Tag Archives: sports

Even International Quidditch Has a Concussion Problem

by Chet50Nwhxnry Posted on July 4, 2014

Mother Jones

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If you want to make it as a snitch in the fast-growing sport of Muggle Quidditch, there are a few simple rules to live by. Keep the two people with yellow headbands in your sight at all times. Call fouls when you see them. Don’t let your showboating get in the way of your performance. And keep your booty shaking. “You gotta do a little duck waddle—stick your butt out,” advises Austin Nuckols, a lanky University of Richmond student with curly hair in a Spiderman-inspired Quidditch jersey. “That’s right, get a little twerk going,” he says. “Work on your twerk!”

Nuckols in offering a tutorial in snitching in a back room at a convention center in downtown DC for the second day of the third annual QuidCon, the only convention focused on the nuts and bolts of starting or managing a Quidditch team. Conceived eight years ago by a small group of students at Middlebury College in Vermont, the International Quidditch Association now boasts 225 official teams in at least 13 countries, in addition to wheelchair Quidditch and several varieties of “kidditch.” Even as the Harry Potter books and movies that first popularized it fade from view, the sport has begun to find its legs.

But like angsty, teenage Harry Potter in book five, competitive Quidditch is finding that its new powers come with some growing pains—in the most literal sense. Muggle Quidditch has a concussion problem.

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Even International Quidditch Has a Concussion Problem

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Luis Suárez’s World Cup Bite Was Really Dangerous. Here’s Why.

by John Graham Posted on June 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, has officially banned Uruguay striker Luis Suárez from the remainder of the World Cup for his alleged bite of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini this week. And for good reason: Not only is biting another player incredibly unsportsmanlike and just plain dirty; it’s also extremely dangerous.

Of all the bites you can get—nearly 1 percent of emergency room visits are due to mammalian bites of various kinds—the human one is “particularly notorious,” as one study puts it, due to the risk of subsequent infection. Ten percent of human bites that break the skin become infected, quite a high number in comparison with infection rates generally. For example, in a recent study of 297 emergency room patients with lacerations, the infection rate was only 3.4%.

That’s because, to put it bluntly, we have pretty dirty mouths. Human saliva contains some 50 species of bacteria—and 100 million microbes of them per milliliter. There are even reports in the scientific literature of serious diseases resulting from human bites and their subsequent infections, including hepatitis, herpes, and tetanus. (There is even one report of a patient contracting HIV from a bite to the lip.)

The placement of Luis Suárez’s bite was relatively rare: the shoulder. More than half of human bites are on the hands and fingers; only about 18 percent are to the head and neck. One of the most common bite scenarios: One person punches another in the mouth, connects with his teeth, and ends up with a hand wound. One 2003 study found that of emergency room patients arriving with infected human bites, 70 percent were young men, and fifty-six percent of the bites were “clenched fist injuries.”

These so-called “fight bites,” says another 2002 study, are “notorious for being the worst of human bites.” That’s because they can infect certain hand tendons and joints that have “a very limited ability to fight infection.” The authors warn that “significant morbidity can result from late presentation or inadequate initial management” and that “the emergency physician needs to remain vigilant for complications associated with the closed fist injury.”

The research literature also notes that “patients with bite injuries are often intoxicated, making the process of obtaining a reliable history and conducting a thorough examination difficult.” Luis Suárez does not appear to have been drunk, though; and FIFA has a lot of videotape. It does not look like his bite broke Chiellini’s skin, but if it did, let’s hope he gets some very careful medical care.

We discussed the science of the human bite in more detail on the latest episode of the Inquiring Minds podcast:

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Luis Suárez’s World Cup Bite Was Really Dangerous. Here’s Why.

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Watch: John Oliver Destroys Washington’s Racist Football Team Name With New Video

by RoseS35zsysbowu Posted on June 16, 2014

Mother Jones

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Last week, a Native American tribe in Northern California ran a new TV ad during the NBA Finals that targeted the racist name of the Washington football team. “Unyielding. Strong. Indomitable,” a narrator intones at the end. “Native Americans call themselves many things. The one thing they don’t?” The ad then cuts to a picture of a helmet with the team’s logo.

On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver used President Obama’s first visit to American Indian land to segue into the battle over the R-word. “For the average American,” he joked, “that ad should tug at 1/16th of your heartstrings and make the rest extremely guilty.” But then Oliver & Co. went a step further: They made their own anti-Redskins video. Watch the whole segment here:

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Watch: John Oliver Destroys Washington’s Racist Football Team Name With New Video

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The Story Behind That Video of Whisper, the BASE Jumping Dog

by AuroraHeffron Posted on May 29, 2014

Mother Jones

You just watched a video of four-year-old Whisper, the world’s first wingsuit-clad, BASE jumping dog. She was strapped to her owner—Adidas-sponsored, Santa Barbara-based free climber and BASE jumper Dean Potter—when she took a dive from a 13,000-foot mountain peak in the Swiss Alps. The footage was captured with a GoPro camera. The YouTube video, posted on Tuesday, currently has more than 450,000 views and has received enthusiastic coverage from USA Today, the Daily Beast, Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze, The Today Show, and BuzzFeed, among other outlets. “So it looks like Whipser lives her life by the YOLO philosophy,” Mashable reported.

“I got Whisper when she was a little puppy and I hated leaving her at home, because I would go on these six-to-eight-hour hikes—I would BASE jump every day, and I’d have to leave her behind,” Potter tells Mother Jones. To solve this problem (at least for one jump), Potter got to work on a special backpack to safely hold Whisper on his back. “It took three times, and the first two prototypes, we didn’t even get out of the shop,” he says. “And we finally got it on the third try. We did some test runs with her favorite stuffed animal, her lion toy…And just to make sure she was okay with speed, I rode around with her on my bicycle and motorcycle, cruising at about 80 miles an hour…So I knew she liked speed.”

The short video is sneak peek at When Dogs Fly, a 22-minute film starring Potter, his girlfriend Jen Rapp, and Whisper. (Potter and Rapp produced, and Potter directed.) According to Potter, various networks, including National Geographic Channel, Discovery, HBO, and CNN, have shown interest in purchasing and airing it.

The video has also provoked criticism from those who see Whisper’s BASE jumping as animal abuse. “Although both the dog and owner land safely, being strapped to a person’s back and dropped by parachute is likely to be a cause of significant stress and fear for the dog,” a spokesperson for Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, for instance.

Potter insists that he and Rapp had already taken this into consideration: “BASE jumping is dangerous, and it made me and Jen think a lot about whether we were doing the right thing,” he says. “We’re not stupid people, and we questioned if what we were doing was the right thing to do, just like any parent would.”

Potter wrote in a recent blog post:

I want you all to know that I do not force Whisper to do anything she doesn’t want to do. When we wake up in the morning, if Whisper wants to stay at home or camp, she is free to do so…Last summer when I was wingsuit BASE-jumping with Whisper she never once didn’t want to come along. In fact, whenever I put on my wingsuit or pack my parachute, little Whisper nestles close and begs to come along.

In no way do I want others to try to emulate what I do with Whisper without proper knowledge and training!

So what’s next for Potter? Along with selling When Dogs Fly, he says he is currently working with NASA scientists, finding new ways to trick out his wingsuit. “One of the fundamental dreams man has ever had is to truly fly the human body, so that’s my biggest fascination right now,” he says.

Now here are a couple pics of Whisper, courtesy of Potter’s Instagram account:

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The Story Behind That Video of Whisper, the BASE Jumping Dog

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50 Cent Is Not a Great Baseball Player

by DemetriusBeike Posted on May 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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But to be quiet honest, neither are we and no one can be perfect all the time.

Here are 10 other terrible first pitches, courtesy of TIME.

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50 Cent Is Not a Great Baseball Player

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Exploring the Social and Environmental Challenges as Brazil Prepares for Two Sports Spectacles

by SamualHallock Posted on May 19, 2014

green4us

Codex: Adepta Sororitas (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

The Adepta Sororitas, also known as the Sisters of Battle, are an elite sisterhood of warriors raised from infancy to adore the Emperor of Mankind. Their fanatical devotion and unwavering purity is a bulwark against corruption, heresy and alien attack, and once battle has been joined they will stop at nothing until their enemies are utterly crushed In this b

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Warhammer 40,000 (Interactive Edition) – Games Workshop

In the nightmare future of the 41st Millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of extinction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man, beset on all sides by ravening aliens, foul traitors and Warp-spawned Daemons, looks once more to its greatest heroes to stave off the encroaching darkness. There is no time for peace. No respite. No forgiveness. There is only wa

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White Dwarf Issue 16: 17 May 2014 – White Dwarf

This issue sees Warhammer 40,000 reborn with a brand new edition of the game – we go deep and investigate all the exciting new bits, including the new missions, psychic phase and Unbound armies, and interview the rules team too. About this Series: White Dwarf is Games Workshop’s weekly magazine, and boasts a wealth of great content, from the latest new

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Citizen Canine – David Grimm

Dogs are getting lawyers. Cats are getting kidney transplants. Could they one day be fellow citizens? Cats and dogs were once wild animals. Today, they are family members and surrogate children. A little over a century ago, pets didn’t warrant the meager legal status of property. Now, they have more rights and protections than any other animal in the country

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes,

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Cesar’s Way – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

“I rehabilitate dogs. I train people.” —Cesar Millan There are at least 68 million dogs in America, and their owners lavish billions of dollars on them every year. So why do so many pampered pets have problems? In this definitive and accessible guide, Cesar Millan—star of National Geographic Channel’s hit show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan —reveals what do

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The Home Organizing Workbook – Meryl Starr

Failing the Mary Poppins’ snap-the-fingers approach to cleaning, here’s the next best thing: an utterly practical handbook that offers lasting results for anyone looking to banish clutter from every room in the house. Home organizer par excellence Meryl Starr offers up her hardworking organizing solutions in The Home Organizing Workbook, a straight

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Warhammer: Wood Elves (Interactive Edition) – Games Workshop

For millennia, the Wood Elves have dwelt beneath the leaves of Athel Loren, defending their greenwood home from the perils of the world. When the King in the Woods sounds his horn, longbows are strung and spears are sharpened as the hosts of Athel Loren assemble beneath ancestral banners. In the depths of the forests, enchantresses sing songs of awakening, r

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Marley & Me – John Grogan

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Now with photos and new material

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White Dwarf Issue 15: 10 May 2014 – White Dwarf

Things get apocalyptic for Warhammer 40,000 with the arrival of War Zone: Valedor – and the rules team write us a brand-new Dark Eldar datasheet you’ll only find in White Dwarf! Sprues and Glue, meanwhile, looks at the fine art of spraying your miniatures… and we have a sneak peek at the new Warhammer 40,000. About this Series: White Dwarf is Games Wo

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Excerpt from – 

Exploring the Social and Environmental Challenges as Brazil Prepares for Two Sports Spectacles

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Michael Sam Just Became the First Openly-Gay Football Player to Be Drafted in NFL History

by TabathaAndrus Posted on May 10, 2014

Mother Jones

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Boom.

From – 

Michael Sam Just Became the First Openly-Gay Football Player to Be Drafted in NFL History

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Quote of the Day: If We Don’t Like Your Gun, You Should Not Be Allowed to Sell It to Anyone

by IngeborgTeague Posted on April 28, 2014

Mother Jones

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From Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for gun manufacturers:

They tried to put the product on the market, and the market reacted.

I know that “Orwellian” is overused, but what else can you call this? The product in question is a “smart gun,” which can only be fired by its registered owner. A company called Armatix put one on the market—you know, the market, a place where people can voluntarily buy or decline to buy products depending on whether they want them—and the gun lobby went ballistic:

Belinda Padilla does not pick up unknown calls anymore, not since someone posted her cellphone number on an online forum for gun enthusiasts. A few fuming-mad voice mail messages and heavy breathers were all it took. Then someone snapped pictures of the address where she has a P.O. box and put those online, too. In a crude, cartoonish scrawl, this person drew an arrow to the blurred image of a woman passing through the photo frame. “Belinda?” the person wrote. “Is that you?”

Her offense? Trying to market and sell a new .22-caliber handgun that uses a radio frequency-enabled stopwatch to identify the authorized user so no one else can fire it. Ms. Padilla and the manufacturer she works for, Armatix, intended to make the weapon the first “smart gun” for sale in the United States.

….The National Rifle Association, in an article published on the blog of its political arm, wrote that “smart guns,” a term it mocks as a misnomer, have the potential “to mesh with the anti-gunner’s agenda, opening the door to a ban on all guns that do not possess the government-required technology.”

According to Keane, this is the market “reacting.” It’s certainly heartwarming to see such dedication to free enterprise.

Originally from – 

Quote of the Day: If We Don’t Like Your Gun, You Should Not Be Allowed to Sell It to Anyone

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Clippers Players Just Made One Hell of a Perfect Statement

by KeeleyBattaglia Posted on April 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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The Los Angeles Clippers are owned by a racist jerk who has put the actual Los Angeles Clippers in an unimaginably difficult situation. It’s impossible not to feel for them. This silent protest is pretty wonderful.

Source:  

Clippers Players Just Made One Hell of a Perfect Statement

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Area NBA Owner Just Wants to Keep His Head in the Game

by Abraham Lowe Posted on April 26, 2014

Mother Jones

If you were hoping that an audio recording laying bare Donald Sterling’s long-tolerated racism would inspire unanimous public outrage from his fellow NBA owners, sorry.

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Area NBA Owner Just Wants to Keep His Head in the Game

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