yyys123
Geregistreerd op: 10 Jul 2019
Berichten: 1110
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 Geplaatst: 11-07-2019 01:53:58 Onderwerp: ailed to close out the Blaz |
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| I have been a very proud parent this week. As someone who grew up idolizing many sports I was absolutely thrilled when my daughter came home from school and told me her class spent part of their lunch watching the Winter Olympics in the library. "Look daddy there is that girl skier I watched today," she said pointing at our television. The skier in question hadnt won gold but shed won a spot on national television and, while enjoying her moment in the spotlight, had a huge smile for the camera. An enormous smile for a finish outside the medals. This lady had captured my daughters attention. Her happiness, so it turned out, had been infectious. I had noticed the smile immediately. I had spent my day watching hours of Premier League football and on a day where few goals were scored, even fewer smiles showed up. In fact, aside from celebrating the rare goals, none of the players smiled at all. It made me wonder; isnt anyone having any fun anymore? This had come to my attention watching Manchester Uniteds recent draw with Fulham at Old Trafford. United conceded early, spent much of the next hour camped in their opponents half, scored a goal with 12 minutes left, didnt celebrate, rushed back to restart, then scored a goal again which finally allowed everyone to smile. And laugh. And, in the case of manager David Moyes, act like theyd won the Champions League. It had all seemed a bit forced and then the smiles were well and truly wiped off their faces when Darren Bent netted a dramatic 94th minute equalizer. A few Fulham players smiled at the final whistle, others hugged each other and clapped their fans as they headed down the tunnel, no doubt turning their attention to their next match coming four days later. Welcome to Premier League football in 2014. Every team is either racing after something or trying to run away from something and while they are doing it, very few are stopping to smell the roses on the way. For some, having a plethora of teams challenge for the title, European spots, and against relegation, is seen as parity and a wonderful way for the league to have many important matches. The problem, however, are the intense demands that come with chasing 1st, 4th or 17th, for example, and they are undoubtedly weighing the players down. We are not supposed to feel sorry for a professional footballer. They earn tremendous amounts of money and for that they are supposed to be looked upon differently. However, whilst watching hours of Premier League football this month, I keep coming back to my original question - Is anyone having fun anymore? Professional sports have never been as professional. No stone is unturned and athletes are given the best of everything, but is this making them better and, just as important, are they enjoying themselves? Premier League footballers have their every move looked at, both on and off the playing field. How they train, eat, sleep, socialize, cross, pass, shoot, run, you name it, the club is looking at it. We are told it is to ensure every player is getting what they need so their employers can get the best out of them but you only have to watch Manchester United this season to know that they are not getting the best out of their players. We live in a world where every player in a game we have just watched can be analyzed in many different ways. By this rule, we can debate the merits of Tom Cleverley in midfield, the decision to play Juan Mata wide or Ashley Young at all, for example. Trained eyes can tell you how well they played. Stats available on your smart phone can tell you where they passed the ball and to whom seconds after it happens. Some statistics, if used correctly, can tell a story of how a player performed. Yet, the one thing no one will ever find a way to solve is the inability to know what is happening inside a players mind. Manchester United players this season look like the shirt is very heavy on them. They look like a team featuring players who have some serious doubts in their minds. These doubts could be anything from concerns about their form, whether their manager is good enough, or if their wife and kids are happy. Some of their teammates will not even know the real issues in their mind so the media and fans have no chance at knowing. And there is a very good chance that we will never know most of the issues. "The time to speak about many things will come," said striker Javier Hernandez on his Instagram account this week. It is a cryptic message and time will tell what he reveals, but if and when he does so, he will be in the minority. The Premier League right now is full of players going through mental battles. Yes, they have tremendous talent with a football and show you a strong side of them when they are on the field but what of the other times? A lot of things can happen in 6,410 hours - the amount of time between the start and end of a Premier League season. Only 57 of these are spent playing 38 games of Premier League football, less than nine per cent of the time. Yet, it is this time that many of us use when analyzing these individuals. It is, of course, the time we get to know them as we welcome them inside our living rooms, but for over 91 per cent of the time, these individuals are left to be as vulnerable as you or I and wed be foolish to not think what happens during this time doesnt have a substantial impact on what they do when playing. They are over analyzed and monitored by their clubs who hire men, who usually lose their job within two years, to get the best out of them as soon as possible. The pressure from that manager leaks to the players and leaves many to do things they wouldnt normally do. This is an example of insecurities being created by the sports culture. Clubs demand success, managers demand players to play at a high level and players are told they must deliver when the pressure is on. They are bombarded with information about their style and how they can be better but some are drowning in modern day over-professionalism and are losing their love for the sport. Last November I watched closely a battle between England and Australia in cricket and was left puzzled by the poor performances of a particularly England player who consistently seemed to play poorly. That player, Jonathan Trott, would go on to leave the tour and return home with a stress related illness. He was one of the minority who got help and, because he walked away from the series, allowed the public to see what demons he was battling in his personal life. Trotts case is the extreme and it would be wrong to assume many professional footballers have gone through something similar but it would naive to deny it completely. When we study the less than nine per cent of visual evidence we have on these players it is clear that many are not enjoying themselves enough. Manchester United have no chance at winning the league but instead of the club adopting a we are in a transition phase where we are experimenting to evaluate what we need to know to get better approach, the club is starting every match like it needs to win it and the enormous pressure placed on its players means they are not expressing themselves. How much better would they be if they were told to just forget the league table and have fun? Southampton have no such demands and have shown this season what a club can do when they are free to express themselves. Sure, they too could smile more but if a league table existed for content and happiness they would be at the top. Anyone who doesnt think this leads to success should talk to the current Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "My priority is to ensure that players feel more amateur than professional," Scolari once said. "Thirty to forty years ago, the effort was the other way. Now there is so much professionalism, we have to revert to urging players to like the game, love it, do it with joy." Anyone who watches Neymar often would say Scolari has so far accomplished that goal. Neymar would make a great Olympian; a true global superstar who plays with a smile. Too bad too many in the Premier League take it too seriously. Another win for modern day over-professionalism. Thankfully it isnt creeping into our childrens schools during Sochi 2014. Air Max 90 Scontate . -- Patrick Kueng of Switzerland was nearly flawless as he captured his first World Cup and halted Aksel Lund Svindals streak of four straight super-G victories on Saturday. Air Max Plus Scarpe . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. http://www.airmax90scarpescontate.it/max-plus-scontate/air-max-plus-uomo.html . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. Air Max 90 Blu Scontatissime . Rasmussen didnt have a decision during his four appearances in May, when he gave up two hits and no runs in two innings. Toronto used five relievers while pulling off the second-biggest comeback in franchise history on Friday night, rallying from an 8-0 deficit to a 14-9 win. Nike Air Max 90 Essential Sconti . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday.SAN ANTONIO - The Portland Trail Blazers know firsthand how cold and methodical the veteran San Antonio Spurs can be when they have a team in trouble.So when the defending champions failed to close out the Blazers in the first two overtimes, Portland point guard Damian Lillard had a simple message for his teammates.Step on them, Lillard said.Lillard provided the boot, scoring a career-high 43 points, including 16 after regulation, as the Trail Blazers handed the Spurs their second straight defeat in triple overtime by rallying for a 129-119 victory Friday night.LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games.The Spurs overwhelmed the young Trail Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals last season, winning three games at home in rolling to a 4-1 series victory en route to their fifth NBA title.So, winning in San Antonio in the manner it did was particularly special for Portland.This was a big win for us, probably our best win of the season, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.The Spurs have lost three straight overtime games at home, including a 117-116 defeat in three OTs to Memphis on Wednesday.It was the first time a team has played consecutive triple-overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did so in December 1951.San Antonio failed to take advantage of another stellar performance by veteran Tim Duncan, who had 32 points and 10 rebounds.Timmy in particular was a Back to the Future type of deal, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. He was amazing.Danny Green had 27 points and Tiago Splitter scored 14 for San Antonio (17-10).Just as they did against Memphis, the Spurs had plenty of opportunities to beat the Trail Blazers.San Antonio scored the initial six points in each of the first two overtimes, but failed to hold the lead.They had two opportunities to step on us, Lillard said. The door was left open a little bit and we forced another overtime two times, which is not what people do to them. They usually finish you off. We got in a situation that they got in the first two overtimes and I wanted us to know that we just did it to them two times so dont get excited and dont think that what we did was easy, weve got to be better. We did that.Lillard decimated San Antonios hopes almost singlehandedly, scoring the first nine points in the third OTT, including crossing up Green for a 20-foot jumper and a 120-112 lead with 3:04 remaining.ddddddddddddLillards ensuing 3-pointer gave Portland a 123-112 advantage, prompting Popovich to empty his bench.Hes a special player, Green said. That last OT he just took over pretty much. It didnt matter what we threw at him, he attacked the rim well for them.Lillard had help.Steve Blakes 3-pointer with 30.2 seconds left in the second overtime gave Portland a 112-110 lead and Cory Joseph tied the game 7 seconds later on a floating jumper.Duncan hit consecutive turnaround jumpers early in the first overtime, but Aldridge grabbed a missed 3 by Matthews that didnt touch the rim and fed Lillard, who drained a tying 3-pointer with 13.6 seconds remaining.That led to another tough loss for the Spurs, who play in Dallas on Saturday.Im proud of the whole team and what they have done, Popovich said. Its a different group every night. It would almost be better if you had two guys injured, and you knew it for three months. It is different every night, and it keeps them out of rhythm. We are wearing some guys down, though. Timmy is a big worry in that respect and so is Manu (Ginobili). (But) Im really proud of them, and they did a great job under tough circumstances.___TIP-INSTrail Blazers: Lillards previous career high was 41 points on Jan. 7, 2014, against Sacramento. ... Portland F Nicholas Batum (right wrist and left knee contusion) missed his fifth game this season.Spurs: Duncan is one game shy of tying former Lakers forward A.C. Green for 19th in career games played. Duncan, in his 18th season, has played in 1,277 games.LINE CHANGEPopovich subbed his entire starting lineup once in each quarter, doing so at the 6:41, 9:39, 7:18 and 9:06 marks of each respective period. Popovich said he did the mass substitutions to keep his team fresh after the long game Wednesday.First time experiencing that here, and anywhere, honestly, Green said. I think it was good to keep our energy up and to keep us fresh. It was 5 minutes at a time, about. Were low on energy right now. Were low on bodies.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.Spurs: Visit Dallas on Saturday.SAME PLANWhen the Spurs play Dallas on Saturday, it will be Rajon Rondos first game since being traded by the Boston Celtics to the Mavericks. It doesnt change what we do, Popovich said. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' ' |
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