Top 5 Athletes of All Time

Even though the list of talented athletes is endless we have attempted to group together who we think are the best athletes of basketball time, we initially thought 10 was basketball good even number but after great thought we decided to be brutal and whittle it down to a meager 5 names!

We should point out that these names are in no particular order; they are all as great as each other.

Muhammad Ali, born in 1942 Ali is a three time world heavyweight champion and the only boxer to have won the linear heavyweight championship three times, in his 20 year career he fought in a massive 61 fights, 56 of which he won and for a magnificent ten years he remained undefeated.
His deserved place in our top five sporting champs is only illustrated by the fact that he has been awarded 'Sportsman of the century' by both Sports Illustrated and the BBC.

Pele, playing national football at the tender age of 16, Edison Arantes do Nascimento has been a top athlete from a very young age. FIFA recognises that Pele has scored 1281 goals across his entire career, however for many of his time playing in Brazil goal scoring was not recognised therefore this number is no doubt significantly higher, either way FIFA consider this figure as the highest number of goals achieved by any one player.

Golfer Tiger Woods, deserves a place in the top athletes for the fact that he has won 65 official PGA Tour events, an additional 22 individual professional titles, owns two team titles in the two-man World Golf Championships-World Cup, and won the inaugural FedEx Cup playoffs. In 2008 he became the first golfer to win four PGA Tour events five or more times and is the first person to win a PGA Tour tournament on the same course seven times, and the first person to win two tournaments at the same golf course in the same season.

Lance Armstrong, this cyclist deserves a place on this list not only for being the only person to win the Tour De France seven times but for also being a survivor of cancer. He developed testicular cancer in 1995 which then spread to his stomach, lungs and brain, after extensive hospital care he made a full recovery after which he went on to win the prestigious tournament a total of seven times. His dedication and bravery has been recognised by the over 50 accolades and awards he has received since.

Michael Jordan, noted as being one of the greatest basketball players of all time and a global icon for the NBA around the world. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average with 30.12 points per game, as well as averaging a record 33.4 points per game in the playoffs. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He will be eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

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Rec Leagues - Man Vs Zone Defenses

I played in a rec league basketball game last night, one which we lost by double digits. basketball weren't outplayed or worse than our opposition, but we were out shot. On paper and from the start of the game it didn't look like we would have an issue in winning, but every time the other team shot the ball from deep, the sucker would go in.

So at halftime we decided to forgo playing the 2-3 zone, that had been working in our other games, in favor of a man-to-man defense.

We thought that going man would help to get out on the plethora of shooters the other team had and stop their scoring onslaught. We are not a huge team, but in this game we definitely had the edge inside and we thought that going man would force them into our stronghold and catapult us to the W.

The problem with this thought basketball our shallow bench. We only have 6 guys on the squad and we are not necessarily the most fit team in the league. Our opponents last night, on the other hand, had as many on the bench as they had on the floor, meaning they had endless supplies of subs.

So what got us in trouble was our stamina. We held our own to start the second half, but the other team was good at pushing the ball up the court on misses, turnovers and makes alike. They basically wore us down.

With 6 minutes left in the game we were down 3. Less than a minute later we were down 4 with the ball, where we could have cut the lead to 2 or 1 with a three-ball.

Problem is that this is about the same time our legs gave out on us. The other team made a run around the 5 minute mark where we went from a possession down to down double digits. They then kept pressing and harassing us. Because of our sea legs we were too exhausted on the offensive end to aggressively create shots and, more importantly, on the defensive end we were sagging off the guys we were guarding, giving them unobstructed looks at the rim.

At the end of the game, this turned out to be our downfall, and to the victors go the spoils.

So the question is when a team should go to man, and when zone is the best bet. In our situation, we went to man to stop their outside shooting and consequently ended up giving them free looks at the hoop.

Had we thought it through, we may have been better off going from a 2-3 zone to a 3-2 or 1-2-2. Reason being is that they weren't scoring many points inside on our interior D when we were in a zone in the first half. They did do a good job of passing the ball around the perimeter and finding good looks, but they were relatively quiet inside. Had we switched to an odd man front, over playing the perimeter, we could have done a better job on their outside shooting and forced them to come inside.

Now, our situation should have been black and white. We only had 6 guys dressed and most of us had eaten too many buffalo wings at Super Bowl parties the night before, so switching to man, seeing that we would tire easily, should have raised a red flag.

If you have a full squad, can match up athletically against your opposition, and are not fearful of tiring, then you shouldn't have any reservations about playing man. If, like us, you have only one sub, and are not in the best of shape, then try adjusting your zone to meet your needs. If they are pounding the ball inside, try and 2-3, or if they are draining threes, try an odd manned front, 3-2 or 1-2-2.

Keep sporting!

Evan Pfaff is co-owner of Who's In First.

Who's In First is an online league management system for leagues of all sizes and sports. Our state-of-the-art software enables league managers the ability to quickly create and deploy schedules and standings over the Internet.

Visit Who's In First, http://www.whosinfirst.com, today for a free demonstration and to learn why Who's In First is the best choice for your league.

Fantasy Basketball and Fantasy Football - Preparing For the Playoffs

In fantasy sports, the idea is to basketball a championship. Getting to the playoffs is the first step and a good draft gets you more mileage than anything else towards that end. However, winning the fantasy playoffs may come down to your ability to plan ahead even more so than your ability to spot talent.

There are several factors that should be taken into account as the playoffs approach. A few of them are listed in this article.

1) We will start with the obvious. Review your team. Do you have any "sleepers" that just have not performed as well as you had hoped they might? Do not carry sleepers into the playoffs unless there are extenuating circumstances - replace the player with an average player rather than take a chance on getting nothing. A circumstance I might keep an underperforming sleeper on my team is if the player is on a professional team that will be "investing time in their younger players" due to the professional team's own inability to make the playoffs.

2) Is your league a "keeper" league or maybe a long-term contract league? If yes, then you can probably trade some of your pretty good players who are eligible to be kept for next year. Maybe even one of those up and coming sleepers would be a good candidate. Why would you do that? Well, you want to trade them for players that are GREAT TODAY to give you an edge. You can trade with a team that will not make the playoffs this year and who is not going to be able to keep their great player anyway. It's is a win / win. They rebuild for the future and you increase your chances of winning it all this year.

3) If your league is not a "keeper" or long-term contract league then you can still try trading up. Sometimes a team has too many players at one position or too many players on the same team. You might be able to work a win / win trade in that situation as well. They might take a lesser, but still good player, in order to spread out their players across more professional teams.

4) How does the schedule look for your players during the fantasy playoffs? This one is a little more basketball related than football. Knowing how many games each player plays during a given week can give you an idea about whether you would be better served to exchange some players. As a rule, if basketball players are close to providing the same fantasy value per game, then you want the one that plays the most games - no matter the difference in game number. For example, you might have a player that averages 10 fantpts (Player A) per game and will play 11 total games in the playoffs. There might be a player that can be picked up off of waivers who averages only 9 fantpts (Player B), but will play 14 games. All else being equal Player A will contribute 110 fantpts while Player B will contribute 126 fantpts. The difference they could give you will actually probably be larger because Player B will have more opportunities to fill a gap for you than Player A. There are websites that have tables already createdwith thistype of fantasy sports gameschedule density information.

Hint: 14 games is the most played for any NBA team over the last 3 fantasy weeks of the current 2008-2009 season. Which teams play 14 games? Philadelphia is the only team that does so. 10 games is the least played during that same time period. That honor goes to the Houston Rockets.
Winning the regular season in fantasy sports is often all about the draft and early free agency. Winning the playoffs typically takes a little more craft. Follow the above simple guidelines and you will be well prepared for the playoffs when the time comes.

About the Author:

Josh Ahlstrom is the creator of SignAndTrade.com, a fantasy sports community and game hosting website.

SignAndTrade.com offers customizable fantasy sports leagues fit for those serious about their fantasy sports, but user friendly and intuitive enough for novice fantasy GMs. Besides the ultimate in fantasy basketball SignAndTrade.com includes a messageboard where uses can discuss anything and everything related to fantasy sports.

SignAndTrade.com also has a blog where you will find fresh information and opinions relating to basketball, football, and more. We hope that information sharing and a spirit of community involvement will abound. Please feel free to check out more of our fantasy sports games and information as well as our consolidated nba player information by using the fantasy basketball link previously provided.

What Snowmobile Racing Entails

Snowmobiles basketball great fun for anyone looking to have fun with basketball and snow. Some snowmobiles have been modified and equipped to take on this terrain in a different way. Snowmobile racing. Different snowmobiles are equipped to drive at high speeds. You find that these snowmobiles have modified engines with increased horsepower.

The participants of these races don't have it easy. They courses they are given are short and difficult to navigate. They might have to drive over shoulder high snow, snow covered hills, soft snow banks and sometimes ice covered river sides. To be able to appreciate snowmobile racing, snowmobiles have to have enough maneuverability and engine power.

Your local snowmobile association should have all information about any races in your area and your surrounding area. They also have the information you need in case you want to take up racing. You can also access this information from the internet.

The best in snowmobile racing is found with the Snowcross events. These events are divided into two sections, the National and Regional events. At the regional level, if you are a member of a racing group recognized by the official Snowcross Association, you are allowed to take part in the races. These are again categorized from beginner to expert.

These competitions give snowmobilers the chance to practice their racing and how to maneuver their snowmobiles. They also learn how to perform stunts for example mid air steering skills. The professional snowmobile racers get to compete on the international level, and here they show off their mastery of skills, their snowmobiles, the snow and gravity!

Peter Gitundu Researches And Reports On Snowmobiles. For More Information On snowmobile racing, Visit His Site At SNOWMOBILE RACING You Can Also Post Your Views About snowmobile racing On My Blog HereSNOWMOBILE RACING