As fun as it is to watch the greats play, it is better when you go out and try to do the things you have seen the pros done.  Countless times I have counted down the clock as I took a fade away jumper for the win (ala Michael Jordan).  Now fans are emulating LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and others.

There are many ways you can play basketball.  You can play five on five, one on one, horse, speed, etc.  In my opinion playing 3 on 3 is the best ways to practice and use the moves you’ve seen on TV.  Like the Rajon Rondo fake layup turn around hook or the fake behind the back pass to layup.

You need to practice basketball drills to be like the NBA greatest players.

Dribbling Drills-To be a good basketball player you need to be able to dribble the ball.  Especially because so few of us are blessed with being 7 feet tall.  The shorter you are the more you have to be able to dribble.  Good drills are dribbling two balls at the same time.  This helps your weak hand to be as good with dribbling as your strong hand.  Other important things to practice are crossovers, between the legs, and behind the back dribbling.  These skills will help you get space from your defender which will allow you to drive or give you space for a jump shot.

Passing Drills-Passing is another very important part basketball.  Bounce passes, chest passes, cross court passes, and lob passes are fundamental abilities that you need to know.  As you master these passes you can also try more flashy passes such as behind the back, off the backboard, and no look passes.

Shooting Drills-Nothing else matters if you can’t score.  You need to be able to make shots to win any basketball game.  Free-throw shooting is one of the most important shots to master.  Nothing is more frustrating when you miss a free shot at the basket.  You should be able to make all shots such as mid range shots, three point shots, hook shots, and lay-ups.  But you should practice the most with where you will get the ball.  If you are a center practice hook shots more.  If you are a shooting guard practice mid range and three point shots.

Team Drills- It is necessary to work well with your team.  You need to know where someone will be on offense so you can pass to them.  You also need to trust your teammates to help you on defense.  Your team chemistry will come as you play more together and get to kn0w each others tendencies and how to best play with each other.

Basketball Conditioning- There is a lot of running in basketball.  You need to be in shape to stay on your man on defense and have enough energy on offense to blow by your defender as you drive to the hoop.  To improve your conditioning you should do wind sprints, run laps, push ups, and sit ups.  Also, if you want to play in the post, the more body building you do the stronger you will be to back people down and score easier in the post.

Basketball is a great way to get outdoors, get exercise, and have a lot of fun.  If you practice these drills you can be like the pros and dominate your competition.  You will be better as you practice more, and remember you are doing this because everyone wants to be like Mike.

You do not have to have a beach to play beach volleyball. All you need is some sand, a volleyball net and a volleyball.

Playing in the sand is hard on your muscles. It’s a great way to strengthen your legs. The more that you jump and run in the sand the stronger your legs will be.

Sadly, last year the AVP was disbanded. The AVP was the professional beach volleyball league. So, if you want to watch some professionals playing volleyball you may have to find a league in your area.

Watching the pros play some beach volleyball is a great way to gain the inspiration that you may need to push you into the sport.

So, instead of working on your tan by laying in a reclining chair outside get out on the volleyball court! Get a tan and gain the muscle you have always wanted to gain!

The Packers beat out the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday. The Packers defeated the Steelers 31-25. Both teams started off strong, but the Packers were able to gain the lead late in the game and hold on to it, easing more points out of the frustrated Steelers.

Of special note druing the game was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers led the Packers in a resolute offense, and constantly forced the Steelers to adapt to his style of play.

The guy managed to make the it from the bottom of the draft list 6 years ago to being the MVP of one of the best Super Bowls of all time. Now that’s a comeback.

I bet that the teams that passed on him are kicking themselves now. Hahaha! Great job, Packers. Even though you defied the predictions of myself and a video game, the video game and I still appreciate a spirited win.

Get pumped, people!

EA’s Madden 11 has made it’s prediction for Super Bowl XLV. For those of you not familiar with the Madden franchise, it’s a yearly videogame release. It’s a realistic football simulation that allows you to control your team from a top down perspective. It’s an impressive core game, but is one that is slightly underwhelming in it’s yearly release if you’re a gamer.

However, the game is programmed with an impressive set of real life statistics that allow for match simulations and predictions. In fact, previous iterations of Madden have successfully predicted 6 of the last 7 Super Bowls. Creepy, eh?

So, here’s the offical verdict. According to Madden 11, the winner of the Super Bowl will be the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s simulations
have the Steelers narrowly beating the Packers in the last part of the game.

So, I’m gonna have to agree.  Steelers for the win. And I for one would like to state for the record that I welcome our electronic overlords and I have no plans to resist anything ever.

This person is the most annoying person alive.

Chances are that they have never played on an organized team and they think their child is some kind of prodigy even though they are really just mediocre. They are yelling at what “should” be happening when in reality, their solution is rarely plausible; and the “bad” call the ref just blew was actually legitimate.

My suggestion? Sit as far away from this person as possible. They yell for no reason, and they look naive in the stands blabbing on about a sport they only know about because they have signed up their kid since they were five years old.

Parents should sit back and watch the game, and allow the coaches and referees do their job. At the very least, parents should save their kids the embarrassment of having that parent who goes crazy in the bleachers. parent’s should let the kids play and have fun, and not discuss matters they have limited knowledge on.

People in the US will be talking about American football, but everyone else will be talking about football, futbal, soccer. It is by far the most popular and played sport around the world, but the US has just not seemed to catch on.

Sure we have a major league with 15 teams across the nation; and yes, millions of kids play the sport when they are young; but who watches the MLS games?

Less that 250,000 across the Unites States watch the games that’s who. The avid fans watch the games, but even they have a favorite team that plays for another country because they are a million times better than any US team is. No major networks air soccer games on TV; ESPN doesn’t highlight plays during the season; and the league doesn’t advertise enough to get people excited about the team in their area.

But in Europe, in Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico, even Asia – soccer is the biggest thing ever, and entire nations tune in to watch. The States need to get on board, embrace this sport, and get people excited and paying attention.

The Aztecs seemed unstoppable, being undefeated, but the Cougars have only lost one game this season. Each team has a star player; namely Jimmer Fredette (BYU) and Kawhi Leonard (SDSU).

Both teams are good – great, in fact. Combine that with the fact that there are two Top 10 teams in the Mountain West Conference is simply amazing, but with all of the coverage that these two teams have been receiving made the match-up that much bigger.

More than 22,000 fans packed the Marriott Center at BYU to watch Jimmer Fredette lead his team to a 71-58 victory against SDSU. Jimmer scored 43 of those 71 points, playing his best home game yet. His timing was perfect; especially since there were a rumored 24 NBA scouts there to watch.

The Cougar nation can celebrate this huge victory, but the actual team must prepare to travel to new Mexico to go up against Lobos this Saturday.

Should this person be a quarterback? Not necessarily.

Yes they are the most publicized member of the team. They get the praise in a win and the chastisement in a loss. They are arguable the fulcrum on which the team depends on.

But let’s just be honest, the quarterbacks this season have not been too hot. Yes they put up the numbers and they make some incredible plays but compared to years past they have been performing pretty poorly.

Michael Vick and Tom Brady are supposedly the front-runners in the MVP race. They are also the starting quarterbacks on their respective teams for the Pro-Bowl game.

They are phenomenal athletes, especially Vick who is a double threat on the field. But Vick has not started in every game and some argue that to be the MVP you need to be out there playing every week for the rest of the season.

Maybe it is time to put a defensive player up there. After all, last year’s Heisman trophy went to a defensive player; and it was well deserved.

But then something incredible happened: Michael Vick reminded everyone that he is indeed MVP material. He led the Eagles to score four unanswered touchdowns in the 4th quarter bringing the score to 31-24 in favor of the Eagles.

When the Giants got the ball they drove down the field for another touchdown and extra point and their task to end the game was simple. All that they needed to do was punt the ball out of bounds and the defense could hold the Eagles back for one play.

That was the plan, but the snap was high and the Giants rookie punter, Matt Dodge, sent it into the backfield to DeSean Jackson. What a huge mistake that was.

As the clock ran out Jackson returned the ball 65 yards for the game winning touchdown. Eagles win 38-31.

That’s the great thing about sports: it isn’t over until it’s over. Now the Giants have to fight for a wild card spot in the playoffs, and Dodge…well he’s probably fired.

The Colts finally came out with a win last Thursday night, and the ‘W’ was long waited for. For a while there I was worried they would not even make the playoffs.

They can still win their division, but they have to win these next two games. It is a must and the players are probably well aware that it is crunch time.

The Colts are not too familiar with not making the playoffs, so they are in a rare spot having to worry about winning this late in the season. Fans, players, coaches, and owner Jim Irsay are all probably reminding the team when it means to be a Colt.

It means you have to win. It is expected and the players need to deliver-even if they are second string.

Sunday is a big day, especially for the Colts, who need a win to keep playoff dreams alive. Though the Superbowl is probably not in their reach seeing as how half of the offense is out with injuries; but they could put up a good fight for a couple of games into the playoffs.