Trying to Catch Some Waves...In the Sky?

Sky surfing is a type of skydiving in which the skydiver wears a board attached to his or her feet and performs surfing style aerobatics during free fall. This sport requires major practice. Because of the possibility of dropping the board, not every skydiving club permits sky surfing, and only a minority of skydivers have attempted this recent specialization in the sport. The simplest sky surfing stance is to stand upright on the board during free fall, and tilt the nose of the board down for more forward movement. However, even this basic technique is extremely difficult for well-trained sky divers. The extra drag of the board tends to upset the balance, and many sky surfers end up flipping over. The jumper must learn to control the board and their body position in order to open the parachute in a stable configuration. More advanced aerobatics such as loops, rolls and helicopter spins, are even more difficult, and take time to master after the basic techniques are conquered. Since some techniques require constant spinning at a high speed, some sky surfers’ tightly wrapping ace bandages all the way up the arms and legs to keep the blood from pooling at the end of their limbs. Even with the bandage technique, however, many techniques in sky surfing can be extremely painful. Some skilled individuals have even taken it a step further; once they reach the appropriate altitude, they glide to the mountain side, cut away their chute, and snowboard down a mountain.

Competitive skysurfing is a team sport. Each team has two people. One is a sky surfer who stands atop a specially designed board as he or she twists, flips and free falls. The other person is a cameraperson, or camera flyer, who skydives alongside the surfer to record the surfer's moves on a helmet-mounted camera. Judges score the team's video based on technical accuracy, performance and video presentation. Most contests include seven rounds of jumps. Two of these jumps are compulsory jumps, where the team must perform manovres set out by the judges. The remaining five jumps are choreographed by the team. Troy Hartman is credited with the largest variety of grand scale aerial stunts performed by any stuntman. He started his career in the early 90’s as a pioneer of the sport of Sky surfing, earning an X-Games World Champion title

.https://youtu.be/MbjNsAno--w 

Sky surfing unofficially started in 1980 when skydivers in California experimented with boogie boards, lying flat on the boards as they fell from a jump plane. Historically, Sky surf was invented by two french skydivers, Dominique Jacquet and Jean Pascal Oron in 1986. It gained its first recognition in the 1990's due to the efforts of the first few masters of this technique, Patrick De Gayardon, and Jerry Loftis. Competitive team sky surfing was apart of the ESPN X Games from 1995 to 2000.  ESPN later decided not to renew the sport for its seventh season, and as a result, sky surfing has become relatively rare in the skydiving community. Reasons for the decline include the rise in popularity of free flying and wing suit flying, the hazards associated with flying and releasing the board, and the dwindling number of experienced sky surfers to train new pilots. 
Hopefully the future will bring more extreme sport athletes, who surf in the clouds!


Sources:
http://www.dropzone.com/safety/Disciplines/Skysurfing_62.html
http://www.koyn.com/CloudDancer/index.html

NFL Liable?

The NFL's new concussion protocols failed in the St. Louis Rams game on Sunday, November 22nd, when the Rams quarterback, Case Keenum, was allowed to play after his head slammed into the field. Keenum then had two incompletions and lost a fumble that cost his team the game, and the Ravens won over the Rams, 16-13.

 

The NFL is now considering whether to discipline future protocol failures.  The league held a mandatory teleconference Tuesday night that included the head trainer from each team and team doctors to review the league's concussion protocols. "The team medical staffs discussed the events that led to the failure to remove St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum from Sunday's game, and reviewed the proper implementation of the league's concussion protocols to ensure that players are removed from the field for a medical evaluation as required by the protocols," an NFL statement said. The league and the NFL Players Association will "make improvements as necessary to protect the health and safety of NFL players, including consideration of discipline for future violations of the protocols," the league said.The protocols are designed to assess and manage player concussions, which have led to a class-action legal controversy for the league, as thousands of players sued the NFL in 2012 for negligence for failing to tell players of the link between concussions and brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The NFL, which once sought to dismiss the suit, and the players eventually reached a settlement that provides up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.

 After Sunday's game, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged the mistake, but he noted that Keenum did speak with the team head trainer after the quarterback's head was slammed to the gridiron on the Rams' final drive of the game. Keenum reportedly told the trainer he was “OK”. The ATC spotter assumed that the trainer was taking care of any potential concussion, Fisher said. "His assumption, because our trainer was on the field, was that it had been taken care of. That's why the officiating department was not notified," Fisher said.   

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2593991-rams-reportedly-wont-be-penalized-for-handling-of-case-keenums-concussion (2:30)

Fisher Pledges that players, team, and league will work better and harder to ensure this won't happen again.   

Sources:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2593991-rams-reportedly-wont-be-penalized-for-handling-of-case-keenums-concussion

Ronda Rousey's Big Defeat

Ronda Rousey's streak of being the UFC's Bantam weight champion came to a stop in Australia, Saturday night. Holly Holms viciously head kicked Rousey in the second round of UFC 193 in Melbourne Australia, knocking out Rousey, and granting Holms the title of UFC Bantam weight champion. Coming into the rink, Holms was Rousey's biggest challenger ever since Holms signed to UFC, but the odds of her winning the fight was 20-1. It is safe to say, Holly Holms shocked the world with her giant victory last night.

Throughout the first round, Holms set the pace with a swift jab and many strong kicks, hurting Rousey's lead leg. Every engagement Rousey tried to make, Holms dodged and circled away, preventing Rousey from bullying her across the rink like she had done to so many previous opponents. Although, Holms greatest weapon was her powerful and clean punches that caused former champion, Rousey to start bleeding from the nose and mouth. Rousey was able to eventually take down Holmes in a headlock, but Holmes slipped out from under Rousey, and got the fight back to their feet.

The second round approached, and Holms was very confident; this was only one of two fights that made the second round with Rhonda Rousey. Holms immediately took the former champ down, and as she scrambled to get up, Holmes blasted her with a head kick that sent Rousey crashing back to the mat. Holms then got ontop of Rousey, and gave her a few more swift blows until the referee had to chime in before Rousey could face any more damage. Rousey laid motionless on the mat.

Just 59 seconds into the second round, Holms celebrated her amazing win as the crowd began in a giant uproar of disbelief.  After the amazing victory, Holms reflected on her accomplishment with news reporters, "I have to say that everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight. Every kind of grab that she tried to get and clinch on the cage. I have not spent this much time in the gym before any fight in my life. Everything we worked on happened tonight and that actually happened to be something we worked on to try and angle the clinch. I didn't want to kick her to the body because we didn't want her to grab onto us and it just was there." 

This marks the first loss in Rousey's career, and shortly after the fight, she was rushed to the hospital. In addition, Rousey expressed her feelings towards her defeat against Holms on social media, "Fake ass cheap shotting fake respect fake humility bitch - "preacher's daughter" my ass - I see through your fake sweet act now - you're getting your ass kicked tomorrow, and I'm really going to enjoy the beating I give you #andSTILL". 

Possibilities of a re-match are extremely high, so now the real question is: Who would win? 

Sources:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/boxing/la-sp-sn-ufc-193-live-updates-ronda-rousey-vs-holly-holm-20151114-story.html

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ufc-rousey-holm-20151115-story.html

Daniel Murphy Breaks MLB Post Season World Record

               In the top of the eighth inning at Wrigley Field last Wednesday night, Daniel Murphy hit home run No. 7 of this post season. As a result, Murphy became the first player to homer in six consecutive playoff games, breaking the record of five set by Carlos Beltran of  the Houston Astros in 2004. Murphy is now in a four way tie for first in baseball history with only 39 appearances to the plate. The other contenders for first have appearances ranging from 42 to 77, which makes Murphy's contributions so remarkable. Even more surprising, Murphy is not even a home run hitter at all, with only a career high of 14 homers the past regular season.        

                   

(The Mets' Daniel Murphy hits a two-run home run in the eighth inning off Cubs relief pitcher Fernando Rodney on Wednesday night to become the first player to homer in six straight playoff games, breaking Carlos Beltran’s record of five set with the Houston Astros in 2004.)

                   

                Sandy Alderson has been pondering what to do with Daniel Murphy next. Murphy, who is 30 years old, is proposed to command a three- or four-year contract worth about $10-$12 million a year. That is not a desirable investment to New York owners. Murphy is not an elite slugger, with a decent batting average of .288, it is tough to say whether he has grown into a consistent home run hitter, or his latest achievements were just pure luck. Frank Messina, the Mets long time friend, further reinstated the possibility of luck when stating, “Murphy’s ‘Ruthian’ accomplishment thus far can only be attributed to one thing: the four leaf clover he found at his Aunt Rosie O’Malley’s front lawn. That, and an incredible eye. He sees everything and has incredible intuition with regard to pitch sequence. In short, he’s on fire!” The Mets also hold younger, and faster players at their fingertips: Wilmer Flores, 24 years old, and has nice power. 21-year-old Dilson Herrera, a top-50 prospect with a nice track record of minor-league hitting, as well as  Ruben Tejada, who is sharp on ground balls, and scrappy at the plate.                           
               Initially, the Mets selected Murphy in the 13th round (394th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. After countless injuries, Murphy faced his first major league baseball game as the backup to starter Chase Utley in 2014.  Overall, he never really stood out, and had faced major cold streaks. Murphy explains his hot streak this season as the result of him stepping closer to the plate, and starting to pull the ball a little more, so he’s striking, grounding and flying out less. Although, we can assume that Murphy has possibly been a darn good hitter all along, and now has suddenly come into his own. In all, the Mets face a very hard decision whether to resign the man who no one knew was capable of hitting home run after home run, Daniel Murphy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQQvMmiUooY

(All homers of Murphy in post season games)

Sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Murphy_(baseball)

http://themoderatevoice.com/209985/david-murphy-is-hotter-than-hades-no-one-knows-why/

Norton High School Football, Players Inside

               Norton High School football is division 4, in the Tri Valley league, with two wins and two losses. Their overall national rank is 6765, and their state(MA) rank is 121.  Norton football is 1-1 in the Tri Valley- Small football standings, and has 106 points for them, and 103 points against them. The football team is in 21st place out of 25 in the playoff predictions that anticipate who is going to take home the division 4 football title, so it is safe to say they have to prove themselves they are able to achieve a championship, but it will not be hard due to the many talented players on the team. During there first game against Medway, on September 11th, the Lancers were a little nervous to face a larger team, since Medway's in the Tri Valley- Large league. In the end, the score was 29 - 7 Norton. Norton fans were satisfied on the good start of the season, and the boys were more than ecstatic. Touchdowns were made by Justin Ireland, and Jack Ledbetter, who nicely caught the perfect throw from quarter back, Zach Feeney, and swiftly ran to the end zone. When some of the Lancers were asked what went right in the game, Zach Feeney (#9, QB) stated that "we moved the ball nicely on offense, and didn't make many mistakes." Captain, Jack Ledbetter (#33, RB) agreed with Zach stating that they "continuously executed plays well." Captain, Luke Kane (#59, MLB) also commented on the things the team did well; "we showed physical superiority over Medway, as they could not capitalize on any of our mistakes. Our offense was high powered, and our defense was solid, only letting up one score in the entire game."
http://www.maxpreps.com/m/video/watch.aspx?videoid=8f1f6bd8-a78f-46d9-b47f-1ca185afe457
(Highlights of Jack Ledbetter (#33, RB) against Medway, including his touchdown assisted by ZFeen)

              The Lancers moved on to their second game, against the Hopkinton Hillers, at home on September 19th. The ending result was a loss, 35-14, and presumably, one could add, ego got in the way of the Lancers that night, as the great win against Medway still lingered their thoughts. Jack Ledbetter stated the mistakes were due to the lack of starting players they had, but he says "that was no excuse for not executing our plays and doing our job on defense." Kane claimed the loss was due to the total of five turn overs that took place of the Lancers, allowing Hopkinton to score on all those occasions. Zach Feeney blaims how lacking Lancer offense was during that night, which overall led to their demise. The loss only provoked more eager for another win the following week, and fortunate enough, that's exactly what the Norton Football team got. Their third game of the season against Ashland ended in a victory with a score of 42-27. Zach Feeney commented the achievement was due to the team's great comeback during the second half of the game, where they finally "put the mind to the money." Jack Ledbetter agreeing with Zfeen also added that the confidence buildup during the second half of the Lancers helped achieve the victory.  Luke Kane reminisced on the game stating, "our defense had a couple of key stops early in the game which truly showed what our defense is about. Plagued by injuries, a lot of people stepped up and proved the strength of our depth chart."
               Although the nice win against Ashland was a good boost for Lancer self esteem, the next game on October 2nd, against Millis, the best team Norton plays all year, was definitely going to be a challenge. Apparently, it was too big of a challenge to conquer for the Lancers, and the ending score was 34-21, Millis. Justin Ireland (#42, RB) was responsible for the Norton touchdowns, as always, due to his incredible speed. The Lancers were about to make a great comeback, says Luke Kane, but ran out of time to follow through with their great plan. Luke also adds an explanation for their loss by saying, "we let up three easy scores in the first half due to gap breakdowns on the defensive interior." Jack Ledbetter eloquently states "we lost simply because we didn't make the plays we needed to." While Zach Feeney adds "the huge, monstrous players on Millis kept destroying our lives." With the loss of this game, and the TVL championship now out of Norton's hands, the team remains positive as they fight for a playoff spot. Norton High School Football needs to win two out of the next three games to get a bottom seed, or all three to get a first or second seed.

 http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/zach-feeney/x-lhRrn4EeO00gAmVebEWg/videos.htm?videoid=af504cf8-b98c-4a0a-8885-c1b55338e16e
(Zach Feeney's highlights against Millis (#9, QB))

          Captain Luke Kane, or otherwise known as LK59, summarizes the current postition Norton High Football team is: "In the first four games, we've made countless mistakes and been plagued by injuries. With all the starters healthy and a good week of practice, we are looking to show Division 4 how good this squad really is. This is a Bellingham team we've never seen before, with a new coach and what seems to be an unstoppable offense. They're looking to give us a challenge. We've got a great defense game plan that will pressure their quarterback, and hopefully confuse their lineman. Playing on a turf field with the speed of our team should also be an advantage."

The next game for the Norton High School Lancers is October 9th, at Bellingham. Show your support and be there for 7pm. Hope you can make it:)

LK59 bodying opponent

MIAA Sportsmanship Essay

            The Wikipedia definition of “Sportsmanship” is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors. To me, sportsmanship is more than being about “fair play” in a sport …it is fair play PERIOD. In work, in politics, in relationships, in families as well as on a team, it is about having a common goal and working together to achieve that goal.  It is about respecting the person standing next to you, encouraging their ideas, and collaborating towards your mutual ambitions. I think there are too many people in jobs, on teams, and in politics that don’t have enough respect for the other people “in the ring” to know when to call it quits.  Instead, ego gets in the way. They feel they could possibly do a better job than their teammate, their co-worker or their party members, and when they fail…everyone suffers. For example, If one member of a political party has a certain personal “agenda” and really isn’t qualified to properly serve the community (or country), and dilutes the political party’s message with hype and drama, the entire political party suffers - credibility is minimized, and beliefs are questioned.  Debating an issue is part of competition but when you stand for the same goals, it isn’t the best to criticize a “teammate." You want the same things even though you may not go about it the same way…even though your styles may be different, you ultimately want the same things.  You want to win, you want to succeed, and you want to lead.  You want to earn that distinction, that goal, that nomination, however, by being fair. I have learned throughout my experiences on the high school volleyball team, and in classroom activities that sometimes I was not the best athlete, nor the smartest in the circle.  By realizing this and accepting that it is okay to not always be the best, I was performing my own act of sportsmanship.  It made a difference in my life because it showed me the way to success- taking a stand back and letting your teammates grow, so together you can achieve, rather than allowing one person build a play/debate/product up for someone else to tear it down the next day. That is not what being a fair player is all about.  It is about having enough sense to realize that you possibly aren’t the best at the game, but working with your teammates, you can change the game all together. 

Horse's on Drugs

                       On June 17, 2015, officials at Louisiana's Delta Downs suspended horse trainer, Alvin Smith Jr., for sixth months, after his horse, Dashin Forward, tested positive for dermophin. The drug is secreted from the South American "Waxy Monkey Tree Frog," and has recently shown in the bloodstream of thirty race horses in the United States. 

                     Dermophin acts as a painkiller forty times more powerful than morphine.  The affects of this "frog juice" blocks the pain of any type of injury to a horse, while directly stimulating running, suppressing pain, and surpressing exhaustion. The beauty of Dermophin was how "undetectable" it was. Now, a highly sensitive and specific confirmatory test for Dermorphin has been developed and has caught many horse trainers for cheating. Dr. Steven A. Barker at the Louisiana State University commented on the Horse Racing scandal saying, "this drug in horses is an abuse of the horse. It puts the horse’s life in danger. It puts the jockey’s life in danger. This is an attempt to cheat. This is bad stuff. This is doping." Dermophin is a class I drug, and is a serious drug violation in the industry, which will presumably result in significant penalties for those individuals caught using the substance to enhance their horse's performance. This isn't the first time the Horse Racing industry has faced drug scandals. Up until the 80's, horse trainers were known to misuse morphine as well. The president of Racing Commisioners International, Edward J. Martin claims this battle with stimulates and substances will forever be ongoing because the sport is a "cat-and-mouse game, as soon as you call out dermorphin, they will try something else." Now we must ask ourselves what's next for Horse Racing? What new drug or stimulate is going to be used to cheat?

Sources:

http://www.newser.com/story/148462/horse-racings-new-scandal-frog-juice.html?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article

http://www.livescience.com/21064-frog-juice-racehorse-drugs.html