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Hello all you baseball fans! Since the season is over I thought a little baseball trivia might be fun to keep you on your toes until next season. When it comes to trophies an baseball trophies the CY Young awards is truly an honor.

Question number One: Even with only one Cy Young Award given out for the entire Major Leagues, this pitcher in 1963 won it and his league’s MVP Award also. Who was this Hall of Fame Dodger great? Bob Gibson Sandy Koufax Warren Spahn Dean Chance

Question number two: Which Red Sox pitcher took both the Cy Young and MVP Award in 1986? Roger Clemens Pedro Martinez Jim Lonborg Dick Radatz

Question number three: This pitcher’s first Cy trophy was sweet, as he also took his league’s MVP in 1968. Which National League pitcher was this? Tom Seaver Bob Gibson Steve Carlton Vida Blue Question number four: Which Milwaukee Brewer duplicated the Cy Young and MVP awards in 1981? Dennis Martinez Catfish Hunter Rollie Fingers Don Sutton Answers:

Question number One: The correct answer was Sandy Koufax Koufax went 25-5 with 306 strikeouts in 1963. He helped guide the Dodgers to a 4-0 World Series crown against the Yankees. He won the Cy Young by taking a first place vote on every ballot. He won the MVP Award over the Cardinals’ Dick Groat, and the Braves’ Hank Aaron.

Question number two: The correct answer was Roger Clemens In 1986, Roger was in his third season of baseball. He went 24-4 and won the Cy Young Award in a landslide over pitcher Teddy Higuera of the Brewers. He took the MVP Award over Don Mattingly and Jim Rice. Question Number three: The correct answer was Bob Gibson The high-kicking number 45 of the Cardinals went 22-9 with an amazing 1.12 ERA in the season. The won the MVP over Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, and Curt Flood. The Cy Young voting wasn’t even close.

Question number four: The correct answer was Rollie Fingers Noted for his handlebar moustache, Fingers was a reliever. He went 6-3 with 28 saves, a 1.04 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Rollie made his name in an Athletics uniform, and was in his first season with the Brewers in 1981. He won the Cy Young over Steve McCatty and the MVP over Rickey Henderson, both of the Athletics. Stay tuned for more cools sports trivia!

Answers:

Question Number One: The correct answer was Sandy Koufax Koufax went 25-5 with 306 strikeouts in 1963. He helped guide the Dodgers to a 4-0 World Series crown against the Yankees. He won the trophy by taking a first place vote on every ballot. He won the MVP Award over the Cardinals’ Dick Groat, and the Braves’ Hank Aaron.

Question Number two: The correct answer was Roger Clemens In 1986, Roger was in his third season of baseball. He went 24-4 and won the Award in a landslide over pitcher Teddy Higuera of the Brewers. He took the MVP Award over Don Mattingly and Jim Rice.

Question Number three: The correct answer was Bob Gibson The high-kicking number 45 of the Cardinals went 22-9 with an amazing 1.12 ERA in the season. The won the MVP over Pete Rose, Willie McCovey, and Curt Flood. The Cy Young voting wasn’t even close.

Question number four: The correct answer was Rollie Fingers Noted for his handlebar moustache, Fingers was a reliever. He went 6-3 with 28 saves, a 1.04 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Rollie made his name in an Athletics uniform, and was in his first season with the Brewers in 1981. He won the award over Steve McCatty and the MVP over Rickey Henderson, both of the Athletics.

Stay tuned for more cool sports trivia!

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We begin this week again with the disappointing San Francisco 49ers. The most popular pick to win the NFC West have dropped their first three games and are heading into Atlanta to face a team that beat the defending champion Saints in overtime last week. The Falcons are confident, and favored by 6.5 points, but the Niners must be starving for a win by now. We’ll see if San Francisco can finally live up to at least a little bit of the pre-season hype and get themselves into the win column, or if they’re really heading down the long-winless road paved by the 2009 Tennessee Titans.

In a heavyweight battle every defensive fan loves to watch, the hard hitting Baltimore Ravens are making their annual trek into Heinz field to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are 3-0 straight up, 3-0 against the spread and looking to go to 4-0 for the first time in 31 years. They’re favored by one point for two reasons: their defense and they’re home. Meanwhile the Ravens are playing their usual brand of football, holding opponents to only 244 yards a game so far this season. This should be a ground battle, with plenty of hobbled players by game’s end.

Philly fans and football handicapping services will be looking for two things out of Week Four: Michael Vick to run all over the Redskins and Donovan McNabb to be run out of town with a loss. Since taking over at quarterback, Vick has thrown for 575 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Washington started out with a nice win over the Cowboys, but have since lost a heartbreaker to the Texans and an unsettling defeat at the Rams. The Redskins will be fired up to show that they’re better than their 1-2 record, not happy about being a 7 point dog, and that the Eagles franchise made a big mistake by trading a star to a division rival.

In a battle of “wow, they’re better than I thought they’d be” teams, the Seahawks go on the road this week as the favorite. Granted the game is at St. Louis, but baby steps Seahawks fans. Your team is a road favorite! Just soak that in for a minute. That said, they are only a one point favorite against a much improved Rams team that won their first home game in 14 months last week. Sam Bradford does have 5 interceptions, but he’s learning quickly and last week he completed 62% of his passes. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it seems clear that St. Louis has a legitimate future star on their roster. If Bradford can get hot against a Seattle defense that gave up 527 yards to San Diego last week, we may have a shootout on our hands.

At the new Meadowlands, the 3-0 Bears face off against the 1-2 Giants. Many people feel the Giants have the most talented defense in football. Many of the same people feel that Chicago is the worst 3-0 team in years. So, good team struggling versus overrated team on the road equals…well, who knows. Sure, the Bears should have lost to the lowly Lions, but they stomped the Cowboys and played smart and efficient in beating the Packers. And the Giants may be talented, but rumors have been swirling all week in New York about whether Tom Coughlin has lost control of the team. Is this the week the Giants finally come together and the Bears finally fall apart? We’ll see.

Monday night features Tom Brady and the New England Patriots heading southbound to take on the Miami Dolphins in a battle of division leaders. As usual, Brady has carried whatever load the team needs him to shoulder. He’s already thrown for 758 yards and 8 touchdowns. Chad Henne looked like he’s making headway with his new star receiver Brandon Marshall. Henne hit Marshall for 166 of his career high 363 yards and expects to do more of the same this week against a beaten up Patriots secondary. The spread opened at even and has since moved to the Pats by one. Two guarantees on this game: that spread will move again before Monday and this will shape up to be one of the best games of the week.

Tim Manson is an avid sports fan and football enthusiast that has been moonlighting as a freelance sports writer for the past four years. Tim is also an upcoming star in the football handicapping industry who lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and two kids were he enjoys playing football as well as hiking and sailing.

Most bowling enthusiasts dream of getting the perfect score of 300 in a game or beating the world record of 47 consecutive strikes that is currently held by Tommy Gollick. While seemingly an elusive aspiration, there are techniques involved in a person’s success in strike bowling. These methods, paired with steady consistency, are sure to improve a bowler’s points.

Know your ball. Before you even begin to play, you need to make sure that the bowling ball you’re using is the right weight. The basic rule of thumb is that the ball you use should be 10 percent of your body weight. But if you feel that it is too heavy, you can move down a pound or two. Ideally, you should be able to hold the ball out with your arm bent like an “L” for a few seconds. Once you have found a ball you’re comfortable with, stick with it. Remember that in bowling, using the wrong ball is like going to war with a spatula.

Posture up. When bowling, having the correct stance makes a big difference. Start by making sure that your shoulders are parallel with the foul line. Hold the ball with only your dominant hand and the other just supporting it. Next, align your ball and hand to whatever you are aiming at. Note that your arm should be at a 90-degree angle, close to your side. As you walk forward, use your knees to lower yourself closer to the ground but keep your upper body upright. If you follow this technique consistently, your average score should increase exponentially.

Swing the right way. There are three fundamental throws in bowling. These are stroking, which highlights the smooth release of the ball, cranking that relies on heavy wrist action to deliver a powerful stroke, and tweening, which is a combination of the two other styles. Although different athletes use different forms for their swing, there is a general assumption that stroking works best when aiming for more repeatable and accurate shots. This consistency is highly valued in strike bowling, as you would like to regularly get a strike.

Master the art of ball release. Novice bowlers usually make the mistake of either releasing the ball too early or too late. This causes a big problem in terms of the aim, because if you don’t let go at the right time, chances are the ball will proceed off course. It’s best to release the bowling ball as you begin the final upward motion of your swing. As you do this, don’t make the mistake of lowering your eyes to watch the ball depart. Doing so moves your shoulders and upper torso that, in turn, affects the trajectory of the ball (which might just be heading to the gutter at that point).

Adopting a good technique will certainly get bowlers far but it is consistency that will get you even further. It is not enough to simply know the style and be able to perform it once or twice. To be victorious in strike bowling all of the tips mentioned above have to be thoroughly practiced, perfected, and executed consistently without exception.

Raffy Chan has been bowling for over ten years and is happy to share his know-how on strike bowling. Visit http://strikebowling.org for more tips on ten pin bowling.

Bowling is a sport enjoyed by millions both in the United States and across the globe. It is especially attractive because of its inclusive nature: anyone can easily participate regardless of his or her skill level. It can also be very social, as chatting with your lane mates is a major part of the experience.

Here are four ways you can make your experience at the bowling alley especially fun.

Make Sure to Understand Bowling Etiquette

It’s no fun for anyone when you upset the group bowling next to you. Bowling has a few strict rules, but thankfully they are very easy to follow. Most importantly, you should yield the “right of way” to bowlers in the lanes directly to your left and right. Never enter the bowling area if a bowler in these adjacent lanes is already there: this can be very distracting! Instead, wait a few seconds until they are done bowling and then have at it.

Wait for a Good Deal

Most alleys offer special rates for certain times of the week, and this can make your experience much more enjoyable. Not only will bowling on a Saturday night be the most expensive, but it will most likely be crowded and hectic. If you choose to go on another night, you’ll spend far less money, the atmosphere will be more laid back and everyone in your party will be more cheerful.

Keep the “Coaching” to a Minimum

Even if you bowl pretty well, don’t constantly critique the form of others in your group, no matter how good your intentions might be. If they are making a major mistake, such as a sideways arm angle leading to constant gutterballs, you can help them if they ask. Otherwise, it’s best to keep your advice to yourself. It takes away from the fun atmosphere and can lead to arguments among your friends. Also, there are a wide variety of bowling styles, so what works for you might not work for someone else and your tips might actually be misleading.

Institute a Friendly Competition

At almost every alley today, the electronic scoring system will keep track of your scores. But there are plenty of other fun ways you can make your games “count” without getting too competitive. You could set up certain conditions under which one person might have to buy a snack or round of drinks for the others. For example, you could agree that if three bowlers knock down at least nine pins in any frame and the fourth does not, he or she has to buy the others a drink. The possibilities are endless, so get creative