DALLAS SPORT

Background

As I work for a badminton retailer, I am occasionally asked to review other manufacturer’s racquets. Against this backcloth, I recently tested a Victor Braves word 10 badminton racquet and got a huge surprise.

A few years ago, the Victor brand was extremely small in the UK, mainly considered a European brand. We knew very little about their products and level of quality. That changed just over a year ago when it was announced that they were the new sponsors of the Korean National Badminton Team. This was a serious leap forward for Victor and ultimately gave them an international seal of approval in terms of quality. After all, if a racquet is good enough for Lee Yong Dee, current Olympic Mixed Doubles champion and World Menes Doubles Silver Medalist, and his team, then it must be good!

On to my review…

The Victor Braves word 10 is the “second” racquet in the Braves word series, the cream of the Victor badminton range, sitting either side of the 9 and 11.

It’s a good looking racquet in charcoal grey, with flashes of red, white and what looks like a hologram strip along the side of the head. It arrived in a full length bag in red with the name on the bag to differentiate it from the 9 and 11. This is a high quality full-cover bag too, nothing flimsy here.

Grip size is G3 which is the smaller of the two grip sizes on Victor racquets. It’s equivalent to a size 3.5 inches or Onex G4, which is a bit confusing. Weight is 86g. Interestingly, this racquet has a maximum recommended stringing tension of 30lbs so it’s got to be very strong and should be extremely popular in the Asian market where strings tensions are so much higher.

This is a fairly even balanced badminton racquet, slightly head heavy, but not too much. The shaft is designated stiff.

Usually when I test and review racquets, I like to play with the racquet factory strung. On this occasion, the Braves word 10 had been custom strung to around 26lbs. Rather than be disappointed, I was absolutely delighted and you will see why when you read on.

Braves word technology revolves around the shape of the frame – which is actually the shape of a sword. And this racquet certainly sounds like one as you can hear it cut through the air!

It would really be a great advantage if you are a basketball or volleyball player and you have a truly high stature matched with superior vertical leap skills. But then, even though most of the basketball players and volleyball players we see are somewhat really tall, it is surprising how most of them can only jump as much. They always seem to fall short in jumping so that they do not make a score or goal at all.

More often than not, they are actually finding it hard to dunk a ball into the net, or perhaps block off a shot from the opponent who is not really that tall; or worse, cannot even toss volleyball back to the other team for lacking in vertical jump. Really, it has become no doubt confirmed that height is not the only thing needed in order to score a goal or net. Your skills in doing vertical jumps also matters a lot in the end.

If you happen to be one of such unfortunate players who have the height but just cannot seem to jump high, then you’d better start browsing through the Internet for reliable resource materials on Double Your Vertical Leap or its other similar counterparts in the market.

What is more, check out how the program works so that you will know if it matches well with your needs, as well as your beliefs and preferences. That way, you will not waste your money and time on a product that claims to be effective when it does not really work at all.

What you can also do is check out the various testimonials of other previous users and discover what they have to say about the effectiveness of Double Your Vertical Leap as a training manual to help increase vertical jumps. Hear it straight from the horses’ mouths how such program has helped them get that advantageous jump against their opponents and even their teammates.

Last but not least, find out if any of such users have been recognized as the MVP or the Most Valuable Player in their team. If a lot of them have been awarded such prestigious honor, then you can say that it is most probably due to the training manual they have used which is that of the Double Your Vertical Leap. That way, you will know what chances you have of being able to do higher vertical jumps by using such training manual.

Birmingham City is set to host Wigand Athletic at St Andrews, on Saturday afternoon.

On Alex McLeish’s watch, Birmingham has had successive good seasons. And barring an unexpected loss to West Broom, they have had a reasonable start to the current season under Roberto Di Mateo’s helm.

Both teams are coming off mid-week wins in the Carling Cup. Birmingham had a 3-1 shoreline in their favor against MK Dons, while Wigand prevailed 2-1 over Preston.

But the mid-week matches could leave both teams jaded with Birmingham getting an additional day of rest.

Birmingham should view their Carling Cup win as some consolation for the West Broom loss, and should have boosted their morale ahead of their home match against the Lattices.

Birmingham have had a 17-match unbeaten streak at St Andrews, including matches against the likes of Manchester united, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. They will be hoping to make it 18, on Saturday.

In their two home matches in the ongoing season, Birmingham came from behind to beat Blackburn, while Peep Reina between the sticks ensured that the Blues had to remain content with a draw in the game against Liverpool.

In their away loss to West Broom, Birmingham was actually 1-0 up, before conceding the three goals that led to the final 3-1 score. In another Premier League away game, Birmingham visited the Reebok Stadium, and took a 2-0 lead over Bolton before frittering away the advantage; that game needed in a draw.

Wigand’s premiership campaign has been relatively inconsistent. After losses in their first two games, Wigand steadied their ship with a 1-0 win against Tottenham followed by a 1-1 draw against Sunderland.

Kerry Collins has had a long and interesting NFL career. He started out as the first player ever drafted by the Carolina Panthers organization in 1995. He has also played over the years with the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans. Over the course of that time he has had the opportunity to throw passes to some great players, including Amana Toomey, Ike Hilliard, Jerry Porter, Wesley Walls, Mark Carrier, Randy Moss, Jeremy Shockley, Tike Barber, Mushin Muhammad, Rocket Ismail, Alga Crumple, Justin Gage, and more.

Here is a look at five interesting facts about Kerry Collins.

#1 – Kerry Collins has thrown for more touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys than he has against any other team in the National Football League.

#2 – Through the 2009 season, Kerry Collins threw 192 touchdown passes during his career and only 26 of them, or just over thirteen percent, had come in the first quarter.

#3 – No player has caught more touchdown passes from Kerry Collins than Amana Toomey did with 28. That puts him five ahead of the second player on the list, Ike Hilliard.

#4 – The first touchdown pass Kerry Collins ever threw in his career was a four yarder in week four of his 1995 rookie season. It came in a 20-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while he was playing for the Panthers and was caught by tight end Pete Metzelaars.

#5 – In a 39-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2003 NFL playoffs, Collins threw four touchdown passes, three of them going to Amana Toomey.

Sometimes, you may be wondering why basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. There may be tons of reasons, but the most prominent could be that it is an easy game to play. Almost anyone can play it.

For some people, it really is just a game of putting a ball through a hoop. Perhaps you’ve heard that line from your girlfriend or your mom. But for those of you who avidly play and watch the sport, basketball is a full-contact sport that demands great speed and athleticism. Yes, it is easy. But it will depend greatly on your capacity. Enhancing your basketball skills can take a huge toll on your body. But nonetheless, it’s a great way to keep fit and healthy.

If you want to play basketball the right way, always start with the basics. Learn how to dribble before anything else! It’s impossible to move around the hardwood court if you don’t have ample dribbling skills. The thing with basketball today is that everyone just wants to shoot the ball. Nobody even bothers to learn how to dribble, pass and defend. It’s nice to learn how to shoot but you have to understand that it isn’t the only thing that you can do with the basketball.

Another thing that can help you enhance your playing style is conditioning. The wear and tear of a basketball game can put a lot of toll on your body. Eat well, sleep well and minimize your vices. A few laps around the park can do a lot for your stamina. Exercise daily and don’t forget to re-hydrate. If you think those NBA players making those fitness ads are just doing it for promotional value, think again. Your performance on the court has a lot to do with what you do outside of it.

Lastly, play the game regularly. Whether you’re practicing on your own or playing in an invitational league with your friends, always find ways to be on the court. In fact, play every day if you have to! It’s a bit harsh, but you’ll get used to it. It’s a fun sport to play, especially for those who are competitive at heart. Understand that basketball can be a way of life. The camaraderie that you share with your teammates and friends, and those values that you get through winning and losing; these are the things you can learn on the court that can stay with you for the rest of your life.