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Why do cyclists shave their legs?
2012-01-19
Professional cyclists claim there are two reasons why they shave.
1. Medical
The first is medical. They fall off their bikes more often than one might expect, and it's easier to clean out the dirt and gravel from their wounds if their legs have been shaved. Bare skin coming into contact with asphalt at 35mph is going to tear off, so it's better that it tears off cleanly, and pulling off bandages from healed cuts is less torturous if hairs are not pulled out at the same time.
2. Therapeutic
The second reason is more therapeutic: the massages they receive after every stage of a race are more comfortable if they are hairless.
EXTRA 3. Aesthetic
The real reason cyclists shave their legs is very simple: it is because everyone else does it. No one likes to make a direct admission but, secretly, shaving one's legs has an aesthetic dimension: it is simply how the racing cyclist should look. As every oiled bodybuilder knows, smooth skin looks better and allows everyone a perfect view of all your hard work.
MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES (10-0) at LSU TIGERS (7-3)2011-12-19Tip-off: Monday, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Marquette -8.5, Total: 137.5
Marquette puts its perfect record on the line with another tough non-conference road game when they visit LSU Monday night.
The Golden Eagles already scored a huge road win this year by going into the Kohl Center and knocking off Wisconsin on Dec. 3. They've also won neutral site games over Ole Miss and Washington. But they have a big spread to cover against an LSU team that plays a slow-down, defensive-minded style. Marquette has dropped its past three games ATS, and they're 1-4 ATS this year when favored by eight points or more. Meanwhile, the Tigers are 4-0 ATS (and 3-1 SU) as an underdog this year.
LSU is the pick.
Marquette will get a boost with the return of leading scorer Darius Johnson-Odom (18.8 PPG), who was suspended for Saturday's win over Northern Colorado for an unspecified violation of team rules. He, F Jae Crowder (17.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and guards Vander Blue (11.6 PPG) and Todd Mayo (11.0 PPG) give them plenty of firepower on the offensive end of the court.
But the Golden Eagles are undersized. Starting C Chris Otule (knee) is likely to be sidelined again on Monday night. That leaves 6-foot-8, 290-pound Davante Gardner (8.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG) as their only true frontcourt player. The sophomore scored 14 points in each of the two games Otule missed, but he ran into foul trouble in the Northern Colorado win and has some stamina issues.
LSU might be without its leading scorer, G Andre Stringer (12.1 PPG), who is suffering from dizzy spells. Offense is not a strength for the Tigers, who are shooting 39.2% from the field on the year, but they are limiting opponents to 63.1 PPG and forcing 17.7 turnovers per game. C Justin Hamilton (11.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG), a 6-foot-11, 260-pound Iowa State transfer, could give the undersized Golden Eagles fits, and freshman PF Johnny O'Bryant (8.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG) gives them a formidable inside tandem. This could come down to how streaky freshman PG Anthony Hickey (10.3 PPG, 4.1 APG) fares. He's shooting a miserable 35.9% from the field on the season, but was impressive in a neutral court win over Georgia Tech in November, scoring a season-high 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting in one of LSU's best wins.
BWIN.PARTY DIGITAL TO SPONSOR NEW SPORT2011-05-06Ever heard of padel?
The online gambling group Bwin.party Digital has signed up as a sponsor for one of the lesser known sports, and will be backing the Padel Pro Tour circuit for the next three seasons.
Still a relatively young sport, but claiming some 10 million players, Padel is considered to be one of the fastest growing sports globally. Developed in the late sixties in South America, the modern game of Padel Tennis was introduced to Europe through Marbella in Southern Spain during the mid-1970s.
The name Padel, reflects the game’s use of a string less racquet, bringing together a combination of other racquet sports such as Tennis, Real Tennis and Squash. Played on a court smaller than a traditional tennis court, the playing area is enclosed at either end with glass, helping to raise its popularity as a spectator sport. The uniqueness of the game enables players to use the surrounding walls that make up the court to return the ball.
In terms of this week's deal, Bwin.party becomes the sport's official betting partner with exclusive live streaming rights for all events.
Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of Bwin.party, said that Padel is becoming more and more popular in Europe and across the rest of the world. "It is exciting to play, exciting to watch and now it will be exciting to bet on,” he said.
Javier Ron, general manager of the Padel Pro Tour said: “In our 6th season, we believe that this agreement will contribute decisively to the growth of Padel and its expansion in Europe.”
WSOP REMATCHES WILL ATTRACT PLENTY OF EYEBALLS2011-04-07An ingenious time-warp idea from the world's biggest live poker tournament organisers
Caesar's Entertainment plans to use its World Series of Poker arm to re-create...or perhaps change the outcome...of great moments in the 42 years of the annual tournament’s history.
The planned inaugural WSOP Rematches will relive history by bringing previous champions and challengers together again live at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino during the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker later this year to replay the heads-up duels and see what the outcome would be today.
“Winning the WSOP Main Event was a life altering moment,” said the first great internet champion, Chris Moneymaker. “Even though I’m agreeing to run it again against Sammy Farha, I have been assured they can’t take away my title if my bluffs don’t work as well this time!”
The special one-of-a-kind rematches will work as follows:
MATCHUP #1
• 2003 WSOP Main Event: Chris Moneymaker vs. Sammy Farha – Best 2-out-of-3 format.
* First match: Exact starting chips they had when they started heads up play in 2003. (Moneymaker: 5,490,000; Farha: 2,900,000)
* Second match: Reverse starting stacks.
* Third Match: Even starting stacks. (*if necessary)
MATCHUP #2
• 1989 WSOP Main Event: Johnny Chan vs. Phil Hellmuth – One match.
* Match to feature even starting stacks
MATCHUP #3
• Fan Choice – One match.
* Match to feature even starting stacks
* Winning matchup from fan vote will be invited to participate. If for whatever reason, participants in initial matchup are unavailable, we will move on to second pairing, etc.
* Match will feature one of the following four pairings:
- 1988 WSOP Main Event: Johnny Chan vs. Erik Seidel
- 2004 WSOP Main Event: Greg Raymer vs. David Williams
- 2006 WSOP Main Event: Jamie Gold vs. Paul Wasicka
- 2010 WSOP Main Event: Jonathan Duhamel vs. John Racener