Swimming Like Phelps

Swimming in the buff, the athletes of ancient Olympics believed clothes were a hindrance on performance. Modern technology, however, has changed that. Notably in swimming, the right suit can have an enormous impact. Introduced in February, Speedo's LZR swimsuit, 38 of the 42 world swimming records have been broken since then have fallen to swimmers wearing these suits. Some of those records have been claimed by less-than-notable racers, suggesting that the difference lies in the apparel, not the athlete.

The new suit is cut from a densely woven nylon-elastane material that compresses the wearer's body into a hydrodynamic shape but is extremely light. Moreover, there are no sewn seams. The first fully bonded bodysuit. The suit is ultrasonically welded, creating a smooth streamlined surface. Built with a core stabilizer, the suit holds the swimmer in a corset-like grip allowing to maintain the best body position in the water.

Sources:
Video - "How the Speedo LZR swim suit works"
http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2008/04/21/how-the-fastest-swim-suit-works/
http://www.speedo80.com/lzr-racer/features/

The New Running Essential

What better companion then the Nike+. From the manufacturers who bring you the best running sneakers, not only help improve your running performance but now help you reach your personal goals. A partnership with Apple Inc, and their iPod technology comes a new technology for today's runner.

For only $29, you can add a running-oriented workout machine to your iPod. Allowing you to keep track of distance, pace and calorie data from your workouts. Once synced with Apple's own iTunes software, your data can be displayed showing you a summary of workouts. Sending your information to NikePlus.com transfers your data where you and all your friends can see your progress, help setting goals and keeping track of total mileage.

In addition, the software behind the device is what makes it so user-friendly. Allowing you to select your type of workout, such as, by distance, time, calorie count or an open-ended run. All while listening to your favorite playlist to help you push that extra mile. An extra feature built-in is the voiceover which counts down your time or distance remaining, which is a bonus encouragement.

Sources:

Photo - http://atjoburg.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/resize_article_photophp.jpeg

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2007/tc20070102_855465.htm

Medical Technology in Today's Sports

Sports medicine has grown tremendously over the past 20 years along with people's love for watching professional athletes. Today's professional teams have full medical staffs and the ability to perform minor surgeries in their medical facilities. Teams only employ the top physicans, for instance the Philadelphia Eagles' top doctors are also head physicians for Jefferson University Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Albert Einstein Medical Center, and Temple University Hospital. Players 40 years ago never had care like the athletes of today do. In the world of sports it isn't uncommon for players to have a minor surgery such as draining fluid in an inflammed knee or shoulder and be back on the field a few days later. Up until 10 years ago this would never happen, there was no such thing as minor surgery in sports. Donovan McNabb torn his ACL in November and was back on the field practicing again by April, that is a six month recovery time. Not too long ago if an athlete torn their ACL it meant the end of their career, doctors didn't have the necessary tools to repair the ACL so that it was as if nothing happened, now they do. It wasn't just the ACL that would end careers it was all types of injuries, today there is almost no injury that an athlete can't recover from and still play at a high level.

Sources: www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/doctors

www.philly.com/dailynews/sports

Gambling in Sports Today

Only a few small things have changed in sports gambling, now there is more to bet on in the world of sports, such as, will the first pitch of the World Series be a strike or a ball. Other ways to bet are through fantasy teams, which people will put money in a pot and instead of betting on a team people pick players that they think will be good and at the end of the year who ever has the most points wins. Arguably the biggest sports betting event of the year is the NCAA tournament, millions of people throughout the country enter tournament pools and fill out brackets with friends, family, or co- workers to determine the winner of the tournament and the winner of the pool gets the money put in by all participants. Another thing that is changing in the world of sports betting is the way in which many people place their bets. Over the past five years online gambling has become extremely popular and is now the way most of sports betting is done. However, it is illegal to use credit cards, electronic fund transfers, or bank accounts of any kind for online gambling.

Sources:

msn.foxsports.com

www.espn.com

Player Salaries

Today's salaries are no where near what they were 30, 20 , even 10 years ago. Even the worst players on a team make a great living. The lowest salary for any player in the NFL, MLB, NHL, or NBA is $260,000. When athletes were first getting paid to play they didn't have agents or others to negotiate their contracts, they were just happy to be paid to play. They weren't paid a lot of money and would never even dream of not playing because they want a new contract. Now every athlete has an agent and most have endorsement deals. The highest paid athlete in the world is Tiger Woods earning $110 million last year, almost all of that money came from endorsements. Tiger has been hurt much of the last year and he made his money mostly through his endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, Buick, and AT&T. Endorsements have become a big part of sports because it is a way that both the sports leagues and athletes can get more money.

Today's Video Games

Gone are the days of block shaped football players and a small white ball moving from one side of the screen to the other. Today's video games have far surpassed those that have come before them, the games look better and offer more. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between a real game and a video game with all of the new advances to make everything look as real as possible. Before all of the players, teams, and stadiums all looked the same, now everything is made to look just like real life, all of the players look just like themselves along with team uniforms, the stadium, and even the fans where their home teams jerseys. Another simple feature that is in today's games is the ablility to save your progress. If you were one win away from a championship but couldnt play the game at that time there was no way to save the game on a Sega. In newer games you can also create yourself and friends, which adds to the fun because yuo can play as yourself.

NASCAR Tire Development - The Current State

Goodyear has been the sole supplier of tires for NASCAR since 1994. The ongoing need to develop new tire technology to provide safety for the drivers and keep cars running fast is a tough balancing act. Goodyear must content with changing surfaces of the racetracks as well as weather conditions. As the car design changes so does the forces (pull, drag) working on the car which mean new tires have to be developed to deal with new car setups. The cars are not the only thing changing that Goodyear needs to deal with, the tracks themselves are changing as well. Tracks are being resurfaced and reconfigured. All this adds up to a year round development cycle for Goodyear as well as the driver and race car teams.

References:

Website / Photo: NASCAR©: Many changing factors play a part in tire development - http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/features/04/04/drodman.enterprise.goodyear/index.html

NASCAR Sponsorship: The Current State

NASCAR fan as almost as loyal to the sponsors are they are to their favorite drivers. The 1990's and early years of the turn of the century saw NASCAR's popularity increase with new tracks, additional races, TV deals, and attendance records being set at most of the tracks. This rise in popularity also attracted many new sponsors. Sponsorship extended from the cat teams to track and race naming. A major sponsorship change of the main circuit from The Winston Cup to the Sprint Cup series also took place. R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco manufacture, ending a long standing sponsorship with NASCAR and Nextel took over. Nextel and the sponsorship was later acquired by Sprint.

References:

Website / Photo: NASCAR© History of NASCAR - http://www.nascar.com/news/features/history/

New soccer microchip technology

New microchip technology in soccer is allowing the refs to slack off a bit. It alerts them when the soccer ball has crossed the goal line. This allows for greater accuracy of goal keeping. This technology has actually implemented after a soccer player scored a goal while the ref wasn't looking. The ball is to come out in 2009 and is made by Adidas.

Sources:
video- youtube
http://www.engadget.com/2005/02/28/soccer-ball-microchip-helps-inattentive-refs/

Keeping track of the ball

Tennis players are hitting balls faster than ever before due to composite racket technology so keeping track of if the ball went out or not might become somewhat of a problem. With Hawk-Eye, that problem is no more. It a sophisticated, virtual reality system that can tell whether a ball is in or out, as well as analyze a player's match strategy. Using multiple cameras, the ball gets tracked in 3-D space in a computer simulation. The results get put up on the television screen. Hawk-Eye is able to show where the ball landed in every point played. This results in very accurate measurements of the ball, up to 3mm. This kind of technology helps sports players get the points they deserve.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/3851023.stm

Sports performance gear

Olympic swimmers are setting new records partly due to the fact that they are rocking the latest in sports technology. New swimwear that reduce drag have been invented and recently been used in the 2008 Olympics. The suits push in the swimmers chest and behind so that they cut through the water better. Another benefit to the suit that is still being tested is that it helps the swimmer get oxygenated by squeezing them. Between measuring frictional properties of potential fabrics in NASA wind tunnels and modeling the fluid dynamics of jiggling flesh, the manufacturers have definitely created some hydrodynamic suits. Manufacturers such as TYR and Speedo both offer these high tech swimsuits. They come at a price of $200 to $500.


Sources:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/17-the-lycra-swimsuit-thats-worth-its-weight-in-gold/

Fighting in the NHL - The Current State

NHL General Managers and coaches have always mixed feelings when it comes to fighting in the NHL. At the start of the 1992-193 season the instigator rule was first used. The rule awards a 5 minute fighting and a game misconduct penalties to the player to starts a fight. This rule was later amended at the beginning of the 1996-1997 season to also include a 2-minute penalty and increased the game misconduct to a 10 minute penalty. While these rules curbed fighting for a couple of years in the NHL, recent years have seen a steady increase in fighting. As players are getting bigger and faster with each year so are the hits and tempers flare. Players see fighting as a way to police themselves but protecting teammates. While new rules may try to curb the level of fighting, it will always be a part of the NHL.

References:

Website: NY Times - Despite Changes in the N.H.L., Fighting Rises: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/sports/hockey/25fight.html

Website: St. Petersburg Times - NHL's non-fight rule may be hurting players: http://www.sptimes.com/2002/05/04/Sports/NHL_s_non_fight_rule_.shtml

Photo: rumorsandrants.com: http://rumorsandrants.com/2009/03/fighting-may-be-seeing-its-last-days-in-the-nhl.html

NHL Goalies Masks: The Current State

As the game of hockey continues evolves so does the goalie mask. Players are getting faster and stronger with faster and harder shots with each passing year. New materials are being used to create lighter stronger masks which offer better protection. While fiberglass is still the main material used, carbon fiber and Kevlar are also used. Titanium is now used in the making of the cage.
One of the biggest areas of the growth in the goalie masks is the artwork. The mask not only used for protection but being used an extension of the goalie's personality. Team logos, nicknames, homage to family members, and activities outside of hockey all adorn the masks of today's goalies.

References:

Website: Enotes.com - Goalie Mask: http://www.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/goalie-mask
Photos: nhllogos.blogspot.com - NHL Tournament of Logos: http://nhllogos.blogspot.com/search/label/nhltogm

Sports Updates

Sports fans of today never had it easier to get sports updates. Technology has changed so drastically that even most cell phones have the option to inform fans of their favorite team's scores. They can get score updates even when they are at work, school, or stuck at a play with their significant other. Not only do cell phones have the capability of sending scores live via text message, but some phones even have the capability to stream video. This might have been a far fetched idea a couple hundred years ago but it is now reality. Computers are allowing people to get instant information with a single click of the mouse. No longer do people have to wait to see the game results in the newspaper, or through people that watched the game in real life. They can get live results while the game is happening. Computers are getting cheaper and cheaper, as are cell phones, so sports fans can get the information that they need.

Sources:
Picture: http://i.ehow.com