chrisjohnson Blog Posts

Coaching German Football Players

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:53:14 PDT

American football is starting in gain ground around the world. In some countries football is known as American football or Gridiron football, most Americans don't understand American football has been growing in popularity for more than 50 years.

In 1984, Gene Johnson was a member of the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Germany. While coaching a youth football game, he was approached by a German national to check out an all German football team. Surprised at the fact American football was being played by Germans, he chose to take a look, the next weekend. At his first meeting with the team, he was asked to become their coach. Coach Johnson became the first American coach of the Wuppertal Greyhounds (of Wuppertal, Germany near Dusseldorf).

Being a knowledgeable man, Coach Johnson chose to recruit a few other American servicemen to assist him in the coaching duties. Among his coaching staff he chose Steve Womack (coaching the defense) and Tony Williams (conditioning coach). The other coaches came from the team members themselves.

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The Growth of American Football

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:35:44 PDT

Football is no longer just an American sport anymore. With American servicemen playing football on their off time, the game received notice from the people of the countries these servicemen were stationed. American football, or "gridiron football," has been going strong for some time now. Football is being played in several countries around the world.

Here's a list of countries playing (American) football:

American Samoa, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Costa Rica, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chili, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United States (of course), Uruguay, Thailand, Australia, and Venezuela.

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Foreigners in NFL History

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:32:30 PDT

We know that football, or should I say American football, has been growing for years. It's just that the mainstream media does not cover American style football as much as, say, the NCAA or NFL.
And since Americans don't really realize the game is being played in other countries, my thoughts revolved around one question: "What foreigners have played American football professionally?"

Denmark
Morten Andersen (born in Copenhagen, Denmark) is the all-time leading scorer in the NFL with two different teams (New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons). In college, Anderson played for the Michigan State Spartans. He set several kicking records, including a Big 10 Conference record: a 63-yard field goal against Ohio State. In 1981, Anderson was named an All-American.

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Army-Navy Fooball The Tradition Continues

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:28:55 PDT

One of the most popular college football rivalries, is that of the annual Army/Navy game. Since 1890, the Midshipmen (Navy) and the Black Knights (formerly the Cadets of Army) have been battling on the gridiron.

Both former and current military members will set aside their duties to watch this one football game, over all others. What are they fighting for? It's bragging rights!

In 1894, an incident between a Rear Admiral and a Brigadier General, which nearly led to a duel after the 1893 Navy victory. President Cleveland called a Cabinet meeting in late February 1894.

At the end of the meeting, Secretary of the Navy Hillary A. Herbert and Secretary of War, Daniel S. Lamont issued general orders that each Academy would be allowed to visit each other, for football games, but its cadets were “prohibited in engaging in games elsewhere.“ he series would not resume until 1899, when it was played in “neutral” locations, respectively Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

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Tips For Betting The Ponies

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:31:53 PDT

In the world of horse racing, many people chose to watch the races for the excitement. There are the novice horse wager, who will choose a horse to bet on, by their appearance. When it comes to the more seasoned veteran of horse gambling, they take an even broader approach to choosing a winning horse. Now there are those who look at just the winning horse, the top two, or the tri-vecta (top three).

There are several books on the market to help teach a “system” of betting on the results in horse racing. Then there are those who choose to create there own “system” that works for them.

When it comes to horse racing, there is no “sure-fire” way to pick the winning horse every time. To choose the horses that are more likely to win a race, there are several factors to consider. How did the horse perform in its last race, its last 5 races, its last 10 races, the jockey, the weather, the turf, etc. All of these factors come into play, when a person bets their “hard-earned” money on a horse race.

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