Scoreboards

In a soccer scoreboards feature, I have looked at the career (so far!) of one of the brightest new talents in Spanish soccer: David de Gea.

The success of Spain in the Euro Cup and the World Cup has bought the Spanish football players into the limelight, and they truly deserve it. Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Villa and Casillas are the top Spanish players and have all been on top form this season. Casillas played a major role in the victory of Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey title. Spain has produced many great players and the rise this season of another Spanish star David de Gea comes as no surprise.

In a football scoreboards feature, I have continued my review of the combine drill. The final group of athletes to work out every year at the combine is the defensive backs. Out of all the drills for defensive backs, the favorite of the coaches at the combine is the “speed turn” drill.

What Happens In The Drill?
A coach will start a defensive back at a back paddle, which is the basis for everything a defensive back does. The coach starts the defensive back at a back paddle of 5 - 10 yards, and then (the coach) will motion the athlete to comeback towards him. Therefore, the athlete is changing directions during his paddle. He moves towards the coach and then the coach gives the athlete a speed turn direction. This simulation emulates a scenario much like in a man-to-man play. This is a double move in which the athlete will have to plant, pivot, keep his weight and hips down, turn and go. This leaves the athlete’s back completely to the quarterback, like it would be in a speed turn in man-to-man. At approximately 15 to 20 yards, as the athlete is running, he has to turn around and locate the football.

Point guards are one of the most talked about positions in the NBA. They play a huge role within the team, and there is truth to the opinion that without a great point guard you cannot be a great team. The NBA has seen many great point guards over the years, however it will be interesting to see is given the award as the very best in the league this season. In a basketball scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the 5 best point guards this season so far:

Rajon Rando
He is in the 5th season of his career and is one of the most talked about point guards. His performance has been outstanding throughout the season, and he is truly a massive asset for this team.

In a football scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the linebacker position in the NFL combine. The favorite drill for all team representatives at the combine for the linebacker is the pass-drop and hip rotation drill.

What Happens in the Drill?
In this drill, a football scoreboards coach stands across you and starts you with a 5 yard back-paddle for (by motioning you with the football in his hands). Then he will turn his hand one-way or the other (left or right), giving you a direction to run into. As soon as he directs you, you open your hips and drive in that direction without turning your back on the coach. You must always keep your eyes on the coach no matter which way you are directed into. The coach is going to give you 3 more changes of directions (of his choosing). The quickness of your response to the coach’s abrupt changes in direction is all that the team representatives need for gauging the swiftness or stiffness of your movements. This drill exposes athletes who cannot move or are unable to move fluidly in a given space.

The much awaited 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League Semifinal is over. Manchester United and Barcelona won their respective matches. Manchester United defeated Schalke, with the soccer scoreboards showing 2-0 and Barcelona defeated their arch rivals in an intense match 2-0. The 2nd leg of the Semifinals will be played on the 3rd and 4th of May.

It was the third El Clasico played in the past 15 days and as expected it was full of tension, drama and controversy. Everyone has questioned Mourinho’s defensive team selection and tactics. It seemed that he never planned to attack Barcelona, and instead waited for them to make mistakes which his team could take advantage of. Mourinho decided to go with three defensive midfielders, but had he gone with a more attacking starting line up the result may well have been different, and the game more watchable! Barcelona were without Iniesta in the 1st leg, a fact which Real Madrid completely failed to take advantage of.

Many people think of a “dangerous” basketball player as a player who can score and keep on scoring. However, a real dangerous player is the one who can not only achieve great scoring statistics, but can also change the game with his all round ability to create chances for others, make cutting passes, block shots and lead his team through good and bad. With this in mind, in this basketball scoreboards feature I have collated who I consider to be the most dangerous players currently plying their trade in the NBA.

The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious soccer tournament in the world, and it has the world’s most expensive players. The richest clubs are willing to pay more and more for the world’s top class players in the hope that they will bring the trophy home to their cabinet. In a soccer scoreboards feature, I have listed the most highly paid players who will be playing in the quarterfinals of the Champions league.

Frank Lampard (£6.6 million)
Like every other owner, Chelsea’s owner Roman Abromovich wants his team to win this year’s Champions League and for that he is willing to pay the midfielder Lampard an amount that he arguably does not deserve. Clearly his performances are not up to the mark, nor is he consistent, and the amount paid to him could surely buy a more prolific midfielder. Lampard has himself admitted that he is out of form and is not an automatic choice for his team. Regardless of my criticism, he remains one of the highest paid of them all in the world of soccer!

There are a few players in the NBA who have improved their game to a great extent this season, and who have had a huge effect on their teams overall performance. These players were not rated before the season started, but they have exceeded everybody’s expectations and have played really well. In a basketball scoreboards feature, I have listed who I consider to be the most improved players in the 2010/2011 season.

With the football scoreboards 011 NFL Draft day coming up, teams are scampering to acquire that player whom they think might turn the tables around for them, or keep them where they are at the top. However, as history has repeatedly shown us, no matter how good a player looks on paper; his ability to support the team and play well within a unit can be an entirely different aspect. With 28th April, 2011 just around the corner, let us take a look at the most disappointing draft picks of the last decade from 9 of the 32 NFL teams.

Every soccer scoreboards football fan is eagerly waiting for these 4 matches that will be played between the two greatest club rivals in the soccer world, Barcelona and Real Madrid. These two teams have given a lot to the game of football and contain many of the world’s best players in their respective teams. When these two teams come out to play its not only the players who are playing against each other: the managers and the fans are play against each other too. It’s a psychological battle between everyone in the stadium, and its 90 minutes of pure footballing heaven.

The 2nd leg of the champions’ league quarterfinals is over. The soccer scoreboards show that Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Schalke are in the final four. None of the matches were close. Barcelona defeated Shakhtar with an aggregate score of 6-1, Real Madrid defeated Tottenham with an aggregate score of 5-0, Manchester United defeated Chelsea with an aggregate score of 3-1 and Schalke lit up the soccer scoreboards, defeating Inter Milan by an aggregate score of 7-3.

5 guys, one aim – stardom. And these guys are some of the biggest stars the sporting world has ever produced. This basketball scoreboards article looks at all the 5 positions and lists the greatest NBA player to have graced the courts at each one of them.

1. The Point Guard, Earvin “Magic” Johnson – he is one of the (or just the?!) greatest basketball players in the history of NBA. Besides having great all-round skills, he was a great team player as well. As the point guard for the Lakers, he took them to 9 appearances in the Finals and the Lakers ended up winning 5 of those. At the end of his career, his averages looked like this: 2 steals, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists and 19.5 points per game. His field shots stood at 52 percents, while his percentile from the free throw point stood at 85. The basketball scoreboards show that he has 12 All Star appearances under his belt along with 3 MVP, 3 Final MVPs and 2 MVPs for the All Star game.