Pele (football)

As long the game of soccer exists in this world,. Pele will be remembered. This Brazilian footballer used to rule the soccer field during the the ’60s and ’70s. He is often considered to be the greatest footballer world has ever seen. Pele is also the all-time leading scorer for Brazil’s national soccer team. Pele has scored a total of 1220 goals between 1956 and 1974, a record that is yet to be broken. Pele is the only footballer to be part of the Brazilian National soccer teams that won World Cup for three consecutive times. He is a remarkable personality, both on as well off the field.

Michael Jordan (basketball)

When it is about basketball, no one can be compared with Michael Jordan. Definitely the greatest basketball player of all time, the 6’6″ player used to dominate the game during the ’80s & ’90s. Although Michael Jordan never was successful when it came to National level, but he was the man responsible to make his club, The Chicago Bulls, champion for three consecutive titles.

Muhammad Ali (boxing)

Before Mike Tyson became a boxing sensation and Rocky Balboa a favorite movie among all the boxers, there lived a man by the name Muhammad Ali. History remembers him as the greatest boxer the world has ever seen. In fact, Ali, has been awarded the title “Sportsman of the Century” by the renowned Sports Illustrated magazine. During his illustrious career in the ’60s and ’70s, Ali fought a total of 61 fights of which he won 56 and lost 5. Now, this is surely a record, isn’t it?

Michael Schumacher (motor racing)

This man has won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship a record 7 times. Michael Schumacher is often considered to be the greatest F1 driver of all time. He is the only F1 driver to have a total season of Podium Finishes. This achievement was accomplished by him in the year 2002. And yes, the record has not yet been broken.

Don Bradman (cricket)

The game of cricket has seen many legends and great players. But if there is anyone who sits beyond those tags of “legends” and “greats”, then it is Sir. Don Bradman. The cricketer became Australia’s role model during the time of Great Depression. This colossus batsman had a Test career batting average of 99.94. This is one record that may not be broken. During the era when there used to rough pitches and uneven surfaces, Sir Don batted fearlessly without wearing helmets and scored runs like a machine. He ruled the game of cricket for almost three decades starting from ’20s and ending in the ’50s.

Carl Lewis (track & field)

One of the greatest athletes of all time, Car Lewis won 9 gold medals in the Olympic for long jump. His career spanned from late ’70s till mid ’90s. The IOC named Carl Lewis as the greatest athlete of 20th century.

Sir Steve Redgrave (rowing)

Often considered to be the greatest Olympian Britain has ever produced, Sir Steve won five times gold medal in the Olympics during his career that spanned from 1984 till 2000. He also won gold medals three times in the Commonwealth Games and nine times in the World Rowing Championship.

Roger Federer (tennis)

Although controversial, but many say that Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. Actually, records speak for him. He won 15 grand slam titles in just six years! For 302 weeks, he was at the No.1 ranking spot in the game of Tennis. His reign started from the late ’90s. He is still very much into the game with many records yet to be created.

Babe Ruth (baseball)

The legend, Babe Ruth’s basketball playing career spanned from 1914 till 1935. He was the first baseball player to win 60 home matches in a single season. This record remained intact for 30 long years.

About The Author: Sarah is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to Hydroxycut

Develop a game plan

While you develop your game plan, just keep in mind to make it simple. You should never let it be complicated. First of all, you need to consider what you are good at. Next, think about the person who will be paying you to do it. Well, if you have already figured out these 2 things, then there is nothing for you to worry about. The remaining will just be like an exercise in self marketing.

Schedule time to execute the plan

Well, many people go wrong here. You should always schedule time to carry out your plan. Sometimes, even though you will know what to do, you delay your plan. You might find yourself too busy will not have time for it. But, it is time for you to know the fact. If you don’t prepare a proper timetable to work on your game plan, then, I bet that you will never have time for it. You first need to plan your work. Then, don’t just leave it like that. You need to work on it. As a tip, I might recommend that you require a minimum of 3 days to carry out your plan. And, every day, you should spend at least one or two hours on it. And, if you want to know what time, then I would recommend you to execute your plan either early in the morning or just before you go to bed. Just see when you are more refreshed and pick any one.

Make a commitment to stick with it

There is one best advice that I can give you. And, it is quite simple too. Just convince any sports company which you think is good to hire you. Well, you might be rejected a thousand times. But, you need to convince only one of them. If one of them tells yes, then, think that you are already in business. Just keep this point in mind. It is very necessary because, many times, you feel that it is waste of time.

If you consider all these points and follow them, you will truly succeed. Now, isn’t it simple?

European Football

In the recent time European football is an enormously admired game in the whole Asia. Many countries like Japan, China, India, Pakistan, and South Africa have developed passion for soccer after its birth in Great Britain. The European football is played by two teams consisting of eleven players in each team. The field is rectangle in shape with a length of about 120 meters and breadth of 90 meters. The game lasts for one and half hours precisely. It is divided in two rounds where each round is of forty five minutes. The team with the highest goal wins the game. However there is a restriction on physical contact thus accidents are rare. Even among women the game is highly popular.

Cricket

Since the time of British, cricket is adored by maximum Asian countries like Srilanka, Pakistan and India. It is one of the most upcoming events in sports of Asia. As in soccer, the cricket is played by two teams, each team consisting of eleven players. The shape of the field is oval with a width of 200 meters. The rules of this game are particularly very complex. However this does not prevent Asian people to ply and enjoy it. The game can be finished in one day and also can take four to five days to end.

Table Tennis

This is a game where it’s either played by single players or by doubles. This game has received its fame from Asian countries like Vietnam, China and South Korea. In the recent times women have also started enjoying this game. It is played over a table which has a net in the middle. Total attention and synchronization is required to play this game. The rule to play is simple.

Gymnastics

North Korea, South Korea as well as China are extremely popular for this game. It is an individual game but the competition is quite tough. Each gymnast receives point for every exercise and person with the highest score wins. This sport is also very famous among women.

Martial Arts

It’s an old conventional Asian fighting style but is one of the most forthcoming games. It’s famous in China and Japan. Again it’s for men as well as women.

Success in games requires the players to cooperate with one another and look to the interest of the team as a whole. The approaching sports of the Asian continent need a variety of techniques, styles and mood to win the match. Marshalling their players is a major part of winning the game. The game played, it captures the attention of viewers. People are impatiently and enthusiastically waiting for the approaching Asian sports to begin.

The star athlete from Barbados, Ryan Brathwaite, picked up NSC’s great Sports Personality of the Year award for 2012 within weeks of being bestowed with the insignia of the Silver Crown of Merit. He did so by edging out other sports stars including the likes of cricketer Kemar Roach and checkers player Ronald ‘Suki’ King. This highly coveted award is based on a vote and is given by the National Sports Council in Barbados for the most influential and impressive Barbadian in a year.

The award is not something new for Ryan who had won it the first time in 2009 after won the 110-metres Hurdles in Berlin, at IAAF’s World Athletics Championships. It was during the same championships that Ryan established a new National Record, winning the gold medal in 13.14 seconds. In recognition of that achievement, he had also been bestowed the honor of being ambassador and was awarded the titled name – Ambassador, His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite.

‘His’story – the history behind the man

As far as Ryan Brathwaite’s ‘track’ record is concerned, it has been paved in gold and the athlete has not hesitated to jump over any ‘hurdle’ that might have cropped up! Starting with a gold in the 2004 CAC Junior Championships, he kept the ‘golden’ record alive with similar victories at the 2006 CAC Junior Championships, the CARIFTA Games in 2006 and 2007, the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. He was the youngest ever World Champion in 2009, winning the gold at 21. More recently he came 5th in the finals at the London Olympics. And that earned him the Barbados Olympic Association’s (BOA) Athlete of the Year for 2012 as well.

The ‘deal-breaker’

‘Surprisingly’, it was his 5th place in the London Olympics that fixed the award in Ryan’s name. The year 2012 was pretty lean in terms of sporting achievements by Barbadians. Adding to this scarcity was the impressive comeback that Brathwaite made after having crashed out of the 110-meters Hurdles, 2011 World Athletics Championships held in Daegu, South Korea without even qualifying for the finals. It was from the bottom of this slump that he recovered to being the only Bajan to have made it to the finals in the London Olympics, 2012. It was sheer hard work and great determination that saw him through all the preliminary rounds. And the NSC ensured that the effort did not go unnoticed though he did not end up with a medal.

A fitting recipient

The National Sports Council has its vision to facilitate and promote sports in Barbados with a vision to achieve optimal efficiency, increased participation and better facilities for the sportspeople. This is because sports are a major contributor to the economic and social development in Barbados. On all these fronts, Ryan Brathwaite is the most qualified Barbadian to represent the NSC and the sports enthusiasm in Barbados. And for Brathwaite, we offer congratulations on the encore!

Author Bio: Claudia is a writer/ blogger.  She contributes to Rob Macpherson Rutland Vermont. Check here for more on Rob Macpherson Rutland Vermont

Here are some five of them who rocked the sporting world at some point of time with their controversial approach to the games they played.

1. John McEnroe: Tennis:

The former number one of world tennis, John McEnroe was one of the best left handed tennis player of all times. He was not only a talented and stylish player, but also one angry young man on the court. Most tennis lovers remember his on court verbal swearing, and challenging line calls, most famous of them being “You can’t be serious” and “Answer the question, jerk!” He was fined often and even suspended from court.

Nicknamed “Super Brat” by the British press, McEnroe is arguably one of the finest and best singles and doubles player tennis history. His admission to using anabolic steroids unknowingly opened up a can of worms and controversy, which was hastily put under the carpet by authorities.

2. Mike Tyson: Boxing:

Other than the famous and one and only Muhammad Ali, no one is as famous and controversial as Mike Tyson. Ali had his own share of controversies during his hey-days, but Mike has been followed by controversies like a shadow. But the most bizarre and most infamous one came after he bit-off his opponent Evander Holyfield’s ear, and then talked about ripping his heart out. His odd behavior in and out of the ring has made his diehard fans to turn their face away.

3. OJ Simpson: Football:

OJ Simpson or OJ as he was lovingly called by his fans was and is one of the nest football players in the whole of United States. His NFL career will Buffalo Bills is admired by being inducted into the Hall of Fame. But his name became a household name in the world, after his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman was murdered brutally in 1994. The mystery still dwells in many minds, what happened in reality, particularly after OJ released a book describing how he would have committed the crimes, if he would have been the murderer. It needs to be mentioned that OJ was found not guilty of the two murders, but the mystery still hangs like a thin fog.

4. Diego Armando Maradona: Soccer:

Possibly the most celebrated name in soccer history, he is also known as the “prince of football.” His meteoric rise to stardom and his feat of almost single handedly winning the 1986 FIFA world cup was not free from controversy. “The Hand of God” goal was one of the most controversial goals in world cup’s history of football. Later he was in trouble with the law for possession of drugs including cocaine, and then having connections with the mafia. The world still is divided about his behavior off and on the field. His visit to certain places still raises eyebrows. His fans still love him as the God of Football.

5. Lance Armstrong: Cycling:

The most recent drug scandal and controversy to rock the sporting world is the Lance Armstrong case. Arguably the most celebrated cyclist of all times, and one of the best, he may be credited with bringing cycling the global exposure and limelight it enjoys today. Stripped from his many titles and honors, Lance Armstrong has also been deprived from most of his records and feats. His career has been dotted with drug abuse claims, but none was ever proved. Still his decision not to contest the claims this time had all authorities against him with their tails up. Surely this cancer survivor will survive this ordeal and will still remain in the hearts of millions as a fighter.

Conclusion:

Sports have always marred by controversies, as people want to touch that magic ribbon after years of hard work and sweat. Some definitely take unethical means to reach the top, whereas some are just ill-fated and suffer for some other reason. Name like Ben Johnson and Tiger Woods come up. Names like Michael Schumacher, Greg Louganis, and many more greats have been involved in controversies. May be the pressure to deliver or the jealousy of others’ or a mix of both keeps the wind of controversy blowing in the circuit?