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Top 10 Sports Magazines of All Time

October 4, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Top 10 Sports Magazines

Periodical publications called Magazines are generally financed by advertising, purchase price and prepaid subscriptions, and prove themselves as some of the largest mass media in history with its huge popularity. The earliest magazine debuted in 1663 in Germany, and was called Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen which was a based on literature and philosophical studies. And from that time till the recent scenario of the modern world, the earth has seen a huge diversification of the magazine industry. Starting from fashion industry to the consumer market, even the modern technology streams are all covered and featured in various magazines with various names. Sports world is not far from them as in 1886, the first sports oriented magazine was published in United States. There are vast numbers of sports magazines circulating worldwide of which some are globally based, and some are regionally based. It is always an attraction for any sports fans to have a good copy of a widely popular sports magazine to cherish their passion for sports, so here is the list of top 10 sports magazines of all time.

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Top 10 Sports Magazines of All Time

1. Sports Illustrated

The first issue of American sports magazine Sports Illustrated was published on August 16, 1954 and eventually, it became the first sports magazine in history with more than one million circulations. It is currently owned by Time Inc. and has more than 3.5 million subscribers. Sports Illustrated is the only sports magazine to be read by 23 million people each week out of which 18 million are men. It is also the only magazine which twice won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, and its kids version won the Distinguished Achievement for Excellence in Educational Publishing award 11 times. This weekly magazine has various other sub-franchises such as Sports Illustrated Kids and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The Swimsuit issue was first published in 1964, and now it has its own annual publishing event, calendar, video channels and television shows.

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2. ESPN The Magazine

The first issue of American sports magazine ESPN The Magazine was published on March 11, 1998 and now it publish biweekly by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, United States of America. The magazine is known for providing much more humorous and light-hearted approach to the major sports news than other sports magazines like Sports Illustrated. This magazine is currently running under the supervision of Editor In Chief Chad Millman and has more than 2.1 million bi-weekly circulations. The magazine mainly covers major events like NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL. Its famous annual issue called The Body Issue was first published in 2008 and widely compared with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue as both of them features nude, semi-nude and scantily-clad athletes. It also honors the rising young star athletes with its NEXT Athlete Award each year.

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3. Runner’s World

The first issue of global sports magazine Runner’s World was published in 1966 by Bob Anderson as Distance Running News and in 1969, it was renamed as Runner’s World. It is now solely published by Rodale Press headquartered in Pennsylvania, United States, and is currently run under the supervision of Editor-in-Chief David Willey. It went global with the collaboration of The Hearst Corporation in early 1990s and currently has 14 international editions besides its original USA edition mainly covering health, fitness, running and Marathons. The magazine has an amazing monthly circulation of 710,618 worldwide. Runner’s World was nominated for National Magazine Awards three times and recognized for having the “Creative Team of the Year.” It also ranks in first position on Adweek’s Hot List and 6th position on Advertising Age’s “A-List”.

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4. Outside

The first issue of American outdoor sports activities magazine Outside was published in September 1977. Speaking about the mission of this magazine, its current team states, “Outside magazine is to inspire participation in the world outside through award-winning coverage of the sports, people, places, adventures, discoveries, environmental issues, health and fitness.” The magazine debuted under the supervision of Jann Wenner, William Randolph Hearst III and Jack Ford, and then took over by Lawrence J. Burke in 1979 who still owns the company. The recent Chief Editor of this magazine is Christopher Keyes from the house of Mariah Media. It has a huge monthly circulation of 686,623. It is famous for giving the first chances to various excellent travel and adventure writers such as Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer.

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5. Inside Sport

The first issue of Australian sports magazine Inside Sport was published in 1991 and it now mainly covers sporting content and sports photography by freelance journalists. Besides sports, it also concentrates on celebrity models and their photo shoots which includes famous Australian models like Jennifer Hawkins, Imogen Bailey, Nicky Whelan and Nikki Visser. The magazine is currently owned by Horwitz in Sydney and organizes its sports model hunt called The Inside Sport Model Search each year. It was reported in November 2012 that the circulation of this magazine had increased by over 27% after several renovation and redesign in the recent past. Inside Sport was named Magazine of the Year 2000 in Australia and in 2004, it also won the Walkley Award for sports coverage across all media.

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6. Sporting News

The first issue of former American sports magazine Sporting News was published in 1886 and in 2012 its final printed issue was published in the USA. Currently, it has only the digital monthly version which is available on their official website besides circulating the printing copies of the Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball yearbooks of this magazine. In the early days of 1900s as a weekly magazine, it became the most dominant American publication covering various events of baseball. It was so popular that time for which it was nicknamed “The Bible of Baseball”. The publication was owned by Sporting News Media and Garry D. Howard is serving as the Chief Editor of the magazine. Various awards such as Sportsman of the Year, Athlete of the Year and Pro Athlete of the Year were given to many famous athletes by Sporting News during its publication.

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7. Tennis

The first issue of American sports magazine Tennis Magazine was published on August 16, 1954 and now publishes 8 issues per year which covers various events and aspects of the tennis world. It was first purchased by The New York Times Company in 1967, and its publication was made under them till 1997. It is currently owned by the Miller Publishing Group since 1997, and James Martin is serving as the Editor-in-chief of this magazine. It has a huge circulation of 603,069 copies each month throughout the world. Besides the printed version, it also has the digital online version which was debuted around ten years ago. Along with the news of various tennis events, it also publishes the WTA and ATP rankings of the players and brief summaries and schedules of upcoming tennis championships. Pete Sampras is one of the owners of this magazine and is currently also serving as a special consultant.

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8. Baseball Digest

The first issue of American baseball magazine Baseball Digest was published in August 1942 and now it publishes 6 issues per year by the Grandstand Publishing headquartered in Illinois, United States of America. After Sporting News stopped the circulation of printed copies, Baseball Digest became the oldest and longest-running baseball magazine which is still active in the world. Baseball Digest was founded by a sports journalist of the Chicago Daily Times named Herbert F. Simons and he served as the Editor-In-Chief till 1963. The recent Editor-In-Chief of the Baseball Digest is Bob Kuenster since May 2012. Besides various events of baseball such as Major League Baseball, it also publishes accurate statistics of batting, pitching and fielding of the recent star players and also has “fans speak out” letters section for their devoted fans.

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9. Golf Magazine

The first issue of Global Golf oriented magazine Golf Magazine was published in April, 1959, and eventually became the first golf magazine in history to reach more than one million circulations. It is currently owned by Time Inc. and has more than 1.4 million subscribers worldwide. It was founded by Universal Publishing and Distributing in 1959, and purchased by the Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. which finally acquired it in 2000. Since then, it was published under Time’s banner headquartered in United States. It is widely famous for honoring recent star athletes with their Golfer of the year award. Besides covering various aspects and events of golf, Golf Magazine also conducts a yearly survey with their experts to determine best golf courses in USA and also to produce the list of Top 100 Golf Courses in the world.

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10. Slam

The first issue of American basketball oriented magazine SLAM was published in 1994 as a blend of hardcore sports with hip hop cultures. It is currently owned by Source Interlink Media headquartered in New York City, United States and publishes 10 issues each year. Slam was founded by publisher Dennis Page from the Harris Publications and was first purchased by Peterson Publishing in 1998. Source Interlink finally owned the magazine in 2007 and since then it became the sole publisher of this widely circulated basketball magazine. The magazine has already published 179 issues featuring numerous star basketball players on the covers since it was founded, but “A Basketball On Fire” was the first issue without a player on the cover, published in February 2012. Besides the printed version, it is also available online with the digital versions.

Many other general fitness-based magazines like Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness and Yoga also cover various aspects of sports world in rigorous details, while many fashion magazines such as FHM and GQ also feature numerous star athletes on their covers and many articles. Notable mentions in this list other than those 10 big names of sports mag industry are Sports Weekly, FourFourTwo, World Soccer, The Skateboard Mag and The Hockey News.

Top 10 Most Popular Card Games

September 28, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Most Popular Card Games

A card game is a game that can be played by one or more number of card sets called Decks which consists of 52 numbers of cards. Four suits are there in normal decks which are Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds. Each suit consists of 13 numbers of cards which are divided into two main categories which are Face cards like King, Queen and Joker, and the number cards from 2 to 10. Ace is the only card that can be used as a face card or number card, or both, according to the needs of the game. Playing card games were first invented in China by Tang dynasty during the ninth century. The first recorded document of card game was found in the Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang by Su E who was a Tang dynasty writer. Su E recorded in his book that the daughter of Emperor Yizong of Tang, Princess Tongchang, played the “leaf game” with members of the Wei clan in 868. From that time, many modifications have been made which eventually made this game hugely popular as an indoor game. There are many types of card game genres that are popular throughout the modern world such as Trick-taking games, Matching games, Shedding games, Drinking card games, Gambling card games and many more, so here is the list of top 10 most popular card games.

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Top 10 Most Popular Card Games

1. Poker

Poker was originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1829which was played byfour betting players and a deck of 20 cardsthat time according to the memoirs of English actor Joseph Cowell. Any poker player should have a good grip of card counting theory, probability and psychology. Poker is involving betting and individual play where each player bets according to the rank he judges his card-hand is worth as compared to the other players of the table. The betting action then proceed to the next player clockwise who either Match the previous maximum bet or Raise the bet or just Fold. At the end of final betting round, the winner is judged by the value of the card by concealing his hand or Show, or he simply wins if all the other players in the table fold their hands and choose not to Call or Raise. In case if all but one player folds their hands then the only bidding player is declared as winner of all the money on the Pot without showing his Hand. A player on the table can bet for his positive expected value of his card or just Bluff.

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2. Blackjack

Blackjack aka Twenty-One was first referred in Rinconete y Cortadillo which is one of the twelve short stories included in Novelas Ejemplares by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes in 1601. Blackjack is the most widely played casino banking game throughout the world. It is a comparing card game between a player and his dealer and doesn’t need any involvement of other players. Blackjack is played with one or more deck of card with the objective of Beat the Dealer by either scoring 21 points on the first two cards without a dealer blackjack or by reaching higher final score than the dealer but without exceeding 21 points. If the point is a tie between player and dealer then additional cards are drawn by the dealer where the first players between them who exceed 21 point lose the game. Card 2 to 10 bear the same point as their number, face cards like kings, queens and jacks counted as ten points, and an Ace can be counted either 1 or 11 point according to the player’s wish.

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3. Rummy

The original form of Rummy is called Sai rummy or Basic rummy which was derived from The Mexican game of Conquian according to games scholar David Parlett.The Conquian was actually originated from Chinese game called Khanhoo which itself derived from the famous game called Mahjong. The objective of Rummy is to build “Melds” by making “Sets” with three or more cards with same rank but from different suit and/or by making “Runs” with three or more cards in sequence from the same suit. The deck is divided into two parts; first it is distributed to all the players in clockwise face down one at a time manner upto 6 to 10 times according to the number of players participating in the game, and then the rest cards called “Stock” are placed face down on the table to be drawn by the players when the game progress. The highest point achiever is the winner where the Queen of Spades count as 40, all the Aces count as 15, all the 10s and face cards count as 10, and the rest cards bear the same point as their number.

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4. Contract Bridge

Contract Bridge or just Bridge is the most popular card game which can be played by teams consisting two players each. Bridge is the English pronunciation of a card game called “Biritch” which stands for “Russian Whist” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The oldest reference of this game was found in a book called Biritch Rule Bookby John Collinson in 1886. The World Bridge Federation is the sole governing body of the international competitive bridge matches and tournaments. Contract Bridge’s gameplay consists of several deals where the deal again consists of four phases which are dealing, auction, playing and scoring. A variant of original Bridge called Duplicate Bridge is mostly played in clubs and tournaments where the same deal is played by two or more different sets of players for comparative scoring without re-dealing the cards on each occasion.

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5. Solitaire

Solitaire or Patience is widely famous as it comes in the form of Spider and Free Cell with every current installation of Microsoft Windows and moreover that, six variants of this game can also be downloaded from Microsoft Solitaire Collection on the Microsoft App Store. The game is believed to be originated from Germany or Scandinavia as the earliest known reference was found in a German game anthology called Das neue Königliche L’Hombre-Spielin 1783. It was first used as a future-telling game in early Germany where it was believed that important works should not be initiated when the cards are not in favor of the player. The objective of the game is to sort out the cards in an ascending manner by manipulating the layout of the cards arranged in a series of rows or cells. Some variation of this game also allow the player to move cards in new or empty cells in order to make the final series from King to Ace.

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6. Hearts

Hearts is an “Evasion-type” trick-taking card game from the Whist family of trick-taking games and also known with various other names such as The Dirty, Dark Lady, Black Lady, Slippery Anne, Chase the Lady, Crubs, Black Queen,Black Maria and Sweaty Betty. Hearts is believed to be originated from Reversis which was very popular in Spain around 1750s. It became hugely popular among youth after it was inducted in Microsoft Operating Systems starting from very early age of wide spread modern computing. The objective of this game is to score as less as possible by avoiding the suits of hearts and the Queen of Spades which bears the highest penalty point. The game starts after 13 cards is dealt to each player and then each player choose three cards and passes them to another player. The first trick is led by the player sitting left of the dealer and progress clockwise where other players should follow the same suit until he ran out of the card from the same suit and can play either Hearts or Queen of Spades.

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7. Crazy Eights

Crazy Eights is a tactical Shedding-type card game and known with various other names such as Crates, UNO, Last One, Pesten, Rockaway, Spoons, Swedish Rummy, Last Card and Tschausepp. It is also referred as pre-extension of Switch and Mau Mau which werer very popular in schools around 1970s. The name of this game, Crazy Eights, was derived from the military code called “Section 8” for discharging mentally unstable soldiers from troops. The objective of this game is to get rid of all cards to a discard pile. A single deck is used for upto four players while two decks are used by shuffling for five or more players. After the first player place a card facing up on the table, there are five options for the next player which are playing the card with the same rank, same suit, a 8 and declare a different suit, a joker for which next player should play the card according to his wish, or can choose to draw from the stock.

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8. Bullshit

Bullshit is a Shedding-type card game and is also known with various other names such as Bluff, 420, Verish’ Ne Verish, Cheat and most famously I Doubt It as named by Edmond Hoyle who is regarded as “The Father of Whist”. The objective of the players of Bullshit is to get rid of all of their cards by bluffing cards identity. Mainly a single deck is used for this game, but multiple decks are also used in many variants and often include the jokers as wild or trump cards. A player starts the game by placing a single or multiple cards face down on the table and claim the rank and then next player can either place his cards face down while raising the rank of the previous player or can just call “Cheat”. If Cheat is called then the cards of previous player are revealed, and if the previous player bluffed about the ranks of his card then he should take the entire pile placed on the table, and if not then the player that called the Cheat should take the pile.

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9. Spades

Spades is a trick-taking”cutthroat” game that belongs to Whist family of card games but unlike any other Whist games like Bridge or Oh Hell, Spades suit is always the trump suit in this game. It was originated by simplifying the Contract Bridge in late 1930s and was introduced to various military stations around the world during World War II by soldiers from its birthplace in Cincinnati, Ohio. The objective of this game is to take least number of tricks called “Books” that were bid beforethe hand starts. The game is most commonly played between two teams of two players each and often referred as Partnership spades. The winner or the winning team is judged by points where the general barrier of this game is 500 points. The highest ranking suit is the trump suit Spades followed by Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs, and the highest ranking card of each suit is the Ace followed by the face cards and then numbers.

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10. Canasta

Canasta is a variant of 500 Rum that is belonged to the Rummy Family and is the only game of the family of Rummy to achieve the status of a Classic game. Canasta was invented in 1939 by Alberto Serratoand Segundo Santos in Montevideo, Uruguay, and became hugely popular in Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina during 1940s before it was introduced in USA around 1948. It is generally played by two teams with two players each with two standard card decks. The objective of the game is to make Melds of seven cards each bearing the same rank and playing all cards in hand called “Go Out”. “3” of Diamonds and Hearts bears the highest point in this game that is 100 and also counted 200 if all four “3”s are held in single hand. Jokers are the wild cards in Canasta which bears 50 points and “2” and “A” bears 20 points each. The face cards and 8, 9, 10 bears 10 points each and the rest cards bear 5 points.

There are many card games available in the global market which are more popular in some regions than the rest of the world. Twenty-Eight is one of those games, which is vastly popular in sub-continents, whereas a game like Go Fish is hugely popular in USA and UK. There are many researches going on to improve the card games, and the world is also expecting new modifications and future addition to the card game industry.e hugely popular as an indoor game.There are many types of card game genres that are popular throughout the modern world such as Trick-taking games, Matching games, Shedding games, Drinking card games, Gambling card games and many more.

Top 10 Most Popular Sports in the World

September 20, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Most Popular Sports

Starting from the ancient civilization till the era of the technology, sports have always played a major role in the history of mankind. Various forms of gymnastics and acrobatics were probably the pioneer and the most popular sports of the pre-dynastic era, as it was recorded around 2000 BC. In those days, it was more of a skill development technique rather than for entertainment. Eventually, sports started to get used for recreational purposes. By looking at the Greek-Roman period, anyone can assume the wide popularity and the vital importance of the coliseum, and that of the gladiators as the main entertainment of the masses. At that time, ancient games are strangely crucial, violent or even deadly, and had their own ritualistic connections with the society. Today, the world enjoys mostly the non-morbid type of recreational, as well as traditional sports. And here is the list of 10 Most Popular Sports in the world.

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Top 10 Most Popular Sports in the World

1. Soccer

Soccer, also referred to as Association football, is a game between two teams with a spherical ball, consisting of eleven players on each side. The game is played on a rectangular field having goalposts at each end. The objective of the game is to score by placing the ball into the opposite goalpost. The goalkeepers are the only players on the ground that can touch the ball in their penalty area with their hands. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport as it is played in over 200 countries by 250 million players. It is widely considered to be derived from Ancient Greek sport “Episkyros” and the Roman version of the game “Harpastum”. The Laws of the Game were originally developed in England in 1863 by The Football Association and later governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football or FIFA.

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2. Cricket

Cricket is a team game played between two teams with 11 players on each side mainly on round or oval shaped grounds while concentrating to the rectangular 22-yard long pitch for two main events called bowling and batting. The objective of the game is to score runs while batting turns while the other team bowls and fields. Each of that turn is known as an inning. It is widely believed that in 1301, Prince Edward, the son of Edward I, played this game at Newenden, England. The game had developed to be the national sport of England by the end of the 18th century. It was being played abroad by the mid-19th century due to the expansion of the British Empire. A team of England cricketers went on the first overseas tour to North America in 1859. This sport is often referred as the “Gentleman’s game” for the sportsmanship of the cricketers.

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3. American Football

American football, often referred as Gridiron in various countries and football in the United States, is a sport played by two teams consisting eleven players each on a rectangular field with goalposts on each end. The dimension of a typical football ground is 120 yards long and 53.33 yards wide. Most points are scored by placing the ball into the opposing team’s goalpost which is called touchdown. It is the most popular sport in the United States where the most popular forms of the game are professional football and college football. The most famous American football league, NFL, has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world in its final match called the “Super Bowl”. NFL is also one of the richest leagues with around $10 billion of annual revenue. The first American football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869.

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4. Basketball

Basketball is a sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players on each side. The objective of the game is to place the ball in the hoop, a hollow bottom net of 18 inches diameter placed 10 feet above the ground at each end of the court. Two points are given to the shooting team if the players shoot the ball in the net ahead of the three-point line. It is illegal to carry the ball without dribbling, or resume the dribble while holding the ball with both hands. The game was invented by Dr. James Naismith, at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School, while creating a game to achieve maximum fitness in December 1891. The first balls specifically for basketball which were brown in color were developed by Tony Hinkle in the late 1950s. The first official game was played by two teams of nine players each in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany on January 20, 1892.

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5. Baseball

Baseball is a team game played between two teams of nine players each in turns of batting and fielding. The objective of the game is to hit the ball with a bat thrown by the pitcher. The scoring runs come by running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases after hitting the ball. When a player advances around the bases and returns to the home plate, a run is scored. Each baseball game is played in nine innings where two teams switch between batting and pitching whenever the fielding team makes three outs. This sport is believed to be derived from “la soule” which was described in a French manuscript from 1344. The early modern version of baseball was being played by the mid-18th century in England. Baseball was recognized as the national sport of the United States by the late 19th century.

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6. Tennis

Tennis is a sport that can be played using a racquet, individually against a single opponent called singles, or between two teams of two players on each side. The grounds are rectangular with distinctive markings, and the racquets are knitted with chord or string. The objective of the game is to strike a hollow felt-over rubber ball into the opponent’s court around the net. The modern version of this sport originated in Birmingham, England and by the late 19th century it was widely played as lawn tennis” which was a combination of lawn games mainly between bowls and croquet. According to the 1845 novel Sybil by Disraeli, Lord Eugene De Vere once stated that he would “go down to Hampton Court and play tennis.” Now, four major tournaments or the Grand Slams are hugely popular which are Australian Open, French Open and the US Open.

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7. Boxing

Boxing is a combat game between two players which was often called the sweet science and also the prize fighting in the past. The objective of this game is to throw punches for scoring a point against each other with gloved hands over a series of three-minute intervals called rounds. It is also included in two of the most popular event of the modern earth, the Olympic and the Commonwealth sports. It was recorded back as far as the 3rd millennium BC in a Sumerian relief and by the time of 688 BC, it was introduced in Olympic by the Greeks. The current version of this sport originated in Great Britain around 16th to 18th-century. The first bare-knuckle fight in England was documented in 1681 and in 1719 the first recorded bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in England. Three main styles used in modern boxing are fighter, brawler, and In-fighter.

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8. Golf

Golf is a club sport where competing players called golfers try to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course using the fewest strokes possible, with various bent sticks called the clubs or the golf bats. According to the modern Rules of Golf, the objective of the game is “playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.” This sport does not require a standardized playing area and played in the courses with either nine or 18 holes arranged in progressive order. It is widely believed to be derived from the Roman game of paganica, where participants used to hit a stuffed leather ball with bent sticks. The current record of this game was first documented when James II banned this game in 1457 because it was a visual distraction while learning archery. The most popular event of this game is the PGA Tour.

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9. Hockey

Hockey is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each in a rectangular hockey ground with a goal post on each end. The objective of this game is to maneuver a hockey ball called the Puck into the opponent’s goal using hockey sticks. The name of this game was first recorded in the book Juvenile Sports and Pastimes by Richard Johnson in 1773. But it was also widely believed that it was first recorded by King Edward III of England in 1363. A stone work belongs of 2000BC Egypt was also scripted with teams playing with sticks and a projectile. In 600 BC, this game was called kerētízein or kerhtízein by the Greeks. There are two main types of hockey, Field Hockey and Ice Hockey. Field hockey is played on natural grass with a hard ball approximately 73 mm in diameter, whereas, the ice hockey is played on a rectangular field of ice with a three-inch-diameter vulcanized rubber disc.

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10. Volleyball

Volleyball is a team game which is played between two teams of six players on a rectangular court separated by a net. The objective of the game is to hit the volleyball with hands over the net and score points by grounding the volleyball on the opponent’s court. The defending team can touch the ball up to 3 times, but individual participants of the same team cannot consecutively touch the ball twice. The typical size of the volleyball ground is 50 feet long and 25 feet wide, and the topmost end of the net should be placed 6 feet 6 inches above the ground. This game was introduced in the Summer Olympic Games in 1964. It was invented by YMCA director, William G. Morgan as an indoor game on February, 1895 and named Mintonette, which can be played by any number of players. This game also has various other types such as Beach volleyball, Buka ball and Footvolley.

Various other sports are also very popular throughout the world such as Table Tennis or Track and Field. An important fact is that, around 13,000 athletes participate in one of the biggest event of the earth, the Olympic, in 400 events of 33 different sports.

Top 10 Spots for Adventure Sports in the World

September 11, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Spots for Adventure Sports

Adventure gives us a rush of adrenaline and makes us feel all refreshed and vigorous, while sports give us fitness. What happens when these two are combined? The result is a form of utter madness. To some, these adventure sports, which are full of danger, are nothing but foolishness, and they do not understand the point of putting life to risk, just for a new, bizarre experience. But, for those who actually like adventure sports know the feeling of the heart beating in the throat, the blood rushing to the face and the wind blowing through the hair. Such people are always on the lookout for the hottest spots for extreme adventure sports. Let us look at some of the best sports for adventure sports from around the world.

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Top 10 Spots for Adventure Sports in the World

BASE Jumping in Cave of Swallows, Mexico

As the largest free-fall pit in the world, the Cave of Swallows in Mexico in any BASE Jumping enthusiast’s heaven. It is a vertical shaft, a gaping hole with a 160 – 205 foot opening. It provides quite a long descent, since it is 1220 feet deep, and from the higher edge, is about 1904 feet deep. It is large enough to allow plenty of room for the parachute, and also offers a generous landing area. Besides the thrill of falling in through the crust of the earth in the middle of the rain forest near San Luis Potosi for the length of the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty standing on her own head, the other interesting thing about the cave is that the cave-walls are home to green parakeets and white-collared swifts.

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Zorbing in New Zealand

Rotorua in New Zealand is the place where the unique and fun sport of Zorbing originated. A person is put inside a capsule, which is secured inside another giant inflated plastic ball, with a cushioning of air between the inner capsule and the outer ball to ensure safety of the adventurer. This is then rolled across water or down the hills. Simple as it may sound, the rolling ball can reach a speed of up to 50 km per hour, and gives quite a rush. The wet ride is called the ZYDRO, while the dry ride is called ZORBIT. There are four track options to choose from among eight ride variations down four different tracks. Besides New Zealand, it has gained huge popularity in countries of the US and Europe and has also reached Asian countries, including India.

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Glacier Climbing in Jostedal Ice Cap, Norway

Though Glacier Climbing is available in many places around the world, Jostedal is considered the best place for it, because of the guidance and safety equipment provided in addition to the scenic beauty. This might be an exciting sport, but, the rush comes from the challenge that the dangerous adventure offers. One needs to be aware of how to handle harnesses, safety ropes and ice axes, while being fit enough to handle walking and climbing on ice. The ice, too, keeps changing, with the temperature due to the descent of the sun. But, for those with the basic knowledge of ice-climbing, which is also available here with the help of a guide, getting up, close and personal with the nature is a rare experience. Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina, is also a great spot for this adventure.

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Volcano boarding, Cerro Negro, Australia

At the age of 161 years, Cerro Negro is an active volcano near Leon, Nicaragua. It is a hot spot (pun intended) for a trip or surfing experience, down its steep, 2388-foot slope on a wooden sled, which is possible because the volcanic rocks are grainy. The hike up to the top of the mountain is fun in itself, but, the real fun begins after reaching the drop zone. The world becomes quite a blur while racing down the face of an active volcano, along the slope which can be as steep as 41 degrees, at a speed of up to 90 km per hour. The ride is quite intimidating, especially because the rate at which one zooms down is hard to predict. Besides, the hard and grainy rocks are not forgiving at all and can lead to injuries if the rider loses control.

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Storm Chasing in the USA

This adventure is different from other adventures and is not just a momentary adrenaline rush kind of a sport. The excitement lies in anticipation and in not knowing what to expect from the unpredictable wrath of Mother Nature. With one eye on the nature and the other on weather forecasts, travellers from around the world are taken by expert guides to the US Midwest, to hunt severe weather conditions and follow the trail of thunderstorms, tornadoes, hail and lightning. They get to watch, with baited breath as the supercell storms destroy everything in their paths. The dark sky and flashes of lightning are quite a treat to the eye, albeit a fearsome experience, in the midst of roars that shake the earth.

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Bridge Climbing at Sydney Harbour Bridge

Bridge climbing is an urban version of rock climbing, though not as strenuous. However, the excitement, nonetheless, can be quite high, especially for those with a fear for heights. It is a 3.5-hour climb to the upper span of the arch of the Harbour Bridge along catwalks, 4 ladders and 1332 steps. The journey starts from the Climb Base below the Bradfield Highway, along South-East Pylon, all the way to the outer arch of the Bridge on the Opera House side, till the climber reaches the top. There, the limber gets a 360-degree panorama view of Sidney, with the hum and the buzz of the city’s traffic, and the canopy of sky almost within reach. The descent to the Climb Base is across the Bridge’s spine to the Darling Harbour. The adventure can be taken at dawn, day, twilight or night.

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Biking down the Road of Death in Bolivia

It requires some real guts to rake a trip down the path that has been officially declared as the most dangerous road in the world. The name, Death Road, itself is enough to suggest that many perils wait along the path with gaping mouths to devour the victims. Bikers with a desire for adrenaline rush are not deterred, however. In fact, these dangers are what attract them to take up the challenge. El Camino de la Muerte starts high up in La Paz in Bolivia and runs to the town of Coroico through the Amazonian jungle for 40 miles. The rugged roads have narrow lanes and harsh terrain, and the drops are of thousands of feet. It is a good idea to remember that the nearest health care centre is a two-hour drive away.

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Cold Water Swimming in Harbin, China

One has to be extremely tough, or maybe a little insane, to dive into a swimming pool that has been cut out of thick ice, because that is what Cold Water Swimming is all about. Also known as the Polar Bear Swim and winter swimming, this sport is more of a test of endurance and does not require too much of actual swimming, while the adventure shocks the swimmer into getting a reconfirmation of his existence. It is hard to imagine exactly how cold the water is until the frigid liquid actually covers every bit of the scantily-clad body. While winter swimming is also famous in other places like Illinois, Queensland or Brisbane, the real adventure lies in taking this challenge in Harbin. The fear of hypothermia doesn’t deter hardy souls from taking the icy plunge.

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Dune Bashing in Dubai

Dubai is a magnificent place for many tours and adventures, but, the most sought-after off-road adventure there is Dune Bashing, in the middle of the monochromatic landscapes of the Arabian Desert. It involves taking a drive in the sands in a four wheeler. But, what’s so special about taking a long drive? Well, riding along the unique sand dunes includes invariable slips and skids, tumbles and tilts, and these can only be avoided by manoeuvring the SUV QUAD-Bike with great skill, while starting up a personal sand-storm of sorts with the wheels of the car. An unparalleled experience, this safari can be taken in the morning, as well as in the evening. Dune bashing is prohibited in most parts of the world, but, it is extremely famous in the Middle East. One can also opt for the safari in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan in India.

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Shark-Cage Diving in South Africa

We all know about water sports like Kayaking, and even underwater adventures, like Scuba diving. But, what if a venture in the water is taken a step ahead? Off the coast of South Africa in Gaansbai’s Kleinbaai Harbour which a two-hour drive away from Cape Town, it is possible to dive into the waters in a cage and get a close look at the White Sharks and the shiny white teeth. While the journey to the centre of the earth in the galvanized steel mesh cage is safe enough to be taken by even children, the rush that a person gets on having a clear view of the Great Whites, who are notorious for their gory treatment of any other puny creature, is enough to change the life of an individual. This kind of adventure is available at many shark-infested coasts, including Australia.

There are many other adventure sports in different spots around the world. Some places are famous for some well-known sports, like The Gauley River in West Virginia for Kayaking or Yosemite National Park for Rock Climbing, while others are less known, but, offer sports like Slacklining in Vancouver, or Cheese rolling in Gloucester. The world is just waiting with many adventures in store.

10 Hottest Female Sports Newscasters in the World

September 6, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Hottest Female Sports Newscasters

Sports universe is often considered as the ultimate boys’ club, mainly for the contributions by hot athletes, but, there are some even hotter female sportscasters. Appearance of sportscasters with a combination of brain and beauty is always worth to wait for during any gameplay. Though many sports admirers don’t switch on their television just to watch blonde beauties holding a mike, but it is always an add-on for the eyes if glamorous reporters cover the matches. Sports world has already seen some amazing beauties with exceptional reporting skills during major championships, and in recent days, it is just going insane, thanks to the modern sportscasters with beauty pageant attitudes. Some of the female sports news reporters have already achieved the height of success while many others are on the way to the top. So here is the list of 10 hottest female sports newscasters in the world.

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10 Hottest Female Sports Newscasters in the World

10. Georgie Thompson

English television presenter, Georgie Thompson, started her career as a production assistant for GMTV and moved to Sky Sports in January 2001. She covered the US Open Tennis, A1 Grand Prix, Grand Prix Masters, America’s Cup and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships for Sky Sports. Georgie, with David Frost, also hosted Sky1’s Greatest Sporting Legends series in 2005. She joined Sky Sports F1 as a presenter after living Sky Sports News on December 2011. During her Sky Sports F1 career, she, with reporter Ted Kravitz, presented Friday night magazine show and Sky Pad segment during race weekends. Georgie left Sky Sports F1 and moved to Fox Sports in 2013, where she worked as a panelist on Regis Philbin’s sports talk show Crowd Goes Wild. She was voted the 93rd Sexiest Female in the World in the May, 2007 issue FHM.

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9. Ilaria D’Amico

Italian television host and commentator Ilaria D’Amico is famously known for her work related to football. She started working as an anchor with La Giostra Dei Gol in 1997 and covered 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 UEFA Cup. She presented Cominciamo Bene Estate on Rai Tre in 2006, and also hosted a special for the FIFA World Cup on the following year. After she appeared on W l’Italia in 2002, Ilaria anchored the SKY Calcio Show during Serie A from 2003 onward. Ilaria became popular for hosting the football-based reality TV show Campioni, Il Sogno on Italia 1 in 2004. It was rumored that during AC Milan loan signing David Beckham, Victoria Beckham refused to let Ilaria interview her husband. On the contrary, Ilaria interviewed Beckham on RAI Television. She was ranked among the 10 Sexiest Female Sport Journalists in The World by The Sun.

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8. Kristy Gallacher

British television presenter Kristy Gallacher started her career with Sky Sports News in 1998. She anchored the Sky1 show Kirsty’s Home Videos from 2000 until 2004 and hosted Simply the Best in 2004. She was an All Star Cup presenter on Sky1 in 2005 and ITV in 2006. Gallacher won reality television series The Games-Third Season In 2005 and released “Body Sculpt with Kirsty Gallacher” DVD, showing various workouts in the same year. Kristy, along with Ian Wright, presented the reality TV show, Only Fools on Horses, on BBC in 2008. Besides her career as a sportscaster, she also appeared with Duncan Bannatyne on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ on 30 August 2008. Kristy returned to Sky Sports as a host for Sky Sports News in May 2011.

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7. Charlotte Jackson

British journalist Charlotte Jackson began her sports journalism career in 2004 with a variety of sports websites such as Football365, TEAMtalk and sportal.com. She joined Setanta Sports News as a co-host for Lunchtime Live in 2007 and presented the Beijing Bulletin of the 2008 Summer Olympics for Al Jazeera +3 Sport. Charlotte started working with Sky Sports in August 2009 as a presenter of Sky Sports News. She also hosted a radio show called Absolution with Tim Shaw. She became famous after hosting the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards Ceremony in Zurich with co-host Pedro Pinto. Charlotte, with John Fendley, also hosted Sky Sports Football quiz show Take it Like a Fan which was conducted on different British football league grounds. Besides being a TV anchor, she was also a participant in ITV’s celebrity diving show Splash in 2013.

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6. Michelle Beisner

It has recently been announced that reporter, Michelle Beisner, will be a member of the Sunday NFL Countdown Crew which earned her huge number of followers on Twitter. Throughout her career, she has worked with various channels, such as ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, Comcast, Speed Channel and Fox Sports Net, where she personally interviewed various famous athletes. Before joining NFL Network, she also worked as a pit reporter and conducted “The Turbo Tour” on ESPN during Champ Car World Series. Michelle hosted “The Best Damn Sports Show” on Speed Channel, along with “Grand Prix.” She also co-hosted “The Vista” on Altitude Network. Besides her journalism career, she was casted in many films likes Alice and Wasteland and Throttle. Michelle has recently started to co-host “The Russo and Steele Automotive Auctions” on ESPN.

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5. Charlie Webster

English television presenter, Charlie Webster, started her career while interviewing the Galactico team when she moved to Spain as a TV presenter for Real Madrid TV. Later, she joined ESPN in 2006 and covered Premier League football, various motorsport championships and Asian football tournaments. She moved back to UK after working with ESPN to join Setanta Sports News and also hosted Live GP2 coverage on ITV4 during that time. With ITV4, she also worked as a presenter of the Red Bull Air Race worldwide. Charlie also worked as a sports broadcast journalist for BBC Look East at the end of the motorsport season. She became the live coverage presenter of Elite League and Grand Prix for Sky Sports in 2009. She became the first female presenter of boxing coverage for British Eurosport 2 and was followed by many on social media on April 2014.

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4. Charissa Thompson

Popular host and American sportscaster Charissa Thompson now presents Fox Sports Live daily at 11 pm EST on Fox Sports 1 and also works as a co-host with NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip on “Fast Track to Fame” for the Speed Network’s. She began her career with NFL Network on a show called “NFL Now Updates” in 2010. She covered Vancouver Olympic Winter Games for Yahoo! Sports on the same year. Her career with Yahoo! Sports continued as she covered the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and then 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, BCS 2011 National Championship game and NBA All-Star Game on the same year. She moved to ESPN, co-hosting Numbers Never Lie in June 2011. Charissa also hosted SportsNation and ESPN First Take and after that, joined Fox Sports in June 2013.

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3. Michelle Beadle

ESPN sports reporter Michelle Beadle was a former host of Winners Bracket with Marcellus Wiley on ABC and is currently co-hosting SportsNation on ESPN2. She started her career as a sportscaster for SportsNation on ESPN in June 2009. While working with TNT before she moved to ESPN, she also worked for ESPN’s Titan Games as a freelance reporter. Michelle was also the New York SportsCenter anchor on 1050 ESPN New York for The Michael Kay show on ESPN Radio. She co-hosted Winners Bracket, a 2-hour-long part of ESPN Sports Saturday with Marcellus Wiley.She also hosted her own weekly podcast named “The Michelle Beadle Podcast.” After working with various channels and having been released from her NBC contract, Michelle returned to ESPN as a co-host on SportsNation on March 2014.

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2. Sara Carbonero

Spanish sports journalist Sara Carbonero is a sports presenter for Telecinco. She has been engaged to Spanish football goalkeeper Iker Casillas since 2009 and gave birth to their son, Martín in January 2014. It created a huge controversy when Graham Keeley of The Times with various other English dailies alleged that Carbonero had distracted Casillas during the match between Spain and Switzerland in 2010 FIFA World Cup, which caused an unexpected Swiss victory. She was also questioned about her journalistic integrity when she interviewed her boyfriend after that match. Later, Spanish newspapers El Mundo, Marca and País published articles portraying that the allegations were false. She became one of the most photographed people of the 2010 World Cup due to the controversy. Sara was named “The Sexiest Reporter in the World” by FHM in July 2009.

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1. Erin Andrews

American sportscaster and journalist Erin Andrews currently hosts FOX College Football for Fox Sports. She began working as a reporter for ESPN National Hockey Night on ESPN in April 2004, during which she covered Little League World Series, Great Outdoor Games and College World Series. She started working with ESPN for College Football Saturday Primetime, after which, her career expanded when she started to cover ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime and Major League Baseball in 2005. She covered Scripps National Spelling Bee for both ESPN and ABC from 2008 to 2010. She joined Fox Sports leaving ESPN in June, 2012, and started working with Fox Sports 1 in August 2013. After her joining, Erin became the host of Fox College Saturday and Fox College Football Kickoff. She also hosts Fox Football Daily, a daily bulletin on Fox Sports 1.

There are many other female sportscasters, like Mandira Bedi and Natasha Staniszewski, who have also achieved huge popularity during major T20 Cricket tournaments and FIFA World Cups. Talented or not, sports world is, and will always be, pampered by attractive reporters and journalists.