Demming

Soccer is sport played around the world. Many people are new to the sport as it gains popularity and they may not understand the rules. Some parts of soccer can be confusing, so learning the basics can really help anyone who is trying to understand what is going on. The following is a short tutorial on the basics of soccer.

The objective of soccer is to score more goals than the opposing team. Each team consists of eleven players. Players can score by moving the ball into the goal net. Each game lasts 90 minutes and is divided into 45 minute halves. The game is regulated by a referee and two linesmen who determine fouls and other penalties. This is the basic set up of the game.

The following list explains some important points in a soccer game.

1. Players can not use their hands to touch the ball. The exceptions are special moves and the goalie.
2. Fouls are called when players get too rough on the field or break other rules.
3. A direct kick is rewarded after a foul to the opposing team and can be kicked directly in the goal. An indirect kick must be touched by another player before it can be a goal.
4. A penalty kick is a kick from 12 yards in front of the goal. All other players must stay away until the ball is kicked.
5.The two-touch rule states that a player can not touch the ball twice in a row.
6. Yellow and red cards are handed out as, what other sports call, a personal foul. They are against a single player. Yellow cards are warnings and red cards get you removed from the game.
7. Offsides is described by the FIFA soccer rules as A player is in an offside position if: he is nearer to his opponents goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent. This is difficult to understand and explain, so if you need further clarification it is best to watch it demonstrated on the field.

These basic rules and guidelines of soccer should help the layperson to understand the idea of what is going on at the soccer field.

Shaun Alexander was born on August 30, 1977 in Florence, Kentucky. Ever since he first started to play the game of football it was obvious that he was going to be a great player. Not only does Alexander have all the physical skills needed to be a great running back in the NFL, but his will to win is not matched by many. With both of these things combined it is easy to see why Alexander has established himself as one of the greatest running backs of all time.

During his senior year in high school Alexander was named Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky. Every year this award goes to the best player in the state, and Alexander definitely deserved this.

After a stellar high school career Alexander accepted a scholarship offer to play football at the University of Alabama. He did not waste any time showing just how good he was. As a freshman he put up great numbers, including one game where he ran for 291 yards. Alexander did more of the same during his sophomore and junior seasons, which in turn led him to declaring himself eligible for the 2000 NFL Draft.

The Seattle Seahawks choose Alexander with the 19th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Although other teams passed by on his services, Alexander was ready to show them all what they missed out on. Although he played in all 16 games as a rookie, it was not until 2001 when he really started to take the league by storm.

Alexander has been named to the NFL Pro Bowl Team on three occasions, and has also won many other awards since joining the league.

With so many good years already under his belt, if Shaun Alexander can keep up this pace he will go down in history as one of the best running backs to every touch the field!

At the age of four I developed a stutter. Even to this day, I am now aged thirty-three, I have no idea as to why I started to stutter. There is not one member of my family who has the speech impediment and for many years I would ask myself the same question, why me? At the age of around fourteen I stopped asking myself questions about how or why I had the stuttering problem and started to look for a solution. I so wanted to be able to talk fluently and I was now asking a new question, is there a known cure for stuttering?

For many years I felt very lonely. I seemed to be in a different world to everybody else, a world of fear and frustration. I worried every day about my speech and about the way in which other people would react, if and when I did trip up on a word. I was constantly frustrated, part of this frustration was due to the fact that I found it so difficult to talk where as other people seemingly found it so easy. The other side to the frustration was the fact that the stutter dictated every decision I ever made and I always ended up accepting second best.

I was also lonely because I felt like I was one of only a few people who had this form of speech impediment, I certainly did not know of anyone else who had the problem. I am now aware that many people suffer with stuttering.

When searching for the stuttering cure, many, in fact most people informed me that you can not cure a stutter. This was of course quite annoying to hear, but was something I did not accept. Aged sixteen I became drunk for the first time, it was also the first time in my life where I had been fluent for a sustained period of time. How strange, I could speak fluently when under the influence of alcohol, who can possibly tell me there is not a cure for stuttering?

Aged twenty-two and after a lot of hard work I managed to rid myself of the stutter, to enable myself to speak fluently when sober and when drunk. My advice to people out there is to not always believe what you are told, where there is a will, there is a way.

"What does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, and to have lost his soul?" - Jesus Christ

You don't need to be Christian to see wisdom in the words of Jesus. Simple quotes from men and women around the world, from present day or milleniums past, inspire and instruct us, regardless of the religious or spiritual tradition they come from. Nor do spiritual and religious people have a monopoly on wisdom. Quotes that touch on the truth of a matter can come from scoundrels, saints, and ordinary people.

Why Wisdom Quotes?

"There are two great disappointments in life: Not getting what you want, and getting it." - George Bernard Shaw

Philosophies and arguments try to "capture" truth in a net of words. This is often to build systems of knowledge, or to satify egos. Wisdom quotes use words to point at truth, so that you can look and see it for yourself. Let me give you an example.

A man hesitates to do what he loves for a living, because he may fail. Outside of mathematics, virtually all reasoning is tainted with rationalization, so whatever his choice, he will support it with "logical arguments." No wonder he's confused and demotivated! He can't trust his own reasoning, if it just finds a logical construct for whichever fear, desire or other feeling is strongest!

Then Wayne Gretzky points out the obvious: "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." This hockey metaphor touches him, precisely because it's not a logical argument. It simply points out a truth he can see for himself. He won't get anywhere without "taking that shot." Seeing the truth is more motivating - and productive - than arguing it. That's the value of wisdom quotes.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." - Shunryu Suzuki