New Zealand Beats England, Extends Winning Streak to 13 Games

According to a recent article on Bloomberg, New Zealand beat England 30-22 to extend its international rugby winning streak to 13 games.

“Julian Savea touched down twice as the world champion All Blacks outscored England three tries to one at Twickenham Stadium in London. Kieran Read also went over for New Zealand, which is unbeaten since a 38-21 loss to England last December.”

The New Zealand team seems like the team to beat in the rugby world. England lost at home for the first time in seven games.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.org/new-zealand-beats-england-extends-winning-streak-to-13-games/ 

You are never to young to get into triathlons

I came across a touching yet great article about a family who started a triathlon program named after their son who loved to compete in triathlons at a young age. At only seven years old, Chase was killed in the devastating shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. Before the horrible incident, Chase competed in his first triathlon. It consisted of a 20-yard swim, half-mile ride and third-of-a-mile run.

Since a young age Chase new he wanted to compete in races. At only two years old he completed a 400 yard race. After watching Michael Phelps swim in the olympics, he asked his parents if he could do a race where he can bike, swim and run. Sure enough only 90 minutes from their home was a race where Chase could compete. He won the event for his age group.

Unfortunately Chase would only get to race in that single triathlon. His parents decided to partner with the local YMCA to start a project in his name called the Race4Chase Kid’s Triathlon Program. Kids in the program will train for ”six weeks during the summer in the fundamentals of swimming, racing and bicycling, culminating with a short-course triathlon, where the kids will earn medals.”

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.net/you-are-never-to-young-to-get-into-triathlons/

Get Into Rugby Campaign

The International Rugby Board is taking their sport to a whole new place — literally.

An article posted on IRB.com tells readers that the Board’s “Get Into Rugby” campaign has found a very strong foothold among youth in Africa.

Jean-Luc Barthes, the IRB’s Regional Development Manager for Africa, told reporters that the goal of the program is two fold; first, to introduce Rugby to people and parts of the world who have never played before, and second, to support the building of infrastructures, so that areas can build a system for games, teams, and leagues.

“We want people to try and play rugby everywhere,” Barthes told IRB reporters, “so we began Get Into Rugby as a pilot project last year but now it will become our main project for 2014 because the number of schools involved and countries registering is just going up and up. It has already proved to be a huge success.”

Barthes went on to say that the program has registered 18 different countries, with that number expected to reach as many as 25 by 2014.

The article also states that the IRB will spend just shy of 2 million pounds (roughly $3.2 million) throughout Africa, with a funding cycle through 2016 that will allow nearly 8 million pounds (nearly $13 million) in the region over the next three years. This spending, the author writes, represents a nine percent increase from the previous four year cycle.

One of the programs most successful aspects has been its focus on developing and expanding participation in womens’ and girls’ rugby.

“Get Into Rugby is for both boys and girls,” Barthes told reporters, “although we have implemented specific programs for girls. At Under 11, Under 12 level they can play with the boys but from about 12 years old they need their own section so we are implementing special programs to fill that gap.”

According to the article, participating countries in the Get Into Rugby program thus far include Ivory Coast, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

With this surge of success, the IRB and Get Into Rugby have proven that they’re here to stay.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.org/get-into-rugby-campaign/

Getting Physically and Mentally Prepared For a Triathlon

Some people visit Hawaii to lay on a beach and vacation. Others travel to the Pacific Islands to conquer the world… At least, that’s what it feels like to many competitors in the upcoming Ironman World Championships.

An article posted recently in the New York Daily News told the story of Jessica Marino, a 31-year old triathlon competitor from New York, who has dedicated more than a year of her life to training for the October race in Kona, Hawaii.

Marino, who according to the article works full time as a finance professional, told the Daily News she spends at least 25 hours a week training her body for the event.

“It’s tough because there are only so many hours in the day,” Marino admitted to reporters. “I don’t really have a social life. Every minute is taken up working, eating, working out or sleeping.”

Why such a rigorous routine? The race (arguably the most demanding in the world) consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and, as the cherry on top, a 26.2 mile marathon to finish. Despite the daunting figures, Marino has competed in three Ironman Triathlons. This, however, will be her first time racing at the World Championship, the author writes.

The Daily News writes that Marino’s craving for competition dates back to her days as a soccer player at the University of Richmond. When she arrived in New York City in 2005, she got her first glimpse of what the Ironman had to offer.

“I watched the New York City marathon the first year I lived here and I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m on the wrong side of the fence… So I signed up for the next year.”

Marino is one of 20 competitors from New York who qualified for the upcoming event, and, according to the article, she will be racing with roughly 2,000 athletes for the World Championship.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.net/getting-physically-and-mentally-prepared-for-a-triathlon/

Top 4 Back Pain and Neck Relief Blogs

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Back pain and neck relief can be a constant annoyance for many people. I decided to put together a list of the top 4 blogs that address these pertinent issues.

1. Spine-Health (Trusted Information for Back Pain Relief)

Spine-Health is a website that provides a wealth of information regarding back pain relief. They have hundreds and thousands of articles written/reviewed by doctors on back pain, neck pain, among other associated disorders.

Read more… 314 more words

Top 4 Back Pain and Neck Relief Blogs

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South Africa Wins Rugby Championship

According to an article in One News, South Africa beat Argentina late to win the rugby championship. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes thhat South Africa overcame their uncharacteristic play to secure the win. Argentina led for most of the game, but became sloppy and undisciplined in the final 10 minute frame allowing for South Africa to edge back into the game for the win. If Argentina played how they did in the previous game and remained consistent, they would be walking away with a win, but instead they let careless play influence the outcome of the match. The Argentina coach must not be happy after coming so close just to see it all slip away with such little time left in the game. I am happy South Africa got the win of course, but it didn’t seem like it would be a reality with how the came was progressing. If there weren’t the two late penalties this game would most likely be a lot different and South Africa may have been the team hanging their heads in turn.

Sports are great because you never know. Sometimes games seem like they are over, but a turn of events can lead to a team finding new life. That is the beauty of sports and that’s what keeps people glued to all the different sports on the planet. Sports teams are like warriors who are playing on behalf of their community or country. As fans we love to root for them day in and day out hoping they reach the greatest pinnacle, a championship. South Africa claimed their championship and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the team. They didn’t give up and they kept fighting away in a relentless matter.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.org/south-africa-wins-rugby-championship/

Former Philadelphia Flyer Completes Ironman Competition

I found a recent article that talks about a former Philadelphia Flyer of the NHL and now player development coach who completed an ironman competition. Despite having a pretty big setback resulting from a concussion from falling of his bike, Ian Laperriere finished the event and never looking back. At 39 years old and after a successful professional career in the NHL, it is of no surprise that Ian chose to take his abilities to the ironman circuit. Ian competed in the Ironman North American Championship hosted in Quebec. He finished 124th out of 258 finishers with a time of 12 hour, 11 minutes, and 55 seconds. He competed in the 35-39 division.

Ian was a bit scared that he wouldn’t be able to compete so he sought another opinion from his chiropractor. “I drove [to Montreal] a week before the race to see my chiropractor, who’s been treating me for 20 years. He told me all along that it wasn’t a concussion, it was whiplash with the stress of the event and that’s why I had those headaches. But it was the same feeling. In the back of my mind, I feel like I had a concussion — same headaches, same thing. That’s why I was depressed. My doctor told me all along that I’d be fine and he was right on.”

It is great to see how popular ironman events are becoming. Having professional athletes joining the mix makes it interesting and more fun. Some people say you are never too old to compete in an event and you see a lot of people still churning away in their fifties and so on. A lot of people do it for the lead up and training and the satisfaction that is felt upon finishing. The emotion that is experienced after completing a race is remarkable and for a lot of people it’s what they crave.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.net/former-philadelphia-flyer-completes-ironman-competition/

South Africa Offers trans-Tasman Split

According to an article in ESPN Scrum, Australia and New Zealand are talking about the possible formation of a trans-Tasman rugby competition that will replace Super Rugby 2016. As quoted from the article, “South Africa will splinter from Super Rugby to form its own competition with at least six teams, and potentially an Argentinian side, under the proposal put to rugby officials from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina, Fairfax Media reported on Sunday. The Australian and New Zealand provinces will form a second grouping and may welcome an Asian side to their competition.” This new proposal will also include new broadcasting right as well.

Super Rugby is the largest football competition in the souther hemisphere. The competition first started in 1996 season involving 12 teams and has since grown to 15 teams in three countries.

It is hard to understand how Rugby hasn’t grown more and more in popularity. It seems like the most attention the sport receives is during the olympics. I am happy to see the sport progressing and hopefully it continues to reach a broader and eager audience.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barryoberholzer.org/south-africa-offers-trans-tasman-split/

Airline Industry Taking Off

According to an article in the Motley Fool, the U.S. airline industry is starting to see positive signs. Second quarter earnings were announced last week with profits either meeting or beating expectations. Looking deeper into the industry, the airline industry experienced quite a hard spring, but with a decline in fuel prices for the year, this was offset. Just when it seems like oil prices might be recovering, they always have a knack for kicking right back. Currently, Gulf Coast jet fuel prices have climbed by 20 cents since June. Because of the recent hike, airlines need to continue to have revenue growth in order to have better future earnings. This summer season is looking good as far as demand as more people are traveling and using the services of airlines. Hopefully the increasing demand will continue the positive momentum we are seeing in the industry.

Quoted from the article, “The overall picture in the airline industry this summer is one of stability. While jet fuel prices have risen somewhat in the past month, they are still comparable to last summer’s levels. Meanwhile, all of the major airlines expect to post modest but respectable unit revenue increases.”

As the economy continues to improve and rebound, more Americans will hopefully travel. The auto industry, like the airline industry is seeing a similar result of an improving economy. As time continues to move on post-recession, chances are the major U.S. airlines will see increased revenue as people feel more comfortable taking the time and money to travel and enjoy themselves.

via Barry Oberholzer http://barry-oberholzer.com/airline-industry-taking-off/

A Coaches Impact On A Rugby Program

The Washington Post Sports recently released an article about a prep school rugby coach named Tal Bayer who did an unbelievable job building a rugby program from the ground up in the Washington D.C. area. The story of the Perry Street Prep School rugby team is something you might find in a hollywood movie. Tal Bayer founded the program 14 years ago and he announced that he will not be coming back next season. He has helped out inner city kids for so many years by establishing a place where kids can open up and enjoy the sport of rugby. “To his players, Bayer has been far more than a coach. He has been a guiding force in their lives, the father figure so many didn’t have.” The program served as an outlet for many kids who needed something to hold on to. It enabled them to travel the country, to learn teamwork and to be apart of a family. More importantly, the program kept the kids off the streets, helped them cope with poverty and kept them on track with their academics. Some of the players on the team have gone on to playing rugby in college.

Tal Bayer is having trouble telling his players that he won’t be coming back. He said, “There are moments in this office where it’s a lump in my throat. Kids are talking about next year. I want to tell them, but it’s not the right time. I don’t want kids to go, ‘Screw it, if he’s leaving, I’m done. I’m not coming back to school next year.” Bayer said his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and it has made him rethink his priorities. He feels he needs to spend more time with his family and his kids.

Sports stories like this are something people should take notice of because they are impactful and real. Tal Bayer as a coach has instilled hope into a lot of kids who have struggled in their lives. He has given them a sense of pride and that should be recognized and applauded.

via Barry Oberholzer  http://barryoberholzer.org/a-coaches-impact-on-a-rugby-program/

Airline Industry Looking Ahead

A recent article in Fox Business talked about the state of the Airline Industry and how it is looking coming out of a major economic recession. Airlines have undergone numerous changes over the past decade. One in particular has been the change in the price of fuel. Over the past ten years, fuel costs have more than doubled, which has caused most major airlines to readjust their business models. Some airline companies have also consolidated in an effort to stay alive as best as they can. Other airline companies are in the process of designing jumbo jets that are more aerodynamic to help cut down on fuel as well. Boeing and Airbus are two airline manufactures that are going head to head in the design of some of these new airplanes. Unlike many of the airplanes that are manufactured, these new planes are constructed with carbon composite materials, which helps make them more fuel efficient. With airline companies trying to save as much money as possible, these new composite planes are becoming more and more sought after.

The aviation industry is looking to make changes for the better and they are beginning to see progress. Jonathan Kletzel, PwC’s U.S. transportation and logistics leader, stated “There’s no question the domestic airline industry is undergoing a renaissance marked by increased revenue and stable profitability. These factors, combined with the prospect of lower fuel prices, support a positive outlook for the industry in 2013.”  It is becoming more apparent than ever that airline companies need to do whatever they can to help themselves out. Delta went as far as to put $180 million into a refinery on the East Coast in order to take it over.

People don’t want to spend exorbitant amounts of money to fly to their destinations. Airline companies are doing everything they can to cut costs so they can offer affordable ticket prices. They want people to feel encouraged to fly and to not shy away from it. It will be interesting to see where things progress in the next couple of years. Will airline companies continue to see increased revenue and stable profitability?

via Barry Oberholzer http://barry-oberholzer.com/airline-industry-looking-ahead/ 

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