I hate the Yankees.  Well, I don’t hate them, I actually need them.  Having grown up in New England, it’s my birthright to despise all teams from the great state of New York.  Rivalries are a tremendous aspect of sports culture, and part of the reason teams are so exciting and watchable.  If the Yankees, or Yankee fans, weren’t around to hate the Red Sox, what would the world be like?  And would we ever have traded Babe Ruth?

But sports are more than what we see on the surface, team sports in particular.  They’re an expression of life that exists within a framework.  Some games have stricter limitations.  NBA Basketball, for example, works within four twelve-minute quarters.  Baseball, on the other hand, has no clock. The game is over when it’s over.  Or if it’s called because of rain. 

In order for teams to be successful, they need the ability to gel as a unit.  The players must understand their roles, and the truly exceptional must lead by example.  But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here.  Let’s begin at the beginning, naturally. I’ll use basketball as my model here.

The Frame

Basketball is played on a large wooden rectangle.  The two teams have 5 players each on the floor.  Time, as stated earlier, subsists of four twelve-minute quarters with a break at halftime. 

The Objective

To score more points than your opponent in the set arena within the established time-frame.

How do the good teams succeed?

1)      They understand the game.  They also understand that it is in fact a game. They allow themselves to have fun while working toward a common goal.

2)      They talk to one another.  Communication is key for any team to be successful.

3)      They keep their eyes open.  They stay focused.  They’re aware of what’s happening and, if they’re truly astute, they’ll see what’s coming.

4)      They listen.  #2 would be useless if not for #4.  But they have to be willing to listen.  Part of this means setting aside ego and personal achievement for the benefit of the team.

5)      They understand momentum.  You’ve got to strike while the iron is hot.  Pushing yourself and your team to a high level also means that you have to continue to work to stay there. Which segues nicely to the next-

6)      They work hard.  They’re not lazy. 

7)      They’re unselfish.  Having the ability to make your teammates better is an attribute you’ll often hear involving exceptional players.  Great teams are the unselfish teams.  A great player could score 50 points, but the team will have to work even harder to pull out a victory, and often times they’ll lose.  

8)      They’re balanced.  Keeping everyone active and involved provides a balanced attack.  It doesn’t allow the opposition’s defense to load up on a particular player.  Everyone, even the role players, is a viable threat.

9)      They know how to improvise.  Playing within a structure doesn’t always necessitate structured playing.  Sometimes you have to get creative, lest you become complacent, and predictable. I suspect many professional athletes would’ve been fantastic jazz musicians. 

10)   They enjoy playing with each other.  And while this may not seem like the case at times, Shaq and Kobe come to mind first, I’d be willing to bet that at the end of the day, and the end of a successful championship run, the moments of joy and camaraderie they shared on the court far outweigh the petty nonsense that often exists off of it.  Winning usually helps.  Losing teams fight a lot.

Apply this list to aspects of your own life. It can be as grand or as small as you’d like.   Friendships? Marriage?  Your career?  Who are the players and what is your role?  Most importantly, what is your goal? 

I often like to envision the entire world population as a team.  Our arena is our planet.  Our time-frame is our lifespan.  Our opposition?  Ourselves.  A paradox, for sure, and unfortunately, we’re a very hard team to beat.  But it’s our own self-rivalry that keeps up living, breathing, fighting, and vital.  We’re constantly trying to improve and evolve. 

Our Ultimate Goal?

Maybe we can’t quite see it clearly yet. But we know we’re working towards it.  The clock keeps ticking and once we’re too tired to play, the next generation will play for us.  And hopefully, if our team scores at least 100 points, everyone will get a free taco. 

But Davies is adamant there will be no favoritism and the door is wide open for whoever comes to the fore in the next eight months.

He said: “The past is only a benefit of having a guideline but absolutely no names have already been pencilled in.

“You have to have an open mind going into the next eight months. Previous reputations count for nothing – it is what these players do now that counts.

“The coaches will have their own professional reputation to uphold. They want success and they will pick the best players to ensure they get success.

“You can’t have any prejudices in selecting a team and if anything the Welsh players are going to have to work harder than others to make that point.

“There are players we think highly of. What we want to confirm is our belief in them but there are players we do not know much about who need to prove how good they are.

“It is impossible to say who will go and who won’t right now. There will be players we won’t have even considered that will make the trip. The season starts in earnest this weekend.”

While the 2005 Lions took 26 backroom staff to New Zealand, South Africa is set to be a close-knit affair.

All the coaches have worked alongside each other and Sir Clive Woodward’s 45-man squad will be trimmed to a more manageable 36, according the Davies.

Yet Davies, who toured in 1968 and 1971, maintains the streamlined coaching operation was not a direct response to the whitewash three years ago.

 “Our brief was to look for the best,” he said. “It worked out that Wales won the Grand Slam and they were all here.

“England were in transition, Ireland were in transition and Scotland were having a new coach established.

“It just so happened the people we had chosen had all been together, not collectively but at least individually.

“It is a good advantage that they know each other but we did not set out to do that.”

In the 1968 tour of South Africa, Davies injured his ankle in a warm up and missed the Tests.

Six years later, the Welsh winger rejected the chance to return. His was a ‘personal moral feeling’ to the apartheid state.

Now he returns as team manager – a wide-ranging role that goes from checking the baggage off the plane to chewing the fat with head coach Ian McGeechan.

He said: “The best way to describe my role is to quote Warren Gatland. When we were interviewing him for the Wales job one of the last questions I asked him was do you see yourself as a coach or a manager because those roles are not clear these days.

“He said ‘I see myself as having my feet on the grass not on the concrete.’

“I see the role as having my feet on the concrete. There will be people who will be able to get on with creating the team.

“My role is to be manager of the whole tour so the logistics – the security, the accommodation.

“I will be at arm’s length from the coaches but I like to think I can always add my two pence worth if I’m asked.”

Davies was speaking at the launch of the new Adidas British & Irish Lions shirt – a jersey every player in the home nations will be desperate to pull on for the first Test on June 20.

However talent alone will not be enough to book their seat on the plane according to Davies, who was a member of the only Lions team to win a series in New Zealand in 1971.

He added: “One of the main things we look for is character.

“There are players who will go out to South Africa who many would think will be in the test 22 but may find the Lions tour is too much for them – they can’t take the extra step.

“But while the tour is going on, there will be two or three players who really come to the fore and without expectation some will thrive on the opportunity and that is what character is.

“To me the pinnacle of a rugby player’s career is to pull on the Lions shirt.

“The design of that jersey changes every year but the meaning of it doesn’t. It is a magical concept and I know how desperate players from every home nation will be to get involved.”

In more ways than one, this was an exciting season of baseball. Over-shadowed by controversy were brilliant free agent signings by an all-star list of players having their names dragged through the mud by public opinion and circumstantial evidence. Not to say they aren’t using “something”, but how quickly forgotten is Babe Ruth, after he was traded from Boston to New York and set the standard of today’s power hitter. Everyone can be sure he was off his rocker, but steroids were unlikely.

Around the world, young athletes continue to look up to sports figures as role models with baseball being a main source of their admiration. Instead of counting sheep, children go to bed with visions of imitating players’ batting stances and pitching wind-ups, dreaming of someday joining them in the record books. How crushed were they when they found out their favorite player was on the juice? The guilty should take a cue from Giambi and fall on their swords and fess up before they ruin a sport that has seen more ups and downs than any other combined, and allow the game to move on so that a true championship team like the 75’ Reds can emerge.  

As warmer weather and chirping birds usher in each team’s pitchers and catchers for next season's spring training, nothing can be said for sure on the grand stage of major league baseball. Someone will no doubt hit fifty home runs but that’s probably it. If steroids are so rampant, then why aren’t more records being broken? Is this a case of a few bad apples or simple peer pressure to keep up with your competitors? By July, we will once again have noticed that you can take all the HGH you want but it’s no match for a perfectly tuned pitcher. Newly inducted Hall of Famer, Goose Gossage said it best, “Today, you can’t win without set-up men in the bullpen.”  

It’s fitting that pitchers and catchers report before the rest of the team, because there’s nothing more rewarding than old fashioned hard work, right? Or did pitchers really need to take steroids to strike out the likes of Chuck Knoblauch?  During the year there’s sure to be a few incredible feats mired by steroid use but once again, America will choose profit over pastime and turn a blind eye and enjoy the debacle as they always do. The sport has surely not seen the last of controversy but if baseball can make it through WWII and segregation then nothing is bigger than love for the game.

People say why would you spend 5000$ on a pedal bike, why not buy a car or a dirtbike. And I ask them what the price of happyness is. My dream is to go higher fast and further on bike then any man could have dreamed of. Its not only a hobbie its my life.

Just being in the open air by a lake or a river, calms my soul and stops me killing people. Only joking nothing can stop me killing people. I am a Doctor after all.

All joking aside fishing is a fantastic hobby that brings with it many benefits not least the ones listed above.

Where I live In the United Kingdom there are many lakes and rivers that contain my favourite fish the Carp. My friends and I spend many hours after this elusive fish often spending two or three days at the same venue.

After one long session without catching anything we contacted the owners of the lake as we hadn’t even seen any activity, which was unusual as Carp will often take from the surface.

I was shocked to learn that illegal netting had removed the majority of mature fish worth many thousands of pounds. After some investigation it turned out that Carp though not eaten in the United Kingdom as a rule, was quite a delicacy amongst our Eastern European cousins.

Please come to the United Kingdom our doors are open most immigrants are here to take advantage of our standard of living, which as a whole is very good.

You are welcome you can even sleep with my wife but please stop eating our Carp.

The premise of the game is one thing; the strategy of playing is another. When you first start playing you should concentrate on learning the rules, how to hold the racket, and how to hit and serve the ball. I'll start with the “singles” game. Singles play is between two people, we'll call them player one and player two.

To start the game the players decide on who will serve first. To do this they flip a coin or flip a racket. Flipping a racket means taking a racket and laying the wide end on the ground and twirling the handle similar to a spinning top. Let it fall while calling the letter on the tip of the racket. For instance, if you have a prince racket you'd call a “P” or a “d” or if you have a Wilson racket you'd call a “W” or an “M”. The player who calls the right letter gets to choose whether they get to serve or receive in the first game. The player who looses the call gets to choose which side they want to play on first. This can be your first strategic move as one side may face the sun, putting your opponent at an early disadvantage.

A tennis court is made up of a singles court (two small boxes and one large box - on each side of the net) and a doubles court (the singles court plus two lanes on either side of the singles court). The line farthest from the net is called the base line. The start of the game begins when player one serves from the base line.

The first serve must be served from the right side (deuce side) on the outside of the base line (off of the court) and the ball must land in the small box on the left side of the opposing side of the net. Don't worry, you get two tries. If you miss on the second try you have lost a point. The second serve moves player one to the opposite or left side of the baseline (the ad side). The serve must now be served into the small box on the right side of the opposing side of the net. Play goes on like so, alternating sides until one player wins the game.

Keeping up with your score takes some practice because points are recorded as Love, which equals zero, Five, which equals one, Fifteen, which equals two, Thirty, which equals three, Forty, which equals four, Deuce, which equals tie, Ad (Advantage) In, which means the person who is serving has the advantage and one more point wins the game in her favor, or Ad (Advantage) Out, which means the opposing player has the advantage and one more point wins the game in his favor. The tricky part comes when player one has an Ad In but looses the next point. When this happens the score reverts back to Deuce. A game can jump from Ad In to Deuce or Ad Out to Deuce many, many times.

So, if player one wins the first point the score is fifteen to love. If player two wins the next point the score is fifteen to fifteen. If player one wins the next point the score is thirty to fifteen. If player one wins the next point the score is forty to fifteen. If player two wins the next point the score is forty to thirty. If player two wins the next point the score is deuce. If player two wins the next point the score is ad out. If player one wins the next point the score goes back to deuce. If player one wins the next point the score is ad in. If player one wins the next point she wins the game.

Deuce is only possible when both players reach forty to forty. When the score is thirty to thirty or fifteen to fifteen it is not considered deuce.

Players change sides whenever the score equals an odd number. After the first game, players change sides because the number one is an odd number. Player two serves as player one did, from the deuce side into the small box, opposing side left.

Play continues until one player has won six games by at least a two game margin. If player one wins six games and player two has only won four games, player one wins the set but if player one has won six games and player two has won five, play continues. If player one is successful and wins with a score of seven to five the game is over in player one's favor. If player two successfully wins and the score reaches six to six a tie breaker must be played.

To play a tie breaker, the opposing player serves from his deuce side. He only gets one serve. In a tie breaker the points are counted as one, two, three, etc. The first player to reach seven is the winner. Players don't change sides until the total points equal six. Player two serves starting from the ad side for two serves and the play continues like so until one player reaches seven points.

Games are also counted as one, two, three, etc. The first player to reach six games, with a two game margin, has won the set. The match is won when two sets out of three (for women) and three sets out of five (for men) have been won.

This is just to get you started. There's so much more to tennis. My only caution, once you start it's hard to stop. Questions, corrections, or comments? Let us know.

There is something so extraordinary when you walk into a stadium. It could be your first trip or your tenth, it still leaves you breathless. So much to see and experience all in one beautiful location. The smell of the different vendor's wares, calls to your senses. The products with your favorite team and players make you reach for your money without thinking twice. Then there's the actual field. Grass so green it seems to have a life of it's own. All of the sights and sounds of others cheering on your team, reminding you, that your not alone.

Whether they end the day in joyous victory or a heart wrenching loss, you leave knowing that you have witnessed history. A home run, an amazing play in center field, or a pitcher's 1, 2, 3 inning you know that you were a part of this wonderful game's history. For long after the game is over, you'll retell those stories, and relive those moments as if they had just taken place.

With all that being said, I'd have to say my love of baseball is in the pace of the game. There are no clocks, no buzzers, and no instant replay. Baseball has a specific set of events that have to take place, before the game can come to an end. An inning can go as fast or as slow as it takes to get those three outs. I find that for a lack of better words; peaceful and somewhat indulgent. I truly love setting aside time and slowing down to enjoy this game, that has become an irreplaceable part of our history, and an even bigger part of our future.

Antonio Cromartie's catch was an interception across the middle of the field against the Indianapolis Colts. It was an amazing interception because of the fact that he caught the ball with one hand. He was also falling backwards in mid- air while making the catch. Behind him, Reggie Wayne watches helplessly from behind. In that same game, Antonio Cromartie had 2 other interceptions.

His coverage skills in regular defense are exceptional. He's 6-foot-2, 203 pounds with long arms that can be ideal for press coverage. He runs his 40-yard sprints in 4.3 seconds, but his style is smooth. And he loves the game. "He's a Deion Sanders type with more height,'' Chargers secondary coach Bill Bradley said.

So how does a Deion Sanders-type cornerback with unique talents slip to the 19th pick in the first round? Easy. He wasn't supposed to go that high. Some teams thought general manager A.J. Smith was crazy to "reach" for Cromartie, whose college experience was cut short by injuries. Now Smith looks like a genius.

Cromartie led the league with 10 interceptions, made the Pro Bowl and even garnered three votes for defensive player of the year. And he's only going to get better. Scouting reports indicate Cromartie will guess on some plays, which leaves him vulnerable to completions. He still can be beaten with some double moves, but he will improve in that area the more he plays.

On Sunday in Super Bowl XLI, the Giants stunned the New England Patriots, 17-14. The pivotal play was a not-to-be-believed 32-yard pass from Eli Manning to Tyree that kept the winning drive alive with 59 seconds remaining. Call it The Catch II. "I thought it was falling out," said Patriots' safety Rodney Harrison, who did his best to dislodge the ball. "It was a wacky, crazy play."

Tyree, a fifth-year player out of Syracuse, missed the regular-season opener with a fractured wrist and played predominantly on special teams. He finished the regular season with four catches (for zero touchdowns) and added a single catch in the three previous playoff games. He also lost his mother during the season. "It's been a difficult season," Tyree said. "Most people wouldn't understand.”

8. Fast Pace

The game of Hockey is played faster than any other sport. The tide of a game can change insanely fast. It only takes seconds for a goal to be scored. Hockey has less stoppage than any other mainstream sport. Basketball stops frequently, and football players take a 40-second break after every play.

Here is a video of 3 goals being scored in just a few minutes in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The momentum shift in these few minutes is epic.

If you're curious, the Canadians went on to win the series in game 7.

7. Team work

Hockey is a team sport. Yeah, so what? So are football, baseball, and basketball. In football, if everyone is not on the same page, a play will go bad and you lose a down. In basketball, if everyone isn't on the same page, the point guard will take it to the net himself. In baseball, you can just sit there, bored as hell, in the outfield, while your pitcher takes care of the would-be hitters.

In hockey, if your team is even the slightest bit off, a turn over can happen, and turnovers in Hockey, as in other sports, result often in goals. When you are playing a low scoring game such as hockey, a turnover goal can be a game ender.

Chief's goalie screws up the pass to his defenseman and pays the price. The amount of awareness and ability required to play a game together with your teammates should be held in higher respect in America.

6. The Hits

Yeah, there are some good football hits out there. Now just imagine if those players who were blind-sided by a linebacker were on ice! The carnage would be crazy! Too bad we don't have a sport like that.

Oh wait….

You'd think that America's thirst for violence on TV would make hockey the number one sport, eh?

5. The Fights

Are you kidding me? A brawl on the ice? I would watch that. Oh? It's called Hockey….Well, if you say so….

Although the NHL is trying to cut down on most fighting, it still happens. You can't crash into a team for 60 minutes and not evoke some anger. Here is a massive brawl between the Flyers and Senators. It lasts a few minutes and it's over….or is it?

Still not interested in hockey? Check out these clutch plays.

4. The Saves

Watching goalies stop pucks that can come at them at speeds over 100 miles per hour is impressive. Watching them go head over heels to make saves off of rebounds is flat out incredible. I'm not sure that there is any other sport out there that so much responsibility lies with one player, who gives so much to keep the rubber out of the net.

Could you do that?

3. The Goals

Ice skating is one thing, using a stick to rocket a hunk of rubber as hard as you can at a goal that is hardly larger than the goaltender is another thing altogether. Hockey players have to learn how to shoot both left and right handed, and behind the back (both ways again). Shooting left gives most players an advantage of shooting away from the goalies glove, but shot opportunities are not always available from the position you want them.

2. The History

Hockey has a rich, deep history, with great players such as Wayne Gretzky featured in this clip. NHL started in 1917 with just 4 teams, and now it has grown to 30 franchises.

The Improbable

Every sport has its insane moments. If the fights and hits weren't crazy enough for you, check out this. If this isn't the Hail Mary of Hockey, I'm not sure what is.

Hockey requires agility, strength, endurance, awareness, speed, reflexes, and years of training, just as any other sport does. People say hockey is boring, but how can they say that? Certainly, they haven't watched these clips.

I don't know you, or how much you enjoy your hockey, but I hope this article might change your mind about one of the greatest sports of all time.