Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UsaSportsBlogs/~3/eqembPZ88QE/super-bowl-xlv-wrte-head-to-head.html
Monday, 31 October 2011
Body Checking In Youth Hockey Causes More Brain Injuries
The findings, published online in the journal Open Medicine, add to the growing evidence that bodychecking holds greater risk than benefit for youth and support widespread calls to ban the practice.
According to the researchers, led by Cusimano, director of the Injury Prevention Research Centre at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, the odds of visiting an emergency department due to a brain injury from bodychecking increased significantly among all minor hockey players after Hockey Canada relaxed bodychecking rules in the 1998/1999 season. At that time, the organization allowed, for the first time, body contact among 9 and 10 year-olds in the Atom division.
The team examined the records of 8,552 male youth 6-17 years-old who attended one of five emergency departments in Ontario for hockey related injuries that occurred before and after the rule change. Researchers found more than half of hockey-related injuries were a result of bodychecking. What's more, the risk of a head or neck injury, including concussions, increased across all minor hockey divisions.
"Our work confirmed the fact that body checking is the most common cause of injury in hockey. While proponents argue lowering the age for bodychecking helps players learn how to properly bodycheck and reduces injuries at older ages, our study clearly showed the opposite ? the risk of all injuries and especially, brain injuries, increases with exposure to bodychecking," Cusimano said. "While all age groups showed increases in injuries, the youngest were the most vulnerable and that bodychecking puts youth unnecessarily at the risk of the long-term effects of brain injuries, such as cognitive and social-behavioural problems."
"Ice hockey is a sport with great potential to increase the health of individuals but practices that increase the risk for the vast majority of players must be minimized," Cusimano adds. "It is now very clear that there is no benefit to any one or any group to continue to allow bodychecking. Hockey organizers, sponsors, the media, coaches, trainers, and players and parents must come together to advocate for multifaceted approaches that include changes to the rules to reduce the risk of injury."
Source: St. Michael's Hospital and Michael D Cusimano, Nathan A Taback, Steven R McFaull, Ryan Hodgins, Tsegaye M Bekele, Nada Elfeki; Canadian Research Team in Traumatic Brain Injury and Violence. Effect of bodychecking on rate of injuries among minor hockey players. Open Medicine, Vol 5, No 1 (2011)
See also: New Return-To-Play Guidelines For Sports Concussions and Youth Sports Concussions Double In Last Ten Years
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West Virginia?s departure is final nail in Big East?s coffin
The Mountaineers are off to the Big 12, leaving the� fading Big East a shell of its former dominant self
SHANE SMITH
With news of West Virginia collegiate sports jumping the sinking Big East ship to the Big 12, it is now inevitable that the Big East Football is going to plummet into the depths of the [...]
SHANE SMITH
With news of West Virginia collegiate sports jumping the sinking Big East ship to the Big 12, it is now inevitable that the Big East Football is going to plummet into the depths of the [...]
Week eight NFL picks
Arizona at Baltimore- Baltimore Minnesota at Carolina- Carolina Jacksonville at Houston- Houston Miami at NY Giants- NY Giants New Orleans at St. Louis- New Orleans Indianapolis at Tennessee- Tennessee Detroit at Denver- Denver Washington at Buffalo- Buffalo Cincinnati at Seattle- Cincinnati Cleveland at San Fransisco- San Fransisco New England at Pittsburgh- New England Dallas at [...]
Source: http://marylandsportsblog.com/2011/10/week-eight-nfl-picks/
TIBET vs. BHUTAN ? October 31, 2007
In a historic match, Tibet played against Bhutan (ranked 197 in FIFA as of 2007). Bhutan dominated the first half, scoring two excellent goals, with a strong forward. The mixed crowd, waving both Bhutanese and Tibetan national flags rallied to support their respective nations.
Trailing 2 goals, TNFA adjusted their rotation in the second half. Main defense (No. 18) Kegen, moved to midfield as forward (No. 10) covered defense. With this strategic change by coach Jigme, Sonam Rinchen (No. 8) scored on a right corner freekick from nearly 30 yards. As the Tibetan Team quickly gained their new momentum, Kegen (No. 18) set up a brilliant cross for Tsering (No. 6), who headed a goal within minutes of the first one. Tsering "Afrie" had scored 2 days earlier against Manipur. The game went into overtime but was called off after 15 minutes as the light around the stadium grew too dim for the players. The game would be rescheduled within 2 days.
- mj
Please check back later for more photos and videos of Team Tibet's goal against Bhutan.
Trailing 2 goals, TNFA adjusted their rotation in the second half. Main defense (No. 18) Kegen, moved to midfield as forward (No. 10) covered defense. With this strategic change by coach Jigme, Sonam Rinchen (No. 8) scored on a right corner freekick from nearly 30 yards. As the Tibetan Team quickly gained their new momentum, Kegen (No. 18) set up a brilliant cross for Tsering (No. 6), who headed a goal within minutes of the first one. Tsering "Afrie" had scored 2 days earlier against Manipur. The game went into overtime but was called off after 15 minutes as the light around the stadium grew too dim for the players. The game would be rescheduled within 2 days.
- mj
Please check back later for more photos and videos of Team Tibet's goal against Bhutan.
Source: http://tibetsports.blog.com/2007/11/02/tibet-vs-bhutan-october-31-2007/
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Websites to help promote your Sports Articles
1. Yardbarker 2. Ballhype 3. Digg 4. Mixx 5. Yahoo Buzz 6. Faniq 7. Ultimate football Network 8. Stumbleupon 9. Propeller All these sites allow you to submit articles.� Keep in mind that most of these sites are social networks so you want to make friends with other people on these sites as they are [...]
Source: http://sportsbloghelp.com/2009/02/websites-to-help-promote-your-sports-articles/
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Week 8 Picks (Against the Spread)
JIM RUBERA
(Rubera writes for The Spop)
Last Week: 6-6-1� /� Overall: 51-47-5� /� Best Bets: 8-9-2� / Monday Night: 4-4 /� Against Cincy: 1-5
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Houston
Gotta like the way the Jags handled themselves the last two games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. �The short week and road trip will be a factor and I [...]
(Rubera writes for The Spop)
Last Week: 6-6-1� /� Overall: 51-47-5� /� Best Bets: 8-9-2� / Monday Night: 4-4 /� Against Cincy: 1-5
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Houston
Gotta like the way the Jags handled themselves the last two games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. �The short week and road trip will be a factor and I [...]
Source: http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/10/week-8-picks-against-the-spread.html
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The Sports Wrap- Saturday 29th October
*Cricket*
England have won the first Twenty20 against India with 8 balls remaining. India made a disappointing 9/120, and England chased it down...
England have won the first Twenty20 against India with 8 balls remaining. India made a disappointing 9/120, and England chased it down...
Source: http://www.sticksports.com/community/blogs/ag6858/sports-wrap-saturday-29th-october-1043/
Soccer Goals and Nets
For practice shooting, world-class games plus a number of ability contests browse our huge selection of official and non-official soccer systems to find the right match for your particular soccer goal needs. We offer a top-quality inventory of regulation size 8′ x 24′ x 4′ x 10′ soccer nets to provide a premium quality [...]
Week 8 Picks (Against the Spread)
JIM RUBERA
(Rubera writes for The Spop)
Last Week: 6-6-1� /� Overall: 51-47-5� /� Best Bets: 8-9-2� / Monday Night: 4-4 /� Against Cincy: 1-5
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Houston
Gotta like the way the Jags handled themselves the last two games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. �The short week and road trip will be a factor and I [...]
(Rubera writes for The Spop)
Last Week: 6-6-1� /� Overall: 51-47-5� /� Best Bets: 8-9-2� / Monday Night: 4-4 /� Against Cincy: 1-5
Jacksonville +10.5 @ Houston
Gotta like the way the Jags handled themselves the last two games against Pittsburgh and Baltimore. �The short week and road trip will be a factor and I [...]
Source: http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/10/week-8-picks-against-the-spread.html
Purchasing Power Parity and Real Exchange Rates
In an earlier post, I talked about purchasing power through the lens of Beerflation. (Again, hat tip to James at the Supine Bovine.) There, purchasing power was used to compare the relative values of the minimum wage in the past to the minimum wage now. Another way we can use purchasing power is to compare [...]
Source: http://thebadeconomist.com/2011/03/13/purchasing-power-parity-and-real-exchange-rates/
Workouts Have Gone Digital With TrainingPeaks.com
 |
| Gear Fisher, CEO of Peaksware |
Gear Fisher recognized this trend way back in 1999, before there were iPods, iPhones, Nike+ or wearable GPS. He started his new Peaksware company with a simple website, which has now grown into TrainingPeaks.com, one of the leading online exercise management tools.
I caught up with Gear, now CEO of Peaksware, recently to discuss this wave of digital sweat tracking and get his thoughts on the future of exercise.
Dan Peterson: There seems to be a data revolution going on in the fitness world, between
heart rate monitors, GPS, Nike+, and Web-based activity apps. How did we get
here and what's next on the horizon?
Gear Fisher: I think that?s very true, it?s been growing for 10 years, but really only the last 3 or 4
have we seen a major uptick in acceptance. When we started the company in 1999,
there were only a handful of companies with downloadable devices. What?s more, few
people knew what to do with the data. Today, with Garmin, Timex, iPhone and Android
apps, and the other big players, they?ve made it easier and easier to get the data off the
devices and into the cloud for analysis... and with amazing accuracy. Consumers now
expect a fitness device to be downloadable if they pay over $200.
With smartphones, its even easier to collect GPS data and get it to the cloud for storage, sharing and
analysis. In the future, it?ll get even easier, I would not be surprised to see implanted
sensors that monitor additional metrics like body temperature, hydration, hunger,
blood sugar, real-time aerodynamics.. in fact, its happening now! Tracking workouts,
monitoring nutrition, making fitness social, working with a coach, these are all key
components for an emerging market which is just now getting started. It?s gaining mass
market appeal and adoption because the big players like Nike are on-board too.
We?ve carved out a niche in the high-end endurance athlete and coach market, but
we?ll see the same approach trickle down to many other verticals. Like Formula 1 or
NASCAR, our customers are the early adopters of new ideas in managing fitness and
nutrition via the internet.
TrainingPeaks has really served as the test-bed for these new ideas. Some of these ideas are now starting to reach the mass market, just like the technology in the race car?s alternator makes its way to the production line a few years later. It?s an understatement to say that the fitness industry, and its broader umbrella, the health care industry, needs a major revamp, and we?re going to be part of that
revolution.
Dan: Professional coaches and elite athletes understand how to turn all of this
data into useful knowledge for performance improvement, but do you think the
weekend warriors are also ready and able to make sense of it?
Gear: Yes, they are definitely eager and and interested. This is where we come in. Making
sense of data, using it as a motivator and to make decisions going forward. There are
a few books like Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan?s ?Training and Racing with a Power
Meter? that focus entirely on making sense of the data. We?ve worked hard at ?boiling
down? how a workout affected your physiology. This is the essence of Training Stress
Score (TSS). Providing a single, meaningful number for every workout that can be
compared and shared. But even without hard-core analysis, it?s fun to see a map of
your route and to replay and review what your output was like for a particular climb,
sprint or interval. There are a LOT of enhancements coming in the near future that
will continue to ?make sense of the data? and provide meaningful daily insight into your
workouts and nutrition.
Dan: Can personal fitness coaches play a role in turning this data into improvement
for the average athlete?
Gear: Absolutely! Coaches are particularly adept at not only analyzing the data, but
deciding how it affects training and making decisions as to how an athlete should adjust
their training based on the information. A coach is a ?data and motivation? professional.
Many age-groupers use coaches for the sheer benefit of time savings. There?s a lot
to learn, and a coach makes training time efficient and prevents mistakes. There is no
computer system that can provide you better results than working with a coach, in fact,
we often say the best way to use our software is with a coach.
Dan: What was the initial inspiration for Peaksware and its flagship product,
TrainingPeaks? How far have you come in meeting those initial goals?
Gear: In 1999, Joe and Dirk Friel asked me to build a web-based training log to replace their email/fax/paper system which they were using for their coaching company.They had some early Filemaker Pro database tools, but it was clunky and nearly
impossible to get reliable and regular information back from clients. After I built the
initial web app, I proposed that we open up the systems to the public and start a
subscription business whereby athletes and coaches could use the same tools. That
started ?TrainingBible.com?. Essentially, it was an online version of Joe?s very popular
TrainingBible book series. We then realized that if we made the systems more agnostic,
any coach with any methodology could use it. From there, we grew organically and I
quit my job about 2 years later to begin working on the company full time.
Since then, it?s been pretty remarkable, we have 30 people now, over 10 different software products
across desktop, mobile and web, and we?re growing faster than ever. It was a ?right
time with the right product and right team? sort of moment, I?m lucky and proud to be
a part of it. It also feels like we?ve really just started. I often say that we are a 10 year
old start-up, because there is so much opportunity ahead and the industry is being
redefined continuously.
Dan: With so many sources of training data available to athletes, it seems
TrainingPeaks has positioned itself as the hub that can integrate all of these
different formats into a single repository. Is the training industry starting to agree
on some standards to make this easier?
Gear: It is certainly core to our strategy to be the Switzerland of training data and training
methodology. We work with nearly all device manufacturers and even have as one of
our marketing slogans that we are the ?One Source? to monitor, analyze and plan your
fitness and nutrition. As for a data standard? Not really. There is some consolidation,
but every hardware vendor seems to want to do their own thing. I have seen some
pretty good usage of the ?.fit? binary file format that Dynastream (owned by Garmin) has
created and made available to the world. Even our own ?.pwx? format has become fairly
popular and adopted by a few other software and hardware products. However, we?re
really not close to a standard.
Where I do see some conformance is in how data is saved on devices. More and more devices are simply acting like mass storage devices that can plugin via USB to any computer, instead of using proprietary drivers and such for custom downloading. Even better are those that simply send the data to the cloud and make the data available via an API. Currently, we support over 25 different file
formats through our own API, and we routinely see data from over 90 devices, so there
is still a lot of legacy and fragmentation.
Dan: Will there someday be a single device we can wear that collects everything
and feeds coaching information back to us in real-time out on the road?
Gear: There already is! A few different iPhone/Android apps that focus on real-time data
collection are already available today. SRM, the German power meter company, does
a real-time data feed during the Tour de France every year, allowing viewers to see
GPS location, heart rate, power, cadence, speed of many riders. I?m sure we?ll see a
lot more progress in this area too. It is somewhat hampered because of mobile phone
network latency/bandwidth issues and lack of mobile network coverage, but it?s an
exciting area that we are interested in.
Dan: Peaksware recently purchased the SprintGPS suite of apps to integrate with
TrainingPeaks. What does this mean for TrainingPeaks users?
Gear: We are committed to having world-class software for every screen, whether that?s
your smartphone, tablet or 24? monitor on your desk at the office. And, we want all of
our apps for every screen to integrate with each other seamlessly. These apps gave
us a platform to build out some killer new features and products, and we are already
well under way to extend them to Android. For a few dollars, customers can get the
apps and see what collecting fitness data is all about. A majority of our customerbase
still has no downloadable device. When you collect and add your own data
into TrainingPeaks and see the calendar and charts light up, it?s a very powerful and
compelling emotional connection to our software.
Our mobile apps make it incredibly easy to get data to the cloud. Because smartphones are truly computers in your pocket, they really open up a world of opportunity and we want to be there to provide those tools to our customers. We are seeing huge adoption of mobile, not only through
native apps, but also through our web-app, which can be accessed from nearly any
smartphone. I?m quite certain that we?ll have many customers in the future that
don?t even bother to use the traditional ?browser? interface from a PC or Mac, they?ll
interact with their data entirely through mobile, and we?ll make sure it?s a world-class
experience.
Dan: For the first two days that the new apps went on sale in March, Peaksware
donated all proceeds, over $5000, to three charities, American Cancer Society?s
Determination, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society?s Team in Training and
theNational Multiple Sclerosis Society?s BikeMS programs. What inspired this
gift?
Gear: When we acquired the apps from the original company, we thought we?d be able to
simply transfer the apps from the their iTunes store to our own iTunes store. However,
because of a legal snafu, Apple prevented us from doing so. It meant that all existing
SprintGPS users would have to obtain the apps all over again from our store in order
to continue receiving support and upgrades. Not ideal and a bit of a pain for existing
customers. So, when trying to decide how to manage this snafu, we tried to turn
lemons into lemonade, we didn?t want to force people to buy the apps all over again,
but if we had to, we thought it would be a great opportunity to raise money for charity.
We didn?t want the money from customers that had already paid for the app. Because
we didn?t have any supportable method to make the apps free again, we felt this was
a reasonable solution and our customers would be understanding of the position we
were in. So, although customers would have to re-buy the apps, we made the price 99
cents and donated it all to charity for the initial launch. It was a good way to raise some
money for these great partners of ours.
Dan: Living near the gorgeous Colorado scenery, do you sometimes head out for a
run or a ride with absolutely no data-gathering devices?!
Gear: Well, in fact, I do.. but I hate when it happens. Usually its because one of 10 different
devices that I have is not charged, I forgot it at the office or I can?t find it. Tracking my
data is a motivator for me, and it?s just so easy to record what you did using one of our
compatible devices.
For me, I?ve long given up my competitive racing past, and am
really out to just maintain fitness and have a good time with friends, and I enjoy looking
back at my workouts. It?s almost to the point where if I do a workout without a device, it
feels like it didn?t count! I need that motivation to get me out the door, and the fear of a
blank white TrainingPeaks calendar is what gets me out the door on many mornings!
Dan: Thanks, Gear!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/80PercentMental/~3/RULmy5m-kq8/workouts-have-gone-digital-with.html
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Comment on Oleson hating life on the bench (Basketball) by Gaspari
Hey, I recently started reading your blog ? thank you for the good work. Just wanted to let you know that it?s not showing up properly on the BlackBerry Browser (I have a Tour). Either way, I?m now subscribed to the RSS feed on my PC, so thanks!
Source: http://www.alaskasportshall.org/blog/?p=856&cpage=1#comment-5129
Documentary Film on Senna
Posted by Website Introductions: A documentary film premiered in Canada showed the life of Senna, Brazil's greatest formula one racer, and one of the greats in the world racing scene. Read more: Documentary Film on Senna [click]
Tags: formula one, senna. Comments: 0.
Tags: formula one, senna. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/formula_one/20110901-051846-Documentary-Film-on-Senna
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Still not jumping on the Tim Tebow bandwagon
SCOTT JACOBS
Let’s just get this out there — Tim Tebow is not a franchise QB. Not yet at least. And he’s not even close.� No win over the ’so bad it’s actually kind of funny’ now 0-6 Dolphins will change my mind on that. Especially when for three quarters plus he took the term suckitude [...]
Let’s just get this out there — Tim Tebow is not a franchise QB. Not yet at least. And he’s not even close.� No win over the ’so bad it’s actually kind of funny’ now 0-6 Dolphins will change my mind on that. Especially when for three quarters plus he took the term suckitude [...]
Source: http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/10/still-not-jumping-on-the-tim-tebow-bandwagon.html
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SOCCER SPORTS CAMP
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In the summer of 2009 I took these photographs of the wonderful sports camp at my local University. I use a fun little blue colored VGA Carabiner Camera made by Argus called the bean sprout. It was a fantastic day and everybody was in a great mood. It seemed like there was about 400 or 500 people at the event.
I like to watch girls play soccer. I mostly like Big Ten Soccer, the girls here ranged from about 5 years old up to about 13 years old. They were highly energetic and were all having such a good time. It helped that the weather was really good and there weren't really any negative parents or coaches.
I highly recommend that everyone check out your local community for fun sports camps, youth leagues or anything that is fun and safe for young people to get involved with. These camps provide the kids with memories that last a lifetime.
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/ms2/001/blog/index.blog?entry_id=1399440
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A Perfect Country for Boxers
Posted by Website Introductions: The Philippines is home to champions and various people have reached that international recognition of fame and success, one of whom is Manny Pacquiao. This humble boxer from General Santos City is literally a celebrity, politician and icon to children and adults alike was a nobody back in his early days but worked his way up. Now he crafted this
Tags: martial arts, boxing icon. Comments: 0.
Tags: martial arts, boxing icon. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/martial_arts/20111015-21106-A-Perfect-Country-for-Boxers
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Friday, 28 October 2011
Running Out Of Memory
 |
| Diane Van Deren |
While the idea of running a marathon seems life-changing in a ?bucket list? kind of way, the drudgery of a serious training plan can generate some second thoughts. Even though the details of the weekday workouts vary, the one staple of most plans is the weekend ?long run.? Consisting of progressively more miles as race day nears, these runs of 15+ miles train not only the legs and heart but also the brain. Breaking through mental barriers and learning how to deal with fatigue helps the marathoner talk back to his or her body and helps them get over the inevitable psychological wall during the race.
In fact, our brains can offer us too much information during those hours on the road. Knowing that you just started mile three of an 18 mile training run can be just as difficult as approaching mile 15 exhausted but having to dig deep for three more. What if you could turn your brain off and just deal with the current moment; no looking back or forward? It is something Diane Van Deren lives with every day.
One of the world?s best ultra-runners (as in races of 50 miles or more), Van Deren puts in more miles on her feet during a week than many cyclists do in the saddle. She is a veteran and champion of some of the world?s toughest 50 mile, 100 kilometer and 100 mile races.
But Van Deren fights her own personal battle every day. In 1997, after suffering for years from epileptic seizures, she made the tough decision to undergo a lobectomy. By isolating and removing a damaged kiwi-size portion of the right temporal lobe of her brain, the seizures stopped but so did significant pieces of her short term memory. Beyond just embarrassing lapses of names and faces, Van Deren would lose keys, directions and experiences before they could be filed away into her long term memory archive.
During her struggles with seizures, the former pro tennis player would escape to running in the foothills of the Rockies as this would ward off an oncoming episode. Now, she no longer runs from the attacks and instead runs for the joy of competition against the best in the world. Yet, her new battle is navigation and making her way home since any recollection of her path is gone after a few more strides. She uses a system of ?bread crumbs? and clues to find her way back.
The fascinating aspect of her new memory condition is the lack of awareness of distance traveled and distance to go. There are no pre-planned workout distances that she dutifully fulfills until she?s reached that day?s goal. Of course, a GPS or pedometer could tell her how far she has gone, but she prefers the blissful ignorance of running only to the sound of her feet on the ground.
?It?s a kinesthetic melody that she hits,? Don Gerber, a clinical neuropsychologist at Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital in Englewood, Colo said in a New York Times piece. ?And when she hits it, she knows she?s running well.?
But does her lack of memory provide some type of advantage to her perception of fatigue? If you were on a 20 mile run, but did not know how far you had gone or how far you had to go, would your brain sense the same fatigue signals from your muscles?
In an in-depth Runner?s World article, several neuroscientists debated whether Diane?s lack of awareness of her effort increases her tolerance of pain. "It's a mental state," Gerber says. "You become enmeshed in what you're doing. It's almost Zen. She can run for hours and not know how long she's been going." Others argue that its not that simple. Dr. William Theodore, chief of the clinical epilepsy division at the National Institute of Health commented, "Certain parts of the brain are related to pain, but they're very deep structures. They're almost never involved in epilepsy surgery."
Still, imagine your peace if you were able to tune out the constant jabber of your inner voice telling you how you should feel based on objective data like miles or hours endured. For those that grew up in the Great White North, you might remember playing for hours in the winter snow, only to be told when you finally come in the house that it was -15 degrees outside. Without that data, you?re left to just your body?s messages about how you feel.
To get a sense of that peace, the incredible Radiolab podcast caught up with Van Deren last month for an interview but also to capture the soothing sound of her feet padding along a trail with a matching rhythm of breaths. Sometimes its worth it to turn off the iPod, the heart monitor and the GPS and just run, focused only on yourself.
In fact, our brains can offer us too much information during those hours on the road. Knowing that you just started mile three of an 18 mile training run can be just as difficult as approaching mile 15 exhausted but having to dig deep for three more. What if you could turn your brain off and just deal with the current moment; no looking back or forward? It is something Diane Van Deren lives with every day.
One of the world?s best ultra-runners (as in races of 50 miles or more), Van Deren puts in more miles on her feet during a week than many cyclists do in the saddle. She is a veteran and champion of some of the world?s toughest 50 mile, 100 kilometer and 100 mile races.
But Van Deren fights her own personal battle every day. In 1997, after suffering for years from epileptic seizures, she made the tough decision to undergo a lobectomy. By isolating and removing a damaged kiwi-size portion of the right temporal lobe of her brain, the seizures stopped but so did significant pieces of her short term memory. Beyond just embarrassing lapses of names and faces, Van Deren would lose keys, directions and experiences before they could be filed away into her long term memory archive.
During her struggles with seizures, the former pro tennis player would escape to running in the foothills of the Rockies as this would ward off an oncoming episode. Now, she no longer runs from the attacks and instead runs for the joy of competition against the best in the world. Yet, her new battle is navigation and making her way home since any recollection of her path is gone after a few more strides. She uses a system of ?bread crumbs? and clues to find her way back.
The fascinating aspect of her new memory condition is the lack of awareness of distance traveled and distance to go. There are no pre-planned workout distances that she dutifully fulfills until she?s reached that day?s goal. Of course, a GPS or pedometer could tell her how far she has gone, but she prefers the blissful ignorance of running only to the sound of her feet on the ground.
?It?s a kinesthetic melody that she hits,? Don Gerber, a clinical neuropsychologist at Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital in Englewood, Colo said in a New York Times piece. ?And when she hits it, she knows she?s running well.?
But does her lack of memory provide some type of advantage to her perception of fatigue? If you were on a 20 mile run, but did not know how far you had gone or how far you had to go, would your brain sense the same fatigue signals from your muscles?
In an in-depth Runner?s World article, several neuroscientists debated whether Diane?s lack of awareness of her effort increases her tolerance of pain. "It's a mental state," Gerber says. "You become enmeshed in what you're doing. It's almost Zen. She can run for hours and not know how long she's been going." Others argue that its not that simple. Dr. William Theodore, chief of the clinical epilepsy division at the National Institute of Health commented, "Certain parts of the brain are related to pain, but they're very deep structures. They're almost never involved in epilepsy surgery."
Still, imagine your peace if you were able to tune out the constant jabber of your inner voice telling you how you should feel based on objective data like miles or hours endured. For those that grew up in the Great White North, you might remember playing for hours in the winter snow, only to be told when you finally come in the house that it was -15 degrees outside. Without that data, you?re left to just your body?s messages about how you feel.
To get a sense of that peace, the incredible Radiolab podcast caught up with Van Deren last month for an interview but also to capture the soothing sound of her feet padding along a trail with a matching rhythm of breaths. Sometimes its worth it to turn off the iPod, the heart monitor and the GPS and just run, focused only on yourself.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/80PercentMental/~3/444hJc9QkCU/running-out-of-memory.html
Kemba?s gone, but UConn basketball is still loaded
Kemba Walker may have carried the Huskies to a national title, but an infusion of veterans and super blue chip recruits have UConn in position to dominate college hoops for years to come (including this season)
SHANE SMITH
The official start of college basketball is still a few weeks away, but with the recent release of the [...]
SHANE SMITH
The official start of college basketball is still a few weeks away, but with the recent release of the [...]
Source: http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/10/kembas-gone-but-uconn-basketball-is-still-loaded.html
Dry Shoes for Better Performance
Posted by Website Introductions: Shoes is a very important gear in any sports. Other than protecting the feet, shoes can also improve performance during any game. It could also affect your game if you don't take good care of it. Keep in mind that you should use clean shoes inside and out so you won't be having athlete's foot or any fungal problems. The article below have some
Tags: sports shoes, hygiene. Comments: 0.
Tags: sports shoes, hygiene. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/sports_shoes/20111016-053814-Dry-Shoes-for-Better-Performance-
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What Good is the Consumer Price Index, Anyway?
One of the first things people learn in their Intro Macro course is that prices change. Before we get into why that happens, let’s think about one of the other things we’ve already talked about: purchasing power and the associated concept, purchasing power parity. One way to measure purchasing power is to look at how [...]
Source: http://thebadeconomist.com/2011/03/14/what-good-is-the-consumer-price-index-anyway/
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The Big Waves of Montanita
Posted by Website Introductions: If your the type that enjoys the high waves and riding them, then a little town in Ecuador should be on must-go list of places to surf. The small village of Montanita in the Guyana Province in Ecuador. The waves here can rise up to three meters tall making it one of the most renown surfing mecca in the world. Regular competitions are also held
Tags: surfing, waves. Comments: 0.
Tags: surfing, waves. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/surfing/20110812-111229--The-Big-Waves-of-Montanita-
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Football Excels in Chile
Posted by Website Introductions: Football has been a famous sport in many countries in the world. Chile is also crazy about playing football. Many people would cheer and yell whenever they see football players in the football fields. The top three famous football teams in Chile are Universidad Catolica, Universidad de Chile, and Colo Colo. Though they were recently eliminated in
Tags: football, fifa. Comments: 0.
Tags: football, fifa. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/football/20110818-024615-Football-Excels-in-Chile
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Thursday, 27 October 2011
A Great Time to Go Surfing in Costa Rica
Posted by Website Introductions: Costa Rica is one of the best tourist destinations in the world. A lot of foreign tourists are enticed with the endless natural beauty of the place. There is an ideal place for those who want to go surfing. Tamarindo shows great waves that thrills a lot of surfers. It is even has a very active night life in there. It is also ideal to see wonderful
Tags: surfing, playa grande. Comments: 0.
Tags: surfing, playa grande. Comments: 0.
Source: http://blog.sports-buynow.com/surfing/20110815-044735-A-Great-Time-to-Go-Surfing-in-Costa-Rica
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Youth Baseball Pitchers Need To Stay Under 100 Innings Per Year
"The study proved a direct link between innings pitched in youth and adolescent baseball and serious pitching injuries. It highlights the need for parents and coaches to monitor the amount of pitching for the long-term success and health of these young athletes. We need to all work together to end the epidemic of youth sports injuries, and education through campaigns like STOP Sports Injuries is in excellent first step," said lead researcher, Glenn S. Fleisig, PhD, of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama.
The study followed 481 pitchers for 10-years (1999-2008). All were healthy, active youth (aged 9 to 14 years) baseball pitchers at the beginning of the study. Every year each participant was asked whether he played baseball in the previous 12 months and if so what positions, how many innings pitched, what types of pitches he threw, for what teams (spring, summer, fall, winter), and if he participated in baseball showcases. Each player was also asked every year if he had an elbow or shoulder injury that led to surgery or retirement from baseball.During the 10-year span, five percent of the pitchers suffered a serious injury resulting in surgery or retirement. Two of the boys in the study had surgery before their 13th birthday. Only 2.2 percent were still pitching by the 10th year of the study.
"It is a tough balancing act for adults to give their young athletes as much opportunity as possible to develop skills and strength without exposing them to increased risk of overuse injury. Based on this study, we recommend that pitchers in high school and younger pitch no more than 100 innings in competition in any calendar year. Some pitchers need to be limited even more, as no pitcher should continue to pitch when fatigued," said Fleisig.
The study also looked at the trend of playing pitcher and catcher in the same game, which did appear to double or triple a player's risk of injury but the trend was not statistically significant. The study also could not determine if starting curveballs before age 13 increases the risk of injury.
Source: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and K. E. Wilk, L. C. Macrina, G. S. Fleisig, R. Porterfield, C. D. Simpson, P. Harker, N. Paparesta, J. R. Andrews. Correlation of Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit and Total Rotational Motion to Shoulder Injuries in Professional Baseball Pitchers. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2010; DOI: 10.1177/0363546510384223
See also: Do Young Athletes Need Practice Or Genetics? A Conversation With Peter Vint and Breaking Curveballs And Rising Fastballs Are Optical Illusions
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