In the United States, summertime is when teams get prepared to play football. NFL teams start training camp, and college teams start practice. North of the border in Canada, however, summertime is when their professional football season begins in the form of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Most Americans dont realize that the CFL has a lengthy and storied history. The league itself has been around since’30, and the Canadian Football championship–known as the Grey Cup–has been contended since’09. More recently, American fans are aware that a number of NFL stars got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

The most obvious difference is the football itself–the CFL football is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL still has their goal posts on the goal line, which the NFL moved to the back of the end zone years ago. The field is 10 yards longer and 12 yards wider than the NFL field, and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep instead of the NFL’s 10 yards.

CFL teams are allowed to have 12 players on the field at a time, one more than is standard in American football. The extra offensive player is a wide receiver, and on defense they’re allowed an extra defensive back. CFL teams allow a team only three downs to move ten yards as opposed to four in the US game–references to a team going “two and out” are common on CFL broadcasts.

A major difference in the scoring is the ’single’ which awards CFL teams one point for a kick–usually a punt or missed field goal–that lands in the end zone. This will frequently produce partial game scores of 1-0 or 1-1 that are impossible in the US game.

The rule differences don’t end there–CFL teams are required to maintain a certain percentage of Canadian born players on their roster. The idea is that this will protect the unique identity of the game, as well as prevent it from becoming little more than a farm system for the NFL. Currently’ of the 40 players on a CFL roster must be Canadian natives.

Many US football fans look at the rules that include more players, a wider field, and fewer downs meant to encourage more passing and expect to see a wide open high scoring style of play similar to Arena Football. That’s not really how it works out–most games end up with final score totals in the 40’s, but the game itself really isn’t much more offensively oriented than its American counterpart. The rules may be different, but as in the NFL you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

The requirement of native born players making up 50% of a CFL roster also results in a much more even distribution of talent across the league. Certainly there are good teams and bad teams, but the end result is greater parity than is found in the NFL.

The CFL isn’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.

The bottom line is that despite the rule differences and personal quotas the CFL game is still football and can be enjoyed the same way. Once you understand the unique attributes of the Canadian game youll start to enjoy it almost as much as the NFL.

Before the Internet became ubiquitous, it wasn’t easy for an American fan to keep up with the CFL. While they still don’t receive coverage on ESPN, the Internet affords access to the sports media of every CFL city along with the national Canadian sports media at sites like Slam! Sports. The CFL’s official site is also a great source of news, stats and information on Canadian football.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback. The 44 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 46′. It was only the Vikings’ second UNDER of the season against five OVERS, while the Steelers have gone OVER in four of their seven games.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota’s rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team’s dominance against the run:

“That’s the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don’t give it to him. They’re saying they can’t beat us running, and that’s a major statement when you have the guy they have back there.”

Favre gave a mealy mouthed justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

“There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn’t win. The red zone was one of them. They’re physical, and they were as good as we thought they’d be. … When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, ‘Oh-h-h.’ ”

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings’ uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers’ Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

“Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards.”

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre’s old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It’ll be Favre’s first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer specializing in casino gambling, entertainment and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett.

Alabama didn’t so much win their game against Tennessee on Saturday as much as they escaped. Despite playing one of their worst games of the year they managed to keep their undefeated season alive as nose tackle Terrance Cody blocked a potential game winning field goal on the last play of the game to preserve a 12-10 victory for the Crimson Tide. Alabama held a tenuous 12-3 lead late in the game before a Tennessee touchdown and recovered onside kick had them facing the specter of the defeat for the first time this season. Instead, Alabama improved to 8-0 while Tennessee slipped to 3-4.

College football pointspread players who took Tennessee as +14 road underdogs were in good shape throughout the contest and eventually cashed their tickets. The Vols improved to 4-3 against the spread while the Crimson Tide dropped to 5-3 versus the number. The 22 combined points went well UNDER the posted total of 41′.

After the game, Cody recounted his blocked field goal attempt that saved the day:

“I didn’t really get off the ground. I just reached my arm up. That’s how I got it. I knocked the blocker back. He was on his back.”

First year Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t taking a ‘moral victory’ from the game:

“It’s a difficult loss to deal with. You come into a hostile environment and play the No. 1 team in the country, as I said before by far the No. 1 team in the country and the best-coached team around. You come in here and outgain them by nearly 100 yards and miss three field goals. I don’t believe in moral victories, we should have won that game.”

He explained the difficulty that placekicker Daniel Lincoln has getting elevation on his kicks since a quadriceps injury:

“He can’t kick the ball up high. If you kick the ball up high it’s never going to get there, so we can’t allow the penetration up front.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban views the game as a learning experience:

“You talk about how fragile a season is. You’re controlling a game, even though you may say it’s winning ugly. We’re still ahead 12-3 and totally controlling the game with 3 minutes, 29 seconds and the ball. That’s how fragile a season can be. You make one mistake and you have to go overcome it. I hope that there’s a lot of lessons our team can learn from this.”

Alabama has a week off before a tough game at home against LSU on November 7. They’ll play at Mississippi State the following week. Tennessee hosts South Carolina next Saturday and Memphis the following week. They’ll play at Ole Miss on November 14.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in boxing, NHL hockey and NHL hockey and NBA basketball betting. He serves as a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is a noted authority on Internet sports betting of all forms. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and several pet nurse snakes.

The second annual St. Petersburg Bowl will kick off on December 19, 2009 and will likely feature teams from the Big East and the Conference USA conferences. After a successful debut in 2008, this year’s bowl looks to again be an exciting event. The game is played at Tropicana Field, famously known as the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. If for some reason a team from either the Big East or C-USA conference can attend the bowl, a team from the Sun Belt conference will likely play.

This year’s game will be televised on ESPN and will be one of the first bowl games of the year, sharing opening day with the New Mexico Bowl, which will kick off only a few hours earlier. Fans in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area will be able to see a FBS college bowl game right in their back yard, and the inaugural bowl featured local team South Florida winning over the Memphis Tigers. While some fans think the bowl game system should be replaced with a playoff system, for now the bowl system allows teams to enjoy a postseason.

The St. Petersburg Bowl is played at Tropicana Field, which is primarily a baseball park, which means that seating can be awkward. This is often the case with multiple-use stadiums, but a new Rays ballpark may be in the works, and if so, the game will likely be moved. However, it is not uncommon for football games to share time with baseball, and cities must strongly consider multi-use stadiums in order to fully leverage the tax dollars spent on sports stadiums.

The St. Petersburg Bowl is one of several owned by ESPN, and the network will organize and televise the game once again. ESPN’s other bowls include the New Mexico Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl, Maaco Las Vegas Bowl, Hawaii Bowl and the PapaJohns.com Bowl. With several bowl games under their belt, ESPN is becoming proficient and promoting and organizing college football bowl games, and it’s possible they may organize more bowl games in the future.

Last year’s inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl featured local South Florida against C-USA’s Memphis Tigers in a rout, where USF quarterback Matt Grothe torched the Tigers for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Grothe walked away with a win and the Most Outstanding Player award as his Bull won 41-14.

Before looking for St. Petersburg Bowl tickets, you should be sure to check out some various sources, including free online comparison tools like TicketZinger.com, which can give you a starting point. Sometimes tickets can be picked up on the cheap at eBay or other places as well. Before you pay, remember that if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Fans can use the free ticket comparison engine, TicketZinger.com, to find all of the cheapest St. Petersburg Bowl tickets in one place.

New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez tracked down NFL legend Joe Namath before the game looking for a pep talk and some pointers. What the NFL Hall of Famer told him had a very beneficial effect. Sanchez looked very decidedly not like a rookie as he threw for 272 yards and a touchdown against one interception. More importantly, the Jets easily beat the host Houston Texans 24-7.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Jets as +4 road underdogs cashed their tickets with the outright win. New York improved to 10-8 ATS as an underdog over the past three NFL seasons. The combined 31 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 44. The Jets have a slight UNDER bias over the past three years overall at 15-18, while they evened their total mark as an underdog at 9-9.

After the game, Sanchez recounted what Namath had told him in their pregame conversation:

“What a pep talk. That was Joe Namath, just taking all the credit from himself and throwing it back to me and just saying, ‘Good luck.’ To hear that from a legend like that, it just kind of gives you the chills. It was something special to be a part of, an emotional start, an emotional little pep talk.”

For his part, Namath said he wasnt surprised:

“No, I was hopeful and I’m satisfied more than I thought I’d be. His offensive line did a hell of a job, but he did a great job of finding time with his feet, just to move subtly … I don’t doubt even a little bit that he doesn’t have poise at this stage.”

The Jets defense also had a great afternoon. The run defense was particularly stifling, holding Steve Slaton to just 17 yards on the ground. Afterwards, Slaton couldnt believe what had just happened:

“It’s just insane. You work for six months leading up to this first game. You have all offseason to prepare for this game and then to come out and play like that is upsetting.”

Texans coach Gary Kubiak took the blame for his teams awful showing:

“The offensive football team gave us no chance and that starts with me. There’s nobody that can feel anything good coming out of this football game.”

Houston will start from scratch on Sunday as they travel to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are a -6 home favorite with the total set at 40. The Texans will return home for games the following two weeks against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders. The Jets will play their next two games at home, beginning this weekend against the New England Patriots. New York is +4 home underdog to the Pats, with the total set at 47. Theyll welcome the Tennessee Titans to the Meadowlands the following week.

While the St. Louis Rams arent the toughest opponents the NFL can offer, the Seattle Seahawks played well on both offense and defense en route to a 28-0 opening game victory. Jim Mora made a successful debut as Seahawks coach and Matt Hasselbeck played his first regular season game since last Thanksgiving.

The Seahawks easily covered the spread as -7 home favorites. The ATS victory improved the Seahawks to 18-15 against the number in the past three years. The Rams dropped to a dismal 11-22 ATS in the past three years with a 9-20 mark as an underdog. The 28 points scored went UNDER the total of 41.

Mora hadnt been at the helm of an NFL team since he was fired by the Atlanta Falcons in 2006. He is a native of the Jet City and once worked as a visiting locker room attendant for the Seahawks. He talked about his successful homecoming in his post game interview:

“It was especially emotional for me, because there is some significance to it. I’d be lying if I told you there wasn’t. It was kind of a surreal experience.”

It was also the Seahawks first shutout in over two seasons. Linebacker Aaron Curry commented after the game that defensive tenacity and toughness are goals for the new look Seattle team:

“The whole offseason, they said our team was soft. We’ve got to change our image.”

The Rams looked to be the same pitiful team that stumbled to a 2-14 record in 2008. It was hardly the debut that rookie head coach Steve Spagnuolo had hoped far as St. Louis gained only 247 yards and 13 first downs. It’s never a good sign when players point to personal fouls as a positive, as Steven Jackson did in his postgame interviews:

“Would you rather us just get our tail kicked and walk back to the huddle? You saw some fight in this team.”

The Rams looked sloppy and undisciplined throughout, to the point of having their only touchdown of the game negated due to too many men on the field. Clearly, the problems with the St. Louis team run much deeper than coaching.

The schedule wont get any easier for St. Louis, as they hit the road again this week to face the Washington Redskins. The Rams are a +10 road underdog in that contest with the total set at 36. Theyll open their home season the following week against Green Bay before playing another road contest on October 4th against the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle will also play away from home this Sunday, heading down the coast to meet the resurgent San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are a -1 home favorite with the total set at 39. The Seahawks will host the Chicago Bears the following Sunday before a road game at Indianapolis on October 4th.

The Calgary Stampeders used a solid all around game from running back Joffrey Reynolds to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-23 before 35,000 fans at McMahon Stadium in weekend CFL action. The victory evened the Stamps record at 3-3 on the season and left them tied for first place in the CFL West Division with Saskatchewan and Edmonton.

Reynolds ran one touchdown and caught another to lead the Stamps offensive attack. After the game, he received props from Stampeders’ signal caller Henry Burris:

“Joffrey, he’s been an animal. He’s a proven professional. To me, he’s the best running back in the league and he shows it game in and game out.”

Reynolds displayed impressive humility as he accepted Burris compliment:

“Any time that you can be mentioned with great players in this franchise and in this league, you’ve got to be happy about that. I’m just trying to play good football and just help us win games.”

Winnipeg running back Fred Reid rushed for a pair of touchdowns, but insisted that his team needs to compete for 60 minutes if they want to win games in the CFL:

“We have to play four quarters. The slow start hurt us. We played hard and came back in the second half. I wish we could have pulled it out. We have to keep fighting.”

Calgary safety Wes Lysack praised the competitive tenacity of the Blue Bombers:

“Give credit to them. They gave us a heck of a fight, but we found a way to get a win. Wins are hard to come by in the CFL.”

The Stampeders travel to Edmonton for a Thursday night game against the Eskimos. Winnipeg will return home on Saturday to face the CFLs best team, the Montreal Alouettes.

Why has purchasing Chelsea become such a stressful task? Thousands of blues supporters waste hours waiting at the box office hoping to obtain one of those illusive match tickets. Dennis Anderson who has followed Chelsea for over 65 years recently told me that it hasnt always been this way at Chelsea.

“It wasn’t that long ago that I could wake up of a morning & decide that I’d like to go and see the Blues play”. It appears that his enthusiasm hasn’t faded with age as he continued; “Im 79 years old now & I cant afford a season ticket. I still make it to a few matches each year & still enjoy a few beers in the pub before the game”.

So what is the reason for sudden popularity of Chelsea? In the capital you can’t avoid noticing the Chelsea team shirts being worn by droves of Blues fans. Everyone from babys to pensioners are wearing them.

Before I can let you in on a little secret on just how to secure your seat at Stamford Bridge (without spending half of the week freezing to death in West London), lets take a quick look at just why the popularity of this side has soared in recent years.

Chelsea Football Club - A Brief History

Chelsea Football Club were formed in 1905. Their early years were uneventful & it was many years before they managed to win their first major honour, the league championship in 1955. The late 60s & early 70s however were among the clubs most successful years & the popularity of the Kings Road team grew with the club becoming the most fashionable side in the capital.

In 1970, Chelsea played Leeds Utd in the FA Cup final which resulted in a 2-2 draw. Chelsea managed a 2-1 victory in the replay & the following season, they managed secure the European Cup Winners Cup.

However, as the area became less trendy, the club experienced a decline & spent many years in the 2nd division. They didnt reach the top flight again until 1989. Chelsea FC added further silverware to their trophy cabinet in 1997/98, when winning both the League Cup & European Cup Winners Cup.

Over the coming years the team seemed to be seriously under-achieving until their luck took a turn for the better. Upon purchasing Chelsea FC, few in the football world had even heard of Roman Abramovich, but it wasn’t long before his name was on everyone’s lips as he embarked on what seemed like a non-stop spending spree. Chelsea now had more funds available at their disposal than any other club & it wasnt long before they joined the elite of English football and became a one of “the big four”.

Jose Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2004, and the self-confidence which he seemed to ooze, quickly spread to the team and boosted their performances. First they won the Carling Cup & then the Premiership title. And the Shed faithful didn’t have too wait long for another league title, as they won the title again the following season. Although Chelesa couldn’t win the league championship for the 3rd year in succession, they did achieve success they won both the FA and League Cups.

In late 2007, Jose departed from Stamford Bridge in shock circumstances, & Avram Grant was quickly appointed as his successor. He Led Chelsea to their only UEFA Champions League Final. Unfortunately his contract was terminated in what were perhaps harsh circumstances after Chelsea lost the match on penalties to Man Utd. Brazilian World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari succeeded Avram, but he also couldn’t manage to fill the void left by Mourinho & was sacked midway through his debut season.

Chelsea’s Russian owner appointed Gus Hiddink as Scolaris replacement. He has managed to lead the side to the 2008/09 FA Cup final, after the Blues beat Arsenal in a semi-final hosted at Wembley. It is widely believed that he will depart from Stamford Bridge at the end of this season in order to concentrate his efforts on coaching the Russian national football team.

So now its seems its time to let you in on that little secret I was telling you about. The information highway or the internet as it is more commonly known, has made it possible for anyone to buy Chelsea tickets & it can now be done from your armchair in the warmth of your own home. Visit SecureYourSeat.com who are able to offer you Chelsea tickets for each of their Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup matches.

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Like any sport, one must train in order to become the best that you can be. While practicing with your team is a necessity, practicing on your own is also something that you are going to have to do to get to the next level or reach your full potential. However, nobody likes to do anything monotonous and when you are doing your soccer training routine. You are going to want to make them enjoyable for both the team and the individual.

There is speed and then there is soccer speed. You may be a great sprinter in the open field, but in order to have soccer speed you are going to have to develop certain skills that you cannot do by simply running around a track quickly.

In order to increase your speed, you must run short distances of about 15-20 meters very quickly and vary your direction without losing a step. The better you become at this, the more likely you are to avoid your opponent and become a better player.

In order to maintain your soccer speed, you are going to have to do aerobic conditioning. These types of exercise will increase your VO2 and allow you to sustain a high level of output over prolonged periods of time. Once you can achieve workouts of 30 minutes or longer, you are well on your way to superior aerobic fitness.

While endurance is a major factor, so is ball control. There are several different skills that you must perfect, but receiving and trapping are basic skills that ever player must master. You must learn to receive the ball in open space as well as in tight quarters and you must control the ball quickly. In a normal situation, you can receive the ball by gently touching the top or middle part of the ball and directing it to the area of the field that you want to.

There are going to be times that receiving is not possible and you are going to have to quickly trap the ball before you can move with it. If you can do this quickly, you will barely miss a step and continue down field.

In order to do this, you will need to open yourself to the direction that the ball is coming from and place your foot in the path of the ball. As it begins to arrive, you will pull your foot back slightly to cushion the impact and allow the ball to settle down.

You are also going to have times when the ball flight is too high in relation to your body position and will have to use your head and torso to get the ball under control. You will want to practice arching your back and using your torso as a landing pad for the ball and then direct it back down to the ground. If the ball is moving quickly at an even level, you may find that you have to use your head. You can do this by flexing your knees to control the impact and then lead your upper body forward and use your forehead to control the flight of the ball downward. You can now get it under control with your feet and move into a scoring position downfield or make the next pass.

Coach - The coach has the most important role of all the role players in kids soccer. Children can still be shaped and formed to be great players. However a coach is way beyond formation. A coach is what you see, is what you get. That is why it is of utmost important that a kids soccer team gets the perfect coach. It is the coach that makes or breaks the team.

Should not be a burden- Children join soccer teams to develop their game but most of all to have fun. Playing soccer should not be a burden for the parents or the kids. If it is, it will reflect in the overall game and attitude. The key to having fun is to actually take part in the game. The coach should make sure that the players each get at least 50% play time during a game. Rotating is thus essential. Now the basis of rotation is just as important as rotation self. The basis should be a players willingness, motivation and attitude not how good a player he or she is. Passion fuels rotation.

Cost exercise- Kids soccer can be a very costly exercise, especially when professional trainers are considered. In general these highly trained soccer enthusiasts come at a price, a high price. Both emotionally and financially. In terms of emotion these trainers have a tendency to take away the fun and make children bad losers. Enforcing the attitude of either you win the game or you are a loser at life. In terms of finances the parents will need to rob a bank to pay up to extra US$100. Please note that I am not saying professional trainers are not a good thing, they are just not age and league appropriate.

Suitability- You can start your childs’ kids soccer training as early as 5 years of age. The sport is suitable for both girls and boys. Soccer is a medium safe sport as there is low contact. To be successful with the game the child should have traits including good vision, be team player, top aerobic fitness and top ball skills.

Discipline- Success and discipline go hand in hand. The one is not possible without the other. The greater the mutual discipline and respect the more enjoyable the game will be on and off the field. Coaches that are new to the game have the greatest challenge to enforce and develop discipline with their game.

Camping- Kids camps are ideal for development and socialisation with children with the same ideas and love of the game. However exercise caution in choosing your childs’ camp. Safety is essential as well as separate of children of different ages. Mixed camps are generally a disaster as there is no age appropriate programmes applied. Safety is also not of the highest importance during these mixed camps. Different ages require different supervision.

Basic rules- There are some very basic soccer rules you as parent and your child should know. There are 11 players on the field including one goalkeeper. They are the only players allowed to touch the ball with arms and hands when ball is in their penalty area. The field is rectangular in shape and 90-120×45-90 metres. A goal is awarded when a player gets ball past goalkeeper in net. Every goal is one point.

Screaming from sideline- Parents should avoid sideline coaching in it’s entirety. The child will not be able to distinguish if he should listen to the coach or his or her parent for playing advice. This will confuse the child extremely. This only confuses the kids later to extent that they will not be able to follow a game plan or strategy developed by the coach. Respect is of highest importance for your team to succeed. Not only between players and coach but also between coach and parents. Disrespect will be picked up easily by the kids and the lead of the adults followed.