Rob's Blog

Rio Olympic Games Mascot Announced

December 1st, 2014 · Olympic Games

The Olympic Games mascot for Rio 2016 has recently been announced, a yet unnamed yellow creature. It is supposed to represent all the animals of Brazil. (There is another one, for the Paralympics, which represents all the plants of Brazil). I can definitely see a cat and monkey in there, though I’m not sure what other animals it incorporates. Blue hands, green tail?

Unlike in recent times, the public was not consulted to choose the mascot, which is a good thing as the general population are not the experts in marketing, and the aim of creating a mascot is clearly stated as being to make lots of money on merchandise! The general population still do have a say – they can help pick the names. There is a shortlist of three choices, Oba and Eba; Tiba Tuque and Esquindim; and Vinicius and Tom. My vote is for Oba and Eda. I have no idea of the meanings of each of the names, Oba and Eda just sound the coolest.

rio olympic mascot — my selfie with the Rio Olympic Games mascot

On the official Rio website, you can go and make your own selfie with the mascot (like I did), and also cast your vote for the mascot names.

I’m glad there is just one mascot for the Olympic Games, as it was for London. When I saw that there were five mascots for Beijing in 2004, all I could think of was that they had trouble picking the best one to use. Sydney also struggled to make a decision and had three mascots. Using a single mascot that represents an animal from the host country is what has been traditionally used. You can see our list of previous Olympic Games mascots.

What do you think of the mascot?

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Beer and sport, a match made in a pub

November 21st, 2014 · Track & Field

The Beer Mile

It is common for athletes to consume beer after sporting events, and spectators to drink beer during events, but in the case of the beer mile, it is the athletes who drink beer during the event. The beer mile participants are required to run a mile, and also drink a can of beer prior to each lap.

Races similar to the beer mile run have been around for quite a while on University campuses, but it becoming mainstream with the inaugural Beer Mile World Championship to be held in Texas next month.

The current world record holder is James Nielsen, who recently became the first person in the world to break the five-minute beer mile. See the video below, showing not only his quick mile running speed, but a phenomenal beer swilling speed too. The all-round athlete.

The beer mile is not the only sport with close beer links. I found that I already had a few beer sports on my list of unusual sports.

Beer Pong – this is a staple game of US college parties, in which players throw a ping-pong ball across a table and try to land the ball in a cup of beer at the other end. If you can land the ball in the cup, you opponent has to drink it up.
Speed Beer Drinking – another popular beer related sport popular at University is beer sculling or chugging races.
Kastenlauf – which translates as beer crate running. In this German sport you and a friend have to carry a crate of beer over a 10km course, and consume all of its contents along the way.
Real Ale Wobble & Real Ale Ramble – a fun walk or cycle around the Welsh countryside, with free beer provided at checkpoints.
Beer Can Regatta – this one requires you to drink the beer before the race, so you have plenty of empty cans to make the boats with.
Wife Carrying Competition – there is no beer involved during this race, though the winner’s prize includes the wife’s weight in beer.

Do you know of any more?

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Anyone for a tapeworm?

September 25th, 2014 · Sports Nutrition

I have spent some time collecting information about popular diets, including some pretty bizarre fad diets, and the most bizarre prize has to go to the tapeworm diet. The idea is to ingest a tapeworm, which then shares your gut and consumes some of your calories. I have no doubt you will also feel unwell and will eat less food too. Just the thought of it has put me off my food.

You can buy tapeworm eggs to ingest (really!), but if you are really desperate you could just try eating undercooked meat (I’m kidding). I am not surprised that some desperate people do actually try this extreme measure diet, but it is not at all recommended, it is dangerous, don’t do it, seriously.

Individual Diet and Workout Plans for just $5

August 29th, 2014 · Fitness, Sports Nutrition

Have you heard of the website fiverr before? Until recently I hadn’t. It is a fascinating site where people offer to do tasks and services for just $5. I can’t get enough of it. I have been ordering services for my website, as well as fun things too. Now I have partnered with Fiverr to bring you this great deal. For only $5 you can get a great workout or diet plan designed just for you. (no longer active)

The plan is provided by a Certified Personal Trainer with over 5 years of experience. You can read his reviews and see that he has many very satisfied customers. Whether you want to lose body fat, build muscle mass, or just be healthy, he can help you achieve your personal fitness or diet goals for just $5. If you’re looking for healthy supplements then checkout pre workouts for vegans.

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It’s good to be king…

August 25th, 2014 · Basketball, Fitness

LeBron James has recently added yet another title to his illustrious career of accolades, and his latest one is now World’s Most Fit Athlete according to a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated. The poll consisted of four criteria categories related to their athletic ability. LeBron scored an impressive perfect score of 40 out of 40.

Impressive to say the least, but I wonder how the rest of the NBA feels about this poll. NBA players Nate Robinson, Serge Ibaka, and Dwight Howard are all specimens to rival LeBron so here we will stack up the King against 3 other formidable opponents for the distinction of the Fittest Player currently in the NBA.

Nate Robinson (PG/SG, Nuggets)

Nate brings tremendous energy to every team he’s a part of. Can this pint-sized, fiery point guard challenge LeBron for his fit title? Don’t let the size fool you, Nate has never been one to shy away from contact.

Size: 5’8’’ 180 lbs. Ability: High flying, speedy

Evaluation: Speed: 10, Strength: 6, Agility: 10, Endurance: 10

Overall Score: 36

Serge Ibaka (PF Thunder)

Serge Ibaka is a 6’10’’ chiseled specimen who resembles a statuesque Greek God. Could he be in fact more fit than LeBron?This shot-blocking virtuoso is one of the most intimidating players in the NBA. Serge was ranked #7 on SI’s poll. How will he fare here?

Size: 6’10’’ 245 lbs. Ability: Serge is a super athletic specimen. Thrives off of thunderous shot blocking ability, and excellent ability to run the floor to get a power slam dunk.

Evaluation: Speed: 8, Strength: 8, Agility: 9, Endurance: 10

Overall Score: 37

Dwight Howard (C Rockets)

Dwight Howard strikes fear all around the NBA. His massive frame and explosive athleticism hasn’t been seen since Wilt Chamberlain at his size. Dwight is a freak of nature being that he’s 6’11 and moves and jumps like a guard. Many players are reluctant to attempt to score at the rim when they see #12 close to the area.

Size: 6’11’’ 265. Ability: Dwight has explosive athleticism and elite interior strength.

Evaluation: Speed: 7, Strength: 10, Agility: 8, Endurance: 8

Overall Score: 33

LeBron remains on top as NBA’s most fit

After the final tabulations, the winner of our fit challenge remains LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a summer of dieting and working out harder, he has been turning heads with his new slimmer and muscular physique. This spells disaster for the rest of the league in 2014, we may have only seen the tip of the iceberg from what LeBron will accomplish in his career.

Howard 33
Nate 36
Ibaka 37
LeBron 40

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Funny Fitness

July 9th, 2014 · Fitness

Fitness and sport is not all serious. On Topendsports we have a whole section on sports fun such as Funny Sports Quotes, as well as my favourite Apt Sporting Names – such as 1986 400m hurdle WR holder Marina Stepanova and Chuck Long the former NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams.

Photo courtesy of: worldsfittest.net

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Vessyl the Smart Cup

June 18th, 2014 · Sports Nutrition

Hey this is cool. A drinking cup that monitors your hydration status plus other intakes. It recognises any liquid that is poured into it – identifying and reporting back the fluid volume consumed as well as nutritional content like calories and caffeine.

There is a wide range of possible uses for this, and the nutritional intake and hydration status of athletes is just one of them. The idea is great, but maybe it is not the ideal solution yet.

The problem is that in order for it to accurately track your intake you need to put all your fluids into the same cup. It does not seem very good for an athlete, it is not something you could easily carry around while exercising. It would be hard to mix drinks too. You can’t just have a drink of water while waiting for your coffee to cool down. You’ll be forever washing this cup (it is not dishwasher safe). What about at the pub after a game? You will get a few stares when you get the barman to fill your own cup, and you can’t beat a beer from an ice-cold glass.

I look forward to seeing more innovations along this line, it could be the start of something.

UPDATE: the company that produced this product has shut down. Hopefully, the idea is not dead and there will be something similar one day soon.

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Creative World Cup Team Nicknames

May 22nd, 2014 · FIFA World Cup, Football (Soccer)

Looking through the list of Team Nicknames of the teams of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, I have to question the imagination of many of the people who have come up with the names. There is a group of teams that basically don’t have a nickname, they just have a variation of the term ‘the national team‘ in their respective language (e.g. Germany, Iran, Switzerland). Equally uninspiring, many nicknames are derived from national colors – such as the Blues (France), the Reds (Chile), Orange (Netherlands) and the Tri-Colors (Ecuador, Mexico). At least some add a bit of spice to the color name game, such as the Red Fury (Spain), Red Devils (Belgium), and the Black Stars (Ghana).

Not all the names are so bland. If you could create a nickname, wouldn’t you want one that would strike fear in the opposition, like the Dragons from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, and my all-time favorite The Pirate Ship (Greece)? There are also Super Eagles (Nigeria) and Elephants (Ivory Coast) to contend with. But there is nothing as fearful as my team’s nickname – the Socceroos! Unfortunately, a fearsome team nickname does not necessarily equate to success, as the tournament favourites are commonly known as the Little Canaries (Brazil). Whaoo scary!

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Unusual Ways To Carry The Olympic Games Torch

July 29th, 2013 · Olympic Games

Each Olympic Games torch relay begins with a torch being lit by the sun’s rays at the ancient site of Olympia, after which it is passed by torch from person to person all the way to the Olympic stadium in the host city. The torch relay tradition started in 1936 and this is one of the few times where just runners have carried it all of the way (it also happened in 1948 and 1980).

Recent Olympic torch relays have been a competition to see which host can have the most bizarre transport method. I have come up with a large list of alternative transport types for the torch. Some of the more unusual transportation types include space ships and along a zip wire. In 1976 the flame was sent by radio signal between Greece and Canada and in 2000 it went underwater at the Great Barrier Reef. For the Sochi Olympic Games, the Russians are taking it into space again. It will be interesting to see where else it goes, and also what the Rio organisers can come up with. Any suggestions?

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Are These Sports?

July 15th, 2013 · Sport

What is a sport? There have been a few posts on the page about the most demanding sports, suggesting that some activities such as cheerleading shouldn’t be considered a sport. I have searched for the best definition of what is a sport and have come up with these three criteria:

tenpin bowler

A sport must be:

a human activity involving physical skill and exertion
governed by a set of rules or customs
undertaken competitively and capable of achieving a result

Here are some activities that are often called sports, but for some people it is debatable whether they are actually sports.

What do you think? Are these sports?

billiards, bowling, cheerleading, dancing, equestrian, figure skating, fishing, golf, horse racing, motorsports, parkour, poker, surfing, and synchronized swimming.

There is only one of these that I think is not a sport, and a couple of others that are “sometimes”. Maybe you have others that you think should or shouldn’t be classified as a sport. Let me know.

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