Posts Tagged ‘teens’
The Indie Band of the Decade Contest
With a decade of music behind us, it’s time to recognize some of the many great musical talents whose work defined the last ten years. While I could list many more than five, I figured that I might as well narrow it down to the most influential and prolific bands of the decade in my mind.
In doing this, I’d like to narrow it down to five before choosing one in my mind whose influence and body of work was stronger than any other. There’s no right answer to this, as it’s all a matter of personal tastes.
The first time I heard the White Stripes, I heard their White Blood Cells album, and I was floored. Their sound was a classic one, but a fresh sounding one at that. This band’s work was full of energy, and Jack and Meg White were great.
The layered sound that two musicians were able to produce is remarkable, and the band’s success spawned off a handful of other bands whose influences were rooted in garage rock. It was great to hear the White Stripes then, and it still is now.
Next on the list is Radiohead. Many might call them the band of the 90s, but they’ve been just as integral this past decade, further polishing and evolving their sound.
Every Radiohead album seems to build on the one before it, with more experimental and adventurous music filling out every one of the band’s releases. Radiohead as produced some consistently incredible music.
While the White Stripes and Radiohead have been hugely successful, Wilco has enjoyed its own success on just as large a scale. This band has produced a wealth of great music during the decade, and its story is just as interesting.
Just when Wilco’s record label was ready to give up on the band, Wilco decided to turn on its label and release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, their 2002 album, independently. Everything is history from there, as some of the decade’s best releases were crafted by Wilco.
Having said all that, it’s a tough decision but I think I’ll go with Wilco here.
This writer has a new site addressing the Satellite TV for PC scam concerns, and many other bodies of work.
A Great Running Strategy
I was– years old, and I felt like I was about to collapse. I had just run a mile in less than 7 minutes, and I was thrilled. I wasn’t ready to stop there, however.
Later that year, I ended up injuring my knee and I was never the same runner after that. I gave up on the sport pretty much thereafter, even though I was fully recovered within a year or so.
It wasn’t until more recently that I started running again, challenging myself to beat my previous best times. While the 7 minute mile was a definite achievement for me, I was determined to set a new personal best by hitting a 6 minute mile instead.
This was much harder than I thought it would be. I tried relentlessly to beat the six minute mark but I couldn’t pull through. It was just too tiring and I’d run out of wind before I could finish.
Here are a few tips I’m going to give you that eventually helped me to get to where I was.
The biggest thing that made it happen was the fact that I started doing short runs at faster speeds. I would run a mile at a five minute pace, naturally stopping after two laps. This put me in a really good position to try for a 6 minute mile, which seemed easy in comparison.
It’s definitely a challenge, and I’m not going to make it seem any easier than it is. However, it did the job for me and I’m sure it would do the job for you as well. Work hard and there’s no doubt that you’ll make it happen.
Next goal on my list is 5:30 and I’m sure I’ll be achieving it.
This author also writes about labels for bottles of wine and ideas for great wine label templates.
The Biggest Athletes of the Past 100 Years
Considering that just about none of us were alive at the turn of the 20th century, it’s hard to write this article without at least a trace of bias.
If we weren’t around to see these athletes in action, we’ll never really know just how much they meant to the world at the time. Despite the fact that we’ve heard all of the stories, it simply isn’t the same. Having said that, I’m going to do my best to account for this too.
It’s hard to narrow this list down to five, but these are the five men who I think had more meaning to their sports than any others. This is all subject to opinion, and I’d love to hear yours.
The first person I’ll mention is a baseball player whose impact could never be felt today like it was a century ago. Ty Cobb was one of the most influential baseball players in baseball history, and is largely responsible for the sport’s popularity.
As far as boxing goes, Muhammad Ali was the most high profile boxer to ever grace the sport. His personality and charisma were second to none, and the same can be said about his boxing skills.
Pele is often considered the Michael Jordan of soccer. Considering the fact that more people worldwide watch and play soccer than any other sport, he easily commands a top 3 spot on this list.
Babe Ruth. The Babe officially put baseball on the map and made it America’s pastime for nearly a century. He was a legend of his time and still remains the king of the home run in the minds of many. If not for Babe Ruth, baseball wouldn’t be as big as it is today.
In the basketball world, everyone wants to be like Mike. Many of us were fortunate enough to see him in action, and Jordan was the kind of athlete whose talent is witnessed once in a lifetime.
More about the author: A major sports fan, he also writes about bathroom light fixtures and bathroom ceiling lights.
The New Orleans Saints Stay On Top of the NFC
The New Orleans Saints were the feel good story of the 2007 season. After having been the losers of the NFL for many years, the team suddenly found itself in the heat of a Super Bowl race in 2007, thanks in large part to Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and Deuce McAllister.
Hopes were high for this New Orleans team in 2008. Drew Brees was with the team for yet another season, Marques Colston was in his second year, more polished and stronger, and the acquisition of tight end Jeremy Shockey made this team even more dangerous.
The Saints have weapons all round the field from RB Reggie Bush, WR Marques Colston, WR Jeremy Shockey, WR Devery Henderson, and RB Mike Bell. With such a potent offense the Saints can outscore anyone in the league -which means they are never out of the game no matter what the score is.
While their offense was effective, their defensive game was in shambles and something was missing from the team that had so powerfully established itself during the 2007 season.
The Saints schedule looks a lot easier then it did in the start of the year, their division isn’t as strong as it was in 08′. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a rebuilding process and the Carolina Panther can’t seem to get anything together.
The defense is what the Saints need to keep opponents to a relatively low score – we know the Saints can score in bunches and quickly. But defense wins championships!
New Orleans has struggled financially the last few years and a good Saints football team is what the New Orleans community needs. Sports have been a great way to help bring communities together during tough times.
The Saints had a disappointing loss to the Bears in the 06′ NFC Championship game in freezing weather. Let’s hope for the Saints sake they receive home field advantage all through out.
Come check out the most exciting Saints forums and the hottest new free fantasy football games game leagues all at RootZoo Sports.
Miami Dolphins Early Season Struggles
The Miami Dolphins were the feel good story of the 2008 NFL season. The team finished with a 1-15 regular season record in 2007, and was written off as quite possibly the worst football team of the decade.
Things didn’t look too much brighter entering the 2008 season, nor did they look much better for Chad Pennington. Regardless, the Dolphins somehow pulled it together and became the Cinderella football team of 2008.
No one expected much out of Pennington, and neither did the Jets. Somehow, Pennington led the Dolphins to an AFC division championship in 2008, bringing the Dolphins into the playoffs to the surprise of many. This was a perfect way for Chad to rub it in the face of the Jets organization.
The QB is the most valuable position and when your starter goes down for the year, it could cripple your team for weeks and maybe the entire year. The Dolphins were already one of the worst passing teams in the NFL with their chosen starter. The Dolphins defense is in the lower half in the league but good against the run.
Unfortunately, things started out on a discouraging note for the Dolphins. Having lost by 12 points to the Falcons in Atlanta was a tough blow to the team, despite the fact that Atlanta was the favorite to win the game. The Dolphins had still hoped for a better result. No team wants to score 7 points in its season opener.
Somehow, the Dolphins have won their last two games, and Henne was brilliant in his week 5 match-up vs. the New York Jets. Chad Henne sure is lucky to have one of the best RB duos in the league with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. This absolutely helps take a ton of pressure off of him and open up some room.
Furthermore, every team in the AFC East is looking good, which makes things all the more competitive for Miami this season. The Jets, Bills, and naturally, the New England Patriots, have all made bold statements and look strong in regular season play.
The Dolphins’ Week 2 match-up wasn’t much better, as a disheartening loss during the last minutes of the game dropped the team to 0-2. The Colts are a tough opponent, but the Dolphins needed that win badly. Better luck next week perhaps?
For more Dolphins chatter, check out the Dolphins forums and create your own sports polls all at RootZoo Sports.