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A Review of Popular Baseball Bats
Choosing the right baseball bat is as important as batting
technique or selecting the right pitch to blast over the center
field fence. There are many different kinds of bats designed for
Little Leagues, Senior Leagues, college, and pros. Each...
An Introduction to Baseball Bats
Whether you enjoy the crack of wood or the ping of aluminum, baseball bats are designed for players ranging from Little Leaguers to professionals. Baseball bats are crafted out of specialized woods, composites or alloys, and aluminum, depending on...
What started it all - the History of Volleyball
By Rebecca Blain of http://www.everything-volleyball.com Surprisingly, one of the most well loved sports in the world is also relatively young. Despite the game's youth, it has gone through a wide variety of changes and evolution as a part of...
Why I Would Rather Be A Slugger Than A Pitcher
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to...
Your golf swing is good enough
If you watch the Golf Channel or read any of the magazines and books on golf, it will be very hard for you to miss the basic theme that "There is a perfect swing and you will do the most for your game by trying to get it". Even when you watch a...
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ALL SPORTS ARE GAMES! ALL GAMES ARE NOT SPORTS!
From backgammon to the 3,000 year old Royal Game of Ur., from Oriental kite contests to the universal tit-tat-toe and baseball, games have been, and are played throughout every culture and society known to man.
Where is the line drawn between a game and a sport? What are the vital missing elements which preclude most games from being a sport?
By comparison, all games and sports are taken up for fun or pleasure. Winning a game or sport always makes an individual or team happy. Winners are always rewarded. All
rewards fall within three categories: Material (IE . . . trophy or ribbon), Monetary (IE . . . cashes or check), and Emotional(IE . . . jubilation or triumph).
Swimming, baseball, and hockey are well-known games which are recognized as sports.
Chess, cards, and marbles are well-known games which are not recognized as sports.
On close examination, we find a trend amid sports which is not an element of common games. That key element is the number one thing that draws the line between sports and games.
Exercise!
All games and sports are mentally demanding. Individuals or an individual have to plan and think to be competitive against an opponent.
However, only in sports are significant physical demands placed on the body that result in extensive exercise.
A secondary, key element found in sports, which generally is not found amid common games is Profession.
Football, boxing,
golf, and bowling, are examples of sports which many people take up as a paid (very handsomely paid)profession.
One final element of a sport, which is generally not found amid common games is Risk. In every sport, there is always the risk of bodily injury. There is no element of risk involved playing a game of backgammon or Old Maid.
Games, once learned, can be played by the average, and not so average person without giving a second thought to risk or injury.
Sports, however, require continual learning, mental, and physical
conditioning with constant risk of bodily injury and liability on the part of someone or some entity.
Give a thought to these elements the next time you plop down in your favorite chair to watch an activity on the tube, or set out to participate in your favorite game activity.
Thus, two questions which have plagued many generations have now been answered. What makes a game a sport?; and why athletes are paid so much.
About the author:
Terry Davis is publisher of http://southernliving.blogsome.com/
and http://newsunheralded.blogspot.com/You will find his publishings to be informative, helpful, entertaining, sometimes shocking and provocative. Whenever you visit his unique sites,
prepare to have your emotions and senses stirred.
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