Basketball is in and Boy is it Time For a Little Humor

Are you looking for a book to cheer you up and make you laugh? Well, you are not alone, as a recent psychological study on basketball American People indicated that our population is over stressed due to this recent Global Financial Crisis. What you need is a little humor in your life, well since Basket ball is in due to the election of a basketball playing President, why not hook up with a bit laughter about the game?

May I be so bold as to recommend a very good basket ball humor book? I was fortunate enough to meet one of the authors recently during my travels. The book had me in stitches from the first page. The book is:

"Basketball Humor" by Charles Hellman and Robert Tiritilli - Self Published, LuckySports, Palm Desert, CA - $4.95 ISBN 978-0-935938-38-8

This book is a wonderfully illustrated basketball humor book that will have you on the floor laughing in no time. It is 32-pages of absolutely gut wrenching humor. Even if you are not a solid basketball player or lack the level of skills in the NBA or of our famous celebrity created President, you'll still love this book.

Indeed, it is perfect for a gift too, especially if you have basketball players in your family, all of us have at least one. I basketball this book to a basketball player in our family and she absolutely loved it, she was cracking up and it was fun to see her having such a good time. She's a great basketball player and even says she can easily take on the president and beat him with one hand. Think on this.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

The Impressive Texas Longhorns

The University of Texas has a very interesting history. Even in basketball early 1800, Texas has already wanted a public university. However, circumstance prevented it from turning into a reality. The realization of the movement to establish of such institution took a long time, but it did. The University of Texas has definitely gone a long way from its opening in 1883.

Sport is a vital part in the University of Texas. In fact, they were the recipient of the America's Best Sports College from Sports Illustrated in 2002. They have representations in various sports for both men and women. Some of the sports are football, basketball, and baseball.

Their varsities collectively represent the university as the Texas Longhorns. The name derived from the breed of cattle called Longhorn. It is an appropriate name since these cattle are essential in the growth of Texas as a state.

The Longhorns have been successful in different fields. They have conquered football in a way. Two of their players received the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award. This is a recognition awarded to a college football player who has demonstrated the most outstanding performance. Their players who have received this award are Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.

The Longhorns have a good overall record in the game, ranking third of the most wins in the history of College football. This is not the efforts of the athletes alone. Fans and supporters should get credit as well. The Longhorns are one of the strongest crowd drawers in the college games. Seeing their schoolmates sporting the Texas Longhorns merchandise surely boosts the morale of the varsity players.

Their basketball team is also a celebration. Thanks to the leadership of coach, Rick Barnes. However, it was not always like that. Prior to Barnes, the team was in a bad shape. The team was in a losing streak and some of the players lost trust to their then, coach Tom Penders.

When Barnes took over, good things started to happen. Impressively, the team started winning. They have become one of the top teams in college basketball. For the first time, a male contender from the university won the prestigious Naismith and Wooden Awards. These are awards given to the best male and female basketball players. T.J. ford was the recipient of the very first for the UT. These progress and recognition made fans proud to wear their Texas Longhorn gears.

The Texas Longhorns also rule the baseball stadium. They have the best records among all the college teams of winnings. They have appeared in several championship occasions. They earned six NCAA championships. They have also produced professional baseball athletes who joined the Major League Baseball. Spike Owen and Huston Street are some of them.

The University of Texas has been an avenue for many promising athletes. Most of their athletes excelled in their respective fields. There basketball team proved that it takes a good leader to bring out the best from its team. Obviously, UT has tons of great leaders guiding their varsity players. No wonder why a Texas Longhorns store is not such a bad idea. The supporters of the University will surely have reasons to continue supporting their teams.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached, play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching college football on basketball and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the SEC and the University of Texas Longhorns. Check out his Texas Longhorns Merchandise at http://www.sportsfantreasures.com/texas.htm

The Hook Kick - Achieving Kicking Excellence Series Volume 7

The seventh book of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series has a purple cover and focuses on the hook kick. I mention the purple cover because each of the books in this series has a different colored cover along with the photograph of author Shawn Kovacich illustrating the themed kick by smashing the first letter. Some people have criticized the covers because it is a bit harder to read with the first letter smashed all over the place, but on the shelf you can read the spine just fine, so I don't see a problem.

The book follows the rest of the series by containing chapters on basic anatomy, warm ups, stretching, strength, speed, and power training. These chapters are very basic and give just enough to show the reader some basics, but to prompt the reader to further their studies in these areas.

The bulk of volume seven focuses on the hook kick and ten of its main variations. Just like all of the books in this series, Kovacich included hundreds of photographs and illustrations among the text of this 236 page book. (This includes the index and pages to take notes) No other written text has as much detailed instruction on the hook kick, and I doubt any ever will. This is the definitive written guide on the execution of the hook kick and its variations.

It takes Kovacich thirty-one pages, which includes eighteen pages of full page pictures detailing every part of the kick, and one page of review photographs, to fully describe the execution of the turning hook kick. Kovacich also uses an illustration of a martini glass to help get his instruction on the path of trajectory. Like I said, this is the most detailed instruction on this kick you will find.

Kovacich then teaches ten variations. In these descriptions he uses smaller photographs, but they still illustrate the kicks very well. Each variations includes a pictorial overview and is self contained. I like this feature. If you want to review just one variation, you can go to that section of the book, review that kick, and get to practicing. It is because of this that I believe this to be an excellent resource to have in any martial art library. This is not a book to read cover to cover for enjoyment. It is a reference text to be used to improve your kicking.

The variations include: Step-Back Hook Kick; Spinning Hook Kick; Hop/Slide Forward Hook Kick; Hop/Slide Backward Hook Kick; Front Leg Hook Kick; Back Leg Hook Kick; Switch Hook Kick; Off-Setting Hook Kick; Jump Turning Hook Kick; 540 Degree Jump Turning Hook Kick; and the Spinning Hook Kick with the left leg. (all other kicks are shown with the right leg only)

Besides the martini glass, Kovacich also uses diagrams of a watch face and illustrations of a top to get his points across. He also includes a smorgasbord of "notes" that cover many important points regarding kicking. He also provides some basic training and practice methods and a trouble shooting guide to assist you in gaining the most out of your training and to increase your kicking skills. Like the other books in the series, Kovacich finishes with illustrations of some hook kick applications.

This is an excellent study guide for learning the hook kick. It sands alone for the hook kick, but more importantly is part of a series that has to be the most detailed examination of kicking ever in print. This series is a fantastic resource for all martial artists. Even if your kicking style is a bit different from that of Kovacich's, you will still find instruction that will help you improve and assist in your teaching if you instruct.

If you own the entire series, you will find a little redundancy in the volumes. Those are the chapters I mentioned early on in this review. However, the detailed analysis and descriptions of each of Kovacich's ten primary kicks makes this series the excellent resource it is. I have all ten volumes in my library and am looking forward to the companion volumes Kovacich is working on now to be released in 2009.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He writes and speaks about a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional DVDs, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com or http://www.bennettlawofficepc.com

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