With a wide variety to choose from, here's how to find the one that will suit you best.
So what's mountain biking all about?

Mountain biking is an exciting sport that can lead to a lifetime of fun, fitness and adventure in the great outdoors. Vigorous riding can burn over four hundred calories an hour and is an excellent full-body workout, especially the legs and core muscles but also the arms, back and shoulders. With a mountain bike you can explore further and deeper into the back country, and once you've experienced the thrill of buzzing through the forest on two wheels you may never want to stop.

What do you want your bike to do?

Mountain bikes are bicycles that have evolved into off-road machines. Their common purpose is to make an enjoyable ride on varied terrain. That being said, not all mountain bikes are created equal. What will you be doing on your mountain bike? Will you be using it for transportation? Leisurely trail rides? Pushing the limits of your fitness (and sanity?) Competing in races? Some mountain bikes are good all-around rides, and some are designed for specific purposes. Read on to decide which type is best for you.

Cross Country Bikes: all-purpose, all fun

Cross country bikes are meant to be strong all-around bikes, light and agile enough to climb tough uphills and sturdy enough to make it back down. They can be either full-suspension or hardtail (only front suspension.) The full suspension models smooth out the bumps for a more comfortable, less jarring ride, but add some extra weight. Cross country bikes feature a 24 or 27-speed drivetrain for a wide variety of gears, making it possible to climb long, steep, obstacle-lined trails. Many come standard with clipless pedals which allow riders using special cleats on their shoes to snap into the pedals like a ski boot on a binding for extra pedal power. They work great for commuting and can handle road gravel, potholes, wet roads, and curbs that would make a road bike crash like a sack of bricks. They are also the weapon of choice for elite cross-country racing, like the Giant XTC ($1,150) or the full-suspension Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Carbon ($5,699.) The entry-level Giant Boulder ($350.99) gets great consumer reviews and will work fine for most beginner to intermediate trails, and the Mongoose Otero Elite is an awesome entry-level full suspension bike for $699. If you're new to mountain biking and want a bike that is versatile, fun and affordable, check out a cross country bike.

Trail Bikes: let the games begin.

With trail bikes, getting there is half the fun. These are bikes that are built for all day rides on punishing trails. They are strong and comfortable to ride, but still light enough to pedal all day. Like cross country bikes they feature a full range of gears but sacrifice some of the light weight for stronger components, fatter tires, snappier disc brakes and plusher suspension. This makes the uphills slightly tougher but the downhills are WAY more fun. You may find yourself launching over rocks and fallen trees that you would have been forced to ride around or walk over on a cross country bike. On the road these bikes will be slower due to their big tires and squishy suspension but they will still get the job done. If all-day adventure on challenging trails is your thing, check out the Kona Dawg ($1,899) or the Santa Cruz Blur LT ($2,699.)

Freeride Bikes: Go big or go home

Question: what can bomb down impossibly steep slopes, land big vertical drops, launch over massive jumps with confidence, and still pedal out to the next destination? Answer: it's a freeride bike! Freeride bikes are built for riders who ride the trail like it's their own personal amusement park. They feature fat tires, disc brakes, and between six and eight inches of suspension travel to take the big hits. They usually come equipped with two front chainrings for a modest range of gears and a frame geometry that puts the rider's weight over the rear wheel yet still allows for efficient pedaling. These bikes are the weapon of choice for chairlift-accessed bike parks. Riders can have a blast on man-made wooden ramps, teeter-totters and drop-offs, and they can inspire confidence on dirt jumps. Have your buddies tape your escapades on a hand-held digital camera and put it on youtube when you get home. In a pinch they can work for longer trail rides but the hefty weight and extra bounce make will make you sweat going up the hills. If you have access to gnarly terrain and want a bike that can handle it, a freeride bike is for you. For anything else, a freeride bike is probably overkill. If you're up for the challenge, look at the Santa Cruz Bullit ($2,798.95,) the Kona Coilair ($1,999) or the hand-built Rocky Mountain Switch ($3,695.95)

Downhill Race Bikes: Ready, Set, Go

These are the Sherman tanks of the mountain bike world. Downhill race bikes take the big suspension, meaty tires, and laid back geometry of freeride bikes and take it one step further. These machines are built to handle the nastiest trails at the highest speeds. A well-designed downhill race bike, piloted by a competent rider, can cruise down, across or over the nastiest terrain with ease. With their super reinforced frames and heavy-duty everything they can weigh in at close to fifty pounds, so uphill pedaling is out of the question. On flat ground, the suspension bounce and super-slack frame geometry make downhill race bikes sluggish but when they are pointed downhill, it's party time. Whereas freeride bikes are all about putting on a show, downhill bikes are all about the go on double black diamond terrain. You'll want to look into buying a full-face helmet and body armor because downhill racing is a brutal sport. If you're up for the challenge, check out the $2,998.95 Kona Stab, or the Santa Cruz V10, with its 10 inches of travel ($6,299.95.)

Let's fly! Dirt Jumping Bikes

Dirt jumpers are purpose-built for clearing jumps and throwing down aerial maneuvers. They have compact frames to move around easily in the air, semi-slick tires to keep the speed up between jumps, and most come equipped with a back brake and front suspension only. If you add heavier tires and a front brake, they could do double duty as a cross country or trail bike, and they work well for shorter trips on the pavement. If you want to try dirt jumping, start small and work your way up. The pros make it look easy on bikes like the Mongoose Ritual ($699.95) and the Rocky Mountain Flow ($1,149.95.)

For the Ladies: Women's Specific Designs

Mountain biking is an extremely physical sport, and women and men are obviously physically different, so it only makes sense that women have a bike that is designed especially for them. Women's specific designs include anatomically correct saddles, shorter brake levers, lighter frame material, and shorter top tubes for a woman's shorter torso. Too bad they'll be so covered in mud you won't be able to see the pretty colors. For a cross-country hardtail, check out the Rocky Mountain Vertex Ladies edition, for $1,7995, and the full-suspension cross country Santa Cruz Juliana, for $1,798.95.

A Mountain Bike Costs How Much?

You can be forgiven for having a case of sticker shock when you shop for new mountain bikes. The prices listed here are the standard, non-sale price for brand new model year bikes. If you look around in bike shops or online you can find great brand-new mountain bikes on sale for much less than the sticker price. You can also find excellent deals on used mountain bikes on internet bulletin boards or in bike shops that carry used bikes. You'll also see mountain bikes that look a lot like the high-dollar bikes described above in discount stores. Don't be fooled!

These are heavy, cheap imitations of the real thing, and although they may work fine for cruising around town, if you take them on the trail you may not make it back alive. If I'm flying down a rocky trail at high speed I want to know I have a top-quality bike underneath me, not a cheap imitation. If you can't find exactly what you want, don't worry. All mountain bikes are completely customizable. Every part on a bike can be switched out so you can get the setup that works best for you.

So there you have it! Pick the style of bike that works best for you, and I'll see you out on the trail. Just don't try to keep up with me...

Pass Blocking Technique

When pass blocking it is important to know all of your options however I will not go over cutting because today most athletes are able to recoil after getting cut down to the ground so I will focus on the most important fundamentals which is to fit, jam and control the defender. When pass blocking it is important to your use your hands and not putting your body outward. When pass blocking you will likely to be taking a certain amount of steps back (this depends on formation and play called). As you step back your hands must almost immediately be jamming outward, though depending on the rush it may not be necessary. However you must be in position and ready to jam, the idea of pass blocking is that you know the play called and where the quarterback is likely to throw which means you know how long your quarterback will need to throw. Ideally you should be protecting the quarterback for as long as he has the ball however if you have a scrambler you should have a timer in your head letting you know if your qb is about to take off. You should see him when he takes off and if he is in trouble unless the defender went through you it is important you don't let another defender through by leaving your assignment and trying to bail the qb out. Now if you let the defender through you have to go after him not pushing the defender in the back or holding but trying to be in position if the defender slips or has to turn and run to catch your qb. If a defender gets past you and you get the chance to block him again, let's say your qb is gifted enough to know to step inside the pocket or sprint away the defender should be free game for you to plant him one.

The most important thing to remember though when pass blocking it is a team effort you should be able to read a defense to know whose blitzing and which lineman is assigned to pick that defender up, as well their maybe a shift in pass protection sometime before the ball is hiked, and because defenders will blitz and run stunts everyone that is due to pass block plays a role in making sure no one gets to the qb so lineman can't be selfish if one guy doesn't know their assignments it could be a long day. There are many drills to practice some are the Two man Twist Drill which helps to work on passing off the defenders in zone schemes, when doing this drill you must keep your shoulders completely square. There is also the three men Twist Drill designed to pick up three men down, again shoulders should be square and vision must be kept wide for loop defenders. There are many different drills and techniques though it all depends on the team the coach and the plays called both on offense and defense. The more knowledgeable you are about these different drills and skills the better an offensive lineman should have the eyes of a quarterback. As a pass blocker you don't want to wait until your qb tells you this is coming you should be calling it out for him if anything seeing it's your job to protect him not the other way around.

Strength Training for Pass blocking

Upper Body-When training yourself to become a better pass blocker there are a few things you can do. One being the Jammer machine in the weight room. The Jammer machine is a great exercise because it causes you to bend your knees and extend your arms. When using the Jammer you must remember to stay in an athletic position, knee's slightly bent your butt in almost a sitting position and your hands in front of you. When extending always use enough weight to make explosive movements, a lot of people think and may tell you gaining muscle or strength means putting on as much weight as possible but it only drains you making you weaker for the next exercise on your work out plan. You want to choose weight you can extend out and as well make explosive choppy movements. When pass blocking you must make movements sort of like you're doing pushups, that's if you don't want to become an excessive holder. So the Jammer prepares you to do just that. Of course great upper body training is the bench now no matter if you're trying to be a full back, tight end, or offensive lineman the bench is a great practice tool. You want to be able to lift 225 lbs certainly and you want to be able to lift it as much as you can. You should always be trying to build up your strength on that amount of weight. A great way to do this is to lift just underneath 225 maybe like 200 or 205 you want to do this 2/3rd's of the days you work out. Once you lift on the other 1/3 you would want to lift a bit over 225 maybe like 250 if you can't lift 250 lift towel bench styles.

Towel bench is a great way to improve your overall strength always use a spotter no matter how easy you may think the weight is. Advice on reaching goals if you want to lift 225 40 times you should be lifting the lower weight (205) about 35 times warm up of 10 and then split your next three sets up with the remaining 20. You will be taking breaks in between your lifts but it is giving you the endurance you will need to lift 40 times as you work out more it will become easier to do. When lifting the 250 you want to do 25-30 reps again doing a 10 rep warm up.

Lower Body-The lower body area is just as important as the upper body in fact it maybe more important sense your lower body can get a lot stronger than you're upper. Great work outs to do would include Squats, Deadlight, and power cleans and leg press. The reason the lower body is important because lineman must always keep their feet moving that's how defensive lineman are trained so if you're going to move them you will have to be doing the same. You have to be able to drive your defender where ever you want him to go. When doing lower body it is very important to stretch multiple times, stretch between sets and between starting and ending your complete work out. Stretching is good because it helps improve your flexibility and when blocking period flexibility will increase durability. When lifting the lower body you don't want to lift your max all day or really at all. You want to do the same as the upper body be able to make explosive movements you will get use to the weight you are working with and then it will be time to increase the weight. Your overall max will improve greatly however it's really about developing the nasty streaks with your explosiveness.

Dieting

What you eat is very important there are many athletes learning they have diabetes on the professional level and in college unaware their whole lives and not having any problems with it. You must be careful not to eat too much greasy foods especially if you want to build muscle. But dieting helps not only your ability to build muscle but also your ability to perform. Eating a lot of carbohydrates before and after work outs is a good idea because carbohydrates supplies your body it's energy. However the diet you should choose varies upon position and upon the person and their own goals. Make sure that you choose a diet plan that best fits your personal goals. Choosing just any plan may slow up your progress, it is important to remember what you eat either helps your weightlifting or kills it. So be careful and research well.

1. Mental and spiritualaspect: The objectives of Pencak Silat are to build and develop personality and noble character. One must use the exercise to develop their mental and spiritual energies during combat situation or dangerous emergencies.
2. Self-defense aspect: Self-confidence and perseverance are very important in self defense. Without them, you cannot optimize your skills and knowledge. One learns self defense through jurus (style and technique) and sambung (sparring).
3. Culture and art: Culture and performing the "art" of Pencak Silat are very important. Pencak Silat is usually performed with traditional music and traditional costumes. In this aspect, one learns the artistic fighting movement, called kembangan.
4. Sport: It means that the physical aspect of Pencak Silat is important. Pencak Silat has role as physical exercise to have a sound mind in a sound body. Competitions and intense training are part of this aspect. There are full-contact matches, as well as style demonstrations, for single, double or team performance.

Upper Body

When training yourself to become a better run
blocker there are a few things you can do. One being the Jammer machine in the weight room. The Jammer machine is a great exercise because it causes you to bend your knees and extend your arms. When using the Jammer you must remember to stay in an athletic position, knee's slightly bent your butt in almost a sitting position and your hands in front of you. When extending always use enough weight to make explosive movements, a lot of people think and may tell you gaining muscle or strength means putting on as much weight as possible but it only drains you making you weaker for the next exercise on your work out plan. You want to choose weight you can extend out and as well make explosive choppy movements. When run blocking you must make movements sort of like you're doing pushups, that's if you don't want to become an excessive holder.

So the Jammer prepares you to do just that. Of course great upper body training is the bench now no matter if you're trying to be a full back, tight end, or offensive lineman the bench is a great practice tool. You want to be able to lift 225 lbs certainly and you want to be able to lift it as much as you can. You should always be trying to build up your strength on that amount of weight. A great way to do this is to lift just underneath 225 maybe like 200 or 205 you want to do this 2/3rd's of the days you work out. Once you lift on the other 1/3 you would want to lift a bit over 225 maybe like 250 if you can't lift 250 lift towel bench styles. Towel bench is a great way to improve your overall strength always use a spotter no matter how easy you may think the weight is. Advice on reaching goals if you want to lift 225 40 times you should be lifting the lower weight (205) about 35 times warm up of 10 and then split your next three sets up with the remaining 20. You will be taking breaks in between your lifts but it is giving you the endurance you will need to lift 40 times as you work out more it will become easier to do.

When lifting the 250 you want to do 25-30 reps again doing a 10 rep warm up.

Lower Body-The lower body area is just as important as the upper body in fact it maybe more important sense your lower body can get a lot stronger than you're upper. Great work outs to do would include Squats, Deadlight, and power cleans and leg press. The reason the lower body is important because lineman must always keep their feet moving that's how defensive lineman are trained so if you're going to move them you will have to be doing the same. You have to be able to drive your defender where ever you want him to go. When doing lower body it is very important to stretch multiple times, stretch between sets and between starting and ending your complete work out. Stretching is good because it helps improve your flexibility and when blocking period flexibility will increase durability. When lifting the lower body you don't want to lift your max all day or really at all. You want to do the same as the upper body be able to make explosive movements you will get use to the weight you are working with and then it will be time to increase the weight. Your overall max will improve greatly however it's really about developing the nasty streaks with your explosiveness.

Dieting

What you eat is very important there are many athletes learning they have diabetes on the professional level and in college unaware their whole lives and not having any problems with it. You must be careful not to eat too much greasy foods especially if you want to build muscle. But dieting helps not only your ability to build muscle but also your ability to perform. Eating a lot of carbohydrates before and after work outs is a good idea because carbohydrates supplies your body it's energy.

However the diet you should choose varies upon position and upon the person and their own goals. Make sure that you choose a diet plan that best fits your personal goals. Choosing just any plan may slow up your progress, it is important to remember what you eat either helps your weightlifting or kills it. SO BE CAREFUL PLAN AND RESEARCH WELL.

Athletes that I mentioned above involved in sports for competition, having the reason of giving honor and glory not only to themselves but also for the pride of the country. It's like fighting hard and giving much effort to win is the best that they could give to make one country, their fellowmen, and themselves proud.

Foot Work

Foot work is the most important step to becoming faster there are a variety of different ways to increasing your foot work. One way that is used and gains the most success is using 2 ½ to 5lb ankle weights on each ankle and doing dot drills. Now dot drills themselves if you practice them enough will increase speed but with the weights on you will be a lot slower thus you can focus on form, so when you take them off your speed and form will be there. Other ways of increasing your footwork is using ankle weights again and running stairs. When running stairs you want to try and hit every stair with each foot once, focus on not missing a stair. As well I would recommend using lighter weights around your ankles with this one 2 ½ is already going to make this a very hard task if you can then build up but 2 ½ is efficient.

Acceleration

The biggest thing about the forty meter dash is acceleration, you have to be able to get to your top speed very quickly. As with anything there are a lot ways to increase your acceleration as well. One way is to if you're working out with someone else use a shirt or rope something that won't hurt wrap it around your waist and let the other person hold on to it. You want to use a ready set, go start command and then while the other person is holding on run and try to pull away. The person should let go after about 15 meters. Another way to increase acceleration would be putting a car in neutral and pushing the car around also good if you don't have weights to train with.

Strength

Now strength is not a very popular way to get faster due to the fact your muscles get bigger and tighter. However if you stretch often enough gaining strength will help you to increase explosiveness and muscle endurance. Lifting weights is one way doing a lot of leg exercises like curls and squats and dead lifts. However you would want to lift your upper body just as much doing arm curls in the form of your hand motion when running. You can sit on the floor get like 5lb curl weights and work on your arm form. You don't have weights you can do hill sprints and lunges.

Endurance

The truth about speed is anyone can obtain it if you want to get faster quicker you should try fitting all of the tips into your work out that has been provided. As well the more you run the faster you will be come if your friend lives two blocks away sprint to their house if you're going over. If the store is only around the corner sprint to it. Or just get up and go out and run, the more you do so the faster you will become.

Gadgets

There are tons of gadgets out there that will help you get faster. The Strength training shoes will do it. The Para shoot will help with acceleration, there are also weighted vest available to help as well. Not really needed however will increase your speed, and if you're using the gadgets and doing all the extra tips and workouts you might be breaking he four second barrier sometime soon. Please remember to stretch more and after all workouts and to avoid injuries you should also stretch even when you haven't or plan on working out.

Overall 49-25

Chicago Bears Vs Atlanta Falcons

Both teams are 3-2 and have running backs that can quickly change the game with one carry and a similar attack on offense. Which is simple don't turn over the ball and complete third downs. Both the Falcons and Bears don't ask their quarterbacks to win games but to manage them and allow the sticks to move so that they can do more running and so that their defense can stay fresh. The advantage would go to the Bears because of their defense they currently ranked 8th while the Falcons are 23rd. Run and Pass wise the Bears are ranked 3rd against the run and 23rd against the pass. While the Falcons are 22nd against the pass and 21st against the run. I believe this plays into what the bears normally face they stop the run so teams pass the 40+ times. The falcons will need to have success running the ball or they are certainly in trouble. The Bears will likely keep a balanced offense sense the Falcons seem to be vulnerable on both sides of the ball. However the most important note for them is ball safety and not turning the ball over. 32-17 Bears

Miami Dolphins Vs Houston Texans

The Dolphins sit at 2-2 while the Texans are 0-4 desperate for a win they will come into this game willing to do and try anything to succeed. The Dolphins are familiar with such cases as they only won one game last season and it took more than four weeks to do so. Therefore I don't think the Dolphins will take this game lightly, they come in with the 7th ranked defense 15th against the pass and 7th against the run. While the Texans are 18th overall 12th against the pass and 26th against the run which could be a problem heading into this week. I believe that the Dolphins has what it takes and will get it done this week against the Texans however the wildcat formation won't have much success this week though they still will have a 100 yard performance on the ground. 24-14 Dolphins

Baltimore Ravens Vs Indianapolis Colts

The Ravens have the number 1 defense 1st in both the Pass and the Run. While the Colts have struggled on Defense and have been slow on offense. This will be a test of the Colts will this week can they perform up to the caliber they are used to playing on? Or did the Super Bowl win feed the hunger of their team. They are certainly a veteran team and some players are satisfied with winning one championship that's certainly how they have been playing as if they are just padding the stats to increase their chances for Hall of Fame induction and they definitely have a few players on their way. This game I believe the Colts go in it with something to prove however seeing how they played against the Texans last week and the Jaguars and Vikings earlier in the season I don't think they will prove it but every time I pick the Ravens they loose and when I don't they win. So umm 17-9 Colts but you know. Lol Game could go either way ravens all the way 17-9

Detroit Lions Vs Minnesota Vikings

The Lions are 0-4 while the Vikings sit at 2-3 and look to go .500 this week. They face a Lions team that has struggled on both sides of the football, though when going against the Lions no team can believe it's a guaranteed victory due to the fact the Lions and Pass the ball well if they have time. I don't expect them to have time this week, I expect heavy pressure in John Kitna's face the Lions have given up the most sacks every season the last two seasons and have giving up the most so far this year. So the philosophy is rather simple blitz them, in which the Vikings don't have to go outside of their defensive play calling on this one. The Lions also struggle against the run in which I expected Adrian Peterson to have a big game last week he didn't however I certainly don't see him having two slow weeks in a row no matter how good the teams run defense is in which in this case the Lions are 30th giving up 180 yards a game respectively on average. They did have a decent week last week against the bears however they game up over 300 yards passing. In which the Vikings had a slow run week but had a productive day through the air. It has now become stop Adrian Peterson if you can and if you can will just take the passing yards and TD's sense you want to stick 8 and 9 guys in the box. Since the departure of Randy Moss and even then the Vikings are nearly undefeated when having a receiver go over 100 yards and score a touchdown they did that last week against the Saints and this week won't be any different I expect them to hit one of their wide outs deep early and this will open the run back up for the Vikings. 42-0 Vikings

Oakland Raiders Vs New Orleans Saints

The Saints should have another 300+ yard performance through the air and a little more success running the ball the ball as well. The saints showed the ability to play well stopping the run so the formula of success will rely solely on the offense not turning the ball over if they can do this they will have no problem winning the ball game. 28-14 Saints
Cincinnati Bengals Vs New York Jets- Brett Farve had a beautiful game before the bye week and coming off the bye week he should be still in sink after receiving rest and studying a little harder on getting the offense rolling. While the Bengals are hungry for a win they won't get it this week as their defense is still vulnerable against the pass and the run and with Farve likely to go deep early the run will open up keeping their offense balanced. 28-20 Jets

Carolina Panthers Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Panthers have the better overall offense while the Buccaneers have a better defense in my opinion because good offense always beats good defense I believe that the Panthers will get it done as the Panthers defense is pretty decent. Steve Smith should have a big game against the Buccaneers this week as well. 28-16 Panthers

St Louis Rams Vs Washington Redskins

This is a mismatch game in the Redskins favor now anything can happen come Sunday however the Redskins have shown the ability to be teams that are strong on offense and defense seeing that the Rams lack skill and playmakers on both sides of the ball so I won't go in to much on this pick 35-10 Redskins.

Jacksonville Jaguars Vs Denver Broncos

The Jaguars have struggled putting up points this year and while they have a better defense than the Broncos I think that the Broncos will get back on track with their offense this week and the Jaguars won't be able to keep up with them. Cutler should be over 300 yards this week 28-10 Broncos

Dallas Cowboys Vs Arizona Cardinals

This is going to be a high scoring game something like the jets vs. Cardinals game. Though the Cowboys can be on either side of this if their defense doesn't get their act together and if the Cowboys offense doesn't play at top level. The Cardinals are strong on offense if not stronger than the Cowboys but have major problems on defense 48-35 Cowboys.

Philadelphia Vs San Francisco 49ers

The eagles have played very tough teams the last few weeks and while the 49ers are a decent team not as tough as the other games the Eagles have faced despite the Rams. With or without Brian Westbrook the Eagles will use their passing attack to lead them throughout this game and should get it done putting them back over .500 this week. 31-14 Eagles

Green Bay Packers Vs Seattle Seahawks

The question mostly rely on whether Rodgers can snap out of this loosing funk and whether the Seahawks can snap out of their horrible defensive play. They come off a week of being shut out and their team will face yet another strong opponent well at least stronger than them. 28-7 Packers

New England Patriots Vs San Diego Chargers

This should be a very exciting game as it always is. The Patriots will have to get Randy Moss involved early and often to keep balance in their offense. If they can they should have no problem running the football. Mean while the Chargers will try all they can do to rack up points on the run and through the air. Based on the fact that the Dolphins beat the Chargers and the Patriots I can only look at how it was done which was by the Dolphins running over both teams. Which means to me both the Chargers and Patriots will have a problem covering the run. Should be an exciting game however the Chargers have the 32nd ranked defense against the pass could be bigger problems covering the run with Randy Moss sure to catch a few deep to help open the run even wider. 28-17 Patriots

New York Giants Vs Cleveland Browns

The giants are getting it done on both sides of the ball so this will be another successful week if they continue to control the clock and not turn over the ball in which I don't believe the Browns will force them not to do so therefore I believe the Giants will win yet another game and remain undefeated 30-12 Giants.

According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Language Dictionary), published by Balai Pustaka, pencak silat is an art to protect and defend oneself and to attack, with or without weapons. Definition Pencak in traditional Javanese style is an action of Olah Cipta (art of mind power), Olah Rasa (art of feeling) and Olah Karsa (art of will) for defense purpose. To master Olah Cipta, Olah Rasa and Olah Karsa, one must have a pure heart. This pure heart can be realized by understanding one self. This self understanding means the process to understand their mind, body and spirit. To achieve self-understanding, one should do introspection and contemplation to see into the deepest part within his heart and living elements which are called Sedulur Papat Lima Pancer (four elemental angels/ brothers and one core spirit). Sedulur Papat Lima Pancer elements consist of earth, water, fire, wind and the spirit. In ancient time in Java, pencak silat had some various name, e.g.: Jaya Kawijayan ( a figthing art of winning) and Olah Kanuragan (the art of body).

Generally, Pencak silat is classified into thousands styles and hundreds schools. There are many style inspired by animal movement for example Jurus Harimau (Tiger Style) and JurusElang (Hawk Style). The respective Pencak Silat style is unique.

There are 10 historical pencak silat schools in Indonesia.

1. Tapak Suci (Jogjakarta)
2. Phasadja Mataram (Jogjakarta)
3. Perpi Harimurti (Jogjakarta)
4. Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (Madiun)
5. Perisai Diri (Surabaya)
6. Perisai Putih (Gresik)
7. Persaudaraan Setia Hati (Jakarta)
8. KPS Nusantara (Jakarta)
9. Putra Betawi (Jakarta)
10. PPSI (Jakarta)

In 2008, the team decided to drop the word Devil from their name and officially become the Tampa Bay Rays. The result: Their first winning season in their history and a division championship, beating out the reigning World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

Many believe that it was the divine intervention of removing the satanic reference from their name. A simple explanation? Perhaps. However, there is no historic evidence to substantiate such a revelation.

There have been several teams of national prominence with the devil reference in their team name that have achieved success.

New Jersey Devils - The NHL welcomed several teams into the league in 1974 adding to their league expansion. One team was the Kansas City Scout. Financially struggling, the team left after only two poor seasons to Denver and were renamed the Colorado Rockies. Not seeing much success in Denver, the team moved again in 1982 to the state of New Jersey and renamed The Devils, after a famed legendary creature of the Jersey Pine Barrens. After nearly a decade of subpar seasons, the Devils eventually rose to elite status in the NHL with three Stanley Cup Championships (1995, 2000, 2003). The team continues to be competitive challengers to the Cup moving into the upcoming season.

Duke Blue Devils - Duke University is best known for their Men's basketball team led by coach Mike Krzyzewski. The Men's basketball program under Coach K has won three NCAA Championships (1991, 1992, 2001) and numerous other final four appearances. Not to be outdone, however, is the Duke Women's Golf team with five NCAA Championships (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007). Add a 1986 Men's Soccer NCAA Championship and together it makes 9 National Titles all together for the Blue Devils. With the Women's Golf team continuing their dominance and Coach K keeping the basketball team primed for a run at a title each year, the Duke Blue Devil remains a major force in collegiate sports.

Arizona State Sun Devils - Arizona State University adopted the name Sun Devils in 1948, changing it from the previous name Bulldogs. Since then, ASU collegiate sports holds 21 NCAA Championships including 5 College World Series Championships, the third most by any university. ASU football holds claim to a Rose Bowl victory in 1987 and remains a competitive force in one of the toughest conferences in the country. One of the most impressive ASU achievements is their national dominance in both Men's and Women's Archery winning a combined 36 National Championships.

DePaul Blue Demons - Not quite Devils, but close. DePaul University is best know for their Men's basketball program. The program's success includes a 1945 NIT Championship and a 1992 Great Midwestern Conference Championship. Not as storied as the other teams, but then again, their name is only the Blue Demons. Perhaps a name change is in order, unless Duke objects to them having the same name.

In conclusion, I find no evidence that the success of the Tampa Bay Rays is due to the name change that eliminated the Devil. While many religious beliefs may claim otherwise, I stand on the history of these fine sports organizations that have found success despite their team name.

Perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays organization learned that player development, proper drafting and careful free agent signings leads to success. In either case, congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays on their division Championship.