DALLAS SPORT

That sound you hear is nothing but NBA picks pounding the hardwood as training camps get set to open. It’s been a wild summer in The Association as most of it surrounding Lebrun James and his new posse on South Beach with a continuing shift of power back toward the Eastern Conference. But King James may find it getting even more crowded in the East if Carmelo Anthony gets his way.

Back in late August, Milo began rumblings that he wanted out of Denver. With one year left on his contract, Anthony was interested in a three-year, $65 million extension. He just wasn’t interested in it coming from the Nuggets. The team has started exploring a number of trade options, hoping to gain some young players in return. That wish has hurt the New York Knicks’ chances of landing Milo, but has kept the other three rumored suitors – Houston, Chicago and New Jersey – strongly in the mix.

For the time being, any news of Anthony changing addresses has remained shrouded in secrecy. But that hasn’t stopped people from asking. La Vasquez, Anthony’s new wife, was asked about her husband’s plans by the Denver Post while promoting her new reality show.

“I find myself trying to stay away from speculation,” she told The Post. “He’s been with those guys for seven years and has played his heart out.”

Milo himself has been pretty mum on the subject telling his followers on Twitter, “When I know something you guys will know something. #pointblank period.” For the moment he remains a Denver Nugget, but it seems only to be a matter of when he’ll be traded, not if. With two of the three contenders being in the East, a trade to the Right Coast could make the battle for the top half of the conference very interesting.

Maintaining a great deal of lower body strength is what beach volleyball players need to do through superb beach volleyball training to keep up with the players and the ball on the court or sand is essential. While preparing for the season, here are a set of exercises that are great for the lower body for volleyball players.

During complete beach volleyball training, an exercise each player should depend on is the lower body plies metrics drills. These exercises assist in building muscle in the legs since there is a lot of jumping that is require on the court. To complete these exercises it is required that you use all of your strength, which is why these ply metrics drills are extremely tiring. Building strength, stamina and power in the player’s legs is accomplished with this kind of comprehensive beach volleyball training.

One kind of ply metrics are depth jumps where the players do 3 sets of 10, twice a week. The player will stand on a short, sturdy box or some sort of table with their legs together and toes near the edge. Because you won’t be jumping in extensive training yet, you will carefully step down from the table and onto the floor. At this time when both feet are on the ground you immediately jump so high and extend your arms to the sky, then repeat.

To be able to keep up with the volleyball, the players need to stay limber to run, jump and reach for it. Flexibility exercises are great for the body, both upper and lower parts, in beach volleyball training tips. Be aware that exercises consisting of flexibility are different than stretching and that you need to stretch before you do these exercises. You don’t want to be harmed if you are not participating in the game!

Tennis ball machines are a great way to get extra practice in. Whether you just need someone (or thing) to play with or you want to focus on a particular shot, a tennis ball machine is always there for you. And undoubtedly the best tennis machines out there are the Lobster Elite Tennis Ball Machines. They have numerous different models so there’s a machine that can fit your needs and budget, they have all the best portability features (battery powered, folds up nicely, wheeled base and collapsible handle) so you can easily transport it to wherever you need to go, and their quality and service has a reputation for being outstanding. Probably the only thing that could make a Lobster Elite tennis ball machine better is the price; they just cost so much! Below you’ll find a few tips on how to save money on a Lobster Elite tennis machine so you too can reap the benefits of these awesome machines without going broke.

The best way to get the most value out of your tennis ball machine is to make sure that you have the most appropriate features for your skill level (or your anticipated skill level). The Lobster Elite series has 5 different models and each model has a slightly different feature than the one below it. So if you just need to work on the basics and more than anything you want something to play with, going with something like the Lobster Elite Freedom will be your best bet and you’ll save a ton of cash.

Looking at the next model up, the Lobster Elite 2, you get both vertical and horizontal oscillations so now you can work on both close court and backcourt shots and get some variation between the two. But if you feel you need something that can provide a full scale workout, you’ll want some of the features on the Lobster Elite 3 tennis ball machine that can oscillate in two different horizontal directions and 1 vertical direction that will literally put the ball anywhere on the court. Talk about a workout! Then finally there’s the granddaddy version such as the Lobster Grand Slam IV that has incredible remote features and programming that is perfect for tennis instructors and tutors alike. And because the difference between models can sometimes be only a few hundred, it’s much cheaper to buy the one you’ll need instead of buying one and selling it after you upgrade.

If you’ve ever been shopping for online bristle dart boards you probably found more choices than Lady Gaga has costumes! What makes one bristle dart board better than another? Well, for starters don’t buy a dart board actually made of bristle, or hogs hair. That practice was given up long ago in favor of a new material, sisal fiber, and a plant that is grown in warm climates. The advantage to using sisal fiber is that it has self healing properties that close the hole up after the dart is pulled out. This greatly extends the life of the board. Most traditional dart boards made today are made of sisal fiber. You might find some cheap boards made of wound paper but since sisal has become so popular and affordable there is no reason to go with inferior materials like wound paper just to save a few bucks. So make sure it is made of sisal fiber.

The next biggest difference is the spider, which are the strips dividing each section. Again you will find some cheap boards with a plastic spider. Stay away from those. Most traditional boards today have a metal spider and the little bit more money it costs is well worth it. Now, regarding the spider, the thinner the dividers and the fewer staples holding them in, the better. This way your dart is less likely to hit the divider or a staple and bounce out. At the bottom of the line we have spiders made of rounded wire and a lot of staples holding it to the board. An improvement to this is the use of triangular or diamond shaped wire which helps deflect the dart off of it and into the dart board, thus reducing the number of bounce-outs. The best examples like the Viper Razorback utilize knife-blade thin wire embedded directly into the surface which totally eliminates the use of staples that sometimes get in the way. Also look for a staple-free bull’s eye, a feature not limited to top of the line models anymore but found in intermediate level models as well. Nod or was the first company to offer a staple-free bulls eye, which Nod or calls the Sup bull, and the Nod or Sup match Bristle Dart Board comes with the latest version of this innovation, Sup bull II, which features slanted edges to guide the dart into the target for increased scores.

At this time of year it seems that we are far more likely to try a new activity – and with the children off school it’s great if you can find something that they will love too!

Last week we gave you our top five reasons to try martial arts, this week we thought we’d take a look at the benefits of badminton!

Fitness

Badminton allows for a wide range of physical movement, from sprints and jumps to twists and turns. You can play it fast or reasonably slowly and can use a variety of strokes, which gives the opportunity to burn those calories if you wish and really improve fitness levels, or simply take it easy and enjoy the game. Either way it will improve your fitness levels if played regularly.

Inclusive and social

Badminton is a social game and can be enjoyed whatever your age. It is simpler to learn quickly than tennis, as the shuttlecock slows down in the air due to its clever design. This gives you the chance to have a successful rally with other players and means that you can involve children in the game from quite a young age – as they should be able to pick it up quite easily.

Focus

Once you have mastered the basics of badminton, and may be playing a faster game, you will soon notice how good this activity is for focus and hand-eye coordination. These skills can be used when playing other sports or in other areas of your life.

Challenge

Learning badminton is a challenge but an achievable one, so it gives a real sense of satisfaction. The game will test your imagination, intelligence, physical fitness and skill. You can enjoy hours of fun attempting to outwit your opponent/s. If you have a competitive streak, this sport could be for you.

Fun

Most importantly, badminton is great fun! For all the reasons above, we feel that playing badminton is a fantastic way to spend some time this summer. Physical activity makes you feel great and if you decide to give this one a try you should leave the court having really enjoyed yourself!