This team is based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the oldest teams in the NHL. It was founded in the year 1926, while the National Hockey League was founded in 1917. It belongs to the Western Conference, Central Division. Definitely, a team from such a big city has millions of fans in the USA and in the rest of the world. They all have high hopes for that team. However, the previous history of “Blackhawks” does not have too many Stanley Cup victories. The team won the main title 3 times. The last one was dated in the 1960-1961 season. Afterwards, Chicago did not know the pleasure of such a victory.

However, everything has changed since 2008, when Joel Quenneville was named the team’s new coach. He, in collaboration with general manager Stan Bowmen and other coaches, led the Blackhawks to an astonishing record for modern hockey. The team won 3 more Cups over the course of about 6 years!

Such an achievement was not a surprise in the past. However, compared to earlier times, we now have many teams that are pretty much the same. Therefore, even a title in 10 years can be considered a real success.

When you’re talking about Chicago before the Bowmen and Quenneville era, the results were dire. The last time the team reached the play-off stage was in the 2001-2002 season. However, after changes in the coaching staff, the team experienced a true renaissance.

The coach factor did a lot. Quenneville’s innovations brought splendid results. Thanks to Bowmen’s excellent scouting work, the team recruited young and promising players as well as experienced ones. Rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews became true world leaders, leading their national teams. However, they became real stars in Chicago.

In a strong collaboration of coaches and players, the Illinois team set a modern hockey rookie record and can be called a real “miracle on ice.” It can be compared to that incredible US Olympic hockey team that won gold medals in the year 1980. That was a real miracle, because a team of teenagers from different universities and colleges beat the experienced juggernauts of world hockey .

Something similar did the Blackhawks. The first success of his “hat-trick” came in the 2009-2010 season. Quenneville needed only 3 seasons to reach its first trophy. Subsequently, the United Center team (the team’s main arena) was taken seriously by opponents. However, opponents couldn’t stop Hawks in the 2012-2013 and 2014-2015 seasons.

With respect to modern trends in North American hockey, such success is almost impossible. However, the Chicago boys made it quite possible. How could it happen? Some would say that this is a long and hard job of each team member. Others would say that this is pure luck. However, the “lucky” case would hardly work for three times in six years. Probably, both thoughts should be united.

It’s fair enough that the Blackhawks achieved such success. Many players on the team have already won multiple personal awards for regular season and play-off games. Stan Bowmen is probably the best CEO of the last decade. Joel Quenneville’s genius speaks for itself. Chicago regularly reaches the play-off stage, has already won 3 Stanley Cups and shows impressive hockey every season. It is no surprise that he has been included in the coaching staff for the upcoming Canada Cup, which is the most prestigious hockey tournament of all time.

During the last season, the Blackhawks failed to win the Cup. However, on average, they win this trophy once every two years. Consequently, the new 2016-2017 season is probably another successful year for them. Therefore, we can talk about a new record of 4 victories in 8 years.

The Ballon d’Or is an award given by UEFA and France Football magazine, while “The Best” is awarded by FIFA, the ethically questioned referee of the world’s most popular sport. Though prestigious as degenerates, both awards are nothing more than tangible accolades from the writers and pundits (confederation administrators, coaches, soccer team captains, fans, etc.) whose opinions and votes were solicited. At present, both awards have become a selfish first beyond the post, as no one embodies the toxic and political nature of both awards than the recipients of the past decade. Comparisons of soccer players between and within soccer leagues (for these awards) is a guilty pleasure for fans. Like most sports awards, fans will always root for their favorites, but unlike many others, it’s hard to make a statistical case that one player is more valuable than another. The point is that computers are like machines. One part, important as it is, cannot function properly without the other. That makes the award merely a measure of prolific goal scoring, but as any coach will tell you, that’s probably not enough to run a successful soccer team. Comparisons between football players are essentially what makes trading cards, trading cards and fantasy football so popular, but there should be no place for them in an official capacity. And how can we improve what we currently have? The basic truth is that we cannot, unless the awards are suspended due to the following reasons:

Soccer is a team sport – the debate about individual soccer players among soccer fans is fun, but in a team sport with so many leagues, such individuality is impossible to accurately measure. Soccer (as we all know) is a team sport where eleven men from two separate squads of players compete against each other for a trophy or, in modern times, to get a paycheck at the end of it all. All soccer teams require world-class goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers (with supreme talent) to excel and win at the national level. [EPL, Serie A etc.]continental [CAF, UEFA Champions League] and intercontinental [FIFA Club World Cup] trophies No player or position is expendable or superior to the other as all must work in unison to achieve a common goal. Most of the great attackers of today (and of yesteryear) would probably make terrible defenders and goalkeepers and most of the great defenders and goalkeepers could be terrible attackers and midfielders in the game. It feels wrong to constantly elevate a particular set of soccer players over their teammates because of their position on the field of play. Soccer games are taken ‘in first place’, by the goals scored by the forwards, midfielders, defenders of a team and ‘in second place’, by the (potential) goals of the opposition saved by the defenders and the goalkeeper of that same team. No player really wins a game without anyone’s help, except playing all positions simultaneously, being in their penalty area defending and deflecting opponents’ shots on goal and at the same time running to score all kinds of goals in the box. rival penalty. Most FIFA and UEFA singles winners perform brilliantly when their team’s style of play and passing is tailored to them, giving them freedom like no other team could. Most coaches strive to fit 11 players into the best team instead of having to fit the best 11 players into one team. There is a reason why world-renowned coaches like Arsene Wenger and José Mourinho have categorically scorned and criticized such individual awards in a team-based sport.

Attacking bias: FIFA and UEFA award winners (currently and in the past) are (almost) always players who play close to the opponent’s goal, such as forwards and attacking midfielders, allowing them to score a lot of goals while they rely on their teammates (defenders and goalkeeper) to prevent the opposing team from scoring and winning the game. In football it is widely known and accepted that the attack wins matches but the defense wins titles and trophies. Very few defenders and goalkeepers are recognized for their performance on the pitch and the dirty work they do (so that their attacking teammates in the opposite goal can get the ball to score). It’s pretty disheartening that attackers are so much better paid than defenders and goalkeepers. Goalkeepers are often the least paid on a soccer team, even with the alarming level of scrutiny directed at them, which raises the question of why anyone would choose to be a goalkeeper. No one has really found a way to compare the value of goalies to outfield players, to the detriment of goalies. Should a goal saved by a goalkeeper be treated as a goal scored by a striker? How much should quality defenders influence our judgment of a goalkeeper and how much should quality midfielders influence our judgment of a forward? There is no denying the fact that some players improve the overall quality and effectiveness of certain teams, but even then, such extraordinary players could not win anything for their respective teams if, for example, the goalkeeper spills every shot thrown at him. does the opposition. The beauty of modern football is such that each player (except the goalkeeper) is minimally obliged to score goals at any time, in any way and when it pleases him or (to a certain extent) his coach, which makes the fact The fact that individual awards are only given to offensive players does a lot of damage to their teammates and the sport.

There are no specific criteria in the delivery of prizes: There are no specific criteria in the delivery of individual prizes to players by UEFA and FIFA in the soccer competitions played. Most fans and administrators don’t know which competitions: the domestic league (EPL, La Liga, Serie A), the continental leagues (UEFA Champions League, as all individual FIFA winners are based in Europe) or international tournament (FIFA World Cup) – Player performances have top priority when compiling nominees for FIFA and UEFA individual awards. Although most of the nominees and winners of these awards play for soccer teams that are champions in their national leagues or champions in the UEFA Champions League or champions in the World Cup (in a world cup year) with their countries, some winners of such awards play for clubs and countries that were not champions in national, continental and international tournaments. Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or in 2010/2011 (because he scored 91 goals in one year) without winning the Spanish League or the Champions League with Barcelona or the World Cup with Argentina, surpassing other serving players who won at least one of the mentioned competitions

It Breeds Individualistic and Selfish Footballers: In the pursuit of individual FIFA awards, some players forgo teamwork and effort, preferring to play alone on the pitch, to show off (as the fans would say), to the detriment of the team. These players don’t care if the team is winning or losing a game, as long as they score goals, increase their goal tally, and compete for prizes by shooting on goal instead of passing the ball to a higher-ranked teammate, taking each set. -piece – free kicks, penalties, corner kicks – awarded in a game even when they have bad records taking such a set piece. This creates instances where a player wins Ballon d’Or or player of the year awards because he has the most goals in the football season plus 5 or 6 man of the match performances and some impressive ones. Highlight the season reels as your team finishes that season trophyless and second in the competition finals.

In conclusion, if there are to be individual awards (for whatever odd reason), they should be based on objective criteria such as number of goals scored (best striker), number of saves (best goalkeeper) or number of tackles made (best defender) etc. Even that wouldn’t make much sense because, again, scoring a goal is a team effort. No player can score a goal without the help of his teammates. And yes, even solo goals require team efforts. Therefore, it becomes unfathomable why the governing body of soccer, FIFA, would hand out these awards that are destructive to the very nature of the sport that it is supposed to regulate. FIFA shouldn’t lend its name to a beauty pageant.

Do you use sex as bait to get men involved? Have you considered the negative side?

Sex is only a temporary pleasure, and the adverse consequences are more than meets the eye.

When you are single and continue to be emotionally and intimately involved with the opposite sex, you expose yourself to sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, etc. and, in particular, the dreaded ‘Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome’, AIDS. Millions of people around the world, especially young people who are more sexually active, have died from this disease. Not to mention many more who have been kept miserable over the years by these STDs.

Many young women indulged themselves as sex machines in the men’s bedrooms due to their poverty mentality. Many of them are not working. Some are so lazy they don’t even want to work. You don’t have money to cover your most basic needs. They cannot afford something as cheap as sanitary napkins to control their monthly menstrual cycles. As a result, you use sex to trap men into giving you money.

In order to remain fashion conscious and savvy, many women sacrifice their bodies. Although your income is small, you want to keep up with fashion. You have a lot of boyfriends just because you need a lot of ‘donors’ to be able to continue living your fake life.

Why is this a problem?

In the course of these sexual escapades, many young women have contracted unwanted pregnancies. When you conceive a stranger, you are faced with two monsters. One, you go through an abortion to end the pregnancy or two, you deliver the baby as a bastard. During the operation, mostly performed by healers, some women suffer lifelong damage to the uterus. And others dump their newborns in waste collection centers or bushes where they eventually cry themselves to death or are collected for orphaned baby homes.

The Scripture says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Today, most men love money more than anything else. And they want easy money and that’s why they visit idols where they make all kinds of sacrifices to get money. Women who easily fall in love with men become prey in the hands of those evil men.

Sex is not equal to love. When you submit to a man sexually, he will use you, abuse you, and abandon you. That relationship eventually ends and you become the loser because you will feel disappointed, rejected, frustrated and abandoned.

On the other hand, when you exhibit good conduct and good character, you become your man’s favorite. You command respect. You demand honor. It imposes dignity. Your man cares about you and pays more attention to you and your needs. They will propose it to you. They will get married and experience the kind of relationships they have always dreamed of together.

When I was still single and looking for my perfect life partner, I went on several dates. What I discovered was that I had more respect and honor for those of whom I had no carnal knowledge. I worried more about them. I called and texted them more frequently. I paid more attention to them and their well-being. But once I had sex with anyone, the love and emotions started to wane. If it was someone I didn’t really like, I could easily skip to that point because there seemed to be nothing left to explore.

What do you do instead to attract the love of your life?

First, you need to set your limits. You need to establish your deciding factors. Those are your standards that are your values ​​that you cannot compromise. You kindly, early on, let your partner know that sex, for example, is a ‘no-go’ area for you in the relationship. You must maintain your integrity because that limit will be tested. The boy would like to check if you meant it.

You have to be a woman of good character. You will be polite, kind and considerate. Extend an olive branch to your partner and to all who cross your path. Be authentic and be vulnerable! Openness is a great virtue.

Don’t be self centered. Think more about what you can do for him. Support him to achieve his goals to the extent that you are invited. Offer advice or help only when asked. Give him peace of mind and never try to change him.

They say that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Of course, get involved in meaningful activities. If you don’t have a job, learn a skill or another that you are passionate about. You can also join any volunteer service you love in your area. The idea is to stay busy and engage meaningfully.

In general, if you maintain your sanity and virginity, you become irresistible to quality men. No man likes any woman who uses sex to set him up. Marriage is honorable and is a sacred institution that need not desecrate her body before the opportune moment arrives.

South Floridan, from New York Jet goes from the Gridiron to the Greens

It’s hard to find two sports that are polar opposites more than golf and soccer, Stevie Anderson argues that there are some similarities between the two sports. Anderson, who spent five years completing acrobatic sacks in the NFL, is connecting the dots between sports by making serious strides in his quest for a career on the PGA tour.

Anderson is one of three brothers from Jonesboro, Louisiana, a small bucolic town, who surprisingly all played in the NFL. He now finds himself, everywhere, at the links, where he travels across the country playing PGA qualifying tournaments.

While it’s obvious from the power of his swing that Anderson has the physical goods to play on the road, it’s still a mammoth challenge ahead of him. Anderson has spent his entire life overcoming obstacles. He defied all the odds when the Arizona Cardinals drafted him in the eighth round of the NFL in 1993 after playing at Grambling State, an obscure college with an enrollment of just 5,000 students.

Anderson was a very special player at Grambling State, a historic black university where he had the luxury of playing for legendary football coach Eddie Robinson, the second-winningest coach in major league football history. However, playing for Robinson had its drawbacks.

Robinson maintained a strict rule, in which every veteran on the team, be it a superstar or a bench warmer, got a chance to play. In Anderson’s case, this resulted in halftime. Robinson applied this measure to give seniors a chance to be seen by scouts.

While this unconventional coaching philosophy was noble to Robinson, it severely handicapped Anderson’s ability to put up the high numbers as a wide receiver often required of players on teams not on the radar of NFL scouts.

Anderson’s senior year was by far his most successful. He made the most of every one of his 36 receptions turning them into a staggering 12 touchdowns. For you math fanatics, this translates to one touchdown for every three receptions.

These numbers were good enough for Anderson to be invited to play in the Hawaiian Hula Bowl, college football’s all-star game, a rarity for players from small programs like Grambling State, despite their heritage as alumni producers. of the NFL, whose list includes Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl in league history.

The 215-pound, 6-6 wide receiver endowed with blinding speed, size and length, Anderson was handsomely rewarded for his stellar college career when he was drafted in the eighth round by the Arizona Cardinals in 1993. Anderson went on to play five years. in the NFL with both the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets.

In his fifth NFL season while competing against the Seattle Seahawks, he suffered a career-ending injury after executing a routine passing pattern. Anderson’s defender tripped him and then landed awkwardly on his knee, tearing his Posterior Crucial Ligament (PCL). After he finished his football career, Anderson made a successful transition into a modeling career and his life seemed to be on the right track.

Now the sport of golf is his vocation. If history repeats itself for Anderson, the returning kid, you’ll see him race on the same green grass as Tiger Woods one day in the not too distant future after an illustrious career on the gridiron.

Even in 2015, the back and forth stance is still frustratingly prevalent in the industry.

Boxing is one of the oldest sports in existence and as such carries a lot of history, baggage and, in some ways, old school ways.

There are many unfair and unwanted stereotypes associated with the sport regarding things like corruption and fixing, which in my opinion are totally inaccurate, uneducated and biased insults targeting the sport in the current era of 2015.

I can’t comment on how things were in the past, but what I can comment on is today’s weather and since I started in boxing journalism in recent years.

Sport is now essentially run by global television networks, sports management companies, and sports promotion companies. In 2015, you would no longer get away with mass corruption in any sport: you would get found out.

I’m not saying that nothing unexpected ever happens in sport, I would be naive. But, in my opinion, the same can be said of any professional sport or any professional business.

When money comes into the equation, there will always be unscrupulous people looking to make a quick buck or take shortcuts.

One thing that still doesn’t exist in the game today is boxing politics. In this article I will not name any names for the purposes of fairness, balance and objectivity.

At a time when the sport is really flourishing again and is on its way back into the mainstream media for a variety of reasons, including major TV broadcasters investing in the sport again and the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, we’re still seeing a lot of big fights that don’t get done, which is very frustrating.

A well-known observer within the game recently defined the landscape of modern boxing quite well, I thought, “It’s annoying that the big fights we want are the ones we are least likely to see. Welcome to the modern world of boxing do what you want.”. How right she was.

At present, there are still promoters arguing, that has not changed. However, what they fight has. In the past, boxers were almost slaves to less than fair contracts from promoters. All that has changed now.

Promoters work for fighters today and are more motivated by money than ever, because there is possibly less money in the business for them compared to what they used to get out of fighters years ago.

Boxing politics today is dominated by terms and arguments like “Side A vs. Side B”, “we bring more money to the table than you”, “Your fighter doesn’t do the pay-per-view numbers that ours does”etc.

Professional boxing has always been a money business, but now more than ever in my opinion. You’re looking at new age promoters and managers right now, in the time of social media and near-public trading.

This has been combined with the unwillingness of many key old school players to accept modern technologies such as social media and the internet.

Unfortunately, they have had no choice at this stage, but often their egos won’t allow them to engage with the promoters and power players in the game that come from this newer, fresher, more transparent generation of tech drive, where the The customer (the fight fan) expects a better product than ever (the best fighters fighting the best fighters).

The sport of boxing is going through a lot of changes globally right now. Unfortunately, politics will always be there, so is human nature in any business.

But with the way that technology and the internet continue to influence sport, and indeed all of sport, I think the transparency of these policies will continue to surface more and more in the years to come.

Boxing has no choice but to change as many other combat sports products embrace new technology and most importantly put on the best fights.

However, it will. Boxing has been around for a long time and in my opinion it will be back to its glory days before this decade is out.

Maine is known for its 17 million acres of forest, 711 mountains, 3,500 miles of coastline, and 6,000 lakes and ponds. This abundance of nature makes Maine a year-round destination for outdoor recreation. Activities that can be enjoyed in the summer include hunting, fishing, biking, canoeing and kayaking, hiking and rafting, windjammer cruising, and golf. Skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling are winter adventures.

fishing in maine

Fishing opportunities are abundant due to its many shorelines, rivers, lakes, and ponds. A wide variety of species inhabit Maine’s waters. Freshwater fish are classified into living in cold and warm water. Identified cold freshwater fish are landlocked salmon, char, arctic char, and brown, brook, lake, and rainbow trout.

Warm freshwater fish are those that prefer shallower water. A few examples are Northern Pike, Chain Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Smallmouth along with White and Yellow Perch. The latter types of fish are easier to catch and are therefore preferred by fishing beginners.

Freshwater Fishing vs. Saltwater Fishing

Freshwater fishing requires a Maine non-resident and resident license. Saltwater fishing, on the other hand, does not require a license. Both types of fishing activities have set limits on the number of fish that can be caught. Saltwater fishing is also strict about the size of the fish. The most common fish in Maine’s coastal waters are mackerel, striped bass, pollock, bluefin tuna, and pollock.

The open water fishing season usually begins in April and ends in September. However there are some exceptions. A manual containing details of fishing regulations and license fees is sold at information centers near the fishing grounds.

Among Maine’s most famous fishing spots are Sebago Lake and Rangeley. Sebago Lake is the second largest in the city. Both are great North American fishing destinations. Another recommended fishing spot here is Belgrade in Kennebec with six lakes dotted with islands. Belgrade’s lakes are noted for their notable species of sea bass, trout, and northern pike.

Hunting in Maine

Maine’s richly forested land along with its beautified waters make the state a premier hunting location. It is one of the most populated areas in small and large game species. Deer, bear, elk, waterfowl, and bird demographics rank higher than most other states. Hunting requires specific permits for each species, whether for small or large game.

The state is strict in enforcing the hunting season and bag limit to prevent resource abuse. They are also particular about the type of hunting method to be used as well as the type of bait or if the hunter is accompanied by a dog. Beginners are usually required to take a hunting course.

Big game hunts look for larger species such as bear, deer, and elk that can be found throughout the state. Bears are found near their food source, such as trees and grass. The deer is found in wet areas such as swamps. The elk can be hunted outside the forest. Waterfowl, birds and other small animals abound in the Kennebec Valley and Mooseriver area.

The hunting season is mainly implemented from October to December. Sunday is considered a non-hunting day. License fees vary depending on the type of residence, the type of wildlife to be hunted, the type of weapon to be used, and the age of the hunter. They also offer a combination of hunting and fishing licenses. This type of license costs $38 for residents, $137 for non-residents, and $178 for foreigners.

For more than 80 years, the New York Giants have represented the Big Apple in a big way. Since 1925, the team has played in five stadiums, won three Super Bowls, had 27 Pro Football Hall of Famers and retired the jersey numbers of 11 players. There have been several memorable moments in the Giants’ more than eight decades of history. While it’s quite difficult to define ONE as the most memorable, several of them are certainly noteworthy:

1. Season 1925
According to reliable sources, Tim Mara bought the Giants for $500. Mara was a businesswoman and promoter. At the time, the NFL (and subsequently the Giants themselves) was struggling. However, the Giants encountered a major turning point during their first season. On December 11, the Giants faced the Chicago Bears. Around 70,000 fans watched the game live! The Giants would split a two game series with the Bears, finishing the season with an 8-4 record.

2. Season 1986
During the previous season, the Giants had lost to the Chicago Bears (21-0) in the NFC Championship Game. This season, they were ready to stomp the competition! The Giants completed the regular season with an outstanding 14-2 record. In the playoffs, they demolished the San Francisco 49ers (49-3) and then blanked the Washington Redskins (17-0). In Super Bowl XXI, the Giants nearly doubled the score of the Denver Broncos (39-20). Coach Bill Parcells’ “Gatorade Bath” rounded out the Giants’ greatest season ever.

3. 1990 season
The Giants played another solid season, finishing with a 13-3 record. After losing their starting quarterback, Phil Simms, everyone was wondering how deep the Giants would go in the playoffs. Quarterback Jeff Hostetler responded. The Giants demolished the Chicago Bears (31-3) and then topped the San Francisco 49ers (15-13) after adding Joe Montana to their list of quarterback casualties. Super Bowl XXV was another close game, with the Giants topping the Buffalo Bills (20-19).

4. Season 2007
While the Giants started out on rocky ground, they finished the season, finishing with a 10-6 record. In the playoffs, the Giants sank the Tampa Bay Bucs (24-14), defeated the Dallas Cowboys on an end zone interception on the final play of the game (21-17) and then topped the Green Bay Packers. in extra time (23-17). twenty). In Super Bowl XLII, the Giants faced the New England Patriots, who were trying to complete a perfect season, literally. Tom Brady and the Patriots had become famous for winning close games in the Super Bowl. However, it was Giants quarterback Eli Manning who delivered his team’s final drive of the game. Scoring with 39 ticks to go, the Giants won their third Super Bowl trophy. The 1972 Miami Dolphins remained the only undefeated team in NFL history.

The New York Giants have had tremendous seasons throughout their history. Certainly his Super Bowl victories have come in some of his most memorable seasons. Giants fans hope their favorite NFL team wins more NFL championships. Wear New York Giants merchandise to cheer on the team for another gigantic season!

First Lieutenant Art Tuttle, our flight engineer, yelled into the intercom; “Doc, our number 4 engine is showing a drop in oil pressure and an increase in cylinder head temperature. Keep an eye on him, Art, and let me know if his numbers continue to drop,” Commanded Captain Doc Waller, our pilot.

As a co-pilot on the flight, he knew that B-29 engines and other errors had become problems for many other crews stationed outside of Piardoba, India. We were often overloaded with 140,000 lbs. to 160,000 lbs. gross weight, causing the engines to overheat.

Girlfriends, losses and pin ups

The rapidly forming cumulus clouds below caught my attention. But I realized that eighteen hours of flying the B-29, per mission, in the China Burma Theater gave us all a lot of time to think; wives and girlfriends the “Love Boat B-17 over Walker Field, my wife, Betty Ann, coaxing the big bomber through the skies over the Michigan/Ohio State football game, my time in the cavalry, and my new assignment as Adjutant General Smith The loss of Lt. Edward Pearce, a Flint Northern football star and 3-year-old Michigan State letter-winner, on a mountainside in French Morocco…then, 1st Lt. Charles Hill (MSU running back) who was flying a Liberator over Germany failed to come back a month later stabbed me like a knife.

Pearce, Hill, and I stayed together through 14 transfers to camps and bases, going from the Cavalry to the Military to the Air Force. We all received our wings together following the same path and I mourned them and their crews. Heartbroken, their widows with newborns carried on… and kept the faith that their loved ones would return.

The selection of the nose art was important to the unity of the crew… the spirit and pride of each crew. The more personal, intimate and irreverent, the better for 19-24 year olds in this war. Perhaps a pin-up on the side of a plane would make the enemy stop (with laughter or desire) in their quest to shoot down our plane, giving our gunners a chance to get him first. A playboy pinup or worse sure was exciting to most and a relief to some. Themes ranged from cheeky or sexual to cartoon/caricature, people, logo/name, and name-only themes. What the heck, the more garish, the better. If it eased some tension and we let it rip. It was a lot of fun and suddenly all the men became artists in each aircrew unit to get a representative coat of arms.

Star Duster’s Fight

Sergeant James Lynch, our right gunner, suddenly yelled into the intercom; “Doc, our number 4 is smoking.” Here we go again, I thought, as Captain Doc Waller, our pilot, told Jimmy to watch for the flames and 1st Lt. Art Tuttle, our flight engineer, to check gauges, check temperatures and pressures and his emergency checklist. .

Number 4’s timing couldn’t have been worse. We were 34,000 feet above the Himalayas. This is not a bombing mission but a cargo flight. We have eight rubber-lined fuel tanks secured to the bomb racks, 2,900 gallons to unload after 13 more hours of direct flight to our forward base in Cheng Tu Valley…in preparation for the push to bomb the homeland of Japan.

We were a long way from home with so much fuel on board. A potential engine fire was now scarier than being fired over Kyushu and Yokohama from intensely accurate anti-aircraft missiles.

I looked at Doc, quietly concentrating on his next task. He was going over his emergency procedures and options as he descended and changed course, in case the worst happened. He knew that twelve men were counting on his life and death decisions. Dock told me to take the yoke and I flew “STARDUSTER” on our new course. I kept an eye on the number 4 as he polled Art Tuttle for engine performance numbers and asked for constant updates from our engine eyes in the back.

Through the morning darkness, we press on. None of us expected that our missions would arrive without casualties or that our own aircraft would have a better chance than others of emerging unharmed. The question we all ponder… What if? And it seemed that the answer to what if could become a reality…soon.

The number 4 engine was slowly losing power and now we could smell gas fumes from the nose of the plane. With a sudden and dramatic turn to the right, TSgt Alden Huisjen, our senior gunner, yelled, “We’ve got thick black smoke coming out of No. 4 now.” Quickly, I turned to confirm our troublesome child on the starboard wing. Doc gave me that look and I nodded a confirmation of the reality of our problem. Our converted B-29 tanker was now in real trouble.

Doc immediately reduced power upon hearing smoke coming from the engine, even as Art reported that all engine instruments were showing normal indications. The reduction in power had reduced the volume of smoke, but within 10 minutes, a large plume of oil and smoke suddenly erupted from the upper nacelle. Sergeant Don Carter, our radio operator, went to the forward bomb bay to investigate the gas fumes. Doc was concerned that the vapors would saturate the plane and the entire crew could be affected.

“Fire, fire is coming out of number 4 now,” Alden yelled, “the flames are growing.”

Suddenly, there was a second shudder and Art looked at the tach and notified the pilots that the MAP/RPM on the number 4 was dropping rapidly. The engine then jerked violently and came to a complete stop…

If you’ve ever dismissed Botswana as an impossible dream, think again. It’s not all chic designer safari lodges where you pay up to £400 a night for the luxury of air-conditioned tents the size of barns. You can still have the safari of your life for half the price and get up close to the real Africa.

How? Mobile camp safaris are the answer, as I just discovered on a wonderful eight-night tour through the Moremi Game Reserve with Letaka Safaris. Letaka is the Setswana word for the tall phragmite reeds that grow around the margins of the Delta lagoons, hence the company name chosen by Brent and Grant Reed, also known as the Letaka Brothers.

Now in their early 30s, the couple grew up in South Africa, where they developed a passion for birds and snakes, but always dreamed of the big game found in neighboring Botswana.

Today, Botswana is their home, and with either Brent or Grant as their guide, Letaka Safaris is becoming synonymous with seeing the wild Africa the way it was meant to be seen, sleeping under a tarpaulin with a mobile camping crew that really knows the ropes. .

There were six of us on the safari: my wife and I, my brother and his wife, and a couple of friends we had known for years. Together we did the perfect numbers to fill the open Toyota Land-Cruiser waiting for us on the dusty Xakanaxa airstrip.

Here we met Letaka’s older brother Brent, who would be our guide and driver, and together we set off through the dry September forests to our first camp at Bodumatau, the place where the lion roars.

My wife and I are safari veterans, but the others were new to mobile camps and I saw them staring in dismay at the dull brown, travel-stained tents in which they would sleep for the next eight nights. The expression on his face said it all. Oh Lord!

I could almost hear their thoughts as they ducked through the doors to inspect their stores. Each one was tall enough to stand upright and furnished with two beds but nothing else, leaving enough space for her suitcases. Outside, under the awning, were a few basic necessities: canvas sinks, khaki towels, and a mirror, and behind each tent, protected by a canvas wall on poles, was the luxury of a private bathroom with a throne. of plastic. Don’t go outside with a torch and a roll of toilet paper on this safari!

And little by little, one by one, I could see my safari companions relax. It was (for them) the unexpected happiness of a hot bucket shower that started it. Then the magic of campfire drinks kicked in, as sparks flew to join the stars and owls twittered in the velvety darkness. And finally, the lamplight dinner, a three-course dinner with a sumptuous chicken casserole for the main course, accompanied by excellent South African wines that tasted all the better because they were included in the price.

No one, myself included, had ever counted on eating so well on a mobile safari. But that was because Brent had hired Frank Nkiwane to cook for us. Frank, a big and jovial Zimbabwean, learned his trade from him at an Italian restaurant in Bulawayo, and for my money he is the best bush chef in Botswana.

In total, we stayed in three private camps and each one was different. Our first camp at Dumatau was set up in a raspberry grove overlooking a lagoon where ospreys screeched and hippos grunted beyond the reeds. Our second camp was in the shade of a camelthorn acacia forest not far from the Khwai River with its bateleur eagles, malachite kingfishers and herds of breeding elephants. And at Maya Pools, our last campsite, overlooked by a sausage tree whose crimson blossoms carpeted the ground, we saw a handsome male leopard and were visited in broad daylight by a magnificent old lion, one of Dead Tree Pride’s two resident males. . .

By the end of the trip, they had all become mobile campers. They had learned that a vacation stripped of all the trivia and unnecessary frills can be just as sweet as any five-star lodging experience; that a tent is simply a safe place to sleep and store your gear while you live outdoors in the sun and wind, sharing the boundless forests and floodplains of Moremi with the lions and elephants that roamed nearly every night. nights at our camp.

Above all, what my safari companions discovered were the true luxuries of mobile camping; not just the hot showers and cool sunsets, same-day laundry and magnificent meals Frank conjured up on beds of hot wood ash, but also the priceless joys of exclusive camping, the total freedom that comes with having your own own private vehicle, and hiring one of Botswana’s most respected guides to reveal the magic of Moremi.

http://www.aardvarksafaris.com/articles-botswana-mobile.htm

For all the sports lovers out there, soccer is one of the favorite sports games ever. They love playing it and they love the excitement. Whenever there is a soccer world cup or any big soccer championship, all the fans just go crazy and can’t get enough of the game. It is a much loved sport of all time and people love to watch and play it.

Soccer had had a bigger fan base abroad where there are a number of teams that are loved immensely by the crowd and every time they play the applause doesn’t stop. Like any other sports game, soccer also has a number of rules and specifications that need to be kept in mind during each game, it is the difference in sports and their specifications that makes them so interesting.

Let’s take a look at some of the facts related to this sport and whether they are as interesting as the sport itself:

• HIS FAN BASE IS HUGE

When it comes to statistics, soccer has been considered the most watched sport of all time. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because everyone is aware of their huge fan base. People just love this show and can’t get enough of it. Every time there is a match they can barely control their excitement level and they love the excitement, the whole games and all the rules associated with it are really interesting and the fans love every part of it.

• THE SPECIFICATIONS DO MATTER

As mentioned above, there are certain rules and then certain specifications that must be taken into account when practicing this sport. Over the years it has been concluded that a footballer needs to run 9.65 kilometers for each game. That’s quite a lot and that’s the calculated spec for this particular sport. No wonder all footballers are in such good shape and have the perfect physique for the sport.

• IT HAS DIFFERENT NAMES TOO

You must have heard many people call football as “football”. Always remember that you will only hear Americans and Canadians use that term for soccer. They are the only ones who call this sport by that name and thus distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd. This game is famous all over the world and the fan base is equally divided all over the world.