Rugby

Rugby is a ball sport that is so named because it was developed in the Rugby School located in the United Kingdom.  It is a type of football and is currently being prominently played in 2 variants: Rugby League games and Rugby Union games.

The “rugby league” variant is seen as the more entertaining, more athletic, more physically demanding, and more spectator friendly type of rugby.  It has fewer play stoppages and it has fewer rules allowing for much more free flowing play.  It is estimated that in the 80 minutes allotted for a rugby game, rugby league rules allow for the ball to be in play for approximately 50 minutes.  On the other hand, the rules of rugby union only allow the ball in play for approximately 35 minutes.  Furthermore, rugby league rules require that each team plays a maximum of 13 players while rugby union rules require teams to field in 15 players.  The lesser number of players allotted by rugby league means that there is more space for the players to cover thus making the game much faster and much more exciting than a game with 15 players covering the same size field.

However, there are also distinct similarities between rugby league games and rugby union games.  Most important of these are the rule that requires the use of an oval shaped ball and the rule that requires players to pass the ball sideways or backwards only.  It is prohibited to pass the ball forward in rugby.  This is to ensure that the ball will only move forward with the players covering ground while running with the ball or by kicking the ball. 

Of course, like most ball games, the primary goal in rugby is to score more points than the other team.  In rugby though, there are four ways to get points on the board. Players can score by: (1) completing a “try”, (2) kicking a “conversion goal”, (3) kicking a “penalty goal”, and (4) kicking a “drop goal”. 

 

A “try” is gained by a team if it successfully gets one of its players to touch the ball onto the ground of the other team’s goal zone.  This means that the player with the ball must have control of the ball with any part of his upper body until the ball hits the ground.  If the ball is dropped or thrown into the ground of the goal zone it will not be considered a try.  A try is worth 5 points in ruby.

After a try is completed, the team that made the try is given a chance to score an additional 2 points through the conversion goal.  A conversion goal is completed by kicking the ball into the uprights from a point 10 meters from the goal line and straight out from the point where the ball was laid to complete the try.

The penalty goal meanwhile is an option for a team to score 3 points if the defensive team commits a penalty.  The penalty goal is accomplished by kicking the ball into the uprights from a tee that is positioned where the penalty was committed.

Lastly, a team can score 2 points by accomplishing a drop goal.  A drop goal is scored when a player kicks the ball into the uprights after bouncing the ball on the ground.

Joaquin Cortes

Joaquin Cortes is a Spanish ballet and flamenco dancer that hails from Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain.  He was born on February 22, 1969 and he displayed a flair and talent for dancing at a very early age.  When his family moved to the city of Madrid in 1981, he began to foster his dancing skills more seriously and he began to take formal lessons to further hone his dancing talent.

At the age of fifteen, he became a member of the prestigious Spanish National Ballet company.  This allowed him to partake in many international performances which included some of the most important and respected venues in the world such as the Kremlin Palace in Russia and the Cosmopolitan Opera House in the United States of America.  His time with the Spanish National Ballet company also displayed his impressive talents and skills as a crowd pleasing solo performer.  His performances were always a showcase of his incredible energy and athleticism which made him stand out from the other dancers of his era.

However, as he matured, Joaquin Cortes began to have the need for more creative control over his performances that was simply not possible as a member of the Spanish National Ballet company.  This need and desire motivated him to start his own dance and ballet company which he called the Joaquin Cortes Flamenco Ballet Company.  This allowed him to diverge from the world of “purist” ballet and let him develop his own style of dance which was an artistic fusion of different types of dance such as ballet, flamenco, and even modern dance.  In 1992, Joaquin embarked on his first worldwide dance tour which was called the “Cibayi”.  In 1995, Joaquin ventured into the world of movies when he was featured in two films: the “La flor de mi secreto” and “Flamenco”.  In the same year though, he get on the venture that would really put him in the world map not only as a highly talented dancer, but as a gifted choreographer and a creative artistic director as well.  This venture was the “Pasion Gitana” or the “Gypsy Passion”.  Up to this time, the “Pasion Gitana” is still considered his most impressive and most successful production.  In 1999, Joaquin was again part of the movie world as he became the subject of his very own documentary film.  In the same year, he also launched “Soul” – a dance tour that spanned the continents of North and South America. 

At the turn of the century, Joaquin Cortes continued to have success in his endeavors.  In 2000, he was able to get a role in the movie “Gitano”. In 2001, he was a guest performer in one of the concerts of Jennifer Lopez in Puerto Rico while in 2004 he landed a role in the movie “Vaniglia e cioccolato”.  Also in 2004, Joaquin became a part of the “De Amor y Odio”, an international dance tour that provided him performances in different countries including Thailand, Portugal, and England.  In 2007, Joaquin Cortes started his current dance spectacle entitled “Mi Soledad”.

Horse Racing

Horse racing is a sport that dates back to ancient Egypt and Babylon.  It also has roots in the ancient Greece where it was included in Greek Olympics.  In the Roman Empire, horse racing was both a popular sport and a thriving industry.  It was also the sport of choice among the royalty and aristocrats of British Society which in part has been the reason that it has been called the “Sport of Kings”.

There are 3 major categories of horse racing: Flat Race, Steeplechase Race, and Harness Race.  A flat race is run by thoroughbred horses over a level or flat track covering a predetermined distance.  This type of race is a competition of speed and stamina of the horse and of skill for the riding jockey.  On the other hand, a steeplechase race is run on a course that has many obstacles that the horse and the jockey must traverse with speed and precision.  In Ireland and in Great Britain, the official term now used to denote steeplechase horse racing is National Hunt Racing.  Harness racing meanwhile requires the horses to race using a specific trot, gait, or pace.  Additionally, they are also required to pull a cart with two wheels where the jockey will be positioned.  Some areas in Europe though have adopted a type of harness racing where the jockey uses a saddle to ride the horse thereby dismissing the use of the two wheeled cart.

Under these 3 major types of racing are many other types of racing.  This variety of races has led to the breeding of different types of horse breeds that are raised with the type of race it is to excel in being the most significant factor.  For flat races, the most capable breeds are the thoroughbred, the Arabian, the Quarter Horse, the Appaloosa, and the Paint.  For steeplechase races, thoroughbred and AQPS horses are the preferred breeds.  For harness races, the standard bred horse is the most common breed that it used.  However, the Russian Trotter and Finnhorse are also common choices in harness races that are held in Europe.

A fourth major type of horse racing was started in 1955 in the state of California in the United States of America.  This is called endurance racing.  An endurance race usually covers a distance of 80 or 160 kilometers although this usually depends on the country where the race is being held.  There are also “short” endurance races which are called limited distance races.   

These races are usually used by new riders and new or young horses as training ground for eventual entry into the full distance endurance races.  On the other hand, extra long endurance races are also held in some parts of the world.  These races usually go over the 160 km distance and may last for several days.  While any breed of horse may be entered into an endurance race, the Arabian breed is preferred by most professional riders because of its natural high endurance characteristics and its above average stamina. Endurance horse racing is similar to the marathon that is run by humans in that most of the competitors regard finishing the race with the horse in good condition already a “win”. 

The FIFA

The FIFA is the governing body that organizes international association football along with other variants of the game such as Beach Soccer and Futsal.  It is a French acronym which stands for “Fédération Internationale de Football Association” or in English the “International Federation of Association Football”.  FIFA takes responsibility for the organization of all the international tournaments of football including the World Cup which is considered one of the most popular tournaments in the world.  FIFA also boasts of having a total of 208 members comprised of different national football associations (by comparison, the United Nations only has 193 states as members).  It is based in the city of Zurich in Switzerland and it is currently headed by Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president.

FIFA was founded on May 21, 1904 in Paris, France which explains the French acronym which still remains today.  There were 8 founding members. These were France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain which was represented by the football club of Madrid due to the absence of a Spanish Football Federation at the time.  The German Football Association also declared that it would be part of the FIFA by sending a telegram to the association on the same day.

The highest governing body of the FIFA is the FIFA Congress.  This is an assembly that gathers one representative from each of the member football associations and each representative gets one vote, regardless of its country’s size or its team’s prowess in the tournaments.  This assembly meets regularly for a single gathering every year, although beginning in 1998, the FIFA Congress has also held a special session annually.  Being the highest governing body of the FIFA, only the FIFA Congress has the power to enact changes to the prevailing statutes of FIFA.  It is also the FIFA Congress which is responsible in electing the members of the federation’s executive committee which include the President and the Secretary General.  Furthermore, the FIFA Congress approves and checks the annual report, decides on the applications of new member associations, and discusses issues regarding the implications and applications of the Federations statutes.

During the rest of the year when the FIFA Congress is not convened, the FIFA Executive Committee takes over the daily decision making duties for the Federation. This committee is led by the FIFA president and it includes 8 vice-presidents and 15 executive committee members with all of the members having a mandate of 4 years.  This committee convenes at least 2 times every year and its role in the Federation include determining the different specifications of international tournaments such as the schedules, locations, and the format to be used.  It is also responsible in determining the official delegates of the FIFA to the IFAB and in electing the secretary general.  Under the Executive Committee, other committees have been created to further improve the organization of the Federation.  Some of these committees are: the Disciplinary Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Referee’s Committee.  The administration of the rules and guidelines set out by the Executive Committee are carried out by the FIFA General Secretariat which is made up of a staff of about 200 people.

Major Health Journals

A health journal is a type of scientific journal written by experts that is dedicated to the field of health which may include health care, medicine, gynecology, epidemiology, obstetrics and many other related health fields.  The content is usually gleaned from the actual research that the author or the team of authors of the article did themselves.  Furthermore, these journals go through a process of peer evaluation by other experts of the field.  Due to its nature, journals are usually written in an advanced method because the writers assume that the readers of the content are already quite knowledgeable about the subject being discussed. The following are some of the major journals currently being published in the world today.

1. The New England Journal of Medicine

This journal is a publication of the Massachusetts Medical Society which is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.  It contains editorials, case reports, and papers based on original research just like most other journals of its kind.  However, the New England Journal of Medicine has a unique section which it calls “Images in Clinical Medicine”.     This journal is considered to be the longest running medical journal in the world as it traces the publication of its first issue to January, 1812.  In 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine garnered an impact factor rating of 51 on the Journal Citation Reports.   This marked the first time that a research journal was able to get an impact factor rating that is over 50.  Over the years, this journal has consistently gotten the highest impact factor rating among all the available journals of medicine.

2. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

The JAMA is a publication of the American Medical Association which is published on a weekly basis.  It was first published in 1883 with Nathan Smith Davis taking the lead as its first ever editor.  In terms of content, this journal covers a wide range of medical and health topics.  It includes different types of basic research and even researches and developments in other fields to help keep physicians well informed.  Debates about current and prevailing issues in the medical and health fields are also included in this journal as well as issues and developments regarding the integrity of the sciences.  The JAMA has separate editions published in Spanish and French languages.

3. The Lancet

The Lancet was originally started in 1823 by an English surgeon by the name of Thomas Wakley.  It contains original research papers, editorials, medical news and reports, features, book reviews, and case reports.  It also has a number of specialty focused journals that carry the same reputation of reliability as the main journal.  These are (1) The Lancet Neurology, (2) the Lancet Oncology, (3) The Lancet Infectious Diseases, and (4) the Lancet Student.  In 2010, the first 3 Lancet Specialty Journals have gained impact factor ratings of 21.66, 17.76, and 16.14 respectively.  The main journal on the other hand garnered an impact factor of 33.63, the second highest impact factor for a medical journal for that year.  It was next only to the New England Journal of Medicine.  The Lancet has established a reputation of being one of the best known and most respected journals of general medicine in the world.

Rugby

Rugby is a ball sport that is so named because it was developed in the Rugby School located in the United Kingdom.  It is a type of football and is currently being prominently played in 2 variants: Rugby League games and Rugby Union games.

The “rugby league” variant is seen as the more entertaining, more athletic, more physically demanding, and more spectator friendly type of rugby.  It has fewer play stoppages and it has fewer rules allowing for much more free flowing play.  It is estimated that in the 80 minutes allotted for a rugby game, rugby league rules allow for the ball to be in play for approximately 50 minutes.  On the other hand, the rules of rugby union only allow the ball in play for approximately 35 minutes.  Furthermore, rugby league rules require that each team plays a maximum of 13 players while rugby union rules require teams to field in 15 players.  The lesser number of players allotted by rugby league means that there is more space for the players to cover thus making the game much faster and much more exciting than a game with 15 players covering the same size field.

However, there are also distinct similarities between rugby league games and rugby union games.  Most important of these are the rule that requires the use of an oval shaped ball and the rule that requires players to pass the ball sideways or backwards only.  It is prohibited to pass the ball forward in rugby.  This is to ensure that the ball will only move forward with the players covering ground while running with the ball or by kicking the ball. 

Of course, like most ball games, the primary goal in rugby is to score more points than the other team.  In rugby though, there are four ways to get points on the board. Players can score by: (1) completing a “try”, (2) kicking a “conversion goal”, (3) kicking a “penalty goal”, and (4) kicking a “drop goal”.  

A “try” is gained by a team if it successfully gets one of its players to touch the ball onto the ground of the other team’s goal zone.  This means that the player with the ball must have control of the ball with any part of his upper body until the ball hits the ground.  If the ball is dropped or thrown into the ground of the goal zone it will not be considered a try.  A try is worth 5 points in ruby.

After a try is completed, the team that made the try is given a chance to score an additional 2 points through the conversion goal.  A conversion goal is completed by kicking the ball into the uprights from a point 10 meters from the goal line and straight out from the point where the ball was laid to complete the try.

The penalty goal meanwhile is an option for a team to score 3 points if the defensive team commits a penalty.  The penalty goal is accomplished by kicking the ball into the uprights from a tee that is positioned where the penalty was committed.

Lastly, a team can score 2 points by accomplishing a drop goal.  A drop goal is scored when a player kicks the ball into the uprights after bouncing the ball on the ground.