- 2010 FIFA Golden Ball
- 2010-2011Futbol EspañolSpanish FootballSpainFutbolLa LigaSpanish LeagueFC BarcelonaSpanish Soccer
- 50 Greatest Players
- 7 Wonders Of The Sporting World
- Adrian
- Adrian Peterson
- Ajax of Amsterdam
- Alberto Contador
- Arjen Robben
- Athletic de Bilbao
- Atletico de Madrid
- Bayern Munich
- Champions League
- Real Zaragoza
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Adam T Glass 500 pound lift
Adam showing there seems to be no limits, still.
Adam makes easy work of a 500lb hand lift along with some hammer levering, farmers walk, short bending and a PR pinch grip with plates.
Amazing stuff!
Adam T Glass 500 pound lift
SPAIN HINTS AT ITS STARTING 11 AGAINST TURKEY THIS WEDNESFDAY. PLUS TERIM TO SEVILLA FC ?
VILLAREAL & REAL MADRID SEND SCOUTS TO WATCH SERBIAN DANIJEL ALESKSIC
Vermont Law School’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society to host two panels at annual Solutions Conference
Vermont Law School will host its annual Solutions Conference on April 3rd and 4th. The Vermont Law School Sports and Entertainment Law Society along with the National Sports and Entertainment Law Society will host two panels:
- Alternative Legal Careers: Sports and the Law
Date & Time: Friday, April 3rd, 2009 from 10:30-12pm
Panelist:Ed Mattes, Jim Munsey, Andrew Weber, and Michael Zarren
Moderator: Michael McCann
- Keynote Address: Topic TBA
Date & Time: Friday, April 3rd, 2009 from 5:30-7:30pm
Speaker: Reggie Hudlin
The Solutions Conference is FREE to Vermont Law School Faculty, Staff and Students. The Solutions Conference is also open to the surrounding community for $25 per person. Everyone interested in attending must register for the Solutions Conference here.
REAL MADRID TRANSFER NEWS 2009: RUMOUR, SPECULATIONS & LIES...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Card Tearing Ebook
Since getting my meat hooks on Jedd Johnson's card tearing ebook
I have been able to knock almost 1 minute off my card tear.
All because of the info in this book.
This may sound unreal but there is one sentence in this book that gave me the 'eureka' moment which made me realise where I was going wrong. I applied this and practiced a bit and started really getting through the cards much much quicker.
Here's my vid
I believe this book is one of it's kind with information you can't get elsewhere. Not only that but the exercises here are well worth it alone.
If you interested check out Cardtearing.com for more details
Card Tearing Ebook
NBA Age Limit Discussion at New York Law School
NBA officials have hinted they want to raise the age limit to 20 when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in 2011. Luckily for us, the age limit topic dominated the discussion during a panel talk Wednesday at New York Law School featuring several high-profile sports lawyers. Even better, we heard Alan Milstein, a litigator at Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose & Podolsky promise that he plans to mount a legal challenge against the NBA's age-limit ban, which, to put it politely, he does not like. (Milstein called the ban "outrageous," "hypocritical," and "a sham." He and other panelists who share his views--including Michael McCann of Vermont Law School and Sports Law Blog fame--wonder why hoops players have to wait while tennis players and soccer players can turn pro as youngish teens).
Milstein says he's just waiting for a player willing to challenge the rule, and he thinks he can win on antitrust grounds (among others). It wouldn't be Milstein's first attempt at taking on such an age limit. With help from McCann, he fought the National Football League's age limit on behalf of former Ohio State University star running back Maurice Clarett. Clarett, who lost that case, is now serving a 7-1/2 year prison sentence after being convicted on various criminal charges, including robbery. Milstein speculates that Clarett may have stayed out of trouble had he been allowed to enter the NFL early and earn a living.
The Clarett experience won't stop Milstein from going after the NBA's age limit. "I'm hoping to find a player to challenge it in the next couple of years," he told the panel.
* * *
For the rest of the piece, click here.
Salary cap for soccer teams in Europe?

Revenue would be defined as money received only from ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise and television income. It would not include any financial investment by owners or major shareholders. Apart from creating tools to battle the financial crisis, the introduction of a salary cap tries to limit the increasing importance of (mostly) foreign investors which seem to destabilize competition. According to UEFA these foreign investors are responsible for immoral wages and transfer fees.
The UEFA is of the opinion that the United States sports system and regulators could be an example of how to maintain a competitive balance between sporting measures and regulations to ensure the clubs are properly managed. The main arguments of the critics however are the following:
- The introduction of a salary cap must be introduced at international level. If one or more national leagues refuse to introduce the salary cap, this could result into a competitive gap between capped and uncapped leagues.
- The richest (and most powerful) clubs in Europe will resist on the introduction of the salary cap as it could undermine their competitive advantage.
- There is no such thing as a European accounting, financial or auditing standard which could safeguard that the salary cap will equally applied in the different countries. The introduction of a salary cap would need to be accompanied by the introduction of (strict) financial/accountancy rules for all clubs.
There is no doubt that measures need to be taken to improve the financial situation of the European soccer teams. The financial crisis could be the ideal stimulus for the European authorities to come up with initiatives to introduce a global framework with coherent financial, auditing and accounting standards which the different teams have to respect. A salary cap could be one of those standards, but will have little effect without a global framework.
"EL MUNDANO DEPORTIVO": REAL MADRID - NO TO CR7, VALDANO & WENGER
Sunday, March 29, 2009
MOTOGP REVS UP IN JEREZ (SPAIN) FOR 2009.
ATLETICO DE MADRID WINS LEAGUE TITLE (JUNIOR)
FORMULA 1 2009: ALONSO FINISHES 6TH IN MELBOURNE
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Budd Jeffries Kettlebells
I'm big fan of Bud Jeffries, a couple of years or so ago I bought his ebooks Twisted Conditioning I & II and also how to Squat 900lbs (I never have squatted 900 yet since, but the book is jammed full of amazing training stuff). These books gave me so many ideas for training with kettlebells and weights together.
Bud has recently been working on the Kettlebell Swing and has put up the following PR's on his site:
* 24kg x 500 reps in 12 min: 13 sec
* 24kg x 1000 reps in 28 min: 30 sec
* 24kg x 2000 reps in 1 hour: 10 min
* 32kg x 1000 reps in 37 min
* 40kg x 1000 reps in 45 min
* 40kg x 1200 reps in 1 hour
* 48kg x 1000 reps in 1 hour
Wow that's some serious swinging.
Not only this but this has helped Bud lose 70lb's in bodyweight and will soon be letting us in on his kettlebell swing training
Bud now has his site back up at Strongerman.com
Check out this PDF article about why Bud trains with kettlebells
21 reasons to train with kettlebells
Budd Jeffries Kettlebells
WORLD CUP 2010 QUALIFIERS: SPAIN WINS 1-0 A HARD TURKEY TEAM (SEE VIDEO)
REAL MADRID: FUTURE UP IN THE AIR FOR CANNAVARO & VAN DER VAART
Secret Service Snatch Test
Decided to lay off the 40kg snatching and try out the SSST instead today.
I hit 212 reps in 10 mins with the 24kg kettlebell, which is a personal best.
So I am happy with that.
However, I some how miss counted reps in the fifth minute and changed 3 reps early on the left. So I should really have hit 215.
This coming week I'll be working to hit 230 reps and will devise an exact strategy on how I will achieve this
Secret Service Snatch Test
MILESTONES & POSSIBLE RECORDS TONIGHT FOR SPAIN AGAINST TURKEY
Why the Florida Marlins now are state actors in their new stadium
If there is anything left to the "symbiotic relationship" test of Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority (admittedly a debatable proposition for a Civil-Rights-Era-product-of-its-time decision), this deal satisfies it. The government is paying 75 % of the costs to build a cathedral for the long-term predominant use and exclusive benefit of one private entity, in exchange for limited immediate financial benefit, hoped-for "psychic" benefits of keeping the team in town, and potential (but never-fully-realized) downstream economic benefits of a neighborhood and area revival. This is the essence of the exchange of mutual benefits and mutually beneficial relationship that Burton said triggered state action when the private beneficiary restricted constitutional rights in the course of managing that public space.
Think of it this way: The Marlins bear no serious financial burden in this deal. Why not make them bear the burden of having to respect the First Amendment liberties of the fans who are funding this boondoggle.
Kettlebell Push Press Test
Did this 5 min test last night and nearly blew up.
105 reps in 5 mins. This is part of my fitness training and kettlebell challenge.
Felt great afterwards and looking forward to more GPP with kettlebells and also in addition to this I'm also looking forward to receiving my Kenneth Jay Viking Warrior Conditioning Book from Dragondoor.com
This test was with the 40kg kettlebell (which incidently was 42.5kg when I weighed it)
I'm really working on my fitness conditioning as it feels like it is really lacking.
My nexy challenge is the 10min kettlebell snatch test with 40kg bell. Then 10 min SSST test.
Kettlebell Push Press Test
U/21 FRIENDLY: SPAIN 1 - IRELAND 2
Friday, March 27, 2009
PRE MATCH DETAILS: SPAIN & TURKEY REVEAL STARTING LINE-UPS
SERGIO AGUERO..."I Have Told Club Directives That I Wish To Continue"
REAL MADRID NEWS: FLORENTINO EYES MAICON & HIS PLANNED "REVOLUTION"
FC BARCELONA NEWS: KEIRRISION & THIERRY HENRY
Wood Chop by Kettlebell Dogman
My good friend Stef AKA dogman dedicated this video to me.
Stef spent 6 hours cutting this massive log. I laughed my head off when I saw the video.
It's just crazy. 6 Hours................... what a workout!
Brilliant work Stef!
This is reall wood chopping and a little harder than the kettlebell wood chop
Wood Chop by Kettlebell Dogman
Thursday, March 26, 2009
SPAIN TESTS WITH ALTERNATIVES IN CASE VILLA DOES NOT MAKE IT.
UConn Accused of Recruiting Violations for Nate Miles

Below is an excerpt of Doyle's story.
Coach Jim Calhoun was answering questions about a Yahoo! Sports report that said his program broke NCAA rules in recruiting Nate Miles. The story, posted early Wednesday, reported that former UConn team manager Josh Nochimson represented Miles as an agent and that former UConn assistant coach Tom Moore was aware of the relationship.
The story also cited phone records attained through the Freedom of Information Act that showed that five UConn coaches called Nochimson and sent him text messages at least 1,565 times during a nearly two-year period before and after Miles' recruitment in 2006 and early 2007. Calhoun had 16 of those communications, Yahoo! reported.
Miles, a 6-foot-7 guard from Toledo, Ohio, was expelled by UConn on Oct. 2 amid allegations that he had abused a female student. A restraining order was issued on Sept. 22, and Miles was arrested for calling the woman 16 minutes later. He never played a game for UConn and has since enrolled at Southern Idaho, a junior college.
The university would not say whether it has started an internal investigation, but it did say in a statement that it "takes very seriously its responsibilities of NCAA membership and will do all that is expected to follow up on any information related to possible NCAA rules violations."
UConn also would not say if it was in contact with the NCAA or whether a system exists to monitor coaches' calls to recruits. That could be an issue with the NCAA, which says that a school must demonstrate "institutional control." The NCAA also says that it expects the head coach of a program to promote an atmosphere of compliance.
At a press conference in Glendale, Ariz., Calhoun refused to respond Wednesday to the specific allegations. "[UConn] tries to live under the responsibility of the NCAA rules," Calhoun said. "The student-athlete departed UConn. And the reason I mention this prior to any competition because there is no problem now with games or what happened during those particular games, nor should there be. At least I don't think so."
Stacey Osburn, a spokeswoman for the NCAA infractions committee, said that the NCAA would not address the allegations. "We can't comment on current, pending or potential investigations," Osburn said.
Joe Linta, a sports agent from Branford, assessed the situation this way: "If it's a phone call violation, I think it will only be a slap on the wrist. If there is an infiltration with an agent who was involved in the program and is doing illegal things, then it becomes very serious."
Vermont Law School Professor Michael McCann, who specializes in sports law and writes a column for SI.com, said that the NCAA could come down hard on UConn. The NCAA could impose recruiting restrictions or take away scholarships, but it was unlikely to force UConn to forfeit games because Miles did not play.
"I think it's potentially major, certainly if Calhoun was involved or had knowledge of what was going on," McCann said. "UConn could argue that what Nochimson did was so outside the boundaries of his work with UConn or his association with UConn that he really was not acting on behalf of UConn. But I think it's a hard argument to make because his actions, if they're true, benefited UConn. I think the real question is, how high up the chain did these transgressions go?"
Marlins New Stadium Deal = Worst in Taxpayer History?

Indian Cricket League Moves Tournament to South Africa

On Tuesday, I was interviewed for the BBC World Radio Service program World Have Your Say, for the story, Is India Showing Weakness in the Face of Terrorism?. After an attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Pakistan earlier this month, India's government informed the year-old Indian Premier League that the government would be unable to provide security for its spring tournament due to competing security obligations in connection with upcoming national elections. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan of Forbes has good coverage of the controversy here.
Although the decision has disappointed Indian fans, it has had some interesting financial consequences. The IPL renegotiated its broadcast deal in light of the move, obtaining nearly $500 million more than it was to receive had the event been held in India as originally planned.
We've written previously about terrorism and security in connection with sports: Mike's posts FBI: Terrorism Threat Against NFL is a Hoax and Sports and Stadium Security, Five Years Later, Howard's post Fan Consent and the Constitution at the Ballpark, my post
Federal Court Continues to Bar Suspicionless Stadium Patdowns , and Greg's post Pat Downs at Sports Arenas: Necessary Precaution or Unconstitutional Search?
JOHAN CRUYFF SLAMS REAL MADRID & FLORENTINO PEREZ
An Unconstitutional Tax for Traitorous Ballplayers?
INTER MILAN - SERGIO AGUERO RUMOURS, AGAIN!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
My Top Kettlebell Core Exercises
I can remember the first time I ever picked up a 56lb throwing weight and tried to swing it (the movement is very similar to the kettlebell swing) and remember the thought that this swinging motion was seriously gonna do some physical damage, rip something or maybe even dislodge a testicle string.
However, that was before I started swinging kettlebells which does seriously train your core.
Now I'm not really one for going of and doing some core training as it doesn't sound right. I can picture myself going and doing some squats on bosu or swiss fitness ball (these are fine pieces of equipment) but these won't help me throw a weight very far, so I'd rather pick up some heavy weights off the floor and call that core training instead.
Now, I don't honestly think anything really beats squats, deadlifts, snatches and clean and jerk with a barbell. After all this is what has built the greatest athletes in the world but kettlebells can also be used for core strength training.
So aside from the standard kettlebell swing and snatch. These are my favourite core exercises with kettlebells.
1. Double kettlebell swing - take two kettlebells in one hand (make sure it's heavier than a normal swing)aim to swing the 2 weights about eye height. Check out my double kettlebell swing
2. The kettlebell flip - kb flip adds an extra explosive dimension and shocks the core muscles. Again the heavier the better and higher the better. Here I do double kettlebell flips but gives you an idea
3. The kettlebell windmill - Steve Cotter explains this better than anyone
4. The BUP clean or and BUP press with kettlebell - the bottoms up clean and bottoms up press are magnificent kettlebell core exercises. Ensure you train both sides.
5. One handed kettlebell farmers walk - take one or two kettlebells in the same hand and set off walking for distance with them. Go as far as you can and then switch hands and try to make it back to the start. Repeat until your beaten.
6. Turkish Get UP (TGU) and TGU sit up - a great all round core exercise, not ballistic in nature but certainly excellent. TGU sit up is literally the bottom position to being sat up with the kettlbell above your shoulder
7. Kettlebell and towel hammer wind up great exercise for rotational core power wwhich mimics the hammer wind up.
Don't forget that kettlebell training can be greatly assisted by interval training and proper timing, check out my Gymboss Timer Review
THE ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP 2010: SPAIN vs TURKEY - A PRE-HYPE VIDEO
SPANISH 1ºST DIVISION CLUBS ACCUMULATE A 2,086 M€ DEBT
ENZO ZIDANE: VIDEO OF SON OF ZINEDINE
MADRID youth team:
Yes, he looks like his father. He has nice footwork & has been called up
to the U/15 Spain Squad. But lets not ruin the kid before he can get started.
Remember Jordi Cruyff , son of Johan Cruyff, ended short of the expectations
& wondered from Club to Club. The pressure of comparisons "killed" his
CARLO ANCELOTTI HAS AN AGREEMENT WITH PEREZ & REAL MADRID?
Turkish Get Up Kettlebell Complex
Jonnywildboar has put up another great kettlebell video. The TGU kettlebell complex jonny has used involves kettlebell squat, kettlebell snatch and kettlebell press in between the TGU. great idea, great challenging complex. Jonny does 10 reps - which will be quite a workout.
Also sounds like Jonny has been checking out Dave Whitley's training DVD
Turkish Get Up Kettlebell Complex
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
THE GLOBAL FOOTBALL AMBASSADOR ZINEDINE ZIDANE RETURNS TO PLAY WITH REAL MADRID
IS CRISTIANO RONALDO CLEARING THE FIELD FOR HIS DEPARTURE TO REAL MADRID?
Explosive Kettlebell Swings
Interesting stuff from getitdonefitness
I like this idea of combining plyos with kettlebell swings with some added cardio work. Would make a fun and also gruelling training session.
The thing to watch for here is ensuring there is plenty of hip drive on the upward swing
Explosive Kettlebell Swings
SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM PRESENTS NEW UNIFORM (SHIRT) DESIGN FOR UPCOMING CONFEDERATIONS CUP
MANCHESTER CITY MAKE 32.5M OFFER FOR DIEGO FORLAN
SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM: JUAN MATA SUBSTITUTE FOR INIESTA
FC BARCELONA THINKS IN INTER MILAN DEFENDER MAXWELL
Monday, March 23, 2009
Cross World Girevoy Sport
Marko from Finnland was good enough to email me regarding the virtual kettlebell meet. So I have pasted in the guidelines of the competition below.
It's just a shame that it's only running for 7 more days. The format is split into 2 parts the first being strict girevoy format (whereby only one hand change is allowed) and the other where you can set the bell down and rest and pick it up and carry on. Like I did with my 10 min kettlebell clean and press test
Marko can be found at Marks Treeniloki or on youtube at Mark Youtube
Here's the info
Post from kahvakuula.fi.forum
The Cross World Girevoy Sport event is closing in on us!
From the 7th to the 29th of March, it's Super Tactical Athletic Girevoy Sport!! And also some fine lifts for beginners!!
Here's the Official info.
The event is organised by the Girevoy Sport Global Network.
First, here's a spreadsheet with all the results data, and the contact persons for live events:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... HUZOTweeGA
Here's the available lifts and general rules:
Check out the lifts available! You won't believe your eyes!
Classic GS lifts:
2 KB jerk
2 KB lonc cycle (LC)
1 KB jerk
1 KB LC
snatch
For these, the standard GS ruless apply:
- 10 minutes time limit
- one hand switch in one armed lifts
- when the bell is set down, the lift is over
Special lifts:
Overhead anyhow (1 KB)
Overhead anyhow mini (1 KB)
These 2 lifts have the following exceptions to the standard GS rules:
Overhead anyhow is lifting the bell overhead from the rack position, a clean before each lift. So, it's an easy version of the classic clean & jerk.
- 10 minutes
- multiple hand switches
- put the bell down if desired
- Clean before a new lift always.
You can use push press, military press, jerk or something else. The rule is just to get a good lockout. This is for newcomers especially.
Overhead anyhow mini is the same as above but 5 minutes. Come on, you can do this even if you train with Kettlenetics bells!
A lifter can choose any combination of these lifts, and bell weight can be different in each lift. The possible bell weights are dependent on the equipment available, but generally here are the common alternatives:
8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 32, 40, 48
If you lift virtually, please send all the results to markosuomi@gmail.com before the 30th or March!
Here is Marko
Cross World Girevoy Sport
Sledge Hammer Training 2.0
Stef training with the 20kg Hammer
Great stuff, nice one Stef
Stef is a pocket rocket at only 70kg he shows great strength and endurance
Sledge Hammer Training 2.0
LIONEL MESSI THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER IN SPANISH FOOTBALL
SAMUEL ETO´O BREAKS RECORDS & ENTERS BARÇA HISTORY
YOANN GOURCUFF SOUNDS FOR REAL MADRID
New Sports Law Scholarship





Recently published scholarship includes:
Roger I. Abrams & Alan Levy, The trial of Rube Waddell, 19 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW 1 (2009)
James Bamberg, Wrestling with a union: can anyone protect the 6’7”, 300-pound professional wrestler from the sports-entertainment industry?, 2 FLORIDA ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW 1 (2008)
Susannah Carr, Title IX: an opportunity to level the Olympic playing field, 19 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW 149 (2009)
Anita L. DeFrantz, Which rules?: international sport and doping in the 21st century, 31 HOUSTON JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 1 (2008)
Ian Dobinson and David Thorpe, What’s wrong with the Commissioner? Some lessons from Downunder, 19 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW 105 (2009)
Will Hendrick, Comment, Pay or play?: on specific performance and sports franchise leases, 87 NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW 504 (2009)
Andrew Lothson, A university’s implied contractual obligation to protect a student-athlete’s educational opportunity in relation to non-traditional games: a breach of contract?, 2 FLORIDA ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW 113 (2008)
Wes R. McCart, Note, Title IX crashes the party in college athletic recruiting, 58 DEPAUL LAW REVIEW 153 (2008)
Matthew J. Mitten & Timothy Davis, Athlete eligibility requirements and legal protection of sports participation opportunities, 8 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 71 (2008)
Jeffrey W. Moore, How sports can benefit communities burdened by brownfields, 8 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 1 (2008)
Michael J. Nichols, Note, Time for a Hail Mary: With bleak prospects of being aided by a college version of the NFL’s Rooney Rule, should minority college football coaches turn their attention to Title VII litigation?, 8 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 147-172 (2008)
Jordan Michael Rossen, Note, The NBA’s age minimum and its effect on high school phenoms, 8 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 173 (2008)
George T. Stiefel III, Comment, Hard Ball, Soft Law in MLB: Who Died and Made WADA the Boss?, 56 BUFFALO LAW REVIEW 1225 (2008)
The Phases and Faces of the Duke Lacrosse Controversy: A Conversation (Howard M. Wasserman, moderator; James E. Coleman, Jr., Angela Davis, Michael Gerhardt, K. C. Johnson and Lyrissa Lidsky, panelists), 19 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW 181 (2009)
Jonathan Yovel, Legal formalism, institutional norms, and the morality of basketball, 8 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 33 (2008)
REAL MADRID: LIVERPOOL COACH BENITEZ THINKING IN ARJEN ROBBEN?
SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/ 2009 - ROUND 28: FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID CHASE TITLE WITH WINS (SEE VIDEO)
TENNIS: RAFAEL NADAL STARTS 2009 WITH INDIAN WELLS
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Clean and Press 10min Test
Stef(dogmandu69) from France has been egging me onto try out the 10 min clean and press test (in fact I think it's supposed to be jerk but overhead for me is good enough). Since I had a cold most of this week I decided to put it of till yesterday.
I hit 104 reps with the 40kg (I have no idea is this is any good) and will be onto this sort of thing more often as I feel awesome today after a great cardio kettlebell sesion.
There appears to be quite a few 10min test videos appearing on youtube at the moment, but I have no idea where the root of this is based (anyone?). Maybe it's just a ploy to get me to lose some weight.
Also, after the weekend and my 60kg BUP I wiped another goal from my kettlebell goals list.
I've missed my deadline on the remainder of my goals so will push these out another 4 weeks to 23rd April.
I'm still yet to do 40 swings with the 60kg and 60 with the 48kg beast (pretty sure I'll kill these off this week) not to mention 16 flips with the 60kg (this is really tough) and also 250 reps in the Secret Service Snatch Test (this is possible I think but not yet)
Clean and Press 10min Test
New York Law School Sports Law Panel this Wednesday

The Media, Entertainment, and Sports Law Association at New York Law School will host a panel on sports law this Wednesday between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. in the Stiefel Reading Room.Topics will include sports contract negotiations and the legality of age limits in pro sports.
Distinguised panelists include:
Andre Buck (NBA agent at Creative Artists Agency in New York City; has represented first round picks in the NBA Draft, including Aaron Brooks and Renaldo Blackman)
Marc Edelman (Visiting Professor at Rutgers School of Law; founder of SportsJudge fantasy sports dispute resolution service)
Paul Haberman (Associate at Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach in New York City; Chairman of the New York County Lawyers Association's Sports Law Committee)
Michael McCann (Professor at Vermont Law School; Legal Analyst and SI.com columnist at Sports Illustrated; Former Chair of Association of American Law School's Section on Sports and the Law)
Alan Milstein (Partner at Sherman, Silverstein, Kohl, Rose; has litigated on behalf of Maurice Clarett, Allen Iverson, Eddy Curry, jockey Eddie King, and other athletes; also a nationally-recognized expert on bioethics and clinical trials litigation)
Mark Stefanacci (Chief Operating Officer and Legal Counsel for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority)
The event will be open to anyone with an invitation, which is free -- all you need to do is contact the event's organizer, Lauren Friedberg (the Society's Vice President of Sports) at lauren.friedberg[at]law.nyls.edu and let her know that you would like to attend. For directions to the law school, click here. It should be a great event and I hope to meet any Sports Law Blog readers who are in town and able to make it.
John Brookfield Training
Below you'll wil find some links to John Brookfield's training methods/ideas from Ironmind.com
There are some real gems here, some I've never heard of. I advise using some of these to add new zest to your training. They're some great grip and conditioning ideas here.
My favourite is 'Up the Down Staircase'. This can be done with 3 kettlebells of varying weights - simply clean and press the heaviest bell 5 times then with no rest move onto the lighter bell and do the same and then to the lighest and repeat again, with no rest work back upto the heaiest kettlebell. When you can do no more than 2 reps take a 5 min rest and then repeat. WHat a super conditioning session.
This will work with kettlebell snatch as well as clean and press/jerk just as well or even the kettlebell swing would make a good one!
Squat to Success
Up the Down Staircase
Towel Training for Power
Brookfield Sandbag Snatch Test
Pinch Grip Pick-up
Pinch Grip Drag
Sandbag Wrist Curls
Plate Turning
The Bucket Drill
Rope Hand-Over-Hand
Plate Seesaw
Back Pressure Breakthrough
Check out more stuff like this at Old School Strength Forum
John Brookfield Training
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Catching Up with Links
- I have two new columns on SI.com: Roger Clemens Facing Long Year in Court & Unsigned and Unwanted: Is Barry Bonds Building a Case for Collusion?
- University of Illinois Law Professor John Colombo, who probably knows more about the intersection between tax and sports law than anyone, has posted a free draft of his forthcoming law review article: The NCAA, Tax Exemption and College Athletics. If you're interested in the NCAA's tax exempt status, be sure to check it out.
- If you have HBO on Demand, be sure to check out the Real Sports feature on Brandon Jennings and his time in Itlay as he earns over $1 million playing basketball over there (instead of attending a U.S. college) while waiting to become eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft, where he's projected to be a top 15 pick. Sonny Vaccaro is interviewed by Bryant Gumbel and offers excellent analysis.
- Marc Isenberg has some great stuff on Money Players, including a piece entitled The Slippery Slope of NCAA commercialism.
- Nate Jones over at Jones on the NBA has a very thoughtful and interesting take on the lack of revenue sharing in the NBA.
- Nick Infante's College Athletics Clips is always worth checking out (subscription required). He has some engaging original pieces and some provocative guest pieces, including one by UNC Professor Richard Southall on the treatment of college athletes in the NCAA tournament.
- Particularly for those of you have bought merchandise from the Coop in Harvard Square, you'll find the Associated Press's Jimmy Golen's recent piece of great interest. Jimmy examines how Harvard and some other schools are severing ties with Russell after two watchdog groups said the clothing-maker harassed pro-union Honduran employees.
- If you are interested in sports law from the vantage point of a Connecticut attorney, Daniel Fitgerald, be sure to check out his blog, Connecticut Sports Law. Daniel has some terrifc posts up, including one on the United Football League not going to Hartford.
- Dominic Parrelli of Sports Agent Blog has an engaging piece on players who have attendance clauses in their contracts. Ken Griffey Jr., for instance, can earn an additional $2.5 million if the Mariners' attendance reaches a certain level this season.
- Andrew Delaney, one of my Vermont Law School students and co-founder of the National Sports and Entertainment Law Society, has just posted on SSRN a copy of his law review note The NFL Network Versus Cable Providers: Throwing a Penalty Flag on the Fans. Also, Andrew, along with William Rothstein (another of my VLS students) and others have some good posts up on their National Sports and Entertainment Law Society Blog.
- Several readers have asked if a video of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference will be made available -- apparently a video is being prepared and it will feature some of the panels. In addition, HBO taped the panel that Sonny Vaccaro, Chris Wallace, Bob Scalise, Bob Ryan, and I were on, so there might be a separate source of footage for that one.
Justice Jackson on Umpiring and Judging
On Thursday, December 13, 1951, Justice Robert H. Jackson spoke at the New York County Lawyers’ Association’s annual dinner, held at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. The Association and its 1,000 guests that evening honored senior federal Circuit Judges (and cousins) Learned Hand (age 79, and a judge since 1909) and Augustus Noble Hand (age 82 and a judge since 1914). To close the program, Justice Jackson delivered a “benediction” speech that included a now-famous line: “if I were to write a prescription for becoming the perfect district judge, it would be always to quote Learned and always to follow Gus.”
Justice Jackson also paid tribute to the Judges Hand that evening by drawing the analogy between an excellent judge and a baseball umpire. As Jackson put it,
the test of an independent judiciary is a simple one—the one you would apply in choosing an umpire for a baseball game. What do you ask of him? You do not ask that he shall never make a mistake or always agree with you, or always support the home team. You want an umpire who calls them as he sees them. And that is what the profession has admired in the Hands.
In recent years, the umpire-like work of judges has been described as much more mechanical than volitional. In 2005, then Circuit Judge John G. Roberts, Jr., nominated to serve as Chief Justice of the United States, testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that
[j]udges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules, they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.
Chief Justice Roberts was, of course, confirmed. In the process, his description of judging as mere rule-applying umpiring became a topic of much attention and discussion. Among lawyers, law professors and judges, the consensus view seems to be that the Chief Justice knows better, and that confirmation candidate advocacy should be recognized for what it is.
Interestingly, a captivating new book, New York Times reporter Bruce Weber’s As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires (Scribner) (click here), takes direct issue with the robotic, rule-enforcer view of umpires’ work. According to Mr. Weber,
[t]hough fans and broadcasters may treat the [home] plate umpire as if he were a mere ballot counter, punching the ticket of each pitch as it crosses the plate and acknowledging its ostensibly obvious credentials, in truth he’s much more of an arbitrator, keeping the most contested area on the ball field from being taken over by one side or the other.
Mr. Weber’s account of the umpireal job is not just his opinion. He quotes from major league umpires who explain their work as involving autonomy, responsibility and opportunities for judgment that resemble the work and responsibilities of, well, judges. The author explains that during two-plus years of attending umpire school and then interviewing almost 200 umpires and other baseball people,
[m]ore than one major league umpire spoke to me of calling balls and strikes as a kind of political enterprise, an activity requiring will and conscience and a point of view.
“It’s like the Constitution,” [current Major League Baseball umpire] Gary Cederstrom said to me. “The strike zone is a living, breathing document.”
When I asked [MLB umpire] Tim Tschida why balls and strikes provoked so many arguments and so much enmity, he responded by comparing the rulebook strike zone to one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions of the twentieth century.
“Have you ever read Roe v. Wade?,” Tschida said. “It’s very clear. What it says is very clear. And we’ve still been fighting for twenty-five or thirty years over what it means.”
It seems, at least according to these umps, that Justice Jackson (who was, by the way, not a baseball fan) had it right about both their work and his own. Indeed, Jackson in his 1951 speech about “umpires” Learned and Augustus Hand seems to have been channeling some of the wisdom of one of that era’s, and humanity’s, greatest “judges”: an umpire’s qualities must include, said Branch Rickey, “the discretion of a judge….”
Friday, March 20, 2009
60kg Bottoms Up Kettlebell Press
I finally hit the 60kg BUP today, in fact I made the lift on 7 seperate reps trying to hit the double (which was not too far away)
After having a head/chest cold for the majority of this week so, I've laid off training almost all week. Since I've been hitting the kettlebells fairly hard recently this proved a good taper to hit the 60kg BUP.
Oh BTW I do actually train my left side as well(if anyone was wondering) and can BUP the beast on the left too (for a single). My left side is strong in standard pressing but just not co-ordinated enough to rep out on the heavier BUP's. WHich is incidently something I'll be working on.
Success in the BUP is down to hard work and the desire to do it. Training wise I've been doing ladders with the 24kg BUP from 5-10 on both sides and also singles, doubles and triples with the Beast 106lb kettlebell and 40kg bell too. Nothing technical, just resting when things feel like they're getting worn a bit.
If anything the lighter kettlebell BUP ladders have been key to get ready and controlled. There's a lot of grip work in the BUP and the 24kg kettlebell has helped a great deal.
Kettlebell Workouts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Shawn Hill Released by the Washington Nationals
Later in the day the Nationals signed Joe Beimel for $2,000,000. Beimel went to a hearing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007. The arbitration panel of Stephen Goldberg, Elizabeth Neumeier, and John Sands sided with the Dodgers figure of $912,500. Beimel was asking for $1,250,000. Neumeier was also on the Hill panel this year along with Robert Bailey and Frederic Horowitz. Nationals manager Manny Acta expects to use Beimel as the set-up man in the eighth inning.
So, two pitchers who have both endured the hearing process have an interesting connection on the same day in March 2009. Beimel, who started his major league career as a starter with the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a 5-1 record last year in 71 games for the Dodgers. His 2.02 ERA was the best of his eight-year career. The Nationals will be his fifth team. Beimel also pitched for the Minnesota Twins (2004) and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005). Beimel became a free agent for the first time at the end of 2008 season. His contract with the Nationals is a little under the amount he earned last year with the incentives that he met according to an article by Tony Jackson on the Los Angeles Daily News inside the dodgers blog.
Thoughts for the Big Dance: On Duke Hatred
This really is part of the larger issue of race in college basketball (which the article touches on briefly) and the perception that white players are "soft" spot-up shooters, rather than "tough, strong athletes." In the macho context of sports, such traits translate into homosexuality. The phenomenon actually is not limited to Duke. But it finds it most frequent target there because Duke produces more highly publicized and/or star players (where Duke is concerned, the categories may be very different) who are white.
Jedd Johnson Card Tearing Book

Jedd Johnson Card Tearing Book
As you may have seen previously I have attempted tearing a deck of cards in half. My first attempts were nothing to shout about but since then I have slowly being working on it alongside my other endeavours and have become better but still not a master of card tearing.
However, Jedd Johnson of the diesel crew has come to my rescue with his card tearing ebook
I bought Jedd Johnson's awesome Card Tearing Ebook yesterday. The ebook is fantastic and to my knowledge is "out there on it's own!". It's the kind of information I wish I'd had sooner.
Jedd runs through every style of card tearing there is and endless exercises for strengthening the grip and developing card tearing prowess. Not to mention which cards are easier and which are deemed hardest to tear.
Not only this but also equipment he uses to develop his grip, all of which can be easily made using stuff you find lying around the house. Superb!
Also, if you think that card tearing is too expensive then Jedd delivers many ideas for using other items for tearing. This section is entitled NO CARDS?NO PROBLEM
For the price Jedd is selling at it's well worth a read, it's not often I promote products but this is fantastic
Check out more at cardtearing.com
Technorati Tags: card tearing, grip strength
Jedd Johnson Card Tearing Book
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
FERNANDO TORRES & DAVID VILLA: THEN & NOW
FSU College of Law Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Society 6th Annual Conference

Joining me as a speaker will be:
- Christopher Griffin (partner at Foley & Lardner whose practice has focused on representing clients in business and broadcasting transactions involving college football, bowl games, and NCAA regulatory issues. He is a member of the NCAA Division I Infractions Committee and is a past president of the National Football Foundation's Tampa Chapter).
- Sandra Brown (partner at Sandra Brown, Esq in Atlanta and whose practice has focused on business counsel for entertainers, including musicians in their contractual relations with record labels; former Associate Director of Business Affairs of the record label owned by music producer Jermaine Dupri, So So Def Recordings, Inc.)
- Oswaldo Rossi (director of Legal and Business Affairs for EMI Music Latin America, his practice has focused on negotiating recorded deals and license agreements. His work also includes oversight of releases, including by such EMI musicians as Vico C and D.J. Tony Touch).
SFS FLASHBACKS: EMILIO BUTRAGEÑO
FC BARCELONA: PLANNING ITS "DEADLY" ATTACKING TRIDENT
Topps Trading Cards Go Online

Yesterday, Laurie Sullivan of Online Media Daily reported that The Topps Co. has just announced a series of online baseball trading cards whereby the players come to life through a standard Web camera and technology. Consumers have an option to pull the "magic" card from the deck and play a game online by signing onto ToppsTown.com with a code and downloading a browser plug in, which then allows them to pitch, bat or catch in games served up from the website.
This new development by Topps really demonstrates why the Eighth Circuit's decision in the CBC case is flawed. The district court merely noted the factual distinction between trading cards and fantasy leagues in that trading cards contain likenesses. However, the court provided no explanation whatsoever as to why there should be a legal distinction, and the reason why it didn't is fairly simple: Because there is none. Moreover, the fact that Topps is now online and has created a game with the use of trading cards (akin to fantasy leagues) does not magicly transform trading cards into a First Amendment protected use.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Best Exercises For Athletes
Actually the article I'm about to show you is called the Top 11 Exercises for Athletes and was written by Steven Morris over at elitefts.com.
I fully agree with Steven on the exercises he has listed and reasons why, but have sneakily added on more to the end because I believe it deserves to be there.
Here's the list:
1. Deadlifts
2. Box squats
3. Clean and Jerk
4. Box Front Squats
5. Romanian Deadlift
6. Rows
7. Side Lunges
8. Dumbbell Inclines
9. Sandbags
10. Prowler
11. Snatch Grip Deadlift
12. Kettlebell Snatch (This is my addition as it deserves to be there)
I rate the Kettlebell Snatch as the top kettlebell exercise mainly because I feel it is the movement that gives me most power, strength and fitness without resorting to lots of other exercises to achieve the smae result - simplicity is it's beauty. Heavy snatches for reps, light snatches for time.... it can't be beaten.
Best Exercises For Athletes
IBRAHIMOVIC LOOKS TO SPAIN ( & FC BARCELONA) FOR NEXT SEASON
CHELSEA FC PREPARING HUGE OFFER FOR DANI ALVES?
EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE: WILL THIS BE THE FUTURE?
FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID SOME HUMOUR
Monday, March 16, 2009
REAL MADRID: JOSÉ MOURINHO KEEPS ON SOUNDING FOR NEXT SEASON
EL MUNDANO DEPORTIVO - YES, WE CAN II
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Bottoms Up Kettlebell Training
I've also spent some time training the BUP this weekend. Concentrating mainly on the 40kg kettlebell for reps. I used a 48kg beast kb on the opposite side to force the active side to work harder.
This straightens the body up and prevents too much leaning and side pressing (this can only be good).
I found with this that the working shoulder gets really pumped up as the rest of the body can't be brought into play. It's about as far as I will ever go with isolation movements.
Other BUP moves I have been doing are heavy BUP oneside and light press opposite side, now this is a great exercise and seriously makes the grip work over time.
As an example you would be BUP'ing a 40kg on the left and pressing a 20kg on the right. Give this a try out and you'll see what I mean.
It really feels like you're crushing the handle for everything you're worth.
I've been inspired by Brian Schoonveld's Arnold Classic Kettlebell Challenge win to get some more overheads done with the 60kg and practice my jerk technique.
Will post some footage later this week.
Bottoms Up Kettlebell Training