Does Culture Really Effect Sports?

Culture and sports has really affected many countries. One country is China where politics and sports collided at the Beijing Olympics. Beijing, China was the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Tibet a little country southwest of Chins and is currently ran by the Chinese government held protests during the Olympic torch relay. The protests were held because China will not let them practice their own culture and religion. The protests were out of control. Many demonstrators ran through police barricades shouting " Free Tibet" to block the torch runner carrying the flame into Athens Stadium. Ten of the fifteen demonstrators were arrested by riot police. Twenty two people were killed in the demonstrations to Free Tibet. But China being the communist country they are dont release many information and news on the protests. Does culture really affects sports? I believe it does.

Will Jahvid Best Be Ready For His Next Game?

The University of California's Jahvid Best was sent to the hospital Saturday night on a stretcher after recieving a severe hit by Oregon States' safety Cameron Collins. Cal's running back toke the handoff from quarterback Kevin Riley on the OSU three yard line during the second quarter of last nights game. Best then turned around the left corner full speed and decided to leap over an OSU defender. While airborn, Cameron Collins hit Best which lifted him about five feet in the air, which then turned the upper portion of his back around and exposed his back . Best, on the way down hit the turf of the endzone and just layed there stiff as a board. Both of his arms were held out stiff like they were frozen. The cheers from the Cal fans turned into complete silence after the touchdown. Every player on the field at that time took a knee while Jahvid was being looked at. Cal's entire team walked to the five yard line and all toke a knee also. After Jahvid was looked at by doctors he was diagnosed with a concusion. But will the Heisman canidate be ready for the next game?

Will Favre and The Vikings Put Out His Past Relatives The Packers?

Adrian Peterson had blowout rushing games of 180 yards against Cleveland in Week 1 and 143 yards against Baltimore in Week 6. Otherwise, he has averaged 72.8 yards. He was below 4 yards per carry against Green Bay (2.2) in Week 4 and Pittsburgh (3.8) last week. But flanker Sidney Rice probably has overtaken split end Bernard Berrian as the Vikings' No. 1 receiver. The target of 48 passes, Rice has caught 34 for 545 yards, including six for more than 25 yards. Berrian, who isn't expected to play with a hamstring injury, has caught 24 of 41 for 252, with two for more than 25. According to stats, Rice has two drops and Berrian has one. There's little doubt that Aaron Rodgers will be probing early in the direction of CB Karl Paymah, who will make his second start for injured Antoine Winfield. Paymah, a former Bronco, has excellent size and speed but doesn't turn his hips fluidly and struggles making proper adjustments at the ball. In the first game, Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers blitzed on just 16.7% of passes and the results were dismal. In the Vikings' loss last Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Steelers blitzed an estimated 60% of the time. Will the Vikings sweep the Packers?

Steelers-Vikings: The End of Smashmouth?

The last time the Steelers and Vikings met, it was December 18, 2005, and the Steelers won, 18-3. Current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was Tampa Bay's secondary coach, current Vikings head coach Brad Childress was Philly's offensive coordinator, and Brett Favre hadn't even started waffling yet. It was a very different time, as evidenced by the rush/pass totals for both teams. The Steelers were still into smashmouth back then, using power running to protect quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw 15 passes all day. Big Ben came close to having more rushing attempts (six) than completed passes (10). Brad Johnson threw 30 passes and completed only 16 against the vaunted Pittsburgh defense.
45 passing attempts in a single game? When the Vikings and Steelers face off today, we may see more than that by the end of the first half. Minnesota has gone a bit more pass-happy with Brett Favre in charge they average 30.7 attempts per game as opposed to 28.2 with Tarvaris Jackson in 2008 but the balance has to be there with Adrian Peterson in the backfield. It's just not the same Vikings offense that opposing defenses could stack the box against. The Steelers, however, have absolutely switched from Bronko Nagurski to Air Coryell. Only the Colts sling it more often than Pittsburgh's 34.7 attempts per game, and no quarterback has more total passing yards than the Big Ben's 1,887. Roethlisberger isn't just a guy who can take a lot of hits anymore; he's now one of the most efficient and productive quarterbacks in the NFL. His 9.1 yards per attempt is tied with Peyton Manning for the league lead, and he has completed an astonishing 72.5 percent of his passes. That's why Football Outsiders ranks him third overall in opponent-adjusted efficiency, behind only Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.
It's a long way from 2005, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl with an incendiary late-season surge despite averaging a league-low 23.7 passing attempts per game. If you need any further evidence that the NFL is moving away from a run-first theory in favor of schemes more in line with the more wide-open offenses of the NCAA, look no further than the Steelers and Vikings airing it out downfield.

Why Didnt The Nittany Lions Beat Iowa?

Whether Iowa plays Penn State in a wet Happy Valley or a cold Iowa City, the Hawkeyes have figured out how to beat Penn State. For the second year straight the Iowa Hawkeyes have beaten top ten rank Penn State. How are they doing this? It was the defense. After falling behind early in the first quarter 10-0 the hawks came out strong the second quarter with a huge safety by Broderick Binns. But in the fourth quarter defensive end Adrian Clayborn blocked Penn State's punt and then returns it for 53 yards and a touchdown. This gave Iowa a 11-10 lead. The next drive Penn States quarterback Darrell Clark threw a crucial interception that set up for Adam Robinson's 13 yard touchdown rush. After Robinson's touchdown Penn State's Chaz Powell runs a 36 yard punt return and adds a 15 yard penalty to set up their drive on Iowa's 36 yard line. But on the next play Iowa's defense picks it up and forces Evan Royster to fumble the football. Iowa comes down and kicks a field goal. Penn State's next drive and last drive of the game sets up for another Darrell Clark interception. This one was intercepted by one of our own Pat Angerer from Bettendorf, Iowa. Iowa would set up for another touchdown and this ends the game.

Can The Dolphins Beat The Colts?

As the Colts are always a dominate football team the Miami Dolphins are planning on beating the 1-0 Colts. The Dolphins run a 3-4 defense that seems to stop the run pretty well. The Dolphins linebackers fill holes very will but can be fooled on the play action pass by Payton Manning.http://images.smarter.com/blogs/peyton2.jpg The Colts will have their hands full trying to block them. However Miami's secondary is terrible. Peyton Manning should just pick them apart especially the rookie corner back. Reggie Wayne should have another outstanding game like last week. The Dolphins running game should be affective with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. The Colts will have to rotate new defensive tackles to try to stop the run game. The interior linemen are not so good though for the Dolphins but have good tackles and tight ends. The Dolphins will also run their wildcat formation to run counters and reverses.http://blog.nj.com/jets_impact/2008/12/SPORTS%20FBN-TEXANS-DOLPHINS.JPG The Dolphins passing game from Pennington will have to be better than last week. The Dolphins have good, fast recievers but Chad just has to get the ball to them. The rush defense is going to have to be good for the Colts but they shouldnt have a problem with that with Freeny at defensive end. The Colts should defenatly win this game. But we'll see on Monday.

Who Will Win Packers vs. Bears Opener?

As the Bears kick off their season against a well rounded Green Bay ball club, the Bears are trying to keep the streak going. The Bears have won four of the last six meetings and lead the series 91-80-6. The biggest target tonight for the bears are wide reciever Devin Hester which is suppose to be Jay Cutler's deep threat. Hester caught seven balls for sixty yards in three preseason games this year. Tight end Greg Olson could become Cutler's favorite reciever and go to guy this year. But the Packers this year made a transition to a 3-4 defense under vetran defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Green Bay is the only team in the NFC North to run this defense, which they think will help them this year. Some key injuries tonight for both teams include, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman (back), and first round draft pick for the Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji(ankle). Aaron Rodger quarterback for the Packers had the most touchdowns this preseason with six. Rodgers predicted to tear up the Bears secondary with the deepest reciever threats in the NFL. The Bears inexperienced wide recievers will be exposed tonight against top corner backs Charles Woodson and Al Harris. The game starts at 7:20 tonight; who will win Bears of Packers? (http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009091312/2009/REG1/bears@packers)