Just blowing it

Many people who have never had the sums of money these athletes make wonder how it happens. Is it because their managers, agents and everyone else they know has their hands out? Is it because athletes who suddenly find themselves swimming in money spend it on material things that the rest of the average-income population would consider ludicrous? Is it because their new car prices add up to more than most people could make in two lifetimes?

Lack of financial education

The truth is it’s a combination of all of these things. Typically, athletes earn so much money so fast, they don’t have time to learn how to be financially smart and responsible. Many of the professional athletes come from less fortunate backgrounds. Therefore, they have no experience with big money and no concept of using their income to make future income. Because of their lack of money in the past, athletes don’t know how to spend or invest wisely.

Bad investments

They make bad investment decisions and many try to take care of family and friends financially. While they are taking care of others, they don’t plan for taking care of business and, unfortunately, a large number of them end up being taken.

Flash

As the world watches, pro athletes dwindle their fortunes away on lavish lifestyles. Expensive, flashy cars; extravagant, showy homes; and stylish, overly-priced wardrobes capture the cash of these athletes faster than it is being earned in many circumstances. Gambling, girls and ganja also take a lot the green that athletes earn.

Owing too much

Once stars of the basketball court, many NBA players end up in bankruptcy courts because well over half of them are broke only five years after they retire. Scottie Pippen is one example. He crashed his financial windfall shortly after buying a jet and a lot of other things most people live just fine without.

Football superstars often take more hits off the field than they do while playing, since nearly 80 percent of them have financial difficulty within two years of leaving the NFL. One example of a football great gone under is OJ Simpson. Even without considering the costs of his alleged criminal activity, he owes the government more than $1 million in back taxes.

Boxers fare no better. It seems while they were learning to put up their dukes, they were skipping the lessons about putting away nest eggs. Evander Holyfield has financial problems now even after earning more than $250 million during his career. He lost his Atlanta mansion to foreclosure and has child support payments that add up quickly for a person with more than 10 kids.

Whether it’s bad investments, rapid and extravagant spending or legal drama, pro athletes typically drop their money faster than they drop balls. Without the education, planning and sense it takes to ensure their fortunes last a lifetime, they lose at the game of financial welfare.

Technorati Tags: athlete, bad investment, bankruptcy, financial education, going broke, losing money, owing money, pro athlete, why athletes go broke

1. The know-it-all. We get it. You told us so. And you’re going to keep telling us, because that’s what you thrive on. Most of these people aren’t real fans, they only want to be right so they can rub other people’s noses in it.

2. The bias guy. He thinks that the players he loves are the best, and the players he hates are the worst. Period. Forever and ever, amen. There’s no changing his mind, and he’s not interested in silly things like facts or statistics. He knows better, of course.

3. The friendly fan. He wants to be your buddy. In fact, he likes you so much that he pretends to like your sports team, just so he can talk to you. It’s painfully obvious he has no clue, but he doesn’t realize what an idiot he’s actually being. Instead of learning about something first, he just blathers on about it in the hope that you’ll think he’s cool.

4. The fantasy fan. He’s a fan of a team in fantasy football, but real life? Forget about it. Only the fantasy team matters, but he really, really loves to talk about the fantasy team like it’s real life. He doesn’t even seem to notice how incredibly annoying real fans of real teams in the real world find that.

5. The waffle fan. Many people fall into this category, but the real, true sports fan never will. These fair-weather fans are interested in the team when it’s winning, and could care less about it when it’s losing. They go back and forth, waffling around about whether they like the team or hate it. When it’s good it’s good, but when it’s bad – well, what’s the point in watching anymore?

Whether it’s professional fans, or college sports fans, it’s easy to see why these people are annoying. They might be wonderful people in ‘real life,’ but when they get involved with a sport they become something completely different. Avoid them if you can, but no matter how careful you are you’re likely to find one or two of them within hearing distance at your next sporting event. Don’t think you can escape them at the sports bar, either. They’ll be the ones talking too loudly in the corner booth, with big pitchers of beer on the table and hot wing sauce on their fingers.

Technorati Tags: facts, fantasy football, sports, sports fan, stats, traits, types

Art Schlichter – Went to Miami Trace High School in Bloomingburg, Ohio. Schlicter was a key player for the school and caught the eye of Ohio State football decision-makers in 1978. By 1982, he was the quarter back for the Baltimore Cults (later on known as the Indiana Colts). By the end of that season, he was already $700,000 in gambling debt. The extent of his NFL career ended in 1987.

Adam Jones – Went to Westlake High School in Atlanta, GA. Jones’ school has been known to create many athletes drafted to the NFL. In 2002, he was selected to attend West Virginia University to be the college’s cornerback. From there, he went on to be a key player for the Tennessee Titans; he later on signed a contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Jones was criminally charged with having $20,000 owed to Caesars Palace.

Rodney Landingham – Former cornerback of the University of Nevada, Reno. In 2004, Landingham was charged with two accounts of bank robbery and two accounts of using a firearm. This was the result of his gambling addiction and has been imprisoned due to his actions.

Steve Halpin – Mesquite High School football coach in Mesquite, TX. Back in 2007, Halpin pawned the school’s sports equipment to use as gambling money and would get the equipment back before they were gone for good. For over a year, he pawned 270 items which totaled a little over $2,000.

Are these any different than celebrities who gamble in WSOP? Or are they on the same level?

Adam Jones was drafted to the Tennessee Titans for the 2005 NFL season. Since then, he has had numerous accounts with the law. One of the bigger ones was a shooting controversy in a Las Vegas strip club where he allegedly hurt a stripper by smashing her head on the stage. He and his group were escorted out of the facility only to have one of his men come back in to “shoot up the club.” Jones was acquitted of the charges.

The next big felony that Jones faced was his failure to pay back a $20,000 gambling debt owed to Caesars Palace. Nevada has a strict bad check law. Those who owe money to casinos have 90 days from when they were given a notice by the bad check unit to pay the full amount. If the 90 days have passed and debtors still have outstanding balance, casinos have the right to press criminal charges. This was what happened to Jones. He needed to pay back two $5,000 markers and one $10,000 marker.

Jones is known to be a nuisance in the NFL; he doesn’t stop getting into trouble. Right after his contract was over with the Titans, he signed another one with the Dallas Cowboys. Even though he was playing for one of the biggest and baddest teams in the leagues, his rap sheet kept him from playing a full season. Jones was not able to resign with the Cowboys and has not had any other team choose him to this day. However, he is still out there trying to gain brownie points with the league.

I guess he needs to stay out of Caesars online.

Nevertheless, we can still feed our hunger for the game and stay in touch by keeping the memories alive. One way of doing that is by collecting football memorabilia. Rewind a few years– don’t you remember how you traded caps with the logo of your favorite teams with your friends, or how you fought with your best friend over a picture card of your favorite football star? Well, you can do that again now. However, this time you won’t have to fight over the stuff because you can create your own football memorabilia and keep them for yourself.

Whether you’re a grown up or a kid who eats, walks and sleeps football, you have so many online companies that can print whatever you want on any clothing accessory you want. Would you like the names of your all-time favorite players on your t-shirts? On the other hand, do you want the logo of your favorite NFL team on your cap? All you grown-ups; go and get a Jim Brown picture printed on your pillow, or make a list of your ten all-time favorite football players, and have them printed on your sweat shirt. Kids can go to the games wearing Indianapolis Colts hats or New England Patriots t-shirts. Kids will absolutely love to get a picture of LaDainian Tomlinson or Adrian Peterson printed on their sweatshirts, and wear them to play.

Create your own football memorabilia as you have a choice now that never existed many years ago. You don’t have to fight no more or pay through your nose to get your favorite team or player up close to you. There are so many t-shirt printing companies online now, which can print any of your favorite football stuff on t-shirts, sweat shirts, hats, or even your pillow covers. There is no need for you to part with your football memories, ever again!

Especially once you add Tecmo Bowl or even SUPER TECMO BOWL into the mix!!

Madden 08 by Electronic Arts seems to be a popular choice among gamers of-late (even gamers who play online games). Madden 08 can be played, both, on Xbox and Playstation consoles, but the versions for Xbox 360 and PS3 looks more like arcade games. However, there definitely are some roster updates in the new version and gaming purists will not mind the extra spend on the latest version. Also, there is a “weapons” feature found on the PS3 and 360 versions, which can help you determine the weapons possessed by players in your team as well as your opponent’s. This can help you avoid the player in the opposing team who has one of the weapons. This simply makes your passing and running much easier. The downsides are that there are some glitches that were there in the previous version, but most of these are related to the game and have nothing to do with hardware or software technology of the product. Madden 08 is a very good buy for $44 at Amazon, if you have a penchant for high end graphics and arcade games.

NCAA Football 08 from Electronic Arts is for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 gaming platforms. Generally, the reviews from gamers about this game are positive, but gamers have been heard to complain about its passing feature. It’s like a player gets stuck to the spot or repeating the same moves when receiving a pass. The game also takes long to load, and the main menu seems to be confusing for many gamers. However, the graphics on the 360 are superb, but the game could have been tuned better for the PS3. There is an ESPN.com feature that enables you to see team rankings in real time, and the stadiums are well done with even features to change the environment according to the weather/climate. Notwithstanding the minor flaws, this game can be a lot of fun due to its new features and audio/visual qualities. In comparison with Madden, this game leaves much to be desired.

All Pro Football 2K8 from 2K Games is for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 platforms. Superb sound and graphics stand out in this game as also its fluid game play. The game comes with a lot of personal touches with info on every player’s specialties, and what he does best. Choosing your team is easy this way, but the teams are all generally made up of known names; so you would actually not need the extra info given on the players. The downsides are that though you can pick a legend team, you wouldn’t be able to play against it as the legend team is essentially a CPU team, and the focus is mainly on offence and the defense is almost ignored by the developers. This game is on par with Madden 08 and costs a lot lesser, which makes this game more desirable if you want great audio/video qualities in your game and value for your money.

All said and done, all 3games have more or less equal amounts of positives and drawbacks, but if you give more importance to fluidity of play, graphics, audio and overall ease of play, then we would rank Madden 08 at the top followed by All Pro Football 2K8 and NCAA Football 08 respectively.

The whole tailgating thing is not about the thrill of going close behind one another on the road; it’s about partying, making new friends, the bonhomie and camaraderie and just having a good time. Today, tailgating has evolved from simple motorized processions of many automobiles one behind the other in close proximity… to a tradition. Pre-game or post-game, a party in the parking lot with all the RVs parked together, each one resembling a home with doors wide open, with the smell of barbequed and grilled steaks and chickens in the air and plenty of beer around, represents a single community of sport loving people that also like to celebrate life.

Tailgating is for people who consider the game bigger than life as well as for people that think life is one big game. So, the next time you’re going to the games, go in your RV. Don’t have an RV? Rent one!

First, get the paper and pen. Draw a 10*10 grid on the paper. On the top of the grid, above each square, write the numbers 0 to 9. In the same way, write 1-9 on the left hand side of the grid adjacent to each square. Write the names of the two teams, one on the top of the grid (A) and the other on the left side (B). Now you have your pool grid ready for play. Each square could mean one unit, which you could sell to your friends and family members, and you could have a 100 unit pay-off (the total number of units/squares in the grid). You can sell as many squares as you want to a single player; the choice is with the player who might want to bet higher or lower, according to his or her wish. However, it’s best if you could sell off all the squares. You can write the initials of the buyer of the units in the squares, he or she buys.

The rules of the pool are simple. The purpose of the game is to have the combination of digits that match the last digits of the match scores. Payouts are at the end of each quarter, and please remember that the second digit is the one that’s always used. For instance, if a team gets 25 points at the end of a quarter, the winning number will be the number 5. You can also flex the game rules to have the payouts at the end of the game, as well. This will mean a much larger payout in comparison to the payouts each quarter. Now, let’s move on to the game. Watch the match live on television, as the winner is decided by the points scored by each team in the actual game. For example, if the Miami Dolphins (A) and Chicago Bears (B) are playing, and if the Bears score 21 points and the Dolphins score 25 points, the winner of the pool is decided by matching the second digits of the score which is (A) 1 and (B) 5 on the grid. If you own the square that matches the co-ordinates, then, you’re the lucky winner! Sounds like child’s play, doesn’t it?

I also got this crazy idea when stumbling across an online bingo game. I thought it might be fun to participate in football bingo. Everyone knows how to play bingo so guys: you could even get your wives involved in this one. Just design a bingo card or print out the one I made up and throw twenty-four football terms in a hat before the game starts. Start drawing phrases out of the hat and let the betting and competition begin.

Try it this football season!

The National Football League (NFL), America’s most highly paid and competitive professional football league has its own share of prescription drug abus problems. A recent newspaper report mentioned that as many as 10% of 1500 NFL players surveyed had serious painkiller problems. Although, the NFL has a strict anti painkiller abuse policy that forbids any use of un-prescribed anti-inflammatory and pain killing medicines, many players find ways to circumnavigate and cheat the system. In fact, the prevalence of painkiller abuse is so widespread in the NFL today, the authorities are devising methods to detect and punish the guilty.

Since most teams carry with them a team of doctors and physiotherapists, the players sometimes have access to painkillers, which they can easily get by faking an injury or by exaggerating it. Most coaches, managers, doctors and support staffs of the teams deny that the players can gain access by unlawful means; revelations made by some players prove quite the opposite. Take the case of the Philadelphia Eagles defensive linesman Sam Rayburn, who played for the eagles in 2003-3006, and who was arrested in March 2009 for forging prescriptions for controlled drugs. He disclosed during the course of an inquiry that he could get access to painkillers through his team doctors from time to time. He admitted that he was self medicating himself with painkillers during the period he played for the eagles, and admitted that his medication slowly led him into an addiction that he couldn’t shake off.

Sam Rayburn’s is not a case in isolation; Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre was treated for Vicodin—a prescription painkiller—in 1996, and he came back from his treatment and led the Packers to victory in the Super Bowl. There are many more players that are coming into the open with their painkiller dependency problems. However, there are players who still get prescription painkillers by trading match tickets with pharmaceutical companies’ executives—a charge denied by the players as well as the pharmaceutical companies. The NFL retirement plan that provides disability & drug rehab benefits for players diagnosed with addiction problems doesn’t help the case of anti-abuse strategies.

No doubt, the demands of high-pressure professional sports can lead to injuries that sometimes can be even fatal, but what really worries the authorities now is the fact that players themselves try to shorten their life span trying to extend their playing span.

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