to wear the "name" on his jersey.  He would pay massive fines if he continued to do so.  The only official way to get by with that would be to legally change his name. 

Well, he did just that.


Meet Mr. Ocho Cinco

"A lot of people look at Chad Johnson and say he's crazy and he does a lot of stuff, but I don't think people really understand how smart I really am," Johnson said. "So come Sept. 7, I believe when we play the Baltimore Ravens, I think that's the game, there's a surprise for everybody -- for everybody. When I say something, it is what it is, just enjoy it. Because it's going to last 16 weeks, plus some more."

Read the article HERE

Major League Baseball changes as we know it tomorrow.

It’s called Instant Replay….

Granted, it will be used on a limited basis, and that’s a good thing.

Baseball is not quite the same as other sports that use instant replay.

The umpire is making his call at the plate.

And yes, he has made some bad calls.

What’s a baseball game without a few boos and catcalls aimed at the ump, anyway?

It’s the American way at a baseball game…as American as apple pie.

The Boston Globe’s Nick Carardo has this to say…


“An old major league umpire friend feels that, with instant replay off and running in Major League Baseball as of tomorrow, momentum will mount so that everything in dispute eventually is reviewed. He thinks that once this thing starts, it's going to be a runaway freight train. The first time a bad call is made in a World Series game on a bang-bang play at the plate, what do you think will happen?

Manager X will cry, "We have the technology; why didn't we review it and get the call right?"

And he'd be correct.

It's like saying we have a cure for the common cold, but we're only going to use part of it on sniffles. Coughs and sore throats will not be cured. Fact of the matter is, none of this should have been introduced in the first place. Have umpires done that poor a job in the history of baseball that we have to introduce technology to do part of their jobs? And why does it have to be introduced in late August? Was there a hue and cry for replay that I missed somewhere?”

With the announcement by commissioner Bud Selig yesterday that a replay system will be implemented - for "boundary calls" only - all of a sudden the game is dramatically changing with a little more than a month of the regular season left.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but not all aspects of life and sport are better off with it.Pretty soon robots will replace umpires.

The ball will have a device in it that beeps when it's thrown out of the strike zone. The strike zone will be defined by lasers that paint a box for the pitcher. Runners will have tracking devices on their uniforms to detect whether they've reached the base before the ball.

There are all sorts of possibilities, I suppose. But before this technology was introduced, those crazy things weren't remotely possible. Now who knows?”
 

Me?

I’m still miffed about instant replay being allowed in the Little League World Series, whether it was used or not. 

I don’t want to see it in Major League Baseball. 

But I’m not the one making the calls.

Read the Boston Globe article HERE

 

 

If you had to name the greatest Olympic track and field athletes of all time, who would you choose?  Of course you would have to do some research.  But I'm sure you have a few great moments in Olympic history that come to mind.  And I'm sure you have a few sports that are your favorites. 

I prefer the Pole Vault, Shot Put and Marathon for individual events.

From Times Online ~Calvin Schulman

Four years ago for Games in Athens, I devised a points system to rank the leading track and field athletes in the history of the Olympics. This year, the list has been updated and revised to include all the discontinued events that were left out in 2004. The inclusion of such events as the standing long jump and 56-pound weight throw has made a dramatic impact on the top 100 rankings and produced a surprise athlete in the No 1 position. Of course, it is impossible to compare the athletes of the early Games against the professionals of the modern era and such legends as Dick Fosbury and Bob Beamon, who made such dramatic impacts on the sport, are missing because they appeared in only one Games. But that's the beauty of a list - it gets people talking ... and fuming. The points system

All top-eight finishers in track and field events have been awarded points according to the following scale: 1st 12pts; 2nd 9pts; 3rd 7pts; 4th 5pts; 5th 4pts; 6th 3pts; 7th 2pts; 8th 1pt.

Competitors in relays and team events are given half the points: 1st 6pts; 2nd 4.5pts; 3rd 3.5pts; 4th 2.5pts; 5th 2pts; 6th 1.5pts; 7th 1pt; 8th 0.5pt.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


One of my favorites?  "Babe" Didrikson  #74.  She was some athlete.

Mildred Didrikson (United States) 33pts
born 1911 Port Arthur, Texas; died 1956 Galveston, Texas

Gold 80m hurdles 1932; javelin 1932
Silver high jump 1932

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See if any of your favorites are included here in pages and in a picture slide show:

Top 100 Olympic Athletes

 

Yeah, it's really getting tiring.

Not only that, it's a distraction to other teams now....

Does that seem right?

It doesn't seem right to me.

You retired Brett...now you're back...just get on with your life...

Photo by Mark Cunningham/Getty Images



Hip-Joint Degeneration

Modern Comeback: Jason Isringhausen
Hip resurfacing before the 2007 season allowed the St. Louis Cardinals’ relief pitcher go from “couldn’t stand” to “elite closer” in six months.

Future Fix: In nearly every sport, a hip injury has been the kiss of death for an athlete. Stem cells offer the best (if distant) hope for fixing hobbled hips, but advances in minimally invasive surgery have made the once-complex hip replacement almost routine. Stronger materials and improvements to MRI scanners and 3-D computer modeling have also led to better-fitting, stronger prosthetics. The biggest advance for quicker recoveries is a patch-job procedure called resurfacing, in which doctors use tiny tools to smooth rough spots in the joint and coat it with a low-friction ceramic substance. In the lab, researchers are developing and testing motor-oil-like lubricants that doctors will inject into the hip post-surgery to reduce pain from friction and further speed recovery.


Visit POP SCI for Beyond Repair

How new medical tech gets injured stars off the disabled list and onto the field

and eleven more athletes stories....

HERE



Also check out POP SCI Field for info on cutting edge stadiums of tommorow

POP SCI Field - HERE

A black bear makes his way across the 13th fairway during the second round of the
U.S. Senior Open on Friday. Nobody was harmed, and neither was the bear.
John Mummert / AP


Talk about getting back to nature!  If you go golfing in the Denver area, be prepared for just about any type of local wildlife to grace you with its presence.  Worrisome enough would have been watching out of the corner of your eye for a mountain lion to come charging out of the woods.  Now golfers in Colorado need to be on the alert for black bears.


"Although tournament officials were prepared to tranquilize the animal and stop play were it to become aggressive or spooked, after several minutes the bear crawled through a drainage pipe on the ninth hole that leads to the West Course, then went through another drainage pipe and into the wilderness, leaving unnerved galleries and golfers behind.USGA spokesman Pete Kowalski said wildlife experts were called in and would be on the course throughout the rest of the tournament in case the bear or its chums decide to return for another look around."

Black Bear Plays Through At U.S. Senior Open