Rules of basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. A regulation NBA basketball court is 94' long by 50' wide. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket from above. The team with more points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the scores of both teams are the same. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is penalized, and free throws will be issued if an offensive player is fouled while shooting the ball. (violations).
Through time, basketball has developed to involve many common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket from above. The team with more points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the scores of both teams are the same. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is penalized and free throws will be issued if the player is fouled while shooting the ball and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).
Through time, basketball has developed to involve many common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.
While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations played in the outdoors have become increasingly popular among both inner city and rural groups.

The results in cricket

If the team that bats last is all out having scored fewer runs than their opponents, the team is said to have "lost by n runs" (where n is the difference between the number of runs scored by the teams). If the team that bats last scores enough runs to win, it is said to have "won by n wickets", where n is the number of wickets left to fall. For instance a team that passes its opponents' score having only lost six wickets would have won "by four wickets".
In a two-innings-a-side match, one team's combined first and second innings total may be less than the other side's first innings total. The team with the greater score is then said to have won by an innings and n runs, and does not need to bat again: n is the difference between the two teams' aggregate scores.
If the team batting last is all out, and both sides have scored the same number of runs, then the match is a tie; this result is quite rare in matches of two innings a side. In the traditional form of the game, if the time allotted for the match expires before either side can win, then the game is declared a draw.
If the match has only a single innings per side, then a maximum number of deliveries for each innings is often imposed. Such a match is called a "limited overs" or "one-day" match, and the side scoring more runs wins regardless of the number of wickets lost, so that a draw cannot occur. If this kind of match is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a complex mathematical formula, known as the Duckworth-Lewis method after its developers, is often used to recalculate a new target score. A one-day match can also be declared a "no-result" if fewer than a previously agreed number of overs have been bowled by either team, in circumstances that make normal resumption of play impossible; for example, wet weather.

Football game

Rugby league rules diverged significantly from rugby union in 1906, with the reduction of the team from 15 to 13 players. In 1907, a New Zealand professional rugby team toured Australia and Britain, receiving an enthusiastic response, and professional rugby leagues were launched in Australia the following year. However, the rules of professional games varied from one country to another, and negotiations between various national bodies were required to fix the exact rules for each international match. This situation endured until 1948, when at the instigation of the French league, the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) was formed at a meeting in Bordeaux.
During the second half of 20th century, the rules changed further. In 1966, rugby league officials borrowed the American football concept of downs: a team could retain possession of the ball for no more than four tackles. The maximum number of tackles was later increased to six (in 1971), and in rugby league this became known as the six tackle rule.
With the advent of full-time professionals in the early 1990s, and the consequent speeding up of the game, the five metre off-side distance between the two teams became 10 metres, and the replacement rule was superseded by various interchange rules, among other changes.
The laws of rugby union also changed significantly during the 20th century. In particular, goals from marks were abolished, kicks directly into touch from outside the 22 metre line were penalised, new laws were put in place to determine who had possession following an inconclusive ruck or maul, and the lifting of players in line-outs was legalised.
In 1995, rugby union became an "open" game, that is one which allowed professional players. Although the original dispute between the two codes has now disappeared — and despite the fact that officials from both forms of rugby football have sometimes mentioned the possibility of re-unification — the rules of both codes and their culture have diverged to such an extent that such an event is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

Lessons cricket con learn from football and basketball

Twenty years ago English football suffered arguably its worst disaster when 96 Liverpool fans died in or as result of a stampede at the Hillsborough ground in Sheffield. The tragedy seen in hindsight, stemmed from the public perception of football-a sport by, for and of hooligans-and the consequent reaction: hostile stadiums, hostile policing. From the debris of that disaster has arisen the most valuable, global club based sports tournament, which has become a benchmark for the rest of the competition.
That rebirth was not accidental. Hillsborough forced the British authorities notably the Thatcher government- to look at football in new light. The prescription came from the Taylor commission investigating the Hillsborough tragedy: the way ahead for football, was as a family game, a more wholesome form of entertainment suitable for a weekend afternoon. That required a transformation of the football grounds from medieval human cages to modern, all-seater theaters. That in turn required money. The clubs certainly didn't have that kind of money, nor did the Football trust, and so, in 1993, was born the premier League and the deal with Murdoch's Sky television that brought in the stars, and as the Premiership imported talent it exported itself-first to Europe and the Americas, then to Asia and Africa.
Around the same time, the NBA was taking its first steps on the road from being seen as a domestic tournament in a quintessentially American sport to becoming a global behemoth, breaking markets that are still largely impervious to western concepts and products.
What's the connection between all this and cricket? Well, cricket today is also at a tipping point of sports- it has a brand-new format that is not merely bringing in the big bucks but bankrolling the entire game; yet it has split the sport down the middle, becoming at once the game's salvation and the destroyer of cricket as we know it. Twenty20 is cricket's big game changer; it has, inside two years, spawned not one but two billion-dollar tournaments, introduced a radically different noting of the teams playing those tournaments and reised the prospect of freelancer cricketers, All this in two years flat.
Yet it is clear cricket has grown all it can within the traditional parameters; its economy is maxed out the overly dependent on one country. Growth will not come from within. One of today's more thinking cricketers recently said the game needs to broad base its finances with more foreign investment. He was speaking in the context of the IPL, but taking his theory and tweaking it leads me to this proposition: To grow , cricket needs to move in to new frontiers, break new ground, It will achieve the potential offered to it by Twenty20 only if it sheds its image of being a colonial, antiquated British game played in whites, over five days with halts for lunch, tea and drinks. We know t has changed but there's whole world out there-literally so-that does not. In short, cricket needs to go truly global.
And Twenty20 can do the trick. It is the simplest form of the game, it isn't weighed down by tradition or other archaic baggage, it is young enough to be further customized, and-crucially- it is the format of choice for younger fans even in established cricket markets. Why was it so easy for football and basketball to go global? Marketing played a huge role, of course, but two key factors are inherent in the sports team selves. One, their essential simplicity, in terms of rules and the equipment needed, which make team far more attractive to youth then relatively sedate cricket. Until Twenty20 came in.
If Twenty20 is the agent of change, the primary carrier will be the South Asian Diaspora; it is now a truly global presence that has either the numbers or the wealth, or both, to make Twenty20 viable in some form-from TV rights or from buns on seats- almost anywhere in the world. Whether it's a group of locals and expats playing in a purely local tournament, or a road show featuring stars from the IPL and Champions League, who's to say it's not viable? An IPL XI (or two) could feature players from every single Test-playing nation, enough to draw in crowds wherever they play.
Ultimately, cricket's road to going global could lie with the Olympic Games. The sport was last played in the Olympic in 1900 but talk of reentry started soon after the inaugural IPL season.
The Premier League and the NBA are probably the world's two most global Leagues. Football has always been the global game but the Premiership took it to the level of an interactive experience. Fans no longer had to be content merely watching their idols on Television: they could watch the matches wearing their official team shirts, sitting in an appropriately themed bar or pub, playing for their entertainment with credit cards branded in their club's name. Smart marketing allows the TV viewer almost any-where in Asia to watch more Premiership football-six-odd games every weekend, plus the cup tournaments-for next to nothing, compared to the fan in England, who play an arm and a leg for his Sky subscription.
The problem for cricket, especially the new leagues, is of credibility and professionalism in administration. Ask any sports journalist whose beat includes the IPL and the Champions League, where rules and regulations are at best nebulous. The running joke is that everything is decided on Lalit Modi's BlackBerry(well, it would be a joke if the stakes weren't so high).
It's not just Modi and the IPL that appear averse to regulation. It is the Indian cricket board, the game's de facto custodians, whose typical response to any crisis-a match referee's verdict, an inconvenient anti-doping policy, the establishing of another Twenty20 league-is to raise the stakes to a level out of reach for the other parties and then begin negotiations. The men who run cricket may inspire some confidence in the markets but they inspire none among those who love the sport and view it seriously.
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World timeline of Sport 2000-2009

Events that shaped world sports in the first decade of the 21st century.
2000
May24-Formar Pakistan captain Salim Malik is banned for life for match-fixing. Several team mates including the 1999 World cup captain Wasim Akram, are censured. Hansie Cronge and Mohammad Azharuddin, the former leaders of South Africa and India respectively, are also banned for life later in the year.
Sept 15-oct 1-Cathy Freeman lights the Sydney Olympic flame in a symbol of reconciliation between Aboriginal Australians and the European settlers. She goes on to win Australia's only track gold in the 400 metres. Her team mate Ian Thorpe Wins three Olympic golds and three silvers in the pool and American sprinter Marion jones wins three golds and two bronzes in track and field.

2001
April 8- Tiger woods becomes the first man to hold all four of golf,s modern major titles at the same time, sealing a two-stroke win in the Augusta Masters with a birdie.
2002
Feb 8-24 Croatian Alpine skier janica Kostelic wins three golds and one silver, a record for her sports, while Norway's Ole Einar Bjorndalen also sets a cecord with golds in all four biathlon events at the Salt Lake city Winter Olympics. Unprecedented security is in place for the first major global event since the attacks on New Work and Washington in the Previous year.
June 8-Lennox Lewis systematically destroys Mike Tyson in eight rounds to confirm beyond doubt he is the best heavyweight boxer of his era.

June 30- Ronaldo who had battled against injury for the previous 2-1/2 years, scores the two goals which give Brazil victory over Germany in the soccer World cup final in Yokohama, Japan Brazil win a record fifth title and Ronaldo's eight goal of the tournament brings him level compatriot Pele's World cup tally of 12.

2003
Aug 25-Pete Sampras ritires at the age of 32 after winnings a record v14 grand slam tennis title.
Nov 23-England Flyhalf Jonny Wilkisnon drop-kicks the winning goal during the final minutes of extra time in the rugby World cup final against Australia in Sydney. It is the first and still the only time that a northern hemisphere side have won the Webb Ellis trophy.
2004
Aug 13-29-Leading Greek medal hopes Costas Kenteris the defending 200 metres champion and Katerina Thanou withdraw from the Athens Olympics after missing a drugs test on the eve of the Games. Morocana Hichan El Guerrouj wins the 1,500 metres title at his third attempt and goes on to complete the first 1,500-5,000 double for 80 years.
2005
July 22- Yeyena Isinbayeva, a former gymnast who has taken women's Pole vaulting to new heights, breaks the five-meter barrier at London's Crystal palace.
July 24-Lance Armstrong narrowly avoids a crash just before entering the champs Elysees to Win a record seventh successive Tour de France the retires at the age of 33.after dabbling in a variety of other pursuits he makes a comeback in 2009, finishing a creditable third.

2006

July 9-france captain Zinedine Zidane sent off in extra time after head butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the Berlin World cup final with the score tied at 1-1. Materazzi had leveled the score after Zidane scored the opening goal from a penalty. Italy go on to win the penalty shootout 5-3.
Sept 10- Michael Schumasher announces he will retire at the end of the Formula on e season after winning The Italian Grand prix, the 90th career victory for the 37-year-old German.
2007
July 3- Swiss syndicate Alinghi defeat Team New Zealand by one second in a dramatic seventh race to take the 32nd America's cup 5-2 of Valencia. Alinghi, skippered by a New Zealander, are the first European team to successfully defend yachting's elite trophy.
Sept 20- American 2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is band for to years after a U.S. arbitration ponel finds him guilty of doping violations.
Oct 5-Mariom Jones admits in a U.S. federal court that she used steroids before the 2000 Sydney Olympic and pleads guilty to lying to federal agents about her drug use. All her results dating back to September 2000 and including her five Sydney medals are annulled.

2008
July 6- Rafeal Nadal defeats Rager Federer in an epic, rain-interrupted, five-set Wimledon final to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledom titles in the same year.
Aug 8-24 A spectacular opening ceremony in the futuristic Bird's Nest stadium precedes an immaculately-organised Beijing Olympics. Usain Bolt breaks the world 100 and 200 meters records in the greatest display of springing at an Olympics and Michael Phelps wins a record eight gold medals in the pool.
Nov-2
Briton Lewis i Hamilton moves from sixth to fifth on the final lap of the section ending Brazilian Grand Prix to become the youngest Formula One drivers' champion.
2009
March 3- Five policeman and a bus driver are killed when gunmen attack the Sir members of the team and their British assistant coaches are wounded.
July-5
Federer overcomes Andy Roddick in a marathon five-set Wimbledon final to secure a record breaking 15th grand slam title.
Sept21
Formula once team Renault are given a suspended two years after ban admitting to race fixing at the 2008 Singapore grand Prix. Alonso to move in to the lead behind the safety car after refueling. Alonso went on to win the race.
Nov-27
Golfer Tiger Woods meets with accident in Florida. Leter, it was revealed that he golfer had extra maritial affairs with 14 girls.

David Beckham

I Wish I had never left Manchester United
DAVID BECKHAM
David Beckham wishes he had stayed with Manchester United for his entire career and not left in 2003 for Real Madrid, the former England captain said.
Beckham will return to Old Trafford as a player for the first time when his club AC Milan play the second leg of the Champions League knockout-round tie against United to March 10."I would love to have stayed at Manchester United for my whole career and never gone any-where else—but it was just not meant to be," Beckham said in an interview on BBC Sports week.
"I went to Real Madrid and in the last year we were successful so I enjoyed that time, but I would like to have stayed at Manchester United." Beckham moved to Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 and has now started his second loan spell at Milan in a bid to win a place in England's World Cup squad this year. The midfielder said he felt envious of his former team mates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, who came through the United youth ranks with Beckham and have stayed at the club.
"I am sure they will all try and kick me if they can because we were together for so many years and we were so successful together." Beckham said.
Off the field we become best friends and that's why we become so successful at a club like Manchester United.
"But it's testament to team-selves and the club and everything that currounds team as individuals that they wouldn't be at a club like Manchester United if they weren't special people and special players."
Beckham said going back to Old Trafford would be an emotional occasion.
Manchester United is so special to me and I have never been back as a player—so to go back seven years after as an AC Milan player it doesn't get much more perfect than that and it is an experience I went to cherish. It is going to be a special and emotional night. But I'd like us to win, us being Ac Milan. As Manchester United fan I always want team to win in very game—but not this one."
Beckham England's most capped outfield player with 166 appearances, said that "scary" Fabio Capello had instilled a "good arrogance" in the England team since becoming coach.
players go on to the field confident, they believe they are going to win. He has brought a real seriousness, a professional side, which was needed—but the scares you—in a respect way." He said there were similarities between Capello and Alex Ferguson his manager at Manchester United.
" I was lucky enough to have played for the best football manager for many years," he said.
Alex Ferguson brought me up, he was a father figure, to me and I have got a huge amount of respect for Alex Ferguson and for Fabio Capello. "They Don't just manage teams they love football and that's why they are still in the game now."